‘Ghostbusters’ set sights on alien forces.
By Neil Graham.
An expedition of ghostbusters is heading for Bacup to explore things that go bump in the night and aliens from outer space. The 30 believers say Bacup is a paranormal hotspot that possesses hidden secrets of interest to the world. Led by college lecturer Richard O’Neill the Bury-based group will wander Bacup to get a feel of the place – and then make a bee-line for Stacksteads where lights in the sky were witnessed by about eight people last month. Mr O’Neill, an expert in crop circles, hypnosis, ghosts and UFOs, said: “It seems daft to go anywhere else when Bacup is such a hotspot . We’ll stay there until we get fed up or until it gets too cold. Paranormal activity could turn this part of Rossendale into a tourist attraction.”
The quarries above Stacksteads have been the site of a number of claimed UFO sightings in years gone by. The area’s attraction for UFOs could, Mr O’Neill suggests, be linked to magnetism. More simply, he adds, sightings could just be due to aeroplanes. “I’ve no idea why Bacup should be a hotspot,” he says. “But I think there has to be something. We also want to visit a haunted house so if anyone knows of one I hope they will contact me.”
Rossendale Free Press, 23rd January 1998.
I’m Haunted.
Spooked mum calls in the ‘ghostbusters’ to solve mysteries of home.
Ghostbusters have been drafted in to help a mum to solve a string of ghostly goings-on. A team of psychic investigators will be descending on the home of Gail Halstead to see if the place is as haunted as she believes. And they are also eager to find out more about a “close encounter” she experienced in the skies above Bacup.
“Since the age of three I seem to have had a lot of supernatural experiences,” said Gail, who lives in Bacup. “But ever since my son, Scott, and I moved into this house a few years ago I’ve known that something wasn’t right. The sort of thing that happens is not frightening, just very mysterious. Objects on top of the fireplace are rearranged and things moved from room to room. You never see it happening. It’s only when you return that you notice things like vases and ornaments aren’t where you put them.”
Gail phoned supernatural sleuth Richard O’Neill for help after we featured the crop circle, ghost and UFO expert in the pages of the Free Press. And he agreed to visit the mum-of-five at her haunted home with his 30-strong investigative team. Mr O’Neill’s main interest though lies in UFOs so Gail will also be explaining what she saw just a few days ago while driving back to her house from Burnley.
“A lot of people think you’re crackers when you tell them you’ve seen lights in the sky,” said Gail. “But that’s exactly what I saw. I was nearly driving off the road trying to keep an eye on them. I couldn’t see a definite shape but the lights were certainly hovering in the sky.”
Rossendale Free Press, 6th February 1998.
Ghostly Squatter Here To Stay.
by John Hartle.
Ghostly goings-on are continuing in a haunted council house where nothing stays where it is put. Even time refused to stand still after Mrs Gail Halstead (45) put a clock on a wall… then saw it fly across the room!
Hairdresser Gail told the world of her haunted house on Crabtree Avenue, Bacup, in February, and things have got worse since. “It started just after I moved in two years ago,” she said. “There’s me and my youngest son. We go out together in the morning and we both come home together. One day we came home and a vase had been moved off the floor to the top of the fire and the ornaments were all facing the back windows. I got home once and a candle had been brought out of the pantry and placed on top of the fire. Other people have seen things moved. A little soft toy lion just launched itself off a box when people were there – it’s really weird.”
A team of Bury-based UFO investigators visited in February, took one look and never came back. But Gail, who lives in the house with her son Scott (14), believes the presence is a friendly ghost. And the mysterious goings on have been confined to her living room. “An African carved wooden mask all of a sudden came down off the wall and cracked me on the side of the head – there was no reason why it should have fallen.” Mrs Halstead said she took the hint and gave the mask away – but the hauntings continued. But she has no intention of leaving the house. “Whatever it is seems quite strong-willed, but I don’t feel hostility. I think it’s just trying to say that it’s there. I feel a bit sorry for it.”
Rossendale Free Press, 22nd May 1998.