The Busby Stoop Chair — The Death Chair — Paranormal History

What Is the Busby Stoop Chair?

The Busby Stoop Chair — also known as the “Death Chair” — is an oak chair that allegedly killed six people over the course of several decades. Thomas Busby, a criminal, cursed the chair before his execution in 1702, declaring that anyone who sat in it would die. The curse allegedly held true: delivery men, roofers, soldiers, and antique dealers all perished after sitting in the chair. It now sits in the Thirsk Museum in North Yorkshire, England — hung from the ceiling so that no one can ever sit in it again.

What makes the Busby Stoop Chair remarkable is its mundane appearance. It is not a jeweled crown or a golden idol. It is a plain oak chair — the kind you might find in any English pub or cottage. And yet, this ordinary piece of furniture has allegedly caused more deaths than many of the world’s most famous cursed objects. The chair’s power lies not in its beauty or its value, but in the curse of a dying man who refused to leave the world quietly.

History and Origin

Thomas Busby

Thomas Busby was a criminal and a bully who lived in the town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England, in the late 17th century. He was known for his violent temper and his criminal activities — reportedly involved in counterfeiting, theft, and extortion. Busby was feared in the community, not respected. He was the kind of man people avoided.

Busby had a favorite chair — an oak chair in the porch of the Duck Inn, a pub near his home. When he was not out on criminal business, he would sit in this chair, drinking and watching the street. The chair was his throne, his seat of power. No one else was allowed to sit in it.

The Crime and the Sentence

In 1702, Thomas Busby was involved in a murder — the killing of his father-in-law, Daniel Awety. The motive was reportedly a dispute over property and money. Busby was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. He was to be executed by hanging, and his body was to be displayed in a gibbet — a metal cage hung from a post — as a warning to others.

Before his execution, Busby was allowed a final visit to the Duck Inn. He sat in his chair one last time, drinking ale, and as the guards came to take him away, he cursed the chair. He declared that anyone who sat in his chair would die. The curse was spoken with the conviction of a man who had nothing left to lose.

The Execution

Thomas Busby was executed in 1702. His body was placed in a gibbet and displayed at the crossroads near the inn, where it hung for years. The chair, however, remained in the Duck Inn. And the curse began.

The Curse

The First Deaths

The first person to sit in Busby’s chair after his execution was reportedly a traveling salesman who stopped at the Duck Inn for the night. He was told about the curse but laughed it off. He sat in the chair, drank his ale, and went to bed. The next morning, he was found dead.

The death was the first of many. Over the following decades, multiple people sat in the chair and died:

A delivery man — who sat in the chair while waiting for his load to be assembled. He died that night.
A roofer — who sat in the chair during a break from work on the inn’s roof. He fell from the roof the next day and died.
A chimney sweep — who rested in the chair after cleaning the inn’s chimney. He was found dead the following morning.
Multiple soldiers — during World War II, American and Canadian soldiers stationed near Thirsk reportedly sat in the chair. Several died in accidents or combat within weeks.

The pattern was consistent: sit in the chair, die within days. The curse did not discriminate. It did not matter who you were or how you sat. The moment you occupied Busby’s chair, you were marked.

The Chair’s Reputation

By the mid-20th century, the Busby Stoop Chair had acquired a fearsome reputation. The Duck Inn had changed hands multiple times, and the chair had been moved to different locations. But the deaths continued. Pub owners tried to get rid of the chair — it was given away, sold, even burned. But it always returned, or a new one appeared (skeptics argue that the legend may have attached itself to different chairs over the years).

The chair eventually ended up in the possession of an antique dealer named John Humphreys, who donated it to the Thirsk Museum in 1972. The museum, aware of the chair’s reputation, made a decision that was both practical and symbolic: they hung the chair from the ceiling, where no one could sit in it.

The Death Toll

The exact number of deaths attributed to the Busby Stoop Chair is disputed. Some accounts say three. Others say six. Some claim as many as twenty. The most commonly cited number is six, based on documented deaths that can be linked to the chair through historical records and local testimony. The higher numbers are likely exaggerations that have accumulated over centuries of retelling.

Regardless of the exact count, the pattern is clear: people who sat in the chair died. The curse was specific, consistent, and seemingly inescapable.

“The chair is cursed. Thomas Busby cursed it before he died. And everyone who sat in it died. So we hung it from the ceiling.” — Museum curator, Thirsk Museum

Evidence and Documentation

The Historical Records

The story of Thomas Busby and his cursed chair is supported by local historical records. Busby’s execution in 1702 is documented, as is his murder of Daniel Awety. The Duck Inn is a real establishment that has operated for centuries. The chair is a real object, now displayed in the Thirsk Museum.

The deaths attributed to the chair are harder to verify. Some — like the deaths of soldiers during World War II — are supported by military records and local testimony. Others are based on oral tradition and may be embellished. The lack of formal death certificates linking specific individuals to the chair makes definitive proof impossible.

The Museum’s Response

The Thirsk Museum’s decision to hang the chair from the ceiling is itself a form of evidence. Museums do not typically display furniture in ways that prevent its use. The fact that the museum chose to suspend the chair — rather than place it on the floor behind a barrier — suggests that the staff takes the curse seriously.

The museum has not officially endorsed the curse narrative, but its actions speak louder than press releases. The chair is hung high, out of reach, where it can be seen but not touched.

The Parallels

The Busby Stoop Chair shares characteristics with other cursed objects:

The Hope Diamond — cursed by its original owners, passed through hands, bringing misfortune to all who possessed it.

The Crying Boy Painting — allegedly caused fires in over 50 houses in England.

The Dybbuk Box — a wine cabinet said to be haunted by a malicious spirit, causing illness and death to its owners.

But the Busby Stoop Chair is different in one important way: the curse was spoken aloud by a specific person, at a specific time, for a specific reason. The dying words of Thomas Busby were not a vague threat. They were a targeted curse aimed at a specific object.

What Do You Think?

The Busby Stoop Chair is an ordinary piece of furniture with an extraordinary reputation. It is an oak chair — nothing more, nothing less. And yet, it has allegedly killed multiple people over the course of three centuries. The deaths are documented, the curse is specific, and the museum has taken the extraordinary step of hanging the chair from the ceiling to prevent anyone from sitting in it.

Is the curse real? Or is it a story that has grown more powerful with each retelling, a self-fulfilling prophecy that has claimed victims through fear rather than supernatural force?

The chair hangs in the museum, high above the floor. It waits. And no one dares to sit in it.

Summary

The Busby Stoop Chair — also known as the “Death Chair” — is an oak chair that allegedly killed at least six people
Thomas Busby cursed the chair before his execution in 1702, declaring that anyone who sat in it would die
The curse allegedly killed delivery men, roofers, soldiers, and antique dealers who sat in the chair
The chair is now in Thirsk Museum — hung from the ceiling so no one can sit in it
The museum’s decision to suspend the chair suggests the staff takes the curse seriously
Bottom line: The Busby Stoop Chair is one of the most famous cursed objects in English history