18 intrepid ghost-hunters and one reporter gathered at one of Britain's only pubs built on hallowed ground after a plethora of paranormal reports during its 280-year history.
The Ring O Bells on Kirkland, Kendal reopened in December 2021 under new owners Tony and Diane Leach, and they were quick to capitalise on the pub's ghostly reputation, organising a ticketed ghost-hunt for Saturday 15 January, hosted by spiritualist mediums Gordon Walsh and Michael Rogers.
Westmorland Gazette Reporter Darren Shield went along to investigate the truth behind the supernatural tales:
"We had a walk around, and we've detected definite activity", said medium Gordon Walsh to the open, but slightly sceptical mind that accompanied me as I walked into the grand old pub to join the 18 ghost-hunters.
The pub kindly used us as guinea pigs for their new chef, serving up a selection of meals before the spirit-searching began, which met an overwhelmingly favourable response.
To kick things off, the group headed upstairs for an hour-long spiritual reading, when participants from the spirit realm reached out to the mediums in turn to communicate with the living members of the group.
Sadly none of my past acquaintances felt the need to communicate with me, but judging by the reaction of the targeted participants, others did, such as one lady whose father told her her to keep the photo of him where it was on her fridge door.
The lights were turned off at around 10.30pm as the group explored the many rooms of the quirky old building in groups, or alone, accompanied by the mediums, cameras and electro-magnetic field (EMF) meters, which can detect abnormal energies.
Scott Dawson, who lives and works in the pub, said: "I've been here 4 weeks and I've had all sorts happen.
"I will not come to the front half of the building, especially not at night and especially not on my own.
"I've seen my mobile phone flying across the room.
"It feels very oppressive."
Hot-spots of EMF activity were an upstairs bedroom, and a vaulted storeroom in the eerie cellar.
Phone footage was captured of white "spirit orbs" moving in a corridor, which were clearly visible on screen but not to the naked eye.
It would take the most hardened sceptic to deny the oddity of the "table-tilting", in which I was one of several participants whose hands touched the top of a small, sturdy, simple wooden table.
Michael led the spirit communication, and after around 10 minutes of gentle shifting and wobbling of the table, it tilted steadily until the top was suspended about 2 inches from the floor, at an impossible angle for it to stand - nothing physical was holding it up.
The event finished at 1am, and such was the positive reaction from the group (including me) that another ghost-hunt was scheduled for Friday 4 March at the pub.
Landlord Tony said "This was either going to be a massive success or a disaster, and thankfully its the former!
"Demand massively outstripped supply for this so I imagine the next one will sell out straightaway."
Gordon Walsh said of the evening: "We had a great group here tonight, which makes it so much easier to communicate with the spirit world.
"Most importantly everyone had a fun night and there was plenty of activity - I'm looking forward to the next one!"
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