The Witch’s Room at the Ancient Ram Inn
- Dr Iain M Lightfoot
- Oct 1
- 4 min read
It’s been nearly eighteen months since I visited the Ancient Ram Inn, yet the memory of that night still lingers. That’s the way with some investigations, the longer you’re away, the more surreal the experience becomes, like a dream you can’t quite shake off, especially as time goes by. The Ram certainly has that effect on you. The Ram has a reputation on par with 30 East Drive, Shrewsbury Prison, the Jamaica Inn and the Edinburgh Vaults, that is, a location brimming with paranormal activity, steeped in centuries of history, and haunted by more than a few negative spirits.
Recently, I came across a series of photographs from other that have visited, and in an instant, I was back there. The images showed that the photographers had captured something, a presence, a form, something that matches countless other accounts, all reporting to have seen or taken photos of the same thing. A shadowy figure appearing in the same room and place, described exactly the same way.
THE Ancient Ram Inn
You can find the aged, crooked and twisted Ancient Ram Inn standing in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. It is said to be one of England’s most famously haunted buildings, drawing visitors seeking evidence, thrills, or simply the chance to walk where so many lives have left their mark. Every room has its own stories, but the one that struck me hardest wasn’t even inside the main building at first. It was the barn.
Crossing the threshold into the barn was like stepping to the edge of a precipice. I remember the sensation vividly: an invisible barrier, a resistance so strong it took several attempts to walk through. It was unexpected, unsettling, and unlike anything I’d felt before. Yet this blog isn’t about the barn. It’s about a smaller space in the first floor, 'the Witch’s Room'.
The Witch's Room
The Witch’s Room takes its name from one of the Inn’s most enduring legends, that of a woman accused of witchcraft who, in the 1500s, supposedly sought refuge within its walls. Caught, dragged away and executed, her “crime” was rejecting Christianity at a time when the law made disbelief punishable by death. The details shift with the telling. In some versions she was burned whilst in others hanged. But the story of a witch dying violently at the Ram has become embedded in the building’s identity. Visitors report seeing her shadow, the outline of a crooked figure in photographs, and even a spectral black cat thought to be her companion. Whether or not the history could ever be proven or corroborated now after 100s of years, the legend has taken on a life of its own.
Many believe the woman’s spirit still haunts the building. The room where she hid, and was captured, is now known as the Witch’s Room. When I entered it myself, the first thing that hit me was the atmosphere. Heavy. Oppressive. A weight on the chest as though the air itself was resisting me. I sat quietly, trying to attune myself to the space. At first I dismissed the faint movements of light as more dust drifting from the rafters, or perhaps reflections from outside. However, one pulsed, shifted and seemed to respond. My IR camera picks up orbs clearly, but even off-camera, the sense of being watched was overwhelming. Someone, or something, unseen but yet, there. Maybe it was my imagination, perhaps expectation, I was in the Ram Inn after all! Or maybe not.
The Witch’s Room feels personal. It isn’t chaotic like some haunted spaces in the Ram. It’s steady, watchful. You don’t feel attacked so much as judged, weighed up by unseen eyes. It’s as if the injustice done to the woman has imprinted itself on the fabric of the room, replaying endlessly.
At this point I would like say thank you to Samantha Morris and her daughter for permission to use their photographs. In paranormal work, burst shots are essential to capture changes between frames. In one photo you see nothing unusual, but in the next in the sequence, a shadowy outline appears in the mirror behind the photographer. Is this the witch? Others have described seeing the same figure. In another set of photos, taken months apart by Ruthie Sears and the Spookette’s Paranormal Team (who kindly allowed me to use their image), the same shape emerges again. What do you see?
Critical Reflections
Folklore alone can’t explain the persistence and consistency of these experiences but then nor can science. As a critical-realist, phenomenological investigator I stand in the middle, open to both possibilities, I am searching for evidence that bridges both sides of the continuum from Objective to Subjective. I can not deny that many independent reports are similar, that of a black figure, photographs of shadows, personal sensations corroborated by orbs and sounds, these may not satisfy the sceptic, but they cannot be easily dismissed. When everything conventional has been explored, what remains could very well point toward a truth.
The Ancient Ram Inn is a place where history, myth, and the paranormal absolutely meets. In the Witch’s Room, people find a shared story, shared images, and shared moments of something that transcends normal reality. These encounters, fleeting but potent, hint at survival beyond death, or at least at the possibility that something lingers when we’re gone. Whether that shadow is truly the witch herself or the shape we give to our fears, it appeared. It made itself known. That alone is enough to keep us asking questions.
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