* TOP TEN SPOOKY SPOTS REVEALED
* LEEDS DEVOID OF DEMONS

A new study has identified Derby as the most haunted place in Britain with more reported sightings of ghosts, poltergeists, werewolves and other supernatural ghouls than any other location in the UK.


The Supernatural Britain Report was specially commissioned to celebrate the release of Supernatural Season 3 on DVD and focused on supernatural occurrences in 40 of the UK’s largest cities. The extensive desk based research, conducted by the UK’s leading authority on the unexplained, Lionel Fanthorpe, included studying multiple archives, websites and his own reports to identify sightings and recordings per 10,000 people of the cities’ populations.
 
The study found that there have been 315 sightings of ghosts, poltergeists, werewolves and vampires in Derby since records began. This is on average 14 sightings per 10,000 members of its population - identifying Derby as the best UK city to visit for spotting a spook.

The study’s author, Lionel Fanthorpe, explains that Derby may have a high number of sightings due to its collection of eerie limestone caverns, caves and labyrinths. Ghosts have a tendency to be seen in such environments, as their energy from bygone events may latch on to the stone and remains there for centuries after.

Chester is in joint second place as the nation’s spookiest place, with a rate of 11 sightings per 10,000 people, mainly from sightings of ghosts and ghouls from the city’s historic battles and invasions. One of the most prevalent sightings it that of Lord Bernard Stewart, who after being killed and heavily defeated at the battle of Rowton Moor in 1645, has since been seen riding on horseback mournfully across the Moor.  The clarity of his presence may have resulted from a powerful emotional discharge, which allowed him to haunt the area for centuries.

York also slides in at second place with 11 sightings per 10,000 of its population, thanks to 17 different reports of mischievous poltergeists and a werewolf that has reportedly been running rampant throughout the historic city for years.

York is closely followed by Exeter in fourth place, with 9 sightings per 10,000 of its population, 15 of which are floating female phantoms including the ghostly nun who floats along the south wall of the nave in Exeter Cathedral.  St. Albans comes in fifth, with a total of 8 per 10,000 members of its population, and spooky sightings of ghosts such as Sir John Grey who was killed in the First Battle of St Albans during the War of the Roses, dominating reports.

The Top Ten most Paranormal cities in the UK:

CITY | NUMBER OF SIGHTINGS PER 10,000 MEMBERS OF CITY'S POPULATION
1. Derby | 14
2= Chester | 11
2= York | 11
4. Exeter | 9
5. St Albans | 8
6= Edinburgh | 7
6= Belfast | 7
6= Oxford | 7
9= Norwich | 6
9= Gloucester | 6

Other examples of paranormal activity include, sightings of a headless drummer and phantom piper playing on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle and the ghost of Colonel Francis Winderbank of Merton College, who as a royal commander was forced to surrender to Cromwell’s Parliamentarians during an action in Oxford. Despite his honorable surrender, the Parliamentarians shot him. His angry ghost is said to stride through the city seeking justice and is most often seen at Merton College.

With a paranormally pitiful single sighting and recording per 10,000 of its population, Leeds has come bottom of the study of 40 cities. With only four reported sightings of poltergeists, no werewolves and only one vampire reportedly stalking the streets at night, the city has a serious deficit of demons.

Reasons for the concentration of sightings in specific areas throughout the UK have been identified by Lionel Fanthorpe who states, “The Supernatural Britain Report clearly shows that we are a nation rich in spooky sightings and strange phenomena.  When people pass to the other side, their emotions would seem to create strange energies and the more harrowing the death, the stronger and more enduring the subsequent sightings.  The psychic sensitivity of the population might be more concentrated in Derby, Chester and York, as the cities’ populations may carry the psychic sensitivity gene more than Leeds.”

Supernatural: Season 3 and Season 1- 3 boxset is released on DVD Monday 25th August 2008.

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For more information contact Ruth Drysdale
020 8206 5151

Notes to Editors:
*Commissioned by Warner Bros, the study was researched by Lionel Fanthorpe.
Lionel Fanthorpe, BA (Hons), FCP, FRSA, FCMI, President of the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, conducted the survey through desk-based research into supernatural occurrences in the UK’s largest 40 cities. He researched multiple websites, archives and other records of paranormal sightings, as well as utilising his own extensive archive material.  He analysed a great many reports of sightings and recordings, and none were left out due to age or date. Multiple sightings of the same phenomenon are counted together. The figures are based on the numbers of sightings and recordings per 10,000 people of the cities’ populations.  More specific details are available on request.