Ghosts: 100 Haunted Hours

A full house full of ghosts?

2011-02-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

Jim and I spent an hour scoping out the local Mecca bingo for the Ghost Club. We were both impressed by the place and I think it could be a very interesting investigation. The manager and staff were very welcoming, especially given the fact that Friday night bingo was in full swing. The hall was packed with eager players hoping for a chance of a 25k jackpot, but we had our eyes on a bigger prize - a ghost!

Without wishing to give away too many details of the haunting, the Hall promised lots of variety with at least three ghosts reported. Neighbours of the bingo hall had also complained of the sound of organ music during the night, but no such organ was kept in the building. Were these ghostly sounds an echo from the days when the Bingo Hall was a cinema? Décor from the original Gaumont cinema can still be seen today with the main hall boasting a stylized art deco ceiling 200 of the original cinema seats.

The manager gave us a full tour of the building from the roof to the basement and pointed out the key areas of interest. We also interviewed a couple of staff about their experiences and it seemed several other employees had had strange experiences. The place was like a maze, so we requested access to building plans which would make sorting out and finding key places a lot easier on the night. There were lots of different areas to investigate but I wasn't looking forwarded to exploring the crawl space under the stage that stretched the length of the building.

The only downside was the timing of the investigation - on a Saturday, bingo players would be in the in the building until about 11pm, so any investigation would need to start around midnight. The upside was I lived just down the road from the Hall, so would be able to crawl home and straight into bed. And there was a good incentive to stay for the duration as one of the ghosts was said to appear at 6am.

As usual we looked at the possible hazards that 20 or so investigators of differing ages and mobility would come across. There was a particularly steep looking stairwell that could be treacherous in the dark but apart from that it looked perfect. There with a staff room we could use a base; good access to toilets; near to public transport and free parking. All we needed now was a date and some willing participants.

Ghosts! And I've got the photo to prove it!

2011-01-25T04:37:00.000-08:00

Saw a great story recently about a woman who claimed to have taken a photograph which showed the face of a dead relative in the creases of her daughters pink coat.http://bit.ly/hboNwb

Why the deceased should choose to appear in this way is open to speculation. Why not just appear in photograph anyway or at least choose a more manly coloured garment upon which to superimpose himself? The question remains is this really a paranormal occurrence. I suspect not.

As with many such photographs I would not expect to find obvious trickery involved or deliberate urge to deceive on the part of the photographer? Rather a strong sense of wishful thinking. After all it is very comforting to believe that relatives are watching from beyond the grave and wish to make their presence known it whatever way they can.

For example, there is the famous photo taken by Mabel Chinnery (see the photo above). After a trip to the cemetary to visit her mother's grave Mabel took a picture of her husband sitting in his car. When the photo was developed she saw the image of her dead mother sitting in the back seat – no doubt also prompting a wave of mother-in-law jokes.

If not wishful thinking on the part of the photographer then often it is merely a trick of the light. The human brain is programmed to see faces in patterns automatically – another of those ancient inbuilt survival mechanisms to spot enemies hiding in the bushes. Along with Orbs – dust, flies, snow, mists, fog and even human breath can transform into all manner of ghostly apparitions in the eyes of an eager ghost hunter – particularly on those nights when nothing else is happening. I myself am guilty of seeing monsters in the shadows but for a split second of believing it always feel like I’m hit the paranormal jackpot.

That said, there are still photos that defy explanation and when you’ve ruled out all of the above normal explanations its worth forwarding them to a paranormal group for closer inspection.

Ghosts on TV

2011-01-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

As winter is upon us and staying on the sofa is preferable to braving the dark and the rain I am catching up on my TV viewing with ghostly DVD and YouTube. I am amazed how much ghost footage is available on YouTube with clips from shows I remember watching as a child such as Arthur C Clarke's World of Strange Powers and Michael Aspel's strange but true. Good YouTube channels include Ghostwatching http://bit.ly/ieg3sY and Superstarstudio1 http://bit.ly/hx016I. Both have so many clips it would take me months to view them all, although I've already started on the Discovery Channel's 'A Haunting'.

Personally my favourite ghost programmes are a mixture of interviews and reconstructions like 'A Haunting' which features real people in extraordinary circumstances. Most accounts strike me as genuine although how they would stand up to real scientific analysis remains to be seen. The best programmes bring in independent psychics to verify facts and feature several witnesses to the same phenomena. My least favourite are live investigation programmes like 'Most Haunted' or 'Derek Accorah's Ghost Towns'. While none can deny the entertainment value of these shows I am very sceptical with regard to the investigation results. I am particularly unimpressed by ghosthunting with celebrities. Are members of the pop group 'Girls Aloud' really the most suitable participants to take on a ghosthunt? Do 'Boyzone' really have a serious interest in the paranormal?

Whatever your opinion ghost on TV keep ghosts stories firmly in the public imagination and ensure experiences are published rather than hidden for fear of ridicule. And watching them is healthier than going down the pub.

The Cage a prison fit for a witch

2011-01-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

Behind on write ups again but getting there! Another investigation, or rather another scouting out trip to darkest Norfolk and a fascinating place called St Osyth will a dark history of the witch burning kind. It was here the famous witch Ursula Kemp met her death and the place we were investigating was the tiny prison where she was incarcerated before she was hung.

Hundreds of years later the cage had been converted into a family home but one where no family had stayed for very long. The current owner had moved out due to the disturbing paranormal events that were occurring as had her tenants and she relayed a series of terrible fates befallen by previous owners include divorce, madness and suicide. She herself had seen or experienced several ghost including a young man, a young boy in a sailor suit and a man she described as an evil jailor who physically attacked her. Certainly the house had atmosphere and paranormal investigators who had visited it were apparently raving about it and there were several impressive looking photographs said to show evil spirits.

My only reservation - the extent of the hauntings sounded almost too good to be true. However it sounded like a psychics would have a field day there and there were plenty of facts that could be corroborated and tested. My only other gripe it was miles away off the dreaded M25 but there would be the opportunity to camp out overnight which was always a bonus so let us see what 2011 brings in terms of an investigation with the Ghost Club.

For more information visit http://hauntedwitchprison.com/index.php?subj=1

Why two is the number for Ghosthunting

2010-12-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

I have now spoken to my fellow ghosthunter Jim about my lead for the haunted bingo hall and we are deciding how best to approach them to organise an investigation. Jim is a great person to go ghosthunting with. He has a very calming manner about him and at 6ft is just the sort of solid presence you need around if a monster appears. Two is the really the minimum you need for setting up an investigation and I would argue for ghosthunting – too many and no one can hear the ghosts – go on your own and if a ghost appears you will need some good hard evidence without any other witnesses.

A second person to scout out locations is invaluable and several occasions it has been useful. I always think if you are going into private homes then it’s good to have a mixture of both sexes for safety and so that no one can accuse you of any inappropriate behaviour. Often people who have a ghost are in an emotional state so calming presences help to allay any fears.

Having a second person around can also help you to remember all the different angles to check out at the location, eg is it interesting enough to sustain 5 hours plus of sitting around? Will it be safe for investigators etc? A second person can also provide a bit of moral support. I remember being absolutely terrified of the property manager of Ham House when I first met her to set up a vigil (luckily she was sussing us out and her real persona is lovely!) Having a fellow ghost hunter with me meant that he was un-phased and managed to negotiate a yearlong investigation which was a great result.

A fellow ghosthunter is also a great motivator if properties reject you(or start asking for a fortune to investigate). Every Scully needs a Mulder and it means my own perspective stay fresh.

The Old Operating Theatre, London Bridge

2010-12-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

It has been just over a month since my last ghost investigation at the Old Operating Theatre and I haven't written it up. Although I took notes on the day, these were handed in to the organiser and so now I have to rely on memory - not something to be recommended, but better than nothing. (Incidentally my planned live tweets on Twitter appeared to post at the time, but were nowhere to been seen after the event…)

The date – the day before Halloween: perfect season for ghost hunting. I enjoyed the vigils a lot more as they took place in a smaller venue and I knew more of the people attending so I could relax. However In the bar before the event, I did meet one new lady, a medium who told me she had been forbidden to go in trance during the investigation. Of course I was disappointed but then I subsequently found out that during such a trance, the lady had no awareness of what was happening. This lack of awareness had once led to an attempt to strangle her daughter, although she claimed to have no memory of the attack. I then understood the reason for the ban!

Ghost hunters tend to align themselves into three broad groups the ‘psychic as a brick’ but still interested; the scientists (NB it helps if you have a van to carry all that equipment) and the psychics - people who seem to get names and dates, see ghosts and generally liven up the proceedings. I fall into the mildly psychic category although annoyingly this seems to have decreased rather than increased over the years. This investigation had a good mix of all three groups and was more enjoyable for it.

The operating theatre itself was smaller than I expected. The viewing area held about 100 standing on raised platforms tiered in a semi circle, so students could look down upon the operating table on the floor in the centre. The table itself was a rather short, simple design. It was made of wood and had some unappealing stains on it although apparently these had appeared only recently after it had been loaned for a historical drama. For more information on the museum visit www.thegarret.org.uk/

As you can imagine of the three areas available, the operating theatre was the one area we all wanted to investigate. The apothecary room was too crowded with cabinets and models and the staircase to the theatre was - well just a staircase. At the bottom of the stairs it was difficult to concentrate due to noise and light pollution (with Halloween celebrations going on outside it was probably fair to say we heard more noisy spirits outside than in). In contrast, the theatre was satisfyingly silent and as the lights went out we wondered if anyone would make contact. All seemed quiet until we tried a planchette experiment on the operating theatre table using the board, a pencil and a white piece of paper. Very soon after the session began something strange began to happen. The planchette board tipped right up on its end and appeared to move around without any of the five participants (including myself) appearing to consciously move it. It appeared to be guided by the spirit of a Victorian teenage girl who had been a patient and who had died as a result of her operation. Her story emerged both through the testimony of the psychics present and the movement of the planchette. Unfortunately the girl appeared to be illiterate so gave only Yes or No responses to questions by moving the board. However when prompted she ‘drew’ circles, squares and triangles. After 45 minutes our vigil time was up – was it a spirit or the investigators causing these effects? Certainly something interesting was occurring.

Whether or not subsequent research will show a girl died in the hospital who matches our findings remains to be seen. But certainly the evening restored my slightly lapsed faith in investigations and I look forward to reading the write up in the Ghost Club Journal to find what everyone else thought of it.
My plan now is to find some more venues in London and to sort out some new cases for the Ghost Club.

Return of the Ghosthunter

2010-11-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Now the madness that was the MSc in Marketing is finally over I can now return to my real passion - folklore and ghosts. Since my last entry I have been on only one investigation namely Coalhouse Fort in Essex which to be honest was disappointing. Although one group had a spooky encounter with a ghost who made a loud moan in san investigator's ear, the only moaning was done by me (albeit inwardly) at how rubbish the investigation was. Admittedly, I was not in the best of ghosthunting moods. A horrendous journey on the M25 and the problem of being accompanied by a member of the Coalhouse Fort who talked incessantly thoughout, had left me tetchy and miserable. In fact had a member of the undead appeared, I think I would have been tempted to tell it to bugger off.

This made me wonder - do we have to be in a receptive mood to see a ghost? Can our bad moods affect the energy of a place or could my eagerness to see a ghost actually be putting 'them' off? Is this why most ghost appear when we least expect it? The other problem of being a ghost hunter is that of late I feel I had become a bit jaded. In the old days a knock would have sent me into freefall - nowadays nothing less than a grey lady walking through a wall would impress me. It's obviously time to go back to my ghosthunting roots and see where all this will lead me. After all I'd only ever need one 'Enfield Poltergeist' and the I would be satisfied forever.

What do I need for a ghosthunt - apart from the obvious?

2009-07-23T04:53:00.000-07:00

I was bemoaning my lack of recent ghosthunts on Twitter and a fellow twitter pal Ghost_Chaser pointed out that all you needed for a ghosthunt was a camera and a recorder. That's true but you also need evidence of paranormal activity - at least in the last five years - and an open mind. Recent activity is a must, otherwise you find yourself camera in hand but nothing to record. You may find a few orbs, hear a few creaks but that's about it - which all adds up to a Saturday night that could have been spent more productively watching "All Star Mr and Mrs" or such like (or maybe not). The latest investigation from the Ghost Club is on the 1st of August and typically I have other plans. However the Club will be investigating a building for the very first time - now is that a good thing or a bad thing? Certainly you have the element of the unknown and this reduces the chances of investigation fatigue which I experienced after the 8th investigation at Ham House. When a haunted place becomes very familiar you can develop an unholy desire for more and more exciting activity - "I don't want that coin to move, I want a shower of coins to descend from the sky!" "I don't want a ghost dog - I want an army of Roundheads to march down the stairs!"etc etc. Which is not only unrealistic but also clouds your judgement. I guess the conclusion is - it doesn't matter how often a building has been investigated as long as its new to you and if there is something active to investigate then go ahead. Note to self - must do better on the investigation arranging....if you want to go somewhere decent then you have put in the time.

Ghost stories and pictures

2009-07-19T11:32:00.001-07:00

Found a link on Youtube/facebook to one of my favourite ghoststories 'the Signalman' by Charles Dickens where a man is haunted by a figure who proves to be a herald of impending doom. Harbingers of death rank among the most terrifying ghosts you could ever wish not to meet. There is the banshees whose scream precedes the death of a family member and numerous other ghosts, who legend has it, should you seen them, will lead to your certain death. These include the grey lady of Bury St Edmunds and the black shuck a dog with eyes of fire who roams the fens of Norfolk. My favourite story is of a churchyard where once a year the ghosts of all those who will die in the next year pass though at midnight. Should you see yourself amongst the procession....best start choosing those hymns. It seems rather an unfortunate hazard of ghost hunting to think that one may be risking ones life and sometimes one's sanity in pursuit of the paranormal. However, to date the most dangerous ghost hunts Ive attended seem to involve the old bruise or scratch from a restless spirit. One girl I know did have her chair pulled away from under her but a sore bum seemed a minor price to pay for such an interesting development that certainly livened up the evening.

Variations on a ghostly theme

2009-07-15T04:17:00.000-07:00

Giving recommendations to tweeters on Twitter on haunted places in London reminded me of some of the alternative ways ghosts make their appearance. Seeing a ghostly figure walking through a wall is not the only way you can experience a ghost!

Ham House was known for the smell of Roses - specifically Attar of Roses which was a rare flower. The smell was experienced by the Ghost Club on several occasions but unlike normal scents that gradually fade in intensity this seemed to almost 'switch off' one minute it was there next minute gone! What always surprised me most at Ham, were the objects that would appear and disappear as if by magic. One night we searched everywhere for a coin that was placed flat as a trigger object. Suddenly it reappeared sticking upright from between the floor boards. A dowsing rod also played the same trick. The largest object that moved around was a wheelchair (see picture above) that journeyed around a locked room late at night - very strange.

Sound is another way that an echo of the past can make itself evident. During my years of investigating I have heard an assortment of knocks and raps but most spectacular was the sound of footsteps thumping on the landing above in a haunted council house. I also heard a voice say "Do you want me?" in the Waterstone's bookshop in Guildford but was a trick of my hearing? I was impressed at the time. However as with a lot of ghostly phenomena trying to get this recorded can sometimes be problematic. Usually at the time of the ghostly noise the tape recorder will malfunction or the batteries will drain even if they were new at the start of the investigation. More evidence of ghostly sounds will hopefully be coming to light very shortly as the Society for Psychical Research has recently completed a study that shows that ghostly knocks and noises have a different soundwave pattern to those created by normal means. This may be some of the most exciting research to emerge on the paranormal for a very long time. Certainly ghostly noises are being taken seriously. I know a man who did his PHD on the phenomena of ghostly music earning himself the title of Para-musicologist. Sounds impressive to me!

Can ghosts follow you home?

2009-07-07T05:20:00.000-07:00

Had a strange experience walking through the park today - a couple of times I felt as if i was being followed but when I turned around no-one was there. In my time as a ghost hunter I have experienced this sense of being on several occasions including when walking through the tube after visiting the Legal and General Building by the London Wall. What I have sensed more strongly however is the feeling of being watched. The first time was when I was 17 and staying in my friend's house at Fornham St Martin. I was in the living room and had a strong feeling I was being watched and thought that her little brother or sister must be hiding behind the sofa playing a trick but no one was there. My friend said that the previous owner had committed suicide by jumping out of the top window and that her and her sisters had seen something in the landing. She has now moved away but certainly ghostly activity does seem to follow her. The second time was in a haunted council house where a young mother was terrorised by the figure of a man who late at night would appear in the corner of her bedroom and watch her. Although I saw no-one I felt that on the landing someone or something was watching my every movement.

Luckily there have been only two occasions where I felt something was in my house and when I told he or she to go away the feeling quickly past. Was this just my imagination? People say that ghosts can follow you home and can attach themselves to people or objects - hopefully I will never have to test this theory too closely.

Looking for Ghosts - the filming continues

2009-07-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

With the horrors of swine flu now behind me (although still getting worried looks from colleagues back at work) I returned today in the midst of a heatwave of volcanic like proportions in the office. At least last night I could officially set foot outside of the house and while not allowed in the hospital until today I felt the open air would be pretty safe and I had certainly missed my freedom. The camera came out again and it was off to Seven Island ponds to record the story of the Phantom Cyclist which I detailed in an earlier blog. Certainly walking to Mitcham Common gave me a reminder of how lonely and mysterious the countryside could be and when I reached the spot, I felt the same strange mix of fear, excitement, and anticipation I feel when I visit a haunted house for an investigation. It was the middle of the evening and a group of teenagers were larking about in at the other end of the lake, so I made my way to other, more quieter end where a large group of canada geese were tending their young at the waters edge. On a warm balmy night it felt strange contemplating that in June exactly 40 years ago a small boy lost his life and drowned here and since then he has never rested in peace. To read a ghost story may produce a feeling of fear but to visit the spot where the ghost story took place brings with it more deeper emotions. With filming finished I walked back across the common and out again onto the bustling main road - time, as it must carries on.

To view my film visit YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWEZryEG_MI

Horrors in the haunted cottage

2009-06-28T12:30:00.001-07:00

Another frustrating day stuck at home with suspected swine flu. Still plenty of time to reflect on plans for the paranormal and to watch old horror movies. Watched the boogieman last night - a right piece of horror hokum and yet as usual I had the cushion forming a comforting barrier between me and the TV and therefore the Boogieman. The boogieman came out of the closet (no not in that way) and dragged in whoever was cowering under the covers at the time usually children but the odd parent. Fear of the Boogieman taps into some very real primeval fears of being ambushed and killed by an enemy or large man-eater hiding in the bushes. It is a fear of the unknown and as a child I remember firmly shutting the wardrobe door so that I could go to sleep and my fear of the dark remains to this day. I remember one of the most frightening ghost hunts I went on involved spending the night in a haunted cottage in Levington near Ipswich. I spent a horrible night alternating between being violently ill and horribly scared, especially when some of the participants started doing a Ouija board and something came through purporting to be the devil. A sign was asked for but nothing happened and the board was abandoned and we all went upstairs. When we came down all the candles had blown out, although there was no obvious breeze. Sitting in the darkness later on I felt that at any moment something was about to touch me on the leg at which point I would have probably run from the cottage screaming. Another reason why I never do ouija boards on ghosthunts and don't take part when others do. Although we never got to the source of the Levington ghost it was not a place I would return to willingly and certainly not at night. As a postscript on the door of the cottage there was a knocker that resembled the head of a devil. The legend was whoever touched it would be dead in a week. My friend John was brave enough to test the theory and is still alive today but we later found that a few days later the village pub burnt down - bad luck or just coincidence....

The Haunted Cyclist

2009-06-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Started the day researching a haunted ghost cat but the story I found was rather disappointing - a couple had found a skull of cat in their garden and brought it into the house. In the middle of the night and independently of each other they felt a cat walking across the bed but when they put the light on nothing could be found. Normally this would be a great story if it happened to me but I have one eye on capturing ghostly stories on film so this doesnt give me much scope. However then a much more exciting story emerged from a collection of stories on Mitcham. It concerned a pond called Seven Islands on Micham Common where the figure of a small boy was seen riding his bike into the pond in the 1970s. The witness saw him cycle into the pond but instead of submerging he carried on riding above the water. It was later found that a young boy had drowned there in 1939. A perfect story to pursue.

Llooking forward to attending the next Ghost Club meeting. The challenge will be how to bring a society that has been around since 1862 into the 21st century. I am amazed at how many paranormal networks have sprung up. I'm registered on Twitter and there seem to be literally hundreds all twittering away particularly in America. You can see some examples by looking at my followers and who I'm following at http://twitter.com/ghostlyrosie

Ghost hunting gets rusty

2009-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Scanning through old photos I realised that's its now over a year since my last official ghost investigation. This took place at the Viaduct Tavern in London and during the course of the evening I took some interesting photos of 'orbs' and a strange shape emerged in one of the upstairs rooms which looked like a monster

a club to the middle right of the photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostlyrosie/

We spent a lot of time that night trying to get messages about with a planchette and pencil hoping that someone would write us a message. A former pub landlord allegedly came through who had an old horse but there was little in the way of convincing evidence and a lot in the way of tea drinking and the munching of biscuits. The full account of the investigation can be found on the Ghost Club website.

Do ghosts disappear when we hunt for them?

2009-06-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Catching up on my haunted blog. So far its taken me from Wimbledon, to Mitcham, to Highgate and I even found myself learning of the ghost of Maude Carew also known as the infamous Grey Lady of Bury St Edmunds. I've also visited two haunted pubs - the Flask (although no sign of a ghost picture behind the bar or a bullet) and the Gatehouse boasting a ghost that managed to put the owner of the pub in hospital!

As yet I have not directly experienced anything of the supernatural. The phantom chicken failed to appeared and I escaped the clutches of a haunted highwayman but I did feel frightened on Wimbledon Common and when darkness fell, walking up Hillside road felt rather eerie. Was this my imagination? Perhaps. Do ghosts disappear when we go and hunt for them? Let us see where my journey takes me next....

A Folly in Micham and a candlelit ghost

2009-06-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

Delighted to find I have a haunted house right on my doorstep discovered in a publication on the ghosts of Micham - Mysterious Mitcham.

Situated near Phipps Bridge Tram Station, The Folly is a strange building, half house half flint tower almost like a tiny ruined castle. The Folly sit at the end of a row of tiny cottages, one of a collection of buildings owned by the National Trust at nearby Morden Hall Park. The author of the book recounts a tale he heard from a lady whose family lived there at the turn of the 20th century. On several occasions the family witness a figure climbing the stairs carrying a candle to light their way. Eventually the appearence of the apparition got too much for the family and they moved to another cottage nearby. The lady of the house was of gypsy origin so perhaps it was her 'second sight' that enabled her to see the ghost. I have as yet to find any more witnesses for the ghost and thought it best not to ask the current owner of the house in case they were unaware of the story. However when I took my photo this morning all seemed quiet.

Tonight more of the same heading up to North London for another instalement of one hundred haunted hours.

Haunted highwaymen on Wimbledon Common

2009-06-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

After finding the haunted chicken resides in Highgate and is thus unlikely to be strutting her stuff down in Wandsworth I resort to plan B and head for Wimbledon. Walking past the pond and the fair that has set up nearby I make my way through the undergrowth to Wimbledon Common. It's about 8 o'clock and most of the joggers and dog walkers have now gone home. I can hear the distant hum of traffic and the eerie cry of crows like an echo of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The common has a number of ghosts - the figure of a convict is seen running from and then disappearing into the bushes and the figure of a highwayman is seen on horseback. How many murders and robberies have taken place on this spot and how many have ended their careers hanging from the Gibbet that used to stand in olden times on Wimbledon Hill. It is not a place I wished to linger.

You can hear more about these stories in one hundred haunted hours - wimbledon common on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7NCLiKVhrw&feature=channel_page

Sources and a haunted chicken

2009-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to identify places to visit and ghosts to hunt. Sources for my search are coming from a few places but they include Walking Haunted London by Richard Jones, books by psychic research Andrew Green and remembrances of anecdotes past.

An internet search is revealing - well not much really. I've heard rumours that the Gala Bingo (once the old Granada Cinema) in Tooting Broadway is haunted but there is little on the internet to provide details. However the spirits are with me as I stumble on a book called Haunted Wandsworth by James Clark. Wandsworth is hardly famous for its gothic castles and cobwebed dungeons but I've had a whiff of a story about a ghost chicken and that has to be worth pursuing!!!

A Hundred Haunted Hours

2009-06-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

So how to begin to engage with the parnormal while living a semi normal life? I still have to go to work and I have limited time, so how do I discover the unknown without opening myself up anything dubious? I have no interest in dabbling with the Occult in a magical sense only to the discover the stories and folklore and the echoes from history that we past by everyday. A plan seems to be to start with something simple. London is one of the most haunted capital in the world so for 100 days I will spend 100 haunted hours discovering these stories for myself.

Have travel card - will travel!

A step into the unknown....

2009-06-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

Of course every day starts off with a question. What will I do today? Who will I meet? What do you mean last night's encounter with Hugh Jackman was only a dream?!" That sort of a thing... But today I have found a new area to explore. Could I reconnect with a side of myself I had shut off for so long? Had hidden deliberately to let 'normal' life play out, safe and familiar, like a Richard Curtis movie rather than say, Resident Evil. The latter is perhaps a little extreme. The other side emerging would be more at home in an M.R James novel. A wander through a churchyard in Suffolk where something almost invisible suddenly catches your eye, the scent of a rare perfume, the sound of footsteps on a deserted path that leads you...who can tell. These are the things that interest me and I will explore them again in my notes from beyond.....