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The Grenadier Pub:
London, England
 Not
far from the hustle and bustle of modern London, just a short walk from
Hyde Park Corner, you'll find a delightfully quaint winding cobble stone
mews. Lined with fashionable historic cottages, Wilton Row offers
visitors a tranquil respite where time has endeavored to stand still.
Any visit to this wonderful little neighborhood would not be complete
without popping in at number 18 Wilton Row, The Grenadier Pub, to grab a
pint and a meal and to chat it up with the colorful regulars.
Interestingly, the Grenadier is
also regarded as one of the most haunted pubs in all of Great Britain.
The Grenadier, is a fragment of London's
distant past belonging
to the 'Waterloo era' of 200 years ago. The Grenadier once served as an officers mess for
the Duke of Wellington's military regiments.
In those days, the upper floors of the
building accommodated the the officers dining room and the mess
sergeant's quarters. With enlisted barracks nearby, the cellars
were pressed into service as a tavern and general den of iniquity for
the common soldier. Still in use today at the Grenadier, the old
original pewter bar was hauled upstairs and is
believed to be the oldest of it's kind still in existence.
The story goes that many years ago a young
Grenadier was caught cheating in a card game. His companions, as
was done in that age, handed out immediate and brutal punishment.
Dragging him into the yard between the buildings, they flogged him
senseless to near unconsciousness. He
allegedly then stumbled back down into the cellars and died. To this day his
ghost is said to haunt the pub and make his presence known frequently.
The disturbances are most acute in
September, which is said to be the month the young soldier ran afoul
with gambling.
Over the years, patrons and staff at the Grenadier have reported seeing a
distinct figure of a man going
up the narrow staircase adjacent to the bar, only to vanish just before
he reaches the top. Employees have been frightened countless times
when venturing into the wine cellar. Unexpected chilly breezes and faint unearthly
and unintelligible whispers at the back of their necks. In one
instance a staff member was in the cellar when a heavy glass ash tray
was flung at him by an unseen force.
Numerous times,
workers attempting to renovate the pub after hours have experienced frightening
events such as locked doors flung wide open, tools and materials moved,
and unexplainable bone chilling cold spots. Needless to say, the pub has not received
many renovations through its history.
It is quite common for other peculiar events to
occur day or night. Unexplained shadows are seen along the staircase, loud
knocking and rapping that can never be pinpointed, lights switching off and on, objects being moved
or thrown,
and water being turned on.
Encouraged by my own curiosity, I
have visited the Grenadier on three separate occasions. On one of those
evening visits in late September, I (along with the other 20 to 25
customers) did experience a brief period of sharp rapping, seemingly coming from
the end of the main dining room. The rapping came from either a
door or the wall, but no one could tell for sure, and of course no one
visible any where near the location.
When questioned, the waitress basically
shrugged it off and said it was nothing and it just happens from time to
time. She did offer
later on however, that she never goes into the cellar. She leaves
that to the blokes.
To experience a bit of the Grenadier's
paranormal phenomena first hand was exciting as well as unnerving, but
equally noteworthy, the wine and the
meal were excellent! When in London, the Grenadier Pub is a must
visit!
The story of the Grenadier haunting is
well known, and customers from all over the world have left money
attached to the ceiling of the main bar as somewhat of a tribute to a
card game gone awry. And just as they do with the crucifix hanging
in the cellar, the staff never removes any of the offerings left behind
to appease the spirit . . . or spirits!
The Grenadier Pub has also
been the subject of numerous television and radio programs, and was
featured in the movie "Around the World in 80 Days." In
1982 a BBC TV crew member from "The Six O'clock Show, captured a
photograph of a faint but recognizable face in an upper window of the
pub. After enlarging the photo, it proved clearly to be the image
of a young man with a handlebar mustache who was wearing a fez-like cap,
common to the Waterloo era. Of course, as you might imagine, no
one was on the second floor of the pub at the time. No other photo
of this nature has since been taken.
In the dank London fog along the Wilton
Row mews many a sober
witness has reported sightings of a vaporous Grenadier.
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 1998©
The Central City Saloon
 Nestled
in the Rocky Mountains not too far from the modern city of Denver is the
colorful old mining town of Central City. With many quaint and
well-preserved buildings, Central City has become a somewhat popular
tourist attraction. Although the city is alive with tourist
activity during the warm summer months and has a small population of
permanent residents, the city also has a small group of vaporous
inhabitants as well.
While the vaporous inhabitants have long since "passed over," it would
seem to be inappropriate to say that they are deceased since they
seemingly carry on their daily lives as though they don’t agree (or
admit) that they have died.
In an old saloon on Eureka Street, there
is one of the most unusual floor treatments to be found. On the floor in
the center of the saloon, there’s an intricate painting of a lovely
woman. Over the years, the tavern’s proprietor has carefully and
meticulously maintained the painting.
As the tale goes, life was difficult and
dangerous in the early years of this old-west mining town. Sickness,
injury, and death a well-known and constant threat.
In this story, a miner’s young wife was
stricken by "consumption" and while the miner tried to do everything he
could think of to help his wife, she slipped into a permanent sleep and
died. Incredibly distraught, the miner was known to frequently drink
himself into a stupor, and with the understanding sympathy of the saloon
owner, painted a portrait of his wife on the barroom floor. As he
painted, the miner spoke tenderly of her sweetness, many patrons of the
tavern thought it to be almost an incantation, that he had somehow hoped
would breathe the life she had lost so young, into the painting. He
would drink and paint for days on end, long into the night and well into
the next day. On they day he felt the painting was finally complete and
reflected his wife’s true beauty, he fell into a deep sleep and never
awoke. They buried him the next day in a simple grave next to his
beloved wife. To this day, visitors to the saloon insist that on the
anniversary of the miner’s death, you can distinctly hear the voices of
the couple emanating through the portrait on the floor as they talk
tenderly to one other.
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 1999©
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