I Would Buy This Haunted Inn if I Could

This article was posted on MySpace by a friend of mine; I'm not sure what newspaper it is from. But I would buy this place if I could. I don't believe in demons; but I do believe in positive and negative energies, and a nasty character in life is often a nasty character in death, so I wouldn't want to live here. But I would allow the present owner to stay as long as he wanted to (dead or alive) and I would advertise it to all the people who wanted to come investigate it and pay to stay in it overnight for the sake of the thrill, provided they signed a waiver, of course.

Here's the article:

Are you brave enough to buy England's most haunted house?

As soon as the tiny door creaks open revealing the cramped and gloomy room inside you know that something is not quite right. From the outside, the Ancient Ram Inn looks like any normal English country pub that has seen better days.

But the former inn, which sits on the fringes of a pleasant Cotswold market town, hides a terrible past and has earned itself a formidable reputation.

The crumbling building in sleepy Wotton-under-Edge is owned by John Humphries and is said to be Britain's most haunted house.

Each room is packed with dusty paintings, artefacts and religious texts pinned to the wall.

Over the years, John has gathered a collection of crucifixes, Bibles and religious keepsakes to help to force the malignant spirits to stay at bay.

But there are still numerous reports of slamming doors, sudden and unexplained changes in temperature, strange noises in the night and mysterious sightings.

Animals have refused to climb the rickety stairs to the tiny and foreboding bedrooms.

The tales of apparitions and unexplained phenomena have all helped to cement the legend of the Ram.

The infamous property is likely to come on the market in the near future, but it would take a brave soul to invest their cash in it.

Devastated Mr Humphries has revealed how is being forced to sell off his home after losing out in a long-running legal battle. The 75-year-old has lived in the historic and ghostly inn for 30 years and, despite the building's fearsome reputation, he is desperate to stay put.

Historians claim the Ram is built on top of an ancient pagan burial ground where human sacrifices were routinely performed.

Parts of the property date back to the 12th century and there is a long and unhappy history connected to the inn.

Tales of devil worship, mysterious deaths and exorcisms have surrounded the Ram for as long as anyone can remember. There is even a large hole right in the middle of what used to be the bar area - and the owner claims the remains of a woman and child were found in the makeshift grave.

When Mr Humphries bought the hostelry in 1968 it was little more than a shell and he has spent thousands trying to restore the tumbledown building.

But after losing out in a High Court battle with his neighbours, the Dursley, Cam and Wotton New Life Church, he has to find £40,000 to pay a crippling legal bill.

Tales of the strange goings-on at the Ram have spread far and wide and every year hundreds of ghost hunters from every corner of the globe descend on the Gloucestershire town.

One tiny upstairs bedroom is known as the Bishops Room and ghost hunters regularly test their courage by staying the night.

Mr Humphries says there is evidence that devil worship took place in the bedroom.

There are reports of several priests trying to exorcise the evil forces, only to be chased out by those forces.

And those brave enough to take up the challenge of sleeping in the haunted rooms rarely manage to last through to the morning.

Another bedroom is said to be haunted by a witch from the town who was burnt at the stake along with her black cat.

Mr Humphries said: "This house is full of evil and people who visit say they can feel it as soon as they walk through the door.

"The first night I slept in the house I was yanked out of bed by something or somebody which had grabbed hold of my ankles."

MR Humphries, a retired train driver and father of three, has a collection of articles and books which feature tales of the Ram Inn and he quite happily takes the curious and ghoulish on tours of his home.

He reels off tales of hauntings and apparitions, and claims he has documentary evidence he shares his home with at least four ghosts.

He said: "Lots of people think it strange that I have lived here so long but it is just something I have got used to. Over the years I have come to accept the ways of the house and you get used to staying out of certain rooms at certain times of the day and night.

"I am not particularly happy to be sharing my house with ghosts but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, it would destroy me if I ever had to leave.

"This is my home and I have learned that if I leave my guests alone then they leave me alone."

The suspicion lingers that Mr Humphries revels in the idea of his home being haunted and he certainly seems to enjoy the attention from inquisitive visitors.

Whether the Ancient Ram Inn is really bewitched is certainly open to question.

But one thing is for sure, if there is such a thing as spirits then the inn would be the perfect place for them to gather.