The Bolton News reports that Lu Pingyuan claims to have captured the ghost of the seventh Earl of Derby, James Stanley, who is said to haunt Ye Olde Man and Scythe in Churchgate.
Unbeknown to pub licensee Richard Greenwood a sealed metal canister which supposedly has the ghost inside, went on display at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CCCA) in Manchester after Pingyuan came to Bolton from Shanghai to capture the spirit.
"Ties to the town"
According to The Bolton News, Greenwood said in a letter to Pingyuan: “I would have liked to have been privy to your actions and indeed to the exhibition before the ghost of James Stanley was taken out of Bolton, his ties to the town and to Ye Olde Man and Scythe run very deeply.”
The licensee has also offered to donate the chair that Stanley sat in for his last meal to the exhibition as long as both the chair and the ghost come back to the pub at the end of the tour, which Pingyuan has planned.
Greenwood added: “I feel very strongly that James Stanley’s ghost should remain in Bolton and at Ye Olde Man and Scythe to preserve the natural order of things. That said I do believe that your exhibition should travel and be seen by many people around the world and I would like to contribute to this as long as at the end of the exhibition it returns home.”
The legend goes that James Stanley spent his last hours in the pub before he was executed outside for his part in the Bolton massacre in 1644.
Ghost
The local paper reported that the artist came across the ghost’s story after watching CCTV footage which appeared to show the ghoulish presence at one end of the bar.
Pingyuan said: “I was totally captivated by the legend, that the ghost remained in the human world long after his decapitation. I wish him to exist and be treated as a real artwork and to present him around the globe, getting respect and tributes from people everywhere.
“I told his ghost about my proposal the second time I visited this place and James Stanley agreed that I can put him into a jar in order to exhibit him in galleries and museums alike.
“Therefore, in this way, he became a piece of art. I consider my exhibition at CFCCA to be the beginning of his worldwide trip. After this exhibition, I plan to prepare for the next one in 2017.
“My original thought is that after the world tour of exhibitions, I will discuss with him and ask him whether he would prefer to stay like this, as a piece of art, or go back to the Ye Olde Man and Scythe.”