Woman creates maps of Yorkshire's 'haunted' sites

A woman who has mapped out Yorkshire's spookiest areas said she wanted to give people a chance to explore the county through folklore and ghost stories.

Sheffield-based artist Sian Ellis described her maps as "a Lonely Planet guide for tourists interested in the strange and unusual".

The maps feature playful illustrations of folklore, ghost stories and interesting sites such as Todmorden's UFO sightings and the haunting of Treasurer's House in York.

"There is such a wealth of stories across Yorkshire and they are all so different," she said.

Ms Ellis, who has been drawing for nearly 30 years, said she had always had a fascination with "all things spooky".

"It's not just haunted stories, it's folklore, it's customs," she said.

"There are these stories everywhere and they are part of our heritage and culture, you just have to know where to find them."

The maps were illustrated by Ms Ellis and accompanied by a zine that explained the background of the story and included the addresses of the map's locations.

"I wanted it to be something that people can take with them that would help you learn a bit more about where you are," she said.

"I love going places and I love knowing these stories and my idea of a souvenir when I go away is to buy a book on local folklore," Ms Ellis, 38, said.

One of her favourite stories is about the Carbrook Hall Starbucks in Sheffield.

"It's in an old hall that dates back to the 12th century, it was a really important building in the civil war and it used to be a pub," she said.

"For years there's been stories of people hearing babies crying at night and coffee bags throwing themselves across the room.

"When you think of a haunted house, you think of some spooky, old building - you'd never think Starbucks, it's not on your list of what's going to be haunted."

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