The Starving Rascal stands on the corner of Collis Street and Brettell Lane at Amblecote, near Stourbridge. The Express & Star says that around the 1870s a tramp came to the door asking for food and shelter. The landlord refused, and the next morning the beggar was found dead on the doorstep. The pub is believed to have been cursed by him ever since.
The building was originally called the Dudley Arms and dates back to the 1800s. It was renamed in 1977 to reflect the story, and a new sign shows the beggar and his disgruntled ghost. That timeline matters: the name belongs to the 1970s, so the legend may owe as much to the rebranding as the rebranding to the legend. I found no record of the death.
In 2013 the paper quoted Halesowen paranormal investigator David Taylor, co author with Andrew Homer of the book Beer and Spirits, who ranked it third most haunted site in the region after the West Bromwich Manor House and Dudley Castle. He said it is always good for hot and cold spots and shadows on the walls, with talk of bottles coming off shelves and shadowy figures in the cellar. The landlord at the time, Steve Robinson, said he had seen or heard things he could not explain and that the pub was proud of its folklore.
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