Hotspots for ghost signings Burnley as most haunted Lancashire towns revealed

Lancashire has been named the UK’s eighth most haunted county, with Burnley home to the second most recorded ghost reports in the county.

Travel specialists at Ski Vertigo counted the ghost reports listed for every county in the Paranormal Database, a long-running archive of UK sightings, folklore and historical accounts. Only ghosts and hauntings were counted, so reports of UFOs, big cats, fairies and other creatures were left out.

Lancashire has 307 ghost reports on record. Blackpool has the most of any town in the county with 21, followed by Burnley with 18 and Lancaster with 17. Samlesbury Hall, between Preston and Blackburn, is said to be haunted by Dorothy Southworth, who walks the part of the garden where her lover was killed.

Essex came top of the UK ranking with 422 ghost reports. London was not ranked because the database lists the capital by postcode area rather than as a county, but taken together its areas hold 810 ghost reports, almost twice as many as Essex.

Alex Dyer, Managing Director at Ski Vertigo, said: “Halloween falls at the end of half-term this year, so a lot of families will be after a day out with a good story behind it. Plenty of these ghosts belong to castles, abbeys and old pubs you can actually visit, which makes them an easy trip with older children. Evening ghost tours can book up quickly in October, so it’s worth reserving early, and with the clocks going back on Sunday 25 October it will be dark an hour earlier that week.”

Here are 18 Burnley’s entries counted in Ski Vertigo's analysis

1. Burnley - Bridge End House. T F Thiselton Dyer's book Ghost World lists the house as haunted but gives no further information.
2. Burnley - Burnley newspaper premises, Bull Street. A former printer is said to haunt the building after dying before completing a piece of work. A paranormal investigation on 15 April 2002 reportedly picked up a voice saying, 'You won't see me'.
3. Burnley - Burnley Wood Primary School. In 1971, cleaning staff and the caretaker reportedly saw a ghostly child skipping and singing along the corridors. They also reported hearing a baby moaning.
4. Burnley - Eagle's Crag, Cliviger Gorge. A recurring Halloween tale describes Lord William Towneley and his dog chasing a doe. The database also records alternative versions of the story at this location.
5. Burnley - Electrical store (no longer present) along Bethesda Street. Late twentieth-century reports describe doors opening unaided and light bulbs exploding. The shop was reportedly built on a former graveyard.
6. Burnley - From Hufling Hall, via Hufling Lane, to Towneley Hall. A ghostly woman is said to travel along this route in a horse-drawn carriage, with the horses more likely to be heard than seen.
7. Burnley - Mark One, Manchester Road. Staff reported unexplained breathing and footsteps in the stockroom in July/August 2005. The account also describes moving clothes hangers and the sound of a young girl laughing.
8. Burnley - Private residence. An October 2011 poltergeist account describes power tools turning on unaided and crockery moving in the kitchen. No street or house number is given.
9. Burnley - Private residence along Mitella Street. In the late 1990s, a worker reported light switches repeatedly turning themselves off as she left a room. The account says an electrical inspection found nothing unusual.
10. Burnley - Private residence, Colburn Street. Around 2008, an occupant reported objects being thrown around the kitchen and doors opening by themselves. Tapping sounds were also reported.
11. Burnley - Rosehill House Hotel, Rosehill Avenue. In the early 2000s, a figure was reportedly seen sitting at the end of a bed in a roof extension. It was also reported on the staircase.
12. Burnley - Smackwater Jack's. Twentieth-century reports of disembodied footsteps in the bar were attributed to an ironworker who once worked on the site.
13. Burnley - Summit area of Manchester Road. A woman described as the last owner of nearby Towneley Hall is said to drive a horse and trap through the area, with hoofbeats heard on streets where the cobbles have been replaced.
14. Burnley - Swan Inn. Reports from the 2000s describe strange sounds and a figure seen by cleaning staff entering the men's toilet but never coming out.
15. Burnley - Town library. A piano in a lecture theatre was reportedly seen playing itself during the twentieth century and was heard on several later occasions.
16. Burnley - Towneley Hall. A former owner is said to haunt the building, making his presence known through the lights and unexplained sounds.
17. Burnley - Unnamed house along Crowther Street. An account associated with a watchmaker's former home describes strange ticking heard by people passing late at night. The database does not identify the house.
18. Burnley - Victoria Hospital. Twentieth-century accounts describe a figure occasionally reported by night-shift staff, said to be a miner who died in the hospital following a colliery accident.