What happened
The inn on the old road across the middle of Bodmin Moor was built in 1750 as a coaching inn where horses were changed. It stood in a wilderness far from prying eyes, so it became a stopping point for smugglers bringing brandy, tea and tobacco up from Cornish coves. In 1930 Daphne du Maurier, lost in fog, spent a few days here, and her novel “Jamaica Inn” (1936) and Alfred Hitchcock's film (1939) turned the inn into a legend. The oldest ghost story tells of a stranger drinking at the bar one evening when someone called him outside. He left his tankard unfinished, and in the morning his body was found on the moor. Since then a mysterious figure is said to sit on the wall outside the inn, and footsteps are heard heading to the bar at night. Guests also speak of hoofbeats and wheels in the empty courtyard and of a man in a tricorn hat who walks through closed doors.
Witnesses
The inn's owners, staff and guests; the stories are collected in guides to Cornwall's haunted places.
Explanations and hypotheses
The inn's history as a smugglers' stop has a real basis, but its name comes not from Jamaican rum but from the Trelawney family – two of whom were governors of Jamaica. The tale of the murdered stranger has no documentary confirmation and is a typical motif of Cornish folklore. The inn's fame stems mainly from du Maurier's novel – today it houses a smuggling museum and mementoes of the writer, and the ghosts are part of that literary atmosphere.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
More: Wikipedia (en)