The Phantom Coach on Fletchamstead Highway owes its name to a strange event in the 19th centuryCoventry has its fair share of ghost stories and paranormal tales, but one of the most intriguing relates to a pub in the city.
The Phantom Coach on Fletchamstead Highway has a name that suggests a connection to the paranormal - but most people don't know the tale behind its name.
In fact, it comes from a spooky incident that is said to have happened in the 19th century, at the height of the coaching era, when a coach travelling in Coventry met an unfortunate and mysterious end.
Legend has it that the coach disappeared one night without trace and the pub that is now there commemorates the fact and the strange events which are said to have followed.
The ghostly coach has reportedly been seen by many over the last two centuries and the sound of horses’ hooves and the wheels of the coach are said to be audible in the area on dark nights.
As with many such ghostly tales rooted in a historic event details are scant and there are different versions of what happened.
It has been said the Phantom Coach stands on the site of an old coaching inn on the route between Coventry and Cheltenham and that the ill-fated coach it is named after departed from the inn on the fateful night in question.
It is said that the coach crashed in nearby marshland and sank without trace - killing all those on board.
Other stories tell of the ghost of the coachman, who in some versions has been named as Charlie, haunting the Phantom Coach pub.
The ghostly event is sometimes said to repeat itself on dark night s.
It is said that before the crash the coachman drove at speed down the highway, lashing his horses with all the passengers on-board screaming in fear.
The pub also has its share of ghostly goings on, according to our reports, including banging and other strange noises which can be heard after closing.
It’s also claimed that staff there believe it could be the coach driver from the fatal accident.