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16 Phonebox Magazine | October 2025Ghost hunter in search for spooky storiesLocal author wants to chart phantom sightings across MK.Have you seen a ghost, felt a presence or heard something that went bump in the night in Milton Keynes?If so, horror writer and parapsychologist Steph Lay would like to hear from you. The ghost-hunter is planning a book on spooky stories from across Milton Keynes and wants to talk to residents or visitors who have had a creepy or unexplained experience in the city.She has a map of the 114 grid squares that make up the city%u2019s landscape and wants to fi nd a story of a haunting or paranormal experience from every one of them. She already has more than 20 and has a website where people can share their stories with her.%u201cThis will be about people%u2019s genuine true stories and the accounts and experiences they have had,%u201d said Steph, of Crownhill, MK. %u201cI will write commentary around them, but the stories themselves are all true as told to me.Steph says that although people write Milton Keynes off as a %u2018concrete city%u2019, it has much more to off er and adds that modern buildings are just as likely to be haunted as crumbling old mansion houses.%u201cThe buildings I am hearing about are the last places you would expect to fi nd hauntings,%u201d said Steph. %u201cI say the paranormal can be anywhere, but isn%u2019t it interesting that it is even emerging somewhere as modern and high-tech as Milton Keynes?%u201dAlthough she%u2019s always looking out for her own fi rst spectral experience, Steph says she has never seen a ghost herself %u2013 but she would love to.%u201cIt would be fascinating,%u201d she said. %u201cThe reason for starting this was because my husband passed away a couple of years ago, and I was really expecting to hear from him from the other side. %u201cWe had conversations about %u2018whoever is the fi rst to go will send a signal%u2019, that sort of thing. But he never did, and my quest for this started by understanding if that was something about me.%u201dStony Stratford is the most haunted place in the area, according to Steph%u2019s research, but the creepiest story she%u2019s ever heard is from Great Holm, where two children new to the area waved at a group in a playground, but as they went over to talk to them, they vanished.%u201cTwo children looking for playmates but finding youngsters from a completely diff erent era,%u201d said Steph. %u201cThat story has always haunted me.%u201dMore details: https://cityofsecrets.blog. 01234 918 629 / 07946 542 162 nagatandooriolney@gmail.comCLASSIC MENU %u2013 %u00a350 PER PERSONPoppadoms & ChutneysMixed StartersMain & Side Dish of Your Choice*Rice & NaanCoffee & Ice CreamINDIAN ROAST MENU %u2013 %u00a390 PER COUPLEIncludes Indian-style Roast Chicken or Leg of LambPlus all Classic Menu itemsTandooriNAGATandooriNAGA A FESTIVE FEAST WITH FLAVOURCelebrate Christmas Day with an Indian-Bangladeshi TwistAvailable Christmas Day Only: 11am %u2013 5pm. (We%u2019re also open on Boxing Day from 1pm - 8pm)Excellent service and hospitality %u2013 just read our reviews! 4.9 Stars: Google / 5 Stars: Trip AdvisorUNIT 3, STANLEY COURT, WESTON RD, OLNEY, MK46 5NH OPENING HOURS: MON, WED, THUR, FRI 5-11PM | SAT 3-11PM | SUN 3-10PM | CLOSED ON TUESDAYS%u00a310 DEPOSIT REQUIRED PER PERSON FOR CHRISTMAS DAY BOOKINGS 20% DISCOUNT ON COLLECTION ORDERS OVER %u00a330. NOT AVAILABLE ON CHRISTMAS DAY