at New Brighton pub

NEW licensee of an old Wirral pub, Vic Johnson is left wondering: "Do I serve spirits?" The short answer is that he's not sure after some ghostly goings on at The Albion Hotel, New Brighton.

Vic has just taken over at this imposing Victorian hotel, one of the first buildings in New Brighton, dating back to 1840.

First thing to do was to have a clear out prior to a refurbishment. That is when strange things started to happen. It has long been rumoured that The Albion has a ghost with little evidence of late, until Vic started working on the hotel from top to bottom.

"We have been decorating the bars while emptying the cellars and former bedrooms of old furniture and fixings. I think we have a helper!" says Vic.

"If I screw in a new light bulb, it screws back out afterwards. If I put a roll of tissue in the toilets, it moves elsewhere."

Vic describes other strange goings on, either in the middle of the night, or in the morning before the doors are open to the public.

"Some of our bed and breakfast residents have heard footsteps on the landings, or corridors. Sometimes in the bar, I will sense someone going by into what is now the ladies' toilet. I turn round but no one is there, neither is there any reflection in the bar mirror."

Locals reckon the ghost could be that of one of the earliest proprietors of the Albion Hotel. A fun-loving chap, he died between Christmas and New Year in 1846.

His epitaph read: Hear (sic) lies an honest inofeneive (sic) friend. Harmless in words and dealings. Just upright to his friend and faithfull (sic) to his trust.

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