THE paranormal can grasp the interest of many who want to see if there is more the world than meets the eye – to others it’s just written off as nonsense.

However, paranormal investigations never fail to draw crowds of thrill seekers.

North East Paranormal Investigations (NEPI) is just one group that operates in the North-East with the objective of finding evidence of the phenomena beyond the scope of normal understanding.

Members took to the streets of Durham for an all-night investigation using the latest in ghost hunting technology –like the K2 meter which lights up when an electromagnetic field gets close to it, which ghosts are said to give off.

The investigation took place in Saddler Street at the heart of Durham City centre. The city has changed a lot over the years, but remains of some original buildings can be found underneath the present structures.

CafeDral is situated over what was once the city jail. The building itself is Victorian but, the basement area dates from medieval times. Staff claim there have been some "strange goings on" – especially down in the cellar.

The next place on the route was the cellar door, just down the road. It has a function room to the back with a passage leading to another cell of the jail. The staff do not like to venture down into the cell which is now used as a storage facility.

The cell seemed active with the K2 flashing for an electromagnetic field. Some claim that it flashed on command when a question was asked – although this is not an exact science, to some it is evidence.

The big event on the ghost hunt was Waterstones, where staff claim there is activity on the upper floors of the building in amongst the academic books and Durham University hoodies.

Many years ago, two elderly women had asked if it was possible to look around upstairs in bookshop. They had been born and brought up there. They both said it was haunted by an old lady who would be rocking gently in a rocking chair by an upstairs window.

Many staff refuse to go into the basement. The room, which has not been investigated before has a creepy atmosphere.

The group performed a Ouija board session to try to communicate with the spirits in the store. They also conducted a lock-in in the basement with two group members at a time bracing themselves to be sealed in the haunted basement to see if they could detect anything out of the ordinary.

Jo Banks of NEPI said: “This was an incredibly tricky event to pull off. We had to slim the venues right down as quality is better than quantity and we had to strictly adhere to a tight timetable to fit it all in.

"Everyone enjoyed themselves and learnt a lot, not only of paranormal equipment and techniques but of the rich and gruesome living conditions of past residents of this beautiful historical city.”

NEPI have more ghost hunting events lined up in 2020 at various places across the region, including Chillingham Castle in Northumberland.