Brakspear launches haunted pub tour

The tour takes place on Halloween (31 October) and promises to reveal the inns' haunted histories with guides, local clairvoyant and Henley town councillor, David Eggleton.

• Making the most of Halloween and Bonfire Night​

The three pubs with spooky stories involved in the tour are the Little Angel in Remenham Lane, the Row Barge on West Street and the Bull on Bell Street.

Ghostly goings on 

Chief executive of Brakspear Tom Davies said: “Ghostly goings on and pubs go hand in hand, and many inns can tell tales of unexplained noises, strange apparitions or bottles that jump off the shelf in an empty bar.

“It’s true some of them are reported by customers after a particularly enjoyable night in the pub, but not all!

“With a historic pub estate like Brakspear’s, it is not surprising that we have our fair share of strange sightings and sounds, so we decided to gather our haunted histories together on one website for the many people who find them fascinating.”

Tickets cost £5 with all proceeds going to Brakspear’s nominated charity, Sue Ryder, which provides a hospice and neurological care.

'Haunted hostelries'

The pub group has devised a new dedicated ‘haunted hostelries’ website www.brakspear.co.uk/boo​ where the three pubs are featured and around 20 inns are also listed.

Each site has its own ghost, poltergeist or other paranormal activity, which include a former landlord’s murdered wife at the Bull & Butcher in Turville, a highway man at the Duke of Wellington in Twyford and the hanged poisoner Mary Blandy at the Little Angel.

Last month (September), a Bolton pub was asking for its ghost back after it was ‘stolen’ by a Chinese artist.​

The seventh Earl of Derby, James Stanley, is said to haunt Ye Olde Man & Scythe in Churchgate but was reportedly taken by Lu Pingyuan.