Hartlepool folklorist and author shares some of the spookiest experiences in the town

Town folklorist and writer Paul Screeton has been researching the paranormal for years, with his 13th published book, Haunted Hartlepool and East Durham, released in 2014.

Paul, 75, has said that the town is “not short of haunted locations”, including the Borough Hall, the Heugh Battery, and a number of pubs.

As well as researching, he has also had his own spooky experiences – with a particularly scary one taking place on a sunny summer morning.

Paul, from Seaton Carew, said: “Hallowe’en is associated with the dark and gloomy places, but this happened in summer sunshine early one morning along Blackberry Lane, Seaton Carew (opposite the Sainsbury Local off Station Lane).

"I had paused on my bicycle after doing some photography when I felt a terrible dread feeling of utter evil. It was all the more scary for being invisible.

"I was terrified and pedalled away in fear for my life.”

He continued: “Hartlepool is not short of haunted locations.

"These include the Borough Hall and Heugh Battery on the Headland; a gruesome granny from Hell in Hutton Avenue, while a home in Belmont Gardens had during two residencies an invisible friend who when the two sets of parents had children who befriended the same companion.”

Apart from the Borough Hall and Heugh Battery, Paul has said that many pubs in Hartlepool and East Durham – including The Causeway, Blacksmiths Arms, Jacksons Arms, Grand Hotel, The White House, and Seaton Carew’s Marine Hotel – have “resident spooks”.

He said: “Twice in one week I was passing The Ward Jackson pub opposite Christchurch and saw an alcove occupied at 10am.

"I was convinced there was something spooky going on so went in and checked. Both times the seating was empty.

"One occupant had been a woman with about six full bags of shopping at that time of day.

"Passing the cutlery area on lunchtime I saw an object appear in the air, drop to the floor and vanish. A man behind me was so alarmed he blurted out, “What was that!?”

"Staff have told me of encounters on the former bank’s staircase, the upstairs toilets and cellars in the basement.”

Paul’s book Haunted Hartlepool and East Durham is available on Amazon.

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