"WHEN people frequent an establishment, they impregnate these subtle atmospheres with a sort of energy that can become visual and create images so that anyone in here alone might see an old person and surmise that its a dead person's spirit when it might be the image of somebody still living."
 We decide to go walkabout. On the "evil" stairs leading out, the ghostometer begins to sound uncomfortable and Billy claims he feels a presence but nothing too strong and certainly not malevolent. We proceed through the main upstairs bar where the rain is clattering against the windows from the empty streets outside. On the first floor landing is the green room, complete with table, settee and empty beer bottle left behind by a previous comic occupant. Again nothing really and the ghostometer remains well behaved. It seems a good time to ask why hauntings and why, more especially, houses? Billy says: "If you go into an old house, sometimes you can get a lovely warm feeling. That's because of the people who lived there. They impregnate the psychic structure of the house and that becomes the representation of those people. "And it can work the other way whereby an evil or unhappy family who've lived there will influence the minds of the people who subsequently come along." We proceed to the top floor and it's here, at the top of the stairwell, that Billy first detects something. "The impression that I get here is that there was some kind of self destruction that somebody committed suicide. Somebody died in this area but it must have been some time ago. It was a man who hanged himself here." The ghostometer duly goes slightly bonkers emitting a fluctuating whine like that of the dentist's drill. We head a little more quickly back downstairs where, back in the bar, it's thought that it might be a good idea if Billy went back down in the cellar, alone this time, so as not to be distracted. Billy, for some reason, doesn't agree. Minutes later Joe and I are perched on stools downstairs and after a brief surf with the divining rods - this area of the city apparently being awash with ley lines which convey psychic power - Billy has placed the ghostometer at the centre of the low stage at the far end of the room. He then retreats to another stool on the far side where he sits occasionally stroking his chin apparently preoccupied in thought. No words are spoken. The only sound is the warble of the ghostometer in mild distress. Ten minutes later Billy springs up and walks over. "I've just been having a conversation," he says calmly and then points at the stage. "It's a guy sitting over there. He says his name's is Walter Langton. He worked here in the 1800s. He's very rude and bad tempered and he says he wants to do me harm. I've told him he can't. He chooses to be here. He also knows that we are here and he wants us to go. But I don't feel intimidated." Billy then says that there is another presence on the stage. It's a middle-aged woman dressed in grubby smock and bonnet. She's possibly from the 19th century and called Meg or Mary. She's unaware of us but is apparently looking for her son. " He was crushed to death here," adds Billy simply. Needless to say neither Joe or I have seen or heard anything - it is, unfortunately, the drawback of the medium's trade that concrete proof is hard to produce. Nevertheless there's an unnerving feeling that we're not alone and there's relief in finding the stairwell behind the bar - and not adjacent to Walter's alleged spot at corner of the stage - to return to a curious Adam and co upstairs. It's now 3am and, despite his recent encounter, Billy remains surprisingly magnanimous to his erstwhile opponent. "There's a lot of paranormal here but nothing malevolent. Walter's been here so long he just lives here now so a blessing by a priest would not make any difference." He's asked if there are any more spirits to be uncovered here. "I'm sure there may be - but I'm not waiting around tonight to find out," he replies. Was that a look of amused relief on his face. If so, the feeling, rest assured, was entirely mutual. * BILLY Roberts can be contacted at www.billyroberts.co.uk or on 0151 733 3434. | 
