Stay ConnectedWelcome to How Haunted? the paranormal podcast where each episode we explore the horrible history, and terrifying ghost stories of one of the most haunted places on planet Earth.
I’m Rob Kirkup. Author, paranormal historian, and ghost hunter from the north-east of England. Allow me to be your guide as we dare to investigate in depth the, often dark and troubled, history of each location, and of course, the chilling tales of the ghosts that reside within.
The nights are drawing in. Summer is fading into memory. Big coats are being pulled from wardrobes and children are already deciding which frightening costume they'll wear on Halloween night.
Spooky Season has arrived.
And here on How Haunted?, things are about to get very, very frightening indeed.
Join me as we look ahead to everything coming this October, including a brand-new five-part Halloween event, a huge listener EVP experiment, an overnight ghost hunt inside a notoriously haunted Victorian building, a special Halloween roundtable and much more besides.
To check out the Patreon go to https://www.patreon.com/howhauntedpod
The Merch store can be found at https://how-haunted.dashery.com
and tickets for Newcastle After Dark Online are at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newcastle-after-dark-online-tickets-2001510731477
Join me this Spooky Season, and every week we will ask.....How Haunted?
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Originally released for Patreon supporters in June 2025 I hope you enjoy this very special episode.
In the 34th Patreon bonus podcast you join me at the site of a former infectious diseases hospital, which is today the countryside centre for the vast country park in which it is located.
But what would happen when John, Tom and I joined Spiritus Paranormal for a night which none of us would forget in a hurry.
Tonight, let us together ask the question, just how haunted is the Scaffold Hill Hospital?
To get episodes such as this around a year sooner, you can become a Patreon for £3 a month, and get yourself early access to episodes, and more exclusive episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night. To find out more, or take advantage of a seven day free trial, head on over to https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
If you'd like to hear this episode, but not commit to a monthly subscription? All Patreon episodes can be purchased individually for a one off fee.
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Huge thanks to Spiritus Paranormal, check out their future investigations on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/SpiritusParanormalInvestigations
Check out Rob Davies' YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/DeadAirTV
Support How Haunted? by subscribing and leaving a review.
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis – Lurking Evil: https://youtu.be/3i0aVnpeppw
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link :https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU || SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ || Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP || Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In our last episode, we uncovered the forgotten past of Blackpool — a place shaped by ancient sands, coastal storms, tragic losses, and generations of holidaymakers whose laughter still echoes along the promenade. But that was only the beginning. Behind the bright lights and autumn crowds lies a deeper, darker layer to this famous seaside town.
In episode 145 we return to the heart of Blackpool just as the Illuminations glow against the darkening sky. We’ll step back inside its grand theatres, explore the hidden corners of its piers, and wander the dim corridors of its most haunted hotels. From phantom performers to guests who never checked out, Blackpool’s central district holds stories far stranger — and far more unsettling — than its cheerful façade suggests.
So join me, as together we ask once again: just how haunted is Blackpool?
Support How Haunted? by subscribing and leaving a review.
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
You can become a Patreon supporter for as little as £1 a month. You can choose from three tiers and get yourself early access to episodes, and exclusive monthly episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night.
To sign up, and take advantage of a free seven day trial, visit https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis – Lurking Evil: https://youtu.be/3i0aVnpeppw
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link :https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU || SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ || Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP || Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the 50th Patreon bonus podcast, we return to Ryton Masonic Hall on a warm summer night at the end of a record-breaking week in June 2026.
In Part One, John, Tom, Rich and I joined Spiritus Paranormal to investigate a former Victorian home that has become one of the North East's most intriguing paranormal locations. We explored the building, heard stories of shadow figures, unexplained voices and a mysterious child reportedly captured on camera, and began our investigation inside the hall's impressive Lodge Room.
As Part Two begins, our investigation is in full swing.
We'll return to the imposing Lodge Room, experiment with a scrying mirror, investigate reports of footsteps on an empty staircase, and spend time in one of the most frequently discussed locations within the building — the ladies' toilets.
Will Ryton Masonic Hall finally reveal evidence of whatever is said to remain here? Were the unexplained noises, voices and temperature fluctuations from earlier in the evening simply the product of an old building... or something else entirely?
And what happens when I leave the rest of the group behind and find myself sitting completely alone in the darkness of the building’s most impressive room?
Let's find out.
Tonight, we continue to ask...Just how haunted is Ryton Masonic Hall?
Get access to the full episode, which is almost two-hours long, at https://www.patreon.com/howhauntedpod.
If you don't wish to subscribe to Patreon, but would still like to hear this episode, all Patreon exclusive episodes are available to be purchased individually for a one off fee of £4.99. Check out the Patreon link to find out more.
Find out more about the pod at www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at rob@how-haunted.com
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Music in this episode includes:
"Darren Curtis - Demented Nightmare"
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In episode 144 we travel to a place millions know as Britain’s favourite seaside resort… but beneath the bright façade lies a far older, far darker story.
Long before the thrill rides, arcades, and dazzling Illuminations, this stretch of coastline was shaped by shifting sands, fierce storms, and tragedies lost to time. From prehistoric hunters and wrecked sailors to Victorian holidaymakers and performers who never left the stage, this town has gathered layer upon layer of tales — countless lives lived, lost, and whispered about in the shadows.
Tonight, as the autumn nights draw in and the sea breeze carries the echoes of the past along the promenade, join me… and together let us ask: just how haunted is Blackpool?
Support How Haunted? by subscribing and leaving a review.
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
You can become a Patreon supporter for as little as £1 a month. You can choose from three tiers and get yourself early access to episodes, and exclusive monthly episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night.
To sign up, and take advantage of a free seven day trial, visit https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis – Lurking Evil: https://youtu.be/3i0aVnpeppw
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link :https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU || SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ || Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP || Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As How Haunted? turns the ripe old age of four. Thank you.
You can find Sabrina's incredible artwork at Duchess Of Dark art – duchessofdarkart and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/duchessofdark
Check out the merch store at How Haunted? Podcast | Official Merch Store be sure to change the country and currency at the bottom of the page.
To support on the Patreon and get access to all of the exclusive ghost hunt episodes, including the forthcoming Halloween two-part special, go to Rob Kirkup — creating the How Haunted? Podcast | Patreon
To buy me a birthday coffee you can donate £2 at Rob Kirkup is the How Haunted? Podcast
To join me on a Newcastle After Dark Ghost Walk, get your ticket at Newcastle After Dark: A Small-Group Ghost Walk Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite
Email me your ghost story and/or questions at Rob@how-haunted.com, and be part of the show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In episode 143 we’re doing something a little different, and a little special. As we near the fourth anniversary of the podcast we’re heading back to Edinburgh.
Because for years, in the shadows of its closes and cobbled streets, one storyteller has been bringing the darker side of the city to life.
This episode’s guest is an Edinburgh-based author, whose books—including his latest work Lothian Region Terror Tales—explore the strange and unsettling corners of Scottish folklore and beyond. Through his work with North Edinburgh Nightmares, he’s also led countless ghost walks and events, sharing those stories where they belong… out in the dark.
So join me as I sit down with a modern voice of the macabre, and a man dedicated to keeping these tales alive.
This is my conversation with John S. Tantalon.
Thanks so much to John and be sure to check out his books. His website can be found at https://northedinburghnightmares.wordpress.com and his YouTube channel is at Persevere, the Restless Ghosts of Leith
Support How Haunted? by subscribing and leaving a review.
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
You can become a Patreon supporter for as little as £1 a month. You can choose from three tiers and get yourself early access to episodes, and exclusive monthly episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night.
To sign up, and take advantage of a free seven day trial, visit https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis – Lurking Evil: https://youtu.be/3i0aVnpeppw
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link :https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU || SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ || Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP || Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the 49th Patreon bonus podcast, you join me on a sweltering summer evening in June 2026, as I head to a former Victorian home just outside Gateshead. A building that has stood for more than 150 years, started life as a private residence known as Oakfield House, and for almost a century has served as a meeting place for Freemasons.
Tonight, I'm joined once again by John, Tom and Rich as we team up with Spiritus Paranormal to investigate Ryton Masonic Hall. A location where visitors and investigators have reported hearing unexplained voices, footsteps in empty rooms, moving objects, shadowy figures, and even sightings of a mysterious child said to have been captured on camera earlier this year.
As Britain basks in record-breaking temperatures, what will we discover inside this intriguing building? Will the stories we've been told stand up to scrutiny? And can a former Victorian home, now hidden behind the symbolism and ceremony of Freemasonry, reveal any evidence that it's haunted?
Let's find out.
Tonight, join me as we ask...how haunted is Ryton Masonic Hall?
Get access to the full episode, which is almost two-hours long, at https://www.patreon.com/howhauntedpod.
If you don't wish to subscribe to Patreon, but would still like to hear this episode, all Patreon exclusive episodes are available to be purchased individually for a one off fee of £4.99. Check out the Patreon link to find out more.
Find out more about the pod at www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at rob@how-haunted.com
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Music in this episode includes:
"Darren Curtis - Demented Nightmare"
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In episode 142 we reach the final part of our journey across the Ghost Island — and now, the stories become stranger still. The Isle of Wight is not only home to hauntings of history and landscape, but to phenomena that defy every category: phantom villages, impossible pubs, figures half formed, landscapes where time behaves unpredictably, forests that watch, ancient stones that seem to remember, and churches where voices sing long after the choirs have fallen silent.
And at the very heart of this high strangeness lies one of Britain’s most baffling and unsettling encounters — a being that was not a ghost, not a cryptid, not an alien… and not easily dismissed. A figure so bizarre it has become legend all on its own.
So join me, as we step into the island’s deepest mysteries, and confront the questions that haunt its lonely paths, its ancient hills, and its darkest stories.
And together, for the final time… let us ask: just how haunted is the Isle of Wight?
Support How Haunted? by subscribing and leaving a review.
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
You can become a Patreon supporter for as little as £1 a month. You can choose from three tiers and get yourself early access to episodes, and exclusive monthly episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night.
To sign up, and take advantage of a free seven day trial, visit https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis – Lurking Evil: https://youtu.be/3i0aVnpeppw
" HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link :https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU || SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ || Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP || Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Originally released for Patreons in May 2025 I hope you enjoy this very special episode.
In the 33rd Patreon bonus podcast I’m back in the Scottish borders, spending some time in the most northerly English town. This is a place that I have a huge fondness for, so much so, that this is a place I took you on a ghost walk last Halloween. You join me spending time here on a bit of a break, but despite this supposedly being a bit of rest and relaxation I couldn’t resist grabbing my voice recorder and a torch and heading off to some of the spookier parts of this historic town after dark. Especially considering that listeners have made me aware of places here that I didn't even know are said to be haunted.
So join me and let us ask, together, just how haunted is Berwick-upon-Tweed?
To get episodes such as this around a year sooner, you can become a Patreon for £3 a month, and get yourself early access to episodes, and more exclusive episodes where Rob will conduct ghost hunts and you'll hear the audio from the night. To find out more, or take advantage of a seven day free trial, head on over to https://patreon.com/HowHauntedPod
If you'd like to hear this episode, but not commit to a monthly subscription? All Patreon episodes can be purchased individually for a one off fee.
Perhaps you'd rather buy me a coffee to make a one off donation to support the pod, you can do that at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HowHauntedPod
Check out the official merch store at how-haunted.dashery.com where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, and much more. They come in a vast selection of colours and a wide range of sizes.
Find out more about the pod at https://www.how-haunted.com and you can email Rob at Rob@how-haunted.com
Join me for a Newcastle After Dark ghost walk. A small-group ghost walk exploring real locations across Newcastle after hours (running June to September 2026). Tickets and more info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989225437833?aff=oddtdtcreator
Music in this episode includes:
Darren Curtis - Demented Nightmare" https://youtu.be/g_O4kS9FP3k
HORROR PIANO MUSIC " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link : https://youtu.be/xbjuAGgk5lU
SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ
Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP
Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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