Spirits Behind Bars: The Haunting of Shepton Mallet Prison and Skirrid Inn

Richard Estep examines reported hauntings at two historic sites divided by the England–Wales border: Shepton Mallet Prison in Somerset and the Skirrid Inn. Their stories combine old buildings, criminal justice and traditions of restless spirits, with the investigators examining the locations for themselves alongside M. J. Dickson and other paranormal researchers.

At the Skirrid Inn, the book considers claims that judges once held court upstairs and that more than 180 people were hanged on the main staircase, alongside the custom of leaving ale outside to deter spirits. Shepton Mallet Prison, in use by 1625, brings a darker institutional history, including its wartime detention of American soldiers and 16 executions. Accounts of a phantom lady in white and other disturbances form part of the investigation.