Staff at Kennaway House work in presence of friendly teen ghost

SPOOKY goings-on have been uncovered at Kennaway House after staff revealed they’ve been working alongside a friendly teenage ghost.

An apparition of a young girl has made her presence felt at the Regency Sidmouth mansion – by holding regular conversations with one visitor.

The spirit, who sports a long dress, is often seen sitting in the corner of a room.

Late-night paranormal activity at the popular Coburg Road venue has also included lifts ‘impossibly’ operating themselves.

“When I’m up here on my own, especially in the evenings, I get a feeling on the back of my neck that I’m being watched,” manager Liz Halls told the Herald.

The ghostly girl, who answers to the name of Charlotte, has been spotted so often that Kennaway managers Liz and David Leach have nick-named the room after her.

The space is formally titled after legendary musician Gordon Langford.

The house – which dates back to 1805 and has historical links to a lady named Charlotte – was restored in 2008 and workmen at the time reported seeing a girl in the same spot.

A regular user of the room, who does not want to be identified, has given Liz and David a vivid description of a young lady in a long dress and with ringlets in her hair.

Liz said the woman had repeatedly seen the girl sitting in the corner of the room taking a rag out of her hair – an old-fashioned method of curling locks.

“She’s seen her several times – a friendly young girl - and talks to her,” said Liz.

“I’ve never seen anything myself but I have often felt something. It’s not threatening at all, it’s a kind presence.

“When builders were renovating the property a couple of them said they’d seen a young female. What people say now tallies with what’s been said before. David and I call the room where she sits the Charlotte Room.”

David added: “I haven’t seen her, but I’ve been aware of her presence. I always talk to her when I’m here until the early hours of the morning.

“The lift has been going up and down by itself before – and the engineers said this was impossible.”

Sir James Amyatt, a prominent landowner in the area in the late 1700s and early 1800s, had daughters named Charlotte and Harriet.

It was through Harriet’s marriage that house came to be built, and through Charlotte’s that the Kennaway family, a rising local dynasty, came to possess it.