Spooky goings-on at Cornwall's only surviving tin streaming mill will be the subject of an overnight "ghost watch" vigil by a team of experts in the paranormal on September 21-22.
From dusk on the Friday, 15 members of the Paranormal Research Organisation (PRO) will take up residence in Tolgus Mill at Treasure Park, Redruth.
It follows a series of eerie experiences this summer at a complex that dates back some 200 years - when tin, fish and copper were Cornwall's staple industries.
Tolgus, now a scheduled ancient monument, remained a working streaming mill - processing waste discarded by the mines or other mills - until the collapse of the tin price in 1986.
It is now undergoing major restoration and refurbishment as a visitor attraction, and in recent weeks staff have reported unexplained incidents such as the ancient water wheel apparently starting up and stopping by itself.
Doors have closed with no draughts and no-one near them and staff also claim to have heard footstep movements in sections of the complex which have been found to be empty.
"The water wheel experience, which has happened more than once, is particularly puzzling as it normally won't move without the water pumps being switched on first for ten to 15 minutes," said Treasure Park owner Mike Scragg.
"A lot of things have gone bump' for no apparent reason. There is definitely something spooky about the place - we can definitely feel it when we are in there - and I suppose it is not that surprising, really, bearing in mind just how much history there is here."
The PRO team will divide into three or four separate groups, gathering information in separate areas and avoiding the risk of auto suggestion if they remained all together.
Armed with infra-red equipment, sensors, cameras and electro-magnetic field readers, the PRO team will gather any evidence for input into a full report, with findings and photographs, that they will subsequently present to Treasure Park.
Tolgus includes one of the world's last surviving examples of a round table tin extraction device, dating from the early 1900s and used for separating heavy tin-bearing sands from the lighter waste material, aided by continual flow of water across the surface.
A century ago Tolgus was one of many hundreds of stream works, with 15 in this valley alone All have since vanished and, prior to the 1980s, Tolgus was the only surviving tin streaming mill with a record of production unbroken for over 200 years, producing over 40 tons of tin concentrate a year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article