The Playful Little Girl

Among the spirits said to inhabit The Devil’s Stone Inn, perhaps none is more poignant yet endearing than the ghost known simply as ‘The Playful Little Girl’. This child spirit, believed to date from the inn’s early years as a 17th or 18th-century farmhouse and coaching establishment, represents a tragic yet touching reminder of the harsh realities of childhood mortality in historical rural England.

Historical Context

During the 17th and 18th centuries, when The Devil’s Stone Inn served first as a farmhouse and later as a busy coaching stop, child mortality rates were devastatingly high. Historical records from Devon parishes, including nearby Shebbear, reveal that families commonly lost children to diseases such as smallpox, consumption (tuberculosis), fever, and childhood accidents. The harsh winters, poor sanitation, and limited medical knowledge of the era meant that many children did not survive to adulthood.

Parish records from Shebbear dating back to 1576 document numerous child burials, particularly during harsh winter months and disease outbreaks. The inn’s location on the coaching route between major Devon towns meant it would have seen many travelling families, some carrying illness or seeking shelter during difficult times.

The Child’s Story

While no specific historical record identifies the child whose spirit is said to remain at the inn, local folklore and the nature of her manifestations suggest she was likely between 6 and 10 years old at the time of her death. The playful, interactive nature of her haunting indicates a spirit who died too young to understand the finality of death, retaining the innocent desire for companionship and games that characterised her brief life.

Some local accounts suggest she may have been the daughter of either the farming family who originally occupied the building or the child of travelling guests who succumbed to illness while staying at the inn during its coaching days. The prevalence of childhood diseases during the winter months, when travellers were most likely to seek shelter at coaching inns, supports this theory.

Manifestations and Encounters

The Playful Little Girl is known for her remarkably interactive manifestations, which set her apart from many other reported spirits at the inn. The most documented sighting occurred in 1982 when a student staying at the inn reported seeing the child in his bedroom, accompanied by a grey-bearded man believed to be her father. This significant encounter provides one of the clearest documented sightings of the spirit, suggesting a familial connection that may explain her continued presence at the inn.

Guests and staff have consistently reported several types of encounters:

Invitation to Play: The most distinctive characteristic of this spirit is her apparent desire to engage the living in games, particularly hide and seek. Guests have reported feeling an invisible presence tugging gently at their clothing, or experiencing an overwhelming urge to play or explore certain areas of the inn. Some visitors describe hearing a child’s voice calling “come and play” or “find me” in empty corridors.

Auditory Phenomena: The sound of light, quick footsteps running along the upper corridors and main staircase is frequently reported, particularly during evening hours. These footsteps are described as distinctly those of a small child wearing hard-soled shoes, consistent with the footwear children would have worn during the coaching era. Guests also report hearing soft giggles, humming, or the sound of a child singing old nursery rhymes from empty rooms.

Playful Mischief: Unlike malevolent hauntings, the Little Girl’s presence is marked by harmless, playful tricks reminiscent of a living child seeking attention. Items may be moved to unexpected locations, doors may be found slightly ajar when they were previously closed, and guests occasionally report their belongings being “hidden” only to reappear in obvious places, as if part of a game. She is particularly known for causing pictures to fall from walls throughout the inn, a phenomenon that has become one of her signature manifestations and is consistently attributed to her playful nature.

Visual Sightings: While less common than auditory encounters, several guests and staff members have reported brief glimpses of a small figure in period dress - typically described as a simple white or pale-coloured dress consistent with 17th or 18th-century children’s clothing. These sightings are usually peripheral and fleeting, often occurring at the edge of one’s vision while moving through the inn’s corridors.

Areas of Activity

The Playful Little Girl’s presence is felt throughout the inn, but certain areas seem to hold particular significance:

Guest Areas: She appears to be drawn to spaces where people gather, perhaps seeking the companionship she was denied by her early death. The main guest rooms and common areas are frequent sites of her manifestations.

Main Staircase: The historic staircase is a particular hotspot for auditory phenomena, with many guests reporting the sound of small feet running up and down the wooden steps, especially during the evening hours.

Upper Corridors: The passages connecting the guest rooms are where many of the more interactive encounters occur, with guests reporting the sensation of being followed or accompanied by an unseen presence.

Guest Bedrooms: Perhaps most significantly, the child has been directly encountered in guest bedrooms, most notably during the documented 1982 sighting when she appeared alongside the grey-bearded man. This suggests the bedrooms hold particular significance for her spirit.

Upstairs Toilet: A young boy reported encountering the girl in the upstairs toilet area, indicating that her presence is not confined to the main guest areas but extends to the more private spaces of the inn’s upper floors.

Cultural and Folkloric Significance

The presence of a child spirit at The Devil’s Stone Inn reflects broader patterns in British folklore and supernatural belief. Child ghosts have long been a feature of English haunting traditions, often representing innocent souls who remain earthbound due to their inability to comprehend death or their attachment to familiar places.

In Devon folklore, as throughout rural England, child spirits were often viewed more sympathetically than adult ghosts. Rather than being feared, they were frequently seen as deserving of compassion - souls who needed comfort rather than exorcism. This perspective is reflected in the generally positive reception of the Playful Little Girl’s presence at the inn.

The interactive nature of her haunting also aligns with historical beliefs about child spirits. Unlike adult ghosts, who might return due to unfinished business or trauma, child spirits were often thought to linger simply because they missed the joy and companionship of life, particularly play and human contact.

Modern Encounters and Investigation

Contemporary paranormal investigators who have studied The Devil’s Stone Inn consistently report encounters with the child spirit. Unlike some of the inn’s other reported ghosts, the Playful Little Girl seems particularly responsive to gentle, respectful attempts at communication. Several paranormal television productions have documented interactions with this spirit, often capturing unexplained audio phenomena or electromagnetic disturbances consistent with a responsive presence.

Staff at the inn have learned to accommodate her presence, often addressing empty rooms with gentle words of acknowledgment. Some report that this recognition seems to increase positive encounters while reducing any disruptive activity, suggesting a spirit who simply wishes to be remembered and included rather than ignored or feared.

A Lasting Presence

The ghost of the Playful Little Girl serves as a touching reminder of the countless children whose lives were cut short during England’s harsh historical periods. Her presence at The Devil’s Stone Inn transforms what might otherwise be a frightening haunting into something more poignant - the eternal echo of childhood innocence seeking connection across the centuries.

For guests brave enough to acknowledge her presence, she offers perhaps the most genuinely interactive paranormal experience at this notoriously haunted establishment. Her story reminds us that not all ghosts are harbingers of doom or unfinished business; sometimes, they are simply the lingering essence of joy and play, seeking to bridge the gap between past and present through the universal language of childhood wonder.