Haunted London Pubs

As we approach the witching hour it is timely to revisit the stories of ghostly goings on in licensed premises.

Earlier in the summer, I wrote a post on the curiosity that is the number of supposedly haunted pubs around the country. A few days later I received a copy of a new book on Haunted London Pubs published by The History Press.

The book brings me no closer to understanding why so many pubs seem to have a ghostly presence and I remain firmly of the opinion that it is all made up to drum up trade over the years. However, this book does focus on London and covers in some detail almost a hundred of our pubs and their spooky past.

The ghostly connection is covered for each pub from the old favourites such as the guardsman at The Grenadier in Belgravia and highwaymen at the Spaniards Inn, Hampstead to less well known visiting spectres at the Roebuck, Richmond Hill and The Market Porter in Borough.

All-in-all a rattling if slightly un-nerving read and an addition to my knowledge of London's fine pubs.

It is always good to find a book on pubs that is written from a historian's perspective rather than the usual beer and pub experts. A slightly different view to our favourite hobby is always welcome.

The book is well illustrated with black and white photos and although (as seems common these days) the cover price of £9.99 seems a bit steep for such a thin volume, the book is available at Amazon for a more reasonable £6.49.