THERE is no better time than Halloween to sit around a camp fire (optional) and tell ghost stories and tales of all things that go bump in the night.

Every part of the country has a countless number of ghoulish accounts and urban legends that are passed down through the generations and Northwich is no different.

Paranormaldatabase.com holds records of everything from ghost sightings to UFO's to big cats wondering the plains of the UK, but here are some of the local ghostly tales that have been reported to them.

Jack

Back in 1999, a mother at an unknown private house in Northwich called a clairvoyant after she heard a man's voice whispering into her baby's intercom. The house had been reported as being haunted by its previous occupiers. The ghostly resident was believed to be an old man named Jack who had once lived there.

The Cavalier

From the 1970's onwards, Wincham Hall, now a country hotel and wedding venue, is reported to have several entities haunting its walls. One of the ghostly figures is said to be the haunting image of a Cavalier, while a child has also been spotted, running down a corridor before vanishing through a wall.

Northwich Guardian:

A Young Woman in White

Winnington Hall has an interesting history and when it was built in the late 16th or early 17th century, it was used as a country house by the Warburton family, and remained so until around 1850, when it became a finishing school for girls. The building was sold in 1872 as part of a plan that would see it demolished and replaced by a chemical factory. However, that plan didn't come to fruition and after the First World War it was converted and used as Winnington Hall Club for use by the staff of Brunner Mond, which would later become ICI. It is currently used as office space and part of Northwich Town Council's property portfolio. Our ghost story here involves the apparition of a woman who had allegedly bled to death after accidentally lancing an artery in the 1800's. It is said an Irish labourer was the first person to have spotted the phantom, surrounded by a mist.

The Vanishing Lady

Leftwich Hall was once the ancestral home of the famous Leftwich family, and although it was pulled down in the 1800's, that still hasn't stopped the telling of an historic tale of a 'grey lady' walking the halls before disappearing into a wall. Legend has it that when part of the wall was demolished, a skeleton was found. Very little evidence of the old hall remains now, with a farm standing on the site until after the Second World War, until houses were built, with the only reminder of the past being the name of the road that stretches around its perimeter - Old Hall Road.

Northwich Guardian:

The Singer

Yes, you read that correctly, a ghostly singer - after all, Britain's ghosts have talent too. Chadwick Fields, a former adult day care centre in Middlewich had a friendly ghost, that was first reported in around 2000. As well as singing and shouting, the ghost would also play pranks on staff by locking them in the bathroom, with other reports of 'an icy draft' when going upstairs in the building. The building now lies empty and boarded up, but can the singing ghost still be heard if there is nobody around to listen?

Northwich Guardian:

Sister Ida

Over at Vale Royal Abbey, this legendary ghost is said to come back to bring attention to the suspicious death of the abbess. An unnamed road leading to the abbey is also said to be haunted by a decapitated head that rolls on the floor - this belonged to a monk who was murdered while taking a message to the building.

Do you know any of the above stories and do you have others to add to the list? Make sure you share them with your friends and family on this, the spookiest day of the year.