Ghostly goings on at the Ostrich Inn

The manager has often been known to scoff at tales of the unexplained but all this changed when he started his job at the 900-year-old High Street pub 12 months ago.

Strange noises, ghostly figures and objects moving by themselves are all in a days work if youre employed at the Ostrich Inn.

The pub, the third oldest hostelry in England, may look quite innocent from the outside but it hides a grisly past behind its white painted walls.

The legend of the Ostrich Inn dates back to the 14th century where it is said the landlord, a gentleman by the name of Jarmon, and his wife murdered 60 wealthy, lone guests in their most luxurious suite, the Blue Room.

A tilting bed, when activated by a lever, would hurl sleeping travellers through a trap door in the floor while they were sleeping.

There they would land into a cauldron of boiling liquid in the brewing room below, scalding and drowning them.

After disposing of the bodies in a nearby river, the couple would remove the travellers horses to fool people into thinking their guest had left during the night.

The Jarmons then stole their victims money and possessions and stashed their horses away in their own stable.

The couple were finally caught out after their last victim, a clothier called Thomas Coln, managed to escape from the cauldron. He was eventually caught, killed and dumped in the river by Mr Jarmon but his horse escaped from the stable and was found by a servant.

The Jarmons were executed when they admitted to 60 murders and it is said that Colnbrook got its name from the late Thomas Coln, whose body was found floating in a nearby brook.

Over the years there have been a catalogue of odd occurrences at the inn. Specialist investigators have recorded high readings of paranormal activity in parts of the building and long-standing members of staff claim to have seen apparitions wandering around the corridors.

But reports of strange sightings and noises have become more frequent in the last six months since the High Street was dug up to lay down speeds humps.

Mark Bourne said: I never used to believe in ghosts but now Im not so sure. I havent seen anything myself but there have been an awful lot of unexplained occurrences here in the last few months.

Live-in staff have left a room locked but have come back to find the door wide open with lights and other electrical appliances switched on.

Others say they have seen wooden shutters moving by themselves and strange noises can be heard in parts of the building that are no longer used.

A member of staff who has worked here for 25 years once saw a black figure behind her boss as she was speaking to him.

Customers have also witnessed strange phenomenon at the inn.

There was one incident a few months ago when one of our regulars went to the ladies.

She came back shaking and ashen-faced. She had been washing her hands when she turned to see a woman in full Victorian dress standing a few feet away.

The disturbances have become more frequent since the council dug up the High Street to put speed humps down.

I dont know what or who they disturbed while they were digging but it has definitely made this place a lot more lively.

We have our regulars but word has got around and it has attracted people from all over the area.

Tales of the strange goings-on have made their way across the Atlantic where the pub was the subject of an article in an American paranormal magazine.

Mark explained: Three Americans came into the pub clutching a torn out magazine page asking if this was the same Ostrich pub featured in their article. They had read about the inns history and had made a special trip to come and see it. Apparently it is quite famous over in the States.

I love working in such an interesting pub. Apparently, a book was written in the early 16th century recording what happened here, but it is so old that it is impossible to find.

This is a spooky building with a fascinating history. The original structure has been slightly changed from the original once or twice but it has been an inn since 1106.

There are a few hidden rooms, uneven steps and even a secret staircase to the roof, used for when highwaymen needed to make a quick escape.

But we use the Blue Room for storage now. The trap door has gone now but its quite ironic that directly underneath is where we now keep the kitchens fat fryers!

By.Kerry McQueeney