I had tried to work in the newsroom alone before - usually before attending a town council meeting late on a Monday evening - and it was never particularly comfortable.

In the day, the office buzzes with energy from caffeine fuelled staff and light, but at night, an oppressive feeling of being watched takes over.

My final attempt - a winter night in early 2019 - I busily typed at my keyboard. My colleagues had left over an hour before and all the lights in the building other than in the newsroom and on the landing outside were shut off.

As the office went past 6pm, I checked the time - still an hour to the council meeting. The darkness from the other rooms started to bleed into the newsroom. I remained determined - at this point - to stay put to save money rather than going to a coffee shop for the remaining time.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end - I know I am not alone. I feel I am being observed. I double check... triple check... that the electric heater is still on next to my desk.

On paper, all is fine - I turn some music on YouTube and continue trying to work. Tapping away at the keyboard again, a figure becomes apparent in the neighbouring sales office. I jump backwards, my eyes wide and my heart fighting to leave my chest.

In a moment of either curiosity or idiocy, I decide the best decision is to turn the other lights on. I crept towards the sales office, my eyes fixed on the figure. I was sure I could see two reflective eyes staring back at me.

My gaze locked with the unblinking stare of the figure, I continue walking forwards before slamming my hand on the light switch... it’s the electricity box and a coat left in the office. After a deep sigh of relief, I turn the light back off, tightly close the door between the two offices, and sit back at my desk before laughing at myself.

Going back to my work, I hear footsteps in the abandoned office above me. I pause the music... surely, much like the electricity box, it is just the beat vibrating around the room. In the thick silence, the footsteps run across the floor above me.

I sit and stare at the ceiling in horror - I know there is nobody else with me here. I hear papers and old chairs moving before hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs - on the other side of the wall from the newsroom.

At this point, I decide that I’m quite happy to go to a coffee shop or go for a winter evening walk around Brecon. I didn’t want to wait to see who was joining me that night.

I threw everything in my bag before doing a quick light check, running down the stairs to the main door - I never run - and locking it behind me.

Truthfully, I find it unsurprising that The Brecon & Radnor Express building is haunted as it dates back to the Georgian era with stories such as a former reporter dying on the stairs and as it is packed with newspapers full of history including life, death and emotion.

You might be thinking “now come on Ariane, we all know ghosts are make-believe from ancient times of superstition or for scaring children”.

To be fair, I wouldn’t blame you for taking this stance - I believe I was born into a haunted house and that I have experienced other hauntings since - I think this is partly where I find my fascination with the supernatural, horror and folklore.

If I was braver, I think I would have been a paranormal investigator, however something that my experiences have taught me is that it’s best not put yourself into these situations.... and I have learned that I am a bit of a wimp compared to the brave facade I put on while critiquing horror movie victims.

As Halloween is officially here, it seemed only right to look at spooky stories from around Powys - some legends or online rumours, others sent in by readers.

First on the list looks at Powys beauty sport which is popular with nature and water-based sports enthusiasts.

A lot of legends surround Llangorse Lake - including that of ancient buildings lying underneath the water [which are thought to be untrue] as well as an Afnac - more commonly known as a lake monster - which goes by the name of Gorsey.

While legends say that King Arthur killed the last Afnac at Llyn Barfog in Snowdonia centuries ago, it doesn’t seem to mention Gorsey - rumoured to be a monstrous creature which hunts anyone who falls or swims in its lake.

The last report of an incident with the territorial beast was in the 1999 when a water skier had an apparent close encounter with Gorsey leaving him with a nasty bite mark on his foot - it is thought that the monster took a bite out of its victim before diving back down to the depths of the lake to hide.

Llangorse Lake boat worker Adam Thorn said that, while he has encountered some strange thing around the lake, he has not encountered the lake monster.

He said: “I’ve never actually seen Gorsey, but the most recent suspected encounter was in the 1990s when a water skier got a flesh wound on the lake. We’ve all heard the stories about.”

Llangorse lake - pictured above - is also home to the only crannog in Wales - and England for that matter - which is a man-made island in the middle of the lake which is estimated to have been constructed in 916AD. It is thought that it was probably constructed by the King of Brycheiniog.

Adam said that he and others who have been at the lake late in the evenings have heard a woman wailing across the water.

He said: “There’s a wailing woman who you can hear when the waters very still and it’s quiet in the nights when there’s no-one else around.

“I stay late around the lake in the summer with friends and we do thinks like stargazing as well as hanging out by the lake, and we’ve heard this woman wailing coming across the water.

“It’s a weird one really because there was an old settlement that used to stand on the crannog. It’s also where the Mercian Army invaded and captured the Queen of Brycheiniog. I’ve tried to work it out and I think it might be that, or maybe a woman who lost her husband or child in war in ancient times.”

When asked about his reaction to the wailing woman, Adam said: “It’s very creepy - it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and it feels weird, but it’s good.”

As well as Gorsey and stories deriving from history, there are other legends surrounding areas of mid Wales such as a wizard who allegedly haunts the canal path between Llangynidr and Crickhowell, a mythical spectral black dog with red eyes known as a gwyllgi in Clyro, and creepy phantom funerals in Llangattock known as Toili which said to predict a local death,.

Another piece of Llangattock-based folklore - according to the Paranormal Database - says that every year on the eve of midsummer, Satan emerges and spends time dancing with the local fairies around a clump of trees.

It was said that a field above Llangattock Park on the hillside bank of the canal known as Cae Cefn Cythraul - The field of the Devil’s Ridge - was home to the clump of trees haunted by the devil was well as Tylwyth Teg - Welsh fairies - who resembled miniature people with tiny horses and dogs.

An unusual supernatural story from mid Wales comes from Abbey Cwmhir near Llandrindod Wells when an Australian history enthusiast, who claimed to be an “avid follower of the Welsh kings” took a stone belonging to the abbey’s 13th century gritstone walls in 2017.

However the remorseful fan posted the stone with an unsigned letter back to the old abbey as they claimed to have experienced “the most awful luck” since taking the small rock.

In a card to the abbey, the Australian fan said: “I am so sorry for taking, borrowing, stealing this piece of the old Abbey Cwmhir. I have been an avid follower of the Welsh Kings and their history so I took this rock.

“Ever since I have had the most awful luck as if Llewellyn himself was angry with me. So I am sending it back. I will not leave my name or address, just a heartfelt sorry from an Australian fan.”

Trustees from the Abbey framed the stone with the note at the time and put it on display in the Exhibition Room at Home Farm, provided by Cadw, next to the ruins of the original Abbey.

Also featured in The Brecon & Radnor Express in recent years isthe alleged ghost caught on camera at the 13th century castle tower of the Castle Hotel by then supermarket worker Louie Evans on his iPhone in Brecon in 2018, as well as what was thought to be a ghost sighting at the old Mid Wales Hospital which later was discovered to be a Halloween mask in the window.

Another haunted hotspot in the area include Tretower Court near Crickhowell - a 14th century manor house with a ruined castle tower which is dated back to medieval times.

Tretower Court, which featured on the 2000s hit TV show Most Haunted, is said to be home to various ghosts - with one of the most notable spirits being the White Lady who can apparently be seen walking along the balcony and across the courtyard, as well as looking out to Chepstow.

It is thought that she is waiting for her husband Roger Vaughan to come home who died after being captured during the War of the Roses.

One of the most famous hauntings in the area however, comes Brecon’s Heol Fanog - which became known as Hellfire Farm after the story of one family’s spiritual torment rose to fame in 2018.

Dubbed the Welsh Amityville as well as Wales answer to the infamous Enfield Haunting, the old farmhouse was shared on in a Channel 4 TV series called True Horror which looked at the terror faced by Liz Sanders, her then husband Bill Rich and their children. The family lived at the old farmhouse for six years in which time they claimed they were tormented by supernatural forces.

As can be seen in the Channel 4 production, it started with unusually high electricity bills before the children start to see the figure of an old woman while they were playing in the attic.

Soon after, Bill’s personality began to change as he became more obsessed with his artwork and spent more time with his paintings in his workshop.

With terrifying descriptions of doors opening before skeletal hands slammed them shut and dark hooded figures stood at the foot of their bed, the couple eventually called a baptist minister to help them exorcise the property..

Another of the areas most famous hauntings is of course Craig Y Nos Castle - pictured right - which is situated near Pen-y-Cae and is a beautiful wedding venue by day but offering frightful encounters by night.

The Victorian Gothic castle is known as the most haunted castle in Wales as it has various spirits wandering its old halls which are steeped in history.

The former home of the 19th century opera star Adelina Patti - one of the world’s most famous at the time - before later becoming a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients..

Another hotspot to have been featured on Most Haunted, the castle attracts ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts from around the globe hoping to hear footsteps, the creaking stage or get a glimpse at the former celebrities like Adelina Patti.