A JAPANESE film crew and team of ghosthunters are set to descend this weekend on what they believe is Bolton’s most haunted pub.

Ye Olde Man and Scythe in Churchgate is to be visited by a film crew from Japan’s biggest TV station, Fuji TV, on Sunday.

The pub shot to fame when a YouTube video went viral of CCTV footage appearing to show a ghostly figure standing at the end of the bar during the middle of the night.

Two reporters from The Bolton News even spent a night in the pub to see if they could find any haunting presence.

The Japanese TV station is trying to find the world’s most haunted pub and has chosen Ye Olde Man and Scythe as one of the places it will visit during the series, according to pub owner Richard Greenwood.

He added: “They are filming a series about haunted venues around the world and chose here, which is fantastic.

“They are bringing a paranormal investigation team to do some filming and see what they can find.

“I think they’ll be there for pretty much the whole night. I’ll certainly be heading down for a bit to see what’s going on.”

The landlord said the pub’s reputation as being haunted is rapidly gathering pace.

Only last month, a Portuguese tourist shot a video from the outside of the pub which showed a mysterious flicker of light momentarily appear on one of the upstairs windows.

He added: “What was great about the last video by the tourist was that all the papers that picked it up billed us as the world’s most haunted pub or Britain’s most haunted pub.

“At the end of the day we’ve got the history to go with this.

“Hopefully if other TV stations see what the Japanese crew do they might fancy doing something similar.”

Ye Olde Man and Scythe is Bolton’s oldest pub and the fourth oldest in Britain.

It is thought James Stanley, the seventh Earl of Derby, has haunted the premises since he was executed outside the building for his part in the Bolton Massacre.

The Royalist commander apparently spent his last few hours in the pub and the chair he was sitting in remains there today.

  • Due to changes in the programme's filming schedule, Fuji TV has now told The Bolton News that the film crew will not be coming this weekend, but may still come at some point in the future.