All Hayle The Bucket of Blood

The Bucket of Blood is a pub in Phillack, a village in Hayle, Cornwall. Said to have been built in the 18th century, the building is now Grade II listed. According to legend, the pub got its charming name several centuries ago when the landlord went to get some water from the local well. His bucket came up full of the blood from the mutilated, murdered body of a smuggler thrown down the well. Variations of the story include the bucket containing the head of a local revenue officer. The most boring explanation, and probably most likely, is the water would have been red from the effects of tin mining; many streams and rivers (such as, er, the red river) in the county still are a rusty orange colour. The pub is also, of course, haunted.

Not to be confused with: A Bucket of Blood, a 1959 horror comedy directed by Roger Corman and starring Dick Miller.

Previously on Barnflakes
Back to the Cat’s Back
The Seedy Tree