Halloween has spurred a new investigation into English sporting venues said to be haunted by ghosts, from renowned football stadiums to a famous race track.

St. Mary's Stadium

Southampton's home ground has drawn reports of moving objects, shadowy figures, disembodied voices and sudden cold spots from fans and staff.

Witnesses claim a woman in white has appeared walking straight across the pitch during matches.

The stadium was constructed over an ancient Anglo-Saxon burial site.

During a winless period in 2001, the club believed a curse was at work and hired a pagan white witch named Cerridwen "DragonOak" Connelly.

Connelly diagnosed that angry spirits, upset about their 7th-century resting place, were causing the bad luck.

She performed a clearing ritual to appease and banish the restless entities.

Southampton's next match ended in victory, leading manager Gordon Strachan to joke that the witch could take over training for two weeks so he could play golf.

CorpAcq Stadium

Formerly the Salford City Stadium and then the AJ Bell Stadium, name changes did not deter its unwelcome visitors.

Night-shift workers report a shift in atmosphere when Salford Red Devils rugby league and Sale Sharks rugby union fans leave the ground.

Stadium CCTV captured an unexplained, fast-moving misty anomaly sprinting across the pitch late at night when the gates were locked.

Poltergeists are said to disturb the stadium's lifts between empty floors in the middle of the night.

Security guards have repeatedly heard heavy footsteps echoing behind them through empty hallways.

Brooklands

Brooklands is believed to house the spectral resident Percy Lambert, the driver who first reached 100 miles in one hour in February 1913.

Lambert was killed months later on Halloween when a rear tyre burst and he was thrown from his car while attempting the record at the Surrey race track.

His ghost is reported walking the grounds in full racing attire.

Staff claim phantom cigar smoke near Members' Hill and the clubhouse, when no one is smoking.

Workers and security staff near the Railway Straight, Test Hill, and old factory sheds have heard roaring vintage engines, screeching tyres, seen a floating black mist, and smelled old fuel.

Stadium of Light

Sunderland's famous ground is said to be haunted after staff and players claimed to see a shadowy figure lurking around the stadium.

In 2005, backroom staff and two physiotherapists reported something moving through dimly lit corridors.

Players Stephen Elliot and Marcus Stewart confirmed witnessing a mysterious apparition that frightened the squad during their promotion push.

Local folklore suggests the ghost is a notorious 18th-century recluse and ship-wrecker called Spottee, who lured vessels onto the rocky Wearside coast near Whitburn.

Harborne Cricket Club

The Birmingham venue's haunted story centers on a viral photograph of a suspected phantom spectator.

In 2014, retired groundsman Trevor Townsend captured a mobile photo of the new groundsman sweeping the wicket.

The image inexplicably shows a shadowy figure wearing a hat and long coat near the sight screens.

The entity is widely believed to be Reverend Edward "Moses" Roberts, vicar of the adjacent St Peter's Church in Harborne between 1858 and 1891.

In life, Roberts was a country gentleman and avid cricket fan, regularly watching weekend matches at the 1874-built ground from a tree-lined avenue that bordered the club.

Stamford Bridge

Chelsea's home is said to have its own friendly ghost, the "Smiling Man."

Fans and stadium staff have reported glimpses of a solitary, grinning figure sitting quietly in the stands, most often during floodlit night matches.

The appearance is viewed as a good-luck omen by those who spot him.

Late-night workers blame the "Smiling Man" for classic minor poltergeist phenomena, including doors opening and closing on their own in empty concourses and stadium lighting flickering without mechanical cause.

One wonders if the smile has been wiped off his face given Chelsea's current form.