The Boot InnMarket Place, St.Albans, Hertfordshire
Timeslips & Apparitions
DATE OF REPORT: November 2009
DATE OF ACCOUNTS: October/November 2009
Account submitted by MAGGIE - G.P.S. Founder Member and Lead Investigator.
ACCOUNT 1 : OCTOBER 2009 Personal first-hand account – MALE, 26, SCEPTIC*
This person came to see me in early November 2009. They do not seem the type to believe in ‘’ghosts and spirits’ – if anything, before this event, they would have been sceptical of such things.
When they came to me, it was with the belief that after a visit to THE BOOT PUB, they had seen ghosts in the pub, and brought one home with them!
I asked them to explain events as much as possible, and this is the account they gave:
They had been on a ‘works do’ visiting a few pubs in St.Albans. They found themselves in the Town Centre, ending up at a pub that this person had never been in before that night. In fact, when they came to see me they could not remember the name or location of the Pub at all.
They hadn’t drank much throughout the evening, as, being a work thing, no-one wanted to get drunk or embaress themselves in front of their peers. By their own admission, this person had: “drank nowhere near as much as I would do on a usual night out!” and was sober.
On entering the premises, (about 10:00pm), they immediately felt ‘strange’ and as they looked around the pub, they could see ‘people in old-fashioned dress’. They knew that these people didn’t belong there, although they were walking around, drinking, etc. as though it were totally normal to them. As they themselves said, they knew, it was ‘ghosts’ they were seeing.
Without even finishing their drink, the person decided to leave, feeling shaken by what they had experienced. They made their excuses to the group that they didn’t feel well, and left them, returning home to Hemel Hempstead, immediately.
As they walked along St.Albans High Street, to the Taxi Rank, they continued feeling ‘strange’ as though someone was with them. In fact, (in their own words) they KNEW someone was with them, and this ‘presence’ continued to be felt until they reached home.
When they reached their home, they explained the entire story to their family, not omitting anything. I checked with the family members, and they could verify that he had returned very early from the evening, had not been drunk or under the influence of anything, but had been very shaken up (almost seeming scared). They also verified that before this event, the person in question was sceptical of ghosts, so this was not likely to be a story they had made up or fabricated.
When they came to see me a week after this event, I did not immediately make the connection between this account of THE BOOT, with my own experiences there. As the other person could not remember the name or exact location of the Pub they had visited, it could have been any one of the numerous ‘old’ pubs in St.Albans. It wasn’t until I was researching the Pub for my own accounts, that I came across some photos which I showed the other person – it was indeed, the same Pub!!
ACCOUNT 2: DECEMBER 2009 – Personal first-hand account – FEMALE, 36, SENSITIVE*
My first visit to the Boot was in November 2009.
We were sitting, as you entered the pub to the left, so I had a clear view of the entire pub.
After being in there about 5 minutes, I said to my husband that there were ghosts in the pub. I could clearly identify 3 different ones, all from different eras. I didn’t actually ‘see’ them (as in a form in front of me) I could sense them, and it’s as though I was replaying a film in my mind, as I looked around the pub I could see, in my mind, these ‘ghosts’.
1: Female, young features. Dressed in 14/15 Century clothes. Brown woollen long-sleeved dress with a white apron. She wore nothing on her head, and looked like she was carrying something in her hands. I got the impression she worked there. She walked from the rear of the pub to the doors. This is her ‘route’ through the pub. She looked as though she was hurrying, as though there was ‘work to be done’. She did not seem particularly distressed, or unhappy. More like she was going about her day to day business as though nothing had changed since her time there and unaware of things, or changes around her over the centuries.
2: Male, late 20s?early 30s? Tall, attractive, with a thin moustache and delicate features. Elegantly dressed in what seemed like a dark suit, with a black top hat. – Possibly Victorian, early Edwardian era - . He was standing by the left hand side of the pub – (if you were to look from behind the bar) he stood very close to the wall and seemed angry, almost scowling. Although he looked like a gentleman, his character did not seem to fit this description. – Shifty, jealous and very untrustworthy. – No reason sensed as to why he still remains there. - A very fleeting presence, not unlike in life flitting around from place to place, a rouge or conman possibly?? If you have a maelevolent force in the premises, that comes and goes – this may be the cause!
3: Male, 50+ I did sense that he was from the Georgian era (1700s??) but also the name George, so could be some confusion as to what ‘george’ meant. He is portly, as though he enjoys his food and drink! (especially port/wine) his face is ruddy, his nose bulbous. He has white, thick curly hair, bushy around the sides, and tied at the back. He wears a dark brown woollen suit, which consists of a long jacket, breeches (to the knee) and waistcoat. He wears what looks like a cream silk shirt with a long bow tied at the front. – although his clothes are expensive, and show some social standing, his overall look is ‘shabby’ – unkempt, frayed and stained in places, as though he’s ‘let himself go’ a bit! He sits at his ‘usual’ table in front of the left hand side window (again, this as you look from behind the bar) In front of a large open fire. He is well known there, but I don’t think he is a ‘local’ – definitely not born in the area, he has an accent – northern? He may have made his money through the sea, - transporting goods, or similar -He either passes through the town regularly, or he has settled there in later life. His manner is jovial, a bit ‘rough and ready’ but genuine.
This is the most ‘active’ presence there, but I believe this is to do with the manner in which he may have died. I ‘saw’ him sitting in front of the window, of an evening, a candle was in the window, which was the only light (I ‘saw’ no-one else around him). He wasn’t expecting any company, but someone (a male) came into the pub shouting and cursing at him, calling him ‘a cheat, a thief and a liar” before plunging a short-bladed knife into his chest. “George” died either in the pub, or very close outside. The reason for this altercation, I believe is that “George” played cards for money, and was very good at it, he wasn’t a cheat, but his ‘luck’ was perceived as such. Unfortuantely any winnings he made would have been spent on drink and enjoyment very quickly!.
I feel he is still in the pub because he died tragically, without cause, and he wants to make it known that he wasn’t a ‘cheat, a thief, or a liar’. Although tormented by this, he is, I believe, a friendly ‘spirit’ – as in life, he still means no malice or harm to anyone – if anything, he enjoys the company of those still drinking in the pub – after all, this is what he enjoyed in life! This ‘sprit’ would be felt as someone standing close, - a cold breeze near you, the feeling of goosebumps, but ultimately not uncomfortable or maelevolent.
Given the pubs great and varied history, it wouldn’t be difficult to believe that it houses a few ‘ghosts’ but, as with so much of history, validating things is difficult. I did some limited research, and found that the inn dates back to the 1400s – which would mean it was around the same time as the female in there. Finding out about the other two gentleman is more difficult – they could have been anyone. I would have thought that finding out about a murder would have been far easier, but I found very few accounts of murders in St.Albans over time. I did contact a local history expert, and they said that many murders simply went unrecorded, - Pubs and inns were often places of vice and danger, people passed through on their way to London, so no-one knew who they were. Crime, etc were common, especially over things such as money. Often the perpetrators were never identified, let alone tried and convicted. And, as in the case of ‘George’ if he wasn’t a ‘local’ records would have been even more difficult to find – he may not have had family around to notice him ‘gone’.
It is disappointing, that I could find nothing to substantiate ‘George’ especially, but also the others. The only thing that makes this ‘tale’ plausible is that 2 different people, at different times experienced very similar things. Why would one pub have such a profound effect on people that they remembered things months after, with the same clarity?
AFTER THE EVENTS
I, on behalf of G.P.S. contacted Pauline King, of St.Albans Ghost Tours, and she arranged for us to meet with the landlord and his son one Saturday morning. Unfortunately with the hustle and bustle of a working pub, getting ready for opening – it was difficult to pick up on anything more than I had previously done. This in itself, however does tie in with both of the previous accounts – both were experienced during the time the pub was open, and other people were around. It is believed that some ghosts only appear when the atmosphere is right – when the ‘setting’ is as it was when they visited during their physical lifetime. With ‘George’ especially I get this feeling – he loved being around people, drink and entertainment in life, - so if his ghost remains, surely it still enjoys the same pleasures?
The Landlord did, however tell us of a few 'known' ghosts in The Boot, including that of a Monk who haunts the downstairs bar, and a young girl who haunts upstairs. Unexplained footsteps have also been heard by the people living there, and cupboard doors have been known to open and close of their own accord in the dead of night. Once, the landlords dog was so frightened of 'something' unseen, that it had an accident on the floor!
As for the 'timeslip' experienced, one explanation is ‘timeslips’ where people can ‘slip’ into a previous time or place. The given explanation is that an ‘imprint’ of times past stay behind in a building or place, and are always there, but we don’t see or notice them,. Sometimes (rarely) we can see these imprints of the past, and actually feel part of them. Although these accounts are rare, they are not unheard of, and many have been documented.
Pauline King has since researched this historic Inn in some depth, and we hope to provide her full report soon.
PICTURES:
Some of the Pictures show ‘orbs’ in them, but a full investigation would be needed to find out more.
