Derby is Britain's top city for ghostly goings-on

By John Joseph

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Anyone keen to see a ghost, poltergeist or werewolf in Britain should head for Derby in the English Midlands, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The Supernatural Britain report, which investigated spooky sightings in 40 of Britain's cities, found there had been 315 in Derby -- an average of 14 sightings per 10,000 people.

In joint second place were the two ancient Roman cities of Chester and York with 11 sightings per 10,000 people.

Killed near Chester at the battle of Rowton Moor in 1645, Lord Bernard Stewart has been reported frequently riding across the moor, while in York there have been sightings of a werewolf and 17 different reports of poltergeists.

Further south, a ghostly nun has been spied floating along the south wall of the nave in Exeter Cathedral, while in St Albans the ghost of Sir John Grey, killed during the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, has also been seen.

Elsewhere, a headless drummer and phantom piper have been sighted playing on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle, while in Oxford, the ghost of Colonel Francis Winderbank, shot during the English Civil War in the 17th century, has often been seen.

"We are a nation rich in spooky sightings and strange phenomena," said the report's author Lionel Fanthorpe, president of the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, who is an ordained Anglican priest.

His report was based on interviews with people who said they had had supernatural experiences. He also researched books, archives, websites and other records of paranormal sightings.

(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)