Spirits in the church nave

It unveils the haunted history of England’s churches and chapels, brought to light in an atmospherically illustrated guide co-authored by photographer Eddie Brazil and respected ghost hunter Peter Underwood.

Paul, 45, said he’d had ‘great fun’ writing and editing the book which lists 75 religious sites and buildings that have compelling but chilling backgrounds.

There are three in Bedfordshire – St Mary’s Old Church in Clophill, St Margaret’s at Streatley and Dunstable’s Priory Church of St Peter.

The most notorious is St Mary’s, near the site of the infamous A6 murder for which James Hanratty was hanged.

The origins of the 15th Century building are steeped in legend but a headline-hitting 1963 story is equally disturbing: two Luton schoolboys found a human skull on a spike in front of the old altar slab with evidence that a ritual animal sacrifice had taken place.

At St Margaret’s former vicar the Rev James Hadow is said to walk the churchyard where he lies buried.

And the 12th Century Priory has two nocturnal visitors – Sally the Witch and prior Cuthbert, whose apparition visits the choir stalls.

> Shadows in the Nave (The History Press) costs £14.99.