In nearly every old bingo club I have been in there are stories, particularly from the longer serving staff, of ghosts and spirits taking residence within the building. One of the most prominent stories I heard of was the projectionist, Alfie, that had haunted the Beacon Bingo club in Loughborough since falling down the stair many many decades ago. Another story surrounded the death of a young girl that had fallen from the Gods at the former Hippodrome Bingo club in Derby. None of these stories have any real hard evidence and tend to be stories past down from former generations of staff aimed at spooking the new staff. However, at a Mecca Bingo club in Rosehill, ghost-hunters themselves have been spooked as they have tried to contact the spirits at the site. It appears there may be some evidence of a spooked bingo club!

The stories of the Grey Man at the Mecca Bingo would appear to be more than just made up stories. The Ghost Club, had reached agreement with the management at the Mecca Bingo club to open the doors of the grade II listed 1930’s building after customers had gone home. The team was reportedly scared out of their wits while conducting a séance – an attempt to communicate with the spirits. The aim of the after hours bingo session was to get to the bottom of the mystery, however it seems the attempt has caused further problems or at least questions.

The Ghost Club tried to contact the ghost using a crystal ball, asking a number of questions, which was followed by noises which they believed to be the ghost.

Laura Teakle, who works at the club, suggested that she could identify most of the noises the team heard, such as creaking doors, however in the area of the Circle Area there were noises she couldn’t explain.

She commented: "Last time I came out with the group a door slammed behind me, and this time I heard unexplained noises. I'm usually quite cynical about these things."

During a session in April this year the group were contacted by a former customer of the bingo club who was believed to have committed suicide in 1965 and the group believe again she was trying to speak with them.

Laura said: "I saw a bright light move quickly in an arc shape as I sat in the top row looking downwards go across the wall on my right. Several of us saw this from different areas of the auditorium. Apparently on one of them if you zoom in you can make out a face."

While the group had used a crystal ball in this séance the group had previously used a planchet; a wooden board with a pen in the middle. The group members rest their fingers on the edge of the board and the spirit moves the board around to spell out answer to the questions.

So is it really a spooked bingo club, or just an old building that stirs the imagination? Well no doubt the Ghost Club will be keen to extend their studies and the bingo club management will be keen take advantage of the free publicity.

Maybe they would like to invite someone from Bingosupermarket for the next graveyard shift?