Haunted hotels: Checking out a ghostly break

The Old Hall Hotel in Sandbach, Cheshire: one of the country's most haunted places to stay

Falling leaves, a snap in the air and strange sounds at night - autumn signals the season of ghosts, witches, werewolves and, of course, Halloween.

But why sit at home in your slippers watching televised ghost hunts and paranormal investigations when you could go out on one of your own? Some of the UK's most haunted hotels are opening their doors to those who want to contact the spirit world.

With over six resident ghosts, including a beekeeper and a grey lady, The Old Hall Hotel in Sandbach, Cheshire is one of the UK's most famous haunted inns.

But you don't have to be a celeb for the chance to be spooked at the Old Hall. The hotel holds a monthly ghost vigil, and includes a fantastic three-course meal in the company of fellow paranormal seekers. AOL Travel couldn't resist going along.

On arrival, the inn seemed harmless enough - Elizabethan from the outside and a typical English pub-hotel on the inside. With only the odd creak or two from the 350-year-old staircase, there was nothing remotely spooky about the place - yet.

Although our room was comfortable, it was hard to imagine any ghosts would want to spend any length of time in it. With standard twin beds and en-suite bathroom, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But then again, we weren't in one of the haunted rooms. I have to say I was disappointed - until darkness fell.

Our leaders for the evening were a paranormal investigation club called Ghost Haunted. Psychic Paul and investigator Gordon showed a video of past investigations and demonstrated the equipment used, such as dousing rods (used to communicate with the spirit world), temperature readers and EMF readers (which are used to track the electromagnetic frequency emitted from a spirit body).

We broke up into two teams of eight - one team went into Room 11 and we went into Room 4. We tried holding the dousing rods to see if any spirit was interested in chatting with us, but aside from the odd quiver, the rods remained still. We were all having a good time swapping ghost stories when psychic Paul came into the room and the EMF meter immediately began making noises.

Paul picked up on a spirit who told him that one of the women sitting on the bed reminded him of a girl he once knew. Further discussions revealed that the spirit was a witch-finder general and the girl was someone he interrogated and later burnt at the stake. The spirit became so agitated that Paul suggested that everyone leave the room immediately. Incidentally, the woman 'recognised' by the spirit was due to stay in the room for the night so we were suddenly grateful that we were in a standard, non-spooky room.

After a short break, we swapped with the second team and went into Room 11. We didn't have long to wait for things to kick off. Psychic Paul immediately became possessed by an evil spirit named Martin Gallagher, who had strangled a girl in that very room. Gallagher was angry that a woman was sitting in his chair and wanted her out. The woman who was sitting in the chair said she felt someone touch her and even broke into tears. As her friend said she wasn't easily agitated we decided to leave until things were under further control.

The second visit to Room 11 was even more eventful. After trying the dousing rods again, we made contact with a spirit. Through a series of 'yes' and 'no' answers, we discovered that the ghost was Anne Gallagher, sister to Martin, who sat on one side of the room and helped keep Martin's malevolent spirit in control.

The vigil so far had been interesting, but we still hadn't experienced a ghost or anything truly paranormal - until we went into the dining room at 3.30am. As we sat around chatting, we noticed a sudden draught followed by the strong scent of old-fashioned rose perfume. No potpourri or scented candles were apparent, and the scent was even discernible over the strong smell of cigarettes and coffee. Paul later told us that the Old Hall was a former brothel and that the dining room was where the ladies sat.

We finally retired to bed at 4am after a really entertaining night. The evening had not been all that scary, but then again, we weren't staying in Room 11!