Hertfordshire landlady blames ghost for shattering pint of Guinness
CCTV footage of an unattended glass exploding on the bar has drawn over 200,000 views and a debate on social media.
By Harper Collins ·
Rachel Drury, the 52-year-old owner of the Farmer's Boy pub in Brickendon, Hertfordshire, attributes a recent incident to a former 19th-century landlady. The event, captured on camera in July, showed a half-drunk pint of Guinness spontaneously shattering on the bar without anyone touching it.
Drury rejected the theory of thermal shock, a common explanation for glass breakage when cold liquid meets a hot vessel. She argued that the customer who owned the pint is a regular who would have noticed and refused a warm glass. The pub owner stated that if a scientific cause were responsible, the glass would have broken earlier in the evening.
The incident occurred on July 20. The customer, a local regular, left his glass on the bar to use the restroom. Upon his return, the glass had collapsed, scattering glass fragments and stout across the surface. Drury reviewed the security footage after learning of the event and later posted the clip online with a caption questioning the cause.
The video has since accumulated more than 200,000 views. Commenters offered varied theories, ranging from an "Irish ghost" to the glass being cleaned but not cooled down. Some suggested the presence of an old local in his seat, while others proposed calling a vicar to bless the establishment to stop the waste of pints.
Drury has lived in the pub for two and a half years and describes the atmosphere as warm and welcoming. She said that staff members who believe in the paranormal have reported seeing a woman standing in the room during closing time. Customers have also reported sensations of being brushed past or a leg feeling hot, as if touched by an invisible person.
Psychics who have visited the 1800s-era building describe the spirits as friendly, specifically identifying a woman and a child. Drury said she is not afraid of the presence. She recounted one instance where she felt someone patting her back on a stressful night. When she got out of bed to check, the room was empty, but she described the sensation as a nice feeling.
The pub owner maintains that the spirit is trying to make itself known in a benign way. She believes the entity is the former landlady from the 19th century. Drury said the number of staff and customers who have felt or seen something is large, and she views the ghost as a kind part of the pub's history.
