Despite its reputation as a quiet, leafy corner of England, Hertfordshire seems to have had more than its fair share of hauntings over the years.

In the early 1970s, Becket’s School in Bovingdon relocated to an old priory. Students soon reported sightings of a phantom monk walking across the garden before disappearing into the music room chimney.

Headmaster David Gabb gave permission to a group of students to investigate the haunting on the condition that it was done as a serious scientific experiment.

READ MORE: South west Hertfordshire's top six ghosts

On Halloween, 1973, thermometers were set along the monk’s regular route. It was three degrees above freezing that night, but the thermometers in the garden read minus two, and in the music room the temperature fell to minus seven.

Artist Hubert von Herkomer built a film studio in the garden of his home in Bushey.

The house was named Lululand after his second wife, Eliza Lulu Griffiths, who died in 1885. When von Herkomer died in 1914, the studio was taken over by the British Actors Film Company.

Lulu’s ghost was apparently seen drifting through film sets, and a terrifying shriek was heard near the dressing rooms. The house and studio were demolished in 1939.

On the Watford bypass at Kings Langley, several motorists driving at night have been startled when their headlights illuminated the wreckage of a crashed car.

However, when they left their cars to go to the aid of the victims of the crash, they found the road empty.

Moor Park Mansion in Rickmansworth was built by the illegitimate son of King Charles II and was later owned by naval commander Lord George Anson. Anson hired Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to landscape the gardens and build a temple in the grounds.

The temple was destroyed in a storm in the early twentieth century, but Anson’s ghost can apparently still be seen strolling where once it stood.

The area around the Free School in Church Street, Watford, is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teacher who died in a fire at the school whilst trying to save the children.

The bridle path in Watford from Station Road to the railway bridge in St Albans Road was once known as Featherbed Lane. It is believed that some unfortunate soul hanged themselves here, and locals have reported all kinds of unearthly noises. Many believe this to be a place where troubled spirits gather.

The accolade of most haunted place in Britain has been much disputed. Once, that title went to Borley Rectory in Essex.

The rectory caught the nation’s attention when the story was reported in the Daily Mirror and investigated by noted paranormal investigator Harry Price. The ghost of a nun, headless horsemen and a phantom carriage are just some of the incidents reported at Borley. It was destroyed in a fire in 1939.

One of the places now vying for the title of most haunted place in Britain is the Ancient Ram Inn in Gloucestershire. The hotel is said to have been the location of many sinister events, include suicide, black magic rituals and child sacrifice.

Pluckley village in Kent is apparently the most haunted village in Britain. With a population of just over 1,000, it is said to be home to 15 ghosts, including a highwayman killed in a sword fight and a hanged schoolmaster.

Ghosts never fail to capture imaginations and many supposed hauntings have made headlines over the years.

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, Norfolk, became famous in 1936 when Country Life magazine claimed to have captured its image in a photograph. The ghost is so-named because of the brown brocade dress it is claimed she wears. Many claim that the image was faked, either using double exposure or by putting grease on the lens in the shape of a figure. Nothing has yet been proved.

The Enfield poltergeist case made headlines in 1977. The strange activity centred around 11-year-old Janet, and included unexplained noises, furniture moving across rooms and objects thrown through the air.

In 2010, Watford had its own haunting scandal. The Ramada Hotel made headlines in national newspapers when two terrified guests claimed to have seen the ghost of a crying girl in their mirror. Staff were sceptical, but the couple had taken a photograph as evidence.

The room was closed off and hundreds of pounds lost as the hotel turned guests away until the mystery was solved. However, it soon emerged that the photo was a hoax, created using an iPhone app.