THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Things that go bump in the night - Rufford's ghosts?

Inside Out investigates ghost hunters in Lancashire, the dream home that turned into a nightmare, and the remarkable archive photos of Victorian Manchester.

Join Inside Out North West on Monday September 12 at 7.30pm on BBC One.

This week's stories:

Haunted Lancashire

Top psychic Derek Acorah explains why he believes the North West is haunted.

Derek also gives his tips on ghost hunting at Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire.

Discover what happens when the camera mists up during filming. Derek says it is the work of the spirits, but isn't it just a technical hitch?

Derek Acorah is rapidly becoming the UK's most well known TV psychic. He's clairaudient as well as clairvoyant.

He began his career as a footballer with Liverpool FC under Bill Shankley and USC Lion in Australia. Derek retired after a knee injury.

From soccer to spirits - Derek swopped goals for ghosts

He first noticed that he might have psychic skills as a child after meeting with his grandfather who died years before he was born.

From then on he says his grandmother, who was also a medium, realised he had inherited her gift and taught him most of what he knows today.

She also told him that everyone has a spiritual guide and Derek said he always knew that one day his would contact him.

After his divorce he was living alone and, although working as a full time spirit medium, he hadn't yet become clairaudient.

That all changed after he was meditating one night and heard a voice say "Hello Derek - I'm Sam!"

There was no one there. He quickly realised this was his first contact with his spiritual guide.

Spiritual guide

Derek first met Sam 2000 years ago when he was an Ethiopian boy whose family were murdered when their village was invaded.

Derek's village was popular with travellers and many passed through and were well known to local families - one called "Masumai" was very close to Derek and offered to be his guardian after the death of his parents.

Months passed and the two went all over the place, eventually they found themselves in an area unknown to Masumai.

The people weren't very friendly and they knew they had to move on.

Masumai asked Derek to get some wood so they could make a fire and sleep there for one night.

As Derek went off he remembers smelling fresh bread being baked. They hadn't eaten in days so he snook off and stole some.

Derek was caught, surrounded and murdered. Masumai came to his rescue but it was too late and Derek died in his arms.

Before he passed, Masumai told him not to be scared because one day he'd come back to a new life and that he would be by his side - guiding him.

Haunted home?

Since discovering his gift, Derek has been ghost hunting around the North West of England.

One of the places he has been investigating is Rufford Old Hall, one of Lancashire's finest 16th Century buildings, famed for its spectacular Great Hall.

It is rumoured that Shakespeare performed in this hall for the owner, Sir Thomas Hesketh, whose family Rufford remained for over 400 years.

Derek goes ghost hunting at Rufford Hall

The Hall is reputedly haunted by three ghosts - a "Gray Lady", a man dressed in Elizabethan clothes and Queen Elizabeth I.

The "Gray Lady" has been seen many times, usually by the main entrance or on the drive leading up to the house.

She is thought to be the ghost of Elizabeth Hesketh, a young woman who became seriously ill while her husband was at war overseas.

She vowed that she would not die before saying goodbye to him, but he never returned so she never got the chance.

The ghost of the man in Elizabethan costume has sometimes been seen near the huge fireplace in the Great Hall.

This is the spot where a secret chamber was later discovered - which it is thought was used to hide catholic priests from sight.

Queen Elizabeth I has been seen in the dining room, where she vanishes if anyone tries to approach her.

Also featured this week:

Dream home turns sour

The team investigates why one Cheshire couple's dream of buying a home in Spain turned into a nightmare.

After paying a Manchester company a down payment of £20,000, their home is still a building site.

Inside Out looks where things went wrong for the North West couple who dreamed of a new life in the sun.

Plus:

Victorian Manchester

Andy Johnson discovers archive photos taken secretly of people in Victorian Manchester by Britain's first undercover photographer.

Past times - uncovering a rich pictorial archive

Samuel Coulthurst left behind a unique legacy of his work in Salford.

Inside Out North West looks behind the camera at his remarkable visual record of Victorian Manchester.

The amazing photographs include city centre locations, pictures of men and women on Manchester's streets, and images of working people in Salford.

Watch Inside Out North West on Monday September 12 at 7.30pm on BBC One.