15th century Yorkshire pub revealed as one of UK’s most haunted

The Black Swan in York is the city’s oldest pub and home to a number of supernatural sightings.

And now the 600-year-old pub has been named as one of the UK’s most haunted watering holes.

It has been home to sheriffs, politicians and Lord Mayors, and some say there is even a secret passageway beneath the pub linking it to St Cuthbert’s Church.

Highwayman Jack is perhaps the most infamous of the resident spirits. Local legend says he can be heard singing along to Irish folk songs in the corner of the bar late at night.

Publican, Maggie Anderton, has had a number of ghostly encounters over the last ten years.

“I’ve seen Jack plenty of times, usually in the kitchen as that is where the old stables used to be. I’m used to him now, having been here for ten years, but some of my new starters get scared. We had a medium come in and he told us that Jack was a highwayman, wearing a pair of distinctive riding boots and a long black cloak”

Alongside Jack there are tales of a gentleman wearing a bowler hat who impatiently taps his fingers on the bar while waiting for someone, a beautiful young woman in a long white dress - thought to be a jilted bride - who stands at the bar in the backroom gazing into the fireplace. There are also reports of a young pick pocket dressed in Victorian clothing who is affectionately known as Matthew and is often blamed for the disappearance of various items behind the bar.

There are stories of a ghost cat that wanders around the pub (not to be confused with the pubs’ resident cat, Salem), a cursed chair that customers avoid sitting in and ghostly legs that can be seen walking up the stairs to the living quarters.

Maggie added: “We always wondered why people had seen the legs of the ghost on their own and not attached to a body. Then, a couple of years ago two elderly ladies came in to visit and told the barman that they used to live here when they were children. They were just having a normal chat, no mention of ghosts at all, but they said that their father had been the landlord and they’d enjoyed living at the pub until sadly he became really ill and had to have both his legs amputated!”

Another spooky story from the pub is that of a clay pipe that was found during restoration work. According to the tale, it caused quite a stir when it was almost thrown away by workmen but as soon as it left the pub they all experienced a frightening chill, so they quickly retrieved it and it has been mounted on the wall in the pub ever since.

Maggie said: “York has always been famous for being haunted and the Black Swan has plenty of stories for people to hear. We have regular ghost walks that visit us and are extremely popular because of the amount of haunted tales associated with the pub. We’re always extremely busy around Halloween as customers hope to catch a glimpse of one of the ghosts, we’ve even had guests who stayed overnight in the hope of seeing one.”

The research was carried out by Ei Publican Partnerships.

Nick Light, managing director at Ei Publican Partnerships, said: “We’re extremely lucky to have a number of historic buildings that are home to some very haunting stories and The Black Swan has more than most.

"Many staff and customers have encountered strange goings-on and we’re expecting Halloween to be a particularly spooky evening.”