The owner of the Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub in Bolton, England, claims to have been robbed of an extremely valuable … ghost that has lived in a drinking establishment for many years, becoming a real local landmark. The native of the grave, who settled in the pub, even got into the photo several times.
The most famous photograph is shown below - it shows the phantom standing behind the bar in the dark, when "Ye Olde Man and Scythe" was empty. The image was taken in February 2014 by a security camera that took a photo every few seconds. The ghost appeared only in one of the frames received that night. The owner of the establishment, Richard Greenwood, then carefully looked through all the remaining images from the camera, but the guest from the other world did not appear in any of the images.
Who stole the famous ghost? According to Greenwood, this was done by Chinese artist Lu Pingyuan, who recently came to England to host a contemporary art exhibition in Manchester. Richard claims that the Asian recently visited a pub and looked into the restroom there, where he probably stumbled upon a phantom. The artist managed to catch the ghost in a glass bottle and unceremoniously take it with him.
Now this very bottle flaunts in front of visitors to the Manchester exhibition. The owner of "Ye Olde Man and Scythe" demands that the ghost be returned to him, and even threatens Pingyuan with court. Many will probably think that this is an absurd accusation, but knowing how seriously the British take the otherworldly and their rich history, it can be assumed that the judges, if necessary, will really consider such an unusual claim.
Built in 1251, Ye Olde Man and Scythe is the fourth oldest bar in the United Kingdom. It is believed that the spirit living here belongs to James Stanley, an English aristocrat, military leader and politician. Stanley was a royalist whose family built this building. Some historians claim that the nobleman spent his last hours here before being beheaded in 1651 at the end of the 17th century English Civil War.
Interestingly, Lu Pingyuan himself does not deny the fact of theft from his side. The Chinese man even admits that he planned to kidnap the spirit of James Stanley two years ago, when he came across a photo with a phantom near a bar that had spread all over the Internet. Nevertheless, the artist does not consider himself in any way guilty from the point of view of the law, since even the most famous ghost, as you know, cannot officially be someone's property.
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