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VIDEO: Ghoul hunting Guardian girls spend the night at Barnby Moor's Ye Olde Bell
WARNING: This video contains loud screaming - do not play at high volume.
A GHOSTLY lady is just one of the stories told about rooms at Ye Olde Bell hotel at Barnby Moor.
As Halloween drew near, four Guardian reporters spent a night at the hotel to see if there was any truth behind some of the hotel's eerie tales.
Staying in rooms in the oldest wing of the former 17th century coaching inn, we were at the ready with our video camera to capture any strange sights or sounds.
Sales and marketing co-ordinator Erica Taylor gave us a guided tour of the rooms where some of the scariest happenings had unfolded.
Starting out in the hotel's Bradgate Suite, she told us about the hotel's most famous haunting figure.
The panelling for the walls had come from Bradgate House in Leicestershire - the home of Lady Jane Grey who was Queen for just nine days before Queen Mary had her executed in 1554.
Various guests have spotted her wandering through the suite but we weren't lucky enough to get a sighting of her during our visit
Moving upstairs, we crossed over some creaky floorboards to reach a room with a ghost story.
"When our current head receptionist, Anne, first started at the hotel, she lived in room 40 until her accommodation was properly finalised," Erica said.
"In the middle of the night, she woke up to see someone stood at the side of the bed wearing a 1920s style yellow and black butler's uniform."
"Anne now refuses to stay in that room ever again for fear of what she saw that night."
Crossing to room six, we saw the room where former general manager Ros Deward once lived with her dog Snoopy.
One day the housekeepers reported that the dog had suddenly come flying out of the room at head height.
And yet when they looked for someone who could have thrown the poor mutt, there was no one to be found.
Just outside the men's toilets, a section of road from the old coaching inn has been retained underneath a glass panel.
It strikes me as a likely place to feel some kind of presence - given the hundreds of stagecoaches that must have passed over that spot many years ago.
Despite our best efforts, we didn't find any ghosts or spirits and experienced nothing more than some strange bumps in the night.
But whether you're into spooky sightings or just a relaxing evening in beautifully restored rooms, then Ye Olde Bell is certainly a great place to try out.
Visit http://www.yeoldebell-hotel.co.uk or call 01777 705121 for more information.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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