Ghost handprint

[Debi]

Ghost of child's handprint appears on pub's window

She is said to have died in a blizzard when she was left outside while her father enjoyed a night at the boozer

www.getreading.co.uk

 

[Lynne]

I was surprised there was no pic of the print.

 

[titch2k6]

Lynne - I was surprised there was no pic of the print.

Apparently, the only photo in existence hangs in the pub itself.

The pub is located in Datchet, Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, UK. The extract below is taken from the Datchet History website and was written by the historian Janet Kennish:

The story of a ghostly handprint appearing on a windowpane, which cannot be removed and reappears if the glass is replaced, was not mentioned before about 1970.

The window concerned is on the ground floor on the churchyard side.

In 1979 a photograph was taken which is displayed in the pub, telling that it is reputed to be the handprint of a child who died outside in the churchyard while waiting for its father on a cold night. A Mr Smith claimed to have done research in Bucks Record Office which proved that this was the child of a drunken labourer at the end of the 19th century, but no such evidence exists at all.

In true folklore fashion, the story has become elaborated, so that we are now told that the child watched the father become involved in a fight.

For those who want to believe it, and for encouraging customers to the Royal Stag, the story is fine, but it is only a story with no basis in evidence. If the handprint reappears in the future, this researcher will be most intrigued and is prepared to eat her words, but currently remains sceptical.