One of Scotland’s spookiest pubs is looking for a new tenant to take on its pints and poltergeists.
The Osnaburg in Forfar has been a favourite haunt for generations of local drinkers with a history stretching back 188 years.
But it’s also regularly welcomed visitors in search of spirits of a different kind thanks to a reputation as one of Scotland’s spookiest pubs.
Now, owners Greene King are on the lookout for a new mine host for whom the dark cellar of the Os will hold no fears.
The pub is currently open and a busy place, but the national chain say they want to attract a long-term future tenant.
Fascinating history
The Os sits at the end of Forfar’s Pend, opposite the town’s old public baths.
History suggests it became a bar in 1835 having previously been a weaver’s shop.
The Osnaburg name is derived from a measure of cloth.
It is a connection to Forfar’s place in the textile industry, which continues to this day through major employer Don & Low.
And in it’s time the pub has served up its fair share of characters on both sides of the bar.
But it’s also responsibly for ghost stories which have gone down in legend.
Those have had paranormal investigators beating a path to Angus.
Other-wordly regulars are said to include famous former landlord Jim Cameron and a chimney sweep who died in the flat above the pub.
And one of the brethern of the local Masonic lodge who died at a meeting reportedly roams Osnaburg Street.
The Os sits a few doors away from what was The Courier’s former Forfar office.
The late Laurie Rogers, who was chief reporter there for almost three decades, regularly reported on the Ossie’s tales of the unexpected.
In 2008, Scottish Paranormal group members set up monitoring equipment in the bar in an all-night lock-in.
Their investigation recorded bumps in the night and unexplained voices.
And one former manageress once joked the supernatural spirits sharing the cellar with an array of beer and booze were easier to deal with than some of the customers.
Trading as normal
Greene King runs more than 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across the UK.
The portfolio includes Belhaven pubs it operates in Scotland.
A company spokesperson said: “The Osnaburg is open and trading as normal.
“However we are now looking for a long-term partner to continue running the pub.
“Our search for a new partner has only just begun so anyone interested should get in touch to find out more.”
