Redhill & Reigate Life – 24 August 2005 – Gemma Wheatley

Regulars have seen a ghost called ‘Stan’ pulling pints.

If you order a spirit at the Railway Arms, you might be surprised at what you get.

The pub in London Road, Merstham, is said to have been haunted for many years but recently reports of ‘activity’ have become more frequent.

And this week a medium confirmed that ghost sightings by staff and regulars are not just over indulgence, but spirits of a different kind.

Redhill ghost hunter Val Hood visited on Monday with no idea of what had been seen in the village pub and amazed staff and punters.

Susan Jenkins, pub cleaner, has seen three different spirits I the six months she has worked there.

She said: “In the restaurant I have seen a little black dog twice sitting in the corner by the black mirror, I usually just Hoover round him!”

“And we see a gentleman sitting on the end table and also walking through the restaurant. We all call him Stan, it just seemed appropriate for him to have a name for us to say hello to him with.”

Other spooky incidents include one particular optic behind the bar rattling violently and a pint glass sliding along the full length of the bar before smashing on the floor.

The medium felt the presence of the spirits as soon as she entered the pub and her first words were: “someone has committed suicide here, a young girl.”

There have been numerous sightings of a young girl who wanders round the pub and is described as wearing a long white dress and a hat.

Val said “A girl was raped here many, many years ago, she was about 12 or 13. She was raped by a punter who made her pregnant. I feel something around my neck, I think she hung herself.!

Regulars at the pub also say they have seen the old man, ‘Stan’ helping himself to pints with a large beer tankard.

Landlady Linda Waller, who was skeptical about the rumours, said: “We don’t even have any tankards, I threw them all away years ago”.

However Val dispelled the landlady’s doubts by talking to ‘Stan’ and he had a message.

“He wants you all to know that his name is not Stan, his name is Albert. He is laughing, he says you can still call him Stan if you want to though.” She said.

Albert, who was once the landlord of the pub, also told Val he smoked a pipe, drank too much beer and his wife did most of the work in the pub.

Val believes the spirits have made themselves more known recently because Mr and Mrs Waller have been making changes to the pub and this disturbed them.

She said: “They just wanted to let them know that they were here, they won’t be disturbing the pub now, they’ll still be here though, they always will.”