Jamaica Inn

Perched on the wild and windswept Bodmin Moor, Jamaica Inn has been welcoming travelers since 1750 - and some of those travelers have never left. Made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel, this remote coaching inn was once a haven for smugglers and rogues. Today, it’s one of Cornwall’s most haunted locations, where the ghosts of smugglers, highwaymen, and murdered men still walk, and a spectral mother searches endlessly for her baby.

The History

The Coaching Inn

Built in 1750:

• A stopping point on the treacherous moor
• Travelers needed shelter
• The road was dangerous
• Highwaymen lurked
• The moor claimed lives

The Smugglers

Jamaica Inn became:

• A hub for smuggling operations
• Contraband hidden in cellars
• Corrupt dealings
• Violence and murder
• A dark reputation

Daphne du Maurier

In 1936:

• She wrote the famous novel
• Set at Jamaica Inn
• Tales of smugglers and wreckers
• Based on local legends
• Made the inn world-famous

The Ghosts

The Highwayman

The most famous ghost:

• A cloaked figure on horseback
• Seen outside the inn
• On the moor road
• Sometimes entering the courtyard
• Then vanishing completely

The Stranger on the Wall

A regular phenomenon:

• A man sitting on the wall
• Outside the inn
• Dressed in old clothes
• Speak to him and he vanishes
• Staff have seen him for decades

The Anguished Mother

In Room 5:

• A woman’s ghost walks
• Searching, searching
• For her baby
• Who died at the inn
• Her grief eternal

The Young Smuggler

In the courtyard:

• A young man appears
• Dressed in 18th-century clothes
• Perhaps killed in a deal gone wrong
• Walking between buildings
• Then through solid walls

The Murdered Man

Former employee ghost:

• Killed at the inn
• 70+ years ago
• Still seen in certain areas
• Recognized by old staff
• His death was violent

Notable Phenomena

Room 5

The most haunted room:

• Where the mother searches
• Guests report disturbances
• Babies crying heard
• A woman’s presence felt
• Not everyone can stay the night

The Cellars

The old smugglers’ hideouts:

• Strange sounds emerge
• Footsteps on stone
• Whispers and conversations
• The clink of bottles
• As if the smugglers still work

Temperature Drops

Throughout the inn:

• Sudden cold spots
• No drafts to explain them
• Concentrated in certain areas
• Cellars and Room 5 especially
• A common phenomenon

Investigations

Ghost Hunters

Many teams have investigated:

• Consistent activity reported
• EVP recordings successful
• Photographs with anomalies
• Temperature anomalies documented
• High levels of phenomena

The Museum

Jamaica Inn has:

• A museum of smuggling history
• Displays about the inn’s past
• The du Maurier connection
• And ghost investigation findings
• A complete experience

Staff Accounts

Employees report:

• Objects moving
• Doors opening and closing
• Footsteps when alone
• Figures glimpsed
• Accepting the ghosts as normal

The Moor Itself

Bodmin Moor

The surrounding landscape:

• Wild and atmospheric
• Ancient standing stones
• Beast of Bodmin sightings
• Tregeagle’s ghost wails
• Dozmary Pool’s mysteries

Tregeagle

A famous Cornish ghost:

• Condemned to empty Dozmary Pool
• With a leaking limpet shell
• His screams echo on the moor
• A magistrate who sold his soul
• Eternal punishment

The Atmosphere

The moor creates:

• Isolation and eeriness
• Mists that appear suddenly
• Strange lights
• Disorientation
• A perfect haunted setting

Visiting Jamaica Inn

Today

The inn offers:

• Accommodation (including Room 5)
• Restaurant and bar
• The Smuggling Museum
• Du Maurier memorabilia
• Ghost experiences

Ghost Nights

Regular events:

• Professional investigations
• Ghost walks
• Paranormal experiences
• Access to haunted areas
• Encounters are common

The Experience

Guests report:

• Feeling presences
• Hearing unexplained sounds
• Seeing shadowy figures
• Dreams of smugglers
• A strong atmosphere

The Question

For nearly 300 years, Jamaica Inn has stood on Bodmin Moor.

Smugglers used it. Travelers sheltered there. Some never left.

The highwayman still rides to the door. A man sits on a wall who isn’t there. In Room 5, a mother searches for a baby who died centuries ago.

Daphne du Maurier wrote about the inn’s dark history. But she only told part of the story.

The real story is still being written.

By guests who hear footsteps at night. By staff who see figures in the cellar. By investigators who capture voices that shouldn’t be there.

Jamaica Inn. A remote coaching inn on a haunted moor.

The smugglers are long dead.

But some of them still work here.

The deals still go down in the cellars.

The highwayman still needs to stable his horse.

And in Room 5, a mother will search for her baby forever.

Check in if you dare.

But don’t expect to sleep alone.

The other guests don’t appear on the register.

But they’ve been here longer than anyone.