Like all paranormal investigators I've had my critics, but the fact of the matter is that ghosts really do exist, and they've caught the attention of the public to an enormous degree.

One of South Tyneside's most prestigious buildings is the Customs House, in South Shields, now a thriving theatre and cinema.

It's a place with a tremendous amount of history in its wake, and we shouldn't be surprised at the fact that it too is haunted.

Tonight sees the launch of a new Margaret Wilkinson play at the Customs House called Queen Bee, described as a "contemporary Gothic ghost story with a psychological twist".

I don't want to spoil things by giving away too much detail, but the setting is an eerie rural house in Northumberland inhabited by three women, and there's a menacing figure lurking outside.

On Monday I had the privilege of taking part in the press call at the Customs House and escorting actors Rachel Donovan, Karen Traynor and Joanna Holden around the venue, telling them some of the eerie incidents that have taken place there over the years.

There's a mobility lift in the entrance which seems to have a life of its own.

Press officer Keir Waugh, who was our guide on the tour, told me he's lost count of the number of times the lift has gone up and down between the floors of its own accord.

The spooky thing is that there's a depressor switch in the lift which must be continuously pressed down for it to work.

If you take your finger off the switch while it's in motion, it just stops.

An expert has checked the lift and stated categorically that it simply can't move if no one is inside it.

Unfortunately, someone forgot to give the ghost a copy of the handbook.

The apparition of an 19th century surgeon has also been seen sitting in one of the rooms upstairs, and even executive director Ray Spencer has heard strange noises, including disembodied footsteps.

The ghost of a strange, hooded figure has also been seen in the theatre, and in the ancient Daltons Lane outside.

During a preliminary visit last week, I was shown into one of the storage units that used to be the sluice room for the old mortuary.

There's certainly what I would call a "sense of presence" inside the room, and while I was there, the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke seemed to come from nowhere.

Seasoned investigators know that the odours of tobacco and lavender are commonly reported at haunted locations.

We checked the lane outside to see if anyone was smoking nearby, but the cobbles were deserted.

The ghost of a chap called Michael (not me, honest) is said to haunt the studio, and the figure of a brooding, silhouette-like man has been spied standing by the theatre entrance.

One photograph I took in a dressing room captured a strange-looking figure in the mirror.

Other than the Customs House staff and myself, there was no one else there; well, no one that we could see, anyway. A ghost? You'll have to decide for yourself.