James and Linda Merchant heard rumours about ghosts at the Cock Inn, Stansted Road, Bishop's Stortford, which dates back to 1540, when they first moved into the pub two years ago.
But being a sceptic, James was not worried about the stories until he and his family started having experiences of their own.
The couple's daughter, Kelly, 21, who works at the pub, was once left terrified when changing a barrel. She said she felt a dark cold presence run through her and then without warning the cellar door shut locking from the outside.
The Cock Inn in Bishop?s Stortford
"I panicked," she said. "I called for help and thankfully someone heard me and let me out."
Ashtrays often fly across the bar and things turn on for no reason.
Kelly added that she has been told that the ghost of a young girl haunts the cellar: "We have been told that she is bored and plays in the cellar. She likes to have fun.
"Apparently, her name is Emily or Amelie."
James said he has seen strange lights in the pub when no-one else has been around to cause them.
"Being sceptical you try and come up with a reasonable explanation for the lights - for example car headlights - but there just isn't anyone around when I get in," he said.
He said often barrels seem to be empty so he goes to change them only to find them half full. It will be okay once he gets back to the bar, then 20 minutes later it will happen again.
It is possibly another example of the little girl ghost playing up and looking for attention. Or it could be the woman waiting for her husband to come home from fighting overseas.
James said the ghosts seem to muck about by throwing things around. He said his 10-year-old son was left shaken when a box of Lego was thrown across the room. But the family is now getting used to the strange goings on.
"We love it now," added James. "The customers laugh about it - they don't see much of what happens because it normally happens when no-one is about."
The pub is in the process of arranging for a medium to come and investigate.
"It will be really interesting to find out more about the 'people' we share our home with," James said
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