Pub landlady to call in an exorcist to get rid of a ghost that tops up drinks

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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A spooked landlady of a Hampshire pub is to call in an exorcist to get rid of a spectre that tops up customers' drinks.

The ghost (or should that be spirit?), which haunts the Apsley House in Southsea near the naval city of Portsmouth, apparently tops up people's drinks when they nip to the loo or turn their backs for a second.

The pub regulars have called the ghost Reedy, after the late British actor Oliver Reed, who liked a drink or a two.

Landlady to banish generous ghost


A Hampshire pub landlady plans to call in an exorcist to get rid of a ghost that keeps topping up drinkers' glasses.



Janice McCormack, of the Apsley House in Southsea, says the spectre is costing her a fortune as he gives away her beer.

Ms McCormack, 60, said: "It happens when customers pop to the loo or put their pint down for a second. When they look back there's an extra inch of beer. It must come from my pumps."

Regulars have nicknamed the phantom barman Reedy - after actor and legendary boozer Oliver Reed.

Ms McCormack, who runs the pub with husband Patrick, said the ghost started its antics nine months ago.

She said: "My regulars love it but it is costing me. People are drinking less as their pints are being filled up all the time. My stocktaking figures are all out.

"We get more customers through the door but it seems to be people expecting a cheap, never-ending pint."

She now plans to hold a seance to ask the poltergeist to quit - and if that fails she will seek an exorcist to get him out.

BRITAIN - THE WORLD'S MOST HAUNTED COUNTRY

Supernatural experts Raw Fear have created a list of the ten most haunted places on the planet. More than half of them were in Britain. They also found that Britain has over THREE times the instances of supernatural hotspots than anywhere else in the world.

Regular John Sanders, 27, said: "I will certainly miss old Reedy because he keeps me topped up.

"If you drink in the Apsley you were always guaranteed a hangover - and would always have money left in your pocket for a kebab on the way home."
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Britain is believed by many to be the most haunted country in the world (some people even believe that one in five people you pass on the streets of London are actually ghosts, and the village of Pluckley in Kent has at least 16 ghosts). The south coast county of Hampshire is probably one of the most haunted areas of Britain. Here are some of its many ghosts and ghouls:




The Eclipse Inn, Winchester: Probably Winchester's most famous haunted Inn. Dame Alice Lisle spent her last night in this pub in 1685 after being condemned by Hanging Judge Jeffreys. She had been found guilty of harbouring fugitive cavaliers. She stepped from an upstairs window onto the scaffold structure which had been erected against the pub frontage. She was 71 years of age when she was beheaded. She had originally been condemned to be burnt at the stake but after the Winchester clergy pleaded with the Judge he kindly commuted the sentence to death by hanging.



Bloodthirsty: The infamous "Hanging Judge" Jeffreys presided over the 1685 "Bloody Assizes" in which 200 followers of the Duke of Monmouth were brutally hanged following Monmouth's Rebellion


Montagu Arms, Beaulieu: The Montagu Arms is in one of the most beautiful parts of Britain: The New Forest. It also has the added advantage of being close to the coast. The village of Beaulieu is close to the stately home of the Montagu family, an area well known for its hauntings. Many apparitions, including monks, have been seen walking in the area. There have been unaccounted aromas of incense, unexplained lights and other phenomena. One of the ghosts is believed to be that of Isabella, Countess of Beaulieu, who died in 1786. The ghosts even attracted the attention of Spiritualist and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He believed he contacted one of the spirits through a seance. The Montagu Arms is itself believed to be haunted and reports of various phenomena have been received even in recent times.

Bramshill House: Haunted by the unfortunate Anne. On Christmas Eve 1727, Anne, eldest daughter of Sir John Cope, married Hugh Bethell of Yorkshire. After the wedding breakfast, the bride wanted to play hide-and-seek. The bride hid and the other guests tried to find her. But they never did find her - she had seemingly vanished into thin air. It was only years later that servants open a chest (the lock of which could only be opened from the outside) in a disused part of the house and find Anne's body - still clutching a sprig of Christmas mistletoe. Bramshill House is now a police training college, and her spirit is regularly seen there.

Angel Inn, Lymington: Haunted by no fewer than six poltergeists and is one of many Inns that claims to be one of Britain's most haunted pubs.

Netley Hospital, Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley: Grey Lady seen by countless frightened walkers. Said to be the ghost of a young nurse who committed suicide after accidentally killing a patient.

Dolphin Hotel, High Street, Southampton: A cleaner called Molly has been seen gliding across the ground floor.

The Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton: The spectral figure of an old man sits in a wicker chair backstage.

Red Lion, High Street, Southampton. A ghostly procession has been witnessed leaving the pub for the Bargate.

Ananova - Landlady to banish generous ghost
www.strangebritain.co.uk
 
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AnnaG

Hall of Fame Member
Jul 5, 2009
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lmao
Perhaps there's something in the beverage besides hops, yeast, etc. ;) Maybe it's the water?