Tim Burton believes in ghosts.

The 51-year-old film director - who has a six-year-old son Billy and two-year-old daughter Nell with partner Helena Bonham Carter - claims to have had an experience with the supernatural, which he insists is not uncommon.

He said: "I've seen things and felt things. I think most people do. I think it's just how much you suppress it. I don't go out and say, 'Oh, my god, I was abducted by a UFO,' or, 'I've seen these ghosts.'

"You feel an energy."

The 'Alice in Wonderland' filmmaker also claims to find cemeteries "positive" places.

He added to Interview magazine: "Most people say about graveyards, 'Oh, it's just a bunch of dead people; it's creepy.' But for me, there's an energy to it that is not creepy or dark. It has a positive sense to it."

However, the eccentric filmmaker doesn't believe anyone can force a spirit to reveal themselves.

He said: "I think anytime you try, it ain't gonna happen. It always seems to occur when you're sort of open but not thinking about it. I've never held a seance."