Wine, Beers & Spirits

A gazeteer of York's best phantom-riddled pubs

York has plenty of ancient and haunted inns. Huddled together inside the city walls, it’s possible to visit a dozen or more within just a short stagger. One hoary piece of York pub folklore reckons the city has a pub for every day of the year, although these days that’s unlikely.

Many of York’s city-centre pubs are as old as it’s churches. Low ceilings, wonky floors and open fireplaces are in abundance. Most seem to also have a resident ghost or two (there’s a joke in there somewhere about spirits.)

Some pubs, like the Punchbowl on Stonegate, have been serving ale for centuries. Further up Stonegate, Ye Olde Starre Inne is probably the oldest licensed premises in the city. York’s ancient inns are as much a part of the city’s fabric as its churches and streets.

Here then are York’s sixteen most haunted inns, with a map included for ease of locating.