It might seem like a juvenile question - asking if you believe in ghosts - but there are a surprising number of folk who are absolutely convinced that at some point in their lives they've been touched by the cold finger of paranormal activity.

At the time of writing, illusionist Derren Brown in his Channel Four TV series Derren Brown Investigates is looking at supernatural and psychic claims, presumably from the point of view of someone who knows that magic isn't really magic, merely illusion. But are the nay-sayers always right? Are the believers simply deluded? Highly-strung? Is there always a rational explanation for everything?

A perfectly sensible friend of this Editor¹ tells the chilling tale of when she once stayed the night with a girlfriend in a big old posh house. One of the bedrooms they were staying in was reputed to be haunted by the ghost of another young female. The friend's girlfriend woke up the next morning with her hair in plaits. Nobody could explain why.

This week it's time to get spooky. Or is it merely time to get real? Over to you.

• Have you honestly ever seen a ghost? If so, can you tell us what you saw and where?

• Have you, or anyone else you know, experienced poltergeist activity? Are you aware of the reputed association between early-pubescent teenagers and supposed poltergeists?

• Do you know anyone who's had their house exorcised?

• Might there be a rational science-based reason behind ghost sightings that we don't understand yet? Could buildings or places, given the right atmospheric conditions, be able to somehow 'record' events that happened in their past?

• Are you aware of any ghost stories or sightings that you have poo-pooed only to witness them yourselves?

• Or is any talk of the 'supernatural' or 'paranormal' just nonsense? Are you a total sceptic? Or might there just be something out there that we don't yet understand?

Oh, and... Boo!²