The Club Founded 1862

Newsletter – Spring 2007 ISSUED TO MEMBERS ONLY Copyright: The Ghost Club. All rights reserved “Nasci, Laborare, Mori, Nasci” esting (Newsletter Summer 2006), I think the question of how a genuine photograph The Ghost would be received is equally important. As I am fond of saying: if a large group of Ghost Club members were to see, photo- Club graph and video a procession of ghostly Cover: Face in the sky. monks for instance, how many people pre- (Photo by Heather Golding). sented with the evidence would believe the images to be authentic? I would even go one step further and suggest that a propor- Chairman’s Letter ...... 2 tion of the original witnesses would have Living ...... 5 convinced themselves over the few days Ghosts in the News ...... 12 after the event, that their experience was Ghost Calendar ...... 15 after all, “a trick of the light”, shadows or Personal Accounts ...... 16 have some other natural cause. Very often, Haunting Scotland ...... 18 the “rational” explanation is even more Ghosts ...... 26 outlandish than the idea of somebody actu- CountyGhosts ...... 29 ally witnessing a ghostly apparition but Poem ...... 31 perhaps this type of reasoning, sometimes Ghost Walks ...... 32 has safer psychological implications? Investigation, Battle Abbey . . . 34 Most “anomalous” photographs submit- ted to the club and on various websites are reasonably easy to explain; reflections, camera straps, smoke, effects of lighting, dust orbs, misjudgement and sadly more and more commonly, hoaxes. There are still however, a small minority that seem to CHAIRMAN’S LETTER defy explanation. However compelling the image might first appear, there is always room for doubt and uncertainty under It is wonderful that five thousand years have scrutiny. Take for instance, the well known now elapsed since the creation of the world and still it is undecided whether or not there World War I photograph showing the has ever been an instance of the of any image of a mechanic who was killed by an person appearing after death. All argument is aircraft propeller a couple of days before against it; but all belief is for it. the photograph was taken. Some might SAMUEL JOHNSON suggest that this is a case of mistaken iden- sn’t it incredible that with huge tity and in fact the face bore little resem- advances made in practically every blance to the dead mechanic. other area, that this quote remains over Unfortunately of course, this is not some- Itwo centuries later, such an accurate state- thing that can be easily verified so many ment on the subject of ghosts/ spirit? years on. Some might suggest a double While I found Alan Murdie’s suggestion exposure although now there is no way of that ghosts cannot be photographed in his knowing whether the photographer had article “Photographing Ghosts” very inter- previously photographed the mechanic.

2xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 Image of mechanic killed 2 days before photograph was taken. The face definitely appears to be behind his ing this particular image, most of the party colleague and is in perfect scale to the rest were exploring the partly ruined abbey of the picture. Could this old photograph behind and listening to the guide but the have been tampered with, or could perhaps photographer saw an unusual spiral of those concerned, have been mistaken smoke rising from the ground, which is regarding the dates? why she took the photo. The day was good The photograph on the front cover at that point with bright sunshine; ending in demonstrates very clearly the need to trust rain and a storm by the time they left the information given by the photographer. It area. was taken at Bellapais Abbey on the My first reaction on seeing this photo- Kyrenia Hills in Crete and sent to me by graph was that it was taken from behind Ghost Club member Fred Thomas. The glass, and that the face was a reflection. photographer, his friend Heather Golding, (An opinion shared by Philip Carr, our (who has no interest in the ) Webmaster and photographic expert). I thought it was odd and passed it on to her have spoken first-hand with Heather and friend knowing he would be interested. The she is adamant that she was not standing photograph was taken well away from the behind glass and that in fact she was posi- road at the far side of the abbey whilst on tioned in front of a low wall over a steep foot, following a guide. At the time of tak- drop to the house below. She seemed sensi- The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx3 Face in the sky, taken in Crete by Heather Golding. ble, level-headed and genuinely surprised purposeful tampering. Sadly, I think the by the photograph, admitting that when she best that we can ever say about a photo- first saw it, she was a little frightened. graph is that it is “very interesting”. In truth, there is absolutely no way of Ultimately, the only “undeniable” proof proving the authenticity of a photograph of the existence of ghosts that will be for a multitude of reasons. Often witness’s accepted by most of us is a first-hand expe- testimony is flawed, even after a day or two rience. Sadly, unless scientifically we can our memory forgets what it thinks we don’t discover other measurable elements pre- need to remember and subconsciously we sent during a manifestation, I think this “fill in the blanks”. We often are unaware will remain the case for some years to of environmental conditions and don’t come. always account for other natural phenome- Finally, despite my complete acceptance na that may later be considered. With so that photographic evidence is no evidence many photographs that eventually prove to at all; I still carry three cameras and a video be genuine misconceptions or purposeful recorder on every investigation! hoaxes, we are inundated with a perplexing Many thanks to Fred Thomas and amount of images, none of which can be Heather Golding for sending me this “very proven beyond doubt. I believe that there interesting” photograph. will never be a photograph or any other type of image that will ultimately offer proof of the existence of ghosts. The better the image, the more the temptation is to think it “too good to be true” and to suspect 4xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 Living Ghosts By Philip Carr

hen the pressure is on we might say, ‘Look, I can’t be in two places at once’. Well for some people,W they can. Stories abound of people who have encountered their own appari- tions or been seen in two different locations at once. The Germans have loaned us a special word for this: Doppelgänger. The word derives from Doppel ("double") and Gänger ("goer") and is defined as ‘the ghostly double of a living person that haunts its fleshly counterpart’. But how can this phenomenon occur? Putting aside instances where siblings or look-alikes are mistaken for other people, if one accepts Guy de Maupassant: Doppelganger that dead people can manifest dictated one of his books. memories and imprints of their existence at Victorians called them, that would materi- a location, why not living people? alise and vanish in the classroom. The first time it occurred, Sagée was writ- Emilie Sagée. ing on the blackboard with her back to the Perhaps the most impressive report of a class, when her doppelganger materialised doppelganger came from American writer beside her. It followed Sagée's every move Dale Owen in 1853. He was told the as she wrote, except that it did not hold any story by Julie, the second daughter of the chalk in its hand. This was seen by Julie Baron von Güldenstubbe. In 1845, when and 12 other girls in the classroom. The Julie was 13, she was a pupil at an exclu- extraordinary event naturally caused a sen- sive girl's school 6 miles from the port of sation in the school and all thirteen girls Riga in present-day Latvia. One of her agreed exactly in the stories as to what had teachers was Mademoiselle Emilie Sagée, occurred. One night the fetch was seen a vivacious 32-year-old French brunette. again by both servants and pupils at dinner Although the school was quite satisfied standing behind Sagée and followed the with Sagée's ability as a teacher and movements of her eating, although it held impressed by her good nature, intelligence no cutlery. But Sagée’s double did not and education, strange stories about her always follow her actions. Once, for exam- fuelled gossip and speculation. There was ple, Julie reported that Madamoiselle got much confusion as Mlle Sagée would be up from her chair but the double remained continually reported as being in different where she had been. One of Julie's school parts of the school at once. Then it was friends, Antonie von Wrangel was getting said, she had a double, or a 'fetch' as the ready to go out one night, aided by Sagée.

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx5 In the looking glass behind her, Antonie tried to touch it and felt a slight resistance suddenly caught sight of two in the air surrounding it like a film of Madamoiselles buttoning up her dress and muslin. One brave girl tried to pass the shock made her collapse in a faint. On between the teacher's chair and the table another occasion Antonie and some of her and passed right through the apparition, which remained without movement and slowly vanished. Mlle Sagée had never seen her own double, and on this occasion, she had only seen the empty chair in the hall, was concerned the girls were unat- tended and might get up to mischief. An interesting aspect of this case is that every time the fetch appeared it would drain the from the living woman, overcom- John Donne: Doppelganger presaged ing her with fatigue which would be death of his child. restored when it faded away. News of the events eventually got back friends were caring for Mlle Sagée who home to the girls’ parents who no doubt was bedridden with a fever. Antonie was began fearing black or witchcraft alone reading to her when she noticed all was afoot in the school. Much to the con- the colour go out of Sagée’s face. sternation of the headmistress, the pupil Concerned, Antonie asked if numbers started to fall and 18 months after Madamoiselle was feeling a lot worse. She Mlle Sagée had joined the school, the roll weakly replied not but then, Antonie saw numbers had fallen from 42 to 12. Sagée’s fetch walking up and down the room behind her, seemingly the picture of Famous doppelgangers. health. On this occasion there was only one • In 1905, Sir Frederick Carne Rasch MP witness but the next time, the double was was reported by Sir Gilbert Parker to be seen it was in front of the whole school. sitting in his usual spot in the House of On a summer’s day in 1846, Mlle Sagée Commons, listening to a debate. How was was in the school's garden gathering flow- this so, since Sir Frederick was very ill ers. All 42 girls were assembled in the with influenza and members of his house- school hall sitting at long tables at their hold were sure he had not moved from his sewing and embroidery lessons supervised bed all day? by another teacher. Sagée could be seen • In a case That suggests doppelgangers though the French windows in the hall. might have something to do with time The teacher supervising the girls got up to shifts, German poet, novelist and play- talk to the headmistress and her chair was wright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe immediately taken by Sagée's double. Mlle encountered his double while riding to Sagée could still be seen clearly in the gar- Drusenheim. Coming toward him was his den but, the girls noted later, she suddenly doppelganger, wearing a grey suit trimmed appeared overcome with fatigue and tired- in gold. Eight years later, von Goethe was ness. Her double meanwhile, sat motion- again on the same road but going the other less. Two of the girls approached the fetch, way. He then realized he was wearing the

6xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 same grey suit trimmed in gold that he had holding a newborn child. Donne's wife was seen on his doppelganger eight years previ- indeed pregnant at the time but the appari- ously! tion was a warning of tragedy. When the • Guy de Maupassant, generally considered doppelganger appeared, his wife had just to be the greatest French writer of short sto- given birth to a stillborn baby. ries, wrote how he was haunted by his dop- • Percy Shelley, one of the great poets of pelganger towards the end of his life. Once, the English language, encountered his dop- he said, this shade entered his room, sat pelganger in a dream whilst in Italy. The down opposite him and began to dictate apparition wordlessly pointed toward the what de Maupassant was to write. This Mediterranean Sea. Shortly after, just experience is recounted in his short story before he was to become 30 in 1822, "Lui." Shelley drowned in a sailing accident – in • The English occultist Aleister Crowley the Mediterranean. was reported by acquaintances to appear as • Queen Elizabeth I of England was a doppelganger but he himself was not con- stunned to see an apparition of herself lying scious of it happening at the time. on her bed and died shortly afterwards. It is said • Soon after he was elected president that every- Abraham Lincoln told his wife he had seen one has a two faces of himself in a mirror, one death- doppel- ly pale. His wife believed this to mean that ganger. If he would be elected to a second term but the person would not survive it. is good, Scientific investigators into doppel- the dop- gangers Shahar Arzy and colleagues of the pelganger University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland, will exhib- unexpectedly reproduced an effect strongly it the dark reminiscent of the doppelganger phenome- side of the na. They applied electrical stimulation to a person and patient's brain in the left temporoparietal Percy Shelley: his the other junction while she lay flat on a bed. The Doppelganger showed him way round patient immediately felt the presence of how he would die. and if the another person in her "extra-personal two should meet, then they will both die. space". Other than epilepsy, for which the Folklore says that when a person's doppel- patient was being treated, she was psycho- ganger is seen, it is often a harbinger of logically fit. The other person was death and it is considered unlucky to try to described as young, of indeterminate sex, communicate with one. who did not speak nor move and whose The following are examples of this. body posture was identical to her own. The • John Donne, was a 17th Century English other person was located exactly behind poet and metaphysic. Obsessed with the her, almost touching and therefore within idea of death, Donne even posed in a the bed that the patient was lying on. A sec- shroud for a painting completed just a few ond electrical stimulation was applied with weeks before his death. While in Paris he slightly more intensity, while the patient was visited by the doppelganger of his wife was sitting up with her arms folded. This

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx7 time the patient felt the presence of a often is unaware of them even occurring. "man" who had his arms wrapped around It is notable how many holy people in her. She most religious described the traditions have sensation as achieved the highly unpleas- ability to mani- ant and electri- fest their double cal stimulation in other loca- was stopped. tions, a com- Finally, when mon factor the patient was often being the seated, electrical self-inflicted stimulation was extreme physi- applied while cal and mental the patient was hardships nec- asked to perform essary in the a language test path towards with a set of spiritual flash cards. On enlightenment. this occasion the In the interna- patient reported tionally famous the presence of a 'Autobiography sitting person, of a Yogi' by displaced Paramhansa behind her and Yogananda, to the right. She there are said that the numerous anec- presence was Mary of Agreda with the Jumano dotal accounts attempting to Indians. of 'miraculous interfere with the (Picture thanks to Janet Bord at the Fortean Picture Library). powers' exhibit- test, "He wants ed by yogis, to take the card; He doesn’t want me to including bi-location, and the read". Again, the effect was disturbing and materialisation of physical objects. The electrical stimulation was ceased. explanation given for these powers is that Accordingly, some reports of the doppel- the yogis in question gain immense control ganger phenomenon may well be due to of the 'Pranic force' (the vital energy which failure of this region of the brain but obvi- permeates the universe) during their ously not in cases such as when doubles are intense yogic practices. The complete text seen by multiple witnesses. There is a sub- of this extraordinary book can be found tle distinction between someone who has a available free online at http://www.crys- doppelganger and someone who bi-locates, talclarity.com/yogananda/ the latter usually has the ability to come Icelandic sagas also speak of warriors and go at will whereas the former is not in who were able to fall into a trance and control of their double’s appearances and appear thousands of miles away in battle.

8xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 In Islam too we find much evidence of bi- Castile, Spain. It was evident from an early location. Famous Sheikhs, Imams, and age that she was no ordinary child. Mary prominent figures such as Abusaeid experienced intense visions and heard voices speaking to her. It was reported that Mary would frequently levitate and go into ecstasies. These strange events led, in 1620, to Mary joining the Franciscan Convent of the Immaculate Conception at Agreda. She later became abbess, till her death in 1665. She imposed a harshly austere life on her- self, undergoing long periods of fasting, going without sleep and undertaking self- flagellation, a whipping to fortify oneself spiritually. It was soon after the 18 year-old Mary joined the convent that she had a vision, in which she saw all the peoples of the world and noted sadly how many were without Paramhansa Yoganda the benefits of Christianity. Particular con- cern went to the Jumano Indians of Abolkheir , Rumi or Al-Khidr for example, Mexico, newly colonised at the time and were believed to possess keramat (mira- she began to pray earnestly for their con- cles) and writings from medieval Islam are version. full of stories and reports of certain indi- viduals possessing such a trait. For exam- Missionary work. ple, Idries Shah and Robert Graves men- Mary began to find herself, during tion the case where senior members of the prayers and deep meditation, in a strange Azimia order were "reputed to appear, like land. The landscape and climate were dif- many of the ancient Sheikhs at different ferent. It was very hot and exotic. Mary places at one and the same time". Many also found herself, to her amazement and other examples can be found in Attar's astonishment, amongst the Jumano Tadhkirat al-Awliya (Biographies of the Indians. Not only was she in the New Saints), or the works of Ibn Arabi, as well World, two thousand miles away but Mary as other similar chronicles. could understand their language; and they hers. Yet neither the Jumano nor Mary The Blue Nun. spoke the language of the other. Mary then In the Christian tradition, many religious later found herself back at the convent. figures have also been attributed the pow- This was not an isolated event. The ers of bi-location, the most famous of Church, despite being wary of the celebri- whom was St Mary of Agreda, the ‘Blue ty of this , estimated that between Nun’ (whose picture adorns the label of 1620 and 1631, Mary was transported to the wine of the same name). the New World over five hundred times. Mary Coronel was born in 1602 in However, as attested to by fellow nuns and The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx9 her superiors, Mary Coronel never left the not widely available. She said that, on her convent. travels, she had seen that the world was a sphere, rotating on its poles. This was a Father Benavides heresy at the time, as it was believed that However, the story has a twist. In 1622, the world was flat and that everything two years after Mary began her teleports, a rotated around it. Benavides was convinced letter arrived for Pope Urban VIII and of Mary's sincerity and published his find- Philip IV of Spain. It was from Father ings, causing a sensation. Unfortunately, Alonso de Benavides, Abbot of the Isolita Mary had taken a vow of humility and Mission in New Mexico. Fr. Benavides was unhappy with all the attention, began to rather aggrieved that someone had convert- pray for the transports to end. They did in ed the Jumano Indians before he had. 1631 and Mary never again experienced Benavides reported that a group of Jumano teleportation. had travelled one hundred miles to his Franciscan mission. The Jumano asked that Bi-location? Benavides and other monks return to their As Mary's teleportations, or bi-locations, camp. The Indians wanted to be baptised. happened in the privacy of her own cell, we Benavides asked how the Jumano knew, can never know if she actually physically not only of Christianity but also of its cere- transported. Mary herself favoured the monies. They said that for some years they view that she was astrally projecting: send- had been visited by a 'lady in blue'. This ing her non-physical spirit body to do the lady had taught them Christianity and con- conversion that she herself could physical- verted them. She had even left them with a ly not do. However, this fails to explain the chalice and crosses and rosaries. They presence of the many Christian artefacts described a Franciscan nun in her habit. found with the Jumano. Benavides searched New Mexico in vain for a nun answering this description. Other Christian bi-location In 1630 Benavides was sent back to accounts. Spain. There he met with the head of the • St. Anthony of Padua, a Franciscan friar, Franciscan Order in Madrid. Benavides in 1227 was in Limoges, France giving a recounted to him the story of the Jumano sermon. During this, he suddenly recalled conversion and was asked to question a nun that he should be at prayers with fellow fri- named Mary of Agreda. This nun, ars in a chapel at the other side of town. So Benavides was told, had reported some- he halted his sermon, knelt down and thing similar. He then went to question pulled his hood over his head and became Mary but in secret, as not to start rumours motionless. At that exact moment, St of . Mary gave 'a perfect account' Anthony appeared in the chapel and chant- of New Mexico, of its flora and fauna. She ed the prayers with his fellow friars. When also accurately described individual they finished, he instantly withdrew from Jumano and their customs. This was only the chapel and raised his head again at the known to a handful of travellers, none of church - and resumed the sermon. whom Mary could have come into contact • In 1774 St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop of with. The exploration of the New World St. Agata dei Goti, was in his palace near had only just begun and information was Naples when he fell into a trance and 10xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 simultaneously appeared at the Vatican in entered the private sector. Companies such Rome, at the bedside of the dying Pope as PSI TECH claim to teach remote view- Clement XIV. The bishop helped those ing procedures and numerous books on attending the Pope and prayed with them. history and methods exist. He remained until the Pontiff passed away, Anybody wishing to try remote viewing for then awoke from his trance back in his themselves can read the Controlled Remote palace in Naples, describing what had just Viewing Manual developed by SRI- occurred in Rome. International and , a New York • The stigmatic and healer Padre Pio, was artist with a special talent for remote view- reported to have appeared to Italian sol- ing and one of the original subjects of the diers in North Africa, whilst simultaneous- US Government study, at http://www.fire- ly being beside the bed of a sick woman. docs.com/remoteviewing/answers/crvman- Padre Pio was famed for psychical skills, ual/ from healing to prophecy and was also noted for rigorous praying and fasting. Out of the body experiences. People who have survived near-death Remote viewing. experiences have regularly reported leav- So does it take a lifetime of self-mortifi- ing their bodies as invisible, ghost-like cation and physical punishment to achieve forms, sometimes watching themselves in such abilities? Perhaps not. Let us consider an operating theatre or at the scene of an the curious phenomenon of remote viewing accident, later describing the events as an – projecting the mind across time and dis- observer in astonishing detail. Again this tance. Whereas this is not true bi-location sustains the premise that something can in that the person in question is not detect- separate itself from the human body, ed at the second location, obviously some- appearing to have an independent existence thing is present there if valid observations but undoubtedly tied in some way to its liv- are made. ing owner, however far away he or she In 1972 the CIA and US Department of might be. Defence initiated research into remote viewing, first developed by Russell Targ Sources and Harold Puthoff at the Stanford http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppelgän Research Institute and some $20 million ger was spent over the course of 20 years on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleportatio 'Stargate' and related projects. Concerns n_in_Islam about the program's effectiveness led the Ian Kidd, Fanthorpes magazine 2002 CIA to contract the American Institutes for http://health.indianetzone.com/yoga/ha Research to provide an evaluation. This thyoga/1/effects_hatha_yoga.htm showed no evidence supporting claims of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_vi paranormal ability. However as testing for ewing the paranormal in laboratory conditions so http://www.unexplained- often produces negative results, this is mysteries.com/ hardly surprising. Since the end of the US government's involvement with the Stargate Project, remote viewing has

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx11 make her presence felt to staff in the build- ing. She continued, “Sometimes pictures come off the walls. The storeroom on the top floor was very cold and creepy.” she added. This was thought to be Mary’s liv- ing quarters and many members of staff had complained of the strange atmosphere, refusing to stay there for too long. Local paranormal investigators, Thanet Ghostwatch, are set to spend a night in the building next month. They plan to have two teams which will observe activity and compare notes afterwards, to work out This section of the newsletter is dedi- whether they have the same or different cated to recent news stories found in findings. They will be equipped with cam- the media, connected to ghosts and eras, thermometers, voice recorders and the paranormal. Many thanks to Keith meters to measure electromagnetic flux. A Morbey, Philip Hutchinson and Monica spokesman for the group said the aim was Tandy for their contributions in this to have real physical evidence - that "ever issue. elusive full-bodied apparition" captured on film. Ghostly door slams at The full story can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/63 council HQ. 57605.stm ystery door slams and doorbell chimes have led a Kent town MoD defends psychic council to allow a Ghostwatch powers study. teamM into its offices. The alleged ghostly activity at Maison Dieu House is thought The Ministry of Defence has defended a to be down to a servant called Mary who decision to carry out tests to find out lived there and died in the 1688 revolu- whether psychic powers could be used to tion. detect hidden objects. Dover town clerk Mike Webb said he had The tests conducted in 2002, involved never encountered a ghost before he met blindfolding volunteers and asking them Mary in his first week at work, whilst about the contents of sealed, brown working late in the building. "The door envelopes. Most subjects consistently closed and I realised it couldn't have been failed to establish what was inside them. any member of staff because I was locked Revelations about the secret research is in on my own. If you feel the weight of the contained in a previously classified report door, it cannot close on its own.” released under the Freedom of Information The house, built in 1665 is thought to be Act. the oldest domestic property in the town. During the tests, defence experts attempt- Town mayor Jan Tranter said that Mary ed to recruit 12 "known" who had ringing the doorbell when nobody else was advertised their abilities on the internet, around was quite a common way for her to however, when they all refused to take part 12xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 in the research, "novice" volunteers were he told us: “I sensed negative and destruc- asked. tive energy in the entrance corridor but it For the study, commercial researchers was rising up from the basement where were contracted at a cost of £18,000 to there was a negative vortex of energy and carry out the tests with a view to discover- underground water. I felt it was old stuff ing if psychic ability existed and could be that had hung around and that mental used for defence purposes. 28% of those patients were somehow involved – we tested managed a close guess at the con- found out later it used to be a mental asy- tents of the envelopes, which included pic- lum. I went down and right underneath the tures of a knife, Mother Teresa and an spa I could feel a negative vortex and "Asian individual". However, the majority underground water. There was a small of subjects produced guesses that were not grille and I could sense dead animals and even close to the correct answer and one maybe even dead bodies which had been subject even fell asleep while he tried to thrown down there many years ago.” Mr focus on the envelope's content. Williams said he had channelled the energy The MoD refused to discuss the possible away and cleared the space where it had applications of psychic techniques in the been. defence of the nation but a spokeswoman Business is now booming, clients are now stated: "The study concluded that remote happy and relaxed and Sarah puts this viewing theories had little value to the change down to the exorcism. “Some peo- MoD and was taken no further." ple might well be sceptical but I’d like to The full story can be found at thank Jules because what ever he’s done http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6388575.stm seems to have worked wonders.” This story was printed in the MERCURY Exorcist Clears Spa. 16/2/07 There might be something in the air at Degree Course Broxbourne spa – but it’s now more likely Students are to investigate the existence of to be something fragrant than something ghosts as part of a degree course looking at nasty… because owner Sarah Jones has people's experience of the paranormal. had the premises exorcised by a renowned Coventry University is offering the psychic. chance to look into haunted houses, extra- Sarah opened the Phoenix Spa at The sensory perception and "the survival of Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club in bodily death". December 2005 but almost a year later, she Tony Lawrence, director of the two-year felt she had to call in psychic, Jules course, said it would be Williams, to exorcise “a strange atmos- "controversial yet thought-provoking". phere” from the building. “I couldn’t put The focus will be the middle ground my finger on it but from day one, some- between religion and science, he added. thing didn’t feel quite right,” said Sarah. The 15 post-graduate students starting the “Staff talked about negative feelings, first course this autumn will look at the clients never hung around after their treat- paranormal using several scientific meth- ments and the business was basically not ods. Some will investigate haunted houses, performing as it should have done.” looking at statistics on which parts of After Jules had done his stuff at the spa, buildings provide the most sightings.

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx13 Extra-sensory perception - where two peo- ple seem to communicate without using sound, vision, touch or smell - will also be covered.

‘Ghost’ captured on US security camera. Could this grainy blur be a ghost caught on film? The image of a woman writing on a pad, was taken by a security camera in a locked office in a US courtroom. Court official Barbara Jones identified it as a ghost and alerted security guards but on entering the room, they walked right through the image. The building, the Lincoln County Court in North Carolina, has a haunted history. Some workers think the image is a reflection. This story was printed in London Lite, “Ghost” caught on security 20/12/06 camera at Lincoln County Court. Ghost team stakes out road or even seismic activity. spooky pub The Paranormal Site Investigators (or Original story by Emily Walker P.S.I. for short) have conducted experi- Ghost hunters are trying to unravel the ments to try and establish scientific causes secrets of haunted Swindon. Dave Wood behind mysteries in the Swindon area for and his team of paranormal investigators the past two years. They were previously visited the Jolly Tar based in Devon. Ninety nine per cent of the pub in Hannington apparent hauntings investigated turn out to in January to try be easily explained but there were some and find an expla- that PSI's 800 members, some leading sci- nation behind some entists at universities across the country, mysterious sight- could not understand. "One time we had ings. rocks and stones thrown at us at a location “Stake out” at the Dave said: "Two in Devon," he said. "The investigation into Jolly Tar Pub. unusual figures what happened there is still on going, but have been reported so far it is a mystery," said Dave. in the public bar. One, a man, was seen Dave, who is also a Liberal Democrat walking out of the fireplace in the main bar. councillor in Eastcott ward on Swindon Secondly, a lady was seen but she had van- Council, described himself as an open- ished a split second later.” There have also minded sceptic. "I don't go into a situation been reports of flying beer mats and coins. trying to disprove it but I do try to apply Dave said the -type reports could rational science, based on objective evi- be down to lorries driving past on the main dence." 14xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 He and his team will spend several weeks with all three dying. analysing the results of their findings at the 30th. Burrough Green, Cambs.Two Hannington pub before they can work out statues above the school door come exactly what is causing the mystery. alive and dance on the village green, sometimes leaving telltale footprints Sarah Darnell. in the grass! Ghost Calendar MAY 4th. Prestbury, Glos. On this day in 1471 a Lancastrian messenger killed by an arrow to the chest, is said to re-enact his last journey riding his white horse furiously about Shaw Green Lane. 21st. Tower of London. Henry VI makes an appearance just before midnight on the anniversary of his murder in the Wakefield Tower. Keep a lookout for these 29th. Dundee, Scotland. An spectral regulars. unknown waves a handker- chief from a high window at Claypotts Castle. APRIL 24th. Bolton, Lancashire. Smithills JUNE Hall. The Protestant Martyr George 2nd. Soham, Cambs. A phantom Marsh left a lasting footprint when ammunition train runs along the he stamped the floor, angry at his tracks to the station where it caught interrogation by ’s men. fire in 1944 killing two people. He was condemned to burn at the 10th. Haworth, Yorks.Courageous stake for heresy. On this day, the local celebrity, 21 year old Lily Cone anniversary of his terrible death, the who died attempting to parachute footprint turns a bloody red. from a balloon in 1906 has been seen 26th. Poundstock, Cornwall.Three visiting the local pub, The Old White ghosts are set to re-enact the awful Lion on this day. events of this night in the 17th cen- 20th West Kennet, Wilts.On the tury. Kate Penfound and her lover eve of the longest day, a pale hound John Trebarfoot were discovered (sometimes accompanied by a ghostly trying to elope by her father. The druid) can be sighted in the long bar- ensuing sword fight (Bit of an over- row at sunrise. reaction I’d have thought) ended

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx15 solid shadow at times, mostly during the PERSONAL early hours of the morning. I saw the dark ACCOUNTS figure myself on numerous occasions at around 3am and this seemed to be the time BY when most people saw it. I previously lived GHOST CLUB MEMBERS in England and I had seen something simi- lar a few times in my bedroom when I was THE APPARITION ON THE 8 or 9 years old. Usually when I saw it, COUCH.. other strange things would happen. For by Luke Shepherd. example, on two occasions when I saw this Forward by Derek Green. solid shadow, my mother had a nightmare Recently, I had these photographs sent to me and actually screamed, causing the solid by a gentleman called Mr Luke Shepherd. He dark shadow to move. On the other occa- was very interested to hear my feelings regard- sions it had just stood still, looking like it ing the strange anomalies caught on film. I stud- was staring at me. This is the only time I ied them and then contacted Philip Carr to ask have ever felt fear because of what I’ve for an expert opinion. Philip e-mailed me back seen. When my brother saw the same thing with his thoughts. With both of us finding the in a different location, this time at the bot- photographs very interesting, I asked Luke if he tom of the stairs it seemed to move, leaving would send me a detailed account as to the cir- a blur. He put this down to fear and his eye- cumstances surrounding the taking of these sight. My mother, brother and I seem to be quite sensitive to these things compared with other family members. Strange noises also occurred in the house and sometimes it sounded as though a man with a really deep voice was speaking in another room. On trying to find the voice it would stop. My family have since moved out of strange pictures. With Luke’s kind per- this house. mission, we have published Luke's own The only account in his own words: other experi- t was Christmas day and I had just ence I have received the digital camera as a had since present. This was the first shot I then was Ihad taken with it. I took a picture of while camp- my dad sleeping and there was nothing ing in the village of Ballater, where I saw a strange noticed at the time. white figure dancing. He looked almost Our house was about one hundred years like a Morris dancer. As I have said, I have old. Other family members had seen things seen these things most of my life during and not just in the room where this picture certain times. was taken. On the landing outside of the The photograph was taken on Christmas door, people had seen a dark figure like a 16 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xx Day, 2003 with only two people present in punishing and scraping by on subsistence the room; myself and my father. There has wages, for these workers penury and star- been no manipulation or any other tamper- vation loomed if illness struck or they were ing of this photograph, other than cropping maimed in an accident. To make matters of one image to show the main face(?). worse the Government withdrew subsidies Also, there seems to be streams of yellow from farming families, prompting an upris- light and other strange whisps on the pic- ing of agricultural workers in 1838, ture. On closer inspection there also whipped up by the self-styled, and colour- appears to be other faces within the strange ful eccentric, Sir William Courteney. The cloud of mist near the main face(?). To me riot was quashed by the militia in what the face appears to be of a woman/girl with became known as ‘the last battle on British the upper breast area visible. The room had soil’, the ringleaders being either killed or no lights on at the time and the flash was jailed. This happened about a mile from not used. There was no movement to the our home in rural Kent, a farmhouse with camera during picture taking or afterwards Tudor origins, which was leased to the as it was on a tripod. I used to have many parish in 1823 as a home for destitute agri- photographs of orbs, vortex’s but an unfor- cultural workers. tunate problem with my old computer Back to the guest bedroom. My wife was caused me to lose these pictures. Have just hearing different messages from different recently purchased an 8mega pixel Kodak parts of the walls, she sensed some were p880 camera so hope to get out and take from young men. They went thus: more photographs as I feel I have been “There’s no water here”. lucky in capturing images in the past. “No one will marry me”. Please let me know what you think. “They locked me up”. Mr Shepherd can be contacted through Caroline then told them she didn’t want to Derek Green at ghost.green1@btinter- hear all this. The voices continued; net.com where Derek will pass any e “I thought you were a nice person and mails onto him. would want to talk to us.” Caroline left the room at this point, as she TALKING WALLS told me, not too keen to carry on. However By after a cup of tea she went back to contin- Philip Carr ue decorating. The voices started again: y wife decided our guest bed- “There was a magic lantern show here room needed decorating and set given by a lady called Catherine about the job. The room, cav- Hartswood, she was more of a woman than Mernous and gloomy with exposed beams, you.” definitely needed cheering up. An hour Thanks a lot, thought Caroline. later she reappeared and said that she could “There were lions and tigers here.” not do any more as the walls were talking She thought this was all getting ridiculous to her. Oh yes, she just wants me to do the until she remembered her mother telling job, I thought. But I was wrong. her about the wild animals in a travelling First some back story: circus which had come years ago to nearby In Victorian times the life of the farm Whitstable. labourer was pretty dreadful. Physically Behind the door the words “bairns” and

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx17 “weans” were picked up, perhaps a refer- nce to the children of the family originat- ing from Scotland who had previously owned the house for several generations. Caroline, though a little psychic, has never had such an experience in our home before, even though we have been here for thirteen years but if it is a valid experience, it raises some interesting points. Unusually for her, she said she was feel- ing pretty fed-up that day and she won- dered perhaps whether in that state of mind she had unknowingly tuned into the wave- length of the past occupants of the room. Since the 1970s Theory has been one of the main theories behind ghost phenomena. Essentially the theory is The Ghosts of RAF based on the premise that buildings and Montrose materials are able to absorb a form of ener- gy from living beings. Researchers theo- by Derek Green rise that a recording is laid down during times of high emotional stress such as mur- hostly apparitions have been der, grief or an important scene in some- recorded on land sea and air. On one’s life and replayed when certain condi- this occasion I would like to look Gat ghosts of the air and the very interesting tions are met. This was obviously more than this. As a conversation of a sort took case of RAF Montrose. place, an intelligence was involved. One of Montrose Air Station Museum was the voices was judgemental and had pre- opened in 1983 and the current museum is sumably been observing Caroline for some housed in what was the main HQ Building time to think she might be sympathetic to of the former Royal Air Force Montrose their troubles. base. Today much of the base can still be She dismisses the conversations as per- seen but over the years, various companies haps her imagination but nevertheless is have bought hangars and sadly leave the giving the room a wide berth these days museum with limited space. By day the and has got a decorator in. former HQ Building consisting of the orig- inal wooden hut, attracts many interested people but by night, the building is known to receive nocturnal visitors from the We are always eager to publish wartime era. accounts of your personal For many years now RAF Montrose, the ghostly experiences. Send them first of 12 Government planned Air with a picture of yourself to either Stations from 1912, was operated by the Monica or Sarah. Royal Flying Corps. From 1916 the Montrose base at Broomfield had the repu-

18 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xx tation of being haunted. The base which Rumours started to spread around the closed in 1957 had such a catalogue of base that the spectral figure was that of hauntings that a separate file classed Top Flight Lt Desmond Arthur from No2. Secret was held by the Ministry Of Squadron who had died in a crash over the Defence. Because of the existence of this Broomfield base in 1913. Flt. Lt. Arthur file, it was agreed that every new staff was preparing his BE-2 Biplane for landing arrival at the station would be officially when it folded in mid air and plunged 2500 told in writing, that the place was haunted. feet to the ground. An investigation into The first documented sighting was from the crash recorded that Desmond Arthur 1916 when an officer saw the figure of a had been the victim of a "criminally negli- man in full flying gear move towards the gent repair" to a wing of his tiny aircraft. Officers Mess. The officer, who witnessed From 1916 onwards many strange occur- the same apparition twice, documented that rences were documented around the areas as he watched the gentleman walk towards of the hangars and the Waldron Bridge. In the mess, he noticed that the figure simply 1936 an RAF Policeman had a frightening faded away as he reached the door. experience in the vicinity of the old Another reported sighting from that year hangars. As he was walking, he suddenly came from a flying instructor who awoke heard another set of footsteps ahead of him. one night to find an airman in full flying It was night time and it was dark but the gear sitting in a chair by the fire in his bed- Policeman, with the aid of a torch decided room. When the instructor challenged the to give chase and follow the footsteps man he then observed that he was address- which made their way round the side of the ing an empty chair. Other strange accounts nearest hangar to the bridge. Once he began to be documented and these includ- rounded the building he realised the foot- ed airmen feeling that an extra unseen per- steps had stopped and no one was in front son had joined them and was present in of him or even behind. He then decided to their rooms. give up chase and made his way back

HQ Building, the site of many nocturnal visitors of the paranormal kind. The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 19 round, passing the HQ Building and head- scious on the floor. Alex and his colleagues ed onto the Waldron Bridge. It was a fair- brought the girl back to a state of con- ly clear night and with no more thought of sciousness. She then explained what had the footsteps he started to cross the bridge happened. She told them that as she was making for his next location. As he was preparing the tea and coffee, she heard a halfway across the bridge, again he heard plane engine very close to the building and the footsteps but on this occasion they were decided to serve up a few early teas in rapidly approaching him. He quickly readiness for some of the aircrew who were switched his about to enter torch on and the building. shone the sin- As she opened gle beam of up the shutter, light in front the girl of him. explained that Nobody was the bottom there but the doors into the sounds of NAFFI burst footsteps open and a were drawing pilot in full closer and WWII flying closer until he gear strode observed the towards her. As steps stopping she handed out only a few the cup of hot feet from strong tea where he was Waldron Road, the haunt of a ghostly airman. to the pilot standing. The air was still, not a sound and he simply faded away completely in front on shining in his torchlight forwards there of her. Understandably the poor girl faint- no sign of anyone. The Policeman was ed! rather scared by this occurrence and report- Another manifestation was witnessed on ed it to the HQ Building where no explana- the Waldron Bridge, six years after the tion could be found for the sound of the Policeman's encounter. An RAF mechanic footsteps. while walking across the bridge saw a fig- Another two manifestations were report- ure in full WWII flying gear walk towards ed in 1942. One involved the NAAFI him. As the mechanic passed the figure he which was situated on the western side of made light conversation about the weather the base. In here, the airmen regularly met but received no reply. Thinking this was for chats over a cup of tea or coffee and very strange he immediately looked round shared stories from the day's actions. One over his shoulder to find the figure had day in particular Airman Alex K______completely vanished. and a few fellow colleagues heard a loud Over the period of World War II, various scream coming from the direction of the reports from different areas of the base NAAFI. As they rushed into the building, were coming through about a spectral fig- they found the duty NAAFI girl uncon- ure of an airman being seen. One report

20xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 to hire one of the old WWI hangars to take a photo shoot with their models wearing new designer outfits. The afternoon went very well and a number of photographs were taken in different areas of the hangar. When the photographs were developed, one stood out from all the rest. In the photo, the models were clearly visible but it was noticed, that an extra person was in the picture. On closer inspection, it clearly revealed the figure of an airman in full fly- Hangar: Where an “extra” ing gear standing towards the back of the figure appeared in photograph. hangar. The photograph was examined and came in from the area of the Mortuary. A no logical explanation could be given. The night guard was on duty outside the mortu- company insisted that nobody had been ary, when he became aware of a sound booked to appear in a flying kit to create coming from behind the doors. As he authenticity. The appearance of the figure turned round to investigate the mortuary remains a mystery to this day. doors opened with full blast and out The second incident involved a walked an airman in WWII flying gear. Grampian TV film crew who were making Not understanding fully what he was see- a programme on the ghosts of RAF ing, the night guard took chase only to see Montrose in the late 1980's. The crew the airman fade away completely in front decided to film behind the HQ Building of him. and record views of the Waldron Bridge Since the closure of the base in 1957 and from ground level. This area of filming the opening of the museum in 1983, very was to cover the stories of recorded sight- little activity was reported, mainly due to ings of the apparition on the bridge. the fact that many of the buildings were Ironically when Grampian TV started to unused. However in 1983, staff of the cur- edit the footage back at their studios, there, rent museum started to catalogue a chain of mys- terious events which were clearly leaving staff very intrigued as to what was happening. There have been numer- ous accounts of the phan- tom airman in full flying gear and two incidents in particular stand out above the rest. The first one being the apparition in a commercial photograph. A catalogue firm decided Airfield. RAF Montrose The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx21 appearing on film and slightly under the tion where the door could have been bridge, was the eerie figure of an airman in opened easily. The only way to open the full flying gear. Grampian TV stated that door was to physically turn the Yale lock. they had not employed an extra to stand in The investigators also reported a shadow the area to help create authenticity. The passing an exterior window while the piece of film has been viewed by many group were inside the CO's room. It was people and a number of experts and it also noted that the main gates were locked remains a mystery to this day. and a police patrol had been organised by Numerous reports of ghostly activity the Museum Staff to keep a close guard on have been documented from inside the for- the GC Investigation Team during their

Main Museum where GC members saw a figure in the doorway. mer HQ Building The activity, which investigation. Other reported activity that includes doors opening themselves, foot- night included loud bangs, the scraping of steps, door handles being rattled and a fig- what sounded like nails across the floor of ure passing interior panels of glass have all the main museum room and the possible been witnessed by staff and visitors to the sighting by three members of a vigil team museum. In fact at one stage, the activity of a figure of a man in the doorway. was so strong that the staff placed As for the staff of the museum, their first Desmond Arthur's name on the staff in/out reported account involved a committee board as being permanently IN the build- meeting which was held in the building ing! In 2004 The Ghost Club investigated after closing time. The committee had the former HQ building and during the gathered in the former Adjutant's office evening reported footsteps, and a door at which was now the main museum office the end of the corridor opening on two and a while into the meeting the members occasions by itself. The latter puzzled the of the committee became aware of foot- investigators even more as the door in steps walking in the corridor outside the question had a Yale lock. The lock was office. The group decided to halt the meet- examined and it was not in the snib posi- ing and investigate the sounds thinking that

22xxxThe Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 they had an intruder. After a thorough a prolonged period. Neil thinking that one investigation of the building, no intruder of the committee members was playing a was found and what added to the mystery, prank on him, came down from his ladder was the fact that the main museum door and slowly crept to the door while the rat- was locked from the inside and the main tling continued. He then grabbed the han- perimeter gate was locked. No one could dle and wrenched the door open to find no have gained entry to the building. one in front of him and no one in the corri- Another manifestation was reported dur- dor! Neil then very quickly packed his tool ing a period of re-decoration when two bag and left the building at great speed! brothers who were committee members of Two other members of staff had a chilling the museum trust, were busy painting. One experience on another occasion when they was doing the interior of the main museum witnessed a gentleman stride down the cor- room and the other was busy creosoting the ridor and proceed into the office. This area exterior roof of the HQ Building. The was out of bounds to the public. The two brother, (who we shall call Neil) was work- members walked down to the office and on ing inside the room atop the ladder when he entering the room saw nobody. heard someone entering the south door of Another recorded sighting from wartime the building. He could clearly hear the foot- happened during the early-morning duty steps coming down the corridor and enter- hours. A Scottish clerk was scared out his ing the meeting room. At this point Neil wits when he awoke to find himself staring decided to come down from the ladder and at a figure in a white flying suit and offi- find out what his brother wanted. Neil then cer's hat. The young clerk watched the fig- checked the meeting room to discover ure standing at the desk and appearing to nobody there and then on making his way rifle through some papers. What was fright- outside, noted that his brother (who we ening about the apparition was that it had shall call Graham) was still on the roof. no feet and was literally floating in the air. Graham said he’d not heard anything while The hauntings of Montrose are not just being up on the roof and was not aware of attached to the buildings, regular sightings anyone approaching the building from the have been recorded out in the airfield dur- outside. The brothers could not understand ing and after the wars and up to the present who their visitor had been. Another expe- day. In the last ten years, members of the rience witnessed by Neil, happened a few general public have been out walking their weeks later when again he was working in dogs on the airfield and have witnessed an the main museum room and again, became airman walking in front of them. There is aware of footsteps in the corridor. At this also the case of the airman who was smok- point Neil reckoned it was another commit- ing a cigarette beside the crumbled remains tee member popping to see how he was get- of the control tower. He watched a woman ting on. He listened as the footsteps came walk past with her dog and as she glanced up the main corridor and entered the area back, thinking that the figure in flying gear of the museum shop. Shortly after this the did not look normal, there was no sign of door handle started rattling and Neil shout- anyone. Another lady had an unnerving ed for the person to come into the room. experience while walking her dog when Nobody entered, then the door handled she heard a disembodied voice repeat four started to rattle again and this carried on for times "I'm here." On two occasions an

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx23 unidentified figure has been seen around uniform and who suffered from insanity. the area of the old WWI hangars. One of There is a connection between the Royal these sightings was witnessed by three girls Flying Corps and the old Montrose Lunatic who ran from the area terrified and never Asylum. A member of the Montrose muse- returned. um staff did claim that the old asylum had There are various theories as to the iden- stood on the same site as the barracks tity of the men seen wearing flying gear. which were home to No 2 Squadron before One, the out- being break of Desmond WWI. It is Arthur fact that who was Desmond killed in Arthur 1913 never flew whilst fly- from ing over Montrose, the but another Montrose theory was base, put forward although that the many ghostly fig- people ure could believe be that of that Major F.F Arthur did Waldron not actu- who was ally fre- killed in quent France in Montrose 1916. One Air Field final theory as he was that must be based in Museum. Sounds of running and scratching have considered Upper been heard here. is the possi- Dysart. bility that The airbase then moved to Broomfeld in the apparition of the WWII airman could Montrose six months after Arthur's death be a flight officer who was killed in 1942 and many of the staff from Upper Dysart when his aircraft crashed on take off. His moved as well. identity has not been found from records as In 1990 an Australian medium was invit- yet. ed to the base to help the staff of the muse- There have been a number of alleged um find an answer to the curious goings on. sightings over the years, all too many to His conclusion seemed very bizarre. The mention. The last famous sighting involved ghost he claimed, was the restless spirit of one of the best known figures in aviation; a prankster who liked dressing up in flying his name was Sir Peter Masefield. On the

24 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx 27th of May 1963, Masefield was flying beside the airfield. As he dashed from his his chipmunk over the North East of chipmunk, he asked some golfers on the Scotland, his route taking him over the course to help him. Bemused by this spec- then disused airfield of Montrose. As he tacle, the golfers joined Sir Peter and hur- approached the old airfield he became ried across the field to the crash site. On quite excited knowing that some years arrival and to Sir Peter's amazement, there before, it had been a very active RAF base. was no sign of wreckage, no sign of the As he made his approach he could see the BE-2 nor was there remains of any wreck- old runways coming into view and was age of any kind at all to be found. looking forward to getting an aerial view as Sir Peter Masefield decided to embark on he flew over. Ahead of Masefield was some research on his sighting. another plane, he thought it was a Biplane Surprisingly he discovered that the day he and on drawing closer, he realised it was a had been flying, the 27th of May 1963, was seventy horsepower BE-2 trainer that the almost 50 years to the very day Flt. Lt. Royal Flying Corps had used before WWI. Desmond Arthur had crashed his BE-2 Very intrigued by this, Sir Peter managed Biplane. The Accident report into the inci- to draw close enough to the aircraft to describe the pilot as wearing a leather helmet, goggles and a fly- ing scarf. At this point Masefield wondered if the plane had been rebuilt by a group of enthusiasts but then noticed that the plane moved oddly, in a strange manner, as if in slow motion. Then Sir Peter watched as the upper part of a wing on the Biplane broke, and then another section of the other wing came loose and broke off. Finally Sir Peter Masefield was to witness the BE-2 rear out of control, fall and start twisting and spinning while heading in a nose dive straight for the dis- used airfield. Sir Peter, shaken by this, made a frantic short landing on Corridor with the original door that the long golf course opened itself. The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx25 dent and death of Desmond Arthur was dated as happening on the 27th May 1913. GHOSTS. Had Sir Peter Masefield witnessed the 50th Proof of anniversary of the death of Desmond Life after Death? Arthur? Now in 2007, there is still the odd report of activity in the old former HQ Building he fact that ghosts have been seen of RAF Montrose but the activity, does by people of sound mind, sober, seem to have diminished. One possible the- awake and often by several people Tat once since the beginning of civilization ory for this is that a lot of the old crash site exhibits have been removed for safe keep- is, I believe, beyond question. It seems ing. Is it just possible that the crash site they have been photographed and disem- exhibits had caused a lot of the manifesta- bodied voices (EVPs), have been recorded. tions to take place, the pieces of wreckage They have affected sophisticated monitor- being from different crash sites in ing equipment, gauss meters and the like Scotland? I tend now to disagree with this and set off movement detectors as they’ve theory as I have discovered through crossed the beams. Ghosts have appeared research that many of these sightings and at times of death or crisis, to warn, say occurrences were happening before any goodbye or reassure. They have been seen crash site exhibits were placed in the build- to re-enact battles, search for things appar- ing. However it could be possible that the ently lost, trace old habits, hitch-hike and crash site exhibits fed the activity like a sometimes just go BOO in the night. If we battery charger and now they have been accept, as many of us cautiously do, that removed, the activity is diminishing ghosts exist, should this convince us of the through lack of being “charged”. We can survival of the human soul or mind? only hope that the exhibits are put back into the museum and consequently hope Repeated or Historical Haunting that the activity may heighten again for the If we take for instance, the “Historical” future. However I do feel that ghosts/sprits type haunting, perhaps there is another of RAF Montrose come into the same explanation other than accepting that these heading as John G Fullers book entitled are the souls of people having survived "The Airmen who would not die". death. There is the well documented case in As a result of more research for this arti- 1953 of Harry Martindale, an 18 year old cle one curious item of interest has come to apprentice plumber installing central heat- my notice. It would appear that from 1942 ing in the cellars of the Treasurer’s House onwards a high percentage of the sightings at York Minster. He was surprised first to have been witnessed by females and on one hear a trumpet call and on turning around, of The Ghost Club's investigations a lady saw a Roman Centurion emerge through member was inadvertently locked in the the wall playing a trumpet, march across building. Could this be an airman who the room and disappear through the oppo- likes the company of women? I will leave site wall. Not surprisingly he fell off his you to decide! ladder and retreated to a corner of the room, from where he watched in amaze- ment as a carthorse emerged, followed by about 20 soldiers processing in double file. 26 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx Oddly, he noted that they marched at a penings, perhaps this is also releasing hith- lower level, seeming to be submerged in erto trapped water molecules into the the solid floor up to their knees. They car- atmosphere and thus setting free trapped ried lances, round shields and short swords. memories. This may explain away one type This procession had been witnessed before of apparition but as we know it’s not that several times by different people. A docu- easy. Surely through time and movement, mented case happened in 1930 and again in the molecules containing the memory 1946. would become confused and jumbled and One theory to explain this sort of histori- make less sense. It is also baffling if you cal apparition could be the Stone Tape look at another earlier reported sighting at Theory. It was hypothesised during the the same location. 1970’s, that somehow memory is impreg- A young woman at a fancy dress party in nated into the surrounding walls, rock earth the 1920s had wandered downstairs to the etc., particularly during times of stress, same Treasury House cellars, when her grief, high emotion and like magnetic tape, way was physically barred by a Centurion. records and then, with a suitable trigger, Accounts are quite clear that no-one at the replays the events. The triggers suggested party was dressed in this way. If these are people with psychic abilities, stress, or apparitions are actually interacting with even brainwaves “in tune”. Some specu- living people, how can they still be just late these memories are stored within the replayed memories? If there are two types tectonic plate or lying somehow in the deep of ghost haunting the Treasury, then what is strata. These “vibrations” must obviously it about the place that makes it so active? be able to withstand the demolishing of buildings, movement of land for roads and Crisis Apparitions. buildings etc. and vast expanses of time! Crisis apparitions involving living people Another explanation was proposed after may perhaps be explained away by telepa- experiments in a completely unrelated area thy; somebody sees their friend’s phantom proved that water molecules retain a standing before them at 3am, only to hear “memory”. Jacques Benveniste, the French the next day that this person had perhaps allergy specialist was using a blue dye to been in great danger at that time. One could help isolate which blood cells became argue that at times of stress, it is possible to active when in contact with allergens and transfer those feelings and one’s ethereal which did not. Quite by accident, after the body telepathically to someone else, espe- substance had been diluted to the point that cially a close friend. Even in a case where no allergen was present, the water still one person dies, at the point of death, the reacted as it had done in the presence of the same could apply. Often however, post allergen. After hundreds of repeated exper- mortem ghosts have appeared to their fam- iments, the result was the same. It seems ilies and friends at times after their minds water molecules can retain a memory. could not be functioning, even telepathical- Given that so much of our world contains ly, if one accepts that the mind dies with water, perhaps even these aforementioned the body. There have been many cases elaborate memories may be stored there. where the “dead” person even interacts It’s often reported that excavation, demoli- with the living. Surely these must be cases tion etc., seems to stir up paranormal hap- where we have to look for explanations

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xx27 other than or some sort of essarily replayed taped memories. They replayed memory. may have made a conscious choice to do this. Living Ghosts. Early in the last century, experiments Time Slips. were conducted into consciously produced Amongst others, there is a well known apparitions. The percipient would put him- case in 1902 of a visit to the Palace of self into a relaxed state, and concentrate Versailles by two English women. They very hard on a particular location to project subsequently wrote a book of their experi- to that place where they knew someone, ences on that day, 10th August, which coin- (the recipient) to be, without this person’s cided with the anniversary of the arrest of prior knowledge. On many occasions they Marie Antoinette. They intended to walk to were actually seen by the unsuspecting Petit Trianon and became lost. In the recipient. On some occasions the spectre course of the day they saw people and was also seen by a person who happened to places that existed only at the time of the be there without the percipients prior French Revolution. They were both also knowledge. This is interesting, as if it was affected by a deep feeling of depression. A just seen by the recipient, that could I sup- year later they went back to look for the pose, be put down to telepathy (supposing place to which they had been but were it is possible to project oneself telepathical- unable to find anything familiar. The two ly) but a second person, whose presence women were convinced that somehow time was unexpected must, I think, rule this out had slipped for them. During this experi- again. So a living person is able to project ence, they had spoken and interacted with their spectral body through space by the people. These kinds of apparitions appear power of the mind. to be a completely different kind of phe- nomena. Time being such a slippery thing, Ghosts with a Mission. it being difficult to determine the differ- Hauntings involving ghosts who seem to ence between past and future, I find it more be hell bent on righting wrongs, seeking interesting that these time slips don’t hap- revenge, searching for proof of this or that, pen more often. Perhaps our brains are pre- watching over someone, even bearing a venting us from perceiving these events, in grudge are demonstrating some sort of con- an attempt to make more sense of our exis- tinued consciousness; something moving tence. on from when they were alive. They are not always habitual actions left over from life Consciousness. but seem to have an awareness of a new If we are able to leave our bodies through state of things, as if mind conscious. powerful thought, relaxation, projection etc, then our minds must be able to func- Ghosts, the Old Routine. tion without our bodies. If this is so, per- Perhaps some people like to come back haps our brains are not needed for our to this place just to do things they once did, minds to function. Philosopher, Henri like walk down the old lane again, sit in the Bergson wrote that consciousness was not pub on their favourite chair, for no other a function of the brain but more of a tool of reason than they like the feeling. Not nec- perception, focusing the mind’s attention to

28 The Ghost Club Newsletter xSpring 2007x what is needed for life. In death of course COUNTY GHOSTS this is no longer needed. The mind is not dependent on matter to function.

Conclusion. There are many different types of ghosts and apparitions, whether consciously pro- duced or not. Sometimes we go looking for them; sometimes we see them when we least expect it. Perhaps our brains are so programmed to keep us focussed on what we need for life, i.e. survival, that we are pre-disposed to think anything we cannot see directly, or grasp logically can’t be reg- istered. Maybe this is why research into the by paranormal moves along so slowly and Keith Morbey why not everyone sees ghosts. Whilst it may be true that it can be argued, not all ghosts are proof of life after death, I CORNWALL believe there is ample scope to say the his month I would like to share with existence of, at least some ghostly phe- you the remarkable events of April nomena, must point to the survival after 1821 which occurred in the county death of the conscious human mind. Or Ttown of Truro. The happenings were then again... reported in the ‘West Briton’ and gained Monica Tandy. wider notice when reprinted in The Times. A recently built house in Cardew Street was used as an arms depository by the mili- tia regiment of Royal Miners. Around the 20th April the armourer who resided in part of the house was alarmed by the breaking of his windows. He ran to the door but could not discover the spot from whence the stones proceeded. The stones continued to fly at intervals and several panes of glass were demolished in the house and also the adjoining one occupied by the regimental sergeant major. The armourer and sergeant major alerted officers residing in the town but although they saw the stones strike the houses and break the windows and were occasionally struck themselves, every attempt to discov- er the person who threw them or the pre- cise spot from whence they came was fruit-

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xx29 less. At length the mayor was sent for and he came, together with the parish consta- bles and several other persons to view the proceedings. The scene of the attack was now changed NEW from the front to the rear of the houses. Although the stones continued to fly, the MEMBERS civil power was on the alert and scouts were sent out in all directions but no dis- covery was made. The mayor and his assis- tants were struck by stones whilst endeav- A warm welcome to ouring to unravel the mystery. Sentinels these members who were placed at various points, some of the cavalry in the adjacent barracks were have recently joined called in to assist and the magistrate and us: constables withdrew. Still no detection took place although the stones continued to be thrown occasionally. The attacks continued for several days Shaun Feeley, and in the presence of hundreds of persons of all descriptions, who went in crowds to Amy Rowe, view the annoyance. Many were fully per- Amrit Bamrah, suaded that it was a visitation by some troubled spirit and numberless Carolanne Douglas, tales of a most extravagant nature were cir- Janice Scott, culated. Some asserted that the stones smelt of brimstone; others that they were Nicky Butler, quite warm. David Taylor, The last report stated that the activities continued at intervals with the people in Michael Murphy, the neighbourhood being perfectly con- Mark Davies vinced that the stones were directed by a supernatural agency, as it was impossible Deborah Hagarth- for any human being to have eluded the Dodd, vigilance which been exerted to unravel the mystery. I remember some years ago the late Graham Wylie spoke to the Ghost Club and related a story of similar stone throwing which had occurred quite recently in a garage in South Wales. O tempora, o mores!

30 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x The Spirit Voice By Philip Paul. “You’re not yourself” were his blunt words. “Who am I then?” I said. He didn’t answer for a while Then said “You look like Fred.”

“But Fred’s long dead, ”I pointed out. “Yes, that’s quite true,” he cried; “The way you’re looking here and now, One might well think you’d died.”

“That isn’t nice,” I told him then. “I know it’s not,” he said. “But facts are facts, like it or not, And when you’re dead, you’re dead.”

“But I’m not dead,” I ventured then. “Of course you’re not,” he said. “That’s beyond all doubt because You can’t talk with the dead.”

And then from a dark corner came A message plain and pure. Addressing my old friend, it said “Don’t you be so sure!”

We thought it was a spirit voice, Which, in a way, was true. Because the words turned out to come From a chap who’d had a few!

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xx31 as The Ghost Club’s Events Officer GGhhoosstt WWaallkkss and active member of the GC Council but he has many other strings to his bow. He is of course, the author of Guildford Haunted Guildford (Tempus 2006), itch up at the steps of Trinity which explains why he knows his sub- Church Guildford on a Friday ject so well. Incidentally the book night with a fiver in your pocket was the number 1 best seller at and you’re in for a treat. I joined P Waterstones in Guildford for 3 around twenty, slightly apprehensive months! This is not just a load of old looking people for a tour presented recycled rumour but well researched by Philip Hutchinson around this his- and very well told, hilarious and this toric town’s is the best bit; as Philip is also a pro- most haunt- fessional actor this Ghost Walk is a ed places. true performance from beginning to The Ghost end. Tour of At Holy Trinity Church you are not Guildford met by your guide; he appears before however, is you as if from nowhere. Once his so much audience is wrong footed in this way, more than he then goes about sneering, insult- just a guid- ed stroll through a spooky past. There are plenty of stories from antiquity such as the Duke of Monmouth’s last night spent at Abbot’s Hospital before his return to London and botched execution at the block (quite a bit of detail there) but many of the tales you’ll hear are bang up to date, such as the relatively recent haunting at Waterstones Bookshop (where the GC held an investigation in 2004) and this, our guide probably Philip Hutchinson with his knows more about than anyone! Casio keyboard- music to Philip Hutchinson, many of us know calm our nerves. 32 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x ing and sometimes shouting and scar- walking through a demolition site and ing - and the audience love it. Nobody watch out for fist fighting nuns at knows what to expect from him from Sydenham Road car park. then on. He sets the atmosphere so A little bizarrely, our guide (or tor- expertly and has our full attention as mentor), then took us to Guildford we all head Castle off into the accompanied “unknown”. by a Glenn Outside Miller num- the ber played Edinburgh on a small Woollen Mill Casio key- he somehow board, which persuades a he had volunteer to acquired, play on a toy once again trumpet from his bag produced of tricks. from a large There he bag (we’d all told us a been won- spine chilling dering what story of the bag con- recent tained). He events tells us of involving the” polter- prisoners that chained to haunts The walls, which Three had been Pigeons pub- witnessed lic house by small and the case Our “tormentor” at the children. of the “exploding Then it was off to cemetary gates. cheese”! At the museum, this Tunsgate Arch we time to Mozart hear stories about the public execu- (Philip thought it would help us on the tions that took place at The Mount walk through the darker areas of the (and at this point he attempts to Castle grounds). From the museum, “hang” a member of his audience). As where we were told of a piano playing we progress up Tunsgate we look for ghost and dancing umbrellas, some of Lorna, the lady in grey who was seen which had actually been sighted on The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007 333 this walk a few years ago, we went on down to St Mary’s church. Here on a INVESTIGATION previous tour whilst trying to scare people, Philip admitted to having Battle Abbey accidentally knocked over and broken a 200 year old tombstone! Back to the high Street for tales of what Saturday 30th Petula Clark saw in the Angel Hotel and the odd building at No 122 where September 2006

8 mummified cats were found. The n the invitation of English tour lasts for an hour and three Heritage, an overnight investiga- quarters; fantastic value for money. tion was arranged at Battle Abbey, OBattle, East Sussex on Saturday 30th At the conclusion you are given the September. Although this investigation was opportunity to purchase Philip’s book arranged at very short notice, the prospect for less than the cover price. of investigating this amazing historic site If you’re up for something a little elicited an overwhelming response from different, I dare you to go along on our members. This was particularly a Friday night at 8pm. impressive as we would be outside throughout most of the night and torrential Monica Tandy. rain was forecast! (Photographs, Sarah Darnell). It would be hard to find anybody who did not at least know one date in English histo- Runs March to November. 8PM Trinity ry; the year of the Battle Of Hastings. On Church Guildford. the 14th October of 1066, William of For more info call: 01483506232 Normandy asserted his claim to the English or 079052888333 crown and with his Norman Army invaded www.ghosttourofguildford.co.uk and defeated the Anglo-Saxons. The actual conflict took place not in Hastings but in nearby Battle. King William subsequently built Battle Abbey to commemorate the event and give thanks for his victory. The investigation was attended by Bibi from the Guardian Newspaper, Richard from 'Mission 21', Dawn an employee of the Abbey and their guest Amanda, who was their official Medium for the night. All four participated in the investigation and joined with Ghost Club members to form six teams: TEAM ONE: Sarah Darnell. Philip Hutchinson. Bibi and

34 The Ghost Club Newsletter xSpring 2007x spent time where needed, although most of my time was spent in the vicinity of our 'Monitoring Station' which was to be my van. My evening started with a brief meeting in the Museum area with Bibi, Richard, Dawn and Amanda. Daryl Burchmore, a long-term employee of the Abbey, joined us. The purpose of the meeting was so that Daryl could relate details to us of activity reported by the public over the years, as well as his own experiences. To discount autosuggestion, Ghost Club members were not present and had met at the nearby 1066 pub. At 8.45pm, Ghost Club members entered the The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey. Abbey. Our Base/Meeting Point was to be the Richard. Function Room situated over the Souvenir TEAM TWO: Shop where the Abbey kindly provided Milton Edwards, Dave Stephens. refreshments throughout the night. After a TEAM THREE: quick pit stop, I took members on a whirl- Steve Rose, Kellie Kirkman, Nick Seear. wind tour of the areas we were to explore TEAM FOUR: with the kind help of Daryl, who was able Monica Tandy, Paul Brown, Amanda, to give us additional help with the lesser- Dawn. known history. As our remit for the night TEAM FIVE: was to concentrate on the scientific side of Dane Nye, George Nye, Jo Edwards, Paula investigation, we then spent quite some Eason. time setting up various experiments TEAM SIX: throughout the site. All teams were provid- Nobby Clarke, Carol Tolhurst-Clarke, ed with two-way radios. The following is Shirley Mason. our account of the night by location, which was put together from the written accounts I would not be joining a specific team but of all teams.

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxx35 building itself is very recent, its interest lay in the fact that it was located on the Battlefield and was the only point of electricity accessi- ble in that area. A monitor was set up in the building displaying (and recording onto LP VHS), via Mircowave link, the footage of a 0 Lux Camcorder focused into the wooded area. A second Night Vision Camcorder was also used. A planchette was positioned as a trig- ger object in the room at the front of Prelude, in the front corner furthest from the door. Regular EMF and temperature readings were also taken throughout the night by the team assigned that area. This location proved very quiet (apart from a lot of insect activity after a heavy shower of rain!). The temperature was a steady 18 - 19 degrees throughout the night with no fluctuations. EMF readings remained within the expected para- meters with no disturbances. All investigators to Prelude reported a quiet, relaxed and peaceful vigil, with nothing out of the ordinary to note. Undercroft, Battle Abbey LOCATION TWO: LOCATION ONE: UNDERCROFTS AND TERRACE PRELUDE: Follow the pathway downhill from The "Prelude to Battle Exhibition" is Prelude and the path veers left. In daylight housed in a wooden building in a small you are confronted with amazing views wooded area. It is the recommended start- across the battlefield, with the impressive ing point for the Battlefield Walk, where walls of the thirteenth century undercrofts tourists can learn more of the events lead- to your left. These vaulted chambers were ing up to the Battle of Hastings. Although used for storage by the abbey and were easy enough to find in daylight, the build- built below its guesthouse block. ing is completely obscured at night by the I took an initial walk around Battle trees and the narrow pathway between the Abbey on the Tuesday before the investi- trees leading to the front entrance, could be gation and even in bright sunlight, the quite eerie and disorientating. Although the 36 The Ghost Club Newsletter xxSpring 2007x rooms were very dark and gloomy. I was ger object. Covered Dictaphones were also aware from the outset, that anyone entering placed in two of the other chambers. these buildings and making their way Outside, further along the terrace/path- through the string of chambers might feel way I parked up my van, housing two mon- uncomfortable, as subconsciously they itors which recorded one 0 lux CCTV cam- would be aware that if something hap- era focused along the terrace and one 0 Lux pened, there is only one way out! Audio CCTV focused on the stone steps at The furthest chamber was "locked off" the end of the undercroft walls. A 0 Lux with motion detectors but this took consid- camcorder was also used to film across the erable patience as the torchlight disturbed field. EMF and temperature readings were some very large bats, which initially taken regularly throughout the area. seemed intent on flying through the beams. Throughout the evening the temperature Once the bats had settled in another cham- in the undercrofts remained constant and ber, the teams were asked to keep their unremarkable. There were no unusual torches low to the ground in order not to EMF readings. Several people remarked disturb the bats again and risk them setting that the atmosphere felt "heavy" which off the alarms! A small hand-held bell was could easily be attributed to the darkness positioned in the locked-off area as a trig- being almost total, adding to the already claustrophobic location. At around 1.30am, Sarah accidentally triggered the motion detector - still, nice to know they were still working in the rather damp conditions! Naturally, this alarm was picked up on Dictaphone, as was the occa- sional sound of bats flying around. When Sarah, Richard and Philip were in the mid- dle rooms, they heard a "clonk" which they described as sounding like stone falling. They were unsure of the direction, which is not surprising as the acoustics can be deceiving. At this time Bibi accompanied me at the Monitoring Van as she felt uncomfortable and claustrophobic at the prospect of entering the chambers. At about 2.30pm, Dane and George both said they felt the ground tremble underfoot when they were in room five. They described it as similar to being in a large room where lots of people were moving about. At this time, I was outside further along the undercrofts walls and noticed no anomalies that might have caused the "trembling" sensation. The site is nowhere The Terrace near a road, at this point the weather was The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xxx37 quite clement and although the engine was expecting an investigator to appear at any running in my van, it was constant moment, I was surprised to find that there throughout the night and too far away to was nobody else around. There was a fair cause this "tremor". At the end of their amount of "wild life" around during the vigil at 3am, both Dane and George heard night but the steps were solid, purposeful a "clink" which sounded like to glasses or and too heavy to be attributed to any empty bottles tapping together. inquisitive animal and no possible cause Of most note throughout the night, was was filmed on any of the cameras. Six min- the sudden and widespread drainage of bat- utes later, the next team to explore the teries in this location which extended from Abbey and undercrofts arrived so I was within the chambers as far as the area able to confirm that when the footsteps were recorded, all members were account- ed for, as they were leaving base at this time. It is a shame that there was not time for another vigil as I felt that the terrace over- looking the fields had a lot of potential. After the investigation, I discovered from her notes that Monica felt much the same and had perceived a man on horseback along the pathway on the initial tour.

LOCATION THREE: BATTLEFIELDS BEYOND TERRACE, LAKE AND WALLED GARDEN. This area covered the battlefield from Senlac Ridge below the Abbey across the fields and the Walled Garden. This was a huge area, which unfortunately could not be adequately covered due to its sheer size and hazardous, boggy condition on the night but we did our best! Dictaphones / Voice Recorders were Dormitory placed on the Battlefield but unfortunately did not pick up much with the exception of where the van was parked. At 2.20am, the wind. EMF readings were within whilst the teams were all at base, my radio expected range, and there were no sudden died, followed by a second one. Within the drops or rises in temperature. Camcorder space of five minutes, my camcorder, digi- footage does not show anything unusual. tal camera and thermometer batteries had Perhaps the most unexpected and surpris- also inexplicably discharged. A few min- ing thing throughout the evening was that utes later, approaching footsteps were virtually everybody thought the heard and recorded, albeit faintly. Fully Battlefields felt calm, peaceful and tran-

38 The Ghost Club Newsletter xSpring 2007x therefore briefly explored the area on our initial tour and agreed that it could be incorporated when groups were investigat- ing the Battlefield. Although the wind was not particularly strong, it is quite notice- able in the large open areas throughout the grounds, so the sudden still and quietness as you enter the sheltered area within the high walls, can be quite disconcerting and give the area an eerie aspect. There were no temperature anomalies and EMF readings were all normal, although Paul, Monica and Amanda all entered the walled garden just after midnight and all felt nauseous. A covered Dictaphone recorded nothing out of the ordinary.

LOCATION FOUR: THE ABBEY RUINS AND DORMITORY RANGE The beautiful Abbey remains incorporat- The Dairy ing the Dormitory on the upper floor and Common room and Novices Room on the quil. Given that we all knew that this was lower, were a definite favourite with mem- the site of a bloodbath involving thousands bers. The area is still awe-inspiring with its of men, I found the contrast between well- high vaulted ceilings and stone columns. known historical events and the perception At the furthest-most point of the building, of the place very odd. As much as we try to there are the remains of the monks discount autosuggestion, you would expect Latrines. a certain amount of preconception when A "locked-off" camcorder was left in the walking the Battlefield in the dark, to seep Common Room, protected by Motion through, albeit subconsciously! Beam Detectors at each door. A At 2.25am, Philip reported a feeling of Dictaphone was left running and a Multi- exhilaration on the Battlefield which only Meter was available to record: lux, (light), turned to a feeling of threat as the sky dark- decibels, humidity and temperature. ened. Sarah agrees with this, saying the At about 11.15pm, Dane reported his mood had changed to feeling quite oppres- cameras seemingly turning itself on and off sive, which was possibly due to dark near the Dormitory, and then taking photos clouds covering the moon. At 2.50am he on its own! It subsequently worked per- recorded seeing a "ball of light on the field, fectly again when he left this area. Several near the lake, whiz across the top of the groups recorded very fleeting chills, with grass. Paul, Monica and Amanda noting a signif- The Walled Garden was not originally icant and very sudden drop in temperature part of our remit, but Dawn and Amanda of 3 degrees at 12.50. Several people also felt it worthy of further investigation. We The Ghost Club Newsletter xSpring 2007xxx39 recorded shadowy movements throughout Abbey Ruins and date from the 19th centu- the building but the general consensus ry when Battle Abbey was in use as a coun- seems to be that this was most probably try house. Although the Dairy was opened, due to the eyes trying to focus in very low- unfortunately we could not gain access into light conditions. None of these movements the Icehouse. were captured on video footage. There is very little left of the abbey’s At 3.10, Philip heard several distinct tolls church, except for a neatly marked out area of a bell, which he estimated sounding as in the well-manicured lawns indicating though it was com- where it once stood. ing from a couple It was built on the of miles away. The site where King group also all saw a Harold fell. The small pin of green high alter is said to light on the ceiling, mark the exact spot with seemingly and is identified by nothing to cause it. the "Harold Stone" The light seemed with the inscription: almost stationary, The Traditional perhaps moving site of only a couple of the High Altar of inches. My first Battle Abbey thought was that I Founded To noticed a fair Commemorate amount of very The Victory of bright moss and Duke William lichen on my pre- on 14 October liminary visit and 1066. wondered if, The Monument. The High Altar although quite was placed To rare, there might be some phosphorescent Mark The Spot Where King Harold moss on the ceiling. I have since spoken to Died". Sarah on the phone who described it as a The excavated crypt area is very haz- green/blue light and suggested it may well ardous, particularly in the dark! The have been feint moonlight seen through a ground suddenly disappears into a large chink in the stonework. deep stone-walled pit which was once the EMF readings remained within normal Abbey Crypt. The floor above this would parameters and the trigger object was have been the infirmary. There are steep undisturbed. steps allowing access to this area which can be very slippery when wet. The LOCATION FIVE: Monument is the furthest part of this vigil DAIRY, ICEHOUSE, CHAPEL, location. CRYPT, MONUMENT AND Several members used camcorders HAROLD STONE. throughout this very large location, The Dairy and Icehouse stand behind the although as the ground was perilous in

40 The Ghost Club Newsletter xxSpring 2007x places, and the grass very wet, we were emanating from this area while they were limited as to which equipment we could in the Abbey. At first it was assumed that it utilise in this area. A trigger object, (a very was another member/group but on investi- large Quartz Crystal), was positioned on gation, there was nobody there; no torches, the monument and a covered Dictaphone no voices and the footsteps had stopped. was also placed there. Obviously the Ten seconds after resuming the vigil in the Harold Stone would have been preferable Abbey, the footsteps were briefly heard but could easily have been accidentally again. Everybody was accounted for at this kicked or disturbed in the dark. time and this is a good example of several EMF readings proved very high in areas groups unwittingly corroborating each of this location but on further examination other's findings. Monica also independent- by Nobby, it seemed highly likely that this ly commented that she had the impression was due to underground cables feeding of a man wearing high boots in the Dairy. I electricity to the School in the centre of the was surprised when reading members grounds. reports about this area as actually, the The most impressive occurrence of the Dairy is probably the most modern and night occurred near the Icehouse and Dairy. cheeriest looking location in the grounds Several groups reported seeing a shadowy and the least likely candidate for activity! silhouette lurking around this area, only to At 11.30pm, in the Crypt, Carol, Nobby seemingly disappear when approached. and Shirley recorded a sudden, dramatic Meanwhile, both Nick and Steve reported and inexplicable drop in temperature. In hearing footsteps as though on gravel, the space of nine minutes, the temperature

The ruins of the Crypt.

The Ghost Club Newsletter xSpring 2007xxx41 dropped 5.2 degrees! (From 21.5 to 16.3). Several teams reported hearing various With this exception, there was nothing else noises throughout the night but it was of note in or around the Crypt. noted that most of the times coincided with The Chapel, Harold Stone and Monument Dawn manning the door at the souvenir area were all very quiet throughout the shop. Most of the doors are of heavy wood night with nothing remarkable to record. and it is quite amazing how sounds like this Dictaphones drew a blank and the Trigger travel through a building in the still of the Object was untouched. night. I am sure this would be less apparent during the day when the building is LOCATION SIX: bustling with activity. There were several THE GATEHOUSE, OFFICE AND other "clicking" noises that could very well MUSEUM. just be the building settling as the tempera- The original "location six" was to be out- ture dropped through the night. However, side the Gatehouse and an office within it, there were a couple of "knocks" reported which has experienced activity. However, which seemed to come from the vicinity of on the night the Office was locked and we the Tower Room corner. Perhaps the Abbey were unable to gain access, so we opted to staff could discount plumbing or some investigate the Museum area and adjoining other electrical cause for this? There was rooms. I was quite optimistic. The 1338 nothing of note outside the Gatehouse. Gatehouse was built to help defend the Thank you very much to English Heritage abbey from the French. It is arguably the for allowing us to investigate such a beau- most imposing Gatehouse I have seen and tiful site. It was particularly nice to have is said to be one of the best examples of Richard along from Mission 21 and Bibi English monastic Gatehouses in existence from the Guardian. Both joined in enthusi- today. Access to the museum is via steep, astically and with open-minds, which are stone, winding steps and by contrast to all probably the two main requirements when the other locations was cosy and dry. I was participating on an investigation! quite optimistic about including this area as Given the fact that we all could not help part of our investigation, as early in the be aware of the history of the site, I found evening whilst we were having our meet- the overall feeling of calm and peaceful- ing before the Ghost Club members ness quite astonishing. I certainly believe arrived, the lights in an adjoining room that the site deserves further investigation went out. Obviously we were unable to and would be very keen to include the check the electrics, or whether the bulbs School in the remit if the opportunity ever had simply gone but the area was felt to be arises. particularly atmospheric at that time. In We soon discovered that Battle Abbey general, investigators remarked that this had something for everyone! The history of was a lovely location but was very quiet the place is quite overwhelming, the archi- with no EMF readings and nothing appar- tecture particularly of the Gatehouse and ent on camcorder or audio. Members noted Abbey is certainly worth viewing, the that there were a lot of dust particles in the walks are beautiful and anyone with an air, which would very probably show up as interest in the paranormal I am sure, would orbs when taking photographs. This obser- be very keen to visit the site. I certainly vation proved correct. plan to go back in daylight with my family

42 The Ghost Club Newsletter xxxSpring 2007x to further explore all the areas Battle tion to the first volume and consequently Abbey has to offer. one should consider acquiring both books Kathy Gearing. together - they're certainly reasonably priced at only £5 each. As a nice opening touch, Malcolm has started the book with a map of the haunted Book Review sites not on a current street map but on an old 18th century plan of the wider area. A small criticism of the book remains from the first volume; there are several dif- ferent sets of introductions to it and it real- ly only needs one. That is not to say the contents of those introductions are super- fluous - an introduction to the book, the author and the history of the area are all relevant. The images in the book are again very attractive; nicely composed and sharp. They appear to have been generated on a high quality desktop printer and not by the WALKING HAUNTED usual mass printing method. This is a plus, GREENWICH as though it has the tell-tale columns you get with such printing, they are much clear- PART 2 - DEPTFORD TO er than you would expect if the book were THE DOME printed by other means. (Malcolm C Godfrey) (Time For The first story has a great deal of impact Greenwich, 2005) 88pp, ISBN 0- as it deals with a fairly recent haunting in a modern building involving strong polter- 9548752-1-4 geist phenomena and a man seen staring back from a mirror - more akin to a his is Malcolm's second exhaustive Hammer Horror anthology than an historic offering on the ghosts around his piece of localised folklore. I'm not so con- own environ in South East London. vinced by the findings of the medium who TSome Ghost Club members will recall the visited but Malcolm never tries to persuade excellent afternoon spent in his company in the reader one way or the other; he simply the summer of 2006 when he took us gives a personal opinion. One thing I am around some awe-inspiring sites. Seeing glad to see in this second volume is that the the Tulip Staircase in The Queen's House author far less frequently finishes most of was quite an experience for all, not least the tales with an anecdotal question. because of Malcolm's successful attempts Personally, I much prefer those stories to belittle the jumped-up bureaucrats who without them. Presenting possibilities were trying to interrupt him. rather than posing questions gives the teller The book is similar in style and presenta- a greater air of authority and Malcolm is certainly a man who knows what he's talk-

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007xxxx43 ing about. accounts of other hauntings in The Queen's The Greenwich Theatre has an interesting House compensate for this. inversion of the classic short ‘ghosts walk- However, it is with the last part of the ing on a lower floor level' tale, such as the book, dealing with new occurrences at notorious Martindale sighting at The Greenwich Naval College - Malcolm's Treasurer's House in York in 1953. Here, main passion - that the book really comes the legs of the apparition are seen walking into its own. There is another sighting of below the ceiling! the altruistic Admiral Byng in yet another There are one or two short pieces in the part of the grounds, assisting yet another book dealing with sites that aren't actually member of staff. haunted but have a dark Perhaps the most history. I do not think surprising story is this is a major issue so the anachronism of long as their inclusion Sir George is limited. They still Livesey, Chairman make interesting read- of the Victorian ing in their own right. gas works, appear- Certainly, one of the ing to workmen more attractive aspects constructing The of the book is that all Dome on the site the stories are different. where he once ran How many times have his utility business. we read tale after tale What appeals to of a dead grandmother me about appearing at the foot of Malcolm's writing the bed, or nothing is that I largely like more than a feeling of his style. His not being alone? Here words read well we are assailed by and comfortably accounts most of us and all the stories will not have heard are brief whilst still before and they pretty retaining their much cover the whole spectrum. essence. It makes for an enjoyable read. Malcolm has still not finished his third volume and I hope he has dispensed with Philip Hutchinson one promised chapter on orbs. When he wrote this book we didn't quite possess the knowledge on this anomaly of digital pho- tography and these days only a few people believe them to be anything other than dust, water droplets or insects. Likewise, at the time of writing the straightforward explanation of the spectre snapped by the Rev Hardy was not widely known but

44 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xx publish his extraordinary tale in his DATES FOR absence. YOUR DIARY t the time I was living in Paris and working for UNESCO, I thought of taking a quiet holiday in All meetings are held at the Victory ATuscany, an area of Italy which I knew only Services Club, 63 Seymour Street, from a brief visit to Florence and the sur- London, W2, commencing at 2pm rounding area. As I looked up the relevant (nearest tube, Marble Arch) travel information, a rather unusual adver- tisement caught my eye. It was about some old manor house that had been recently re- April 21st : Margaret converted into a hotel at the summit of a Green hill in the Chianti region, near a village named precisely Gaiole-in-Chiante. The odd way in which the add was phrased May 19th: Ross Allison somehow tickled my fancy and I made a from AGHOST reservation. After flying to Pisa there was a long and bumpy ride by taxi across the gently undu- June 23rd: TBA lating Tuscan hills, some of which resem- ble parts of the English countryside. The twilight was pierced by the last flickering July 21st: TBA reflections of the setting sun and the ascent of the unbelievably steep hill on which the July 28th: Summer hotel was located was quite breathtaking. After that I only remember meeting my Barbeque at Belmont host, a somewhat eccentric, middle aged House. (See page 47) German, who offered me a glass of the local ‘vin santo’. It turned out that the place had been less of a manor house than a fortress throughout most of its very long WEIRD EVENTS AND history. The foundations were supposed to be Etruscan and the solid Roman wall, UNCANNY HAPPENINGS which still made a substantial part of the IN TUSCANY whole structure, were clearly visible. But alas, it seemed that I had arrived at the by wrong time of the season and most of the The Late Lionel S Gibson. guests had already left, so my host had told me apologetically… The truth was that I didn’t mind that at all, since in any case I Lionel sent this article to us along with one published last newsletter, shortly was supposed to be seeking peace and before his sudden death. Once again we quiet from the hectic Parisian scene in felt he would have been happy for us to which I lived and worked at that time.

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xx45 Lazy golden mornings by a deserted swim- ence and awe – of what, I asked myself? ming pool and great views over the hills Then the sun came out again, outlining in were all very enjoyable, if it hadn’t been gold the contours of the huge stone which I for the furious swarms of a variety of fly- now realised must at some time have ing bugs which could have held their own served as an altar. So I got ready again to against their kin in the Congo or the take a picture of the thing, beautifully Amazon! framed by branches in every shade of green One early afternoon, when the whole sky and brown. But I never did. Out of the had turned into a misty evanescent blue unnatural silence there came a rustling almost devoid of clouds, I decided to sound, like that of a large animal flexing its explore the further limits of my host’s muscles and getting ready to spring domain and try to reach a road bordered by through the undergrowth. It is rather diffi- olive groves, which I had glimpsed in the cult for somebody who has seen as much as distance. As I followed a narrow path down I have to admit to absolute, irrational terror the hill on the opposite side from which I without any visible cause - but that’s what had arrived, I entered a wood which gradu- I experienced on a bright Tuscan afternoon. ally became thicker, to a point at which I I knew that the sounds I had heard could could only see glimpses of the sky while not have been made my any kind of dog. I random shafts of light pierced through the simply bowed my head deeply towards the overhanging branches. I walked steadily altar, put away my camera and walked out towards the unseen end of the winding for- of that accursed place up the hill, feeling est tunnel, which judging by the overgrown like I had been warned twice. That night I grass wasn’t used very often. Then I had a nightmarish dream somehow related noticed something on my left hand side to the ancient Etruscans, in which I was which made me stop. It was a huge chunk running away and hiding and then in the of rock, roughly rectangular in shape. As I nick of time, reaching safety. looked at it, I realised it was indeed a great The next day I informed my German host flattened rectangle, even and smooth on its that I would be leaving sooner than expect- upper surface like a table. The material did ed. He seemed to think that this was not seem to be marble or granite and my because of the lack of company in the limited knowledge of minerals did not place. I had intended to ask him about the allow me to identify it. The subtle lighting mysterious stone in the woods but some- at that moment seemed perfect for a picture thing prevented me from even mentioning and my instincts as a photographer made it. me set up my camera. Just a fraction of a second before I pressed the trigger I Lionel S Gibson stopped. I heard the sudden cry of a bird, sharp and eerie where there had been absolute silence. A silence I hadn’t been conscious of until that moment, as I had not noticed the darkening of the hidden sky. At that point I experienced some mixed feel- ings. I felt somewhat foolish and at the same time, there was something like rever-

46 The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xx The Ghost Club SUMMER BARBEQUE Saturday 28th July from 6.00pm at Belmont House.

Belmont Park, Throwley. Faversham. Kent ME13 0HH

£9.00 for members and their guests

Send cheques (to arrive by 20th July please) to;

Lance Railton, “The Bargeman’s House” ,Castle Wharf, Bridge St, Berkhamstead. Herts. HP4 2EB

E-mail: [email protected] mentioning any dietary requirements.

The Ghost Club Newsletter Spring 2007x xx47 The Ghost Club Newsletter Summer 2006xxx48