This was it, the building they were investigating. Why this building? Well, it was rumoured to be the most haunted building in America, it had been featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures, where they had experienced lots of phenomena. Now it was their turn…
“Are you ready?” she asked her fellow ghost hunter, “It’s giving me the chills just looking at this place.” “Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied, trying not to show the fear he felt, in his voice, “Come on, let’s go for it.”
“Wait a minute, I haven’t set my camera up,” he said, “Well, do hurry,” she replied, feeling sure that he was playing for time, “We need to get in before dark.” “Okay, all set,” he answered, placing the camera on his shoulder, “You go first.”
She tentatively opened the door and the hinges let out a huge squeal as if in indignation at being opened, she gazed into the gloominess and heard a door bang in one of the corridors, she screamed and turn around, running out into the daylight, swiftly followed by her fellow ghost hunter.
They reached the safety of the grounds and looked at each other, “Well, we got further than the last time,” she said, “We even managed to open the door this time.”
Before the construction of the building, the site was a Pagan burial ground which lies on Ley Lines. It was constructed in 1145 and was a home for slaves, masons and other workers who were building St. Mary’s Church nearby. After these workers moved out, the house became a home to a priest and it was also an inn and public house before eventually being owned by John Humphries until his death in December 2017 and now it is owned by his daughter, Caroline, who allows the house to be visited by archaeologists and paranormal tourists who can stay overnight, if they are brave enough!
Who Haunts This House?
The most active spirit is the resident witch who was burned at the stake after trying to find sanctuary at the inn. Her hiding place has now been called, “The Witch’s Room” where her ghost is said to appear at the window.
Another spirit is the innkeeper’s daughter who was hung in the attic, as well as children who were murdered as part of sadistic rituals.
Another hot spot for sightings of spirits is “The Bishop’s Room,” which was where bishops would stay, their spirits making a regular appearance in this room, including other dark spirits. Strangely, this was the room that John Humphries chose as his bedroom! He has recounted a number of events when he was personally violated by these spirits whilst he was asleep in his bed.
Who has investigated this place and what did they find?
Ghost Adventures
During their investigation they heard disembodied voices saying, “I don’t like you,” laughing and breathing.
Residual noises of growling, knockings, chanting and doors slamming.
Aaron captured a dark mist moving very fast in front of his camera.
Nick said something was thrown at him while he was doing a vigil alone.
Most Haunted
Derek Acorah hears a malignant voice saying, “Dare we come high. The same fate will await you.”
Recording of a cat meowing, there was no cat nearby.
Apparition of a lady seen by Derek.
Stuart is thumped in the chest by an unknown force, causing him to fall over and he found it hard to breath.
Sam and Colby
Figure seen at a window.
Candle falls off candlestick while they are in the room.
The first thing we noticed was that it was decorated with Halloween decorations, they had a backdrop of a haunted house where you could have a picture taken.
We sat down at our reserved table (I would recommend booking ahead as it was very busy) and I ordered the Chef’s Steak & Jamaica Inn Pie which was served with creamy mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy: Price £16.95
Hubby ordered the Jamaican Inn Burger with 6oz beef burger topped with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, tomato, gherkin and salad in a toasted brioche bun served with skin-on fries: Price £15.95
Both meals tasted delicious, just what we needed, a hearty meal after three hours of sitting in a car in traffic! As I said before, it was busy, but the meals didn’t take very long to reach our table and we were far too full to order dessert.
We then headed towards the museum which focused on the author, Daphne Du Maurier and of course, pirates, smuggling and ghosts.
The cost to enter the museum was £3.95 for adults and £2.95 for children and OAPs.
Daphne Du Maurier
Well known for her novel, The Jamaica Inn which was a tale about Mary, an orphan, who lives with her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss Merlyn, who was the Landlord of the Jamaica Inn and her uncle’s involvement in smuggling along the Cornish coast. One of her other well known novels is Rebecca which was a very successful film. There is a room created at Jamaica Inn which is full of memorabilia including her writing desk on top of which is a packed of the Du Maurier cigarettes named after her father.
Smuggling Museum
The Museum purports to house one of the finest collections of smuggling artefacts in the country. Custom taxes were first introduced in the 13th century but there was little enforcement of this until the 18th century when taxes were raised to fund foreign wars. Goods could be purchased much cheaper abroad and so smuggling became rife. Tea was six times more expensive in England than Europe. Other goods such as silks, tobacco and branding were also smuggled into Cornwall.
Paranormal Activity
The presence of paranormal activity here is one of the reasons we wanted to visit, we do like a good ghost story and if there’s any chance of an investigation we’re there. But unfortunately we didn’t have time to attend an investigation this trip, but it’s something we would like to do in the future! You can book a stay in one of their haunted rooms which includes a two course dinner and is £85 per person.
Most Haunted did an investigation here and said it was one of the spookiest they have ever recorded. Below is the programme they recorded….
After a look around the gift shop, I wanted to buy a Jamaican Inn t-shirt but unfortunately they had run out of stock, we then went to the farm shop and then we left the Jamaica Inn.
Last year, my husband, Phil and I went on a National Trust road trip. We visited Erddig Hall first, then to Speke Hall and finally to Charlecote Park. But this blog is concentrating on our visit to Speke Hall.
We arrived at Speke Hall at about 7.15pm, a bit late in the evening one would think, but not for us, it was time for a ghost hunt!
Other people began to turn up with varying degrees of nervousness, we all smiled nervously at each other and then the previous ghost hunting party came round the corner. We tried to read their faces, see how nervous they were, but they weren’t giving anything away.
We were greeted by a National Trust guide who issued us with torches which apparently were only for helping us around the house from room to room, once in the room, they were turned off!
After a few do’s and don’ts from the guide, we headed towards the Hall. It was pitch black and the hall was lit only by a couple of lights, making it look very creepy indeed. (I may use the word ‘creepy’ a lot in this!)
We entered the Hall via a small door and stood in the entrance hall to await The Lady in Black (or Sheila as she is known in everyday life). I have to say that none of us saw her arrive and she gave us quite a start, dressed in a period black costume. She explained that she was a paranormal investigator with over ten years experience and that she had investigated all sorts of places. She showed us her paranormal equipment which consisted of a rem pod and EMF detectors, both which are used to signify the presence of something.
Then began the hunt… In each of the rooms we were told of the things that had happened to people: being touched, being pushed, voices heard, dark shadows, spirits manifesting in front of people’s eyes. There was one particular room where the presence of children is felt and someone in our group did feel cold air in front of them. “Children, do you want to come and play?” asked The Lady in Black, “Come on, hold somebody’s hand, let them know you are here,” at which point I placed my hands firmly in my pocket!
The room which I felt most comfortable with was The Great Hall, there seemed to be a relaxed feel about it which was surprising as this was the room that the paranormal guide had seen spirits manifest in. The room that I felt most uncomfortable in was the blue bedroom – it was a small room and once the torches were out was extremely dark. I was going to grab Phil’s hand at this point, but thought that that was probably the worst thing I could do…
I think that both Phil and I wanted something to happen, for the EMF detectors or rem pod to go off, to hear a bump in the night but unfortunately the spirits were obviously taking a break that night. All in all though, it was a great first ghost hunt, it wasn’t scary, just very, very creepy!!
We stopped off at Charlecote Place on the way home and whilst I was in the kitchen I heard a voice in my ear say, “Come on!!” in a very impatient manner, I looked at Phil and asked him, “Did you just say something to me?” His reply was, “No, I didn’t say a word…..”
A very creepy Speke Hall, Liverpool
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