The North Wales Paranormal Group had been contacted by a family in Wrexham to clear their home of what the family believed was paranormal activity.

 “YORK” THE MOST HAUNTED CITY IN BRITAIN?

 One of Europe's lesser-known titles was awarded yesterday to Britain, thanks to the spooky activities of Mad Alice, the Grey Lady and a cohort of transparent Roman soldiers.

Along with poltergeists, mysterious lights and permanently cold, damp patches, they have made York the most haunted city in Europe.

Sweeping aside the wailing nuns of Rome and a range of marshland manifestations in Scandinavia, York's ghosts are also now in the running for the global "most haunted" accolade. Jason Karl, president of the Ghost Research Foundation International, which awards the titles, said yesterday: "My colleagues and I have travelled extensively for the last decade and nowhere have we found more ghosts."

The walled city's bloodthirsty history has produced easily enough mayhem to leave paranormal traces, if such things exist. Even sceptical tourists have admitted goosebumps on the sites of such medieval practices as execution by crushing to death, an exercise involving increasingly heavy stone slabs in which York specialised.

"There's something about the city," said Mr Karl. "Plenty of other places have tried to make something of their ghosts but it hasn't worked - London has had to fall back on Jack the Ripper walks."

Guided ghost tours are thought to be York's other reason for claiming the spook crown. Kay Hyde, of York tourism bureau, said that the city's compact centre, within the medieval walls, now had five different ghost walks, four "ghost entertainments" and a ghost cruise along the river Ouse. All will cooperate at the Ghost Research Foundation's 10th annual conference in the city next month, which hopes to add to the population of York's "other side".

"We want to make contact with as many spirits as we can," said Mr Karl, whose colleagues will demonstrate every ghost research method, from séances to photographic, audio and humidity recording.

The conference on the first weekend in September may also attract back the only ghost which has allegedly gone missing from York. Eight years ago, the long-standing wraith from the Golden Fleece pub in Pavement - thought to be that of a shot-down US bomber pilot - apparently followed an American tourist home to Quincy, California, where it now tugs at her hair during the night.

Mark Graham, organiser of the Original Ghost Walk of York tours, said that numbers had increased steadily. "We even get school parties - teachers tell us that a good ghost story is the only thing children enjoy listening to."

Restless soul of Mad Alice

· In 1953, apprentice plumber Henry Martindale emerged white-faced from the cellar of Treasurer's House. He described Roman soldiers marching past, visible only above their knees. The ancient Via Decumana runs 15in below the cellar floor.

· Lund's Court is the place to meet Mad Alice - a restless soul executed in 1825 for the crime of dangerous insanity.

· The Grey Lady tickles the necks of people in the dress circle of the Theatre Royal where she was bricked up after an illicit love affair.

· A pretty, long-haired girl greets funeral guests from time to time at All Saint's.

 Group Members Attending the Investigation

Ray, Jim and Mike

The Investigation

The couple with a child have experienced varied forms of paranormal activity in their home for the past few years, their experiences ranged from voices being heard having a conversation, someone calling their Christian name out while in bed, a face appearing for an instance in the kitchen area. An apparition of an elderly lady believed to be the original occupant of the house in the 1950’s had been seen upstairs in the back bedroom and on the landing. Cold spots had been felt, the smell of alcohol and tobacco and a pungent odour emanated from the living room on many occasions.

Objects had also been moved and in some cases objects had disappeared completely and been found again in the same place weeks later. Unexplained noises in the dead of night are often heard, the sound of someone walking on the landing, taps, bangs, and when they investigated the cause of the noises nothing was found that could have caused them.

The family gave information about two of the three spirits they believed haunted the house, apart from the elderly lady who had died in the bedroom upstairs, there was a man who again was a former occupant of the house and a known alcoholic, he had passed away suddenly in the living room close to the window and this was the area that often felt cold compared to the rest of the room so much so that they had moved their computer away from that area of the room to escape the feeling of dread they continually felt.

The family thought that three spirits shared the house with them and they wanted to know if these spirits wanted to be moved on.

Although for obvious reasons we can’t divulge the names of these spirits the mediums gave a name for the third spirit and the family had been surprised because the name was actually known to them. One of the mediums gave names of family members that had passed and came back in visitation to check on them. The spirits posed no threat to the family whatsoever and indeed when asked if they wanted us to send them over the family asked us not to, instead we asked if the sprits would stop frightening the family, and if they wanted to share the house with them, then they must leave them in peace to get on with their lives.

The Conclusion

The family didn’t seem to be too frightened, but it’s always a concern to us when there’s children involved.

The house was definitely haunted by these three spirits and with two of them it was their home while on this earth plain.

The family will get back to us if it becomes a problem, but they seem happy to share their home with their guests.

Following are the symptoms of a haunted house

Disappearance and reemergence of objects in the house
Finding unidentified objects in the house
Appearance of unexplained marks around the house, e.g. scratch marks on the walls, weird faces on cupboards or walls
Hearing weird sounds or sounds of doors closing or opening, banging, laughter, walking, speaking, etc. in the absence of any source
Lights going on or off repeatedly without any reason
Cats or dogs whining or barking unnecessarily
Unusual happenings like sudden onslaught of pests like bed bugs, red ants, cockroaches or rodents
Sudden unexplained appearance of religious symbols like the cross or the Aum symbol in the house
Unexplained discord and animosity in the house
Feeling a presence in the house
Feeling of being watched
Actually seeing ghosts