ARE there uninvited guests of a ghostly nature staying at an historic York hotel?

That is what a team of investigators hope to discover when they search for paranormal activity at the Dean Court Hotel, in Duncombe Place, tonight.

Equipment such as electromagnetic field meters, digital thermometers, dowsers and pendulums will help the experts uncover the truth behind some ghostly sightings that have been reported to hotel manager David Brooks over the years.

"Several guests have said their room had gone freezing cold and others have said things have moved about and been absolutely convinced they put their suitcases in the bathroom," said Mr Brooks. "One or two have seen apparitions but found it extremely difficult to describe a figure.

"It has all happened at random, we don't say to guests if you see something let us know."

Professional psychic medium Diana Jarvis and four other experts will look for the patterns that trigger factors in paranormal activity and report the findings in Vision magazine.

Diana said she had no knowledge of any sightings in the Dean Court Hotel. "I'm very excited about going to Dean Court," she said. "It's a lovely hotel, so close to the Minster, so close to history and it's known to be haunted although I have no idea what guests have seen in the past."

Electro magnetic frequency meters will measure fluctuations in electromagnetic frequency, which could suggest a spirit is using the energy to manifest.

Trigger objects such as coins or crosses will be placed on white paper on a flat surface in a place they could not possibly be disturbed. Should they have moved, it would suggest paranormal activity.

Mr Brooks said he would be delighted if spirits were discovered in his 200-year-old hotel.

"I very much believe in ghosts, you hear of so many incidences, far too many for them all to be rhetoric," he said. "It's just that we've yet to discover more about them. Having said that, if Tuesday is very quiet and they find nothing, I wouldn't mind at all."

Updated: 10:26 Tuesday, September 07, 2004