The Storyteller: The lure of Bocastle

I first learnt that Boscastle, in Cornwall, was haunted, when I read an article in the Paranormal magazine, about The Wellington Hotel, back in the early days of TIP (Torbay Investigators of the Paranormal), before we'd even given ourselves that name, when my friends, Dave and Adrian, and myself, used to meet up at The Parkers Arms, in Paignton, to discuss all things spooky, in-between games of pool and darts.

I would bring along various articles for us to peruse, and, on this occasion, I insisted that we go there. So, a visit to Boscastle became our first TIPTRIP, even before it became a thing.

We’d always wanted to investigate outside of our area, so a drive to the northern coast of Cornwall seemed ideal, as it is only an hour and a half away from Torbay by car. For our first visit, we decided on a daytrip, on the spookiest day of the year...Halloween! The plan was to explore the village, visit the Witchcraft Museum, and all the pubs, before heading back home.

I remember being very impressed with the Museum, it’s relatively small, quite compact, covering two floors. It crams a lot of interesting stuff in, which takes a while to read and digest as you wander around. It’s somewhere you can visit, time after time, and still find something new.

For lunch, we headed to The Cobweb, very nice, and I think a few games of pool were played. More matches followed, but this time at The Welly, where we discovered they had a jukebox, which allowed us to request some of our favourite tunes whilst we played.

After an evening meal, also at The Welly, we took a stroll up the winding, steep lane, that leads to The Napoleon pub at the top end of the village, and this is where I fell in love with the place, for practically every little house, and cottage, on that route had something on display to celebrate Halloween, whether it was a pumpkin lantern; a ghost or witch hanging up; or a basket of sweets for trick or treaters...I was smitten!

Whilst we enjoyed a drink at The Nap, we made plans to return the following Halloween, only this time we would actually book rooms to stay over, so we could fully immerse ourselves in that seasonal vibe. Reluctantly, we had to tear ourselves away, and make the drive home...until next year.

When next year arrived, we repeated our day out, only this time we checked in for the night. Again, we visited the museum, eager to find out what had happened to one of their exhibits...the skeleton of the local witch, Joan Wytte. She had been on display there, for many years, strung up with a bolt through her skull.

The new owner, Graham King, had wanted to give her back some dignity, so, after consulting her spirit, it was agreed to place her remains in a wicker basket, and protect her behind glass, before giving her the proper burial she deserved, the following Halloween, which coincided with our second visit. We had hoped to be able to bear witness to this event, but, when we enquired, the deed had already been done, to avoid any unwelcome interest.

She had been taken to a secret location, on private land, and, at a later date, after all the hubbub had died down, a discrete headstone was placed in the vicinity, not on top of it, to mark her final resting place. We were slightly disappointed to have missed being involved, but we were happy she was finally at peace.

We spent the rest of the day as before, eating and drinking, and playing pool, at The Welly, before waiting until dark, and then making our way up to The Nap for our evening meal...only to be disappointed yet again that day! This year there was nothing on display, no lanterns, or baskets of sweets, nothing! In fact, the only sign we saw that night, to suggest it was Halloween, was on the telephone box, outside The Welly... it had been egged! Disappointment aside, we still had an enjoyable time. 

That was only the start of our visits to Boscastle, for, as the group grew, after going public, we were joined by many, who wanted to join us on our investigations at The Wellington Hotel.

Thanks to that original article in the Paranormal magazine, we knew exactly where the haunted rooms were, so we always made a point of booking those, so we could investigate at our leisure. It was said that the corridor containing rooms 9 and 10, plus a couple of others, had, at one time been the nursery, where the children slept, and the ghost of a little old lady, who was their nanny, had been seen, as she patrolled the rooms, checking on her charges.

On many occasions, we had those rooms, and had great fun monitoring that corridor with our cameras, throughout the night. We didn’t capture much, but we’ve certainly had some interesting experiences whilst we’ve been there...

Over recent years the hotel has undergone a few refurbishments, including converting the haunted corridor, into an extended room 10, next to, the still tiny, room 9, said to be the nanny’s room. Sarah and I, always book room 10 for our use, and on several occasions, whilst lying in bed, we have heard footsteps running over the floor above us...but there is no room there, just a flat roof...and it’s not seagulls!

On one occasion, as we were checking into 10, our friend was next to us, in 9, when, all of a sudden, she came running out, shouting that there was an old lady in her room! We had told her nothing about any hauntings, and when we tried to explain that this was just the nanny, she wasn’t happy. She couldn’t settle in her own room, for the duration of our stay, instead she insisted on using the sofa bed in our room, and only returned to hers, once it was light.

Another memorable event, occurred when we stayed the weekend that foot and mouth broke out, in February 2001, and we were banned from making a planned visit to Bodmin Moor, on our way home. The announcement came over the radio, as we were having breakfast, and one of our number became desperate to leave, as she had a smallholding, and wanted to check on her animals. As we were settling up in reception, our friend came out with something rather odd. She acknowledged the fact she was standing over a metal grating, with the tiny River Valency flowing beneath her, but she was having a vision of a much larger amount of water rushing towards her. We put this down to the late night we’d all had, and her eagerness to get away...but, as we now all know, just over three years later, that’s exactly what happened in Boscastle...

Over the years, we have visited The Welly to celebrate many special occasions. Dave chose to have his stag do there; a group of family and friends spent my 50th birthday there, when we had that wonderful photo of us all dressed as members of King Arthur’s court taken, at the photographic studio in Tintagel, which was part of my article a few weeks ago; then, in more recent years, up until everything changed after Covid, we regularly attended the glorious Dark Gathering, that used to be held annually in the square by the Witchcraft Museum, to celebrate Halloween and Samhain, which has now sadly moved to Tintagel...

It is this movement, of our favourite day out, with Morris Dancers, and carousing in The Welly afterwards, that has prompted me to forge closer ties with the hotel itself. Over the past couple of years I’ve offered up my services as The Storyteller to their guests, that same weekend, to try to fill the void left by the change of location for the Gathering.

My efforts have come to the attention of Taylor, the new manager, who is keen to promote the haunted reputation that The Welly has enjoyed for many years, which has been boosted by the attention it has received from various strands of the media, including good old Most Haunted, and, with my help and guidance, he wants to lean into this.

It’s early days yet, but if you fancy a spooky weekend of exploring, and investigating, all that, not just the hotel, but Boscastle, and the surrounding area, has to offer, then watch this space!