That's our best approach to working in one of Chichester's most haunted buildings.

Derek will be bringing his stage show to the Assembly Hall, Worthing on October 23 (tickets on 01903 206206).

But he was more than happy to chat about the mysterious goings-on which have had us puzzled at the Observer offices for years – the sound of a child sobbing on the stairs, glimpses of dark figures, objects moving though never violently…

We probably can't eradicate these things, but we can certainly make them better – helped by a realisation that there's nothing to be afraid of, Derek believes.

"You need to send out a collective thoughtwave, a sympathetic feeling of… well, I don't like to use the word love because obviously you don't know them, but something like that, to tell them that they are most welcome and that you know that they don't want to hurt you. That's something that would be picked up by the spirit energy.

"99.9 per cent of average spirit energies are not there to alarm, frighten or even disturb you, but it does happen if you get more than one spirit presence coming in that there is a tendency because of the speed that they come into the atmosphere for physical objects to be thrown about."

As for the child crying on the stairs, Derek suggests it's a strong indication that the child passed over at a very young age, though he suspects this is a residual energy, something almost sticking to the walls, rather than a spirit presence.

"I would say it is coming from the fabric. It is like a recording."

Reassuring stuff indeed. But then everything that Derek – star of Most Haunted and Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns – says is reassuring.

The Millennium uplifted people's consciousness, encouraging more people to look for answers in the spirit world – and to find them, he believes.

"I am pleased about it. My belief is that every person has the right to try to explore and to try to understand what is going on outside the physical world."

Derek's belief is that those who pass on retain their personalities and that they are all there waiting for us.

"And the longer you are in the spirit world, because of the peace and the majesty, maybe some parts of your personality will improve."

How lovely to believe this might be true, I suggest – a reaction Derek says he hears plenty of times. His point is that we should eradicate fear of death. There is simply no need to be afraid.

"People seek and will find, and they will realise that the loved-ones that they have lost are still there and that they are waiting for them. If you realise that, it would be a life-changing thing."