Ghost hunters claim spirits visit Scarth Hall in Staindrop

BELIEVER: Elaine Kelly of Spectre Detectors

STAINDROP’S Scarth Memorial Hall may not haunted, but spirits of people once connected to the building do return to make sure it is being looked after, paranormal researchers claim.
Ghost hunters have held vigils in the hall three times over the past three years, the most recent of which was to see how spirits feel about a recent £500,000 revamp.
Paranormal investigation group Spectre Detectors say the spirits of a cat, a former caretaker, a little girl with pigtails, soldiers, and a German POW could be among the entities that visit the landmark.
Group founder Elaine Kelly, from Counden, claimed ghosts of the former caretaker and soldiers emerged during the first visit on June 7, 2014.
She said: “From what I can remember, the main person who wanted to communicate was a lady who served in the NAAFI. She was talking about baking corned-beef pies and that she needed new shoes as she had worn hers away.”
The group, which has previously investigated the High Force Hotel, serial killer Mary Ann Cotton’s house in West Auckland, and Jedburgh Jail, returned to the hall on September 19, 2015, because of the success of the first investigation. This time the group say they were able to capture a recording of a cat meowing on the upstairs landing and a number of “orbs” were caught on camera.
The investigator said: “We had lots of hits on the KII EMF meters, and lots of taps and bang responses to questions.
“We also did some spirit photography.”
Spectre Detectors returned to the hall on January 7 this year to see if the recent revamp had any impact on the spirits that are said to visit.
Ms Kelly said: “The mediums picked up that the spirits preferred the upstairs as it was – I think it was a little bit too modern for them.
“And they wanted the photo of the queen putting back.
“They were very happy to communicate with us downstairs, and we did have some great evidence given over the spirit box. One of the mediums picked up a little girl with pigtails who died of smallpox and is linked to the name Anne or Anna. Another medium picked up gas, and the names George, James, Henry and Albert.
“We also were getting some great answers through the spirit box which is a gadget that allows spirits to speak through it. We were also picking up what sounded like German through the spirit box and wondered if it was from a German POW who had links to Harperley POW camp.
“Do I think Scarth is haunted?
“No, not necessarily, I believe that any building steeped in history and has links to people in the spirit world that love to come back and tell you about their love for the building. They probably come back from time to time to keep an eye on things, like the caretaker, but I very much doubt that they come back to scare anyone. That is if you are looking after the place well!”
Scarth Memorial Hall committee chairman Morris Race is philosophical about the investigation and what visiting spirits might think about the refurbishment.
He said: “If I half believe in these things, I think they will be chuffed with what we have done.” He paid tribute to the committee which had secured lottery funding and overseen the renovations saying that each brought a different skills to the hall.