If you visit a pub you expect there to be a wide variety of spirits on offer - but what happens when the spirits aren't of the alcoholic variety and the pub's regulars report strange goings on?

GUARDIAN reporter SUZANNE ELSWORTH attended an exorcism at a haunted hostelry to try and find the truth behind the spooky tales.

I HAVE always been fascinated by the paranormal, so when Warrington psychic Kevin McGrath invited me to watch his exorcism of the Raven Inn in Glazebury I just couldn't refuse.

The pub's licensees, Janet and Steve Allen, moved there six months ago and, despite hearing haunting tales from customers, they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary - until one night in January when they were woken by a crash as trays of cutlery fell to the floor. They thought nothing of it and placed the trays in a neat row behind the bar where they could not overbalance.

But the next morning the cutlery was again scattered across the floor. Even the unflappable Janet felt uneasy, as no-one had been in the room but herself.

When Kevin read about the spooky happenings in the GUARDIAN he immediately came to the couple's aid. Janet and Steve admit that they were sceptical about the exorcism, but agreed to go through with it after Kevin explained that other, more psychically sensitive, people may suffer.

Kevin told me that there were the spirits of woman and man in the pub, and their presence was especially strong near the kitchen area. The pair, though totally unrelated, both dated back to the Georgian era. He was a carpenter and also worked with coaches, while she cooked at the inn.

"The woman had died from pneumonia, but she clung to the pub when she was asked to move on," said Kevin.

"She was most insistent that she did not want people in there. There was nothing evil here, but she didn't take kindly to people taking over her duties."

After sprinkling liberal amounts of holy water and blessing the building, Kevin was finally satisfied that the restless and troublesome spirits had finally moved on, but he did say that the pub would probably never be free of ghosts.

"There will always be some atmosphere here because the pub absorbs it," he added.

I had no idea what to expect when I agreed to attend an exorcism. Apart from a couple of visits to a medium, I had never been in close contact with spirits before. Would glasses go flying across the room, as in a story I wrote about ghosts in Croft's General Elliot? Or would I wish I'd put my thermals on when the pub suddenly went icy cold?

But in reality, I didn't feel a thing. The only spirits I saw were behind the bar!

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