Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Bolebroke Castle Investigation
Friday 6th November 2009
Attending Investigators – Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Jackie Gilmartin, Gary Catlin, Marie Holder, Mark Wright, Mark Pettet, Sarah Pettet, Amanda Horley, Mark Boulton, Gill O’Farrell, Maureen Taylor, Ross Richardson and Alison Crocker.
Introduction
Bolebroke Castle at Hartfield, the village made famous by Pooh bear, was built around 1480 and is the earliest brick built building in Sussex.
Henry VIII used Bolebroke when he went hunting for wild boar and venison in the nearby Ashdown Forest. Anne Boleyn, who lived at Hever Castle 5 miles away was courted by Henry VIII from there.
Set in a stunningly beautiful location on a 30 acre estate away from main roads and noise where pheasant and deer roam the meadows and woodlands.
The castle has been loved and cared for through the centuries and has a wealth of history having been owned by the Earls and Dukes of Dorset.
There are many fine rooms with original beamed ceilings and wood panelling. Everywhere in the castle is 16th century furniture and tapestries depicting scenes of the period.
The Elizabethan staircase carved from solid oak is one of the finest in existence.
Info courtesy of www.bolebrokecastle.co.uk
Paranormal Activity Reports
Much activity has been reported over the years from unexplained tappings, cries of laughter and moans of sadness. The ghost of a woman in nun’s clothing has been seen searching for what is believed to be her lover who died on the staircase. A headless woman has been seen in the Great Hall who some believe could be Ann Boleyn herself who used to frequent the castle during her time with Henry VIII. Many of the rooms also have an oppressive feeling and people are often disturbed during the night while sleeping in the rooms.
Itinerary
8.00pm All meet outside Bolebroke
8.15pm Meet owner & start set up
9.30pm Vigil 1
10.30pm short comfort break
10.45pm Vigil 2
11.45pm Short comfort break
12.00am Vigil 3
1.00am Short comfort break
1.15am Vigil 4
2.15am Return to most active area
Vigil Teams
Team 1
Julie
Maria
Mark B
Jackie
Gary
Team 2
Sarah
Mark P
Maureen
Ross
Alison
Team 3
Amanda
Mark W
Gill
Marie
Personal Reports
Marie Holder
Introduction
This was a chance to investigation a truly magnificent place that is steeped in history. I arrived a little after 8.30pm and it looked quite foreboding in the darkness. I met the rest of the group and after a quick drink we made our way to our first vigil.
Vigil 1 – Second Floor Room 204
I sat on the single bed and after a while got the name Roger. The atmosphere in that room felt quite heavy. Amanda and I decided to swap places as she mentioned that she was getting strange feelings sitting on the double bed. The feelings I got while sitting on that bed were completely different. At one point I felt quite nauseous and also felt it had something to do with the name Roger I came up with earlier and something about writing a letter about somebody being unfaithful.
I could not bring myself to lie on the bed, although Amanda asked me to, I felt that there was something there stopping me from doing so, Gill also mentioned that she felt as though she would want to put her hands round my throat if I had laid on the bed.
I also felt a draught round my legs while sitting on the double bed.
Room 203
We made our way into the room next door and made ourselves comfortable. We spent most of our time watching the CCTV on Mark’s laptop as we saw lots of light anomalies coming from room 204 where we had just been and also some in the room we were sitting in. I also got a very strange message which was “green grass” which could possible be related to a gardener.
Vigil 2 Ground Floor – Great Hall
I experienced nothing unusual in this room but did get the name Alison or Ally and also that maybe somebody had been badly injured in the fireplace.
Main hall
We moved into the main hall and decided to try a glass divination but unfortunately we got no response, we then tried table tipping but again got no response. We did, however, hear what sounded like footsteps coming from behind Mark’s position. Nothing else unusual was experienced.
Vigil 3 – 1st Floor – Kings bedroom
I experienced nothing unusual in this room but did get some pictures with light anomalies on them.
Room 101
This room was incredibly dark, and it felt quite oppressive. Despite being the warmest room in the castle so far I kept getting a tingly cold sensation across my back which was a little unnerving as I was sitting on the bed I was to sleep in that evening.
Stairs
Nothing unusual was experienced in this area
Vigil 4 – Room 204
For this last vigil we were given the choice of returning to any room we liked. As room 204 had been by far the most active I chose this room. I was joined by Amanda, Ross, Mark P and Sarah. Mark bought along his franks box to try in this room. Although I did not hear any messages from it the batteries were completely drained by the end of the vigil even though Mark had said that the batteries he had put in there were fully charged. I did not get the same feelings as I had done on my first visit which was a little disappointing.
We then moved to room 203 next door and again looked at the CCTV that was set up in that room. We saw some more light anomalies but I experienced nothing unusual in the room itself. We then made our way back downstairs to join the others.
Conclusion This was a great location and one I would like to visit again. My favourite room without doubt was room 204 as I felt as though there was a male presence in there that was not happy about something.
Maria Street
It had been a while since our last investigation so I was really looking forward to getting into it all again. I rushed home from work at 3.30pm and was just about ready when Amanda turned up at 4pm. Julie and Mark W arrived soon after and we set off in wind and rain for East Sussex. We arrived some three hours later and met the owner, Peter. We were shown into a rather grand kit room, and, surprisingly cold, as it wasn't freezing outside. I was very glad I had packed my hat, scarf and gloves! The others arrived soon after and after setting up and a quick break we set off with our teams. I was in Team 1 with Julie, Mark B, Jackie and Gary. We started our vigils in The Great Hall. The remnants of a fire sat in the grate and the room smelled heavily of ash and wood smoke. I settled on a wooden bench with Julie and Gary whilst Jackie and Mark B settled closer to the middle of the room.
We called out and a few taps could be heard and what sounded like a girl's yelp. After checking, we discovered that nobody from the other teams had made this sound. We also heard what sounded like footsteps quite close to us, but there was nobody there. Jackie picked up on a little girl skipping and I got the name of Florence. She thought she may have worked here. I also got the name of George and what sounded like 'Spracklin' I have no idea what this means however. Jackie thought she could hear somebody saying 'Yes' from the end of the hall but I couldn't hear it even though I was using the Parabolic Microphone at the time. Although Jackie continued to pick things up, it then remained relatively quiet for me and we soon moved into our kit room to do a vigil there. Julie had the impression of a little girl in here, along with Jackie. The names of Elizabeth and Anne were mentioned, but the building was widely advertised as being King Henry VIII's Hunting Lodge, so could this be auto suggestion or the sub-conscious at play? It is possible and something to definitely be wary of in cases like this.
Our next vigil was on the 1st floor and we started in the King's Chamber. Julie picked up on a very strong smell of urine and I had a waft of it not long after. We did discover though, that there was a plug in air freshener in the room. Could this have been emitting a smell we misconstrued? Jackie felt there was somebody pacing the room around the bed and a few light anomalies were picked up on the camcorder, or this could have been dust or insects. Further inspection will be able to tell. Our next vigil was in room 101 which was where Julie, Marie and I would be spending the night. We switched the heater on and settled down. This room, for me, remained warm and comfortable, which was somewhat comforting considering!
After a break we continued on the upper floors and started our vigil in room 203, where a laptop was set up with wireless cameras showing rooms 203 and 204. We called out and were interested to see flashes of light on the camera, above the door in our room. They seemed to appear in response to calling out. We also noticed a shimmering on the bed in room 204, almost as if somebody invisible was in there moving around. I was using the Parabolic Microphone again and passed it on to Julie to use. We called out again and asked the spirit for their name. Julie almost immediately gasped and wrenched the headphones from her head. She had distinctively heard the name Mark being whispered and thought one of us had said it. We hadn't. She put them back on and tried again. Nothing was heard this time however. We decided to go into room 204 as it appeared very active on the camera and I felt very sick in there on the walk round and had to get out. Julie and I settled on the single beds whilst Jackie and Gary sat or stood by the double. Mark B sat on the floor. We called out and Jackie got the impression of a very angry man who didn't like women. It seemed it was blondes he didn't like the most as Jackie soon felt a burning sensation on the left side of her face. Julie took a picture and was stunned to see a big red welt down the side of Jackie's face. The left side also felt extremely hot, whilst the right side felt cold. This was fascinating and we could not explain it. Further questioning seemed to show that Jackie reminded him of a lady who had spurned him. The vigil was over far too quickly and it was time for the next one. We split into different teams for this one and I went into the Great Hall with Team 1, accompanied by Mark W. We called out. It was however, a quiet vigil for me and it was soon time for bed. It's not often we end a vigil by curling up in a four poster bed in a building of such historical value, so, the experience far outweighed the cold bathroom! Our room was cosy and warm thanks to a heater and a good night's sleep was had by all. Thanks to Peter for allowing us the run of the place and for showing an interest in what we do. Thanks also to Amanda for taking me there whilst my car is a bit poorly. Here's to the next one!
Mark Boulton
Bolebroke Castle has its place in history, and is well publicised, including an information plaque on the entrance to the parking area in front of the now hotel. We arrived long after dark having traversed a pot-holed lane in the pouring rain. For all it’s history the place itself is not castle-like, more of a small stately home (in fact a lodge).
After everybody had arrived and decamped, we had an initial walk through of the place guided by the owner. The building is in various states of repair; generally speaking the higher you went (three floors), the less modifications appeared to have been done. Most of the downstairs has secondary glazing whilst several of the upper rooms had what appeared to be, if not original then very old glazing that was both drafty and noisy. There were also some private residents in a couple of the bedrooms.
I was in Team 1 with Julie, Maria, Jackie and Gary. Our first vigils were to be held in the Great Hall and the room we were using as the kit room. In the Great hall (now used as a bar and banquet room) we sat around and did some calling out. There did not appear to be too much in the way of and responses but we did all hear a sigh-type noise coming from behind Jackie who was stood someway into the room, near the bar area. I believe it was Jackie who was sensing the name of a Sir Robert Sack; there was also a feeling of the presence of some children and the name Florence was mentioned.
After a while we move into the kit room. Here again there was a feeling of the presence of children, a little girl aged about 7, with the names ‘My Lady Ann’ and Elizabeth being mentioned. I believe it was Julie who ‘saw’ a little girl come into the room curtsey then run out again. After a while the other teams turned up and the first vigil was over.
Our second vigil was held on the first floor in a couple of the bedrooms. The first room was labelled as the Kings room; this was quite a large room, with an en-suite bathroom and an adjoining door to a resident’s bedroom. This room appeared to have undergone modifications and certainly did not ‘feel’ as though it in any way dated back to Henry VIII’s time. It was also very cold as it was a room without any secondary glazing. There was a faint smell of tobacco (not really a surprise) and Julie smelt a stale urine type of smell. Due to the general state of most of the bedrooms, plug-in type air fresheners were being used to hide damp smells. Even with a lot of calling out there were no particular responses. I believe it was Jackie who sensed the name of Terence Percival Pearson or some such. We then move to room 101 but this was very quiet with nothing to report.
Our last team vigil was held on the upper floor in rooms 203 and 204. We started in room 203; this room had a camera set up as well as monitoring a camera in room 204. We sat for a while watching the lap top screen, calling out and observing any light anomalies on the screen. We also used a high sensitivity long range microphone listening device, this was quite interesting in picking up the faintest of sounds but other than a few signs and the possibility of the name Mark being heard, not much happened.
We moved on to room 204. Here most of the girls felt the presence of an arrogant man who did not appear to like females much. Jackie certainly and Maria as well started trying to taunt the man, fairly soon Jackie said she felt that her cheeks were getting warm, Maria felt them and agreed that they did feel warmer. As this feeling continued and seemed to get worse we shone a light on Jackie’s face and could see a definite red mark on one of her cheeks. She said she had the impression that the man had slapped her. A short time later whilst she was sitting on the bed she said she felt a gloved hand touch hers, she leapt of the bed in a state of shock.
After the team vigils there were two group vigils, ours was again held in the Great Hall, but alas again all was quiet with nothing to report.
Conclusion.
Obviously the most dramatic event happened in room 204, whilst this was only really a personal experience by one member in our group, it was still impressive. There is no doubt that due to it’s place in history Bolebroke Castle has many followers, it is therefore a shame that the place has make a living out of this reputation, and is suffering from lack of upkeep.
Jackie Gilmartin
Bolebroke Castle in Hartfield, East Sussex was used by Henry VIII as a hunting lodge where he courted Anne Boleyn, and hunted in the Ashdown forest.
Gary and I arrived just after 8 pm and we were shown around the castle by the present owner. We set up our hub in the banquet hall.
Our team consisted of Julie, Maria, Gary Mark B and myself.
We started our first investigation in the Great Hall. If has the largest fireplace I have ever seen. There were also some tables. You could smell where the fire had been burning. There were sound sensors and trigger objects set out. Julie and Maria began to call out and we did hear some very slight bangs which seemed to respond to the calling out. I moved to the back of the room and was calling. The room felt like it had been used for parties, which I think most of us felt. I then sensed the presence of a child. We encouraged her to copy us. At this point Julie and Maria heard a gurgling or growling sound. We know none of us had made that sound. We also felt the room get very cold although the temperature readings showed very little change. I also became aware that there was a man in the room. I think Julie also felt this. Maria sensed some names but no one claimed them. Julie then felt like she had a pain in her tummy which was quite bad at one point. Because of that we decided to go back to the banqueting hall. Julie, Maria, Mark and I sat at the end of the hall and again I felt like that there were children here, which Maria also felt.
We then had a short comfort break which was much needed I might add, after which we went on to the Kings bedchamber. This was a strange sort of room. Not very big for a king. I sat on the bed and Julie, Maria and Gary sat on the sofas and chairs. Mark sat on a chair on the other side of the room. Julie said she smelt urine, as did Maria and I had it in my head to say “that’s the piss pot madam”. Don’t know where that came from but it is not something I would normally say. The room just did not seem right, but as I tapped on the walls I could see that they had partitioned the room off. I also had a very strong smell of tobacco while I sat on the bed.
We then had another comfort break after which we went to the second floor bedrooms. We started in room 203. Maria had bought along a sound amplifier which picks up a pin drop. There were some slight tappings going on in the room but I am not sure where from. In this room a lap top was set up and we could see what was going on in room 204, the most haunted room at Bolebroke. We did see some movement on the screen which looked like orbs and Julie said she saws a bld man’s head come from the bathroom which was strange as no one was in the room. Then Julie was using the sound amplifier she heard a definite and clear “Mark”. Who he is we don’t know.
The next room we went to was 204. We were all aware that it was eerie but none the less we went in. I sat on the bed with Julie on a chair to my left, Maria sitting opposite me and Gary to my right. I felt straight away that there was a man standing by the fireplace. I knew he did not like women. I felt he was very uncomfortable around them. Gary had the sound amplifier. I goaded the man to do something and with that I felt a burning in my left cheek which just seemed to get hotter. As it got hotter it stung like mad. Julie put the torch on and I had a red mark on my left cheek. I felt I had been slapped and it was the man who had slapped me. Maria took a temperature reading of my face. The left side was 35°and the right side was 23.5° Mark said to take a photo so that we could look at it in more detail later.
Our last vigil for the night was back in the Great Hall. Not much happened but I got the name Astor, Mary and William. I don’t know if there is any connection to Bolebroke.
It had been a long night and we packed up for the night and went to our rooms. I stayed in 204, the room in which I was slapped. We heard shuffling outside the door in the night and saw a blue spark in the unlit fireplace but other than that I had a wonderful sleep.
It was nice to do the investigation with the rest of the team and the owner made us feel so welcome. I would like to thank him for giving up his home to us on the night and thank you to the rest of the team. I can’t wait for the next one.
Amanda Horley
This was a beautiful building from the outside although not of the size you would expect for a “castle”. As with a lot of the old buildings we have been to, it was incredibly cold inside, and as the night went on it actually seemed colder inside than it was outside.
Peter, our host showed us round and recommended rooms that we might want to consider for our vigils. The two Marks then set up all the cameras and computers.
I was in a team with Gill, Mark W and Marie and we started the first vigil in Room 204. I didn’t feel comfortable sat on the double bed and felt that there was a man in the room who was angry. It felt like he was pacing back and forwards across the room clenching and unclenching his fists. I swapped places with Marie and sat on the single bed where I felt a lot more comfortable. There were a few knocks from different parts of the room but very difficult to tie down. After a time we moved into Room 203 where there was a computer set up with cameras recording in both Rooms 203 and 204. We could see a couple of flies in Room 204 which produced some interesting “light anomalies” but we had been aware that they were in the room which was a useful confirmation. Whilst Room 203 felt relatively quiet, we did see a light anomaly move in an arc across our room, disappear through the wall and immediately reappear on the other side of the adjoining wall in Room 204. It was highly unlikely that a fly had managed to move across Room 204 in an arc at that precise moment. We also saw some strange movements on the camera in Room 204. It was like a shimmering that seemed to move across the room and the bottom of the bed. This happened two or three times, and took a different route each time. I cannot explain what it was, but hopefully the more technically-minded members might be able to explain it.
We started the second vigil in the Great Hall which felt totally wrong to me. The fireplace was far too large for the room, and the ceiling felt too low. This however was probably logic kicking in. The room did however feel like it should be a kitchen, and felt as if it would have been bustling with people. There were a few knocks from the seat near the door, and after a time I got the impression of a young girl stood by the fireplace. She came across as quite “demonic”, but I didn’t get any further information about her. We then moved into the next door lounge, and I felt that there were military men in there, probably RAF, and probably officers. It felt like they were recuperating after illness/injury. I also got the name Lionel here. We tried a glass divination but didn’t get any results.
Our third vigil started in Room 101, the Kings room. This room was very quiet for me. We then went into Room 105 which seemed incredibly dark, despite the fact that it had several windows and it was a moonlit night. Again this room was quiet for me.
Our final vigil was back in Room 204 where we set up the Franks box. We didn’t seem to be getting any results from the Franks box and after a time the batteries seemed to fail and it stopped working.
This was an interesting place to investigate, although relatively quiet. Even with the heaters on in all the rooms, it was incredibly cold, beaten only by Wymering Manor.
Alison Crocker
Gary, Jackie, Amanda, Julie and me had a little wander outside before the investigation started. I feel there were formal gardens to the side of the house and that towards the rear of the house where the big buses were parked I sensed many murders/hangings and executions. I feel the date would have been around 900 years ago. I saw a clearing with people cheering and mob-like. Very uncomfortable and eerie.
The team members were myself, Sarah, Mark, Ross and Maureen.
The first room we investigated was the King's Bedchamber. I picked up a residual male energy, not the king himself, but someone important who had links with London and Architecture. I feel he was responsible for alterations of that room and had some connection with the windows there? I feel he bought papers to the house. He was very austere and stern.
I also saw images in my mind of a pregnant lady who visited the house. She was very 'difficult' and suffered with illness connected to her pregnancy. She could be very stern and I kept hearing the words 'take it away, take it away, as if she didn't approve of something so it had to be removed?!
We then moved to room 101. It was the warmest room, where I believe Julie, Marie and Maria stayed. It was a family room, a large four poster and 2 singles. Maureen was tapped on the forehead as I picked up on a boy aged about 11 who had lived there. He'd had a disease similar to smallpox and had breathing difficulties and they kept him in this room, but I feel he was locked in the room rather than staying there of his own free will. There is a connection to another building in the locality that would have housed people recuperating from illness, within a 10 mile radius of Bolebroke. I feel I'm coming to the 19th century and I got the name William. This boy plays tricks and kicked the bed I was sat on as I felt it move slightly. I caught some interesting lights by camera and in one of my pictures there's a strange reflection in the mirror. We next went to one of the bedrooms next door but didn't really feel anything in particular.
On the second floor, we went to two bedrooms. The first one had a little wardrobe by the door. We all heard someone walking outside and odd creaking noises coming from the wardrobe, almost as if someone was in it! We saw strange lights and shadows on the computer displaying images in the room with us. Insect? Don't know, it seemed strange though. I picked up on an Entertainer in this room; he was dressed as a jester and was a Magician. He visited the castle to provide entertainment. I feel he could stroke faces as a joke to scare anyone that stayed in the room.
We then moved onto to room 204. Didn't like this room one bit. I was asked to sit on the bed. I did and felt sick, more like sea sick. I sensed a male energy in here that travelled across water bringing things in sacks. I started to feel really uneasy and asked if the light could be put on. Seconds before this, Sarah took a picture of me looking to my right; I honestly thought someone was sitting next to me. Then just as that feeling had come, it went away again, most odd.
We went to another bedroom but that felt quite flat so nothing to report.
On the main stairway I'd unfortunately heard the owner saying that someone had died there. I didn't sense anything really about the person who died there but there was something about wearing white, I didn't connect with anyone.
We then went to the Great Hall and both Maureen and I thought it felt like a strange room as if it was too small. It was eerily quiet and I didn't sense anything at all. I felt there was a kitchen in one of the rooms next to it which I believe would have been more active than the hall itself. For why, I don't know.
We then went on to the Hub room. Here I sensed the names Francis and Elizabeth and that someone who lived in the house in more recent years (within the past 50 years) had strong connections to WW2. This room was also very flat and quiet.
I thought this building was amazing, atmospheric and beautiful. I'd love to go back one day.
Mark Wright
After a rough journey through traffic, rain and more traffic we arrived at Bolebrook castle. After being greeted by Peter we unloaded our gear and made ourselves comfortable in one of the large rooms at the back of the castle.
Mark P & I setup our gear whilst the rest of the team took a tour around the premises, we were able to cover a lot of the main sighting area’s with our DVR night vision camera’s, we also setup laser lines, barrier beam’s, trigger objects and a sound meter along with several camcorders.
After setting up we split up into our 3 teams and headed off to our first vigil.
Vigil 1:
Our first vigil saw us on the 2nd floor, covering mainly room 203 and my bedroom, 204. These rooms are where a lot of people have experienced activity. We went to room 204 first and settled in. We all found that the room had a very heavy atmosphere; I could actually feel the pressure on my head. We started to call out and initially picked up on nothing, but at one point Amanda picked up on a letter and somebody wearing a particular type of clothing, we asked about this when we were calling out and got a definite response on the EMF meter which hadn’t moved since we switched it on 30 minutes previous.
Moving into room 203 we were welcomed with a much calmer, relaxing atmosphere. This room is where I setup a laptop with 2 cameras attached, one in 203 and one in 204. There was quite a bit of dust movement in this room, and we noticed a bug in room 204 which was flying around which came up as quite a large white blob on the camera. We also noticed something on the camera that could not be dismissed so easily, we all saw a white light anomaly above my head which moved over me, towards the adjoining wall with room 204, it disappeared into the wall and we all saw it come out in room 204 and carry on its flight path. Later on in the vigil it sounded as if someone was pacing outside the room, but this stopped before we could look.
After a break we started our second vigil.
Vigil 2:
We covered the ground floor in this vigil, starting off in the Great Hall. I found this room not really able to live up to it’s name, it did have an amazing fireplace but other than that it was just a fairly long thin room, I pictured it as being used for a makeshift hospital at one point. In retrospect though, the Great Hall at Chingle Hall in Preston is not entirely great, simply a living room sized room with a table and fireplace so looking at it that way this Hall could be considered to be great.
The only experience of note in the hall was a very uneasy feeling near the entrance at one point, we heard a few knocks and bangs but could not say whether they were paranormal or simply the normal house noises we hear.
We then moved into the dining area where we stored our gear. After calling out and getting nothing we decided to do glass divination, unfortunately this yielded no results.
After another break we moved on to our third vigil.
Vigil 3:
This saw us on the 1st floor, starting in “The King’s Room”. This was a very large room which I found oddly shaped and laid out. We sat in silence for awhile and let our eyes adjust to the light then we started to call out. Nothing of note happened in hear and it all seemed very quiet.
We then moved into room 101. This was a strange room. There was moonlight coming through the curtains even more than the last room, but it remained extremely dark, so much so that I struggled to see my feet let alone the rest of the room. In this room I kept noticing flashes of brilliant white light from the corners of my eyes. Whether this was a trick of the light or my mind I can’t really say. I also felt very uncomfortable looking towards the bathroom side of the room.
Leaving this room we went down to the landing where it had been reported that somebody was found murdered. We tried calling out but got no response.
After our final break we went on to our free vigil, this saw us split into different teams and cover any area we wanted.
Free Vigil:
I decided to go back to the great hall and try out Maria’s parabolic microphone. This was an excellent piece of equipment, initially I found it hard to distinguish what noises were what, but after a while was able to figure it out. Although personally I didn’t hear anything that I can say was paranormal I think that the microphone will come in extremely useful in the future.
Later on in the vigil, we did hear several strange noises, one which sounded like a two-pitched moan and another which sounded like somebody whispering; hopefully these will be picked up during the evidence review.
After this vigil we decided to call it a night and packed our gear away. We left the two cameras in 203 and 204 running while we slept. I shared a room with Jackie and soon after we had gone to bed Jackie saw a blue light in the fireplace. I could not see this from my bed as it was around the corner, but shortly after that we both heard what sounded like someone walk up to our door, retreat down the corridor then come back outside of our room. The motion light did not come on outside our room and checking with Gary and Ross the following morning, who were in 203, they had not left the room and didn’t hear anything.
All in all this was a good investigation, the building is very interesting with lots of quirky features and I would like to visit it again sometime.
Sarah Pettet
Team 2 – Sarah, Mark P, Ross, Alison and Maureen
I took notes, Mark was on camcorder, Alison did temperature gun and Ross did EMF.
Bolebroke is a stunning setting, and you can certainly see why it would be chosen as a royal hunting lodge. It was nice to see a building with lots of original features still intact.
Vigil one 1st floor – King’s room, room 101 and stairwell
Temperature reading 8 degrees. No EMF
The team settled into the king’s room quite quickly. Everyone took photos. I thought I saw a person stood behind the armchair whilst this was happening; however, we recreated the situation and thought it was the camera flashes bouncing off of the wooden cabinet behind it.
Maureen’s camera batteries ran down. Maureen calls out, begins to feel icy cold on her right side – temperature reading right side 9 degrees, left 12 degrees – cannot explain the difference as constant temperature reading all around rest of room.
Alison begins to feel a residual energy in the room – we record Alison’s thoughts throughout all the vigils as too much to write down, this can then be given to the historian for checking.
Ross smells a soapy deodorant smell which Mark Alison and Maureen can also smell. We check the en-suite but it is not emanating from there. We check the room and find that there are glade air fresheners in the plug sockets and this is what the smell is.
Maureen begins using the dowsing rods but with no reaction. Ross calls out and crosses the room. Mark feels a breeze across his face so we make Ross walk back and forwards again but Mark does not feel it again. Maureen then feels a breeze across her left hand, no one near her had moved and there was no draft that we could find.
Room 101 – team settles in, room is remarkably warmer compared to rest of house. We can find no heating source that is switched on. The temperature reading is 14 degrees, no EMF.
Alison was again picking up information for this room. Maureen was tapped on the head after calling out and then senses giggling. However, nothing further happens in this room.
Stairwell temperature 9.5 degrees No EMF – Alison senses a fall/accident on the staircase. We use rods and ask questions –
Are you male – No
Are you female – yes
How old – 20s no 30s no 40s yes, 41 no 42 no 43 no 44 no 45 yes
Was your fall is an accidental – yes
We had to end vigil at this point .
Vigil 2 203 and 204
We didn’t do a temperature reading in this room (203). We can see from the lock-off camera that there is a lot of movement (light anomalies) on the wall behind Mark and me. We check the room for a fly but there is none. We hear what sounds like footsteps in the hall, and check but no one is there. The door sounds like its creaking but we cannot figure out why. We also check the wooden wardrobe to see if it is that adjusting to the change in room temperature – but it doesn’t appear to be that.
Maureen’s second batch of camera batteries dies. We call out and hear the sounds again. We check the hall again no one there but then notice the sensor light outside room 204 has come on. We go up to see if someone has gone up there but there isn’t anybody there. We go back to 203 and recommence calling out. Mark and Alison begin to feel colder.
We move to room 204 – temperature 11 degrees. We check in here as we saw a light anomaly on the lock-off camera and we find that there is a fly in this room.
Alison sits on double bed. Strangely the rest of us choose unconsciously to sit across the other side of the room together. Alison begins picking up things in this room. Everyone begins to feel colder but no change in temperature.
I thought that the other side of the bed on which Alison was sat began to look darker, we take pictures and at the same time Alison feels an uncomfortable presence on that side and puts her hands in her pockets. She then realises that a packet of cigarettes she had in there was not there. She begins to feel more uncomfortable and ask for the light to put on. When we do we find the cigarettes are on the pillow behind Alison but despite our efforts we cannot see how they ended up there.
Vigil 3 great hall and kit room
Temperature 10 degrees and no EMF
Maureen and Alison both feel that the room is not right. Maureen feels it is not large enough. Maureen calls out, no response. Nobody was feeling anything in particular. There is a locked room to one side and Alison feels there is more activity in this room. We move to the kit room and again this room is very quiet. We try a glass divination in here but no response. We decide to call an end to the vigil.
Vigil 4 – free vigil
Choose to go back to room 204/203. However personally I found these rooms to be a lot quieter, and sensed nothing going on here.
Overview:
It was an interesting location, with the bonus of being able to stay overnight. We had the Kings room, and whilst I didn’t feel totally uncomfortable in here I did find I could only sleep looking towards the wall. The building was beautiful (if cold) and appeared to be active in places. You pick up a real sense of history as soon as you set foot in the building. My conclusion for this investigation is undecided. I found that as this was my first time as team leader I had little time to relax and see what I sensed, but I found that I was questioning more, and getting the team to look for solutions to phenomena.
Gary Catlin
Bolebroke Castle at Hartfield, the village made famous by Pooh bear, was built around 1480 and is the earliest brick built building in Sussex.
Henry VIII used Bolebroke when he went hunting for wild boar and venison in the nearby Ashdown Forest. Anne Boleyn, who lived at Hever Castle 5 miles away, was courted by Henry VIII from there.
After arriving at the location, we had a tour of the property provided by the owner. We were shown the Great Hall, and the rooms on the two floors. Once we had returned to the “hub” area located towards the back of the location on the ground floor, Julie and the majority of the group decided where to start each team’s investigation. My group was made up of myself, Jackie, Julie, Maria, and Mark B. Our first location to investigate was the Great Hall located on the ground floor. In this room was a grand fireplace with several large tables and the fresh smell of burnt logs. There was a trigger object setup on one of the tables towards the back of the room. Jackie, Julie and Maria were in the corner and Mark B and I were in the middle of the room. We began by Maria and Julie calling out. We did seem to hear some faint bangs which for a brief moment seem to be responding to our questions. Jackie also took part in calling out, and moved from the corner of the room to the far end. There seem to be feeling of parties, or a gathering of people celebrating which most of us seem to feel. I repositioned myself over towards the table where Julie and Maria were. Jackie then felt the presences of a child up at the far end of the room where she was. We tried to get some sort of response by encouraging the child to copy us, Julie and Maria heard a noise like a sort of growl or gurgle, at first we put this down to stomach noise, however when it happened again and I heard it, the three of us knew that it was not one of us. With this came the feeling of becoming very cold. We were aware of the fact that there are very large windows in this room which could have contributed to this feeling, also the power of suggestion would have added to this. We took several temperature readings with only minor differences in temperature. Jackie then became aware of an old man in the room, Julie also felt this. Maria had a couple of names but we were unable to get a response to confirm or deny them. Julie said that she was feeling a pain in the gut/stomach area, which at first she put down the way she was sitting, however after a period of time and the pain increasing, we all deicide to move into the “hub” area where the team was based, again this was on the ground floor. This area was just as large as the Great hall, but with more windows and a small seating area towards the end of the room. Jackie, Maria, Julie and Mark B sat down at the far end; I decided to stay up the opposite end to see if by splitting up slightly would help. This room felt different to the Great hall, but due to where I was sitting, it made it very difficult to hear the rest of the team. Jackie did pick on a girl, and Maria also felt like children were in this room.
After a short break we moved to the first floor rooms. We started in the Henry VIII room. Julie could smell a foul smell, like a chamber pot being waved under her nose. Jackie felt as if we were being watched during the time we spent in this room. Over by the bed she could smell strong tobacco. I moved over to the bed area but could not smell it. Maria also could smell what Julie had reported but only briefly. Jackie got the feeling of someone pacing up and down in the middle of the room. After a while of calling out and getting very little response we all agreed that there was something not right with the room, as if it had been rebuilt or changed over the years. We decide to more into room 104 which was a little bit further down from Henry the VIII room. We took turns in calling out but did not get seem to get much in this room. Time did seem to get away from us, as this vigil came to an end and we returned to the “hub” area.
After the break, we went to the second floor bedrooms. Maria had brought a sound amplifier, to see if it would pick up low sound that we could not hear. We set up in room 203 in this room was a laptop with two camera attached to it, one in our room (203) and the other in room 204 (next door). Maria had the sound amplifier on while we called out, we heard a few taps in the room, but were unable to pin point the origin of the sound. Julie took a turn with the sound amplifier and we continued to call out. During this we noticed on the laptop screen we could see light flickers (possibly orbs) we ask several questions to see if we could get a response to the phenomenon which at some points it did seem to. We all knew that due the age of the building that there was a lot of dust around which could account for some of the lights on the screen, but we did not think that for all of them. Jackie was asking for a name of a man she felt was in the room with us, Julie, who during this had the sounds amplifier on, said she could hear as plain as anything the name Mark, even to point of hearing the K being pronounced. While looking at the laptop screen, we did notice similar activity in the adjacent room (204). We decided to move into this room for the last part of the vigil. Julie had the sound amplifier on and was sat next to Maria. Myself and Jackie were sat at the end of room, Mark B was sitting on the floor. We called out several times to see if we could hear any taps or bangs, Jackie got the feeling that there was someone standing over by the fireplace, which was behind where Maria was sitting. Maria also had the feeling that someone was behind her and did not want to turn around. The name of George came to Jackie, and she felt that this man was intimidated by females, she asked for some sort of sign that he did not like them being in that room. Julie passed the sound amplifier to me to use for a while. Jackie then got a hot feeling on her left hand side of her face, which then turned to more of a stinging sensation, Julie put a torch on to see if anything was there. It looked like a red mark had come up on her cheek. Maria took a temperature reading using a temperature gun and there was a 10 degrees difference from the left side of her face to the right hand side. Mark B said about taking a photo to see it in more detail later on a computer, which Julie took. After this we settled back down and tried to return to calling out. I had put the sound amplifier back on to see if I could hear anything similar to what Julie heard in the previous room. Just before the end of this vigil I think I heard a sort of laugh not very loud but very quietly. We return to the “hub” area for a short break and to move onto the last vigil for the night.
We decided to return to the Great hall in hope that we could get more from this room; Maureen joined us for the last vigil. Again, Jackie was up the far end of the room, I was in the middle, the rest were at the low end. We called out several times with very little response. W had hoped to get more from this area; however it did not give us much. We retired for the night and the investigation was brought to a close.
Overall I enjoyed this location and would be very interested in a return visit.
I would like to thank Julie and Maria for the opportunity and the members who work really well on the night. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff/Owner of Bolebroke Castle for letting us in for the night and staying over. I would also like to pass on my appreciation to all the members of SPUK who came to this investigation and supported the night; I hope to work with them even more in the not too distant future.
Maureen Taylor
Vigil 1 – First floor
Kings Room – Tried to take a few photos, but my camera died in spite of having fairly new batteries in it. I sat in the armchair nearest the door, with my back to the door and had the feeling that someone was standing beside the chair, probably male, but I was unable to discern any more than that.
In the next room we went into, possibly room 101, I felt nothing at all.
Finally into room 105 (I think), and it was here that I suddenly, while standing near the door, went icy cold and felt something tap me on the top of my head. Alison said it was a small boy, but unfortunately for once I’m unable to read my own writing and can’t make out what else Alison said about this small boy. At the same moment as I felt the tap on my head whoever was using the camcorder commented that there was a fair sized light anomaly above my head.
Vigil 2 – Second floor
Room 203 – Light anomalies seen on the monitor in this room, but we spotted at least one moth flying around and think that may have been the cause of the various light anomalies we saw in this room
Room 204 - In this room Alison was sitting on the bed (the right hand side as you stand at the bottom of the bed looking at it) about a foot in front from the pillow. Towards the end of the vigil she put her hand in her pocket for some reason, and discovered that her cigarettes were missing from it – they were actually on the bed at the edge of the pillow. Various checks showed that they could not have fallen out of her pocket, and if they had they wouldn’t have ended up in that position, so did some spirit remove them from her pocket? Who knows...
Vigil 3 – Ground floor
Great Hall – Though other groups seemed to have had some activity in here, for me, and I think the rest of the group it felt flat, and we sensed no activity at all. Alison felt that there was sometimes a young woman in front of the fire, probably looking after the food cooking there. I got the impression, later to be proved correct, that the Great Hall was once considerably larger – I felt that it should have been at least three, if not four times the size it is today. I also felt that the floor should have been lower than it is now.
Team room – When we first arrived, I walked to the far end of the room to find somewhere to sit and to park my kit. I felt that there was something going on at this end of the room but it was too faint for me to identify any specifics about it. When we came in here for a vigil later in the night we got no activity at all here.
Conclusion – An interesting night, but not as active as I’d hoped, perhaps I was just having an off night and not picking up as much as usual, or maybe the spirits of the place weren’t out and about for us to talk to.
However, it was an interesting night, and being able to stay on and get a few hours sleep and follow it up with breakfast before leaving for home was wonderful.
Gill O’Farrell
Team 3 – Amanda, Marie, Mark W, Gill
It was an extremely wet, dark night when we arrived at Bolebrook Castle. We found the castle at the end of a narrow pot-holed country lane. It is an impressive looking building dating back hundreds of years. We had a tour of the building courtesy of the owner and prepared for the night ahead. The nature of the building meant there were many drafts and natural cold spots. There were also strong smells of damp which were masked by air fresheners.
Vigil One
Our first vigil took place on the top floor and started with the room reputed to be the most haunted; Room 204. We positioned ourselves in the room and started to ask out. I was sitting at the right-hand side of the bed next to the window. I began to feel the presence of a male spirit with the name Thomas. He was an arrogant man and I could hear him laugh. I had the impression he dated from the mid 1800s, more specifically April 1863. There was a woman involved with him by the name of Charlotte. He may have seen something out of this window that caused his anger and fury. The man was behind me but as he linked closer I felt my hands become larger. They felt hot on the palms. At one stage, Marie went to lie down on the bed. I had the impression that if she had done this, I would have wanted to put my hands around her throat. I was able to see lots of lights moving around the room with the naked eye. Mark was using the EMF meter and on a few questions he elicited strong reactions on the meter. There was a sense of apprehensions and energy within the room and the atmosphere was very heavy and oppressive.
We moved into Room 203 next door. On the camera we could see a lot of lights above Marks’ head. We could see on the camera light anomalies, which appeared to go from the top corner of the room, through the wall and out across the adjacent room.
Vigil Two
We first went into the Great Hall. I experienced nothing in this room apart from a sense that this room was not used in the way it was intended. It felt more like it should be the kitchen rather than the Hall.
We moved on to the room we were using as a kit room. This room felt more as if it should have been the Great Hall. We tried glass divination and some table tipping without result. We tried calling out and get several creaks in the middle of the room behind us. It sounded very much as if someone was walking across the room and sitting behind Mark. Despite several noises whilst doing this there was no movement on the glass.
Vigil Three
The third vigil took place on the first floor, starting in the King’s bedroom. This room was extremely cold and uncomfortable. I had felt the presence of a young girl earlier on the walk-around but did not experience much on this vigil. After a short while we moved across to one of the other bedrooms. This room was extremely dark and seemed to absorb light. I began to feel quite uncomfortable where I was sitting to the extent that I had to move to sit with the others. However, nothing of significance happened in the room.
Vigil Four
For the final vigil we split into different groups with a number of people going back into Room 204. The group wanted to use the Franks box to experiment on what answers they might get in the room in which we had found the most activity. Somehow, I managed to find myself alone in Room 203 monitoring the cameras watching the group in the room next door! This was a nerve-racking and uncomfortable experience. I could see on the monitor the group next door as well as a camera shot of the room I was in. I have never done a solo vigil like this before and would not volunteer to do another one. There was a significant amount of light anomalies in my room but this was nothing compared to the amount of lights that I could see dancing around Room 204. The lights seemed to come in bursts flying around the room in different patterns and speeds. We knew there was an insect in Room 204 but that did not explain the visible phenomena, as there were multiple lights at one time. When the group eventually moved out of the room, the lights stopped. We tried sending two people back into the room but this did not elicit any further phenomena.
Bolebroke Castle was a fascinating place steeped in history. Following this investigation I feel sure that during its time it has acquired at least some spirits along the way.
Mark Pettet
Team 2, Sarah, Ross, Alison, Maureen and Myself
We arrived at Bolebroke in the dark, under the barrage of fireworks (from farm down the lane) but it wasn’t until the morning that it was understandable why it was used as a royal hunting lodge. Great to see original features still in place.
Vigil one 1st floor – Stairs, Kings room and room 101
First we went into the kings room and got ourselves settled. Everyone took photos. Sarah had thought she saw something behind a chair that Maureen was sitting in, but after attempts at taking pictures we gathered it was reflections off a highly polished cabinet. Maureen’s camera batteries went flat very quickly. Alison started to feel something in this room.
Maureen began using the dowsing rods but to no avail. We then got Ross to call out and as he crossed the room I felt a breeze across my face, so I got Ross to walk back pass me but I didn’t feel it again. Maureen felt a breeze across one of her hands, (don’t know which one). No one had moved and we couldn’t find any drafts. The fireplace was all blocked up and big heavy curtains covered the windows. Ross said he could smell a soapy fragrant smell, which we all could smell. We investigated further and it revealed there was a plug-in air freshener.
Room 101 –this room felt a lot warmer but we couldn’t find any heating that was switched on. Alison was picking up things in this room. Apparently Maureen was touched on head after calling out but nothing further happened in this room. I had an email from Alison to look at a photo she took in this room as there was a strange reflection in the mirror apart from me. After close inspection I came to the conclusion it was a double reflection.
Stairwell temperature 9.5 degrees. No EMF – Alison sensed a fall/accident on the staircase. Which is documented.
Vigil 2 Rooms 203 and 204
We went into room 203 first and we could see from the locked off camera that there was a lot of light anomalies on the wall behind Sarah and myself. We heard what sounded like footsteps in the hallway and Sarah and Ross went to check but no one was there. The door of the wardrobe sounded like it was creaking but we drew a blank there. More of Maureen’s camera batteries died. We called out again. There was no one there but we did notice the light outside room 204 had come on. The rest of the team went to see if someone had gone up there but there wasn’t anybody there. So they went into 204. I saw a light anomaly on the locked off camera, only to find that there was a fly in room 204.
Vigil 3 great hall and team kit room.
Sadly there was nothing to report in either of these rooms, apart from Maureen was saying that the fireplace in the great hall was not the right size!!