Odd Staffordshire

The hunt for ghosts and spirits in Stoke on Trent began at the Victoria Hall Theatre on Bagnall Street in Hanley City Centre. The performers changing rooms used to be used as police cells, and Matt says “Some of the rooms have a very foreboding atmosphere about them.”

“Lights will often flicker on and off in there, with no rational explanation. People have seen a few shadowy figures around the auditorium and stage area, and have also reported hearing strange sounds there too.”

Regent Theatre

Another theatre which features in Matt’s book, ‘Paranormal Stoke-on-Trent’, is the Regent, on Picadilly in Hanley.

The auditorium at The Regent

“There’s some real classic theatre haunting stories here,” says Matt. “A number of different people – independent of each other – have seen a ghostly man standing on the balcony looking over into the auditorium.”

“Also, what’s said to be the spirit of a small girl has been seen too. What’s good about that, is a number of different staff have seen her without knowing about the legends and the stories of it beforehand.”

Potteries Museum and Art Gallery

The museum was built on the site of the old Ridgway pottery works, and it seems there’s been a lot of paranormal activity inside, focused on the Spitfire exhibit.

“It’s said an apparition of the pilot is sometimes seen in the cockpit of the plane at times,” says Matt. “And also the canopy is closed at night, but when workers come in to unlock the building in the morning , sometimes the canopy’s already open.”

Alton

Matt says he saw a ghost in the banqueting hall at Alton Towers, while doing a paranormal tour up there. He says he saw the main door slam 3 times on demand, and that it definitely wasn’t due to wind.

He says the village of Alton is one of the most haunted places in the country. “There’s a theory called a ‘window area’ where an area attracts a huge amount of paranormal activity which is disproportionate to it’s size. The Moorlands seems to do that, and Alton seems to be the focus with that .”

One of the spookiest tales from Alton is a parade of spectral monks walking from the Towers down through the village. Matt’s book features an eye witness account by a telephone engineer who was repairing a box, when he saw the gang of Medieval monks with clubs coming towards him in a threatening way. He made a quick getaway!

Paranormal Stoke-on-Trent

Matt’s book which he wrote with co-author Terri Setterington, is on sale now and features spooky tales of other Staffordshire landmarks including the Leopard Inn in Burslem, the Gladstone Pottery Museum and Keele Hall.

It also features an article on Stoke singer Robbie Williams’ obsession with the paranormal, in particular UFOs.