Twilight Shadows (North) Paranormal

Spooky happenings at the historic George Inn at Norton St Philip, near Bath, are expected tonight when paranormal investigators descend on the 700-year-old pub.

 

One of the oldest pubs in the country, past visitors have included Samuel Pepys and the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth Rebellion in the 17th century when 12 men were hanged at the nearby crossroads by the infamous Judge Jeffries – so plenty of opportunities for hauntings there, one might think.

 

The ghost of a young boy has been seen in one of the guest rooms, items are mysteriously moved about in the bar area, and guests sometimes report being woken up in the early hours by extreme cold and a strange, invisible presence.

Manager Mark Jenkinson said: "The other day when I took empty nine-gallon barrels to the beer cellar, I put them top-side up, and later they'd been turned upside down, and I'm the only one with the key."

 

Mark, who has been at the George for 18 months, is no stranger to haunted pubs, having encountered spooks at previous hostelries in Devizes, Somerset, and Iddlesleigh, Devon. "I believe in ghosts," he added. "It will be interesting to see what the team make of it.

 

It's the Wiltshire-based Phoenix of Wessex paranormal research team who will be spending the night there, and they'll be carrying out various experiments in a bid to detect otherworldly activity. The team was formed recently by the merger of the Twilight Shadows, Wessex Paranormal and Phoenix Paranormal groups who worked together last year.