WHO YOU GONNA CALL? GHOSTBUSTERS! 23/03/99
The man who was the inspiration for the film Ghostbusters is to visit Leicester to see about the Belgrave Hall ghost for himself.

Dr Larry Muntz, president of the International Society for Psychic Research, will be travelling from California to Leicester with a team of internationally reputed investigators later this month to conduct a vigil at the hall, which has been at the centre of a paranormal mystery for months.

A luminous image was caught on CCTV at Belgrave Hall at the end of last year. That image was then investigated by four separate organisations, who have concluded that it was either a ghost, a moth, an owl or a leaf.

Mr Stuart Warburton, managing curator of the hall, said: “The image caught on the video could be one of a number of things and it is totally down to the individual to draw their own conclusions as to what they think it could be.”

TOP GHOSTBUSTER ON THE CASE! 30/03/99
A top team of ghostbusters from America have completed an investigation into the mysteries of the Leicester’s Belgrave Hall ghost.

Dr Larry Muntz, who is president of the International Society for Psychic Research, travelled from California with a team of globally respected investigators to conduct a vigil at the historic hall in a bid to discover what caused a mysterious luminous image to appear on CCTV videos of the building.

His findings are not expected to be released for several weeks.

Dr Muntz, who was the inspiration for the smash movie Ghostbusters, has joined the Rouse Studios, Dr Alan Gauld at Nottingham University, the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomenon and Maurice Cross from the British Society for Psychic Research in trying to find an explanation for the image.

Theories so far have suggested that it was caused by a moth, an owl, a leaf or a genuine ghost.

But the mist seen on the tape remains a mystery for all the investigators.

SPOOK SQUAD FINDS FIVE GHOSTS 31/03/99
A top spook squad has found Belgrave Hall is riddled with homesick ghosts who can’t tear themselves away from their old haunt.

The team of sleuths, led by the man who inspired the blockbuster movie Ghostbusters, are now convinced the city museum is haunted by five friendly spectres – suffragette Charlotte Ellis, her sister Margaret, their step-brother Edward Shipley and two servants.

But they still cannot say for certain if the security camera image which sparked global interest in the historic hall is a visitor from beyond the grave – or a moth, leaf or owl.

Dr Larry Muntz flew in from the States to join a team of world-renowned investigators to conduct thorough tests for the International Society for Psychic Research.

With the help of a medium, they say they identified the spirits by their full names without access to records kept by museum staff.

Dr Muntz said: “Belgrave Hall is actively haunted by numerous discarnate entities of a benign nature.

“They are former occupants of the old hall who return there from the spirit world to visit the home in which they once lived happy and fulfilled lives.”

Belgrave Hall hit the headlines around the world last year when a museum assistant spotted a bizarre blur on footage from a security camera, which then froze for five seconds.

Parapsychologist Dr Muntz said the images are natural phenomena created by an atmospheric discharge made by a ghost desperately trying to make contact with the other side.

He said: “During paranormal activity, electronic equipment such as video and audio recorders often malfunction. This type of paranormal phenomena is frequently used by spirit beings attempting to draw attention to themselves. In this case, they certainly succeeded.”

Visitor numbers rocketed after the Mercury broke the story, with American and Canadian holidaymakers diverting to the city to check out the haunted hall.

Museums marketing officer Sean Knapp said: “What this is doing for Belgrave Hall and for tourism in Leicester is just superb.”