Harrogate's reputation as a quaint English spa town has been established since the early 1800s. However, one might be surprised to discover that the town and villages around it hide many terrifying tales.

It took paranormalist Paul Forster over a year to collate this collection of real-life encounters with spirits, poltergeists and ghosts. Nothing could prepare him for what he uncovered as he explored the darker, mysterious side of this beautiful tourist destination.

Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Harrogate's chilling compendium of ghost stories includes accounts never before seen in print. From poltergeists in Harrogate's oldest drinking establishment to apparitions of monks in Knaresborough, this assortment of terrifying tales is bound to show this picturesque part of North Yorkshire in a new light.

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth".

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"Now it is the time of night, That the graves, all gaping wide, Every one lets forth his sprite, In the church-way paths to glide."

William Shakespeare, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

"The city man is not in sympathy with ghosts. Not so the mountaineer, peasant and sailor. Strange shapes which give signs are seen in clouds. Dim forms move over forest floors. They tread lightly along the brink of precipice and marsh, beckon the traveller into perils or give him warning. Dark and airy figures walk moors and plains or lonely shores. They go again through some happening on land; they re-enact a fateful drama of the seas. The man of the city unaccustomed to such ghost tales, laughs at them; he knows they cannot be true. Yet disbelief and ridicule by many such, have given place to firm conviction and awe, after visiting haunts where environment favours the appearance of ghosts."

H. W. PERCIVAL