Recently by Joanne Morris

Recent years have seen an upsurge of interest in all things paranormal. I like to think that this is because something is re-igniting in us, some sort of spiritual spark that was natural in our ancestors but has been smothered in our hectic, stressed out age.

Most people are quite happy to have their paranormal appetites satisfied via that big new telly hanging on the wall (and there is nothing wrong with that I hasten to add).

However, a growing number of people want their interest in the paranormal to be less passive. They want to get out there in the field. They want to hunt for ghosts and scan the skies for UFOs. They want their experience to be real. But how do you go about doing this? How do you investigate the paranormal?

Ghosts can appear anywhere and when you least expect them - even on the back seat of your car!

You have probably heard the story of the phantom hitchhiker. An unsuspecting motorist stops to offer somebody a lift, only to find that after a few minutes the new passenger has completely disappeared. The phantom hitcher is usually somebody that has tragically been killed on a particular stretch of road. This is a very common story all over the world which leads me to believe there may be some truth in it.

An American friend of mine sent me an interesting variation of the phantom hitchhiker which happened in California a couple of years ago.

Hello, sorry I've been away for the last few months but I've been very busy working on other things and I can never seem to find the time to write anything these days.
However, I get a lot of emails from people telling me of strange, ghostly experiences they have had or heard about from other people. I thought it would be a shame not to share these little stories with a wider audience. Some people have been quite frightened by their encounters with the paranormal, but happily most of the people who write to me are intrigued about what they have seen or heard.

One lady, Susan, told me of a weird occurrence she and her daughter had while driving home late one night. Susan lives in a small Shropshire village surrounded by farmland and country lanes. At weekends her daughter works in a pub about three miles away. Susan would drive to pick her up at about midnight. It was a journey she had made numerous times without anything unusual happening and it was very rare to see another living soul on the dark country roads at that time of night.

An interesting and eerie place I've had the pleasure to visit is White Ladies Priory in the Shropshire countryside. This is a set of ruins of a medieval convent that dates from the twelfth century, although there is evidence to suggest that this was a religious place long before the Norman invasion of 1066.

I've always thought that the name White Ladies has a suitably ghostly feel. However, the most likely explanation for the name is quite simple. The nuns who lived here were well known for their white robes. They probably couldn't afford or didn't think it necessary to dye their habits black as in most other convents.

There is another couple of explanations for the name "White Ladies" which are much more interesting.

Ghosts don't just exist in medieval castles and creaky old pubs. Some of them are a bit more adventurous and choose to sail the seven seas.

For centuries sailors have spoken of mysterious ghost ships that spell doom and disaster for all who see them.

The most famous of these phantom vessels is 'The Flying Dutchman' which suddenly appears out of the mist with its ghostly crew on deck.

This ship was said to be carrying a valuable cargo and its captain was looking forward to making a vast profit on his return to Holland in 1641. Unfortunately his crew was struck down by disease. As if that wasn't bad enough the ship ran into a terrible and deadly storm. As the ship was about to be smashed to pieces, the captain cursed the Devil who he blamed for this disaster. The Devil, rather amused by this, put his own curse on the captain and his ship. 'The Flying Dutchman' would sail the world's oceans, never to see land again, until the end of time.

This strange, spectral vessel has been seen many times since, looming out of the mist, its ragged sails flapping in the wind and its masts creaking. Sailors have always known that if 'The Flying Dutchman' is sighted, something terrible is bound to happen.

From medieval dungeons to modern American penitentiaries, prisons are truly frightening places - and they remain frightening long after the last inmate has finished his porridge.
One former prison that sees a lot of paranormal activity is Derby Gaol, owned by ghost expert and historian Richard Felix.

Derby Gaol was built in the 1750's on a traditional, and very busy, execution site. Death and suffering were associated with the building right from the start.
England at this time was experiencing a massive crimewave caused by terrible poverty and cheap gin which large numbers of the population were addicted to.

The gap between rich and poor was immense and the ruling classes were not about to let the peasants get their grubby hands on the family silver. If you were poor and committed a crime you could definitely expect brutal punishment.

Let's hope the weather people are right when they say we're in for a lovely, sizzling summer.

In these days of credit crunchiness a lot of us will be foregoing foreign shores in favour of a holiday in dear old Blighty.

Cornwall is a definite hotspot, and not just for surfers and sun worshippers. Just about every town, village and old smugglers pub has a ghostly tale or two to tell.

The most famous smugglers pub of all is Jamaica Inn which makes an ideal first stop as you enter Cornwall. I've been there a few times and have definitely felt an eerie presence, especially in the bar area.

If you fancy doing a bit of ghost hunting, but don't fancy spending the night in a dark cellar with a bunch of nutters like me, then there are lots of hotels around that have some rather ghostly guests.

Birmingham Ghosts and Hauntings have conducted several investigations at the Station Hotel in Dudley. The building dates from 1936, but there was a hotel here for many years before that.

A particularly strong presence in the hotel is that of a spirit called George who seems happy to respond to "yes or no" questions by occasionally tapping on the walls and ceilings. He is most active in room 214. Be warned though, George is not a friendly chap and has been known to slap and push people, especially women.
It is thought that George is the ghost of a former manager of the hotel. He was having an affair with a maid called Elizabeth. When she threatened to tell his wife he flew into a rage and murdered her. It could be that George's guilt and anger has kept his spirit imprisoned at the Station Hotel where he takes great pleasure in giving the guests a good fright.

If you decide to visit the Station Hotel remember to pay a visit to Dudley Castle just over the road - you never know who or what you might encounter!

You may recently have seen a news item about ghostly activity going on at Derby City General Hospital. Staff and patients reported seeing an unearthly figure dressed in a long black cloak. Other reports stated that a Roman soldier had been seen marching around the hospital grounds (the hospital is sited on part of an old roman road).

Some witnesses were quite frightened by what they had seen. Hospital managers were so concerned that they apparently contacted the Church of England to ask if an exorcism could be carried out.

As a paranormal investigator I believe that spirits are all around us. For the most part they remain invisible, but there are certain places (and certain people) that give off extremely strong energies and emotions. Spirits are able to use these energies to make themselves known to us.

Hospitals, with their daily human dramas, are ideal places for a ghost to manifest his / her / its self. Britain is full of old hospitals, many of them dating back to Victorian times. For decade after decade these places have soaked up the intense feelings of sadness, fear and joy of the countless people that have passed through their doors. The ghostly sightings at Derby City General are by no means unusual and there are some haunted hospitals in and around Birmingham.