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

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.

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. — **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.

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.

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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.

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 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.

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.