Garden ghost helps put city on map as hotspot for paranormal events

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Garden ghost helps put city on map as hotspot for paranormal events
September 28, 2010
By jonny birkin
This is Derbyshire

A GHOSTLY gardener haunting the grounds of a city museum has helped rank Derby as one of the country's top paranormal hotspots.

The spectral figure was seen pacing through the gardens of Pickford's House Museum, in Friar Gate, by a stunned onlooker in June.

That spooky spot was one of 12 reported across Derbyshire over the last year, according to a report by paranormal expert the Rev Lionel Fanthorpe.

Others included a figure dressed in a Roman cloak stalking the corridors of Royal Derby Hospital in May and UFO-type lights in the skies above Chesterfield.
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The study – called the Fringe Weird Report – goes on to claim that a record number of 227 paranormal events have occurred in the UK over the last year.

Richard Felix, who runs Derby Ghost Walks, said he was not surprised with the city being ranked highly in the report.

"Derby is the most haunted city in Britain, without a doubt, and this report just adds to what we have been saying for so long," he said.

"We don't get a lot of new ghost sightings. I don't believe there are that many modern ghosts so to have 12 new sightings in the last year is quite amazing.

"One of the reasons ghosts haunt is because they stay behind to carry on doing their job – that's why you get reports of them being seen in hospitals or pubs."

The report was commissioned to promote the release of paranormal TV series Fringe on DVD this week and comprises strange incidents being reported to Mr Fanthorpe.

The Cardiff-based Anglican priest listed Derby among the top places for paranormal activity because of sightings such as those at Pickford's House.

But Elizabeth Spencer, from the museum, said she had not seen any ghostly apparitions herself.

She said: "We have certainly not experienced anything paranormal – a ghost walking through the gardens sounds strange as the gardens we have are very small. But we might not be tuned into the paranormal and that could be why we've missed them."

It is not the first time Derby has been in the spotlight over paranormal activity.

Last year, the Derby City General Hospital – now the Royal Derby Hospital – made headlines across the country when several staff spotted a "black shadow" ghost in the medical records department.

The sightings prompted an e-mail from a senior hospital manager confirming the ghostly spots, with paranormal experts asking to visit the hospital and carry out their own checks.

Last month, UFO sightings across Derbyshire – including one craft reported to have landed in a city centre garden – were revealed in documents released by the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Felix added: "Derby is going to be up there at the top of the list and that reputation is something the people of the city should be proud of."