Amble woman documenting people's supernatural encounters in Northumberland

Claire Shiels had her idea after reading a book on local ghost stories and thinking about how the stories that parents tell of their personal encounters or hearing stories on local buildings are much more interesting than the same old tales about crumbling castles and the Grey Lady.

Claire said: “I've always been interested in the paranormal and a lot of things have happened to me personally as well. I do collect a lot of local books and all that kind of thing but you get really disheartened when you pick up a local book and its all the same. It’s all castles and pubs and we’ve read about it before, heard about it, know all about it, but there's nothing that I've seen that focuses on actual stories from living real people that things have happened to them.

“You talk to the worst cynic ever and they'll say they don't believe in it and that's absolutely fine but they will always have at least one story and that's the stories that I want to tell. I want to talk to people about what's happened to them.”

With this idea, she started to ask around on social media for local people to get in touch if they had any spooky stories they wanted to share, as Claire is keen to hear anyone and everyone’s tales, no matter where they took place in the world, as long as it happened to people in Northumberland.

"I've had really good feedback so far,” Claire added. “So what I'm hoping to do is put together a book, and because I've probably got so many excess stories, that might lead to other ones or it could lead to a podcast.”

Claire is looking to use about ten stories from living memory, all of which will be kept anonymous, and she hopes to release it around Halloween.

Despite being interested in the paranormal, Claire considers herself to be practical minded and still has her doubts when it comes to believing every supernatural occurrence. She doesn’t have firm beliefs about ghosts but does remember her own strange experiences with the unexplained, including moving furniture, Victorian maids bouncing on beds and strange apparitions.

"People don't share it because they're afraid of being mocked and I think Northumberland is one of those places where there’s so much history behind it – good and bad – and although there are other people coming into the county, I think there's still a lot of community and a lot of people still around who know a lot of things.”

Even though ghosts have a more sinister reputation, some of the stories are of wholesome encounters, as Claire explained: “I think a lot of it is comfort as well. It's not just a scare the socks off, although that’s good for Halloween, but it's also a good talking point, especially through winter when it gets darker.”

If anyone would like to share their stories on supernatural encounters or unexplainable events, you can contact Claire by sending an email to [email protected].