04/11/2025
Exorcist Banned After Stealing 300-Year-Old Spirit – The Red Lion, Avebury
The historic Red Lion Inn, situated in the heart of Avebury, Wiltshire, became the centre of an extraordinary supernatural controversy when an exorcist was banned from the premises for allegedly “stealing” a 300-year-old ghost.
As reported in the Sunday Mirror, 15th September 1996,
Landlord Pat McCann was furious after learning that self-proclaimed exorcist, from Hastings, had performed an unsanctioned exorcism during a visit to the pub. “The spirit is part of the pub and he had no right to interfere,” McCann told reporters. “He asked me if I wanted an exorcism, and I said no – but he went ahead and did it behind my back. The ghost attracted a lot of visitors – we’ve even had a TV crew from America.”
According to legend, the Red Lion’s most famous ghost was Flori, said to be the restless spirit of a woman murdered more than 300 years ago by her jealous husband after he caught her in the arms of another man. Her body was reputedly thrown down the old well in the centre of the inn’s bar. Over the years, countless visitors and staff reported witnessing her apparition – a sorrowful woman in white seen drifting through rooms or appearing near the well. Others spoke of lights switching on and off, objects moving unaided, and cold breezes sweeping through the building when no windows were open.
McCann, unimpressed, promptly barred him from the inn, declaring that the ghost was part of the Red Lion’s history and identity.
The Red Lion Inn is itself a place steeped in history. Dating back to the 17th century, it sits at the very centre of the Avebury Stone Circle, one of the most ancient and mystical sites in Britain, older even than Stonehenge. The pub has long been a favourite haunt for both locals and tourists, many drawn by its eerie reputation as one of the most haunted inns in England.
Aside from Flori’s ghost, visitors have reported phantom soldiers, shadowy figures seen passing through walls, and unexplained footsteps echoing in empty corridors. Staff have also told of glasses shattering on their own, doors slamming without cause, and voices whispering their names when no one else is present.