The Green Man
The Green Man
Harlow, Essex
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Paranormal Tip: Book rooms near room 6 is often cited as the center of activity – “if you want a ghostly encounter for the best chance of supernatural encounters!
The Resident Spirits
The Green Man’s legend centers on a heartbroken mother and child. According to folklore, a woman in the eighteenth century, desperate for a baby, engaged in an illicit affair with a local blacksmith. She bore a daughter, but tragically the infant perished in a fire shortly after birth. Today, the grieving mother’s ghost is said to wander the 600-year-old inn, eternally searching for her lost child. Staff refer to her simply as “the Grey Lady of Mulberry Green.” Her presence is marked by sobbing sounds at night and a fleeting female figure seen near rooms and on the staircase. Occasionally, the faint cry of a baby is also reported echoing through the halls (despite no infants on site), reinforcing the tale that the mother and child haunt the inn together. This poignant story – more tragedy than terror – is well-known in Harlow, making the Green Man a local ghost lore landmark.
Patrons and staff have passed down several chilling anecdotes. One common story has a guest in Room 6 (the reputedly most haunted room) waking in the night to see a misty female figure in old-fashioned clothes at the foot of the bed, wringing her hands in despair before vanishing. In another tale, closing staff hear a gentle lullaby being hummed near the empty upstairs corridor – as if a mother were trying to soothe a baby. The apparition herself is described as wearing a simple grey dress with soot-stains, consistent with someone who suffered a fire. She’s often glimpsed moving toward where the old nursery was thought to be, then disappearing by a particular wall. Some nights, around 2 AM, a distinct scent of burning wood drifts through the pub with no source, followed by soft weeping sounds – locals say this is the mother reliving the fateful fire. These rich narratives keep the Green Man’s ghost lore alive, passed from each generation of landlords to the next.
Historical Background
Building Age
14th-century origins (over 600 years old)
Original Purpose
Coaching inn and tavern on the village green (serving travellers and locals since the 1300s)
Historical Significance
One of the oldest buildings in Harlow, established as a coaching inn possibly as early as the 14th century, with a monk recorded dining at a Harlow inn for four pence in 1444. During its prime, it handled five coaches every Tuesday to and from London, serving major routes between Waltham, London, Dunmow, and Bishop's Stortford. It sits on Mulberry Green among other listed buildings, forming a preserved historic enclave. A blacksmith's forge operated adjacent to the inn during the 1700s, essential to the coaching trade and central to the hotel's ghost legend. The inn has seen everything from stagecoach stopovers to community events including Harlow Town Football Club's first match in 1879 on the adjacent Green Man Field. It's a Grade II listed property, cherished for surviving Harlow's development boom intact.
Architecture
Timber-framed medieval coaching inn, ivy-clad exterior with picturesque gables. Inside, rustic beams and brick fireplaces mix with modern refurbished rooms. The pub retains original features like low ceilings and crooked floors, reflecting centuries of use.
What Guests Experience
Reported Activity
The staff at this pub hotel have experienced inexplicable happenings. Glasses have been seen sliding across tables on their own, and doors that were latched shut have been found inexplicably open in the morning. Late at night, especially in the older half of the building, an oppressive sadness can suddenly descend on an area – many attribute this to the grieving mother’s presence. Several guests (especially women) have reported feeling a cold, comforting hand briefly touch their shoulder when alone in their room, almost as if a motherly spirit were present. Footsteps of someone pacing in an upstairs hallway are sometimes heard after midnight when all patrons are asleep. Objects left in one place (like housekeeping tools or personal items) might be discovered moved to another spot without explanation. All these subtle signs point to a resident ghost who is mostly benign but perpetually grief-stricken.
Most Active Areas
Room 6 is often cited as the center of activity – “if you want a ghostly encounter, request Room 6” say some locals. The top of the main staircase and the hallway by rooms 6–8 also carry an eerie vibe, with cold spots frequently detected. In the pub’s restaurant area (the oldest part of the inn), staff have felt sudden temperature drops near a particular corner table after hours. The cellar, while not directly tied to the mother/child story, has its own aura – staff avoid going alone, noting they sometimes hear a distant woman’s cry while down there. Overall, the oldest timber-framed wing and the immediate areas around it (stairwell, corridor, adjacent rooms) see the most ghostly manifestations.
Witness Accounts
One former manager wrote about encountering the ghost: he was doing lock-up rounds when he distinctly saw a woman in old-fashioned clothes standing by the fireplace, who then faded away – he admitted he “nearly dropped the keys and ran.” Another time, a family staying over Christmas reported that their toddler was babbling and giggling at an empty corner, as if playing with someone unseen. A TripAdvisor reviewer mentioned the hotel’s haunted reputation, and staff openly acknowledged the ghost upon inquiry, sharing that many team members have heard the unexplained baby cries at night. Perhaps the most persuasive accounts come from the cleaning crew: two different housekeepers on separate occasions quit after consistently hearing a soft female voice singing a lullaby in vacant rooms. These multiple independent witnesses all paint a consistent picture of the Green Man’s gentle, mournful hauntress.
Paranormal Investigations
Unlike some larger haunted hotels, the Green Man hasn’t been featured on national TV, but it has drawn regional paranormal groups. A local Harlow ghost club did an overnight investigation in 2018, reporting EVP recordings of a woman saying what sounded like “my baby.” The pub was also highlighted in a Essex Haunted Pubs tour on Halloween 2020. Visitors on that tour used dowsing rods that allegedly reacted strongly in Room 6 and near the old fireplace. The story of the Green Man’s ghosts has been documented on social media; the pub’s Facebook page has acknowledged the legend, and a short segment about it aired on BBC Essex Radio during a feature on local hauntings. While formal studies are few, the inn’s ghost legend remains a popular subject in local paranormal circles.
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Special Packages
Primarily standard pub-hotel offerings (dinner, bed & breakfast deals). The hotel doesn’t have ghost-themed packages, but its historic charm is a selling point. Occasionally, the pub hosts special menu nights or seasonal events (e.g. summer BBQs on the green) which overnight guests can enjoy.
Accessibility
Free on-site parking lot (ample spaces). Modern annex rooms are available at the rear, offering step-free access and larger layouts (more suitable for those with mobility needs). However, rooms in the historic main building are up steep stairs and corridors, not wheelchair accessible. No elevator (as expected in a 14th-c. inn). The pub and restaurant on ground floor are mostly accessible (small step at entrance, staff can assist).
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