By Tim Binnall
A ghost hunting group hoping to conduct investigations at a pair of historic buildings in Ireland will have to search for spirits elsewhere after community officials rejected their request. The bizarre bit of bureaucracy reportedly came about after the County Antrim Paranormal Research Association asked to be granted access to two 19th century homes, known as Sentry Hill and Clotworthy House, which have since been transformed into a museum and an arts center, respectively. After receiving the go ahead from a committee responsible for overseeing the sites, the proposed ghost hunts were swiftly squashed when the local government council voted on the matter.
At a meeting to decide on the request, council member Billy Webb offered a rather interesting reason for why he took issue with such a ghost hunt, musing that "it is one thing to have a paranormal investigation in a public building, but it is quite another thing to have them in buildings that have previously been a private home." Noting that this was the case with Sentry Hill and Clotworthy, he expressed concern that "there may be relations to those who previously lived there still in our community," and, presumably, such residents may not be too thrilled about their ancestors' spirits being 'hunted' by the paranormal investigators.
Webb also wondered if people would be dissuaded from going to the buildings, in their current incarnation, if "something is detected" during the course of the ghost hunt. As such, he motioned for the ghost hunt request to be rejected, which happened when a subsequent vote was held. A similar fate befell a paranormal group in England back in 2021, when they asked for access to a historic building and were rebuffed by local officials who were concerned that the organization might stir up some spirits that would have preferred to be left to rest. Fortunately, considering the rich history of the area where the County Antrim Paranormal Research Association investigates, they likely won't have to look too far to find another possibly haunted building to do their work.