HALLOWEEN, the night tormented souls from the underworld roam the earth, is coming.

But at the Old Golf House Hotel in Outlane, ghostly goings-on are not restricted to one night of the year.

Staff and guests have reported supernatural events and sightings of a ghostly old woman stalking the halls.

So was I afraid to spend a night in a room on the most haunted corridor? Of course not.

After all, haven't other witnesses lived to tell their tales?

On arrival in the traditional old hotel I got a friendly reception from head housekeeper Wendy Hornes, events manager Fiona Haworth and kitchen worker Kathleen Hayes.

They gave me a tour and recounted tales of jangling keys and footsteps in the dead of night and fleeting glimpses of strange reflected faces in glass doors.

The five conference rooms and 52 bedrooms were all toasty warm - but the corridor outside my room was icy cold.

Disturbingly, the radiators were on, the windows triple glazed and the corridor well insulated.

The ghost - dressed in a dark 19th century gown and pinafore - was seen there by a member of staff.

The employee, standing outside the hotel, saw a figure pass a window. However, it did not pass the next corridor window or turn back past the first.

There are no other routes from the corridor - making the disappearance baffling.

The ghost was once spotted on the stairs to the kitchen and once where the new part of the hotel joins the older wing.

A pair of legs has been seen at the top of the main stairs.

Once, Wendy heard running water in the modern wing.

She found taps turned full on in one room, which she had checked were off moments before.

This happened again, in the same room, the following week.

Wendy said: "Maybe she doesn't like the newer part. I have never seen it but you walk along the hall and feel as if someone's following you. You hear doors go but no-one appears. It doesn't bother us though."

The women don't seem to be dramatising. Instead they refer to the ghost affectionately.

Wendy said: "It doesn't bother us. You get used to it."

She said the spook rarely ventures from the first floor of the old wing.

The newer rooms were added before the hotel opened in 1982.

The original building was put up in 1862, originally as a golf club but served as a children's home until 1935.

Pictures of the nurses spookily matched the ghost's description.

However, no-one knows her identity, despite extensive research.

After the tour, I walked nervously to my room, checking the freezing corridor.

The only bump in a comfortable night was a banging noise outside the door.

No guests were in neighbouring rooms and porters were not patrolling.

Refusing to panic, I told myself it was someone heading for the kitchen stairs, hungry for a 1am snack.

Despite the nerves and spooky stories, I did not spot the spectre and I lived to tell the tale.

But those who have seen her don't seem too worried.

As Kath said: "She has never hurt anyone, so why bother about it?"

* Do have a ghostly or spooky tale to share with Examiner readers for Halloween?

Could you write a super scary short story?

We're looking for stories (250 words or less) to use in an Examiner Halloween night special.

Contact us by telephone on 01484 430000, by email on editorial@examiner.co.uk  or by fax on 01484 437789.

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OTHER HAUNTED SITES IN THIS AREA

* Robin Hood's grave, Clifton

(Haunted by several ghosts including a prioress and Red Roger, of Doncaster)

* Buckstones Moor, Scammonden

(Haunted by eerie horsemen)

* Longley Old Hall

(Haunted by a woman in black and a boy in breeches and ruffled shirt)

* Whitley Hall, Whitley

(Haunted by Black Dick, Sir Richard Beaumont who is reputed to walk in the grounds with his head under his arm)

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