Part 2: Haunted Devon: -The pirate who haunts Burgh Island

My latest book is called "Ghosts of England on a Medium's Vacation" (by Rob Gutro) and conveys
all of the ghosts I met as I traveled throughout England. There are a LOT more ghosts in England that I  did not (yet) meet, and here is the second of several postings from Devonlive in Devon, U.K about some of them.. - Rob  


The pirate who haunts Burgh Island

Photo: Burgh Island (Image: SWNS)

In modern times Burgh Island in Bigbury Bay is most often associated with Agatha Christie’s haunting murder mystery novel ‘And Then There Were None’. But in the 14th century it was the hideout of a notorious pirate who was hunted down and hung on the island and his ghost is said to haunt the Pilchard Inn pub.

At the height of its fame the elegant hotel on the island attracted guests including Noel Coward, King Farouk, Lord Mountbatten, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, Winston Churchill, Amy Johnson the aviator, Gertrude Lawrence, and later The Beatles.

But long, long before that the hotel was the lair of the pirate Tom Crocker. Because Burgh Island is cut off by the tide twice a day it is an easy spot to defend and Crocker made the island his hideout at a time when the south Devon coast was notorious for piracy.
But Crocker was tracked down and hanged there, at a gateway to the island in the third week of August 1395. It is said he still walks the island every year on the aniversary of his death. Locals still report an almost tangible feeling of melancholy at the spot.

Up until a few years ago the bright young things at the hotel organised celebrations on that date and everyone went out looking for him.

Another relic of Tom Crocker on the island is a face said to be etched into the granite chimney-breast of The Pilchard Inn at the entrance to the hotel driveway.

SOURCE: Devon Live: https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/viking-ghosts-still-haunt-bloody-2286420