It was a dark and stormy night – and hot on the heels of the hit Ben Stiller movie, Evening Express reporter Marie-Claire Jones was locked up in a museum for the night.

The whole thing spooked her rather, according to the features editor, Susan Welsh, who added: "I’m sure she’ll thank me one day."

Although not quite alone (she was accompanied by photographer Rory Raitt), the trainee features writer found that the museum was full of spooky things – such as instruments of torture and Egyptian mummies - all housed in a very creepy-looking gothic building.

She said after her ordeal: "It was quite unusual. There aren’t many jobs where you get locked up in a gothic building like that.

"It was creepy. The night we were there, there were really bad storms up here in the north east, and there were 70mph winds outside all adding to the atmosphere.

"The mummies were the worst. I’ve got quite an active imagination anyway, so I can probably convince myself of anything.

"Some of the mummy cases are open so you can see how they did the bandaging and so on. One of them is of a little girl, who died 3,000 years ago. That’s probably the most haunting image."

There’s definitely enough on display to unnerve even the pluckiest of reporters – and the rational part of Marie-Claire’s mind told her that there is nothing to be afraid of.

But the words of the museum assistant still echoed in her ears.

He said: "I know every footstep, every creak and every groan. It can get pretty spooky in the dark, especially with the wind flapping under the doors…"