In 1879 there were two deaths at Citadel Station on the same day.

One was of a man who fell to his death while repairing the roof. Ghost monitors have sensed something at the exact spot where he died.

There have also been sightings of a headless man on Platform Eight, a veiled lady stalking the corridors, a boy with a little dog and a middle-aged man pointing at something.

As with almost any old building, there are tales of strange goings-on at the station. So six times a day paranormal investigators from Cumbrian Ghost Hunts descend into the Undercroft – the warren of old rooms beneath the station – to look for and record any supernatural happenings. Their next visit will be on Saturday night.

“It’s not like Most Haunted on TV,” insists Chris Gurney of the group. “It’s a lot more controlled.

“We set up CCTV and high-tech equipment like electromagnetic field detectors. We also have a medium with us, who is able to communicate and pass messages on.

“There’s no trickery used. If nothing happens, nothing happens.”

Chris’s day job is with the ambulance service, and he first got interested in ghost-hunting through watching Most Haunted. “Then I went on my first ghost hunt at Haig Pit in Whitehaven, and it went from there.”

The group’s investigations have taken them to Carlisle Castle, the Theatre Royal in Workington and Dalton Castle near Barrow, but Citadel Station is a regular venue for them.

Chris draw a distinction between “ghosts” and “spirits”. Ghosts, he says, are images left behind by someone’s energy after they die, and can be seen by some of us but cannot be communicated with.

Spirits are those trapped between this world and the next, and who make their presence felt through noises or smells. “They may be people with ‘unfinished business’ here,” he says. “People have heard footsteps in the station, or noticed the smell of tobacco.”

But he does point out: “We do look for a rational explanation first. If someone feels a cold breeze, for example, we check first for any draughts.”

Of course many are dismissive of stories of ghosts and spirits and Chris accepts: “Some people are more receptive than others.

“But we welcome sceptics. Anyone is welcome on an investigation as long as they come with an open mind.”

Places on Saturday are fully booked but details of forthcoming hunts will be posted on the group’s Facebook page.