The Fox and Fiddler

The playful spectre of "Sarah" who died in the early 1660s haunts this building, playing pranks on people by touching them, making noises and pushing glasses onto the floor. Legend says that Matthew Hopkins dragged her down to the cellar and had her bricked up alive. She is said to be blonde, with a white lacy hat and a black dress. She used to live in the attic and will not allow objects to be moved up there.

Update 11/9/20: Annmarie of Dakota Enterprises told me, "We have a number or reported incidence in the pub. Ongoing really." In subsequent emails, I was told, "We have a lot of examples..regular our electronic till opens when no one is near it. The gas for the beer turns 'itself' off. My bar managers husband has been asleep in the pub and has heard the barrels below him being moved when know one is there. Things randomly fly off the shelves with no explanation. Jack...our top hatted ghost has been seen a lot by one staff member. Sarah is our most notorious. They don't really cause use problems and I think they are happy with what we are doing. Personally I have had the feeling of water dripping on my head....when there is no leak!"

I visited the pub during our October 2024 stay and had a chat with staff and regulars. Everyone knew of "Sarah" in the cellar but it looks like she is relatively quiet as of late. An addition to the legend is that Sarah had a child and is looking for her. There were only a few stories here. The barman was in the cellar when he heard the latch on the door click behind him. Glasses have been flung off shelves, optics turned by themselves and a pack of cigarettes went flying off a table. Things seem to pick up at Halloween time. The landlady, Natalie, who had been at the pub for decades, also spoke of the gas pumps in the cellar being turned off (a usual complaint in haunted pubs!) I spoke to Natalie's husband, Chris and he mentioned that he had heard a female voice whisper in his ear and his long hair flicked (he couldn't make out what was said). He also talked about seeing an apparition, which was pre-Covid. He had returned from a gig after hours and was sat at the bar having a beer on his own, Natalie being upstairs cashing up. His vision was attracted to movement in his peripheral vision and he turned to see a figure. He called out that the pub was now closed - and then realised what it was. It was a hooded monk who walked across the passageway and then vanished behind a post. Chris was so excited he ran upstairs to tell his wife!

Link: Essex Live