Step inside the chilling true story of The Wheatsheaf Inn, often called the most haunted pub in the UK. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, host Amy uncovers the terrifying legend of Jessica Ann Hargreaves, the six-year-old girl allegedly murdered in the pub's cellar—and the evil spirit that still haunts the premises. With real EVP recordings, documented paranormal activity, and even a police investigation, this haunted hotspot in West Boldon, England is more than just spooky—it’s horrifying. Discover the eerie findings hidden behind the pub’s walls, including a child’s shoe, dress fragment, and lock of hair, and hear how one psychic’s revelations turned a cozy inn into the center of one of Britain’s most sinister ghost stories. If you’re into true crime, ghost stories, and haunted history, you don’t want to miss this terrifying episode.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back, friends to the Strange History Podcast, where the
past isn't just remembered, it refuses to rest tonight, Pour
yourself a pint, pull up a creaky stool, and settle in,
because I'm taking you to a place that's soaked an
ale legend and an unspeakable darkness. This is the horrifying
(00:21):
true story of the Wheat Sheaf In, a charming little
pub nestled in the village of West Bolden Tyne and Where, England.
But don't let the flower baskets and friendly signage fool you.
Beneath the wooden beams and warm smiles, lurks something twisted.
This dear listener may just be the most haunted pub
(00:43):
in the United Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
The ordinary face of evil.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
By all appearances, the Wheat sheaf Inn is your typical
British watering hole, a cozy nineteenth century pub frequented by locals,
families and weekend ale enthusias. It served Sunday roasts, hosted
quiz nights and rang with laughter. But strange things had
been happening there for years. Cold spots whispers, the staff
(01:12):
complained of lights flickering and glasses smashing without cause. Patrons
heard footsteps above them when no one was upstairs. Dogs
refused to enter the cellar, and some even claimed they
saw a little girl staring silently from the shadows, then vanishing.
But no one really knew what they were dealing with
until two thousand and four.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
A psychic walks into a bar.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Enter Suzanne Hadwin, a well known psychic medium from the Northeast,
invited to the Wheat Sheaf for a charity ghost hunting event.
What she expected was your typical pub haunting, some residual energy,
maybe a grumpy old spirit who missed his darts league.
What she got was something else entirely Almost immediately, Suzanne
(02:00):
claimed she made contact with the spirit of a young
girl named Jessica Ann Hargreaves. Jessica, she said, was six
years old, sweet, quiet, innocent, and absolutely terrified he hurt me.
Suzanne described Jessica's spirit in heartbreaking detail, brown hair, a
(02:21):
pink dress, soft shoes, and a deep, unrelenting sadness. Jessica
revealed that she had lived in the pub long ago,
and that she had died there horribly. She told Suzanne
she had been lured into the cellar, where a man
named Joseph Lawrence, or possibly Joseph Armstrong, raped her, strangled her,
(02:42):
and dismembered her body. Suzanne, stunned, asked where the remains were.
Jessica pointed to the fireplace. Now, if this sounds like
the plot of a gothic horror novel, well it gets worse.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
The cellar that spoke the.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Landlord at the time, Damon Brown, was both disturbed and intrigued.
Together with the staff, they ventured into the cellar following
Suzanne's eerie directions. They noticed a hollow sounding wall. Suzanne
insisted that behind it lay proof of Jessica's story, so
they broke it open. What they found chilled them to
(03:22):
the bone. A small child's shoe, a fragment of a
pink dress, and a lock of light brown hair. Exactly
as Jessica had described. These were real objects hidden in
a place no one had touched for decades. Was it
coincidence a trick or a young girl crying out across
(03:42):
time for justice?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'm coming for you, Suzanne.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But that wasn't all. During that same ghost hunting session,
the team captured an EVP, an electronic voice phenomenon believed
to be the spirit of Joseph himself. The voice said
I'm coming for you, Suzanne, I'm going to kill you
multiple times that night. Suzanne claimed she felt overwhelming dread,
(04:09):
like something malevolent was watching. She would later say she
had never felt such concentrated evil in one place. And
remember this woman made a living visiting haunted houses.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Thirty seven spirits and counting.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
After the events of two thousand and four, the Wheat
Sheaf gained national attention. Paranormal investigators poured in. Over time,
more and more spirits were identified over thirty seven. By
some counts, the pub seemed to be a supernatural sponge
soaking in trauma, memory and presence. Visitors report chairs flying
(04:49):
across the room, glasses hurling themselves at walls, and shadowy
figures that dart through the halls. Some staff quit, refusing
to return to the cellar. Others swore they were fough
followed home by something from the pub and Jessica, according
to psychics, she's still there, watching, waiting, hoping someone will
(05:09):
find the rest of her. The police get involved after
media coverage exploded. Northumbria police actually investigated Damon Brown feared
there may be more than just Jessica's remains, possibly up
to eight more children buried beneath the pub That was
never confirmed, but police did take Suzanne's findings seriously enough
(05:31):
to visit the site. No full bodies were recovered, no
charges were brought, but the questions never stopped myth or murder?
So what are we dealing with? A psychic's overactive imagination,
a local legend taken too far, a historic crime that
was never documented but desperately wants to be uncovered, or
(05:54):
something darker, something tied to the land, the building and
the spirits who still cling to it. The artifacts remain real,
the EVPs are documented, the sightings continue, and the Wheat
sheaf Inn, now notorious, is forever etched into the grim
annals of Haunted Britain. So if you ever find yourself
in West Bolden tempted by the quaint charm of an
(06:17):
old English pub, just remember some places don't serve spirits,
they house them.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Thanks for listening to the Strange History Podcast. Be sure
to like, follow, and leave us a review, unless you're
a vengeful bartender ghost from the eighteen hundreds, in which
case please don't. Until next time, Stay Strange
Welcome back, friends to the Strange History Podcast, where the
past isn't just remembered, it refuses to rest tonight, Pour
yourself a pint, pull up a creaky stool, and settle in,
because I'm taking you to a place that's soaked an
ale legend and an unspeakable darkness. This is the horrifying
(00:21):
true story of the Wheat Sheaf In, a charming little
pub nestled in the village of West Bolden Tyne and Where, England.
But don't let the flower baskets and friendly signage fool you.
Beneath the wooden beams and warm smiles, lurks something twisted.
This dear listener may just be the most haunted pub
(00:43):
in the United Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
The ordinary face of evil.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
By all appearances, the Wheat sheaf Inn is your typical
British watering hole, a cozy nineteenth century pub frequented by locals,
families and weekend ale enthusias. It served Sunday roasts, hosted
quiz nights and rang with laughter. But strange things had
been happening there for years. Cold spots whispers, the staff
(01:12):
complained of lights flickering and glasses smashing without cause. Patrons
heard footsteps above them when no one was upstairs. Dogs
refused to enter the cellar, and some even claimed they
saw a little girl staring silently from the shadows, then vanishing.
But no one really knew what they were dealing with
until two thousand and four.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
A psychic walks into a bar.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Enter Suzanne Hadwin, a well known psychic medium from the Northeast,
invited to the Wheat Sheaf for a charity ghost hunting event.
What she expected was your typical pub haunting, some residual energy,
maybe a grumpy old spirit who missed his darts league.
What she got was something else entirely Almost immediately, Suzanne
(02:00):
claimed she made contact with the spirit of a young
girl named Jessica Ann Hargreaves. Jessica, she said, was six
years old, sweet, quiet, innocent, and absolutely terrified he hurt me.
Suzanne described Jessica's spirit in heartbreaking detail, brown hair, a
(02:21):
pink dress, soft shoes, and a deep, unrelenting sadness. Jessica
revealed that she had lived in the pub long ago,
and that she had died there horribly. She told Suzanne
she had been lured into the cellar, where a man
named Joseph Lawrence, or possibly Joseph Armstrong, raped her, strangled her,
(02:42):
and dismembered her body. Suzanne, stunned, asked where the remains were.
Jessica pointed to the fireplace. Now, if this sounds like
the plot of a gothic horror novel, well it gets worse.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
The cellar that spoke the.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Landlord at the time, Damon Brown, was both disturbed and intrigued.
Together with the staff, they ventured into the cellar following
Suzanne's eerie directions. They noticed a hollow sounding wall. Suzanne
insisted that behind it lay proof of Jessica's story, so
they broke it open. What they found chilled them to
(03:22):
the bone. A small child's shoe, a fragment of a
pink dress, and a lock of light brown hair. Exactly
as Jessica had described. These were real objects hidden in
a place no one had touched for decades. Was it
coincidence a trick or a young girl crying out across
(03:42):
time for justice?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'm coming for you, Suzanne.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
But that wasn't all. During that same ghost hunting session,
the team captured an EVP, an electronic voice phenomenon believed
to be the spirit of Joseph himself. The voice said
I'm coming for you, Suzanne, I'm going to kill you
multiple times that night. Suzanne claimed she felt overwhelming dread,
(04:09):
like something malevolent was watching. She would later say she
had never felt such concentrated evil in one place. And
remember this woman made a living visiting haunted houses.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Thirty seven spirits and counting.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
After the events of two thousand and four, the Wheat
Sheaf gained national attention. Paranormal investigators poured in. Over time,
more and more spirits were identified over thirty seven. By
some counts, the pub seemed to be a supernatural sponge
soaking in trauma, memory and presence. Visitors report chairs flying
(04:49):
across the room, glasses hurling themselves at walls, and shadowy
figures that dart through the halls. Some staff quit, refusing
to return to the cellar. Others swore they were fough
followed home by something from the pub and Jessica, according
to psychics, she's still there, watching, waiting, hoping someone will
(05:09):
find the rest of her. The police get involved after
media coverage exploded. Northumbria police actually investigated Damon Brown feared
there may be more than just Jessica's remains, possibly up
to eight more children buried beneath the pub That was
never confirmed, but police did take Suzanne's findings seriously enough
(05:31):
to visit the site. No full bodies were recovered, no
charges were brought, but the questions never stopped myth or murder?
So what are we dealing with? A psychic's overactive imagination,
a local legend taken too far, a historic crime that
was never documented but desperately wants to be uncovered, or
(05:54):
something darker, something tied to the land, the building and
the spirits who still cling to it. The artifacts remain real,
the EVPs are documented, the sightings continue, and the Wheat
sheaf Inn, now notorious, is forever etched into the grim
annals of Haunted Britain. So if you ever find yourself
in West Bolden tempted by the quaint charm of an
(06:17):
old English pub, just remember some places don't serve spirits,
they house them.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Thanks for listening to the Strange History Podcast. Be sure
to like, follow, and leave us a review, unless you're
a vengeful bartender ghost from the eighteen hundreds, in which
case please don't. Until next time, Stay Strange
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