IN the 1970s cartoon film Scooby Doo, ghostly goings on were usually a ruse to scare people away from old hotels.

But the paranormal reputation of the Red Lion at Avebury has proved to be a veritable gold mine.

Since the pub featured on satellite TV show Most Haunted, the four bed and breakfast rooms have been booked solid.

During that show presenter Yvette Fielding managed to stay on her own in one of the rooms for just a few minutes before running out claiming that she could feel children's hands in her hair.

Now a group of self-styled para-normal investigators from Swindon have decided to put the Red Lion's reputation, as one of the most haunted pubs in Britain, to the test.

Twelve members of Ghostseekers spent the night in the Red Lion on Saturday along with a variety cameras, tape-recorders and other measuring devices.

They also brought three mediums with them and a film crew from cable TV company Galaxi TV.

Ghostseekers was founded by a group of like-minded individuals who wanted to check out para-normal goings on.

It currently has six investigations underway, including two at secret locations in Swindon.

Founder Chris Booth started the group because, like many of the other members, he has had first hand experience of the paranormal.

Chris, 38, a telecoms technician from Swindon, said: "I've had things happen to me which I can't explain.

"I've seen pictures move off the wall in front of me and then drop to the ground.

"Recently on holiday in an old house in Wales my dog started going mad and then we saw a huge shadow move around in front of us it went so cold I could see my breath and it was the middle of summer."

The Red Lion has its own rich mythology of ghostly goings on.

Phantom children are said to run up and down the corridors, a Victorian woman in a flowery dress is reputed to have been seen in the bar and staff complain of objects moving around of their own accord.

The most famous legend is of an unfaithful 17th century wife who was murdered and dumped in the building's well and deputy manager Graham Owen, 25, said he has had his fair share of spooky experiences since starting work at the Red Lion.

He said: "I've seen things that shouldn't have happened.

"Doors have been blocked from the inside by boxes twice in the space of ten minutes.

"One of the girls who works here was changing one of the rooms, she left it for a short while and when she came back the two beds had moved to the other side of the room.

"She refuses to go back in there now."

Following the programme Most Haunted, which was screened on the Living Channel, Graham says he had dozens of enquiries.

He said: "People love the fact that it's haunted after the programme we had people booked in every night of the week."

On Saturday night the Ghost-seekers team went between the four guest rooms and the rest of the pub with video cameras and electro- motive force detectors.

They didn't find any manifestations but they did photograph and film orbs.

These unexplained tennis-ball size balls of light are thought by some to be the pre-cursors of a ghostly manifestation.

Usually invisible to the naked eye, they show up on digital photographs and during Saturday night's experiments on video.

Ghostseekers refuse to speculate on an explanation for these things which apparently go bump in the night.

Instead, they say in their mission statement: "There are differing theories in this field as there are in any.

"Therefore until we have all the facts and the evidence that we can gather no theory is the best theory."