In the run-up to Halloween, an East Lancashire hotel has secured a top spot in a list of the UK's most haunted hotels and spooky spas.

Nestled in a tranquil location, the Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Clayton-le-Moors may seem like the perfect location for some much-needed pampering, but according to the history books, it happens to be one of the most haunted hotels in the UK.

Legend has it that the 700-year-old mansion was once the setting for a tragic love story which involved Lucette, a French governess, who was wooed and then jilted one Christmas by a dashing army officer.

Heartbroken and unable to get over him, she threw herself off of a bridge into the river and drowned.

Since then, her ghost has been spotted around the hotel and has even appeared in photographs.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Compiled by Spa booking specialists Spaseekers other hotels and spas to feature on the most-haunted list include Gisborough Hall Hotel in North Yorkshire, Eastwell Manor in Kent, Ruthin Castle Hotel and Spa, North Wales, and The Shrigley Hall Hotel, Cheshire.

For the full list and details of how to book a Halloween break visit: spaseekers.com/spa-insider/inspiration/these-are-the-most-haunted-hotels-across-the-uk