The Jamaica Inn

High on the windswept expanse of Bodmin Moor stands The Jamaica Inn, one of England’s most iconic haunted locations. Built in 1750 as a coaching stop for weary travellers, it soon became a hub for smugglers and highwaymen who used its isolation to their advantage. The inn’s name itself evokes distant trade and shadowy dealings — Jamaica being a major source of rum and contraband goods in the 18th century. The inn’s dark reputation began when it became entangled with the lawless underbelly of Cornwall’s smuggling trade. Wagons loaded with illicit rum, tea, and tobacco would arrive under cover of night, guarded by cutthroats and rogues. Many of those who passed through the inn’s doors vanished into the moors or the marshes, never to return. It is said that some of them — and their victims — still linger there. The most frequently reported apparition is that of a man in a tricorn hat and cloak, often seen sitting quietly in the bar before fading into nothing. Some believe he was a smuggler betrayed and murdered by his own crew; others think he is the ghost of a traveller who met his end on the moor and returned to the warmth of the inn that once gave him shelter. Another recurring phenomenon involves footsteps and low voices echoing in the corridors when no guests are present. Witnesses describe hearing murmurs in old Cornish dialect, sometimes accompanied by the scent of pipe smoke or the creak of unseen wagons outside. The stable block, now converted into rooms, is particularly active — cold spots, doors that open themselves, and objects shifting overnight are commonly reported. In the upper rooms, guests have awakened to find a shadowy figure standing at the foot of the bed, watching silently before vanishing. Others speak of a young woman’s sobbing heard from the stairwell, possibly linked to a tale of a murdered barmaid said to have been buried nearby. In the courtyard, phantom horses and the clatter of iron-rimmed wheels are often heard late at night, fading into the moor’s mist. Perhaps the most unnerving encounter took place in the 20th century, when a guest claimed to see a transparent coach drawn by spectral horses arriving at the inn’s door, only to dissolve into thin air. Investigators have since recorded EVP sessions capturing indistinct male voices responding to questions about “the trade” and “the barrels.” The Jamaica Inn’s ghostly fame was immortalized by Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel, inspired by a night she herself spent there, unnerved by the howling wind and creaking timbers. Today, the inn operates as a hotel, pub, and museum dedicated to its haunted heritage. Visitors from around the world come seeking both hospitality and hauntings — and many leave with their own stories of strange encounters.