UK city with most haunted pubs named with one so terrifying workmen won't enter

If you’ve ever ordered a pint and felt an unexpected chill - or caught something moving in the corner of your eye that definitely wasn’t the bar staff - you might have stumbled into one of Britain’s most hauntedpubs.

As Halloweenapproaches, new research has uncovered more than 1,300 reported ghost sightings in pubs, hotels and restaurants across the UK.

And while every county claims its fair share of ghost stories, Brighton has emerged as the most haunted city of all - recording 39 eerie encounters in its pubs, hotels and restaurants, from phantom footsteps in seaside cellars to glasses flying off shelves.

• Little-known castle 'like walking into a story book' and 'prettiest in UK'
• Five brutal times Kate Middleton let her true feelings for Meghan Markle slip

The study, carried out by Where The Trade Buys, analysed reports from The Paranormal Database - a vast online archive of ghost sightings across the UK and Ireland. Together, the findings paint an uncanny picture of the nation’s nightlife.

Greater Londontopped the regional list with 79 reported hauntings, followed closely by Sussex (74) and Lancashire (50). York and Edinburgh also ranked highly, two historic cities long associated with eerie folklore.

York, in particular, continues to live up to its haunted reputation. At the Cock and Bottle Inn on Skeldergate, a spectral figure known locally as “The Man with the Big Nose” has been spotted more than once. Believed to be George Villiers, the Second Duke of Buckingham - a Royalist and alchemist from the 17th century - the ghostly nobleman is said to wander the pub with his wavy black hair - and prominent nose. The building was constructed on land once owned by Villiers, perhaps explaining his reluctance to leave.

Elsewhere in the city, locals still tell of a ghostly highwayman who materialises outside an old inn, while guests in nearby lodgings report hearing heavy boots echoing down empty corridors.

In Edinburgh, one pub’s most infamous spirit goes by the name Rosie - a prostitute who once walked the vaults beneath The Banshee Labyrinth. Staff claim she still makes her presence known, allegedly scratching or marking male employees who stay late.

She’s not the only entity said to linger there. Another phantom, known as “Six Finger Bill” , reportedly hides beneath tables, grabbing unsuspecting customers by the ankles. Even regulars have learned to avoid certain corners of the pub.

But it’s Brighton that truly leads the pack. At Ali Cats, workmen renovating the bar in the 2000s reported hearing human groans and encountering sudden, inexplicable cold spots. Just a few streets away, staff at the Aquarium Public House said a voice regularly called out to them - often by name - when the building was empty.

Then there’s the Bat & Ball on Ditchling Road, where a barefooted woman in a nightdress was seen dancing silently across the bar before vanishing into thin air. Witnesses have also spoken of a grey-haired, middle-aged woman who appears and disappears at will.

At the Bath Arms, drinkers have described a middle-aged Victorian man standing by a pillar, sometimes joined by another ghostly figure wearing a tricorn hat. Both phantoms have been spotted since the 1990s.

And perhaps most famously, the Black Lion - one of Brighton’s oldest pubs - is said to be haunted by Deryck Carver, the first Protestant martyr in England and believed to have been Brighton’s first brewer. Burned alive in a barrel of tar in 1555, Carver’s ghost is said to linger in the pub’s cellar, where managers and builders alike have reported feeling an unnerving presence. One builder even claimed to see a shadowy figure moving in the upper part of the building.

Marketing Director Emma Thompson, from Where The Trade Buys, said the findings reflect Britain’s remarkable hospitality heritage: “From centuries-old pubs to seaside hotels, each venue has its own story - and for some, that story comes with a spine-tingling twist.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, pubs dominate the list, accounting for 871 of the 1,300 sightings. Brighton alone recorded 33 haunted pubs - more than any other place in the UK - followed by York with 11 and Edinburgh with nine.

In Bolton, Newcastle and Birmingham, too, tales abound of phantom regulars returning to their favourite seats, of music fading in the dead of night, and of beer taps mysteriously running dry. One landlord in Kent reportedly refuses to enter his cellar alone after claiming to see a pair of boots walking without a body. In Devon, guests describe seeing a man in Victorian dress gazing mournfully into the fireplace before vanishing altogether.

Hotels were the second most haunted venues, with 451 recorded incidents. Edinburgh, Brighton and Aberdeen each boast five haunted hotels, while Manchester, King’s Lynn and Derby follow closely behind.