A pub owner called the police after the boozer’s resident ghost started crashing about in the night, prompting her to think it was a break in. You can see footage of the ‘ghost’ caught on CCTV moving items around here:
Sisters Richelle Stocks and Ashleigh Naisbitt took on The Black and Grey pub in Morpeth, Darlington, in August last year and say they’ve witnessed all kinds of strange goings on since, including a pen spinning and a brush moving on its own, leaving staff frightened to work alone.
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The sister said they were upstairs in September last year when they heard banging and from the pub below, concerned they had a burglar they called the police. But after checking the place out cops found no evidence of a break in.
However, after looking back at CCTV footage they claim to have spotted the ‘human-looking’ shadows move past the bar area.
Richelle said: "We were staying upstairs in the apartment and in the middle of the night we both shot up awake and said 'what on earth is going on?'.
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"It kind of sounded like metal banging together, like if you'd grabbed some pots. That's why we thought it was getting closer because down the corridor is the kitchen.
"I said 'call the police straight away' because there was just so much banging and clattering downstairs.
"We were certain we were being broken into. We rang the police and said 'there's someone downstairs, someone's broken in'.
"The police came, got in and said 'there's nothing here, there's no disturbance whatsoever'.
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"We looked at the CCTV cameras and there was nothing apart from shadows. There was a shadow bobbing across the bar and there was nothing to create this shadow.
"It was just mad because I would have bet my life that there was somebody in the building."
A couple of days later Richelle asked the ghost, who they call Paul, to move the pen in her hand and to her surprise the pen started to slowly rotate. I don't know about you but my bags would be packed.
The siblings say Paul is ‘gentle’ but admit that they will no longer sleep in the pub alone and that it can be a struggle to find staff.
Richelle said: "We did have a small problem with staff not wanting to work alone but apart from that, they're ok.
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"One staff member was standing outside by the bin area and you can just see the broom falls.
"He took the mick after we told him about the pen and then this broom fell on him and he was quite terrified then."
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "Shortly after 3.40am on September 22 last year, police received a report of a suspected burglary at the Black and Grey pub on Newgate Street, Morpeth.
"It was reported that sounds of a break-in could be heard however when officers investigated they could find no signs of an attempted break-in and nothing was missing or damaged."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media