In a Nutshell
Many, many moons ago in June of 1702, an innocent man was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. That man was the father of a lovely young girl that was admired by Thomas Busby, a man who enjoyed alcohol a bit too much. Eventually, Busby was trialed and found guilty of murder, so was hanged by the neck near to the inn that he lived in. Before he did, though, he placed a curse on his beloved chair so that no-one could ever sit in it…
The Whole Bushel
This is a classic tale of a man meeting a woman, and the father being incredibly protective of his daughter. The father was Daniel Awety, who was running an illegal counterfeiting business in the remote town of Kirkby Wiske in England. After setting up shop, Awety believed him and his daughter – Elizabeth – could settle down without any hassle.
That was until Elizabeth fell in love with a local, Thomas Busby. Without Awety’s approval, the pair went ahead and cemented their relationship through marriage. Of course, being Elizabeth’s father, he had little choice but to put up with it and support her. Not long into their marriage, Busby joined Awety in his counterfeiting venture. However, it didn’t really go swimmingly – Busby was a drunkard.
To make matters worse – especially for alcoholic Busby – the two moved into a local inn. One night when Thomas was away from home, Daniel went marching over to their lodging to drag Elizabeth away. He’d had enough of Busby’s drunken antics. But, Elizabeth refused to leave without seeing her husband first, so they waited for him to return. When he did return, it was no surprise that he was absolutely intoxicated.
That led to Daniel Awety and Thomas Busby having an enormous row, but for slightly different reasons. You see, Awety was adamant that his daughter wasn’t going to be married to a drunken fool. On the contrary, Busby was furious that Awety was sitting in the chair that he adored so deeply. In the heat of the moment, the father stormed out and went back to his farm where he based his illicit company.
Now, Busby wasn’t prepared to let him off that lightly. Subsequently, he walked 3 miles in the middle of the night to the farm. On arrival, he picked up one of the counterfeiter’s hammers and smashed Awety’s skull in. Long story short – the police discovered the body and found Busby guilty of the murder. As punishment, he was sentenced to the death penalty, which meant hanging.
He was hanged from a gibbet attached to the inn where he lived, and soon after the inn was renamed to the Busby Stoop Inn. But, before the hanging took place, Busby cursed anyone who would ever dare to sit in his chair ever again. According to reports, 63 people have since sat in the chair and ended up dead. Where is it now? Hung up safely in the Thirsk Museum!
Show Me The Proof
The world’s most haunted pieces of FURNITURE: ‘Chair of death’, ‘conjure chest’ and a ‘cursed portrait’ feature among eerie items linked to unexplained phenomenon [Link]
Busby’s cursed chair of death [Link]