Named after an English king, (1688-1702), the pub has a curious phantom resident. Since 1998, customers with staff say they have seen at least one ghost walking up the back stairs of the historic building with calling out to staff in a strange accent. Proprietor, John Thompson, told the Bristol Evening Post mentioned that employees had heard voices. A man who used the King William had worked on the SS Great Britain at Bristol Port in 1993 told a strange ghost story. The worker, Sonny Graffo, said he encountered the ghost of Captain Gray. His description of a middle-aged man fitted a portrait of the captain. Other individuals employed on the ship have heard disembodied footsteps close to them.