I'm fascinated by the tale of the Washington ghost which hovered over a bed as a family slept in the house

It was only last month when we told how the town had numerous reasons to be considered as the UK Town of Culture.

The ghost which stood over a Washington bed

There’s lots of paranormal links to Washington as well such as the story of the old woman who haunted a house.

The tale is told in the online Paranormal Database which is packed with reports from across the country.

It tells of a 20th Century tale in which a family began to encounter a spirit soon after they moved into a house.

“Shortly after moving into this property, one of the residents awoke to find an old lady standing over their bed. The phantom woman was described as having grey hair in a bun and wore an old fashioned dress with an apron.

Phantom hound in an aircraft museum

“A couple of days later the visitation was described to a neighbour, who said the description matched that of a former occupier who had lived at the house many years previous,” said the database.

But that is not the only Washington tale to discover on the website.

Another concerns the bottom half of a man seen walking around the hangars of the North East Aircraft Museum, wearing black trousers but no shoes. A phantom hound reputedly remains here, and poltergeist activity has also been reported.

One eye-witness at the museum also watched while an old-fashioned gramophone player switched itself on and started playing.

The phantom which haunted a car

In January 2014, the Barmston slip road to the A1231 was the scene for an unusual phenomenon.

“A driver was left startled when, at 25 miles per hour, their car lurched and leaned over to the right and they could hear the air from the car being sucked out from the right hand door,” said an entry on the database.

“After two seconds everything returned to normal. There was no apparent wind and no tire blow out, which the driver first suspected.”

The Paranormal Database is an online catalogue of sightings and experiences from all over the country, compiled by Darren Mann .

Tell us about the ghostly sightings you have experienced by emailing [email protected]

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