Photo of ghosts taken at former Working Men's club in York?

The picture was published on Rightmove by Ashtons Estate Agents as part of the listing for the former New York Club & Institute on Blossom Street.

It appears to show two figures - wearing a black jacket, jeans which are slightly frayed at the leg and black shoes - looking out of a now boarded up window.

We asked Alex Brown - the man behind The British Paranormal Society, followed over 40,000 people on Facebook - what he thought about the strange image. 

He said it is one of the best "contemporary" pieces of photographic evidence he has seen - comparing it to the famous Tulip Staircase entity.

The picture - widely known in the paranormal community - was taken in the 1960s and is believed to show an entity clawing themselves up the staircase at the Queen’s House in Greenwich.

Speaking to The Press, Alex said: "I had a good look at that photo and sent it to a few friends of mine and we all have interest in it for lots of reasons.

"It's very contemporary which is very unusual. There's a pair of people there. They're very clearly like 70s onwards. There's also the details as well which is very unusual. The other thing which is of interest is the time it was taken - during the day time.

"If you look closely behind them there's like a wisp going towards them, like energy.

A zoomed-in image of Ashtons Estate Agent's listing photograph, with the "wisps" circled in red. Full credit for the photo goes to Ashtons Estate Agents/Rightmove.

"I think it's very, very good evidence and it would be interesting to look a bit more.

"People are going to look at it and think it's photoshopped but because you've got quite a good paper trail - in terms of we know who took the pictures with the camera - it's ok having the image but the actual story behind the image is more important than the image itself.

"It's not just someone taking a picture and saying, 'Oh look at this'.

"It's probably one of the best paranormal pictures I've seen for a long, long time. One of the best. It should be investigated a bit further.

"They look like a couple of bikers to me."

The York-based expert believes the photo has captured people who are stuck in a time loop or people whose energy is trapped in the building.

Alex believes the men pictured aren't ghosts, but merely stuck 'energy'.

He referenced one possible explanation called the Stone Tape theory - which speculates that environmental elements, like stone, store traces of human thoughts or emotions.

"Everything is energy and energy doesn't disappear," he said.

"There's lots of different theories. There's one called the Stone Tape theory. Some are residual which means they can move about and not interact as such. [The figures could be] Somewhere in a time loop, they're just stuck whatever they're doing, stuck in that building as their energy is stuck there.

"There's different forms of paranormal activity. This is more of a residual one. They're stuck.

"You can see they're on the window ledge looking out which is really quite interesting. It's the position and the posing of it as well - but they're on that chair as if they're looking out.

"For some reason they are entwined with that building. But they're stuck.

"It's a really good picture as it's comtemporary, there's two of them, it's really, really clear."

When asked if it could be a hoax, Alex said it is "not a trick of the camera".

Explaining his reasons, he said: "The big question is, why would they do it as a hoax? They wouldn't. It's a very difficult hoax to do.

"That is not a trick of the camera. 100 per cent. I'd put my life on that and I've seen a lot. I've got photos that aren't half as good as that.

"You also get a lot of hospitality places like pubs, restaurants, hotels, where there's a lot of energy. A lot of people going in and out."

He added: "We've always got to be skeptical. The way I look at investigating ghosts is to prove it's not haunted. What you're left with is what you investigate."

Alex's fascination with ghosts, 'energy' and other worldly topics first began in childhood.

In his early teenage years, Alex lived in what he described as "an extremely haunted house" - even turning his Dad from skeptic to believer.

"I've always had an interest since childhood," he explains.

"I used to live in an extremely haunted house growing up which was very active - a really old cottage. It opened my eyes a bit living with a ghost. You get used to it bizarrely. It doesn't scare you anymore.

"Even my Dad, who was a skeptic, ended up being a believer and it was happening everyday.

"York's a great city to have an interest about it."

Alex set up The British Paranormal Society in Woodend, Scarborough - a location he claims saw lots of activity.

He added: "Since then I've been invited to jails, light houses and castles and even down to semi detached houses on council estates."

He is now hoping to set up a team of paranormal investigators in York.

Anyone interested in getting involved is asked to contact Alex via his Facebook page, The British Paranormal Society.