The White Hart Hotel

A figure, mostly seen in the Guest's Lounge, but also other older areas of the building, has been seen here. Stories abound that two spectral children, who died in a fire have also been observed. Sounds, temperature drops and televisions turning off and objects moving have been reported here too - especially in room 5. There are other stories too, some of which say that rooms 2 and 19 are haunted as well.

Update 12/7/22: My query for any recent happenings was answered by Sarah who said that she had only been at the hotel a few weeks and could not answer my question. But she did say, "I can honestly say that I haven't heard anything off staff. Customers have heard rumours but I haven't met anyone yet who has had first hand experience. Being an old building, there are a lot of strange noises and atmospheres..."

Update 29/10/25: Assistant Manager Kay informed me, "Myself and the GM began our journey here a year ago, and since then have been told many stories by guests and staff members." On December 2nd, Kay provided more details; " When we first started our journey at The White Hart, in August 2024, we met two ladies who have stayed in the hotel numerous times. These guests are historians, and relayed to us they had many family members connected to The White Hart from hundreds of years back. They are true believers in all things paranormal, and told me their story of Room 19. They explained they had checked in to their room, dropped their bags off and hung their clothing in the wardrobe, to then came down for dinner. Later that evening, they went back in to the wardrobe to find four historical looking pennies in the bottom of the closet. They explained to the manager at the time, and showed him these pennies, who told the two there were rumours that two children had passed in that sector of the hotel. Their conclusion was the pennies were from those children, as they would put pennies on the children's eyes when they passed. They told the story in such detail, and the both of them were witness - it was my first week here, so you can imagine my reaction!
Two months later, they stayed again and told me more stories. We are unsure if it is Room 1 or 16, but both are high-ceiling with original beam; dating back to 605 years old. The guests explained there is history of witches being hanged in these rooms. Not too long ago, we had a gentleman stay in Room 16 - who may I add had no idea of the room's history. He explained he had a lovely stay, and slept well upon check-out, but he did have a strange dream about witches being burned and hanged! When myself and our receptionist explained the history of the room, he said he always thought he was susceptible to activity like this.
During our time here so far, we have been re-decorating. We have always joked about how we see two figures walking by in the reception and foyer area, from the corner of our eyes. I personally see a woman in a large white dress, and a man with a long black coat and hat. There was one night, around 2AM, myself and my colleague were painting the bar area. Suddenly, we both turned our heads to look to our right, both explaining we saw someone in the corner of our eyes. There was no one there, and we realised we were the only two in the building that night. The idea of both of us seeing this gave us goosebumps!
The other instance we've had is our wine glasses will move and shake on their own when hanging from the rack. This happened on a quiet night, and my colleague ran to show me. The bar was filled with the sound of the glasses clanking together, and guests were just as confused!"

Link: Essex Live

Link: Greene King

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