Ghost-hunting a green lady and other spooks in a Highland theatre

Parapsychologist Ciarán O’Keeffe is head of the School of Human and Social Sciences at Buckinghamshire New University, and a regular contributor on the BBC’s Uncanny series.

He says there are explanations for the spooky experiences.

“Quite a few coincide with late-night activity – cleaning up, responsibilities for front of house or the bar,” he says.

“Any environment that has been busy and then becomes suddenly quiet is going to be naturally spooky.”

He says people might be seeing and hearing things while in a hypnagogic state.

It is usually associated with the stage between wakefulness and sleep, but can sometimes be experienced by a person as they carry out a routine task.

Dr O’Keeffe adds: “Environmental influences could be something like electromagnetic fields.

“They can affect the brain to the extent a person has hallucinations

“You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck go up giving the sensation somebody is behind you.”

Dr O’Keeffe is interested to find out more on the green lady sightings, which he describes as unusual.

“I’d be interested to find out more about the theatre’s lighting,” he says.

The Social’s video Tales of the Haunted Theatre of Inverness was made by Daniel Flynn and Donald Edgar and presented by Grace Nicoll.