It is spooky season and Halloween is just three weeks away, so what better way to celebrate than by visiting pubs which have ghost tales behind them?
Newcastle and the North East is not short of eerie drinking spots, with tales of a poltergeist who haunts the toilets or an ale house occupied by the spirit of a giggling Irish prostitute.
Here are seven pubs in Newcastle and the wider North East where you might get a supernatural encounter with your pint.
1. Swarley’s, Groat Market, Newcastle
Located in Newcastle city centre, Swarley’s is one of the oldest pubs in Newcastle and has experienced unusual happenings in the past. The historic pub is said to have a resident ghost who haunts the building’s second floor, and staff members have reported seeing a dark figure and feeling as though they are being watched. In one incident, a male member of staff was once changing a light bulb when a woman’s voice screamed, “Get out, get out”. Photo: Google Maps
2. Old George Inn, Old George Yard, Newcastle
Dating back to the 16th century, The Old George pub, located on Old George Yard, just off the Cloth Market, is Newcastle’s oldest drinking spot. The pub was frequented by King Charles I in 1646 while he was being held captive by the Scots on Pilgrim Street. They allowed him to play golf on the Shieldfield and on the way back, he would stop off at the Inn for a drink. The chair he is alleged to have sat in is still a feature of the pub inside the ‘Charles I Room’. Visitors have reported the outline of a ghostly figure sitting in the chair. There are also reports of a phantom man and his dog seen at the bar, and staff have heard footsteps while closing up. Photo: Google Maps
3. The Cooperage, Close, Newcastle (or the alleyway beside the pub)
The derelict Cooperage pub, which closed in 2009, is not haunted, but the alleyway next to the pub is. The ghost of Henry Hardwick is said to live on the Long Stairs by the Newcastle Quayside. Henry was supposedly trying to escape a gang when they caught him and beat him up in the alleyway next to the former Cooperage Pub, even tearing out his eyeballs. Witnesses say they have seen an Edwardian-dressed ghost down the alley with nothing but black eye sockets. Photo: Google Maps
4. The Wheatsheaf, St Nicholas Road, West Boldon
The Wheatsheaf in West Boldon has previously been the subject of paranormal investigations and was voted the most haunted pub in the UK in 2004. The pub was featured in a TV programme on the Discovery Channel in the 2000s, which saw psychic Suzanne Hadwin claim the building was haunted by a six-year-old girl called Jessica Ann Hargreaves, who was murdered there in 1908 by Joseph Lawrence. It is alleged that Joseph, who is believed to be the former landlord or a barman, brutally killed eight other children within the walls of the pub. Photo: Google Maps