Wiltshire's Ghostbusters

Before the visit to the Jolly Tar on 21st January 2007, the team member (whose identity has been protected) dreamed repeatedly of a pub where a man loitered in a corner at the end of the lounge bar, by the restaurant wall.

When the team arrived at the Jolly Tar she discovered the layout of the lounge bar exactly matched her dream. She had never been to the Jolly Tar before, and the team had been kept in the dark about what sort of site they were to investigate.

Even more curiously, the man in her dreams was scruffy-looking, which tallies with the description of the middle-aged ghost that landlord Paul Ramsden had recently seen wearing old clothes in the same place.

The ghost of a remarkably similar-looking man, who is nearly 6ft tall, has also been seen in the public bar by the landlady, chef, and local customers.

Disturbing scenario

When PSI re-visited the Jolly Tar a week later, another member of the team sensed a disturbing scenario being played out behind the lounge bar. In her mind's eye she saw that it was a dark and stormy night, and a solitary man was pacing up and down behind the bar. He was dripping wet from being out in the heavy rain, and was in a state of high anxiety about something that had just happened to a woman - something bad - and he was responsible for it.

Unusually for this sort of vision, the percipient also intuited names for the people concerned: his name was William Dreyfuss, and hers was Mollie Tanner.

The Jolly Tar (tar means a sailor) opened as an inn in 1855 but it started life in the eighteenth century as a farmhouse, and although Mrs Ann Tanner was living in Hannington in 1851 (she had been born there around 1781), it has not yet been possible to positively link her or either of William and Mollie with the farm or the pub.

A wide variety of other phenomena was recorded during the two visits, ranging from dark shadows flitting about, to mysterious sounds (several of which were recorded by video equipment, and whose source remains unidentified).

Strong sensations

But on the first visit fully half of the members of the PSI team of eight experienced strong sensations of something like static electricity in their hair, or having their hair stroked and played with. What significance such a seemingly trivial yet startling incident might have is unclear, and indeed it may never be known, but for now these and other subtle occurrences are duly noted and as part of the overall pattern of haunting at the Jolly Tar.

When assessing evidence for paranormal activity, PSI prefers to err on the side of caution. But of course, finding no conclusive evidence for the paranormal is not the same as finding evidence of no paranormal activity, and so the search continues

These visits to the Jolly Tar were not intended as an exhaustive exploration, but a more informal survey that nevertheless maintained the high standards of investigation expected from this organisation with 700 members.

PSI has given a detailed report, as usual, to the owners of the venue.