5 haunted pubs in Derby where headless monks roam and glasses spontaneously shatter
These haunted Derby pubs definitely have the scare factor, but are you brave enough to visit?
Spooky season is in full swing and with Halloween now just days away, we’re exploring some of Derby’s darkest secrets.
Whether you’re a believer or not, the topic of hauntings and ghostly goings-on continues to pique people’s interest. Derby is said to be one of the most popular cities where ghosts have been sighted.
We’ve rounded up some of the ‘most haunted’ pubs in Derby, where ghoulish monks are said to roam and glasses smash all on their own...
Read on if you dare.
Ye Olde Dolphin Inne
Ye Olde Dolphin Inne is one of the oldest pubs on our list dating back to 1530AD.
The story of a not-so-good doctor carving the stomach of a woman as she lay in a coma, forms the basis of this (literally) stomach-churning story.
A curious doctor was dissecting a woman’s entrails as part of an experiment. Unbeknownst to him, his subject wasn’t dead, but in a coma.
It is said that the woman woke up screaming and promptly died of shock. To this very day, pubgoers can reportedly hear screams over the years.
Other odd tales include the pub’s cellars being used to store bodies in the 16th century.
Address: Ye Olde Dolphin Inn, 5 Queen Street, Derby DE1 3DL
The Old Bell Hotel
Old pubs seem to be popular places where high levels of paranormal activity is reported.
This pub’s 375-year history stands it in great stead for being a top haunted site in Derby.
Heartbreak collides with tragedy in the tale of Mabel, a linen maid who died by suicide in room 29.
After discovering she was pregnant and her beloved had died in the war, she was reportedly overcome with grief and hung herself in room 29 which is located on a spiral staircase in the pub.
People staying in that room in the present day are said to have seen a woman looking after babies and children who are staying there.
The first-floor bar is also a place of reported paranormal activity. Cutlery is said to have been moved and items have gone missing, only to be found in unusual places around the pub.
Address: The Old Bell Hotel, 51 Sadler Gate, Derby DE1 3NQ
Jorrocks Pub
This old inn built in 1693 was formerly known as The George and more recently Lafferty’s.
But by any name, Jorrocks continues to fascinate people curious about its supernatural links that date back hundreds of years.
It is reported that a skull was found on the pub’s site in 1994, after which unexplained activity has been reported.
An apparition of a woman wearing Victorian clothes is said to have been seen around the pub… perhaps the recovered skull belongs to her?
Glasses having a mind of their own and sliding off the bars, and even spontaneously smashing in pub-goers’ hands make this site one of our most haunted.
Address: Jorrocks Pub, 41 Iron Gate, Derby DE1 3GA
The Friary
The site of an old Dominican friary is where more questionable instances have occurred.
In the 1880s a local jeweller Henry Mosley is said to have died by suicide, ending his life by shooting himself.
He is said to be the ghost of a monk who wears a pitch-black cloak and roams the corridors and basement of the building.
Other apparitions reportedly seen at The Friary include a man dressed in Victorian clothes and a headless monk.
Address: The Friary, Friar Gate, Derby DE1 1FG
The Silk Mill Pub
A ghost of an 18th-century Jacobite is said to haunt the site of this award-winning pub in Derby.
People reported seeing a man clutching a giant sword and wearing a hat with a feather, in the bar area.
One pub-goer from present-day passed this costumed man but assumed he was a human in fancy dress.
It was only when the pub-goer mentioned this ‘fancy dress costumed man’ to bar-staff that they reportedly realised it was the ghost of a Cavalier who died in a duel just outside the pub.
Address: The Silk Mill Pub, 19 Full Street, Derby DE1 3AF