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The Ghost of the Captain Smith from the Titanic

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After the Titanic sank in 1912, people started talking about seeing the ghost of Captain Smith around the world. Even after all these years, his death and afterlife have an air of mystery surrounding it and he has become one of the most well known ghosts from the Titanic tragedy.

Captain Edward Smith, a man once regarded as unsinkable as his ship, was among those lost to the icy depths. Throughout his life, he had never been involved in accidents, until he was in the midst of one of the biggest tragedies at sea. 

RMS Titanic: The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, she hit an iceberg and sank. Out of the 2,224 people onboard, 1,635 died. Many of them are now believed to haunt different parts of the world. //Image: 1912 illustration by Willy Stöwer.

Straight after the tragedy of the Titanic, people started to tell stories about seeing his ghosts, and those stories have evolved, travelled across the world and even today, new stories emerge from those claiming to have met the ghost of the Captain. 

The Life of Captain Smith

Edward John Smith was a British sea captain and naval officer, born in 1850 in Stoke-on-Trent in England. At the age of 13, he left his childhood home and went to sea. In 1880, he joined the White Star Line as an officer, beginning a long career in the British Merchant Navy.

There were many witnesses that came forward with different stories about him. Some of the earliest accounts of the captain’s demise turned out to be people that wasn’t even on the passenger list. So what really happened that night? Most witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the Titanic just moments after impact, asking what happened. .

“An iceberg, sir,” First Officer William Murdoch told him. The rest is history, and also a bit of mystery. Some say that he went into shock, and that he became quite passive when the work of getting people into the lifeboats started. 

Captain Edward John Smith at the Titanic bridge on the morning of April 10th, 1912

Some say that he shot himself with a pistol, wireless operator Harold Bride, said he’d seen Smith “dive from the bridge into the sea.” Some say that he was swept off by a wave. Titanic fireman Harry Senior, Smith jumped off the ship with “an infant clutched tenderly in his arms,” swam to a nearby lifeboat, handed off the child and swam back toward the Titanic, saying, “I will follow the ship.”

“[Smith] took one of the children standing by him on the bridge and jumped into the sea,” fireman James McGann recounted. “He endeavored to reach the overturned boat but did not succeed. That was the last I saw of Captain Smith … He held the little girl under one arm as he jumped into the sea and endeavored to reach the nearest lifeboat with the child.”

Thomas Whiteley, a first class steward, also described seeing the captain trying to help a baby into a lifeboat.

“Some women tried to drag him on the boat, but he pulled away from them and said: ‘Save yourselves,’” Whiteley recalled. “I saw him go under, and he never came up.”

Author Wyn Craig Wade wrote in The Titanic: End of a Dream, “Captain Smith had at least five different deaths, from heroic to ignominious.” His final moments remain shrouded in uncertainty, inspiring stories that he either took his own life or was swept away by a wave only to return to his doomed vessel. 

Though his body was never found, his spirit may not have stayed at sea. 

The Ghost of Captain Smith and his Final Goodbye

One of the strange phenomena that happened after the Titanic sank, was the widows of sailors and crew members waking in the nights, hearing their names called out by their loved ones, or seeing their ghosts, long before they knew about the ship sinking. 

According to one eerie legend, his wife, Sarah Eleanor Smith, saw his ghost appear in their home before the world had even learned of the Titanic’s fate. This must have been in their home in a red brick, twin-gabled house named “Woodhead” on Winn Road in Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire.

She claimed he stood before her in her drawing room, dripping wet and silent, as if to say his final goodbye. He walked across the carpet to the window, not saying a word before vanishing into thin air as he reached the window. According to Mrs. Smith, this is when she learned about her husband’s death. 

The Haunted Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool

This was not the last time people claimed to have witnessed his ghost roaming though. Another place he is said to have haunted is the Adelphy Hotel in Liverpool, a hotel often dubbed, the most haunted hotel in the UK.

Read More: The Ghosts of the Britannia Adelphi Hotel: Shadows in Liverpool 

It is said that The Sefton Suite in the hotel is an exact replica of the first-class smoking room on the ship. A paranormal researcher claims to have witnessed three men haunting the room, saying it was Smith together with two other naval officers who also went down with the ship. It is however disputed that the Sefton Suite is a replica or built by the same craftsmen that the myth claims. 

From left to right: First Officer William M Murdoch, Chief Engineer Joseph Evans, Fourth Officer David Alexander and Capt. Edward J. Smith seen on the Olympic.

His Ghost Haunting Baltimore

One of the strangest stories though, is how a mariner claims to have seen the captain in different places in Baltimore, Maryland over a 17-year period and that he hadn’t died at all. Peter Pryal was a businessman who claimed to have been a Quartermaster on the steamship Majestic for the White Star liner over 30 years ago when Captain Smith was his captain..

Mr. Pryal said that he saw the Captain on a Wednesday morning, and to confirm it was him, he went to the same spot that Friday and saw the Captain again. At 9 o’clock the following Friday or Saturday morning, he went to the corner of St. Paul and Baltimore Streets where he had seen him last and stood on the corner for almost an hour. To his astonishment, he saw the same man approaching him, he said, ‘Captain Smith, how are you?‘ The mystery man replied, ‘Very well, but please don’t detain me, I am on business.’

Mr. Pryal  followed the man to St. Paul and Fayette Streets. Several times the supposed Captain turned to see Mr. Pryal followed him, and he ducked into the Calvert Building to try to lose him in the crowd. He caught up with the Captain as he was boarding a car or a train to Washington  and the Captain said:

‘Be good, shipmate, until we meet again.’

Mr. Pryal was shocked as he believed him to be dead. He had a nervous breakdown in public and got himself home, but his doctor attested that he was: “absolutely sane and not given to hallucinations.” But what really happened here? Did he see his ghosts? Did he uncover the truth that the Captain had in fact survived? Or was it all just a big misunderstanding?

The Haunting of the SS Winterhaven

In the 70s, another ghost story emerged connected to the Titanic and the ghost of the captain. Although there aren’t many sources for this story online before 2008. In 1977, Second Officer Leonard Bishop gave a tour of the SS Winterhaven. A soft-spoken brit was among the passengers, and something about this particular passenger felt different, although Bishop couldn’t explain why. He turned away for a minute, and when he looked back at the passenger, he was gone. 

This would all fall into place years later, when Bishop stumbled across a photo of Captain Smith and saw that it was the passenger that he had taken on a tour. 

Haunting his Childhood home in Stoke on Trent

Another place Smith is said to be haunting, is his childhood home in Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. The home was built in the early 19th century and was used as a corner shop by Captain Smith’s mother. He lived there until he was thirteen and he went to sea. 

Most of the ghost stories come from the house owners, Neil and Louise Bronner who rented the house out to many tenants for a decade before they sold it in 2012. Many came back with a ghost story or two. 

Source

There have been those who claimed to have seen his ghost in the bedroom. A man was alone in his bed one day and saw the apparition in the captain. The man in the house had apparently been at sea himself. Neil also got a phone call about a uniformed man walking around in the kitchen. 

On a side note, there used to be a story circling around that a mirror from his home was haunted by him as well. According to the story, he put it on his dressing table before setting sail on Titanic. According to the story, his maid kept seeing his face in the mirror on the anniversary of the sinking. 

According to the story, her name was Ethelwynne, and was offered to take one item from his home when he went down with the ship after the vessel hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 as a keepsake and in lieu of wages. She chose this and had it in her and her family’s possession until it was found in an estate sale.

Eventually the mirror ended up in auction houses with the story attached to it, and landed in ghost hunter Zac Bagan’s collection. But how true is this story though? Coincidentally, the auction started a couple of months or so in 2018, when a couple in Belfast snapped a picture in a bar they claimed was his ghost. How much of a coincidence is it that the two different hauntings of the same ghost appeared so close together? Kenny Biddle for the Skeptical Inquirer did a longer piece about why the mirror and its haunted story was most likely not true at all. 

His Ghost in a Pub in Belfast

Talking about the picture snapped in Belfast, this is perhaps the lates sighting and big story about the ghost of the Captain. 

Cheryl and Luke Arkless were in Robinsons bar in Belfast one evening in 2018. The couple, both 34 at the time, were visiting from Devon and sat down for a drink on July 29th. Cheryl’s mother in law took, in a matter of seconds, three pictures of them. According to themselves, they felt a cold wind on their backs, but didn’t think much of it until they were back in England and saw something strange in the photos. As Cheryl herself stated:

‘I called my husband and he said it was probably a person walking behind us very fast. But the thing is, everything around us is crystal clear apart from that blur. I was very skeptical at first but now I really think it looks like a man. There is a strong ‘Titanic’ background in the bar, and the more you look at the more he resembles the captain. On the right-hand side behind us, a band was playing, so he looks as if he is watching the band.’

According to ghost hunters Paranormal Investigations UK, they analyzed the photo and tested it for manipulation. According to Cheryl, they told her the photo was untampered and unexplainable. Now, why this bar? According to Cheryl, the pub had not experienced anything like it when she called and let them know about the picture. 

 It’s important to note that the pub is filled with original memorabilia from the Titanic like letters and post cards written on board, first and second class China from the White Star Line vessels. Could it have been Captain Smith haunting the bar close to where the Titanic first set sail? 

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References:

How Did the ‘Titanic’ Captain Die? New Book Reveals Conflicting Accounts of Tragic Last Moments

Baltimore Mystery Man

What Was the Titanic’s Captain Doing While the Ship Sank? | HISTORY

Captain Smith of the RMS Titanic Seen After His Death: 1912 | Mrs Daffodil Digresses

SS Winterhaven

HMS Titanic

Robinson Bar in Belfast

Couple shocked after ‘ghost of Titanic’s captain photobombs them’ in Belfast pub – Irish Mirror 

Childhood home

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2125619/My-haunting-goes-Couple-sell-house-haunted-ghost-Titanic-captain-born—hauntings-include-flooded-kitchen.html

Haunted Mirror

Haunted mirror ‘possessed by the ghost of the Titanic captain’ up for auction

The Provenance of Captain Smith’s ‘Haunted’ Mirror | Skeptical Inquirer

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Brogans Bar: The Secret Passage to the Past

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Said to house both piles of Guinness, the Brogan’s Bar in Dublin is also said to house a few ghosts. Visitors and staff have long talked about the strange things that go down at the pub after the final call has been rung. 

On the busy stretch of Dame Street, tucked beside the historic Olympia Theatre, stands Brogans Bar, a place where Dublin’s laughter mingles with whispers from centuries past and a few ghosts lingering according to the tales. 

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Long before it became known by its present name, it was called Leonards, and even then it held a reputation as one of the city’s oldest and most characterful taverns. It also served like The Viking Inn, one of the first gay bars in Dublin. 

The bar is said to have the largest collection of Guinness memorabilia outside of the brewery. Within its low ceilings and time-worn beams, stories of politics, rebellion, and revelry have soaked into the walls like spilled whiskey. Michael Collins himself is said to have been a regular, plotting the future of Ireland over a quiet pint. Yet not all of Brogans’ visitors have been so easily seen.

The Haunted Brogan’s Bar

Those who close up after the final rounds have long reported strange happenings in the shadows of the bar. Soft footsteps echo across the wooden floors when no one else is there. Being next door from the notoriously haunted Olympia Theatre has also fueled the rumours of this building  having ghost of their own. 

Read More: The Ghostly Tales of Dublin’s Olympia Theatre

Like with the theatre, the haunting in this bar is said to be a bit vague, although prominent. Glasses rattle as if disturbed by invisible hands. On one unsettling occasion, a door was smashed open with such force that staff believed an intruder had entered, only to find the pub empty and still. There are also reported about mysterious footsteps after closing time.

So what could be haunting the Brogan’s? Could it have something to do about the alleged secret tunnels underneath the building? The pub lies directly opposite the ancient entrance to Dublin Castle. Beneath Brogans, according to local legend, lies a secret passageway that once ran directly under Dame Street and into the heart of Dublin Castle. No one knows exactly when it was built, or for what purpose, but many believe it was used for discreet meetings, smuggling, or escape during troubled times. 

Today, the entrance is said to be sealed, though some claim to feel cold drafts rising from the cellar floor and hear faint voices murmuring below. Perhaps the passage is not as closed as it seems. When the lights dim and the street outside grows quiet, Brogans Bar stands as a reminder that Dublin’s history is never truly buried. 

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Bull and Castle Pub: The Melancholy Ghost of James Clarence Mangan

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Said to haunt his former childhood home that is now the Bull and Castle Pub in Dublin, the ghost of the melancholic writer James Clarence Mangan is said to linger. 

At the corner of Lord Edward Street, across from Christ Church Cathedral, stands the Bull and Castle Pub that used to be known as The Castle Inn. The building hums with laughter and the clink of glasses, but every so often, when the music dips and the air grows strangely still, a cold presence sweeps through the room. The warmth vanishes, the lights dim ever so slightly, and those who know the story say the poet has returned. 

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James Clarence Mangan, Ireland’s most tormented wordsmith, was born on this very ground in 1803, and some believe his spirit still lingers where his troubled life began.

Source

The Ghost of James Clarence Mangan

Before it was a pub, it was the birthplace of James Clarence Mangan (1803-1849), or Séamus Ó Mangáin as it was in Irish. He was born at number 3 Fishamble Street, the ancient Virus Piscariorum of Dublin, on the first day of May, 1803. It was a pub back then also, but the original building has been torn down and rebuilt. 

He was the son of James Mangan, a former hedge school teacher and native of Shanagolden, County Limerick, and Catherine Smith from Kiltale, County Meath. After marrying Smith, James Mangan took over a grocery business in Dublin owned by the Smith family, eventually becoming bankrupt as a result.

After the famine in 1840, he started to write patriotic poetry and was seen as one of Ireland’s first national poets. The poet was best known for his work Róisín Dubh.

Mangan was both celebrated and cursed. Renowned by literary giants like Yeats and Joyce, he lived as if haunted long before death. A frail and eccentric figure, he was known for his peculiar costume: a long, tattered cloak, tinted green spectacles, and a blond wig that barely masked his gaunt features as well as his witch’s hat and umbrella. 

Beneath that eccentricity hid a soul consumed by melancholy, opium, and drink. His poetry spoke of exile, despair, and doomed longing, and it is said those same feelings have soaked into the very foundations of the Bull and Castle.

After years of despair, he sadly died of cholera in 1849 when he was only 46 and buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. But is he truly gone, or is he still haunting his childhood home?

The Haunted Bull and Castle Pub

Locals whisper that the pub’s strange chills and sudden silences are not tricks of the air but signs of Mangan’s ghost revisiting his birthplace. Some have heard soft mutterings near the back of the bar, as if someone were reciting verse in a voice that carries both sorrow and beauty.

Patrons who stay late often describe a creeping heaviness that settles without warning, a melancholy that drains conversation and leaves only the distant sound of a sigh and the pints empty.

Perhaps the poet is drawn back to where his story began, still searching for peace he never found in life. Or perhaps his verses, so steeped in loss, have tethered him to this world. Either way, the Bull and Castle holds more than good ale and hearty company. Beneath its laughter, the ghost of James Clarence Mangan waits, cloaked in sorrow and memory, drifting once more through the city that both inspired and destroyed him.

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Davy Byrne’s Pub: The Ghost of James Joyce Still Raising a Glass

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Said to appear in the mirror of his favorite place for a pint in Dublin, the ghost of James Joyce is rumored to still linger in Davy Byrne’s Pub. 

In the heart of Dublin’s literary quarter stands one of the city’s most famous pubs, Davy Byrne’s, where polished wood, gleaming mirrors and a literary history draws people from near and far. Some even say that some stay after their death. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland

For more than 125 years, this elegant public house has been a gathering place for writers, rebels, and thinkers. Yet behind its warm glow and literary fame lingers a story of something spectral. They say that James Joyce himself, the master of Dublin’s soul, never truly left the place that helped make him immortal.

Source

A Pub of Poets and Patriots

First opened in 1889, Davy Byrne’s Pub quickly became a cornerstone of Dublin’s social life. The upstairs rooms were once used for clandestine Republican meetings, with none other than Michael Collins himself said to have gathered here in secret during Ireland’s struggle for independence. The pub became a crossroads of revolution and intellect, where whispers of rebellion mixed with the smoke of pipes and the clink of glasses.

But while politics left its mark on these walls, literature would make the pub eternal. James Joyce, who frequented the establishment in the early 1900s, captured its spirit in his masterpiece Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom famously orders a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of burgundy at Davy Byrne’s. That passage ensured that the pub’s name would live forever, etched into the pages of one of the greatest novels ever written. Joyce also mentioned the pub in the short story “Counterparts” in Dubliners as a bar visited by the office clerk protagonist named Farrington following an altercation with his senior at the office.

The Writer Who Never Left

Book fans travel long distances to visit the place and The pub is particularly popular on Bloomsday, an annual 16 June celebration of both the book and James Joyce.

Regulars and staff will tell you that Joyce still lingers here. His image, they say, appears in the bar’s ornate mirrors, watching quietly from the corner as if observing his characters come to life once more. Some claim that his reflection moves independently, tilting its head or raising a glass, even when no one is standing nearby.

The Ghost of a Writer: James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce[a]; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist movement and is regarded among the most influential and important writers of the 20th century.

A few have even reported hearing the faint scratch of a pen on paper, or the ghostly murmur of a man reciting words from memory. Whether it is the echo of Joyce’s creative spirit or a trick of the mind, no one can say for certain.

Between Literature and the Beyond

For some, it makes perfect sense that Joyce would haunt Davy Byrne’s. The pub was his muse, a place that embodied Dublin’s wit, melancholy, and vitality. Perhaps his spirit simply returns to where the city felt most alive to him. Or perhaps he lingers to see if his words are still spoken, if readers and wanderers still come to trace the path of Ulysses.

Today, Davy Byrne’s remains one of the most beloved pubs in Dublin, where tourists and locals alike gather to taste a pint and a slice of literary history. Yet those who know its story may pause before the mirrors, half-expecting to glimpse a familiar figure in a dark coat and round spectacles smiling faintly back.

If you do, raise your glass. It might just be that James Joyce has come back for one last drink in the pub he never could forge

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References:

Davy Byrne’s pub – Wikipedia

History – Davy Byrnes

The 10 most haunted pubs in Dublin | The Irish Post

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The Brazen Head: Dublin’s Oldest Pub and Its Restless Rebel

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A rebel and freedom fighter for Irish independence is said to haunt his favorite pub, The Brazen Head in Dublin, where it is said he plotted his fight against the English. 

“For who was he, the uncoffined slain, /That fell in Erin’s injured isle /Because his spirit dared disdain/ To light his country’s funeral pile? remain unpolluted by fame /Till thy foes, by the world and by fortune caressed, /Shall pass like a mist from the light of thy name.”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley after searching for Robert Emmet’s grave in Dublin, believed now to be haunting The Brazen Head

Few places in Dublin carry as much history, or as many whispered ghost stories, as The Brazen Head near the river Liffey. Dating back to 1198 according to some, although some place it closer to 1754 starting as a coaching in. This ancient tavern has served rebels, poets, and outlaws for centuries.

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The old place is a popular place for live music as well as a few ghost stories. Its walls are thick with memory, its corners heavy with shadows, and its reputation as one of Ireland’s most haunted pubs is nearly as strong as its title as the city’s oldest.

Roman Kharkovski/Wikimedia

The Haunted Brazen Head

The most chilling tale tied to The Brazen Head begins in 1803, when Irish rebel Robert Emmet plotted his doomed uprising against British rule, according to the stories, right at this pub. It was here, over tankards of ale, that Emmet and his companions dreamed of freedom and revolution. 

Robert Emmet (born 1778, Dublin—died Sept. 20, 1803, Dublin) was an Irish nationalist leader who inspired the abortive rising of 1803, remembered as a romantic hero of Irish lost causes. He was captured on August 25, tried for treason, and hanged on Sept. 20, 1803.

The rebellion failed swiftly and brutally, and Emmet met his fate on nearby Thomas Street, where he was publicly hanged and then beheaded on the 20th September in 1803. Where he is buried is today unclear, but the legend says that he made his way back to the pub. 

According to legend, the blood from his execution ran down the hill and seeped toward his beloved pub, staining The Brazen Head forever in the memory of Dublin’s folklore.

Image: Addam Hardy

Emmet’s ghost, they say, has never truly left. Patrons claim that late at night, when the chatter has faded and the candles burn low, a spectral figure can be seen lingering in a shadowy corner of the pub. Dressed as if he were still preparing for rebellion, he is said to watch the room with wary eyes, forever on guard for the enemies who condemned him. Some visitors feel the weight of his gaze as they sip their drink, while others report a sudden chill that clings to the air, as though history itself had entered the room.

Yet The Brazen Head’s ghosts are not limited to Emmet alone. With more than 800 years of revelry, rebellion, and ruin within its walls, the pub has been a gathering place for countless souls who may not have fully departed. Whispers float along the stone walls, footsteps echo where no one walks, and the past often feels closer than the present.

For those who dare, a visit to The Brazen Head is not just a chance to raise a glass in Dublin’s oldest pub. It is an invitation to share a drink with history, to sit where rebels once planned their fates, and perhaps to catch a glimpse of a restless spirit still bound to the place he loved.

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Robert Emmet – Wikipedia

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The Portobello Bar: Spirits on the Canal

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A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next to The Portobello Bar in Dublin is said to be haunting it. Ever since his mistake cost the lives of someone crossing, he is said to be lingering in the area. 

In the heart of Dublin’s city centre, where the Grand Canal glides quietly past brick façades and timeworn bridges, stands The Portobello Bar that is one of the pubs to put on the checklist for a haunted pub crawl.

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The Portobello has seen much of Dublin’s turbulent past. Once known as Davy’s, it became an unlikely stronghold during the 1916 Easter Rising. Rebels seized the building for its strategic position near the bridge, using it to fire on British troops attempting to advance from the nearby Portobello Barracks. Gunfire echoed over the canal, and blood was spilled on the cobblestones just outside the pub’s doors. 

The Ghost Haunting the Portobello Bar

At first glance, it looks like any classic Irish pub, warm and inviting with the clink of glasses and low hum of laughter spilling into the night. The Portobello has stood here since 1793, offering shelter and stout to locals and travelers alike. But with its long history, the pub has gathered more than just regular patrons. Some say it still plays host to a guest who never left.

But it is not only the ghosts of war that haunt The Portobello Bar. Locals tell of a restless soul tied to the lock just beside the pub. In the 19th century, it is said that the lock keeper caused the sinking of a horse drawn carriage passing through the canal, either through negligence or in a drunken rage. 

The Ghost of the Lock Keeper

Some say he could not live with the guilt or the shame of being fired from his job and took his own life near the water’s edge. Some even claim that it was no suicide at all, but that his death was under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. 

On still nights, when the music from the bar fades and the ripples on the canal settle, those walking the towpath have claimed to see him. A shadowed figure stands by the lock, silent and watching. His ghost is said to not have the most gentle energy, some even call him rather vengeful. Some even claim to have felt confused and dizzy, almost falling into the cold canal. 

Inside the pub, glasses sometimes clink without cause, doors creak open on their own, and staff report a sudden chill sweeping through the air even when the fire burns high. Patrons have caught their reflection in the window, only to see another figure standing just behind them, vanishing when they turn around.

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Portobello Bar

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The Soiled Dove Haunting the Red Onion Saloon in Skagway

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A former prostitute by the name Lydia is said to haunt her brothel, The Red Onion Saloon in Skagway, Alaska. The bar, still catering to its heyday as a pleasure house, intends to keep her memory alive. 

Walking past the corner of 2nd and Broadway in Skagway, Alaska, the Red Onion Saloon stands as a relic of the Klondike Gold Rush after they found gold in Yukon. Over the bar is an oil painting of madams over the bar, a nod to the “doll system” that used to be in place to show off the goodtime girl that used to work there when it was a brothel.

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Still today the waitresses serve pizza, nachos and drinks under an extensive display of bedpans to the many cruise tourists coming to town. The waitresses of course do it in their corset and petticoats, not forgetting the start and the history behind the boozy establishment said to be haunted. 

Red Onion Saloon: The name has been given to many saloons for miners during the Gold Rush, but in this part of Alaska, none was bigger than this one. A popular myth about this bar is that it is haunted by one of the prostitutes that used to work there. Source: Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski

Brothels in the Gold Rush

Established in 1898, this saloon was once a bustling brothel catering to weary miners. Over 100 000 people tried to find gold, few ever did. It was said to have been one of the finest Bordellos in town! What set it apart was its unique system involving dolls: ten dolls representing the working women, also known as ‘Soiled Doves’, were displayed on the bar. When a client selected a lady, her corresponding doll was laid flat, signaling her unavailability. Once her client left, the doll was returned to an upright position, indicating she was ready for the next.

The price was $5 for 15 minutes. Girls made $1.25, the bouncer made $1.25, and the madam made $2.50.

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Fast-forward to today, the Red Onion Saloon has transitioned into a vibrant bar and restaurant, yet it maintains its historical essence as a woman owned business. 

Keeping the style: Even though the time of the Gold Rush and the brothels is a time passed, the place still pays homage to it. Notice the bedpans decoration by the windows. Source: Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

The upper floor, preserved as a museum, offers visitors a glimpse into the brothel’s past, complete with original furnishings and artifacts and where you can learn about the characters like Soapy Smith, Skookum Jim, and Klondike Kate. However, it’s not just the artifacts that linger—ghostly tales abound, most notably those of Lydia, a former madam of the establishment.

The Haunting of the Red Onion Saloon

Lydia’s spectral presence is a common theme among guests and staff alike and has even been made into a ghost tour. Reports of cold spots, unexplained footsteps, and the distinct aroma of floral perfume wafting through the halls add to the saloon’s eerie ambiance. As restoration has preserved much of the furniture, dresses, fans and decorations, there is definitely a vibe of history lingering as well as a ghostly one. When they removed the floorboards they found many of the women’s prized possessions tucked away, forgotten for so many years. Could this be something that keeps them here?

The Upstairs Rooms: On the second stair, the prostitutes worked from tiny rooms. Small dolls downstairs showed customers who were available. It is on the upper floors that most haunted reports come from. Source: Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

But who was she? Although much talked about, not much is really known about her, not even if Lydia is really her name as it is a name passed down from the employees. Who was she? A madam who worked her way up in the establishment? Who just stayed for a while or who died while working at the brothel?

It is said she first made an appearance to an employee with a marked face, much like what untreated syphilis can give you, although this is more speculation. There are also stories about her taking her own life when she found out about her untreatable disease. 

Lydia the Ghost: Many establishment have tragic ghost stories of women who worked as prostitutes still lingering as ghosts. It was a rough life and many didn’t make it to an old age. Could this be the case with Lydia who is said to haunt the Red Onion Saloon? Source: Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

Some have even claimed to see her apparition, elegantly dressed, gliding through the corridors. She is said to be haunting the upstairs and wearing a black dress, smelling of perfume, sometimes helping with watering the plants. 

It is said that the police have been called on her, thinking it was someone breaking in when they heard something going on upstairs. The police went to check and saw something running down the hall and into a room said to have been hers. When they further investigated, they found nothing. 

Did this happen? It is worth noting that there hasn’t been an actual police rapport about this call out and the details are vague. 

Other Ghosts of the Saloon

Over the years, Lydia is not the only ghost visitor and staff talks about. Some say that next to the caring energy Lydia gives off is the dark and malevolent ghost known as John. He is believed to be a former bouncer who was stabbed to death by one of the prostitutes he was harassing. 

Ghost tours: Enjoying visitors from the many cruise tourists, Skagway can also offer a haunted history as a side with a beer. Source: Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

Nothing like this has ever been proven though, but the stories of the Saloon seem to be growing. Ghost tours of the saloon often leave visitors with chilling stories, from flickering lights to objects moving on their own. 

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References:

Red Onion Saloon 

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Lydia’s Ghost at Red Onion Saloon | Into Horror History | J.A. Hernandez 

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The Ghosts of The Ancient Ram Inn: Exploring a Haunted History

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The Ancient Ram Inn in England is said to be one of the most haunted places in the country as well as a quaint little resting place for travellers dating back centuries. Located in Gloucestershire, it is said to house the restless spirits of both witches, demons, ghosts and ghouls all gathered under the same roof. 

The Ancient Ram Inn is a notoriously haunted building located in the small village of Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Dating back to 1145 to house the workers and slaves building the church nearby, this centuries old inn and former pub has been the focus of hauntings, poltergeists and strange occurrences throughout its mysterious history.

There are many stories told about why the place is so haunted, is it because it is built at the intersection of 2 Ley Lines? Because it is built on a Pagan burial ground? After all this time it is difficult to pinpoint to just one thing, but the haunted rumors and ghosts roaming inside of the walls keep piling up as the history of the building just keeps getting longer. 

The History of the Ancient Ram Inn

The Ancient Ram Inn has a long history that dates back to 1145, and it is believed that the building was originally constructed on the site of a pagan burial ground according to the legends. 

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During its 600 year lifespan, this inn has been home to several owners and been frequented by travelers, locals and untold numbers of supernatural beings. Once serving as a monastery and later as a pub, this building has seen much tragedy in its time.

Ancient Ram Inn: The old and historic building is said to house more than just travelling guests. People that have stayed there, visited when it was a pub as well as the owners claim that as many as 20 ghosts is haunting the building. //Source: Brian Robert Marshall / Ram Inn, Potters Pond, Wotton under Edge / CC BY-SA 2.0

Wotton-under-Edge, in Gloucestershire UK, is an ancient market town and one of the primary locations in which The Ancient Ram Inn still stands even after most of it is built anew. As part of the Cotswolds, Wotton-under-Edge has a long and storied history – having been mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086! 

Pagan Burial Ground and Ley Lines through the Ancient Ram Inn

Over the years many strange occurrences have occurred at The Ancient Ram Inn, stories of haunting and screaming in the night. Visitors have reported hearing children playing on the stairs while others have seen eerie shadows lurking in the corners. The room called the Men’s Kitchen is said to have been built on top of the pagan burial ground and the staircase is a place where people have claimed to have felt a push.

© Copyright Ray Bird

As with many haunted buildings in the UK, there are also talk about the Ancient Ram Inn being built on top of 2 ley lines, one of them coming directly from Stonehenge and the other from Glastonbury Tor. These types of lines are drawn between sites of spiritual importance like churches, burial grounds and the likes. Ley lines are thought by spiritualist to fuel paranormal sites like this one with some sort of energy.

The Owner Looking for Demonic Energy

One of the owners, John Humphries, who bought The Ancient Ram Inn in the late 1960s to save it from demolition after it closed down as a pub in 1968. Humphries was very interested in the haunted history of the Inn, or he certainly became a believer after staying there for many years. Already at the first day at his new home he claimed to have been thrown out from the bed by an unseen force.

This didn’t deter him from his mission though, and even when his wife and daughter left the place, he stayed on to preserve his life work.

He claimed to have found evidence that some were worshiping the Devil. He owned and lived in the building until his death in 2017 and many of the ghost stories comes from him when he run it as a guesthouse. Once he found the skeletal remains of children under the staircase he believed to have been stabbed with daggers and that they were actually ritual sacrifices. 

The current owner, his daughter Caroline Humphries says that the place is now a haunting ground for paranormal investigators and that there is as many as 20 ghosts lingering in the little inn. With such a lengthy history, it’s no surprise that this mysterious inn continues to be surrounded by ghostly tales.

The Witch’s Room

One popular legend about The Ancient Ram Inn is the story about the supposed witch that was burned at the stake in the 1500s. The witch panic had taken England  and she was fleeing from the mob that were after her to have her killed because of it.

Read more: Check out all of our stories concerning Witches

Many believe that it is the spirit of the woman that is haunting the place and people have claimed to have seen the ghost of a girl in the window, waving to the people passing by. According to the legend she was hiding in one of the rooms at the inn before getting caught and killed. Today the room is known as The Witch’s Room.

© Copyright Ray Bird

One detail about this legend though is that witches weren’t actually burned in England, they were hanged. So if there really was an alleged witch fleeing prosecution at the inn, her death would have been hanging, not burning. 

There is also said that there is a black cat haunting the room, said to be the spirit of a 500 year old mummified cat John Humphries found in the wall. It is said they put animals in the walls as a sort of good luck charm.

The Incubus and Succubus at the Ancient Ram Inn

Although with a long story as an inn or a guesthouse, it seems to be a problem with the rooms and how private it is. People seem to not have a great night sleep and complain about succubus and incubus in several of the rooms at the Inn.

The latin word of Incubus means a nightmare induced by a demon. This is a female and male demon often said to seducing people in their sleep, disturbing them. There are parallels of this type of demon found in every religion and culture across the world. Today we often explain this type of demon as night terrors, or simply a disturbing erotic dream.

Humphries is said to have shared his bedroom at The Ancient Ram Inn with this type of demon until his death. This bedroom was called the Bishop’s Room and said to be one of the most haunted places in the inn.

The Incubus: In Mesopotamian history, dating back to 2400 BC, demons with incubus-like qualities were mentioned, such as Lilu, who disturbed and seduced women in their sleep. In Western Christian literature, Incubi were believed to engage in sexual relations with women to father children, as seen in the legend of Merlin, making it one of the earliest examples of demonic parentage. The Incubus is said to have been inspired by the feeling of sleep paralysis. Some authors speculate that rapists may have attributed the rapes of sleeping men and women to demons to escape punishment. // Source: The dream of Countess Marguerite of Flanders. Illustration after the ballet pantomime “Riccardo Cuor di Leone” by Salvatore Viganò.

The Bishop’s Inn

The room where most guests complained about in The Ancient Ram Inn something paranormal happening in there was in a room on the first floor called The Bishop’s Inn where as many as 9 ghosts are said to reside in. Even a roman centurion has been spotted riding his horse through the walls by some plumbers doing their work.

According to one story there once was a medium investigating the place and opened up the door. The medium was lifted off the floor and flung across the hallway, giving only bad energy from inside. 

It is said that a ghost of a monk or in some versions, two, is haunting the place and that the ghost has scared more than one guest that fled in the night after being woken up.

By the door there have been more than one guests claiming to have seen a man that look like a shepherd with a dog. There have also been heard screams from a man that was murdered by someone casting his head into the fire. 

Ghost Stories: The owners of the Inn has never shied away from the haunted rumours of the building. Here from the inside of the Ancient Ram Inn. There are several newspaper cuttings to be seen, mostly focusing on the various ghosts that reportedly inhabit the place. The owner was, it has been stated, yanked out of bed on his first night in residence by one of the incumbents wishing to make his or her presence known.//Source: Brian Robert Marshall / Ram Inn interior, Potter’s Pond, Wotton under Edge / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Innkeeper’s Daughter in the Attic

If you make your way up to the attic of The Ancient Ram Inn, it is said the room is filled with an intense feeling of sadness lingering in the old room that has become so unstable you can almost not walk all the way to the back because of the dangerous floor. 

In the early 1500s, the innkeeper had a daughter working there with him at the inn. One night, she was lured up to the attic where she was killed. People that have been directly under the room have said to have heard the sound of something heavy being dragged over the floor. 

There is also said to be a murdered woman named Elizabeth that were buried underneath the bar. She is often seen wandering the house together with all of her fellow spirits of the house.

The Ancient Ram Today

Today as the many years the Ancient Ram Inn has been operating, the Inn will house its ghosts for many years to come as well. After her father died, Caroline Humphries picked up her father’s legacy and continue to keep the old building standing and taking care of its spirits.

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Ancient Ram Inn – Wikipedia 

Ancient Ram Inn Ghost Hunts, Wotton under Edge, Gloucestershire | Haunted Rooms®

The Ancient Ram Inn – Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire.

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The History and Hauntings of Jamaica Inn

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In the outskirts of the moors in Cornwall with a dark history of smugglers and gothic romances. The Jamaica Inn is a perfect setting for a british ghost story, and according to the legends, it has many. 

“Dead men tell no tales, Mary.”
― Daphne duMaurier, Jamaica Inn

Located in the rugged landscape of Cornwall, England, Jamaica Inn is said to be one of the most haunted places in Britain. Its walls are steeped with stories of ghosts, dust and deep secrets of smugglers and stolen goods and murdered guests – it’s a place that has enticed many looking for paranormal activity. 

The Jamaica inn is said to be haunted by small children being mischievous, old smugglers lurking in the corners, blacksmiths that burned to death but are still handsy with the female guests and mysterious Victorian women in the dark shadows. So let’s put on our tricorn hat and bring our smuggled rum for a stay at the haunted Jamaica Inn. 

History of Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn was built in 1750 as a coaching inn and has a long history of being a hideout for smugglers during the 19th century. It was originally known as The Jamaica Arms, but underwent many changes over time, including the addition of drunkards’ dens and clandestine accommodation for smugglers. 

Over the years, it has served several purposes, most notably a coaching inn for local travelers. But what really sets it apart is its mysterious stories of hauntings by spirits that lurk in its passageways and hidden doorways.

Jamaica Inn lies upon the ancient Bodmin Moor – a wild and untamed landscape which has held a certain allure for centuries. The moor is full of legends, myths, and stories from both ancient Britain and more recent times. It was once home to people living in remote settlements and Iron Age Hillforts, as well as a hideout for smugglers and pirates. 

Jamaica Inn The Novel

Jamaica Inn is perhaps best known for its namesake novel, written by Daphne du Maurier in 1936. She was inspired by the real Inn when she was staying there in 1930. It is also a song by Tori Amos which she wrote when she was driving along the cliffs in Cornwall and was inspired by all the legends she had heard of at the inn.  

The book is a classic example of gothic romance, and tells the story of a young woman called Mary Yellen, who moves to the Cornish inn and becomes involved in the murderous activities of its inhabitants. 

While some argue that Jamaica Inn is purely a work of fiction, many locals have cited uncanny similarities between their own experiences at the inn, and Daphne’s descriptions of unexplained events and hauntings in her novel.

The Ghosts of Jamaica Inn

Many believe that Jamaica Inn still remains haunted, with multiple unexplained occurrences taking place in the inn over the years. There have been countless investigations, even TV shows about the Inn. Especially an episode of the TV show Most Haunted in 2004 sparked a new interest in the old inn. 

Most of the ghosts and paranormal things that have been spotted have been at The Smugglers Bar, The Stable Bar, which now is a museum, in the old bedrooms upstairs as well as in the restaurant and gift shop area. 

Some claim to have seen faceless figures wandering through the corridors, while others have heard strange noises coming from empty rooms. Staff and visitors have many times heard conversations in a completely different language than English, some speculating that it could be old Cornish, meaning that these spirits can be really old as the language became extinct for a long time at the end of 18th century. 

Ghost Hunting at the Jamaica Inn

Now the Jamaica Inn has opened up for its own weekends and late nights for ghost hunting at the inn. Perhaps you as well can experience seeing the highwayman in the traditional three cornered hat often seen passing through the doors before vanishing into thin air. Or perhaps the young mother in distress with her crying baby that also has been seen. 

One thing the ghost hunters got on tape was a strange thing that happened on a Sunday on October 23rd in 2017, when the CCTV camera picked up something strange when the wall phone hanging by the bar looked like it was lifted before dropping to the floor. The staff member April was startled, and had earlier heard the bar door open without anyone entering. Nobody alive at least. 

Have a look at the footage and see for yourself. What do you think?

The Mother with her Crying Baby

As mentioned, one of many possible ghosts at the inn is the many reports about people having heard a baby crying at the inn. This has apparently mostly been close to room 3 and 7, and the baby has been heard even if it has been confirmed that no baby has been staying at the inn at the time. 

Most often this ghost is linked to the tragic story of Mary Downing. She was young and single, but had an illegitimate son. In 1934 she sued the landlord at the time, Thomas Dunn to make him recognise their son. Thomas Dunn was a married man, but the son ended up being christened Thomas Downing Dunn at Altarnun Church. 

Hannah the Child Ghost

The baby crying is not the only child haunting the inn if we are to believe the rumors. There is the ghost of a small girl that has been dubbed Hanna that is said to roam the inn barefoot. One guest that stayed in room 5 once woke up and saw her wet footprints in the carpet that led to the wardrobe where there used to be a bathroom. 

People have heard her running around their bedrooms at night and even claim that their feet have been touched in their sleep as they see her transparent figure by the side of their bed. There is a story about a service man that was so frightened that he fled his room and spent the rest of the night in his car. 

In the later years there seems to be a bigger interest for the ghost of Hannah and people have started to write her letters and send her toys. And even these toys are said to sometimes move on their own. 

The Murdered Stranger

Perhaps the most talked about ghost is the stranger that ended up murdered in the moors by the inn. His apparition around 1911 were especially noticeable as many reported about seeing someone who shouldn’t be there on the walls by the inn. 

The inn has become shrouded in myths and legends over the centuries, with tales of apparitions seen near hidden staircases and secret rooms, eerie noises coming from the old stables even though no horses were ever kept there, ghostly figures roaming the grounds at night, and strange sightings in each of its many otherworldly locations. 

One of the tales is the ghost of the murdered stranger that passed through the inn. Once a man was in the bar having an ale before someone called him to come outside. The stranger didn’t even finish his drink, but went into the night and was never seen again. 

The next morning they found his dead body in the moors, but how he died and murderer was never found. 

There have been reports of a stranger by the wall outside the Inn that neither moved or responded when people greeted him. Sometimes when the bar is closed and the inn is empty, there have been footsteps heard towards the bar, but no one reaching it, and some have speculated that it is the man returning to finish his ale.

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References:

Jamaica Inn (novel) – Wikipedia 

Jamaica Inn – Wikipedia 

Ghost Hunting Tours in Cornwall | Haunted Hotels | Jamaica Inn 

Top Ten Most Haunted Places to Visit in Cornwall 

10 biggest scares at Cornwall’s most haunted Jamaica Inn 

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The Ghost in Húrra Pub

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In one of the more popular bars in Reykjavík called Húrra, there is a legend about a ghost that is haunting the pub. It is often believed it is the ghost of a young man that was lost at sea. 

One of the most haunted places in Iceland is a pub in Reykjavík called Húrra. It is a very popular bar and concert venue with live music and if we are to believe the local legends, it is a haunted pub as well. 

It is not the only supposed haunted pub in Reykjavik, that has a population around 130 000 people and perhaps even more ghosts. It is believed to be one of the first permanent settlements from the late 800s, and has a long viking and coastal history. 

The place where Húrra Pub is built is where the city of Reykjavík’s former shoreline hit and if you go down to the basement of the building you can still see some of the city’s original foundation wall from old times. 

The staff that works there claims to have spotted strange shadows on the walls, heard noises after closing time when no one was supposed to be there and felt like they had someone following them, although they were completely alone in the pub. They also tell about a wave of being nauseous in the staircase. 

Who can this ghost be? According to some, it is often believed to be a young man who was lost at sea. 

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