King's Head Inn, Lichfield

It is reported that there is the spirit of a 13 year old girl, named Elspeth, who haunts Sandford Street in Lichfield, and who is linked to an old pet shop in the street. There are reports of stock moving in the pet shop, and a cellar that dogs have refused to enter or even sleep in; in the 1990s, the owner Roger Emsley researched the story and found a reference to Elspeth dying in the cellar. A local cleaner named Ann claimed to have seen Elspeth on June 28 1991 at another property nearby. She said that the young girl appeared in front of her and asked what she was doing. After telling the astonished woman her name she vanished. Three years later the cleaner added more details to her initial story of more sightings. Ann was cleaning the stairs near a room in the building, then an Italian restaurant. She said the room, always noticeably colder than the rest of the building, became uncomfortably chilly, and she turned around to see a misty transparent figure, from the waist up. Ann claimed the ghost was a young girl with a thin unhappy face, a long nose, and wispy gingery hair poking out from under a bonnet which was tied under her chin. Ann also said she had a conversation 'inside her head' with the ghost, who said she was called Elspeth, and the room in which Ann was cleaning used to be hers. In August 1988 Roger Emsley, the owner of the pet shop named Remmarc in Sandford Street explained: “Sometimes the dogs would dart away as if something were there. And sometimes in the shop we would catch movement like a shadow out of the comer of our eyes but when we looked again there was never anything there.” He also reported footsteps in the shop and told customers sometimes he felt a ‘strange presence’. There is a story that a tunnel exists that runs from the shop to the Cathedral and that the young girl was trapped there and is said to forever haunt the entrance to make sure no one else meets the same fate as herself. The tunnel exists according to accounts, linked to the folklore of English Civil War tunnels around Cathedral Close. There are claims the tunnels go either to the Friary School or Lichfield Cathedral – possibly both. Roger’s son has also experienced strange things and noises, and Roger’s dog refused to go down into the cellar at the shop. In February 1992 Roger was doing some repairs to an unstable concrete slab in the cellar when he uncovered the well underneath it. He explained “We’ve known there was a well underneath the shop for a while and it must pre-date the building. “But it is a shock I didn’t expect it to be as large as that.” Roger’s son Mark investigated the well by abseiling down inside it. The well was dry but a dark ‘tide mark’ was visible about eight feet from the surface. Roger went on: “Items stored in the tunnel were moved. Things in the cellar used to move around. At first my son Mark and I were very sceptical - each of us thought the other was playing tricks. Then we realised it wasn’t a joke - items really were being moved around.” In an interview in October 1994, Roger stated ghostly activity in his shop had ceased, and he was convinced the ghost was currently at rest because the tunnel was blocked off again and undisturbed. “It is all very mysterious, but this is a very old building, and who knows what might have happened here in the past.” Mysterious shadow figures are claimed to inhabit the street as well as the shop. THE KING'S HEAD The King’s Head pub on Bird Street, round the corner from Sandford Street, is one of the oldest pubs in Lichfield. In 1408 it was known as ‘The Antelope’. By 1650, it had been renamed as The King’s Head. In the 1930s, the King’s Head was nearly lost to fire, twice. At one point the properties on either side of the pub were also at risk. There is a story of a young maid who had died in a fire at the pub and that sometimes her candle could be seen flickering in one of the upstairs windows, looking down at passers-by. Her ghost is also supposed to wander about the upstairs corridor. Apparently, there is a ‘friendly’ ghost named George, a former licensee who hung himself in the cellar, and his spirit remains there. A ‘Civil War’ attired ghost nicknamed ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ has been seen smoking in the front room of the pub, usually near the bar or the fire place. Despite his horrendous facial injuries, he has a smile on his face. One specific story claims he met his fate outside the pub, in a swordfight with Roundhead Cromwellian soldiers in the street outside. After being hacked to death his body was dragged down to the pub cellar where it was left to rot. His ghost has been seen in the main entrance which opens up to the rear of the pub via an alleyway. His ghost still bears the wounds but, now in good spirits, he is often seen marching along Dam Street before returning to rest at the King’s Head - for a refreshing flagon of ale no doubt. Another story is of a “tall figure appearing inside the locked pub wearing a black hat and coat”. There are also stories of clocks and watches stopping on the stroke of midnight in the Great Hall, the oldest part of the pub. Some staff in 2004 claimed to have seen ‘the ghostly figure of a nun’ and also a ‘woman who appears at the bottom of the stairs’ who, so the story goes, is the ‘grey lady’ who fell down the stairs over 120 years ago. There is a pathway between Sandford Street and Lichfield Cathedral leading away from Stowe Pool up toward Gaia Lane, next to the Cathedral school playing fields, where it is said that the cries of Roman soldiers and Christian prisoners can be heard, sometimes even seen. So if you are in Lichfield at twilight, hurry on past the shadowy figure in the large hat who smiles at you, and definitely avoid any maids, especially one carrying a candle.