My Spooky Night At A Haunted Inn
by Amy Fenton
They say everybody likes a good ghost story. Amy Fenton gets into the spirit and stays the night at a spooky Lakeland inn.
I have always been of the opinion that if I was ever in trouble, or scared, I could rely on my dad to be at my side.
But when the father of a Hawkshead pub manager says even he wouldn’t stop in her apparently haunted premises, I did have to stop and wonder if my dad would say the same.
One of my colleagues had been told the 300-year-old Sun Inn, Hawkshead, was inhabited by unwanted guests, and suggested I stay the night.
Although I wouldn’t say I believe in ghosts, a flicker of trepidation did go through my body as I drove along the shores of Windermere.
The Inn is managed by three sisters, Becky, Diane and Emma Wolf.
Image: Sisters Becky, Emma and Diane have all seen spooky goings-on
I arrived to a warm welcome, and, once the photographs had all been taken, I was very kindly invited to join the Wolfs in celebrating Emma’s 34th birthday.
We had a lovely meal, which was accompanied by Emma’s daughter Maria’s homemade cocktail of Archers, vodka and cranberry juice.
DIARY ENTRY: 7:25pm
Alone for the first time since I got here, I go to the toilet. Even though I’ve not seen, heard or felt anything so far, I can’t help but feel inclined to leave the cubicle door open.
After our meal, and several glasses of the cocktail, I decided it was time to find out what all the fuss was about and began quizzing the three sisters.
“You do think to yourself is it my imagination or is it something else?” said Emma. “But there are just so many stories and they all just add up to the same thing.”
Ellie, Emma’s six-year-old daughter, says she saw the ghost of Elizabeth Airey, a little girl who features in a 100-year-old picture, hanging in the pub.
Ellie said, “I saw her in the bathroom and I screamed and ran down the stairs.”
Paul Gregson describes himself as a pub regular, having frequented the Sun Inn for the past 25 years.
Mr Gregson, 47, is also the caretaker at Hawkshead and Esthwaite Primary School.
He said, “I moved here about 30 years ago when my dad got a job here, and I’ve heard a lot of stories about this place. The building has been here since the 1700s and it’s right next to the graveyard, which was founded by the monks of Furness Abbey.”
Mr Gregson added that he had witnessed a number of incidents in the pub, including one where the till literally ‘jumped’ off the shelf.
He said, “As far as I know there’s no history of anything bad happening here, I would say it’s more likely to be a ghost having a joke with us.”
DIARY ENTRY: 10:30pm
As I went outside for a cigarette, I heard a bang, turned around and saw a strange face at one of the hotel’s windows. This might have been explained by the number of glasses of Maria’s cocktail I had drunk so far, but it turned out to be a resident who was trying to get reception on her mobile phone.
Mr Gregson, who describes himself as something of a local historian, explained the origins of the village date back to the 1300s.
He said, “When the monks came here for the sheep industry, they organised all this other industry to support the monasteries.”
About 18 months ago, Mr Gregson had a ghostly experience of his own, which he is unable to explain.
He said, “I was sat at the bar, it was a quiet night and I was talking to the barman. I said to him: ‘Who’s in the kitchen?’ He said there was no-one, but I said, ‘There is, the door’s swinging back and forwards’.”
Mr Gregson explained that the barman then went to investigate, but found there was no-one in the kitchen.
He added, “You think nothing of it at first, but then I realised there were no other doors open in the building to create a draught.”
Emma, who took over the pub in 2007 with her three sisters, said the ghost would not put them off making a success of the Sun Inn.
She added, “We’ve been in the pub business most of our working lives, and we’ve done a lot with the pub so far. It’s a family-oriented place and all our guests always say how much they enjoyed their stay.”
DIARY ENTRY: 11.30pm
I just heard a really loud bang, almost as if someone was closing a door inside my room.
I muted the TV and listened for something else, but heard nothing. Then I got a text on my phone, which made me jump. I really should turn my phone on silent. I woke up in the morning after a great night’s sleep, no disturbances, no bumps in the night and certainly no ghostly apparitions.
Image: Amy Fenton says her stay at the Sun Inn will be a night to remember
But I’m not complaining, I had a lovely evening with the Wolfs, the room was fantastic, a traditional low-beamed room with modern decor, and I was made to feel like a member of the family. What more could I ask for?
PS: Just in case you were wondering, my dad told me he would have stopped in the hotel, but I think he suspected I was asking him so that he’d pay!
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