Strange spirits in Essex pub - and we're definitely not talking about whisky!

THE Black Horse in White Roding has a long history of hauntings. The landlord would switch the lights off at night, but when he came down in the morning, he would find them all back on. Glasses have been reported to slide across the bar, and there are co

THE Black Horse in White Roding has a long history of hauntings.

The landlord would switch the lights off at night, but when he came down in the morning, he would find them all back on. Glasses have been reported to slide across the bar, and there are countless occurrences of knocking and banging noises coming from empty rooms.

In the 1980s, a couple of customers watched as an old man hobbled into the bar, only to see him vanish in front of their eyes.

If you stand outside the pub and look up to one of the gabled ends, you will see that there are two windows. However, only the lower one can be seen from inside. This is because the ceiling has been lowered to help keep the bar warmer.

This new space houses water tanks. There is no electricity in it, and the only access into it is through a hatch in the corner of the bar. One night, after saying goodbye to some friends and the last of his customers, the landlord turned to see a light coming from the top window.

Customers have heard the sound of a piano being played when there is no longer a piano in the building. Eerily, older customers recount that there used to be a piano in the pub, and it was rumoured that a ghost would play it for hours!

And this isn't the only example of piano-playing spirit.

Christina Bryan lived in the Felsted Mill during the 60s and 70s. Writing in www.francisfrith.com she recounts the first time she and her family encountered the Mill's ghost: "My mother called my two brothers and sister and myself into the hallway and demanded to know who had been playing the grand piano in the main lounge.

"We were not allowed in there so she was not impressed that we had broken the rules. We all looked at each other in amazement. Suddenly we heard the piano music again. "Mother armed with a brass poker stick in hand went with all of us into the main lounge, to our surprise no one was in there. It was a bit creepy at first but after a while we all got used to hearing the music.

"It was a woman who used to play on the grand piano and it was beautiful soothing music that came from the room."

As an aside, she mentions that German prisoners of war carried out some work on the mill during their time in captivity. IF you get to go inside the mill, take a look at the doorframe of the second floor doorway. The men carved their signatures into it.

editor@dunmow-broadcast.co.uk