From shadowy figures to phantom footsteps, Birmingham’s haunted pubs offer both a pint and a paranormal thrill
Birmingham’s pubs are places you can share a drink, and some of them share their space with guests from another time.
From centuries-old coaching inns to ornate Victorian drinking dens, the city’s public houses hold loads of history in their walls.
As the nights draw in and the streets take on that autumn chill, these are the places where a pint might come with a shiver down the spine.
Cold spots and phantom footsteps can be as much a part of the experience as the beer on tap.
(While we were researching these pubs, we discovered some of them have closed up shop. But their stories are so fascinating, we’re still going to share them. Please do check before you visit, as many pubs across the nation are closing up – even those with hundreds of years of history. Go visit, while you can!)
Haunted Birmingham Pubs
Acocks Green
Inn on the Green, 2 Westley Road, Acocks Green, B27 7UH
The Inn on the Green closed its doors in October 2021 and now stands silent, its future uncertain. We’ve kept it here for the stories that still cling to its walls.
This Victorian pub served as a social hub for more than a century, and a few regulars may still be returning from beyond the grave.
Staff reported hearing laughter from the bar when it was closed, and glasses were found moved in the morning after a night with no customers in that area.
Its location, at the heart of the local high street, means the pub has seen countless stories — some of which may still be playing out.
Aston / Newtown
The Bartons Arms, 144 High Street, Aston, B6 4UP
One of Birmingham’s most architecturally impressive pubs, The Bartons Arms opened in 1901 and is famed for its Minton tiles, etched glass and theatrical heritage.
Over the years, whispers have grown about “music hall ghosts” lingering from the building’s heyday as a performer’s haunt.
A short film produced by the BFI even explored the pub’s ghostly reputation.
Staff have reported the sound of laughter and conversation in empty rooms, and shadowy figures glimpsed moving across the ornate snob screens.
City Centre / Colmore Row
The Old Joint Stock, 4 Temple Row West, B2 5NY
Built in 1864 as a bank and later converted into one of Birmingham’s most opulent pubs, the Old Joint Stock also houses a small theatre upstairs.
The building’s scale and ornate Victorian detail are impressive by day, but after the last curtain call, something else stirs.
Theatre staff have reported the unnerving sense of being watched from the gallery, and footsteps have been heard pacing on the balcony when the theatre is locked and empty.
Sitting opposite St Philip’s Cathedral, the pub’s location in a part of the city steeped in history only adds to its spectral reputation.
The Trocadero, 23 Temple Street, B2 5BG
Originally built as a fire station for the Norwich Union Insurance Company in the late 19th century, the Trocadero was later converted into a flamboyant pub.
Its green-glazed tiles and wood panelling hide a lingering presence said to be that of Henry Skinner, a former landlord.
Patrons and staff alike tell of smelling pipe tobacco when no one is smoking, feeling icy draughts on still nights, and seeing objects move with no apparent cause.
The Trocadero’s proximity to New Street Station makes it an easy stop on a Halloween circuit, but those who linger sometimes leave with more than a story — they leave unsettled.
Digbeth
The Anchor, 308 Bradford Street, B12 0QY
One of Digbeth’s oldest pubs, the current building dating from 1901, The Anchor has a more understated haunting.
This is not a place for theatrical apparitions but for atmosphere that presses in on you, especially when the doors are locked and the last pint is poured.
Staff closing up have spoken of faint footsteps crossing the empty bar, the quiet clink of glasses when nothing is on the tables, and — on rare occasions — the brief sight of a tall man in a flat cap disappearing through the back door, even though it has been bolted shut.
The pub’s long history as a social hub means generations of voices seem to cling to its walls, giving even sceptics pause.
UPDATE: The Anchor poured its last pint in June 2025. Though the bar is quiet now, its ghost stories remain part of Digbeth’s folklore.
The Old Crown, 188 High Street, Deritend, B12 0LD
Dating back to 1368, The Old Crown is Birmingham’s oldest secular building, a survivor of civil war skirmishes and centuries of change.
Its timber-framed structure, leaning floors and uneven staircases give it a natural eeriness, but it is the ghost stories that make it a Halloween staple.
Regulars and staff have reported sudden cold spots in the snug, the sensation of someone moving just out of sight, and the appearance of a Tudor-era woman on the upper floor.
Some believe she is connected to the English Civil War siege of Birmingham in 1643, when the inn sheltered Parliamentarian forces.
Her figure is often glimpsed in a window after hours, watching the street below.
Read more about The Old Crown on Spooky Birmingham.
Erdington
The Lad in the Lane (formerly The Green Man), 22 Bromford Lane, B24 8AE
Believed to stand on Birmingham’s oldest pub site, with some timbers dating to the 14th century, The Lad in the Lane is rich in atmosphere.
Locals have long claimed it to be haunted, with reports of shadowy figures and unexplained noises in the upstairs rooms.
The sense of history in its low ceilings and crooked beams is palpable, making it easy to believe that not all its patrons have left.
UPDATE: Fire damage in early 2025 left the Lad in the Lane abandoned, but its centuries of history – and the whispers of its past – refuse to fade.
Hall Green
The Horseshoe, 1214 Stratford Road, Hall Green, B28 8AJ
Though the doors have been shut for years and much of the site has since been redeveloped, The Horseshoe’s history is too interesting – and its ghost stories too persistent – to leave out.
Older maps mark it as an inn long before the modern building stood here.
The most common tale was of stock mysteriously tumbling from shelves in both bar and cellar, even when stacked securely.
On still nights, staff swore they heard the clop of unseen horses passing outside, and one former landlord claimed to glimpse a spectral coachman peering in through the door before melting into the darkness.
It’s a haunting that linked The Horseshoe to its coaching past – a reminder that, closed or not, some arrivals are eternal.
Harborne
Court Oak, 42 Courtney Road (corner of Court Oak Road), B17 9LJ
The Court Oak’s ghost is known by name — “Corky”, a cellar poltergeist with a fondness for smashing wine bottles, particularly around Halloween.
Some say Corky appears as a withered, middle-aged man behind the bar, only to vanish in an instant.
Local lore claims the pub was built on the site of a 17th-century hanging ground, a detail that gives extra bite to its ghost stories.
The Bell, 11 Old Church Road, B17 0BB
Sitting beside a churchyard, The Bell carries an understated gothic atmosphere.
While not heavily publicised as haunted, locals have shared stories of hearing footsteps in empty rooms, lights flickering without cause, and the uncanny feeling of being observed when alone.
Several regulars say the presence belongs to a former publican from the 19th century, who is still seen in a dark waistcoat moving silently between the bar and the old cellar steps.
Its village feel and quieter pace make it a different kind of Halloween stop — more subtle, but no less unnerving.
Jewellery Quarter / Hockley
Rose Villa Tavern, 172 Warstone Lane, B18 6JW
An Edwardian corner pub, the Rose Villa Tavern is a favourite for its vintage charm and its position close to the Jewellery Quarter’s cemeteries.
Its hauntings are sporadic but striking — patrons and staff have reported figures in side rooms that vanish when approached, and muffled footsteps in the upper rooms long after closing.
The pub’s proximity to the Warstone Lane catacombs fuels speculation that some of its visitors are not entirely of this world.
The Queens Arms, 150 Newhall Street, B3 1RY
The Queens Arms blends Victorian charm with a cheeky local legend: a mischievous ghost said to pinch the backsides of unsuspecting patrons.
While the story often gets a laugh, staff have also spoken of doors opening and closing without explanation, sudden cold draughts sweeping through the bar, and fleeting shadows in the upstairs rooms.
Located between the Jewellery Quarter and the city centre, it makes an ideal stop on a Halloween walking route.
Kings Heath
Hare and Hounds, 106 High Street, Kings Heath, B14 7JZ
Grade II listed and opened in 1907, the Hare and Hounds is best known for live music — UB40 played their first gig here.
But between sets, odd things have been noted.
Sound engineers have claimed to see a lone figure sitting in the balcony seats during soundcheck, only for it to vanish when approached.
Staff closing after gigs say they have heard footsteps following them through the darkened bar areas.
With its ornate woodwork and music hall feel, it is easy to believe the ghosts here are simply enjoying the show.
Moseley
Prince of Wales, 118 Alcester Road, Moseley, B13 8EE
This late-Victorian gem, famous for its sprawling garden and eclectic interior, has another claim to fame — a lingering presence in its oldest rooms.
Staff have described sudden cold spots in the snug even when the heating is on full, and the sound of footsteps crossing the floor above when no one is upstairs.
Some believe the activity centres around the rear bar, which still holds elements of the pub’s earliest layout.
Patrons sitting alone have reported the uncanny feeling of someone standing just behind them.
The Fighting Cocks, 1 Moseley Road, Moseley, B12 0HJ
Dating back to the early 1800s, The Fighting Cocks stands at a junction where, according to local lore, fatal accidents were once common.
In the upstairs function rooms, people have reported seeing dark shapes moving across the walls and catching glimpses of a shadowy figure in the corner of their eye.
The pub’s name harks back to its more brutal past, when animal fights were staged on site — and some suspect the energy from those events has never left.
Selly Oak / Stirchley
The British Oak, 1364 Pershore Road, Stirchley, B30 2XS
An Arts and Crafts-era pub built in the 1920s, The British Oak retains much of its original wood panelling and decorative detail.
Locals say a disused piano in the function room occasionally plays a few notes on its own late at night, and bar staff have found chairs moved when no one has been upstairs.
Its long history as a community hub gives the building a lived-in — and possibly still inhabited — feel.
Yardley
The Swan, Coventry Road, Yardley, B26 1DS
A sprawling interwar roadside pub, The Swan sits on the site of a much older coaching inn.
Cellar workers have told of encountering the “grey man”, a tall figure in outdated clothing, who vanishes on eye contact.
In quieter corners of the building, doors are said to creak open by themselves and the smell of horse sweat drifts in from where the stables once stood.
With its long association with travellers, it may be that some guests simply never checked out.
Have you been to any of these haunted pubs in Birmingham? Maybe we’ve missed one you’ve been in? Tell us about your experience in the
