The Black Swan Hotel

An almost transparent spectral woman in a long, flowing dress has been seen emerging from a wall; she stares out of the window momentarily before passing through the opposite wall. These sightings are in room 4, where guests sometimes report nausea, stomach cramps and the feeling of being strangled. Stories of the bed shaking, equipment turning on by itself, taps that turn on during the night and toilets flushing abound in this room too. Scratching sounds on the wall have been attributed to a girl who was trapped in this room by a fire - she died trying to claw her way out to escape. It is said that some guests have fled the room in terror when the ghost of the lady materialises in the night (usually 1.15am), emerging from the wall.
A shadowy figure has also been reported in the reception area and the stairs leading down to the cellar; it is thought that this figure might be Ambrose Saintsbury, a horse trader and possible highwayman who owned The Nags Head, which used to stand on the site. His phantom has been seen seated astride a horse in the cellars , where his stables used to be; he has also been seen with an unidentified woman. Saintsbury may also be the man in dark clothes and a tricorn hat seem talking to people in the bar, before vanishing. Footsteps and heavy doors opening and closing, and chairs moving have also occurred in the building. Other events include all the mobile phones in the hotel going off simultaneously, while a man was thrown from his bed in the afore mentioned room 4. Poltergeist like activity has been noted in the function room. Finally, following the removal of some bricks to investigate a possible tunnel in the cellar, activity in this area picked up, with tapping noises, light anomalies, shadowy figures, hot and cold spots and people being touched reported.

Researcher Hayley Stevens revealed in 2021 that a previous owner had, with the collusion of a local historian, concocted the ghost stories to drum up trade. This write-up is left here for reference only.

Link: Great British Ghosts

Link: Weird Wiltshire

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