The Macdonald Bear Hotel in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, is one of England's original 13th-century coaching inns and has been recognised as one of the most haunted hotels in the country. The hotel was recently named as one of the most haunted hotels in the country and is known to house two ghosts.
Historical Background
The Bear Hotel has been dispensing hospitality since the 13th Century, originally serving as a coaching inn, and has played host to film stars, royalty and politicians for centuries. Notable guests include Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who stayed at the hotel on many occasions in the Marlboro suite. The hotel's historic features include stone walls, oak beams, open fireplaces, and an ivy-clad façade.
Primary Ghosts
Elizabeth and Christopher Downing
A paranormal investigation team recently contacted two ghosts and identified them as Elizabeth Downing, who died in 1768, and Elizabeth's 8-year-old son, Christopher Downing. According to local stories, Elizabeth was a young woman who brought some kind of unknown disgrace upon herself and her family. As punishment for her crime, Elizabeth's family seized the young woman and bricked her up alive in her room as she struggled and begged to be released. The tragic spectre of Elizabeth has reportedly manifested by the bedsides of guests in the room where she was bricked up. She is said to sob uncontrollably as she begs her family not to brick her up in the wall, then disappears, leaving an eerie silence and a sense of dread.
Christopher - The Playful Child Ghost
Guests have reported on several occasions seeing young Christopher walking the halls and even attempting to play a game of hide and seek with them. The story behind the ghost that has come to be known as Christopher is not so easy to pin down, as he has two origin stories. One story says that Christopher was the illegitimate son of Elizabeth, and this was the disgrace that she brought upon her family. Another rumour is that the crying heard from rooms is the illicit grandchild of the hotel's owner during the Civil War. The mother of the child (age 14) was apparently bricked up in her room due to the shame she had brought upon the family.
Room 16 - The Most Haunted Room
Stories of hauntings at the Bear Hotel seem to focus on room 16, with Anthony D. Hippisley Coxe describing the room as a focus for poltergeist activity in his book Haunted Britain. Numerous staff and guests have also reported hearing the sound of footsteps throughout the hotel's corridors. Room 16 is said to be haunted by a female ghost who turns lights on and off, and guests have reported their possessions being moved on many occasions.
Other Spirits and Tragic Tales
The hotel is haunted by the ghost of a workman who died falling from the roof 300 years ago, though whether he is responsible for the footsteps heard in corridors is unclear. Room 12 also has a haunted reputation. Roger Long in Curious Oxfordshire tells of a poor servant girl during the 17th century who, fearing that her pregnancy would be discovered and she would lose her job, killed her child and stuffed its lifeless body up a chimney. Long also reports of another murder that reportedly took place at the hotel - a woman who was strangled in the cellar during the 16th century.
Staff Experiences
Employees are said to avoid being alone in the kitchen and the cellar at night. A former manager during the 1960s reported seeing a lady in a hooded cloak walk past them near rooms 16, 17, and 18, causing all the hairs on their arms to stand up. Tragically, that same night, a guest was found dead in room 17 with pills scattered around.
Additional Paranormal Activity
Many guests, owners, and staff have heard crying coming from one of the rooms at night. Reports include tapping and scratching at doors, sounds of bouncing balls in empty hallways, and objects being mysteriously moved throughout the hotel. The Macdonald Bear Hotel continues to intrigue paranormal enthusiasts and brave travellers who seek encounters with its tragic spirits, particularly the playful Christopher and his tormented mother Elizabeth, in one of Oxfordshire's most historically rich and actively haunted coaching inns.