One reason I enjoyed working in rural hotels and inns for so many years was the late night chats at the bar that would inevitably lead to discussions about the paranormal (although perhaps nudged that way by myself...!). That is when people from all backgrounds and professions would open up and yes, it was very often "I don't believe in ghosts?UFOs/whatever but...". It was then that I realised there is a tremendous amount of minor paranormal activity out there.
One of the things my partner and I intend to do is go on ‘let’s drive that way’ breaks and stay at these old rural inns and hotels, and for the same reason. I‘m just fascinated at what comes up in late night conversations.
My sister has a book which I cannot remember the name of, but when I visit her I’m sure I‘ll find it where the author just write about staying in different rural or remote locations in the UK. For that alone it was a goos read but there was one story which just stuck with me.
The author was visiting friends down south (I’m thinking Dorset/Devon but I can’t really recall). They owned an old village pub and said he could stay overnight. He was the only person doing B&B. It was late and his friends were locking up so he left the bar and went to bed. It was very quiet, he was going to sleep when he heard sounds from above him, in the loft. He assumed that either his hosts were walking about or someone else was in fact sleeping up there.
The sounds became loud, as if someone was dragging a chest of drawers or something, and then thumping them down and walking around and the author became quite annoyed because it was disturbing him and what a time to start shifting furniture, etc.
So he got up, went to the bottom of the steep little stairs leading up to the loft. As he looked up into the dark he was suddenly was overcome with not wanting to go up there. It was like a tunnel into blackness and it felt
wrong. He went back to bed and the sounds continued. And by now he was just not at ease, but he did eventually sleep.
In the morning his hosts gave him breakfast and he mentioned the noise, quite politely.
They said they didn’t ever sleep in the pub, but at their house in the village. He was the only one there. But they did know about the noises and the pub was apparently haunted.