Ghostbusters ‘may scare off brides’

Councillor David Herron raised his concerns after Ghost Searchers Ireland posted a video on YouTube which purports to show ghostly goings-on at the council-owned church which has links to Rev Patrick Bronte, father of the famous Bronte sisters.

Mr Herron fears the visit by ghost hunters to the premises - where the Rev Bronte is said to have preached before he moved to England with his novelist daughters in 1802 - may drive off potential wedding parties keen to celebrate their nuptials in the popular Bronte homeland area.

Using a device called ‘Frank’s Box’ - which is said to work a bit like a ‘ghost telephone’ - the investigators claim to have chatted with a disemboided voice, supposedly that of Loughbrickland-born Mr Bronte.

According to the group, the ghostly tenant of Drumballyroney Church spoke to a child called Molly and confirmed there was a witch buried in the nearby graveyard.

But Mr Herron, who doesn’t believe in ghosts himself, is far from convinced: “Seemingly, young people are interested in going to the church to get married and we don’t want to drive them away,” he said. “Banbridge District Council is looking into the matter and we will see whether we can refuse them entry or not if they come back.”

And he added, “It’s not whether they find anything - the thing is, I don’t want them driving the people away.”