Is This The Most Haunted Inn In England?

The market town of Wotton-Under-Edge sits in the South of the Cotswolds In Gloucestershire and is home for what is allegedly known as the most haunted pub in the UK – The Ancient Ram Inn.

Nobody knows how it became known as this, although I suspect it has something to do with the owner marketing it as such during the 60s and 70s. It is still known today for being a site of extensive paranormal activity and is currently used purely as a paranormal venue, where visitors can partake in a ghost hunt or two.

But let’s go back to the beginning.

A Pagan Burial Ground, Slaves and Stonemasons.

Researching the Ancient Ram Inn sees many stories about the building itself. And with it dating back hundreds of years, there are bound to be many tales told about the building.

Many people believe that the building sits on top of an ancient Pagan burial ground, and at the intersection of two major ley lines, which is why there is such a massive concentration of paranormal activity at the Inn. While it does exist near ley lines, which are thought to have an effect on the energy of an area, going way way way waaaaaay back through land registries and documents, there is no confirmed evidence that there was ever any kind of burial ground where the Inn is situated.

Some of the earliest records of a building on the site mention it housing slaves in the 1100s who were there to help build St Mary’s Parish Church nearby, and when it was completed the Inn housed the local Vicar. The present Inn, however, only dates back to the 1400s, so proves this to be nothing more than legend. There are also no records of expensive stonemasons living in the Inn at any point in time.

The Inn was known as a residential building when it was constructed and was allegedly lived in by a family of merchants who dealt in fabric and wool, who would have used the building for trade as well as their living quarters.

So there is no written proof of slaves or stonemasons living on the property, which could again be lore passed down through the ages along with the Pagan burial ground information.

The Ancient Ram Inn Is Born

It was in the late 1800s that the building became an Inn, passing time in the hands of various breweries and selling ale to both locals and people travelling through the area. Most noticeably it was known to host shepherds and highwaymen, some of whom have never left.

The Inn was bought by John Humphries in 1968 who intended to restore the Grade II listed building and run it as a bed and breakfast. He was totally committed to the Inn and poured his heart and soul into the building, preventing it from collapsing into ruin. The Inn didn’t last as a bed and breakfast for very long, however, as guests complained of strange goings on in the night, meaning that they were afraid to go to sleep. Word got around and soon the only people who dared spend the night were those in search of the paranormal.

Thus, the moniker of the oldest haunted inn in the country was given to the Ancient Ram.

It has hosted many paranormal television programs over the years, with producers from around the world wanting to film in the building. You can search for programs on YouTube by just popping the name in, and have a good old binge on the hundreds and videos that come up. I think, personally, you can only really trust whether something is genuine or not by experiencing it first hand, which I’ll drop you a link to at the end of this article. Watching a video of someone mentioning they heard something or felt something is not proof of the paranormal, as far as I’m concerned.

Babies Crying, A Witch, And Endless Unseen Hands

There are so many ghosts and entities linked to the Ancient Ram Inn, it’s difficult to not miss one or two, but I will try and list them all.

From walking into the Inn, the first thing that people notice is that the Inn is dark and foreboding with a really heavy feeling in the air. Some have even described it as evil. It is a really old building though, so it’s bound to feel dark and foreboding, especially when there’s no heating and the walls are 2 feet thick. The windows are also extremely small so there is little light coming in from outside, and the furniture and paintings housed in the Inn are all old and musty. It’s the perfect example of a haunted house.

When John Humphries was renovating the Inn he found a mummified cat in the chimney of what is now known as The Witch’s Room, and a grave full of children’s skeletons under one of the floors in the basement. So it is no surprise that the ghost of a black cat has allegedly been seen wandering around the halls, as well as the sounds of babies and children crying through the night.

There is the spirit of a young woman who was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake who is alleged to reside in the pub and gets upset if you mention the word ‘witch’.

People walking up the steep stairs to the first floor are said to have been pushed by unseen hands, so hard that they lose their footing.

A young maid named Elizabeth haunts the kitchen area, reputedly murdered by two highwaymen. There is also the ghost of a young girl who is said to wave from one of the upstairs windows to anyone who sees her.

A former innkeeper was allegedly murdered in the Ancient Ram Inn by having his head thrust into the fire in one of the fireplaces, and his screams are said to still shatter the silence on a regular basis.

Upstairs, John Humphries reported that he would regularly be dragged out of bed by unseen hands, whilst he heard knocking on the windows. His family refused to sleep at the Inn and moved out, leaving him alone in the building. He placed a crucifix on the wall in his bedroom and it managed to stop the hands dragging him out of bed. The knocking on the windows continued.

There are also reports of an Incubus and Succubus haunting the Inn, who like to interfere with the guests.

In The Bishop’s Room on the first floor, there are reports of sinister monks (there’s always a monk) looming over the bed, as well as ghosts of a bishop and a nun who visit the room. There is a small dog that trots around, giving sightings a peaceful vibe until the lady appears hanging upside down from the ceiling and the screaming starts. I think the sighting of a Roman Centurion riding through the room is possibly a myth, given that there would be absolutely no feasible reason for this happening if the paranormal is real.

Up in the attics, there are rumours of a maid having been murdered up there, so people in the bedrooms below can hear something heavy being dragged across the attic floors, like someone moving a body.

More ghosts are said to haunt the barns and outbuildings of the Inn, with the scariest of them supposed to be a man over 7 feet tall who behaves violently to everyone except for a certain type of woman.

Ghost Hunts

The Ancient Ram Inn is now run by John’s daughter, Caroline, who continues to run the Inn as a paranormal venue, with regular ghost hunts and overnight stays for those who dare. You can even try and talk to the dead in residence on the kitchen table ouija board.

You can visit their website here: https://ancientraminn.co.uk/

On their site you can book one of their regular ghost hunts which go from 9pm until 3am and cost £65 per person.

People who have visited for the night have had varying experiences – from nothing at all, to having someone rush at them in the Bishop’s Room, seen a black shadow while table tipping in the barn, to seeing a full blown apparition of a woman sat in the Witch’s Room.

Personally, I experienced nothing at all. It was a bit chilly but then it’s an old building with thick walls and no sun getting through to warm it. I visited a while back, before I started writing Sceptic, and I was more interested in watching everybody else frightening themselves than concentrating on anything going on. I don’t think there was a single thing that happened while I was there. But this is how it works, according to other visitors. Sometimes it’s endless, and sometimes there’s nothing at all.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit. It’s a beautiful example of the architecture of the time – especially the barn – and let’s face it, who doesn’t love a haunted house?

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