WHO'RE YOU GOING TO CALL?

The Ram Inn - its reputation as a haunted house is well known

It seems there's money to be made in everything these days, but making money from ghosts… isn't that going a step too far? Not for one man here in the west, who makes his living as a "professional ghostbuster". Tessa Dunlop enters the world of the paranormal to find out more.

Someone ridding houses from ghosts and ghouls is something you would expect to see in the latest horror flick on the big screen.

Yet there are people around the UK who are doing it for real.

Inside Out puts one of our local ghostbusters to the test to see if conquering spooky creatures really is a legitimate career.

Haunted house

The Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge, is known to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain.

Built on the edge of a pagan burial ground, the site has become a favourite haunt for ghostbusters around the UK.

Visitors to the former pub describe an evil and oppressive feeling when they enter the building, and plenty of unexplained occurrences have been documented there.

John Humpries has owned the Ram Inn since 1968

Even the Ram's owner, John Humphries, was surprised by the building.

"I knew nothing of the hauntings when I bought the place," he says.

"It wasn't until the first night, when I felt a pair of cold hands pulling me out of the bed, that I knew something strange was going on at the Ram."

What better place to put our ghostbuster, Terry, and his students, to the test.

Ghostbuster

Meet Terry, he's a ghostbuster who has been so successful in his line of business that he has set up a school for wannabe ghostbusters.

Getting rid of ghouls is a lucrative business according to Terry, who at £300 per job, has earned a rather nice living out of the non-living.

"I didn't really have a view of turning it into a livelihood until I met my wife and she said I was really good at what I did," he says.

Terry has made a living from ghostbusting for 25 years

Terry is so confident of his ghostbusting abilities that he is more than happy to attempt to "clear out" the Ram Inn.

Joining Terry are his students; Ross, a financial advisor, Sarah, a TV costume designer and Steve, an IT consultant.

It seems a motley crew, but Terry and his team are keen to get underway.

Careful planning

The group decide to prepare offsite in a local hotel, where they lay out all the tools of their trade.

"The reason we haven't met up at the Ram Inn is that I want you all to get some first impressions," Terry tells his students.

He brings out a group of pictures and gets his students to "look into" the photos to see what spirits are present at the Ram Inn.

"When you take a photograph of something you take in the whole energy within that picture too, so it's alive," Terry explains.

Planning the ghostbusting in advance helps Terry focus

Ross homes in on one of the pictures of a baby and comments, "From this picture I am picking up the spirit of a baby that I think was murdered shortly after it was born."

If all this is to be believed the team really have their work cut out for them tonight.

The final step of the preparation is carried out at the top of a nearby hill where the team are spiritually "tuning in".

Down to business

Preparations over, it's now time for the ghostbusting to begin.

As they arrive at the Ram Inn, Terry and his students say they can already feel a presence surrounding them.

"It draws you down, sucks you in… like treacle," comments Terry.

The group enter the Ram Inn, with Tessa following a discreet distance behind!

Terry laughs as he enters the Ram and comments, "It's so spooky it just makes me laugh.

"I could let out with a shrill scream it's that bad."

They all split up and begin searching every nook and cranny. Terry explains that hunting ghosts isn't always easy.

"Sometimes you have to employ some detective work so you have to 'go Indian' and track them… eventually you will find them," he says.

The Bishop Room is the most haunted at the Ram Inn

It isn't long before all of the team report that they've found ghosts around the building, but it's Terry's discovery that brings the team together.

Terry feels that at some time there was black magic practised here, and the whole area has been cursed.

"The curse is holding the spirits here, so the curse has to be lifted or broken. Until that is done, the spirits can't be released," he says.

And so the whole team head to the barn, where Terry goes into battle.

After much concentration and coaxing, Terry orders the bad spirit out and feels the mood is immediately lightened.

When asked what it was he just did, Terry answers, "That's my secret… put it this way - I rid the land of some evil."

Final job

It's all sounding a rather successful ghostbusting mission, but Ross still has one issue he wants to resolve.

He is keen to help the spirit of the baby he feels was murdered here.

A small shrine is set up with a picture and candle.

“It's quite an emotional thing really”

Ghostbusting student Ross

After some minutes of concentrated deep breathing, Ross has a breakthrough.

"The mother of this baby has just turned up and taken the baby into the light," Ross says with relief.

And so the ghostbusting team's job is done.

"I'm very happy with the day's proceedings. The barn is very clear, I'm very happy with how we have shifted the earth energies around," concludes Terry.

The group leaves the Ram Inn confident that they have lifted the opressive curse and released the trapped spirits.

And, it's all in a day's work.