TALES of spooky sightings and ghostly goings-on have long been told to chill the blood as the midnight hour approaches.

And those who love stories of things that go bump in the night might be shocked to learn that Clayton-le-Moors' Dunkenhalgh Hotel has a supernatural saga of its own.

The story has been brought to light by horror writer Jason Karl, who has included it in his new book Haunted Places of Lancashire.

Jason, who lives in Lancashire, said: "I have often been asked by colleagues from the South whether folklore and tales of strange happenings are more common in the North.

"There are still corners of this county that appear to have been untouched by the constant onslaught of technological progress.

"It is in these quiet and haunted places that I have been able to unearth a wonderful selection of true tales of the beyond."

A whole section of the book is devoted to the tragic story of the Dunkenhalgh ghost, a French governess named Lucette who lived in the 18th century.

In the 1770s, the hall was owned by the Petre family and legend has it that Lucette cared for their children.

One Christmas she was introduced to a young man and they fell madly in love. He promised to return in the New Year to marry her but he never did.

Lucette was by this time pregnant with his child and the older servants at the house treated her cruelly, leading her to drown herself in desperation in the River Hyndburn.

It is said her mournful ghost still walks the passages and grounds of the hotel, looking for her lost love.

Some say her lover also died soon afterwards, killed in a duel by Lucette's brother who had been sent over from France to avenge her death.

Deb Marshman, of Countryside Books, which is publishing Haunted Places of Lancashire said: "Few of us are rash enough to say categorically that we do not believe in ghosts or the supernatutral.

"Jason describes so many apparitions, phantoms, ghosts and hauntings that even hardened sceptics will pause for thought.

"He has travelled Lancashire widely, often in the company of respected mediums Veronica Charles or Angela Borrows in an effort to verify the known tales and to seek previously unknown stories of local ghosts and hauntings."

  • Haunted Places of Lancashire is priced at £7.99 and is available from all local book sellers.