By Tim Binnall
The proprietor of a pub in England says that a recent renovation of the establishment has seemingly stirred up the spirits who live in the building as several customers have reported experiencing ghostly activity in recent weeks. According to a local media report, the eerie paranormal activity has been unfolding at the Eight Kings pub on the island of Portland ever since they shut down for three weeks this past autumn while the building was being refurbished. When they opened their doors again in late November to welcome the regulars back to the bar, it would seem that that the usual clientele was not alone.
Although previously thought to be a haunted location, the owners of the pub believed that they had banished the site's resident spirits when co-owner Darren Boudreau had a ghostly encounter upon first moving into the building about a year ago. "After deep thought, I decided to try and move them on with the help of the local church and spiritualists, hoping not to witness this again," he recalled, "I was told that the spirit had moved on and was hoping this would be the end of the matter." While things went quiet at the pub for a brief spell, he and his partner Kirsi Davouli say that since they refurbished the building "paranormal activity in the pub has dramatically increased."
Among the strange incidents that have occurred at the pub over the last few weeks have been two separate sightings of a mysterious woman thought to be an apparition standing at the bar, spooky unexplained noises, and staff being seen in multiple places at once. The bizarre events have become so frequent that the owners finally took to Facebook to share what has been happening at the building and to see if any other customers have had similar experiences. While they hope to have a spiritualist visit the site to possibly determine the nature of the perceived ghosts living at the bar, the owners have already shot down the idea of using a Ouija Board to contact the spirits, which they said is "out of the question."
Believing that the refurbishment of the pub caused the uptick in paranormal activity, Boudreau seems to have given up on the idea of helping the spirits move on to the 'other side,' musing that "I have been told there is not a lot I can do and to embrace the supernatural presence." Although previously skeptical of such high strangeness, the co-owner revealed that "I do believe after the continuous sightings from our customers and children there is something very friendly and warm here." At the very least, it seems that the ghosts have done a fine job of drumming up some publicity for the newly renovated establishment.