Medium to lead ghost hunt at Northwich Sauna this Halloween

Northwich Sauna will host a ghost hunt this Halloween complete with Ouija boards, table-turning, specialist paranormal detecting equipment, and a medium from Winsford, Deb Miller.

Max Hunter, manager of the sauna which claims to be the largest leisure facility for gay, bi-sexual, and curious men in the UK and typically hosts events such as ‘naked Tuesday’, says the venue is steeped in history and may even be haunted.

He said: “Staff have witnessed strange happenings, there’s always been this idea that the building is haunted.

“It’s quite interesting the stories contractors have told us. One was doing some work and heard footsteps behind him, he got tapped on the shoulder but when he turned round no one was there.

“I’ve had another who was working overnight and now refuses to come back in the building because he said he saw a figure.”

Northwich Sauna features a maze, jacuzzis and an 'Amsterdam-style' corridor of private cabins (Image: Northwich Sauna)

On what he is expecting to uncover during the ghost hunt, 38-year-old Max added: “I don’t know really, I think I’m quite sceptical and wouldn’t say I really believe in anything like that myself.

“The building itself is full of history, when it first opened it was the offices of Brunner and Mond.

“I believe there’s a true story mentioned in a book about a murder in this building and in one of the rooms, apparently, they were doing an experiment and there was an explosion. There are still all sorts of marks on the walls from when that happened in the 1930s.

“We also still gave some of the original artefacts, for instance in the loft there’s the original stained glass windows from the old library.”

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Manager, Max Hunter, says they are noticing more and more people coming jus to socialise in the bar area (Image: Northwich Sauna)

Before Northwich Sauna opened in 2005, the building off Winnington Lane was home to a bowling alley and a nightclub, Max explained.

Now, the upstairs of the property boasts a dungeon, a maze, a rain shower, steam complex, sauna, jacuzzis and a corridor lined with private cabins based on the streets of Amsterdam.

Max, who has been manager for just over a year, is hoping that the ghost hunt, on October 31, will change people’s perceptions of what they do.

“The ghost hunt is open to everyone, the event is not about how the building currently operates, it is a look into the interesting history of the building and the eerie happenings here,” he said.

“The event is a chance for us to break down barriers that may stand between us and the local community.

“More than anything this is a safe space.

“For example, we’ve got a chap in his 80s. Back in his days it was frowned upon to be a gay man, so he could never be himself. But now he gets two buses and two trains to come here.

“What goes on upstairs is down to people’s own discretion, but we are noticing more and more people coming just to socialise in our bar area.”