GHOSTS have always had a knack of rousing our interests, whether we are full-blooded believers in spookdom or thorough-going sceptics.

Jane George, a visitor to Newton Abbot, puts herself more in the latter camp.

But she kept an open mind when she found herself drifting into a ‘ghost hunt’ at East Street’s Dartmouth Inn last week.

She remains somewhat perplexed by what she saw and heard… not to mention the Great Dane who sat down beside her briefly.

A subsequent check of the pub’s history revealed it was originally known as The Great Dane. A spirit from history – or a stray pooch who was passing through?

This is Jane’s account of the spirit-filled occasion.

I WAS having a quiet drink in the Dartmouth Inn on the evening of February 26 when new landlords Chris and Lucy asked if any of us in the bar would like to stay on in the pub that night as they were having a ghost hunt.

I was intrigued, so I chose to stay.

The four ghost hunters arrived, the lights were dimmed, conversation ceased and the team sat quietly to tune in.

I remained sitting at the bar staring into the gloom when I became aware of a dog, a Great Dane, sitting next to my stool. I thought it a bit odd, but felt unconcerned.

The next day when I did a little research on the pub I found out that it had originally been called The Great Dane.

The open fire was burning gently and the two small pub dogs were quiet. In this calm atmosphere the psychics started to say to us all that they could see a brightly coloured entity flitting around the sofas and chairs in the central area. I didn’t see this.

The team said the movements were very fast which made it difficult to see much detail, but they were able to track it as it whizzed about. They said no ill-feeling was detected.

In the same area, a man was discerned sitting in the corner of the room, cap on, smoking a pipe. I thought I heard someone saying the names of Miriam and John but was uncertain so I said nothing.

I have not been able to find anything about these two people, as yet.

The ghost hunters moved into the Tap Room to tune in. I sat on the steps leading down to this room so I could learn more.

The two men were silent and still. I realised that the air around me had become very cold and I considered moving until I heard the men beginning to speak to each other.

They said they were aware of an older man who was in some distress. They felt he had been ill for some time as they could sense his chest pain – reflected in their own bodies – and taste blood in their mouths.

One of the men needed to get some air, so as he moved away I went to sit by the fire to warm up.

Sitting quietly with the others on the sofas around the fire I almost drifted off imagining the pub walls absorbing all the sounds from the hundreds of years of drinking, chatting, arguing, loving. Old buildings have a certain magic.

The team moved upstairs to look around. Reappearing after 40 minutes they reported they had detected no aberrations during that time.

Upon re-entering the main area, a woman was seen by the team dancing, behaving merrily and drinking dark ale. They felt she was a happy force who had been pleased to have been visiting the pub.

Our drinks refreshed, a lively discussion followed with everyone voicing different opinions in a friendly manner.

The nature of belief, scepticism, hauntings, memory-imprints and many more points of interest were exchanged.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.