Are ghosts real? Northern Ireland paranormal investigator reveals his most chilling encounters
You don’t need to check the calendar to know it’s the season of ghosts and ghouls. The huge orange pumpkins, scary masks and even scarier costumes currently lining supermarket shelves are a dead giveaway. It’s Halloween! Over time, some local traditions have had an American makeover. For example, in the 1980s, pumpkins replaced turnips and, instead of going door to door reciting rhymes, with children encouraged to sing or say a poem in return for a reward, it’s now ‘trick or treat’, with neighbours having to decide whether to risk a ‘trick’ or hand over a ‘treat’. But, regardless of Halloween capers, the season is rooted in Celtic folklore dating back to the Middle Ages. Since earliest times, Halloween has been considered the time when the curtain between the spirit world and the land of the living is at its thinnest. In the 15th century, people went to great lengths, including wearing…
