The Duckworth Hall, Oswaldtwistle

John Fahey gave the following account of the haunting at The Duckworth Hall in his 30 October 2003 article entitled ‘Spooky tales of a haunted Hyndburn’ which was was published in the Accrington Observer.

In 1954, after quietly taking charge of Oswaldtwistle’s Duckworth Hall Inn, Haslingden Road, Sam Arrowsmith and his wife Margaret didn’t expect to attract anything more threatening than the occasional drunk. But doors flying open in the small hours, chains clanking and the sound of footsteps terrified them.

The story goes the ghost was a persecuted Roman Catholic priest who was imprisoned in the pub before being executed at Whalley Abbey. Regulars maintain a cloaked figure is often seen gliding away from the pub towards the site of his murder. Current landlord Stuart Macfarlane said: “My daughter Michelle knows how spooky the place is. We’ve got a special set of brass cups and several times she’s seen them fall inexplicably from the tacks in the wall.”