‘Malevolent ghost’ accused of shoving pint of beer off table in 300-year-old pub

Spirit blamed for mystery spillage at White Swan in Dunstable, notorious for ‘spooky’ happenings

The White Swan in Dunstable (Google Maps)

The manager of a 300-year-old pub has reported what she believes to be a paranormal incident after a ‘poltergeist’ was blamed for tipping over a pint of beer.

Natasha Magnan, 37, has worked at The White Swan in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, for 20 years and explained that she initially assumed the spillage was the fault of drunken punters.

However she was alarmed to spot what appeared to be a ‘spectral hand’ shoving the glass to the floor when she later consulted the bar’s CCTV footage.

Having consulted the security film, which was later posted on the pub’s Facebook page and appears to show the offending pint of Coors crashing to the carpet of its own accord, untouched by anyone sitting chatting nearby, she became convinced that a supernatural presence was at work.

A clairvoyant is now being called in in the hope of making contact with any spirits lingering from beyond the grave.

Recounting the episode to The Mirror, she explained: “There was quite a large group of people and I said ‘You are making quite a mess, what’s all this beer on the floor?’ And one of the boys said that wasn’t me. I was like ‘Yeah alright then’, not believing them, and they were like ‘I promise you that it just fell now, look at my goose pimples.’”

“One of our regulars recently died so we thought it might actually be him,” Ms Magnan told the site, naming the late Chris Harris, 84, as the likely mischief-maker.

The grade II-listed building that now houses The White Swan was originally used as a police station with its own gaol for housing hardened criminals and still retains the stone beds on which its inmates once slept.

“I have been working for 20 years and really haven’t seen things like this [but] I have heard things,” the manager said.

“All of the staff have heard things about the things going on in the pub for so many years.”

Elaborating on her experiences in The Daily Mail, Ms Magnan said she had recently felt “watched” while stock-checking in the cellar and added: “Lots of spooky things have been happening for many moons.

“The cleaner told me she saw a man’s figure wearing a brown coat and the chef also witnessed a figure walking past the fireplace – near to where the pint was knocked over.

“We’ve also heard crazy stories in the past about a grey lady walking up and down the flat upstairs.”