The Crooked House

The Crooked House, originally built in 1765 as a farmhouse called The Glynne Arms, became one of Britain’s most unique and haunted pubs due to mining subsidence in the 1800s that caused one side of the building to sink, creating a dramatic tilt. The structural distortion wasn’t the only unusual feature, visitors and staff reported numerous paranormal encounters with spirits that seemed just as off-kilter as the building itself. The ghost of a former landlord was frequently seen walking through walls at impossible angles, while the apparition of a woman in Victorian dress would appear standing perfectly vertical despite the sloping floors, creating an unsettling optical effect that terrified witnesses.

The pub’s haunted reputation grew throughout the 20th century, with reports of glasses sliding uphill on their own, mysterious footsteps that didn’t match the tilted floorboards, and the sound of mining tools echoing from beneath the building despite the mines being long abandoned. Staff reported cold spots that seemed to follow patrons through rooms, and several people claimed to have been touched or pushed by invisible hands while climbing the slanted staircases. The building’s unique architecture seemed to amplify paranormal activity, with some theorizing that the physical distortion of space created a thin veil between our world and the spirit realm.

Tragically, the Crooked House was destroyed by fire in August 2023 in what authorities suspect was arson, followed by its immediate demolition despite being a listed building. The loss devastated the local community and paranormal enthusiasts alike. Even after its destruction, witnesses have reported seeing the ghostly outline of the tilted building appearing at night on the now-empty plot, complete with lights in the windows and the faint sound of laughter and conversation from patrons who refuse to accept that their beloved watering hole is gone. The spirits that haunted the Crooked House for over two centuries appear to be as stubborn as the building was resilient, maintaining their presence even after the physical structure was reduced to rubble.