By John Scheerhout
The 19 second clip shows a strange light flickering in a first floor window of Bolton’s 763-year-old Ye Olde Man and Scythe
This video footage is believed to show the moment a ghost reveals itself in the window of Britain’s ‘most haunted’ pub.
The 19 second clip shows a strange light flickering in a first floor window of Bolton’s 763-year-old Ye Olde Man and Scythe.
The footage was taken by a tourist who – speaking in Portuguese – describes the old Churchgate boozer as ‘one of the oldest’ in England, adding: “And the most haunted.”
Just after he refers to a famous CCTV clip – which became an internet hit after it was first published it in February – something strange can be seen in the first floor window.
As the man talks about the ‘crazy cider’ for which the pub is known, a flickering light appears in the window.
Pub manager Tony Dooley says the clip is further proof the pub is haunted.
Tony, 36, said: “I’m not too happy about it. That’s my flat behind the window. My attitude before I became the manager nine months ago was not to believe in ghosts. I’m convinced now.”
Only a few weeks ago he said he was woken by what he thought what his partner’s pet dog Kallie licking his feet only to discover the animal was fast asleep.
“My feet were clammy and wet, like sweaty palms only worse. I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower with the dog in the room making sure nothing else happened. It was creepy. My attitude is as long the ghost doesn’t harm me then that’s fine,” said Tony.
The first ‘ghost’ video emerged after spooked Tony had checked CCTV cameras and discovered a strange, luminous figure flickering into view in the bar.
The pub’s owner Richard Greenwood said he is now trying to get in touch with the person who shot the latest video.
Asked whether it was a stunt, he said: “I wish I’d have thought of it if that’s the case.”
He insisted the pub is haunted, adding: “This gives the original video more credibility, I suppose.”
Factfile on Britain’s ‘most haunted’ pub
The pub, which dates from 1251, is the fourth-oldest pub in Britain and is reputedly haunted by the Seventh Earl of Derby, James Stanley.
The royalist, whose family originally owned the inn, is said to have spent the last hours of his life there before he was beheaded in 1651 towards the end of the Civil War.
The chair he sat in before he was taken outside and executed is still in the pub today – and some say so is he.
Hundreds of soldiers and civilians were also killed outside the pub in the Bolton Massacre of 1644.
With such a bloody history, it has long been considered a hotspot for paranormal activity and a psychic evening held there in 2006 reportedly found it to be haunted by at least 25 spirits.
Among them is said to be a woman who hung herself in the cellar several centuries ago as well as an eight-year-old girl and a phantom dog.
