The Devil's Stone Inn
Author : Andy Mercer
The inn has a devil on its sign.
In January of 2006 The ‘Haunted Devon’ investigation team was given the opportunity to investigate ‘The Devil’s Stone Inn’ in Devon. This historic inn is situated in the village of Shebbear, which is itself famous for the ‘Devil’s Stone’. This mysterious stone is a six foot long conglomerate boulder, weighing more than a ton, which somehow found its way into the village, although tradition has it that the stone actually fell out of the Devil's pocket as he fell from Heaven to Hell. It is also a tradition of the village that the stone must be turned once a year in order to ward off his ‘Satanic Majesty’ and prevent ‘Old Nick’ from reeking havoc!
The following is a summery based on Haunted Devon’s investigation report.
The Devils Stone Inn is situated in the heart of the ancient village of Shebbear, North Devon. A former 17th Century Farmhouse, it was converted to a Coaching Inn some 400 years ago, and is reputed by some to be one of the most haunted pubs in England Former employees have reported that many strange ‘goings-on’ have occurred at the pub, particularly during times of refurbishment or change.
The Haunted Devon team arrived at 6pm and enjoyed the hospitality of the Inn’s fine kitchen before carrying out their investigation. Before embarking on the full investigation the team carried out a series of ‘baseline’ tests and noted the following conditions.
The main rooms to be investigated where rooms 5 to 8, and baseline test began with a general sweep for ambient temperature readings. Rooms 5, 6 and 7 all showed temperature variants between 15 and 18 degrees, but room 8 showed significant differences, when compared to the others. Room 8’s temperature registered at only 10 degrees, there was however, no obvious reason for this difference. In addition to temperature readings, an EMF sweep, of all rooms, proved inconclusive with no notable readings.
With the base line tests completed the full investigation could begin.
Mediumship ‘walk-round’
Haunted Devon’s medium for the night was Wincey Baxter. Wincey had never visited the pub before and knew nothing of its history; However Wincey instantly picked up on something in room 8. Wincey stated that she was aware of someone occupying the room, a spirit presence, which she described as “the spirit of a male who was quite an angry spirit who would walk through from Room 8 to Room 7” Wincey also believe that room 8 had previously been bigger and extended into room 7, a fact that was confirmed by the Pub’s staff. Wincey also stated that this spirit “would push things out of his way and would probably been seen standing over the bed”. Continuing on to room 7 Wincey was sure that the two rooms had previously been connected, and that someone would move between the two. Again it was confirmed that this was indeed the case, and that a ‘priest hole’ had previously connected the two.
In addition to the above Wincey also picked up on; a ‘giggling child’ in the main corridor, which staff confirmed had been heard. The ‘smell’ of smoke in room 5, connected to a young woman. Again staff confirmed that there was evidence of a fire found in room 5 and that the local rumour was that a young woman may have died in the fire. Around the fireplace of the main bar Wincey picked up a RAF connection, the staff confirmed that there had been a picture of a former landlord’s father, in RAF uniform, which had hung above the fire for many years. Wincey also believed that something had happened on this spot, again confirmed by staff; that a pub regular had suddenly ‘dropped dead’ at this exact spot, beside the fire, some years ago. Wincey also picked up on something unpleasant about the pub’s garden. Apparently the rear of the pub actually played host to a Civil War skirmish, something that would certainly leave an impression.
Having completed the walk-round the group settled down into various rooms for Vigils.
Room 8, which had been the medium’s main focus of attention, actually seemed a little quiet during the vigil, however the team were aware of a ‘sadness’ in the atmosphere. And light anomalies were captured in the Bathroom. (Please check HD’s website to view these.) The Vigil group in room 6 experienced, what they described as, a ‘smoky eyes’ sensation, possibly related to the fire that may have occurred in the room. But room 5 seemed to produce the most results. Three distinct knocks were heard, apparently emanating from the walls. Team member Dave, using dowsing rods, picked up on two women and a child and several female members of the team felt tearful for no apparent reason. Additional light anomalies were also recorded.
Downstairs, in the main bar area, more light anomalies and one member of the team experienced inexplicable back pains.
Conclusion and further research
While The Devil’s Stone Inn shows every sign of being haunted, the vigils do appear to have been a little quieter that the mediumship walk-around suggested. It was, nevertheless and interesting and worthwhile investigation.
Byron, the founder of Haunted Devon has uncovered the following interesting facts regarding the known history of the location. One of the most significant Battles in the English Civil War, in which the ‘West Country’ finally fell to the Parliamentarians, took place only a few miles for Shebbear. It therefore entirely possible that some skirmishes did spill over into the neighbouring areas. At one point the medium suggested that there may be a tunnel linking the pub to the local church. While this has not been established beyond doubt it is a generally accepted tradition that such a tunnel does indeed exist. Byron’s research continues…
I would like to thank Byron and his team for granting their permission for this summary of their investigation. If you would like to read Haunted Devon’s full report please visit www.haunted-devon.co.uk
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