Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire

Photo by JPTUK

HAUNT RATING *****

Ghost: The keeper

Name of ghost: John of Gaunt
Area of haunt: The gateway to the castle
Incidence: It shouted, 'Get thee hence' to some unsuspecting visitors that thought he said 'Get over the fence'
Type of manifestation: Solid apparition

Ghost: Mary Queen of Scots
Area of haunt: standing at the top of the South Tower all dressed in white,
Seen stood looking out of the window of the great hall all in black.
Seen rapidly crossing the grass.
Type of manifestation: Solid apparition

Ghost: The white Lady
Area of haunt: Around the north tower.
Type of manifestation: Misty figure

Ghost: Child
Name of Ghost: Ellie
Area of haunt: The Kings bedroom
Type of manifestation: Invisible/tactile

Ghost: Small boy child
Area of haunt: Great Hall
Type of manifestation: Solid apparition


A morning at Tutbury Castle.
We travelled down to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire on the 14th May 08 which was only a short drive as we were staying in Dovedale in Derbyshire for a few days. It was a glorious morning. As we walked up the long driveway to the castle I spotted Leslie Smith (now historian on most haunted) the curator in the distance.  Richy and the dog continued to walk around the grounds whilst I took a few shots of the castle while I waited to get Leslie's attention, she saw me with the camera and waved me over to her.

We had a chat about the castle and my last experience in the King's chamber where I nearly fainted, Leslie wasn't surprised as it had happened to many in there. Apparently there is a vortex where the spirits come through and I was stood right in it!! We chatted about her myspace blog which she remembered me from which was amusing as she grabbed my hands and said, 'I know you! You're Jules, spelt J.U.L.E.S hehe.. then she spotted Rich and the dog and continued to pat him on the head (the dog not my hubby lol) then she asked if I watched Most Haunted and how she was really excited working on the show and to watch series 11 because a chair moved that was next to her.  Then she did a couple of poses for me in-front of the ruined castle, one I missed of her looking menacing because my sodding flash card was full. I told her that I wouldn't keep her as she was a busy lady but she told me it didn't matter which was nice of her.
She then said to go take a look round the castle and that she would open up the Kings bedroom for me, but I didn't go in, I was too scared! what a wuss!!

I continued to take photos around the castle and was amused to find a man hanging in the undercroft.

I didn't spot the ghost of Mary Queen of Scots and I didn't bump into John of Gaunt who likes to jump out at people, nor the little boy who sits on the stairs in the Kings chamber.

The last nightly visit to the castle will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
This was about 4 years ago, I had felt sparks of energy as Leslie walked past me, but I put it down to static, but I've read that other people have experienced the same thing. We also got a vortex on camera, I do have a photo of it but image doesnt belong to me so I wont be adding it to the site.

Tutbury is one of my favourite haunted places.

Temple Newsome, Leeds, West Yorkshire - Haunted House

Only a 15 minute journey for us to get to this fantastic pile. The very first time I visited the property it seemed harshly formidable in its appearance, kind of reminding me of some institution for children not a family home in the way it presented itself. You could imagine some cane thrashing headmaster stood waiting for you in the doorway, it even has the word GHOST about the roof! To be honest, I didn't like the look of the place, but I warmed to it after a while. After a few visits down to the garden and lake changed my mind, it really is a glorious place.

Temple Newsam near Leeds is a 15th century Tudor-Jacobean mansion, is had been nicknamed 'Hampton Court of the North'. It was the home of the Ingram family for over 300 years. There are some creepy cellars too which date from the Tudor period about 500 years ago and run the whole length of the south wing of the house, also an underground passage beneath the courtyard that links the north and south parts of the house. Originally this passage allowed the servants to run around from the kitchens to the dining room.

Visitors have reported seeing a monk and a little girl, also people have heard knocking on doors when there is no one there and being pushed out of the way. The ghost most spoken of at the house is the Blue Lady, said to be Mary Ingram, her portrait painting can be viewed in the house. Mary was robbed by highwaymen on a journey back to her house, she was so shocked and scared by what happened that she acquired a paranoid habit of hiding her belongings in various parts of the house.

A picture of Napoleon flies off the wall in-front of visitors and staff for no apparent reason when securely fastened.

Allegedly there is another ghost, said to be that of a young servant girl who was murdered by an over amorous male servant in 1704.

Southstack Lighthouse, Anglesey

I decided to drive to the west coast of Anglesey to South stack lighthouse, this lighthouse has warned passing ships of the treacherous rocks below since its completion in 1809. The 91ft lighthouse was designed by Daniel Alexander and the main light is visible to passing vessels for 28 miles, and was designed to allow safe passage for ships on the treacherous Dublin, Holyhead and Liverpool sea route.

Fortunately it was a calm day, this part of the coastline was once hit by tremendous gale force winds.  On the 25th and 26th of Nov in 1859 the royal charter storm hit the coast of Anglesey, it was considered to be one of the most severe storms of the century with a death toll estimated at over 800. There were lives lost on both land and at sea.

We precariously descended the 400 steep steps down to the lighthouse, then crossed the iron bridge, where back in the 1800's the assistant keeper John Jack Jones was said to have been killed by a falling rock and died many weeks later from a compound fracture of the skull, his ghost is still said to roam this desolate place. One of the tour guides told us that there is a white outline on the stones outside believed to be the old remnants of blood from the injured John, but she remained buoyant in her scepticism.

There were a few visitors to the tower whilst we were there, so if there had have been any strange footsteps or doors shutting of their own volition we wouldn't have noticed.

The Muckleburgh Collection, Norfolk - Military museum

We arrived at The Muckleburgh Collection in Weybourne on a sunny afternoon, as we drove in the first object to catch our eye was a German V2 rocket nicknamed the ‘doodlebug’ a truly horrifying machine in it’s day; it stuck the fear of God into the British people in WW2 in the 1940’s, it flew over Britain at a speed of 400 mph then it would suddenly become silent mid air, this was when it exploded killing hundreds of people on the ground below.  Inside the building which was originally the old NAAFI was a plethora of exhibits and photographs.  I was taken aback at a life size horse called ’Copenhagen’ that was ridden by Duke of Wellington in the battle of Waterloo it was a mighty 17 hands or more. I walked round for a short time but found myself skipping impatiently into the artillery hall and then the Robert Curson tank hall where unexplained cold spots have been felt  also odd pinging sounds have been heard coming from the Russian T 34 tank like the engine has been running. I wrapped with my knuckles a couple of times on the Panzer tank and asked out for spirits, Richard was grinning at me from across the room keeping lookout for members of the public coming in. I announced to everyone including the spirits that this was a pointless exercise as I couldn’t hear a damn thing for the loud 1940’s music that was ringing in my ears. Whilst in another area of the building where the medical exhibits are I did hear a tapping sound on one of the glass panels, but it was rather breezy that day.  The only spirit I heard that day was our dog barking his head off in an even draftier kennel.  We then decided to go to the restaurant for a cup of tea, someone saw a part manifestation of a ghost in that room. Our pots of tea arrived and the largest chocolate cake I’d ever seen in my life appeared our of the chiller of which I had a slice... and the meal portions there were scary!

Other occurrences that have happened here are Spirit lights seen moving outside by a WW1 pill box, said to be the spirits of some military girls killed in action, strange movements have been heard in the artillery hall, an iron gate was heard slamming in the restaurant, people have heard footsteps walking down the long corridor. Groans and screams have been heard coming out of a military ambulance, people often see unexplained shadows, poltergeist activity has been witnessed in Berry Savoury’s office which is right at the end of the long corridor.
One other interesting note but not of the paranormal kind is that of an exhibit at Muckleburgh, is that of an 88mm flak gun that was actually used in the band of brother series.

Houghton Hall (Brown Lady of Raynham Hall)

We just had to pay a visit to see Houghton Hall, just south of Sandringham in Norfolk. The house has links to the Walpole family, the most famous Walpole ghost is that of Lady Dorothy Walpole, also known as the brown lady also of (Raynham Hall) as seen in the very famous image of her photographed floating down the staircase at Raynham Hall.   

She was given the nickname ‘the brown lady’ because people see her wearing a brown brocade dress,  the ghost made an uncanny resemblance to a portrait painting of Lady Dorothy Walpole that hangs on a wall at Raynham Hall and is said to be her shade that lingers around both Houghton, Raynham and Sandringham House, which is the Queens country residence. 

Dorothy was the daughter of Robert Walpole the owner of Houghton Hall and one time member of Parliament, she was also the sister of Sir Robert Walpole, famous for becoming the 18th century Prime Minister.   Dorothy ended her days in Raynham Hall after been locked in her apartments at Raynham where she died either of smallpox a broken heart, some say she met her end by being pushed down the grand staircase, the very place where her ghost was captured on camera.  Two men saw her apparition and one had a gun and shot right through the figure, the bullet embedding itself in the door behind where she was stood.  Although pretty in life, Dorothy appears horrifying as she has been seen with grotesque features, devoid of eyes, people who have seen her say they only saw black sockets where her eyes once were.  A photographer from the country life magazine visited Raynham Hall to take some photos but got more than he bargained for.  What he caught on camera is said to be one of the best photographs of a ghost in existence today.  


Houghton Hall is a beautiful place, with its walled garden which won the prestigious ‘best garden award 2007’.  The model soldier collection is amazing too.

Haunted Ashbourne, Derbyshire - Town, village

On my tour of Derbyshire I decided to start my ghostly journey in the historic and very paranormally active town of Ashbourne. It's reputedly haunted by many a spectre.  I started my walk about at St. Oswald’s Church, you can't miss its imposing spire that towers above the rest of the buildings, apparently there is supposed to be a ghost that haunts the graveyard. The entrance to the church gives you the creeps even before you set foot into the graveyard, with its tall iron gates and stone pillars and overhanging stone skulls, reminding you that 'dead people live there'!!
I was minding my own business taking photos amongst the graves and asking out for any spirits when I felt someone staring at me, I turned and noticed this little old man, I was half expecting him to ask what I was doing, I grinned, but no sooner had I looked at him, he did an about turn and he walked into the church. He wasn't the ghost, just a curious church attendant wondering what I was up to.
Whilst I was there I didn't see anything unusual and on reviewing back my photos I didn't see anything unusual on them.

The old grammar school is only across the road from the church, this building has seen ghostly encounters, built in 1585, old borders to the school have seen the ghost of a very thin boy, the headmaster apparently starved his pupils and kept food for himself, people think that the thin boy was the victim of the headmaster.

We then walked up the hill to the very haunted Green Man Inn. It is a 17th century coaching inn, guests have reported hearing a coach and horses and a ghostly figure has been spotted looking out of one of the windows.

The bus station in the town has seen some strange encounters too, a whole regiment of ghostly soldiers has been seen marching through it!

There is another story of ghostly presence that roams the streets of Ashbourne, that of a young girl, apparently she was buried alive after doctors thought she had died during childbirth, a concerned doctor was not convinced of her death and her body was later exhumed and it was found that the girl actually had given birth to her baby in the coffin!! How horrible!!

There is also a great piece of paranormal history that is linked to Ashbourne, which  was reminded to us on a plaque which is reference to Dr Johnson one of the worlds first paranormal investigators. In the 18th century Dr Samuel Johnson the author from Lichfield came to Ashbourne to conduct some of the first paranormal investigations after he was asked to look into incidents involving poltergeists, he stayed in the mansion on Church Street.
On the last part of our journey around haunted Ashbourne we walked along the tunnel that runs under Ashbourne’s streets, I've not heard of any ghostly encounters down there, but when we got halfway through the tunnel we both heard voices and strange sounds and there was only us in there, the tunnel is very long. But as we got to the end, we saw a sign about a sound project in the tunnel, small speakers were places at intervals along the tunnel ceiling, the sounds travelled the whole length within seconds. If you didn't know about this and you had been down there alone at night you may have had a fright thinking its the many shades of Ashbournes past that are following you down there!   

Ashbourne is definitely worth a visit and is on my map of favourite haunted places to visit.

Richard Felix of Most Haunted fame is now running ghost tours around the town.

Gwrych Castle, Wales

Travelling along the A55 to Bodelwydden castle I spotted on the hillside a fantastic looking castle, another one of Cinderella's pads haha!! A seriously inpressive building that would appeal to both ghost hunter and urbexer alike. Unfortunately it was under renovation so we didn't go in. By what I can gather, it has some rather impressive paranormal history, the locals appear to love the place and have fond memories of its past. I won't rattle on about this eye candy ghost palace, but instead go to one of the best websites I can find about it here

More paranormal goings on at Gwrych Castle? 

The Galleries of Justice, Nottingham (first visit)

TripAdvisor

Reviews

Visit type: Investigation

THE GALLERIES OF JUSTICE

Location: Lace Market, Nottingham, England.
                                           
Built: On the site since the 13th century.

History There has been a court on the site since 1375 and a prison since 1449.  The Galleries contains the original cells, dungeons, 2 courtrooms, and medieval caves.
It is the only place in Britain where you could be tried, convicted, and sentenced. Some executions were even done at the entrance of the building. With all punishments such as whipping, imprisonment, and executions.

Ghostly manifestations: Full apparition. A plethora of ghosts and spirits are said to roam the building.

Ghostly anomalies: Footsteps, disembodied voices and whistles, ghost lights, cat in the dark caves, groans, knockings sounds, black shadowy figures, stones been thrown, been touched and breathed on by unknown entities.


My Report:

Date of Investigation: 13/3/05

Other groups who attended:
UneXplained Investigations, Anglia Paranormal Investigation Society and guest spirit medium Louise Morton. 




I arrived at the Galleries at approximately 9pm. I was introduced to the other teams in the main base room.  There was lots of equipment and gadgets that I had never seen before some were designed by Nigel Brockwell. One of the main monitors had failed, so Nigel Brockwell from Brotronics set up one of his own mini monitors which seemed to do the job as well. Remote cameras were set up in the court rooms which relayed audio and visual information back to the main base room and two members from each of the groups monitored the screens.

The teams were split into 3 groups and we were separated and we monitored different sections of the building. Louise the medium made a start at seeing what spirit activity she could pick up.  As we walked through the main downstairs corridor Louise didn't mention any immediate so called entities, but she explained that she was sensing 'a lot of residual energy' [sic] from the main court room even though we hadn't actually entered that part of the building.  Further down we walked towards the main jail area, Louise said, "there are so many spirit children here, some wandering about looking for mum and dad".  We then went into the condemned cell. Louise continued, "They were very lucky if they even  managed to get themselves locked in here, this is a hotel compared to down there! There is much fear of a man, a jailer, I think he was an ex-inmate too, he liked nothing better to flog these poor souls, beat them up whenever he felt like it, he took pleasure in doing so.  Many would have liked a quick death by the neck just to get away from this horrible man, but many couldn't afford the privilege".  I thought it was very sad how these people were bullied by this horrid soul and wishing death to come soon.  



We then went to the laundry room area, Louise pointed to the bath tub in the corner; "They were lucky if they could get a bath, not many got the chance".   In the bedroom area Louise was sensing the same man mentioned previously; Louise explained that she had done a psychic sketch of this spirit entity earlier that day and according to Louise it did very much resemble the foyer mannequin (coincidence).  "The bed didn't used to be there, Louise pointed, "It used to be here on this wall, she pointed to the wall nearest the door.  Standing at the bottom of the bed  she said abruptly, "This is that horrible man again! He is next to me now on my left, this was his room, even though I am sensing  females and children , this was his domain, basically in here he could do whatever he wanted, he would have done sexual things in here whenever he wanted with whoever he wanted!"  Louise continued to sense this man, she then started walking in circles, "He is walking round me, making me dizzy, this character has hit someone on the head, I am getting a pain in my head." Louise seemed to be following something around the room, see the light? (No, I saw nothing) "He is going round the room now." The medium followed the light with her finger.  I them started with a tremendous stabbing pain in my right temple, a team member asked if I was ok, they seemed concerned. I was ok, I said "Yes." it was interesting that I had listened to her suggestion of a spirit following us all, then I got a pain in my head, 'had I subconsciously given myself a headache or was this true paranormal phenomena, suggestion perhaps or just low blood sugar.  I said, "I do not suffer from headaches 'at all'. I continued to massage my head for five minutes after.  We then left the laundry area and continued into the cave system  which is known to date as far back as the medieval times.  The pain had left my head by the time we got down in the cave. Louise continued with her mediumship. "There was no sanitation down here, they were doing their business on the floor, in-fact they  even went to great lengths to spread it on the walls so they didn't have to sit in it!" I found this information fascinating, although she could have got her information from outside sources. Louise also noticed a small bricked boxed area in one corner, "they stored food there, what little food they had, which wasn't much." 

We then sat in the dark cave for a while, Louise sensed a man from the 1700s. "He is coming close now, died from starvation, malnutrition and wounds not tended to, I'm chatting with him now, he is a nice man, my knees are tingling, he is in-front of me right now, he passed 1722 or 92" this information coming through was vague.  Tony our team leader, was sitting in the doorway of the  cave, he continued "I sense a heavy presence with me now, standing in-front of me, I know your there, yes, someone / thing  has just  breathed in my ear." I didn't hear a thing as I was roughly 10 feet away from him. I have physically felt breathing in my ear in that location on a previous investigation.  Tony then asked us if we could hear a tapping sound, none of us did.  One of the younger lads started to complain that something had grabbed the back of his leg, I think Tony sensed that this chap was quite frightened and he joked with him saying, "Well I can't see anyone under your bench!" 

Later in the investigation I decided to go and do a vigil in the court room, I started off in the main court room area, nothing happened, no auditory  phenomena and the IR camera wasn't picking up any clear images as the room was too large.  After about 20 minutes I decided to head back to the laundry room, I sat in the bedroom to listen.  In the pits area it was much the same, nothing out of the ordinary happened, not even any weird smells which I thought there may have been which I had picked up on a previous visit.

I then went into the last night cell, this room is where men were held awaiting execution, an according to some psychics, the majority of them went raving mad waiting for the inevitable. I pulled the large heavy door shut behind me, it gave out a high pitch screech which was enough to curdle the blood itself.  The cell was in total darkness, I could see a pinprick of light coming through a tiny blocked off window, I only managed to stand it in there for about 20 seconds, I had to get the door back open, but only because I wasn't keen on the dark and my mind was going haywire as to who occupied these cells many many years ago.


After a short break and a chat with the other investigators, I decided to sit in the civil court room, a much smaller room than the main court room.  On entering, all was quiet and nice and warm compared to the other rooms.  In the past a so called spirit has apparently shown himself to others as a full manifestation but there is no evidence to back up this claim.  Earlier in the evening, Louise made a point of explaining where this spirit accommodates himself, "He stands by the clock looking down, he wanders around that level, his soul intention to be seen by the living" 

Still in the same room and about 30 minutes of sitting quietly, I began to hear tapping sounds coming from my right, then the sounds appeared to be right in-front of me.  I got up to check the radiators at the other side of the room, but they were all off. The room consisted of lots of wood and people were coming and going a lot so I think it was wood contracting.   Later, all the other groups came into the court room along with Louise the medium, we all sat around for another 20 minutes trying to make out what the strange sounds were.

Conclusion
I don't think I witnessed any paranormal activity on this particular visit, but I do believe that the Galleries Of Justice does on occasion have a strange feeling, whether they are ghosts or spirits I don't know, something happens in there, but I am not sure what it is. On a previous visit to the Galleries Of Justice, I have felt cobweb sensations on my face but I didn't discover any spider type webs. I had heavy audible breathing in my ear, this was heard by a group of 7 people, but it was pitch dark yes someone could have breathed on me, but only my husband was sat next to me, he isn't a practical joker. I heard what sounded like a cat in the closed off area of the dark cave also whistling that had a slight echo or reverb in the corridor when there was definitely no one there. I noticed a bizarre smell in the pits resembling bovine excrement/body odour, there was a window slightly open but the smell seemed to emanate from the centre of the room, only 3 people out of about 10 noticed this, . I have noticed that there seems to be more activity when a medium is present, maybe they draw these energies in, but people seem to be more suggestible when a medium is present.


Always use critical thinking.
Do I think that Galleries of Justice is haunted? Yes, it's a possibility, it certainly has made me wonder over the years. I have dared myself to walk around the galleries corridors on my own, I was told I was stupid!! I like a challenge. I did, but I wouldn't advise it in the dark.

Fellbrigg Hall, Norfolk

Felbrigg Hall is a lovely 17th century building in the Jacobean style, it has a fabulous walled garden and orangery and the estate is large stretching over two kilometres.  The spirit that still roams the hall has something in common with me, it has a love for books.  William Windham III inherited the house and its estate in the late 18th century, he adored books he spent most of his time in the halls magnificent library.  Unfortunately his friends library went up in flames whilst he was visiting, William tried to help in getting one of the collections out before it was destroyed, but he got caught up in the destruction, some timbers fell on top of him and he was seriously injured, the operation on his battered body wasn’t successful and he died.  William’s spirit still visits the library but only when no one else is about apparently, he takes a disliking to visitors preferring to wait until everyone leaves and goes home.  His spectre has been known to appear when books are set out on a table in a certain way.  He spirit has been seen quite recently at Felbrigg Hall.  Staff report tables and chairs moving about near the shelves in the library.

Evidence?

Note: Pareidolia describes a psychological phenomenon involving vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) these descriptions are merely a suggestion of what we heard.

The use of paranormal equipment is known to be a form of pseudoscience.
In an attempt at getting spirit contact I use an Olympus DW-90 digital recorder (as shown on the right) I've been getting some responses like scratching but I am unsure if these are an anomaly of the recorder itself, if anyone else uses this piece of equipment and knows what these noise are please let me know as soon as you can - cheers.
Over the last few years we have had quite a lot of strange occurrences in the house, this is a recording I did in one of our rooms. We didn't notice the knocking sounds until I played it back on the software.  I was using an Olympus DW-90 digital recorder on normal mode and audacity software.
In this private terrace house I recorded what sounded like footsteps and cupboards doors opening and closing, there was definitely no one else in the house after I left.  On this recording, it does sound like a woman’s voice, the camera was left recording and we all vacated the house... when we got back we were shocked as to what we heard!  This was recorded in the room I had to sleep in all night!

Although Rich has a keener interest in UFO's than I do I captured this out of my bedroom window one night, not sure what it is, at first I was sure it was a police helicopter but we get copters over all the time but this looked totally different to what I was used to seeing, this had 3 lights and blue flashing ones that seemed to strobe to the ground in fine lines, 23 minutes hovering stationary in the sky. Like I said I thought it was a police helicopter but it was totally silent when it flew over my house which was very strange!



Recently it was cited by someone who I know who is in the army that this is a helicopter, apparently they do have stobing lights and quiet rotor blades. So, taking this at face fact and appealing to authority should I agree this is correct?

East Ardsley Conservative Club Investigation

EAST ARDSLEY CONSERVATIVE CLUB



Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.

Built: Unknown

History: Unknown

Ghostly manifestations: Apparition caught on CCTV

Ghostly anomalies Dark shadows


CCTV Figure

Back in 1993 in the doorway of the East Ardsley conservative club, West Yorkshire, a supposed full apparition was filmed for a few minutes on the security cameras outside.  Apparently it could be seen quite clearly on the CCTV network, but not directly by human eyes. The entity vanished after several minutes, though made a very brief reappearance a month later. Strange shadows wander the building, drinkers report seeing dark shapes walking through walls, an odd uneasiness hangs over our team in the blue room.  And weird entities writhe about the floor in the snooker room. This sparked previous media interest into the weird goings on at East Ardsley conservative club.  
EAST ARDSLEY CONSERVATIVE CLUB REPORT

I arrived at the club around 10:30pm.  I was shown the original CCTV footage that captured the apparition back in 1993. The VHS tape was very worn, it was the original copy, the grainy footage had been shown to many, an alleged spirit to a wide captive audience including the punters, and the media believed it.  Another paranormal group had already done an investigation there previously, but nothing was ever witnessed.

I watched the clubs original CCTV footage, I did get a very brief glimpse of something 'a shadow at the door?' the tape was re-wound a little more and that was the last I saw of the ghostly footage; what I did see however was unremarkable. The story goes; the staff member that was operating the camera that day noticed on the monitor that there was a person stood at the main entrance, he then left the office (which is only a few paces from the main entrance) and proceeded to let them in, but when he got to the door no one was there. On returning back to his office, the person outside was still stood there. The apparition was apparently stood in one place for quite a while, but it was not to be seen by naked eye. I tried to fathom if there was some logical reason behind what was going on. It was then explained to me by one of the regulars who stayed with us that evening that the inside porch area that I was stood in was in-fact the outside area where this figure was seen and it has recently had an extension built on it, which it had.  So Ste proceeded to set up his night vision camera and motion sensors in that area.

My sony handycam was on the nightshot setting and it was reflecting back a lot of floaty lights, they weren't very bright, I decided it was dust and smoke particles, these were very prevalent as some annoying patrons who we had allowed in to watch the investigation failed to distiguish their cigarettes!

The blue room was felt particularly active according the the psychic, I too felt this but I was getting rather a lot of suggestion from her. It felt like many eyes were watching me and they were getting nearer and nearer, I didnt like the feeling, I think it was psychological and nothing to do with spirits. 

In the early hours, whilst settled in the blue room again, one of the regulars explained that they had seen a dark shadow moving though the wall at the opposite end of the room, under the very low light conditions I find this hard to justify.

Earlier in the evening  I set up some trigger objects in the blue room, 4 coins, but nothing moved.

I was getting an unmeasureable reading on my negative ion detector in the ladies toilet and in the door way.  

Nothing was caught on the EVP recorder and nothing on the digital camera stills.  The motion detectors went off in the main entrance about 5 times, but this was triggered by the numerous punters coming in and out of the building much to my annoyance... Note: Never let anyone in to audience your investigations EVER!


I didn't witness any paranormal activity in this incidence.
I am not convinced the club is haunted.

My conclusion

It was probably a fly on the external CCTV camera lens, because staff only saw it on the monitor screen.

Consibrough Castle, Yorkshire

HAUNT RATING **

Ghost: The white Lady
Area of haunt: At the top of the keep

Ghost: The grey monk
Area of haunt: All around the castle


On the edge of the village of Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, England, stands Conisbrough Castle.
Conisbrough Castle was built around 1180 by Hamelin Plantagenet. The castle is unique to this country in its design, it has one of the finest keeps in England, and the only other similar example was built on Warenne owned land in France. The curtain walls were built around the keep in the early 1200s. The keep survived destruction during the English Civil war because part of the curtain wall had already collapsed so parliamentarians viewed it as indefensible and left it in tact. The keeps walls are said to be 15 feet thick in places!!


It was only a half hours drive to Conisbrough Castle; the keep was very prominent from the bottom of the hill. It was only a short walk from the car park to the castle, we had to pay to get in as it’s run by English Heritage; we took our ticket and went in the grounds, but no one was about to make sure we had paid, they must be very trusting of people, we could have just wandered in without paying! 


We walked around the inner ward for a while, the dog came in with us even though he wasn’t allowed in, and we must have the most cultured dog in Yorkshire! The keep was high, I think its around 90 feet high.   We took it in turns to have a look around inside the keep, I so do like wandering around dark castles on my own!

The keep was intact; as I walked in I saw what looked like a pit which is in-fact a vaulted basement and hatch.  This hatch was used in order to lower buckets into the well. I walked higher and higher up the stone spiral staircase that was dimly lit then I entered a room that hand two large candle stands and a large medieval table and fireplace, it felt really creepy in here on my own, people have heard footsteps in the keep and there is supposed to be a grey monk who is resident in there, although there isn’t any evidence that monks stayed at the castle.

I went right to the top of the castle, the views were impressive.
There was a murder at the keep, a woman was pushed over the edge, she is known as the white lady, and she has been seen on top of the keep. As to who it was that was murdered I am unsure.

Conisbrough is superbly photogenic place, great day out.

Castle Rising, Norfolk

The drive down to Castle Rising was only a very short one as we were staying on the Sandringham estate for a few days.  As I pulled the car into the car park I could just see the tips of the battlements peeping over the earth mounds, unwilling to show itself yet until we had parted with our brass. We walked over the bridge over the moat ditch then she revealed herself.  Castle rising is a very dominating structure with its weather worn stone, not fully ruinous though. It boasts that it is one of the largest castles in Britain, to me it is certainly one of the most foreboding, on a par with Hermitage Castle in both scale and creepiness. 
Whilst outside I heard a dog whining, its' yowling seemed to echo throughout the whole building. ’It can’t be’ I thought to myself; the castle has a legendary ghost, one of Queen Isabella the she-wolf of France, who takes on the form of a wolf and roams the upper battlements.  The story goes that she attempted to kill her husband Edward II in 1327 at Berkley castle, her attempts at starving him failed but she wanted rid of him without any obvious marks on his body, she had a red hot poker inserted into he back passage, a very barbaric murder it was. Edward's bowels were completely burnt and he died from his  ‘not so obvious’ injuries a few days later.  Her horrid act of torture was found out and she was subsequently sent to Castle Rising as punishment. She was however looked after very well on the proviso she didn’t show her face in public again for the rest of her existence.  This sent her totally insane and she became completely deranged which also added to her already nasty temper, here she would wail from the battlements.  Then she was sent to Hertford Castle where she died in 1358.  Not long after her death, ghastly screams were heard at Castle Rising, it is said that she comes back in spirit form as a wolf with burning red eyes, its howls have been heard on many occasions even to this present day.  People in the local village still hear dreadful sounds coming from this great pile.  A previous visitor to the castle who was ascending the main staircase noticed a lady holding a toddlers hand descending the stairs, the two figures walked past the visitor but as they did, the visitor noticed that the couple were wearing period type dress, as they passed by, they turned to ask the figures why there were dressed up, but as they turned the figures had vanished into thin air, the visitor then went outside to look for them but no one else was about! Later the visitor asked staff if there had been an re-enactment group on, but they were told that there had been none that day. 
I stood at the bottom of the main staircase and looked up, no howling she wolf, only a disabled fellow with two black Labradors.  Inside the castle there is a labyrinth of narrow corridors with stone spiral staircases at each end, there were a couple of cosy gallery rooms that were in modern condition, one I would have definitely  chosen as a base if I had had permission to do an all night vigil at the castle.  I did have permission by Lord Howard to do an investigation there a few years ago, but I never got there, so I was very excited about visiting here.

Baconsthorpe Castle, Norfolk

Baconsthorpe Castle is a right little gem of a place, tucked away nicely in the Norfolk countryside.  Not a place you could fall over easily though, as the sign was obscured by foliage.  The only known paranormal activity at the castle has been what I found on the paranormal database.

Sentry

Location: Baconsthorpe (Norfolk) - Baconsthorpe Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The former soldier who still patrols the battlements is blamed for the stones that are occasionally thrown into the moat, breaking the normally still waters.

Beaumaris Jail, Anglesey Wales

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I wondered if I would encounter anything paranormal in the daylight hours.  What would await us in the punishment cell, would we be confronted with the active spirit that allegedly haunts the condemned cell?  Would we see ghostly legs on the old tread wheel outside? Did we feel any nervous tension as we made our not so final walk to the scaffold?  Would I pick up on any female spirits in the workhouse, tugging away at the rope rocking the baby’s cradle above? And would we come face to face with the infamous warder Watkins as we descended the iron staircase?

Alleged activity: Flashing lights, hair being pulled, stones being thrown, doors banging, floating shadows in corridors, keys rattling and heavy footsteps, a sense of presence and strange musty and sweet smells.

Unfortunately we didn't witness anything out of the ordinary, it was great to practically have the whole place to ourselves! Pity the old codger didnt turn up lol, neither did the alleged grounded spirit who was once hanged here. Still, I would love to wander round the place in the dark, yes on my own!

A notorious Warder at Baumaris Gaol

Beaumaris Gaol is a disused jail located in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales. It remains largely unaltered and is now a museum 

The jail was built in 1829.It was expanded in 1867 to accommodate approximately 30 inmates but was closed just 11 years later. The building then became a police station until the 1950s when it became, oddly, a children's clinic and lastly a museum in 1974. During the Second World War the town's air raid siren was located in the gaol and was kept in operation during the Cold War in case of nuclear attacks. 

The prison regime may appear brutal to a modern visitor, but in its day it was seen as humane improvement on earlier gaols. Even so, methods of keeping criminals in check included chains, whippings and isolation in a dark cell for up to three days. It has one of the last working treadmills in Britain. The treadmill at Beaumaris is unusual in that it pumped water to the top of the building for use in the cells, meaning that the prisoners were not forced to work for no reason.

Only two hangings took place at Beaumaris. The first was that of William Griffith, in 1830, for the attempted murder of his first wife. He reacted badly to the news that he was to hang and on the morning of his execution, barricaded himself inside the cell. The door was eventually forced open and he was half dragged and half carried to the gibbet. The second and final execution was that of Richard Rowlands in 1862, having been found guilty of murdering his father in law. He protested his innocence right up to the final moment and legend has is that he cursed the church clock from the gallows, saying that if he were innocent the four faces of the nearby church clock would never show the same time. Indeed for a while they did not, although this has been attributed to the wind buffeting the southern face. Both men were buried in within the walls of the gaol in a lime pit, but the exact location of their burial is unknown. The metal rivets which held the gibbet in place, along with the two doors which the condemned man passed through can still be seen from the street outside the Gaol walls.

Throughout its time as a gaol there was only one instance of a prisoner escaping. The prisoner, John Morris, escaped on 7 January 1859, using rope he had stolen whilst working with it. Although he broke his leg whilst escaping he did make it out of the town, before being recaptured.

The TV series Most Haunted visited the gaol for a show aired 17 January 2007 to investigate supposed hauntings.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Number of ghosts: Rumoured 5

Ghost: Lady Margaret Pomeroy (white lady)
Area of haunt: The dungeon under St. Margarets Tower and rises up the tower
Ghost: A guard holding a lantern
Area of haunt: see near the tower
Ghost: An old lady who shouts 'beware the hour'
Area of haunt: Castle grounds
Ghost: The blue lady
Area of haunt: All around the castle

We arrived at Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon on a cool and overcast day.  I had been looking forward to seeing the castle up close and for real. I had heard so many chilling tales about the place I just had to visit. It is said that the ruins of this very old castle are among the most haunted in England.

I couldn’t get my camera out of my bag fast enough, but was disappointed to find scaffolding and workmen working on the west wing. 

There wasn't many people about which was good. Having a spooky place all to yourself these days seems to be a bit of a rarity.


It didn't take us long to find the well spoken about ‘tower’ where many people have witnessed apparitions. This was supposed to be the most active place in the castle. I eagerly descended the spiral stone stairs into the dungeon, this is where Lady Margaret Pomeroy was imprisoned by her sister and starved to death in there, she is known as the White Lady.  It wasn't as dungeon-like as I had expected, not an underground pit with chains on the walls as you would expect but more like a cellar where you could see through the bars into the woods. It was a very small room only about 10 x 10 feet  it was very cold mouldy and damp though. I sat for a while and listened for any creepy footsteps, nothing. No dark shadows, screams  no blue lights or thuds, no white lady who haunts this tiny dwelling, maybe she doesn't come out during the day.

My male counterpart didn't even get lured to his death by the famous ‘Blue lady’.

We then went for a wander down into the woods, I wanted a really good photo of the place from the bottom, I wasn't disappointed, the crumbling stone towers slowly loomed out of woodland as we reached the bottom.  It was a creepy place down there, I’d say more creepy than the castle itself. Fortunately we wasn't pounced on by the alleged elemental beast down there, although I sensed we were followed down there, but I put it down to my fanciful imagination.