If you’re visiting Pendle Hill for Halloween, you’ll be happy to find that the Ribble Valley has a few pubs which serve spirits.
The Sun Inn at Chipping is haunted by Lizzie Dean, a beautiful maid, who fell in love with a local man. When she had allowed herself to be seduced, he laughed at her and proposed marriage to another woman. On their day of their wedding, Lizzie hanged herself in an upstairs room of the pub, chosen because it had a good view of the church in which the marriage was taking place.
The Lower Buck at Waddington is haunted by a past landlord, William Southworth. He became the landlord in 1820 but was known for having a temper. In one of his brawls, he was killed by a local butcher. His wife kept the pub for 40 more years, during which time she and her patrons became used to having William’s ghost around.
The De Lacy Arms in Whalley is haunted by a white robed monk. As the pub is so near the abbey, once inhabited by Cistercian monks, it seems safe to assume that this particular ghost once lived there. When the abbey was closed during the Reformation, the Abbot was executed and the other monks had to leave. It is not known for certain if the ghost is that of the abbot or one of his displaced colleagues.
The Swan and Royal in Clitheroe provided billeting to soldiers who had been drafted in to help with the cotton riots of 1878. Afterwards, a handful were kept on for a month or so, just to ensure there would be no more trouble. However, one of the soldiers fell in love with local girl, Annie Druce, who was just 17. They arranged to marry but before they could, her solider was sent to Africa, where he was killed. Finding herself alone and pregnant, Annie went to the room at the Swan and Royal where they had conceived the child and hanged herself. Her ghost remains there.
