Britain and Ireland share their ghost stories for Halloween, from a pub's Civil War spirit to 1930s schoolchildren's tales

Owners Dee and Norm Knight-Barrett believe their Rose & Crown pub in Ratley, Warwickshire is haunted by a Civil War roundhead soldier — nicknamed 'George' — who legend says was piked to death inside the chimney while hiding after the Battle of Edgehill. Doors slam, keys vanish and beer pumps play up.

A villager warned the Knights during renovation: 'Have you met the ghost yet?' — and weeks later George made his presence felt.

In Ireland, ghost stories collected by schoolchildren in the 1930s capture Meath and Offaly's paranormal past, from haunted houses to ghostly apparitions.

William Howson, 71, and wife Roslyn, 64, of Motherwell are marking 20 years of running a free Halloween haunted house, welcoming over 2,000 visitors since 2006.