A PARANORMAL researcher believes the truth is out there and aims to open Marlow's own X-Files as he steps up an investigation into strange and spooky activities in the area.

Richard Parsons, 39, a former pupil at Sir William Borlase's School, is on the hunt for reports of ghouls, ghosts and little green men in Marlow, Bourne End, Cookham and the surrounding towns.

Mr Parsons, who grew up in High Wycombe, said he is more a Scully than a Mulder, open to the possibility of paranormal but sceptical.

“I'm a sceptic going on a believer. I'm more interested in the scientific aspect of it.

“ I have always been interested in the paranormal since I was a young child growing up in High Wycombe,” he said.

“My father always used to tell all the local ghost stories and I liked watching the various television programmes but did not believe them and it just progressed from there.”

Mr Parsons, who has family in Marlow but now lives in Coventry, wants to uncover the lesser known yarns about the unexplained.

He said:“My interest is particularly in the local paranormal, there's a limited number of stories you can glean off the internet.

“Really I'm more interested in lesser known things such as people living in a haunted house – they are probably the most interesting stories.”

He said one of the theories investigators have about ghostly sightings is that there was a “heightened emotion” surrounding the death, which left an imprint on the building for people only detectable by certain people with an extra sense.

Bisham Abbey is probably the most famous location for hauntings, particularly the tale of Lady Hoby in the 15th century.

Mr Parsons said: “She's said to have bricked up her son, he died of starvation and she's forever haunting the place.”

Many ghostly enthusiasts have recorded photographs of light anomalies, footsteps and voices.

The Sherlock Holmes of the strange said he once witnessed a glass seemingly spinning of its own accord on a hotel table in Dudley when filming a communication board.

He said: “I'm not so closed minded that there's nothing you can't explain, I think there's lots of things that happen which we just don't understand at the moment.”

Mr Parsons presents an occasional online radio show about the subject on Marlow FM. To let him know your experiences e-mail him at hauntedmarlowshow@hotmail.co.uk.