Hello there, I'm Rob Kirkup, ghost hunter and author. I was born in Ashington in 1979, I grew up in Fordley in North Tyneside and lived there until I was 26 when I bought a flat in Washington. I got married in 2008 and moved to Wallsend where I now live with my wife, my cocker Spaniel; Holly, and two cats; Hogan and Piper.

I'm your everyday bloke, work a 9-5 job, love playing and watching football, and also like going out. I watch a lot of telly and films, my favourite film is The Blues Brothers and favourite telly program has to be Auf Wiedersehen Pet. I also listen to loads of music, I like a variety of music from Oasis, to Eminem, to classic rock such as Aerosmith and Guns 'N' Roses, but my favourite album is Furious Angels by Rob Dougan.

A lot of people probably think that going out 'ghost hunting' might be a bit odd, although since the popularity of Most Haunted it seems to be more acceptable these days. So while other people may persue more common pastimes such as skateboarding, dogging, collecting Pogs, or chasing Eddie Stobart trucks down the A1 to find out what name it has written on the front, you'll find me in the middle of nowhere wandering around in the dark seeking the truth to a question that has been asked since man first walked the Earth - Do ghosts exist?

Why Do I Do This?

This is something I've been meaning to write since the site was born back in the summer of 2002, I think it's important you understand a bit about me, and my reasons for doing what I do before deciding what to make of the site and in particular the reports.

I've been interested in the paranormal since an early age, when I was around seven or eight my Nana used to take me to Fordley library every week to get out some books, I often used to loan the same four books over and over again about the paranormal. I have since bought two of them, 'Modern Mysteries of Britain' by Janet and Colin Bord, and 'The Encyclopdia of Ghosts and Spirits' by John and Jane Spencer. These books would scare the hell out of me, and I'd be terrified of going upstairs to bed after reading them for fear of something not of this Earth lurking in the shadows ready to jump out at me. They may have scared me but at the same time they opened my mind to the possibilty that there may be something to it all, there are too many strange happenings and sightings for there not to be an element of truth to it, and it's something we'll never understand, certainly not in our lifetime.

From that point on I knew that I wanted to know for myself if ghosts existed. Not necessarily know what they are or why they are, but just know that there is such a thing. On this site, I write up my reports and what I tell you is the truth. Sometimes nothing will happen and it will make for a duller report, but I'm not going to lie otherwise there's no point in me creating the site in the first place.

I'm not in it for fame and fortune, although I have been fortunate enough to land a book deal with the History Press for four books initially: Ghostly Northumberland, Ghostly Tyne and Wear, Ghostly County Durham, and Ghostly Cumbria. I've also carried out interviews for a number of radio stations, newspapers, and written a six page article for Paranormal Magazine.

Do I Believe in Ghosts?

Maybe. As you'll know if you've read the reports from the investigations I've experienced many strange things, the majority of them seemed to be paranormal, but there could always be a simple explanation for them. I've had a few experiences that I can't dismiss as easily, most notably the 'ghost' three of us saw at Edlingham Castle, the scream on the tape at The Castle Keep, and the one that really blew my mind - The ghost of Eric moving the curtain at Chillingham Castle.

I believe what I see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. Other groups take a more scientific approach, taking along a van full of hi-tech gear, digital thermometers, thermal imaging equipment and motion sensors, well that's great and one day perhaps I'll introduce them into my investigations. But, and it's a big but, what will it prove? A motion sensor goes off - was it a ghost? was it something else? Who knows? Is it proof? Well it might be a strange occurence but it wouldn't convince me that something paranormal had happened. If I brought a medium along and they picked up on names and events, maybe even got possessed, what would it prove? Nothing. They could have already known the names and history, and they could fake being possessed. They might be for real, but there'd always be an element of doubt. I've carried out investigations with nothing more than a torch and a camera and used my own senses to see what I can experience, if I see a ghost with my own eyes, or hear a whisper in my ear when no one else is around, that will be proof to me.

If I do see a ghost with my own eyes, or manage to communicate with a spirit and that spirit's reacts to us asking for something to happen, for example if i ask for a sign and something happens, then I ask for it to knock twice and it does. Then that means that spirits do exist, and they are intelligent, then that could means that there is an afterlife. Death isn't the end. That kind of realisation would make me question everything I currently believe and turn my life upside down. To be frank, if I could find that proof it would blow my mind.

How Does Ghosts of the North East Differ From Other Local 'Ghost Hunters'?

Good question, since I created this site lots of sites have sprung up all doing similar things. I'd like to think that perhaps I don't conform to what seems to be expected amongst these groups, my reports contain an element of humor, but what's wrong with that? I certainly don't take it any less seriously that any of the other groups. I simply try to make the reports more accessible, so people who have no interest in the subject can still enjoy them.

You'll also notice the majority of the investigations are carried out at outdoor locations, there are several reasons for this. Firstly they are massively overlooked by the other groups meaning that it's possibly you'll only ever read about them here, there are some fantastic outdoor locations in our region, battlefields, ruined castles, even churchyards and priories. They also require less organising meaning we can visit them at the drop of a hat. What's even better is that you can also visit them, if you fancy getting involved them get some friends together, read some reports, pick a place, and go.

Lots of the other groups charge to either go along on investigations or pay to join their team. This makes sense and it means the people who pay to go along are very interested, or they wouldn't put their hand in their pocket, it also gives the group more money to spend on equipment and pay to stay at better locations. I wouldn't do this for a number of reasons, not that there's anything wrong with it, but the people I take with me are all close friends, originally the team was a group of friends I met at University who I've known almost ten years- Andy, John and Kenco, however it became difficult for us all to get free time together so things went quiet for a while. Then a little while later a chat in the pub with friends I've known even longer turned to ghosts and everyone said they'd love to come on an investigation, so the following night we went to Winter's Gibbet, and from that day on we've never looked back. The current team includes my brother, and good friends I've now known for over fifteen years. The reason I choose to do this with friends rather that put together a team of people I hardly know is simple, I know they won't say they've seen something they haven't, I also think we've a good mix of skeptics, believers and open minded people.

I have spoke to quite a few people from other groups since GOTNE began and have never had a problem with a single person. I think the more groups we have getting out there and searching for the proof can only be a good thing. A lot of people from other groups have told me that they like my site, and I hope that any of them that have visited have liked the site too, if they haven't then that's up to them, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

What Does the Future Hold?

Well the new look site is a big change, but as far as the investigations go you should see a steady number of them from now on, there are some amazing locations lined up, some of which I've spent literally years researching.

There's also the release of my first three books;Ghostly Northumberland, Ghostly Tyne and Wear and Ghostly County Durham on sale right now. I'm extremely excited, and proud, that my books are out there being read by people right now. They were published by The History Press, the largest publisher of local history books in the UK. I'm working on 'Book IV' right now - Ghostly Cumbria, and I expect it to be available around May of next year. I've a few ideas lined up for the books that may follow that 'quadrilogy', but nothing concrete as of yet.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the site.

Ghosts of the North East - Investigating the Haunted North East since 2002