Ghosts of woman and little boy detected in 'haunted' South Shields bar after owner finds hidden room

Alex Barr and Lee Porter, who own Barr Porter, Music Lounge and Cocktail Bar on Dean Road, were told that the venue was haunted after taking it over in October 2020.

But it was only after a stange photo emerged showing a ghostly figure in the function room that they started to give some thought.

Sharing the news with punters, stories emerged of a secret passageway inside the bar and, sure enough, owner Alex came across it last month – and also discovered a hidden room that had been sealed.

Now the bar says paranormal investigator, Jean McNeil, from Other Worlds Paranormal North East, has detected two ghosts residing upstairs in the venue.

"Apparently we have two spooks who are friendly, which is good news,” bar manager, Michelle Oxley, said.

"The investigator said there is a lady called Margaret who died on the stairs and a little boy called James.

"She was using an EMF machine where lights flash if there is a ghostly presence in our midst, and the lights on it were going bananas.

"The lights were flashing when she was calling their names. It was really weird."

The investigator, who was carrying out her work upstairs, told the bar that the woman called Margaret was in her 40s when she died in the 1900s, while the little boy, James, is said to be from an earlier time period.

And that’s not all, as the investigator believes that the venue is also home to a third ghost – a Monk who pre-dates the building during the period when it was just land.

Michelle said: “You could also hear lots of noises on the sound recorder and the investigator was saying [to the ghosts] ‘make the lights go green or red’ and they did.

"I don’t believe in ghosts, but when I was there I could feel a draft around my legs and it was really weird because there are no windows up there.”

During the evening the investigator spoke to customers about her spooky discoveries and even carried out medium readings.

“Apparently she was really spot on with them,” Michelle added.

“It was really interesting.”

Barr Porter is now looking to hold medium nights and its upstairs function room is currently undergoing refurbishment following the recent closure of its Thai Udon Kitchen restaurant.

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