Alone In The Dark Entertainment, Ghost Hunting Events and Ghost Walking Tours in Newcastle, Sunderland, North East, North West England

The Marquis of Granby pub lies on Streetgate in Sunniside. Records of the premises being used as a public house date to 1861, but as the road is the route of one of the first wagon-ways, built in 1710, it is believed that the building may have been used for resting and watering horses in earlier times. Indeed, a man named Bill Dobson kept a public house here in 1841 and in 1856 it was known as the "Granby Arms". The pub is named after John Manners, the Marquis of Granby, born in 1721 and the eldest son of the third Duke of Rutland. He had a distinguished career in the army, but died debt-ridden at the age of 49. The pub was bought by Newcastle Breweries in April 1902. There was originally a row of three houses attached to the building, although these were removed in the 1930s. Another row of four cottages was demolished in 1914.

Mrs Margaret Pyle is noted as the first tenant of the building in its guise as a pub in 1861, and the pub became famous just four years later after a murder took place in August 1865. An argument erupted among workers from the nearby flower show at Ravensworth Castle, and a man named Joseph ended up in a dispute with a notorious local villain named Jack Bee. While walking home, one of the villagers found Joseph dead, propped up against a hedge. The murderer was never found.

While this is by far the most famous murder in the area, it’s not the only example of bloodshed. In the late eighth century, the North was being ravaged by the Vikings. Most villages succumbed to their taste for murder and pillage, but the villagers of Whickham managed to see the Vikings coming from their watchtower. They hurried up the heavily wooded bank, taking their livestock with them. By the time the Vikings arrived, there was little left to take, but after spotting a strange glow in the sky, they decided to keep going up the bank. Instead of trying to fight them off, the villagers invited them in, offering food and beer to their would-be attackers. Confused by this, the Vikings decided to feast, and simply murder and pillage in the morning. Once the drunk attackers had fallen asleep, the villagers set on them, and massacred them as they slept. The remaining Vikings sailed away and the village was never attacked again.

Three centuries later, the North was again under attack, but this time by the Normans. William the Conqueror dispatched knights across his new country to subdue the populace, and a knight named Hubert of Saxony took a liking to the Whickham area. According to a local legend, Hubert decided he wished to erect a castle, and a gate to control those who passed through his land, on the site of an existing village. He demanded that the villagers leave. Naturally, they were unhappy about this new course of events, but they did agree to meet the knights at a junction on the hill. We now believe this junction to be the bottom end of the car park for the Marquis of Granby. The knight and his party readied themselves to accept the land from the villagers, but instead, hundreds of arrows and rocks rained down on them. The villagers massacred the party, and the bodies of the men and horses are said to be buried on that spot. The legend goes on to say that on cold nights, you can see the warm spirits of the dead leaving their graves to seek a sick person's body to take over.

The Marquis of Granby was rebuilt in the early twentieth century, but it wasn't until the Scorer family took possession of the property in the 1930s that any supernatural activity was first reported. Since then, successive tenants have witnessed poltergeist activity, including exploding ash trays, candles that light of their own accord, and a jukebox that turns itself on and off. A ghostly figure of a woman is sometimes seen at the bottom of a staircase which was removed several years ago, and this figure is believed to be Mary, the mother of the murdered Joseph. Would we encounter Mary, Joseph, Jack or any of the other restless spirits from the blood-soaked area?

Hauntings are usually believed to occur indoors, but the Marquis boasts plenty of external activity. A passage runs along the back of the building in what used to be a barn, but is now a dead end, and figures have been seen coming and going along this passage. A dark figure has been seen in the beer garden, while growling and disembodied voices have been heard (see our report of a previous investigation at the Marquis). Phantom hitchhikers and ghostly highwaymen have been seen on the lonely stretch of road outside the pub, and the atmosphere in both the car park and the beer garden is thick with unhappiness. During Saturday’s investigation, the team heard unexplained noises in the hedges, as well as a woman’s voice in the deserted car park. Were these the massacred Vikings, the murdered knights, or some other lost spirit?

Inside the pub, the activity increases. Bells and alarms often go off without explanation inside the resident flat, while an engineer working on the generator inside the garage spoke to a woman who handed him a tool, only to be told by the manager that there was no one else on the property at the time. The back section of the pub is reasonably quiet as it was part of a stable block, although related sounds have been heard from time to time.

However, the front section of the pub is where most of the activity takes place. A table tipping session became more of a torch manipulation session as two different LED torches began dimming and brightening on command. The fact this happened to two separate torches, both of which continued to work as normal throughout the rest of the investigation, rules out mechanical faults. The torches also rolled across the level table apparently by themselves. Both of the investigators with the torches also reported feeling very cold during this experiment.

The ouija session held at the same table yielded mixed results as the spirit didn’t appear overly helpful, repeatedly choosing random letters before saying ‘goodbye’. However, when asked, the spirit admitted it couldn’t spell. During the session, the emergency light began flickering, before turning itself on and off. The landlady confirmed that this had never happened before, especially since emergency lights don’t have on/off switches. The only emergency light affected was the one over the remains of the staircase where Mary has often been seen. Was this Mary making her presence felt?

Another weapon in the investigator’s arsenal is the EVP recording, and we took several in the back room. We did appear to have recorded some kind of speech, although it was too low and distorted to make out properly. Several recordings yielded what sounded like the usual background hubbub associated with a busy pub, while others featured the same low, growling speech. Was this the notorious Jack Bee?

Although we witnessed less activity than previous investigations, several incidents remain unexplained. Hopefully further investigation will help us to locate the exact mass grave of the Norman knights, and may allow us to uncover the identity of the so-called Dark Man in the beer garden who has a penchant for scaring children. If you’re willing to spend the night alone in the dark at the Marquis of Granby, then why not book a place at our next investigation there? Check the dates on our website, and quote ‘Icy99’ when booking.

Icy Sedgwick