THE spine-chilling world of the paranormal never really affected Yvonne Draper until she took a job at haunted Bodelwyddan Castle. But she's never been able to go into the castle's spooky library since her first day, claiming an eerie claustrophobic feeling descends on her every time she goes near the room. "I'd never thought about it much before I came to work at the castle," she says.. "But it's quite hard not to believe in ghosts here, although it would be very hard to scientifically disprove they exist." There is no single spectre that roams Bodelwyddan Castle once the darkness of night falls and the hoot of the owl becomes an ominous chime counting down the minutes to the bewitching hour. Instead, the building's fascination for ghosthunters is that it is home to a motley collection of lost souls and wandering spirits, from a phantasmal Irish wolfhound to the disembodied legs of a man. There was even the gruesome discovery in 1829 of human bones in one of the chimneys, which television medium Derek Acorah claimed in Living TV's Most Haunted were the remains of a murdered woman. Bodelwyddan Castle's monthly ghost walks are proving a hit with spellbound children and sceptical adults alike. Held in the evening to make the expedition as eerie as possible, visitors are taken on a tour of the castle by a guide who knows where ghosts and ghoulies are to be found. Even more popular - although booked up until next year - are the overnight stays,, which attract everyone from experienced paranormal investigators to brave believers raising money for charity. But what visions from the afterlife can visitors expect to encounter on a night in the macabre mansion? "There's the grand lady in the dining room," says Yvonne.. "We've seen her walking through in her long, green dress, we've heard music being played and seen cigar smoke in the library where there's nobody smoking, and there's always sudden changes in temperature and different spooky noises." Bodelwyddan Castle's long list of otherwordly occurrences also includes people sensing men playing billiards in the games room, tables moving across the floor in the cellar, sightings of a headless knight and a First World War soldier and various poltergeists. Yvonne also remembers being in a dark room in the castle on one of the nights, sure that two people had just followed her into a room. "Then the guide shone a torch and I looked back and there was nobody there." * Bodelwyddan Castle's ghost walks (01745 584060 or email paranormal@bodelwyddancastle.co.uk) take place on the last Friday of every month, with the next one on August 26 from 7.30pm to 10pm. Overnight vigils at the Castle are from 9pm to 6am on Fridays and Saturdays, but due to popular demand are booked up until the new year barring cancellations. WIN A HOTEL BREAK Win a three-night stay at Bodelwyddan Castle during North Wales International Music Festival (Sept 16-19), including tickets to the evening concerts. Full details in Saturday's Daily Post | 
