The Stolen Ghost

Ye Olde Man and Scythe

I wrote about the Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub in England being haunted in a previous post, here. Along with this story I share a compelling video of a ghost that the pub captured on video.

Last month, an article published in a local Bolton newspaper, Bolton News caught my attention.

To be honest, I am not sure, whether to laugh or cry at this news . . .

A Chinese artist, Lu Pingyuan traveled all the way from Shanghai to Manchester in order to steal the decapitated ghost that haunts this Bolton pub.

It is believed this ghost is that of James Stanley—he was the Seventh Earl of Derby. Stanley was a Royalist whose family originally owned the pub—the Scythe is the 4^th oldest pub in Britain.

Video is on my original post.

The Earl is thought to have spent his last few hours in the inn before he was taken out and executed—he was beheaded in 1651 near the end of the Civil War.

The chair where the Earl sat before his death is still in the pub.

Pingyuan upon seeing a video of the Earl’s ghost in 2014 decided he must capture it. He followed the spirit into the Scythe’s restroom and then performed “an incantation” to trap it in a bottle.

Recently, Pingyuan has had this ghost on display in a traveling exhibition. When Richard Greenwood, the pub’s owner found out this exhibition was on display at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art in Manchester he wrote Pingyuan a letter.

Greenwood expressed he wished he had known about Pingyuan’s intention before he removed the ghost. He feels this removal has unbalanced the natural order of things and he misses this spirit.

Greenwood also states he would have allowed the ghost of Stanley to be exhibited—for the world to see—but that he would have insisted the spirit be returned to its home at the pub after this.

This article did not mention if Greenwood has received a response.

Ye Olde Man & Scythe Ghost-- Real or Fake?

Ye Olde Man & Scythe

In February of this year the 4^th oldest pub in the United Kingdom located in Bolton captured an apparent figure of a ghost on their security cameras.

Since, there has been a lot of chatter as to whether this video is real or faked. No one seems to know for sure.

One morning as the manager of the pub, Tom Dooley entered he found broken glass on the floor. His first thought was the pub must have been burglarized so he checked the pub’s CCTV tapes.

He discovered the camera filming the room with the glass had stopped recording at 6:18 a.m. He checked the footage and saw a strange figure in the back of the room. Dooley mentioned he has always been a skeptic when it comes to ghosts but this recording changed his mind.

The video initially shows everything is fine then the lights start to flicker and a ghostly figure is seen forming in the center--back area of the room. The figure appears human-like and almost looks like it has a bag over its head.

What many discussions about this video have not noted is after this figure disappears a shadow forms and then passes along the right side wall.

The Ye Olde Man & Scythe has a history that makes one wonder if it is haunted. The pub originally opened around 1251. Like many very old buildings it has tragic deaths connected to it.

The 7^th Earl of Derby, James Stanley was executed in the pub in 1651 and the chair connected to his execution still is housed in the building.

Several centuries ago it is said a woman hung herself in the pub’s cellar and during the Bolton Massacre in 1644 hundreds of soldiers and civilians died outside the pub.

Skeptics immediately stated after this video was released that it is just a publicity stunt to attract more customers but this pub is a popular spot so this argument doesn’t hold much weight.

A Colorado group, Rocky Mountain Paranormal Society made a video with similar elements to prove the U.K. video is faked. This group has made a name for itself by recreating videos to debunk paranormal activity. Their “spoof videos” have been used more than once to claim various ghosts caught on camera are faked.

Their spoof video this time is funny--here is link--watch for the glowing green necktie at the end.

I must note here I cannot see how this spoof video proves the original is faked. They also do not re-create the shadow figure, which to me is the more compelling evidence in this video.

But who knows? 

Here is what the video captured at the Ye Olde Man & Scythe.