Traffic jam after 'ghost sighting'
Published on: 08/01/09 at 06:00:42 GMT Submitted by: ooosyadady

By Johnny Caldwell

This time of year is traditionally associated with high spirits as revellers welcome in another year.

However, a spirit of a different kind has been causing a bit of a commotion outside Coalisland in County Tyrone.

An apparent sighting of a ghost has led to crowds of people descending on the Brackaville area over the holidays.

"At one point, there was a line of up to 60 cars on the Mullaghmoyle Road with people trying to spot it," said Sinn Féin Councillor Desmond Donnelly.

"It wasn't just one night, it was going on for a week or so over the holidays. I'm not sure how it all started - I wouldn't be one for ghosts, but you know how this type of thing spreads.

"If you ask me, it's more likely to be a reflection of the moon on the river that flows through the area. Although the talk is that what was seen was in the shape of a person."

Pat Hughes, speaking at the Central Bar in Coalisland, said the sighting had certainly got people in the town talking.

"Everybody's been talking about it in the bar and it has also caught the imagination of young people," he said.

"It has got to the stage where it's a bit like a drive-in movie."

As with these sorts of things, rumours about what was or was not seen quickly spread. It was claimed the apparition was a woman who had lived locally.

Warren Coates of the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association (NIPRA) said he was aware of "previous paranormal activity" in the area.

"It related to a phantom female hitchhiker, but if anybody down there would like us to investigate this latest sighting, we'd only be too happy to help," he said.

Source http://news.bbc.co.uk