![]() |
npower/REX |
Built on the site of an ancient Pagan burial
ground, The Ancient Ram Inn, situated in the village of Wotton-under Edge in
Gloucestershire, England has something for every ghost and lover of all things
devilish – although if you want a pint, you’ll need to find a local hostelry.
It last functioned as a public house in 1968 when the brewery sold it to John
Humphries for £2600. He has made it his mission to save the building (dating
from 1145) from rack and ruin. Today, in his 90s, he is still there and
maintains his enthusiasm for both the building and its spirit inhabitants.
He claims he is regularly visited – and even
attacked – by the spectral co-habitees and there have been sightings of
previous owners of the inn, including a former innkeeper and his daughters.
There is also the ghost of a woman known as Elizabeth who is believed to have
been murdered and buried beneath the bar.
John welcomes ghost hunters and organised
overnight ghost hunts. He is happy to share the wealth of information he has
amassed about the legends and stories connected to the Inn. Child sacrifices,
devil worship, witchcraft and even a link to Stonehenge are just some of the
links that make this ancient place so fascinating.
There is a room in the Inn known as the ‘Witch’s
Room’ for very good reason. It would appear that during the 1500s, a woman
accused of witchcraft took refuge there but was eventually captured and burned
at the stake. She is said to return to her former place of sanctuary.
Another legend has it that, at some time in
its history, the water course was redirected, causing a portal to open. Unfortunately
this was not a desirable turn of events as it allowed some pretty nasty demons
to pass through. John Humphries recalls that, on his first night in the property
he was forcibly dragged from his bed by a demon and flung across the room.
The present owner also found evidence of devil
worship and the skeletons of a woman and child buried under the stairs. Broken daggers
were found embedded in them.
The ‘Bishop’s Room’ is reputedly haunted by
a woman hanging from the ceiling and by monks, who terrified guests when the Inn
was a Bed and Breakfast establishment. Many would refuse to stay in that room.
Others would flee in the middle of the night.
Outside, the old barn has played host to
unexplained dark shadows which have frightened guests rigid.
In the second half of the twentieth
century, the former Bishop of Gloucester – Rt. Rev. John Yates – is reported to
have attempted to exorcise the Inn, but failed. He called it, "the most evil place I have ever had the misfortune to visit"
(Western Daily Mail).
The Inn was used many centuries ago as a
keeping house for slaves and workers who built nearby St Mary’s Parish Church.
No doubt their spirits add to the general melee. A high priestess has been seen sitting on a
bed and a young girl’s screams have chilled unwary visitors. Add to this a
ghostly centurion on horseback and a succubus who scares the life out of guests
by pinioning them down on their beds, and you can see that the Ancient Ram Inn
serves up a heady cocktail of supernatural fare.
As for the Stonehenge connection: This
depends a lot on whether you are a believer in the power/ phenomenon of ley
lines. Those who do state that the Inn is built on the intersection of two of
them which connect directly with the centre of Stonehenge some seventy (or so)
miles away. Legend has it that the power from Stonehenge floods into the Inn
making it the conduit for supernatural activity that has given the Ancient Ram
its unparalleled reputation.
A number of operators hold haunted nights
at the Ancient Ram and these are usually booked up well in advance. One of
these is Haunted
Happenings.
I'll leave you with the incomparable Yvette Fielding and the Most Haunted team who held a vigil there. Enjoy - and a very merry Christmas/Festive season of your choice to you all
I remember seeing this on one if the dozen ghost hunter shows we have over here! Very interesting place! As an American living in a very young country, it boggles the mind to think of buildings still existing from the twelfth century!
ReplyDeleteWe're tripping over them here, Somer! Thanks for commenting :)
ReplyDeleteWell Cat, what a place. It even has a look about it on that first photograph. A great post my darling. One I am well glad to come by and catch up on after the Christmas madness xxxxx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shey. i love these sorts of places too
DeleteYeah, nothing beats a scary place.
DeleteToo right!
Delete