The Old Silent Inn at Stanbury lived up to its name on Saturday night and refused to reveal its ghostly reputation.

Sadly, the only visual spirits on the move were those in the form of liquid refreshment behind the bar.

Despite the plethora of modern gadgets set up by The Ghost Research Foundation to catch a spook, we heard no bumps in the night.

But it wasn't a total disappointment for Julian Knight, president of the organisation. and his two assistants, Wendy Simpson, senior investigator, and Dawn Lawrence.

The ghost-busting team had been called in to coax out any one of a number of spooks reported to have been sighted.

Reputedly, there's a former landlady who rings a bell to feed feral cats on the moors, two children who wake guests by touching their noses, a spook in a three-cornered hat who stands at the bar and mysterious footsteps in the corridor.

The group came armed with a mixture of hi-tech electronic devices and more mundane equipment.

Out of his bag, Julian produced audio equipment to capture any ghostly sounds, a thermometer to gauge temperature changes, torch, electro-magnetic monitor, a candle to catch any spooky air movement, dowsing rods and a crucifix and Bible.

"These last two are trigger objects which can encourage a ghost to touch or move them," said Julian, an actor in his day job.

The team set up its gear at about 1am on Sunday after the punters had left.

They were aware that staff, both present and past, and many guests had recorded being spooked.

Like Marjorie Barns who is in her 60s and worked at the hotel for about six years, who has seen or felt the ghost of a woman on several occasions.

She is unable to explain why showers are mysteriously turned on and, after making up the beds, inexplicable indentations appear in the covers.

And a guest in room six recently claimed to have been woken in the night by a little girl sitting on the bed who had touched his nose.

Residents in room seven once complained of being kept awake all night by a young girl.

And a former chef heard footsteps behind him in the corridor and turned to find nobody there.

So there was plenty to go at.

First to get the vibes was Julian. When in the corridor near rooms six and seven - both claimed to be haunted - his dowsing rods did a sharp left turn in that direction. Diane tried it with equal success.

We scuttled away when an irate guest - in room seven - burst from his room and told us to clear off and let him get some kip.

Next it was to the dining room - an area where the ghostly landlady has been seen.

The dowsing rods again went wild and there was a high electro-magnetic reading. Julian got particularly excited when his camera failed to focus in the first floor corridor.

"I stopped and had a mental word with whatever was there and it then focussed," he said.

"The camera is fine because I've been taking shots all over the pub. That hasn't happened for years."

Back in the dining room there was a big drop in temperature in just a few minutes.

Earlier in the evening, a guest had reported a mysterious knocking on a bedroom door, and a woman who had a cat allergy suffered running eyes and nose.

"Cats are intrinsic to this haunting and so that was significant on a psychic level," said Julian.

"I'm very pleased with how it's gone. I think it's been successful. Something has happened and we've enjoyed ourselves."