Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Blackgang Chine Investigation
Saturday 17th May 2008
Attending Investigators: Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Sandy Rutter, Amanda Horley, Gill O’Farrell, Mark Boulton, Alison Crocker, Di Moore, Marie Holder, Rachel Steadman & Simon Steadman.
History of Blackgang Chine
The Beginning
The very word "Blackgang" has a legendary ring about it, summoning up visions of smugglers, shipwrecks and wild storm lashed shores.
In 1800 Blackgang Chine was a steep gaunt ravine situated some 500 feet above the sea overlooking Chale Bay, on the S.W. tip of the Isle of Wight. Stretching some three quarters of a mile down to the shore, it was a wild and desolate place - frequented by none other than local fishermen, during the mackerel season. There were also rumours of a thriving smuggling trade!
Blackgang in 1840
In about 1823, Alexander Dabell, his sisters and parents, all arrived on the Isle of Wight. Born in Nottingham to William and Martha in 1808, he and his family accompanied Mr. Nunn and others to start a lace making factory in Newport.
Here he worked as a lad with his father who was a master of the art. After his apprenticeship he went to London as a shop and sales assistant, returning to Newport to open his first business in the High Street in about 1830.
He was a man who saw himself as a pioneer, an early settler in "this far flung barbarous clime" and above all, a man out to seek his fortune. Victorians were eagerly seeking out new health and holiday resorts, and the railway network was getting ever closer to the south coast.
Alexander recognised the business potential of what was happening, particularly as there was a newly opened chalybeate spring at Blackgang! Alexander's entrepreneurial spirit soon had him trying a number of different business ventures, including hair-cutting, selling hair oil by promoting the product, using a chained bear and walking round Island towns and establishing gift shop outlets in Newport, Sandown and Shanklin.
By 1839 he had met and become friends with a publican who had recently built a new hotel at Blackgang. This is now a large cafeteria, and administration offices.
Development of the Park
Alexander studied the gaunt and awe - inspiring chine gorge, and knew immediately that he could create gardens here which would appeal to the romantic Victorians!
By 1842, he had concluded a lease - some say that he purchased an amount of land measured by his ability to throw a stone - and he opened the Chine to the public. Pathways were built down the ravine, through previous rough terrain, gardens were landscaped on top of the cliffs, and steps were constructed to the beach from the lower road.
But this was not enough to make Blackgang a fascinating place to visit. In 1842 a huge fin whale had been stranded off the Needles, and Alexander saw his chance.
He bought it at auction, sold off the blubber, had the bones bleached, and transported across the island to a specially built hut, in which he displayed the skeleton to the morbid curiosity of all who visited.
A gift bazaar was also opened with great success. Amelia, his wife helped in all aspects of the business and so "The Blackgang Experience" had begun.
The Isle of Wight became one of the top seaside resorts of Britain, and Blackgang Chine shared in that popularity, as thousands of Victorian and Edwardian families enjoyed their annual holidays on the Island.
The Chine gardens increased in size and style, but remained scenic in nature. Alexander died in 1898, by which time his son Walter was managing the park.
Coastal erosion was already very much in evidence, the lower road having been carried away in the 1890's and the last path down to the beach washed away in 1913.
By the 1920's Bruce, Walter's son had joined the business and continued to run the business as the growth in coach holiday tours dramatically changed the face of the island tourism. By the 1950's Dick Dabell, one of Bruce's two sons was also helping to run the business.
In 1967, Dick visited the USA and was inspired by Disney and others at themeing their parks. This inspiration resulted in the development if Dinosaurland, Frontierland & Nurseryland during the 1970's.
By the late 1980's, further dramatic landslips were threatening the park and the company started to look for a second site to operate. In 1993, Robin Hill was acquired and has since been developed into a successful countryside adventure park. Blackgang Chine continues to be popular with young families and despite coastal erosion, will continue to delight the child in us all for many years to come.
Blackgang Dates
1843 Blackgang Chine opens
1933 Funny mirrors installed
1934 Charity Gnomes Garden created
1936 Floodlighting of the Chine started
1953 Model Village installed
1954 Smuggler's Cave
1958 Museum rebuilt
1962 Water Gardens
1963 Maze planted
1963/64 Bazaar refurbished
1968 Crooked House
1969 Fern stream Landscape
1970 Adventureland opens
1972 Dinosaurland opens
1972 Fairy Castle
1974 Nursery land opens
1976 Frontierland opens
1978/79 Jungleland opens
1981 Blackgang sawmill opens
1982 New ship-shop design opens within old Bazaar
1984 St Catherine's Quay Opens
1984/86 Adventure and Smugglerland relocated
1985 Fort Buffalo assault course
1986 New access road and car park
1986 New shop and entrance facilities
1987 Giant Smuggler and Wild West Loco
1988 Orbiter space fight simulator opens
1988 Catering facilities upgraded
1989 Weather Wizard Show
1989 'Lost Valley' Landscape
1990 Snakes & Ladders opened
1991 Fantasyland complete
1992 Musical pet shop opens
1993 Rumpus mansion opens
1993 Blackgang Chine's 150th Anniversary
1993/94 Robin Hill Purchased
1994 Disappearing village display
1994 Triassic Club opens
1994/95 Cowboy Town relocated
1995 Smuggler's boat, Fairy Castle and Snakes & Ladders relocated
1997 Pirate fort opens
1998 Water slide opens
2000 Catering upgrade and junior rides installed
2002 Light factory installed
2002 Myths & Legends film opens
2003 Blackgang's 160th Anniversary
2004 Gold panning re-opened
2005 Cliffhanger coaster installed.
2006 Pirate barrel ride replaces Tea cups
Courtesy of www.blackgangchine.com
We would like to thank Simon Dabell Blackgang’s owner and also our host for the night. Without his cooperation and welcome our investigation would never have been possible.
Vigil Areas
The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay
Rumpus Mansion
The Crooked House
The Maze & Chimney Walk
Teams
Team 1 – Julie, Alison, Rachel & Simon
Team 2 – Maria, Gill & Mark
Team 3 – Sandy & Di
Team 4 – Marie & Amanda
Itinerary
7.00pm Meet at Southampton Red Funnel Ferry port
8.00pm Ferry Leaves for East Cowes
9.00pm Ferry Arrives in East Cowes – drive to location
10.00pm Meet host at location
10.05pm Whole group vigil in old hotel
11.00pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay
Team 2 – Rumpus Mansion
Team 3 – The Crooked House
Team 4 – The Maze & Chimney Walk
12.00am Vigil 2
Team 1 – Rumpus Mansion
Team 2 – The Crooked House
Team 3 – The Maze & Chimney Walk
Team 4 – The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay
1.00am Break
1.30am Vigil 3
Team 1 – The Crooked House
Team 2 – The Maze & Chimney Walk
Team 3 – The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay
Team 4 – Rumpus Mansion
2.30am Break
2.45am Vigil 4
Team 1 – The Old Hotel
Team 2 – The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay
Team 3 – Rumpus Mansion
Team 4 – The Old Hotel (with Team 1)
3.45am Pack up
4.00am Depart
5.00am Arrive back at east Cowes Ferry Terminal
5.30am Ferry back to Southampton
6.30am Arrive in Southampton
Personal Reports
Alison Crocker
We spent an unscheduled hour in the Old Hotel. Julie, Di, Marie & I went into a tiny room with a hole in the floorboards. I immediately picked up on a man who is linked in someway to someone who is still alive and is linked to Black gang. Simon the Host's face appeared in my mind so I can assume it's him. I feel this man is Simons Grandad. He loved sport whilst alive and talked of cricket, football and the fact he had really sore knees due to playing. I also got a date of 1973 in my head. This man had a problem with his legs and I kept hearing the word Balls. I feel this is some kind of ball used in sport. The Grandad energy said that he was present in spirit at a meeting recently (almost like two weeks ago) held in a room downstairs. He showed me lots of papers and someone reaching a conclusion. Unfortunately we had to leave the room so couldn't get anymore information.
I feel the house was used as a respite centre as I felt wheezing and TB conditions. People stayed there in the Second World War and recuperated. I don't feel clinical hospital energy though.
Vigil one: Saw Mill
Julie, Rachel, Simon & I spent an hour in the saw mill. I saw lots of strange lights, lighting up the hedges and thought it was car headlights. The mill itself had a sense of foreboding and I felt on edge and jumpy. We sat for a short time and I felt the presence of a big tall man linked with some sort of fight inside the mill where another man received a blow to the head. I couldn't make out if he received the blow to the head (hit with plank of wood) or someone else. I picked up the name Amos and Thomas. Whatever happened, the fight had centred around something being built (boat building). I'm also pretty sure I saw the outline of this man. People were scared of him because he was very big. One of the two men had an office and was a hard task master.
We heard lots of noises and were glad to get out.
We spent some time at the area by the squirting game and then wandered down to were some model dinosaurs were. We all heard a loud growling noise and felt very uneasy. I picked up that something had happened by the dinosaurs and had the sense of being pushed. I felt someone touch my back. I sensed three energies there, two adults and a child. I think a child had an accident there and the parents were frantic. I feel I was sensing clairvoyantly a situation that was replaying as the parents were not in spirit there. This would have been fairly recently around the 1960's due to the clothes the woman was wearing. I saw a red light by the squirting game but towards a hedge.
Vigil two: Rumpus Mansion
This had a peculiar energy to it. I saw a lady in the courtyard area before we went inside. She was wearing a long white dress to the floor. I sensed a lady choking to death on a sandwich very specifically. I felt this happened around 1890. I saw a large white animal like a tiger outside leaping into the hedge. I feel someone in the area had one as a pet so 'show off ' so to speak, again this was around 1890. The building itself felt chapel - like but I also got the sense of someone living there too. I also picked up that there would have been some sort of religious gathering in the middle area by the stone fountain type thing. This was around 1890. Also links with Witchcraft and Freemasons, some sort of secret society.
Vigil three: Crooked House and area down slope we were drawn to.
I felt nothing in the crooked house only sea-sick and claustrophobic!
I was drawn to the area heading down towards the sea. I felt someone met their end there and that a small gang of smuggler type rogues were responsible. We all sensed we were being watched and Simon and Rachel very bravely walked all the way down. We all felt we were being lured towards the bottom. I was too nervous and wouldn't go.
Amanda Horley
It was a very blustery night for this investigation, but luckily the promised rain held off, as there was a lot of walking around the theme park between vigils. In itself, this was a very eerie site, as despite the noise of cars passing on the nearby road, there was very little other noise and no nearby houses.
We started off with an unplanned vigil in the old Blackgang hotel which is now the staff offices, and was being used as our base for the night. We split into three groups and headed up for the attic floor. I was with Maria and Mark, and I found that as I tried to reach out to whoever might be there, I was unable push my senses out. It felt like there was a barrier around me, and it felt as if someone was stopping me from being able to pick anything up.
Unfortunately, this remained for most of the night for me, although I think I probably got to the point of trying too hard to break through this barrier which just made it worse. I was with Marie, and was getting a sense of anticipation when we were in the maze when unfortunately a fox appeared through the hedge just to my left and frightened Marie and me as well as itself. After that, I am afraid that I didn’t pick up on anything during our vigils although I felt very uncomfortable over most of the site. However I suspect that may have been because there were only two of us and it was very dark.
As neither Marie or I felt able to do the Crooked House, we joined up with Julie’s group for the final vigil and tried a glass divination in the team room in the old Hotel. The glass didn’t move, but when we started talking about something else, the video (which had a fully charged battery) turned off. We turned it back on again, and continued calling out. Nothing more happened until Rachel came in and as I told her how the camera had turned off, it did it again. When Simon arrived we explained it all to him, and it did it again. Simon set up another camera, focusing on the first one, and we were able to film the camera turning off again. It again seemed to do it when we stopped concentrating on the glass and talked about something else. The gaps between it turning off were of different lengths, so it wasn’t something to do with the camera. Maybe because I had relaxed, I got the sense of a young man in his teens, which Rachel confirmed with the age of 17, but I got no more than that.
For me it was a disappointing night, because I am sure there was a lot there to pick up, but maybe we can go back again at some point in the future.
Maria Street
It was back last August when I took my two children and their friend for a day trip to this charming park on the Isle of Wight. We had a fantastic day and I was reminded of happy childhood days spent here. With all the onus on pirates and smugglers, I felt certain the place must be haunted, and with this in mind, I phoned the site within a couple of days to ask if we would be allowed to investigate. I was delighted to be put in touch with a very nice man, Simon Dabell, the owner. He agreed right away and as we were fully booked and they were soon closing for the winter, we agreed on early 2008. After a couple of pre-investigation visits, where we met the very friendly and helpful staff, we arranged for the 17th May.
It was so exciting to be boarding the ferry, as we were all looking forward to it so much. We arrived at around 10pm and were met by Simon. He led us to the team room, which was in the oldest building on the site, the old hotel. He very kindly said we could do a vigil here also which was an added bonus for us. After setting up, we all went upstairs and split up into different rooms. My team which consisted of Gill, Mark and I, chose the bathroom. Our vigil was only a short one however, and it was very quiet for us although the EMF meter seemingly lit up in answer to questions and it seemed we were in contact with a spirit who had worked there. It was too indiscriminate to be of any evidence though. I also noticed that my back kept touching the wall. I’d be stood away from it and the next thing I knew, it was touching the wall again. I asked Gill to swap places with me and the same thing happened to her. It was possible it was the floor that may have been sloping slightly on that spot.
After a welcome cup of coffee, we went on to our next vigil. For our team this was Rumpus Mansion. This was our furthest vigil and the weather was very windy. This was not enough to put us off though and after following the signs we soon reached our destination. We walked through and came out the other end where Gill gave a shout. She had heard a man utter ‘Uh’ and Mark was adamant it wasn’t him. We called out for a while and I also heard a similar sound. We walked back inside and settled down. We stood quietly for a while and then started to call out. I was filming and using the EMF meter and I decided to use it in the same way as the previous vigil. Once again it seemed to be lighting up in answer to questions. We did notice however that the green light was very dim which suggested low batteries, so was this just a result of that? Gill had the name of Arthur in her head and had the impression of chanting. I had the name of Rebecca but didn’t voice it because I was looking at the LCD screen of the camcorder and it read REC on it, so I put this down to me making a name out of what I could read. The name Donald also came to mind but this is the name of one of the managers on site, so I couldn’t be sure that my subconscious was at play. We called out a while longer and heard something being thrown. We shone our torches but could not find what it was. The time passed very quickly and we were soon on to our next vigil, The Crooked House. As it was nigh impossible to stand or move much in there, we decided to settle on the kissing seat. I was filming once again and saw a light anomaly pass in front of the camera. Mark shone his torch to check for insects but none were visible. We called out again and this time Gill got the name of Rebecca in her head. I’d been filming for a while when I felt the camera push back towards me. I thought Gill had moved her hands but she hadn’t. I carried on but it happened again and that was enough for me. I asked Gill to take over to see if it would happen again, but it didn’t.
It was soon time for a welcome coffee and we then carried on to our next vigil which was the maze and the chimney walk. These both proved very quiet for us, so we moved on to the sawmill ten minutes early. Di and Sandy were already here so we joined them. We made our way upstairs where one of the glass windows covering the display kept rattling. It was, however a very windy night and it was very feasible that the wind was causing a vibration which made the window shake.
Our next break and on to the final vigil. For us this was the Sawmill and St Catherine’s Quay. These were both very quiet. I should mention that we changed the EMF batteries in the break and it was now staying on green, indicating that faulty batteries were the cause of it lighting up.
Before long it was time to pack up and go and my heartfelt thanks go to Simon and his staff for making this all possible. You are all very nice people and I hope we meet again.
Sandy Rutter
We arrived at Black Gang Chine this big amusement park on the cliffs and Simon our host showed us in.
We all did a group vigil at the top of the stairs of main building (old hotel). I was at the stairs in left room with Rachel and Simon. We took a few snaps and called out. We all heard a bang near the window of the room and I caught an light anomaly on camcorder going up the door on the other side of the hall, but nothing else really happened in here for me. We went back down the stairs and got ready to start set vigils.
Vigil 1 & 2
The Crooked House Maze and Chimney Walk
Diana and I went to the crooked house first. We got a bit lost but eventually arrived and we took a few pictures. Di called out and we did hear two loud bangs but that was a about it in here. We went down to the maze and chimney walk. Nothing happened in the maze so we went to the chimney walk and unfortunately nothing was really happening for us so we made our way down to the water gardens. We went over the bridges to the end of the water gardens and I called out and we both heard a splash in the water on the other side to where we were but when we went round to investigate there was no ripple on the water.
Vigil 3
The Sawmill and St Catherine’s Quay
Di and I went in to the saw mill and took a few pictures. We did the walk around to the top of the mill it was impressive. We stayed at the top of mill and I started to call out. I asked a few questions and who ever we were talking to answered by rattling of one of the windows. I thought it was a good start. We came back out and we were joined by Maria's team and we all went back to the top of the mill where Di and I had some responses .We called out again and again we heard a rattle on the window but Marie thought it was the wind but I don't know as we were no where near any open doors or windows. We called out again and this time we asked who ever it was to knock and we all heard a knock. After that it went quiet and we left for a break. Unfortunately we did not have time to do the quay.
Vigil 4
Rumpus Mansion
We walked around the Mansion and took a few pictures but unfortunately we did not sense anything or see or hear anything. We decided to head back to the quay and joined Maria's team. It was an interesting place. Marie called out and more or less straight away Di's big toe started to hurt. I don't know if it is paranormal or Di just had a sore toe. After that we all headed back to the house and we packed up.
All in All it was a fantastic night. I would love to go back again, thank you to Julie & Maria for organizing such a great investigation. Thank you also Simon for allowing us an investigation.
Di Moore
Off to the Isle of Wight again, always like going to the Isle of Wight it's such a beautiful place, this time were going to Blackgang Chine Theme Park for our investigation. Thank you to Simon for letting us investigate.
Arrived at Blackgang Chine about 22.20 as the ferry was late getting in, Simon greeted us and we unpacked. Before the vigils started we went to the Attic and split up. Julie, Alison, Marie and I went into one of the three rooms, we did a séance. I felt chest pains and Alison picked up on a Hospital. I also started swaying. I thought Amanda spoke (as I thought she was there) Julie said Amanda was not there, so I turned my torch on she wasn’t! I closed my eyes (we were in darkness anyway) and I could see a man walking with a stick, hunched, across a garden. He was in a dark blue shirt, light trousers and had bracers. Now I started to itch, I felt that if this had been a hospital. It was dirty not very hygienic. Julie remarked that she had been scratching her arm but didn’t know why. We came back to the hub and we heard Simon speak (Simon one of our group) but we were positive he was still upstairs as we thought we had heard him upstairs. Are there tricks being played on us? Now for the Vigils.
Team 3 – Sandy & I
Vigil 1. The Crooked House.
After finding the Crooked House Sandy and I went in and walked around. The floor was uneven which made me topple. We sat down and did a séance calling out to any spirit that was there. We had a few taps but not sure if this was the wind knocking on anything. I was sure there was a dog in the rhyme but no, so why was I thinking of a dog, straight on to next vigil.
Vigil 2. The Maze and Chimney Walk.
The Maze! I felt uneasy about this, don’t know why, just didn’t like it. It kind of spooked me. Sandy lead the way as I didn’t want to go in, so I held onto his coat. I felt that we were being followed, could not wait to get out. Now to the Chimney Walk - beautiful Chimney's but nothing for me in spirit, so we went over a bridge to the Water Garden. This was better, after walking around and sitting down, I got up and went over to a fence and looked out at the sea. I felt as if there was a Lady in a long dress looking out waiting for her loved one to return but she waited in vein as he never did. There was a accident and she drowned, then he returned but to late, she was dead. She never saw her loved one again. After this Sandy and I heard a splash in the pond (Sandy said it could have been a fish). We went straight over to it but no ripples were to be seen anywhere in the pond. On walking back Sandy made me go into the Maze again and this time I was fine.
Vigil 3. The Saw Mill & St. Catherines Quay.
The Saw Mill as you would expect smelt of wood and had beautiful timbers laid around. It had an eerie feeling, we both felt uneasy here. After walking around we called out to spirit. We got what we thought was noises in answer to our questions, then after, which felt like minutes Marie and Amanda joined us. We met them outside as we had gone out because we felt uneasy. They told us the time and we had been in there over half an hour, we then went back in with them but nothing.
Vigil 4. Rumpus Mansion.
Nothing for me in Rumpus Mansion to much like a fairy tale, so we went to the Pirates Cave but nothing here either. Having no success with either places went back to St. Catherines Quay as we had missed it earlier. We walked through Moby Dick and on to St. Catherines Quay. It looks Spooky from outside with a man looking though one of the windows in the dark, but nothing for me.
In all the night went so quickly. Blackgang Chine is a most beautiful place and that was in the dark, it must be even better in daylight. A big thank you to our host Simon once again, for letting us investigate.
Mark Boulton
Another day another Isle of Wight investigation! For along time Blackgang Chine has been a top Island attraction and one that I have visited before, though I was unaware of any haunted history, assuming that most of the original site had fallen over the cliff.
Before we were split in to our groups a vigil was held in the old hotel building (our base for the night). We headed upstairs to the top floor and into a room in the process of being renovated. I was with Amanda, Gill and Maria. There was some calling out and both Amanda and Maria to a lesser degree felt dizzy or unstable in the room. The emf meter did appear to register variations (from base line to maximum) at times in response to calling out but no information was gathered.
I was in team 2 with Maria and Gill. Our first vigil was to be held in ‘Rumpus Mansion’. After the trek through the Chine, we eventually found our destination. We decided to carry out a quick walk through to get familiar with the layout. Just as we were leaving the exit, Gill heard what she thought was a man's voice. After a thorough look round there was obviously no one else near. We re entered the ‘Mansion’; Gill had the feeling of a monk walking around and could almost hear chanting. During this vigil the emf meter again seemed to flicker in response to calling out, but no other phenomena was experienced.
Our second vigil was held in the ‘Crooked House’, this is obviously a bit weird as none of the floors or walls are upright or level. However we managed to find a relatively comfortable place to sit. Again seemingly in response to calling out the emf meter flickered. Gill sensed a lady dressed in dark or mourning Victorian clothing and the names Penny and Rebecca. Maria also had the name Rebecca and also the name of Hannah. The real moment of interest happened when the video camera that Maria was holding seemed to be pushed, corresponding to the emf flickering.
After a break the last two vigils were held these were outside in the Maze and ‘Chimney walk’ and then in the ‘Saw Mill’ and ‘St Catherine’s Quay’. These vigils were very quiet with little or no response to any calling out, even the emf meter had stopped responding. Di and Sandy joined us several times in the ‘Saw Mill’ and ‘St Catherine’s Quay’.
Overall, although I experienced very little in the way of paranormal phenomena, the investigation was quite enjoyable. The emf meter’s responses could have been either finger trouble on the switch or flat batteries. Having had the flickering happen while I was holding the meter I am fairly sure it was not finger (thumb) trouble.
Gill O’Farrell
It was a rather blowy, chilly night when we met up at Blackgang Chine. There is something quaint and 1960s about most of these places on the Island. I had never been in an haunted theme park before (to my knowledge!) and it’s not the kind of place you would expect to find such phenomena. I tried to push all references to Scooby Doo out of my mind and luckily, there were no burger-eating dogs in evidence and the theme park owner did not seem the type to dress up in a skeleton suit.
We based ourselves in what was the old hotel building on the edge of the grounds. For the first vigil we moved upstairs in small groups. The rooms in this area were all rather dilapidated, creaky and dusty. I was in a room with Mark, Maria and Amanda. We stood in the dark and did some calling out but there wasn’t really much at all heard in response.
We then divided into our groups for the theme park investigation; Maria was my group leader along with Mark. Our first vigil was to be held in ‘Rumpus Mansion’. It was quite a task to find our way around in the dark but we eventually reached the mansion on the far side of the park. We walked through the building to get our bearings. I was in front with Maria at the rear. As we reached the back of the house and I stepped into the garden area I clearly heard a man’s voice give out a moaning sound. It was so loud and clear that I thought it must have been Mark. The groan definitely cam from the garden area to my left and Mark was behind me still in the house. He was adamant that he had not made any noise at which point I started to realise that there was no rational explanation to the noise that I heard. Neither of the other two heard it but I am 100% sure that I heard a male voice. Later on, we moved back into the building and did some calling out. I had the impression of monks or hooded figures walking through the building and felt I could almost hear chanting. During this part of the vigil, we started to elicit some strange phenomena from the EMF meter. On certain questions, we got a very strong response and the meter flashed through the colours. It seemed that we might be linking to the spirit of a man who used to work in the theme park.
Our second vigil was held in the ‘Crooked House’. This was a very odd place to walk around in the dark due to the slanting floors and narrow passageways. The three of us sat down and waited for something to happen. Quite soon afterwards, I sensed the name “Rebecca”. Maria said she had sense this name a short time beforehand. I had the impression that this woman was fairly young, perhaps in her twenties and dressed in Victorian style mourning clothes. Again, we had responses to questions by the EMF meter flashing. Maria, who was doing the filming, had some bizarre experiences when she felt as if someone was pushing the camcorder back towards her. The responses seemed to peter out after a while and we didn’t really get much in response to our calling out.
Our third vigil was outside in the maze. It was quite cold and rainy by the stage. I was also reluctant to go too far into the maze in the dark and it seemed rather ill advised. I was concerned about how one could run out of a maze in the dark quickly whilst retaining some appearance of calm. After a while without response, we moved into the Chimney Walk. It felt initially that we might get some response here but nothing transpired.
The final vigil was in the Saw Mill and then St Catherine’s Quay. Again, there was little occurring in these locations. We linked up with Sandy and Di and spent some time exploring this area to find the cause of a rattling window. The causation seemed to be vibration from the wind. In general, we got very little response and the EMF meter failed to register as it had done on the previous vigils. Although it felt quite “spooky” in these latter two areas, there were no phenomena elicited.
We started the investigation quite positively and it looked as if we might get some good results, but as the time went on the initial promise went unfulfilled. It seems that Mark kept up his reputation as a “Psychic Sponge”; those working in his group usually discover that all paranormal phenomena give him wide berth.
Marie Holder
Team: Marie Holder & Amanda Horley
Introduction
This was certainly going to be an unusual location. I remember visiting this location when I was about 6 and holds lots of happy memories for me. I never imagined I would be re-visiting it to do a paranormal investigation!
We arrived at the location at around 9.40pm and met the owner who very kindly showed us to our base room.
Pre-vigil investigation – upstairs in the old hotel
We decided to do a short investigation in the old hotel which is where our base was for the night. We went upstairs and split up into two teams, I was in a team with Alison, Di and Julie.
We heard taps coming from within the room we were in and Alison picked up a lot about the history of the building and said it was a hospital for TB patients. She also added that the building was very active.
I got the name Valerie in my head and Alison said she had a gentleman come through to her with a message for someone she thought might be alive, possibly a male relation but unfortunately the message was not very clear.
Vigil 1 – Chimney Pot Walk and Maze
Amanda and I reached our first vigil location, the Chimney pot walk. We walked a little way down, took some photographs and settled down to do some calling out. Unfortunately, as we were outside, we found it difficult to distinguish any unusual noises and apart from startling some birds in the trees with my camera flash not a lot happened in this location.
We then moved to the maze. We went in as far as we dared as we were worried we would not be able to find our way out. I felt as though we were being followed in by a man, when we stopped we were startled by a surprise visit by a fox! Amanda felt a sense of anticipation but this feeling subsided when we came out and stood on the viewing platform. After taking some more photos we decided to return to base.
Vigil 2 – St Catherines Quay and Sawmill
After having a walk round we settled in the whale room and called out. We heard one tap and called out for any spirits in the room to tap again but nothing was heard. We decided to walk round again to see if we could pick anything up but nothing unusual was experienced in this area.
We then walked round to the sawmill. We walked round this area to get a feel for it. We then did some calling out but unfortunately I did not experience anything unusual.
Vigil 3 – Rumpus Mansion
This was a very unusual and creepy location, not to mention dark! We walked round its dark corridors stopping on occasions and calling out but got no reply. We carried on walking and reached the water fountain and did some more calling out. Apart from feeling an extreme sense of anticipation, I did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary.
Vigil 4 – Crooked House
Unfortunately we did not get to investigate this location as both Amanda and I only took a few steps into the house and felt extremely nauseous so we had to come out. We walked back to the pirate cafe and found Julie and her team so we joined them to discuss the evenings events.
Conclusion
This was certainly a place where I would not like to go round on my own. In the pitch black it was very creepy and in all those bushes anyone or anything could jump out at you! My favourite location has to be the Rumpus Mansion as it was so atmospheric.
I would like to thank our host for allowing us to investigate and hope to visit (during the day!) in the very near future.
Simon Steadman
Things started to go amiss on this investigation before we got there as the ferry terminal people mixed up which ferry we were booked on. Then we were delayed due to other liners in the path, and to top it all at about 500 yards from the location car park the car broke down. We managed to limp to the car park and got down to business.
Simon our host met us and gave us a quick run down of the areas we had to investigate, (along with a very handy map) I have to say this location is very atmospheric in its appearance. We unloaded and got straight to it.
The old hotel
Simon, Rachel and sandy.
First thing I noticed was that the upper floors of the hotel were very draughty, and this alone could count for the various noises heard on this vigil. There were floorboard creaks and shuffling noises, we also caught some light anomalies on stills camera but with little else we continued on to our first scheduled area.
Vigil 1 the saw mill
Simon, Rachel, Alison and Julie.
Before we got to this area we had feelings of being followed and watched. This could be due to the paths being very sheltered by trees and by the whole park being in darkness. On reaching the saw mill in the first room Alison picked up on two entities, the name ‘Amos’ for one of them who she said had been attacked and beaten with a plank of wood. During this we heard quite a few taps and thuds. As we walked the rooms it always seemed to be either ahead or behind us. There was a very oppressive feeling in the upstairs corridor and while in here we heard 3 loud thuds. We debunked these as the door moving in the breeze outside but shortly after there was a loud scrape and thud to which no explanation could be found.
Vigil 2 rumpus mansion and surrounding paths. Simon, Rachel, Alison and Julie.
On the way to the next area we got incredibly lost and strayed onto the path with the large dinosaur displays. During this walk we all had feelings of being followed and I had a feeling that I was about to be pick pocketed. This feeling was so strong I did check my wallet at least 4 times. Alison picked up on a male entity here and that he was following and watching us, so we made our way back to the pirate café and on to rumpus mansion.
When we reached the café Julie was convinced that she had seen a shape dart behind the water cannon machine, as we went to check we heard what sounded like grating metal this was incredibly loud as we stopped and checked what this could have been. The small pirate flag was spinning quite violently. No explanation could be found for this as the breeze was none existent and on testing the flag it span without sound and very steadily.
On finding rumpus mansion we all had feelings of foreboding and it seemed like none of us were willing to enter the building. All four of us tried to squeeze through the door at the same time. While inside we all felt very uneasy but about half way through the building we all calmed down. It felt like the air had lifted.
The time was up so we all walked back to the kit room. On passing the pirate café and water cannons Julie’s torch was pulled from her pocket and smashed on the floor, this was quite unusual as Julie has very deep pockets and as this happened the pirate flag on the cannons began to spin again. No breeze was detected so these events remain unexplained.
Vigil 3 the crooked house and surrounding area
Simon, Rachel, Alison and Julie.
The crooked house itself was just very disorientating but no activity was caught inside.
The grassed area directly opposite was more interesting as both Alison and Julie had feelings of shapes heading towards them from the cliff edge. Quite a few light anomalies were caught on 3 different cameras and feelings of being watched came over the team again. We followed this path down and around half way we all had feelings of being pushed. I had an image of a traitor amidst a gang of thieves who was being led at sword point to his death. No evidence was caught to support this so we headed back to the kit room. We paused to sit outside the pirate café to see if the water cannon machine would repeat its performance but instead the whole team caught shadows inside the café. We were joined by Amanda and Marie who also caught these flitting shapes. We took stills and video but no evidence was caught, so we made our way back.
Vigil 4 the old hotel upper rooms.
Simon, Rachel, Alison, Julie, Amanda and Marie.
We split up on this vigil and myself and Rachel covered the attic rooms while the rest tried glass divination in the lower rooms.
After calling out (and setting a lock off camera) nothing was caught in the attic areas and we went to join the others. No luck was had with the glass but the camcorder switched itself off 3 times in direct response to questions this was caught on another camera set up in the room. This was the end of our investigation.
The investigation of Blackgang chine theme park was eventful and threw up more questions than answers. One theory of the outside areas and paths could be a kind of stone tape effect, as there are literally thousands of people that have passed along these paths and areas so this could be a build up of emotion that concentrates itself in these places.
So after a tow truck to the ferry, a very surreal ferry crossing and a tow truck from Southampton to Bournemouth a very good and atmospheric investigation was had. Our thanks go to Simon as he allowed us to search a very creepy and altogether fantastic location. Can’t wait for the return visit if he will allow us, but we’ll try not to break down next time.
Rachel Steadman
This was again a last minute investigation for us, with a somewhat eventful start, a mix up at the ferry terminal and my car breaking down less than a mile from the location, but we made it. We started by chatting to Simon who went over the areas we were to investigate and gave us all maps, which was very handy!
The attic of the old hotel
This was not originally a vigil area but as we were all ready ahead of time we thought we would have a look, for this vigil I was with Simon and Sandy. I caught a couple of possible light anomalies, we also heard a few knocks and bangs, although to start with it was windy outside and there were draughts which could account for the noises, although we did hear a scrapping sound which was a little odd.
Vigil 1- The saw mill
Team - Julie, Allison, Simon and Myself
As we walked to the entrance of the saw mill we all had a slightly uneasy feeling and almost as soon as we got inside we started to hear noises, taps and bangs and what sounded like footsteps, these were always either in front or behind us, as if we were being watched from a distance. We did discover the outside door was moving in the breeze which accounts for some of the noises. Alison picked up on two male spirits one of which and been involved in a possible accident with a plank of wood, and felt there was a head injury; she also got the name Amos. She also felt a lot of activity was witnessed near to the window although we caught nothing there. As we walked through the uneasy feeling never really went away, while by the boat exhibit we heard some quiet loud noises, Simon tried the buttons under the glass nothing happened as the electrify was off but as we walked away we heard the same noise again we have no explanation to these noises.
Vigil 2- Rumpus Mansion
Even though we had the map we got very lost on the way to the mansion, we found the dinosaur display which was rather creepy, and some light anomalies were caught on stills cameras, (at home Simon and I discussed the theory that the light anomalies were just rain, if so why were there no orbs on the first picture, lots on the second and none on the third?? We are still unsure as to whether its rain or something else!)
We left the dinosaurs and found the mansion, the pathway to the entrance was incredibly creepy due to the tree cover, and as we entered we all stuck together like glue, which is unusual for us, all four of us felt uneasy as we walked around the first half as we got the feeling we were being watched again, but by the time we were in the middle the feelings left and we felt quiet calm, we sat for a while calling out before heading back to the kit room. On the way back as we walked past a pirate themed water canon game we all heard a very loud metallic raw/ scraping noise, as we turned to look one of the pirate flags was spinning wildly then stopped suddenly, the noise we could not explain, I leaned over the side of the machine and prodded the flag with my torch to see if I could make it spin, it did move but only half a turn, Julie had said moments before that she thought she had seen a black figure dart behind the game, but there was no one around.
Vigil 3- The crooked house
The four of us started the vigil by walking around the crooked house, which was very small and we were outside again within a matter of minutes, it was very disorientating, once outside Simon and I decided to go through again with no torch, there was no atmosphere at all in the house, we just giggled a lot as I kept falling into Simon. We all stood outside as there was an uneasy feeling again, and again a lot of possible light anomalies were caught, although it was still spitting with rain these lights were only caught on one out of four photos (??). As we walked back towards the kit room in the old hotel we all saw at separate times dark shapes flitting around the pirate café, we all took pictures but caught nothing, and nothing was seen by two people together, Amanda and Marie joined us on they way back from there vigil we sat outside watching for a while before heading back, as we walked in front of the café, Julies torch jumped out of her coat pocket, Julies coat has large deep pockets and the torch lay in the bottom so we have no idea how it came out and smashed on the floor.
Vigil 4 - The upper floors of the old hotel
Simon and I went up into the attic while Julie, Alison, Amanda and Marie stayed in the kit room, we set up a locked off video camera on the landing and went into the rooms one by one calling out, at one point we saw the light bulb swinging but were disappointed when we went to check as there was a strong draught which was the cause. We left the camera for a while and headed down to join in with the glass divination in the kit room, Alison had the feeling of a teenage boy in there, although we had no luck getting the glass to move, the video camera turned itself off, Simon went to get the other camera and we did get footage of Julies camera switching off. This was sadly the end of the evening.
I thoroughly enjoyed investigating Blackgang Chine. I found it to be incredibly atmospheric, with some areas being very creepy. I would like the opportunity to return as there were so many areas we only passed by which would be worth investigating properly. A big thank you to Simon for allowing us to roam around.
Did my car know something I didn’t, who knows, was it just a coincidence more than likely, so the evening ended with a tow truck, a ferry another tow truck and a lot of coffee, and a great night was had by all.