The Scole Inn

Emma, the White Lady

The Scole Inn's best-known ghost is a young woman known as Emma. According to the story the inn tells, in 1759 her husband became convinced she was having an affair with a highwayman lodging at the inn, and killed her in a jealous rage. No record of the murder has been found, but the story has been told for generations.

Emma is described in a grey or white dress and bonnet, sorrowful and weeping. She has been reported in the bar and in one of the bedrooms, and most dramatically on the grand staircase, where guests say she has appeared on the stairs in front of them.

Children, cold spots and noises

The inn describes other activity too: mysterious figures, ghostly children, objects that move on their own, cold spots and unexplained noises. Ghost writers and paranormal investigators have visited over the years, and the inn says that guests looking for an eventful night should ask for Room 12.

What guests say

Guests regularly mention the haunted reputation in their reviews. One found it "apparently haunted and definitely creaky", another called it a "lovely old building... and supposedly haunted", and one review simply reads: "Haunted!!"

The Scole Inn was built in 1655 for John Peck, a wealthy Norwich wool merchant. It stands where roads from Norwich, Ipswich, Yarmouth, Bury St Edmunds and Thetford meet, halfway between Norwich and Ipswich on the old Roman Pye Road (today's A140). Peck is said to have built it because travellers had nowhere to stay. Some details of the building have led historians to suggest parts may be older still, from the late 16th century.

The great sign

For more than a century the inn, then known as the White Hart, was famous for its sign. It was carved by Fairchild at a reported cost of £1,057 and spanned the road like a bridge, covered with carved figures including Diana, Actaeon and Neptune. The historian Francis Blomefield described it in 1736 as "very large, beautiful all over with a great number of images". It was taken down around the end of the 18th century.

Coaching days and a highwayman

At its height as many as forty stagecoaches a day passed the inn. Local legend says the highwayman John Belcher rode his horse up the inn's solid oak staircase to escape the law.

The Scole Inn today

The inn is Grade I listed (Historic England list entry 1303017), the highest level of protection, described as "a very lavish mid C17 inn". Guests also point to its huge open fireplace, claimed to be the second largest in East Anglia. It is now a hotel with a restaurant and bar, and has traded for a time as Diss by Verve.

• Ask for Room 12 if you want the room the inn itself recommends for an eventful night.
• Look at the staircase where Emma is said to appear, and where the highwayman is said to have ridden his horse.
• It's an old building: expect creaking floors and a rustic feel, which guests say adds to the atmosphere.
• Diss and the Waveney Valley are a few minutes away.