The Red Lion Hotel in Colchester is steeped in centuries of history and chilling ghost stories that continue to fascinate visitors today
The Red Lion Hotel on Colchester’s High Street is one of the town’s oldest surviving buildings, with roots dating back to 1465.
Long before it became a modern hotel, the site operated as an inn, providing food, drink and lodging for merchants, travellers and local officials. Over the centuries, repeated rebuilding has left blocked doorways, sealed staircases and hidden rooms, features that frequently feature in ghost stories linked to historic inns.
Today, the Red Lion Hotel is widely regarded as one of Colchester’s most haunted buildings. Reports span several centuries and centre on three main apparitions, each connected to a different period in the hotel’s history.
Alice Catherine Millar, the murdered woman
The most frequently reported spirit is Alice Catherine Millar, who was murdered at the inn in 1638. Historical accounts describe her death as violent and sudden, and legend suggests she never truly left the building.
Alice is most often associated with rooms five, six and 10, although sightings are not confined to guest rooms. Staff and visitors have reported seeing a female figure moving through corridors, particularly near a section of wall where a doorway was bricked up during later renovations.
According to repeated accounts, Alice appears to walk towards what would once have been her room, only to vanish as she reaches the blocked wall. Other reports include cold spots, the sensation of being watched and unexplained footsteps during the night.
In the kitchen area, staff have claimed to see a woman in period dress passing through doorways, only for the room to be empty moments later. Some guests have reported waking in the night with the sense that someone was standing beside the bed, followed by a sudden drop in temperature.
Alice’s presence is often described as sorrowful rather than threatening, and many visitors believe her appearances are linked to unfinished business rather than malice.
The ghostly child of the Parliament Room
Another long-standing presence at the Red Lion Hotel is a small boy, most commonly seen in the Parliament Room. This space has a long association with meetings and gatherings, and it is here that the child is said to appear most often.
Witnesses describe him as a quiet figure, sometimes standing near furniture or watching from the edges of the room. One striking detail repeated across different accounts is that he appears more frequently to children than to adults.
Families staying at the hotel have reported children speaking about “a boy who was playing” or “someone else in the room” when no one else was present. There are also claims that the boy has appeared in photographs taken by visitors, showing faint shapes or figures where no one was standing at the time.
While these images are often unclear, they have reinforced the child’s reputation as one of the hotel’s most intriguing hauntings. Unlike many ghostly children reported elsewhere, this figure is rarely described as frightening, instead appearing curious and observant.
The hooded monk and the fire
The third reported spirit has a darker tone: a hooded monk believed to have died in a fire at the building several hundred years ago. Fires were a constant danger in medieval towns, particularly in large timber-framed inns such as the Red Lion.
The monk is most often seen in the early hours of the morning, usually around reception areas and along corridors. Descriptions vary, but most witnesses mention a tall, hooded figure moving silently before fading from view.
Some staff have reported the smell of smoke or burning when no obvious source could be identified. Guests encountering the monk frequently describe a sudden sense of fear or dread, along with doors opening or closing on their own and unexplained shadows moving along the walls.
A building shaped by centuries
What makes the Red Lion Hotel particularly compelling is the way its ghost stories align with its physical structure. Blocked doorways, hidden rooms and altered layouts create a convincing backdrop for sightings, particularly in low light or during quiet hours.
Whether interpreted as genuine hauntings or echoes of a turbulent past, the Red Lion Hotel remains central to Colchester’s paranormal folklore. For visitors, it offers not just accommodation, but the rare opportunity to stay within walls where centuries of history and ghost stories still feel vividly alive.
Read more about Essex’s top 13 scariest haunted places here.
