East Lancashire is said to be home to some haunted places- but would you ever be brave enough to investigate them?
Two paranormal investigators have spoken to The Lancashire Telegraph and revealed the most haunted locations in East Lancashire.
Spooky happenings have been reported at the Pendle Hippodrome and the devil himself might have visited the old Cellar Bar in Blackburn.
Here are some of the most haunted places in the region according to professional ghost hunters- how many have you visited before?
John Harrison is founder of the paranormal group, Padiham Paranormal. The 34-year-old was originally born in Blackburn but now resides in Padiham.
John’s fascination for the paranormal started at a young age when he had a few paranormal experiences that peaked his interest.
He said: “I would often sleep walk as a child and talk about seeing ‘the man in the garden’.
“I would also regularly see a shadow figure in the hall way.”
John has been a paranormal investigator for around five years now.
He said: “We do a lot more investigating than our Facebook and YouTube videos show- we also help a lot of people offline who don’t necessarily want to be on camera.
According to John, one of the scariest places he has ever investigated was Accrington Police Station; this is a place they investigated as part of a 12 hour ‘Most Haunted Experience’.
(Facebook/@PadihamParanormal)
He said: “There was a lot of banging and taps in this building. We also had an ominous black shadow blocking our path.
“We also spotted some shadows figures roaming the halls.”
John and the team believe they captured some paranormal activity on camera that night.
John said: “In the footage, you can hear someone or something shout ‘no’ on the audio.
“You can hear it quite audibly in the video but we didn’t hear anything at the time.”
What do you think about the video?
(Video: YouTube/Padiham Paranormal)
According to John, another spooky place to visit was The Pendle Hippodrome.
He said: “This was an eerie place- I wouldn’t necessarily say there is anything negative there.
“But I’d definitely say there are some ghoulish audience members there who aren’t ready to finish the show yet.”
“It just felt like eyes were constantly watching you no matter where you go.
“When we were down near the stage there was a shadow figure watching us from the balcony.”
While the ghosts at the Hippodrome might be friendly, the same can’t be said for the spirit at Townley Hall.
John said: “There was a spirit there who was very vocal and made himself known- it was clear It didn’t want us there.
“When I walked down to challenge it there was a loud and audible growl that around 20 people heard.”
One of the first places where John conducted his investigations was in Gawthorpe Hall, which used to be inhabited by the Shuttleworth family.
Jason believes he captured an image of one of the Shuttleworth family members walking down the hall.
Most recently, John and the team took a trip to The Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth and reported some very unusual occurrences.
One member of the team reported feeling sick and the team felt like they were being watched.
John said: “It felt like someone was gripping me by the shoulders and pushing me down.”
Keep up with Padiham Paranormal on their Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Declan Watts is another paranormal investigator in the region.
The 43-year old is part of Blackburn Paranormal; he started the group after having a paranormal experience when he was younger.
He said: “I woke up one morning and my nan was sat at the end of my bed- my parents told me it wasn’t real but I know it was.
“I even remember what she told me- she said ‘you will be alright and don’t worry’.”
Blackburn Paranormal do public investigations as well as smaller investigations as a group. There are also have sceptics on the team to try and debunk any ‘paranormal’ events.
However, ghost hunting doesn’t come cheap and John estimates that he has spent around £3000 on the equipment alone- but without it, the team would not have been able to capture unexplained events on camera.
Declan said Turnton Tower is one of the most haunted places he has ever investigated.
He said: “There’s nothing nasty in Turnton Tower- the spirits here are more playful.”
“While investigating, it sounded like someone was following us- we even called out asking if anyone was there and you can hear audio of a woman saying ‘I’m here’.”
However, not every investigation has been as “playful” as Turnton Tower.
Declan and the team investigated Cellar Bar in Blackburn and believe they encountered a sinister entity.
Declan said: “This is the scariest place I have ever visited and I would be reluctant to go there again.”
Declan tried to communicate with any spirits in the building and called out to see if anyone was there.
Declan explained: “A woman’s voice said ‘he’s here’.
“Like an fool I asked ‘who is here?’ and in a voice that was clear as a bell, the spirit responded ‘The Devil’.
Shaken by the experience, Declan decided to head upstairs and end the investigation- but the spooky happenings didn’t end there.
Declan said footsteps ‘like the sound of hooves’ were coming up the stairs
He said: “I didn’t wait to see what was coming up the stairs so I made a sharp exit- but not before I heard a loud growl in my ear.”
Explore the Blackburn Paranormal Facebook page and YouTube channel if you’re brave enough.
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