FROM the legacy of the Pendle Witches to haunted Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire’s ties with the paranormal are very well-documented.

Now a new study claims that the county is the third most haunted horror hotspot in the British Isles.

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Only Yorkshire and London have recorded more supernatural sightings in the past century than the Red Rose county.

The study, which looked at newspaper archives, police reports, eye-witness accounts and decades of professional investigative notes, found 511 recorded incidents of paranormal activity in Lancashire in the last 100 years.

The Strain Report was carried out by Lionel Fanthorpe, who is described as ‘the UK’s leading authority on the unexplained’.

He said: “These research statistics are based on well over 50 years of our own professional investigative experience, extensive archives, police reports and widely accessible external data.

These reported sightings and other types of witnesses’ experiences go back for a century.

“Our research and investigation has suggested that the UK harbours more vampires than Transylvania and that certain areas of Britain may be referred to as ‘horror hotspots’ not solely because of their vampire reports but also because of the number of reports of general paranormal phenomena emanating from them.

“One really interesting element of the research shows that our visions of vampires and ghosts are evolving over the times.”

Mr Fanthorpe added that the county was ‘rife with vampires, ghosts, monsters and a host of other spooky, unexplained supernatural phenomena’.

Eleven vampire encounters were documented in the county in the past century.

Yorkshire was found to have the most reported cases of spooky goings-on with 615 sightings of the unexplained, followed closely by London with 567 and Lancashire with 511.

 

Lancashire’s haunted hot spots

  • Samlesbury Hall - The hall is renowned as one of the most haunted locations in Britain. Resident spirits include the legendary White Lady, Dorothy Southworth, who died of a broken heart, and has allegedly been seen on many occasions
  • Hoghton Tower - The Grade I listed Renaissance building, with its underground passages, dungeons and Tudor Well House, is reputedly the third most haunted house in Britain 
  • Pendle Hill - Notorious for its history of witchcraft and devil worshipping, the area was home of 12 witches accused of murder in 1612. The history of their subsequent trials has left behind a terrifying atmosphere, according to reports
  • Royal Court Theatre, Bacup - Staff, audiences and performers have all reported unusual experiences including objects being thrown, bells being rung, and unexplained draughts