The Golden Fleece in York is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most haunted pubs, its reputation for paranormal activity deeply rooted in the city’s long and colourful history. First recorded in the York City Archives in 1503, the inn’s origins are closely linked to York’s medieval wool trade, with its name referencing the fleeces once traded by the Merchant Adventurers. Over the centuries, the Golden Fleece has evolved from a busy coaching inn to a Grade II listed building, but it is the stories of its spectral residents that have made it legendary.
The pub’s haunted reputation is not simply a matter of local folklore. It is often described as York’s most haunted public house, with claims of up to fifteen ghosts residing within its ancient walls. The building’s age and proximity to York’s historic Shambles and Minster add to its eerie atmosphere, attracting ghost hunters and tourists alike.
One of the most frequently reported apparitions is Lady Alice Peckett, the wife of John Peckett, a former Lord Mayor of York and owner of the inn in the early eighteenth century. Lady Alice is said to roam the corridors and staircases, sometimes moving furniture and making her presence felt to guests and staff. Her ghostly wanderings are often explained as a search for her lost husband, whose portrait still hangs in the pub. Visitors have described hearing footsteps in empty rooms and witnessing objects inexplicably shift, attributing these occurrences to Lady Alice’s restless spirit.
Another figure said to haunt the Golden Fleece is a young Victorian boy, believed to have been trampled to death by horses in the coach house. His apparition is often seen near the entrance, and his cries have reportedly been heard echoing in the street outside, adding a chilling note to the building’s history.
The pub’s haunted roster also includes One Eyed Jack, a man dressed in a seventeenth-century red coat and carrying a pistol, who is frequently spotted in the bottom bar. His presence is often accompanied by a sense of unease among patrons. Alongside him is the ghost of a grumpy old man, another regular apparition in the same area, and a Roman soldier, seen in the cellar. The cellar itself has a macabre history, having once served as a temporary mortuary for criminals executed at Baile Hill, their bodies stored beneath the pub until claimed by relatives. Reports of shadowy figures and cold spots in the cellar persist to this day.
Not all of the pub’s ghosts are from centuries past. The spirit of Geoff Monroe, a Canadian airman who died during the Second World War, is said to haunt one of the guest bedrooms. Guests have recounted waking to the sensation of someone sitting on their bed or seeing the fleeting image of a man in wartime uniform before he vanishes.
The Golden Fleece’s haunted reputation has attracted the attention of paranormal investigators and television crews, most notably the team from Most Haunted, who conducted an investigation in 2005. Their visit added to the inn’s notoriety, with accounts of unexplained noises, sudden drops in temperature, and poltergeist activity such as glasses being thrown from shelves or doors slamming shut.
Despite its ghostly residents, the Golden Fleece remains a thriving pub and hotel, offering four guest bedrooms for those brave enough to spend the night. Many guests arrive hoping for a supernatural encounter, and the staff are well-versed in recounting the building’s eerie tales. The pub’s interior, with its creaking floorboards, winding staircases, and centuries-old beams, provides the perfect backdrop for stories of the unexplained.
In recent years, the pub made headlines after the theft and subsequent return of the skull of Elizabeth Johnson, a woman executed for forgery in 1800. Her remains, kept as a macabre artefact, serve as a reminder of the building’s long association with death and the supernatural.
