Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Brading the Experience Re-investigation
20th October 2007
Attendees :Maria Street - Deputy Team Leader, Gill O’Farrell, Mark Boulton, Maureen Taylor, Alison Blyth, Sarah Couper, Marie Holder, Amanda Horley, Mark Pettet, Ross Richardson, Marion McCaffery, Di Moore, Rab Gardner and David Ireland
Guests : Russ, Louise & Brian
Introduction
Some of the group had heard of Brading the Experience and had visited it either recently or as children. Only a few had attended the investigation we held there on a bitterly cold February night in 2006. It was nice to arrange a visit for some that had been before and for others that were newer to the team or who were unable to attend the last time.
The entire group went into this investigation blind as we asked Ralph to with hold any information relating to previous sightings, investigations or experiences from the group.
Many orbs and light anomalies have been caught on recording devices in and around the old house, especially close to the Louis display and the Kind Charles display. There have also been reports of people’s hair being stroked and a small girl has been sensed and seen on the upper stairs of the house. An angry man is also said to be still walking the house and courtyard, cross at being disturbed and people have reported the feeling of being watched. Someone has been seen walking the top balcony and also footsteps and banging doors have been heard even though there are no doors up there. Island Ghosthunters did two nights in the Old House and courtyard and recorded footage which includes a number of orbs, flashes, rods and lights.
Our thanks yet again go to Ralph Edermaniger the complex manager who welcomed the team for their second visit.
ALL PHOTOS AND FOOTAGE CAPTURED ON SITE ARE USED WITH THE KIND PERMISION OF BRADING THE EXPERIENCE LTD.
Teams
Team 1
Maria – Team Leader
Ross
Louise
Russ
Team 2
Alison – Team Leader
Marion
Gill
Brian
David
Team 3
Amanda – Team Leader
Maureen
Sarah
Mark P
Team 4
Marie – Team Leader
Rab
Mark B
Di
Vigil Area’s
The Courtyard incl Priest Hole
The Gallery Corridor (with glass display cabinets)
The Chamber of Horrors
The Old Rectory Mansion
Team Equipment
Each team had access to -
1 night vision camcorders
at least 1 digital camera
1 laser temperature gun
1 emf meters
Dictaphone
Itinerary
7 – 7.15 pm Those travelling together to meet at Red Funnel Ferry Port
8.00pm Ferry Departs from Southampton
9.00pm Ferry arrives in East Cowes. Team travel to location.
9.45 – 10pm Arrive at location and meet Ralph
10.30pm settle in to team area and do brief tour of the vigil areas with Ralph.
11.00pm Pre vigil break to get equipment and teams organised
11.15pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – The Courtyard incl priest hole
Team 2 – The Gallery Corridor
Team 3 – The Chamber of Horrors
Team 4 – The Old Rectory Mansion
12.15am Break
12.30am Vigil 2
Team 1 – The Gallery Corridor
Team 2 – The Chamber of Horrors
Team 3 – The Old Rectory Mansion
Team 4 – The Courtyard incl priest hole
1.30am Break
1.45am Vigil 3
Team 1 – The Chamber of Horrors
Team 2 – The Old Rectory Mansion
Team 3 – The Courtyard incl priest hole
Team 4 – The Gallery Corridor
2.45am Break
3.00am Vigil 4
Team 1 – The Old Rectory Mansion
Team 2 – The Courtyard incl priest hole
Team 3 – The Gallery Corridor
Team 4 – The Chamber of Horrors
4.00am Pack up & depart. Travel back to East Cowes ferry Terminal.
5.30am Ferry back to Southampton
6.30am Arrive in Southampton
Baselines - Completed by – Rab, Marie & Mark B
Gallery Corridors – Temp 16, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations. Lots of mirrors and glass and so team need to be aware of seeing reflections and possible movement.
Old Rectory Mansion – Temp 14.7, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations. Teams need to be aware of squeaky floorboards especially on stairs, low ceilings and generally uneven and sloping floors.
Courtyard – Ambient air temp 12, Floor temp 6, walls temp averaging at 7. EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Chamber of Horrors – Temp 13 – 14 fluctuating, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Team / Vigil Notes
Team 1
Vigil 1 – Courtyard
By the coffin – 11.05pm, light anomaly caught on camcorder
11.10pm Louise senses horses and a cavalier
11.15pm Maria gets the name Francis
11.17pm Everyone feels a little light headed by the hole in the wall
11.20pm Maria feels there is a sailor or naval officer and a member of the team gets a severe headache come on suddenly.
11.25pm Maria gets the name of Thomas and picks up on children being around.
In the Priesthole – 11.26pm Maria gets the name Armitage
Back by the coffin – 11.35pm Louise senses a man is agitated through a mistake he has made which has cost another man his life
11.55pm One of the team feel they are being pushed to one side. The same member then gets a stabbing pain in his back.
11.57pm Maria starts to feel light headed and nauseas
Vigil 2 – The Gallery corridor
12.25am Light anomaly is picked up near left side of Louise
12.30am Louise feels a cold breeze
12.35am Team hear a click coming from the stairs area
12.36am Team see a shadow moving left to right near the stairs
12.37am Maria can hear footsteps near the stairs and the end of the corridor – after she has asked for footsteps
12.40am Louise sees a flash of light near the stairs
12.42am Team hear thumping sound by stairs
12.45am Footsteps are again heard by the stairs
12.47am Maria gets the name Brown or Browning
12.50am Louise senses a little boy aged 6 or 7
12.52am Louise gets the name Charlie
1.00am Team hear two taps from the end of the corridor
1.03am Louise and another member of the team hear whispering
1.05am Maria gets the name Jamie and at the same time starts getting very cold
1.10am Member of the team imagines very Victorian clothing incl a flat cap
1.12am Battery on camcorder shows 43 minutes left and then immediately drops to nothing
1.15am Maria gets the name Morgan
1.15am Temp 10.5
Vigil 3 – Chamber of Horrors
1.45am One of the team hear a breathing noise next to them
1.45am Orb caught on camcorder near the burning at the state display
1.46am Maria feels a cold breeze
1.47am EMF meter peaks but only momentarily
1.48am Team feel a low height breeze
1.50am Light anomalies caught on camcorder
1.55am Maria gets the name Frederick
1.56am Maria then gets the name Baker and senses a horse
1.59am When passing the mummified hand some members of the group feel dizzy
2.00am Louise gets the name Thomas
2.01am Maria senses 17 years old
2.07am Team call out for Thomas and Louise feels like she is being tickled
2.09am Russ and Louise feel cold spots around them
2.10am Maria gets the name Kneller and a couple of members of the team get a slight sickness feeling
2.20am Louise gets a feeling of being scared
2.22am Maria gets the feeling that someone is going to jump out at them
2.23am One member of the team feels like they have thumb screws on them
2.24am Ross hears a sigh near to him
2.26am Ross also has a dizzy feeling
2.30am Russ and Louise hear a knock
2.32am Maria gets the phrase “stuff and nonsense” and senses someone dressed in red
2.33am Ross still feels dizzy
2.35am Maria also senses a man in his 60’s with white hair and a white moustache but he is not scared
Vigil 4 – Old Rectory Mansion
3.00am Upper floor of Mansion house
3.01am Camcorder switches on by itself and shows battery power of 49 minutes which then goes up to 70 mins
3.10am Maria gets the name of Flora Cannings. She feels she was a ladies maid and that she is busying about getting a bath ready for her lady hence too busy to stop and talk to the team.
Louise feels a cold spot by the stairs and Ross sees movement by the window seat. A possible light anomaly is also seen by the team with the naked eye.
Team hears tapes coming from downstairs
Louise gets the names Elizabeth or Bessie and calls out for her. Louise starts to feel tingly and at the same time a light anomaly is caught on camcorder.
Louise asks out if her husband is called Richard and hears in her head the response “Sir Richard to you”
Maria feels that the town of Brading has some links to a family that lived in the building.
Maria feels that Elizabeth does not want the team there in her home but would not deign to remove them herself, as she would have someone else to do that for her.
Maria gets the name Beccy
Maria calls out and Louise gets a pain in her neck and the temp gun reads 9.
3.46am Team move to the lower floor
Temp 7.5
Maria gets the name of Lawrence and sees movement at the foot of the stairway
Louise then gets the name Geoffrey and a member of the team sees an orb with his naked eye by Maria
Team 2
11.02pm Gallery Corridor
Brian senses a Cedrick Rose and calls out to see if he can verify this is correct. Brian then immediately gets a bad headache.
Brian feels Cedrick could be connected to the WW1 feature and as this is mentioned team hear a tap
Brian can smell a strong Peat smell
Marion senses people walking through the area
As Brian moves away from the photo’s and artefacts the headache he has goes away
Team again hear taps from the WW1 display
When team run their fingers
up and down the frame to the display of postcards sent to loved ones
all team feel a 5 degree temp difference. The change in temp seemed
to radiate from the Hampshire regiment card.
Chamber of Horrors
– Torture instruments left out for team. Temp readings taken of all
pieces of equipment and the axe and the muscle melter was o.5 degrees
warmer than all the other instruments.
Rectory Mansion – 1.45am – Alison and Gill hear a female breathing
Alison senses a young spirit and gets the name Isabel
When Alison calls out, Brian
hears a shuffling noise near to the team
NO OTHER NOTES RECEIVED
FROM TEAM 2
Team 3
Team initially notice that temp gun seems to be adding 10 degrees to the actual temp. Julie can confirm she changed all batteries before the kit was taken on this investigation.
Chamber of Horrors – Temp 19, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Team feel this area is very quiet and there is not much happening.
Team held various torture instruments and all team felt quite powerful while holding the axe though they felt this was unlikely to be anything paranormal.
General impression was that it was a left handed person who used the axe.
Rectory Mansion – Temp 15, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
1st floor - Team experience unusual temperature fluctuations in this vigil. Cold drafts were felt at first and then warm patches.
Maureen sensed a little boy about the house, playing hide and seek.
Top floor – Temp 15 although team felt it was warmer than downstairs. EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Sarah sees a pinprick of light move across the far room at a low level. Team try to replicate it with their cameras and torches but they can not recreate the same effect.
In the far room the door to the exhibit rattled and the team could find no obvious reason for this. It then carried on to make a few further clicks.
Maureen and Amanda both felt something approach them shortly after hearing the rattle.
2nd part of the 1st floor – Temp 15, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Only thing observed here was the fact that it felt a lot colder than upstairs but was reading the same temp throughout.
Courtyard – Temp 14 by skeleton, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations. Fluctuating between 10 – 13 in open courtyard. EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Sarah and Amanda sat at the bottom of the gallery stairs. They sensed a man there. He was not very nice and needed a wash. Neither Amanda or Sarah wanted to stay there and so Maureen and Mark went into the area. Maureen felt that there was something following Amanda and Sarah.
Gallery Corridor – Temp 22, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Nothing unusual was observed by the team in this area.
Team 4
11pm Old Rectory Mansion
Temp 11, ambient. EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
2nd floor –
Di complains of feeling cold. Team check window but no draft found. Di feels that if there is someone there they are clean shaven.
Rab feels a tingling across the top of his head and gets the name Derek.
Marie feels a slight breeze across her left hand side and at the same time Rab catches a light anomaly on camcorder.
Marie then feels a blunt stabbing pain in her head and Di gets the name George who died of hypothermia. Di also feels like she has an eye patch over her eye.
Top floor – Temp 10, ambient. EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Marie feels disorientated on this floor and very dizzy
The EMF meter spikes by the doorway but dissipates after a couple of seconds.
Light anomaly caught behind Marie. Di calls out and again a light is seen behind Marie.
Rab catches several light anomalies going from Marie to Mark and back and going towards the “look” sign on the chimney.
Di decides to change where she is standing as she keeps swaying.
Di calls out for a spirit to catch hold of her hands or to touch one of the males and Marks said the hairs on his right arm went up and he could feel a tingling.
Rab gets the name Peter Melville. Di and Rab think it could be a little boy.
Team move further down the corridor and catch another light anomaly on camcorder going from his left leg up to his stomach.
Mari gets a tingling feeling inn her foot and across her face. Another light anomaly is caught moving between Mark and Marie.
Rab gets the name Jason
Meeks. Just as team were leaving the door at the far end rattled!
Courtyard
–
Di picks up on a couple on the upper balcony
Light anomaly seen by Rab on the stairs
Di feels faint and feels like a child was thrown from the balcony into the courtyard
Marie is picking up on a female in her 20’s
Di picks up the name Margaret
Rab feels he is picking up on Margaret as well and what she would have worn etc
Di and Marie both see a
light
Gallery Corridor
–
Temp 11-12, EMF 00.1 – 00.2, no fluctuations.
Rab calls out and a faint possible knock is heard by team
Marie captures a light anomaly on camcorder
Team notice a 1 degree drop in the temp of the area. Temp now 10.
Rab gets the name James again and imagines a horses head.
Marie and Rab gets the double-barrelled surname Dela Bere
Light anomaly caught on camcorder
Di is looking through camcorder at Rab but his face appears a lot older and almost Hitler like.
Team feel as if temp is dropping further especially round by the main entrance.
Rab gets the name Simon
in this area.
Chamber of Horrors –
Rab feels pressure on left side of his head.
Rab then feels something touch the top of his head, team check for webs or anything that could cause this – nothing found.
Marie calls out and Rab felt a tickle on his head then saw a red light on the wall.
Di feels sick to her stomach in this area and feels the cold shoot through her.
Rab picked up the axe and
handed it to Di. This made Di feel really sick and she quickly passed
it back to him.
Personal Reports
Maria Street
All I knew about Brading was that there was a waxworks there. That got me intrigued enough, but to then find that there was also a Manor House with an inner courtyard was just the icing on the cake. With longer evenings drawing in, our whole journey on the Ferry was in the dark, but no less enjoyable. We arrived at Brading slightly earlier than anticipated and were greeted by Ralph, the owner. We quickly set up and went for a tour, kindly led by Ralph. After a short break it was time to start. I was in Team 1 with Ross and his guests, Louise and Russ. We started in the courtyard which I was glad to do first because it was still mild enough to stand outdoors. I am a real wuss where the cold is concerned. We started in the coffin area where we stood either side with the camcorder filming at the end. We started calling out and Louise got the impression of a cavalier who was very agitated because he had made a mistake, which had resulted in the loss of life of another person. In one certain spot, by the hole in the wall, we all felt light-headed and nauseous. I also got the impression of children being in courtyard area. I got the names Francis and Thomas on this vigil. I also got the name of Armitage in the area of the priest hole.Our next vigil was in the gallery corridor where we set up an EVP experiment, so our line of questioning was such that it would elicit an answer from any spirit in the area such as what was their name and did they want us in the area. It was whilst we were calling out that Louise noticed movement by the stairs so we continued with the questions. It was a few minutes later that I noticed a black shadow pass across the stairs and Louise saw it at the same time. I asked if they could let their footsteps be heard, in the hope of hearing it on the EVP and we heard what sounded like definite footsteps coming from the stairs. We moved down to investigate and noticed it to be colder. However, there was a vent in the ceiling above, so we couldn’t discount the possibility of cold air coming in from there. Louise felt that there was a child present and I agreed. I felt there was a young boy of seven, dressed in Victorian clothing of sandy coloured shorts and a white shirt. I could also see a flat cap. This was not a rich child and I got the impression of children crowding round trying to get my attention. These were working children trying to obtain money by any means necessary. They were happy though and I inadvertently mentioned the name Jamie. Not sure if it is connected though. Louise got the name Charlie. We called out to ask for a sound and a loud bang came from the direction of the team room. Ralph was working in his office just beyond this point so I asked him if he had made any noises but he hadn’t. Really hope that something came up on the EVP.
After this we were in the Chamber of Horrors. We started in the lower section where I picked up on the name Frederick and then Baker. I wasn’t sure if the latter referred to his name or occupation and as I was debating this I had the word, horse, come into my head, so maybe his occupation had something to do with horses. We made our way up to the upper section where Ralph had kindly left some artefacts, which were genuine pieces of torture equipment, and an executioner’s axe. We all picked up the axe to try to determine, amongst other things, whether it had been used by a left or right handed person. The results are mixed. I felt it was right handed, but probably because I am right handed. We also felt nauseous whilst handling it, which isn’t surprising considering what it was used for. I felt the whole time that I was there that there was still something down in the lower section so we made our way back there. We called out and thought we could hear footsteps. Louise got the name George and almost immediately I could picture an older man dressed in red who was very unsure of us. I felt he thought it was all stuff and nonsense and he couldn’t decide whether to speak to us or not. It was like he would make his way towards us, then shake his head and go back in the opposite direction. He would then stop, turn round, start to come back and then start the whole process again. I felt he had a mop of silvery white hair and a big moustache.
Our last vigil was in the Mansion House and we started upstairs. We settled down and started to call out. I got the impression of a young lady’s maid coming up the stairs, carrying towels and soap. She was too busy to talk to us and I got the name Flora Cannings. We called out for another spirit to come forward and talk to us and Louise got the name Elizabeth who she felt was the lady of the house. She could hear noises coming from downstairs so a couple of them went down to investigate. I stayed upstairs and got the feeling that the town of Brading may have been named after a prominent family, maybe one that lived in this very house. Louise came back upstairs and asked Elizabeth to put the name of her husband in to her head. She got the name Richard. We could still hear things downstairs, so decided to head down there. We sat opposite the stairway we had just come down. I sat for a while and got the name Lawrence. I looked down to write this down and when I looked up, I saw that one of our team had moved to stand to the left of the stairway. It was only when I looked again that I realised that nobody had moved. I called out again and Louise got the name Geoffrey. We felt that he and Lawrence had been sent by Elizabeth to make sure that we didn’t go back upstairs. A little later Louise could also see movement by the stairs. This ended a fascinating night. This place was bursting with energy. A big thank you to Ralph for his hospitality and friendliness.
Marie Holder
Team 4: Marie, Di, Rab and Mark B.
Introduction
I remember visiting this location when I was 6 years old and the man behind reception desk decided to jump out from behind the desk at me which frightened the life right out of me at the time. I remember thinking then how scared I was and I hadn’t seen any of the exhibits yet! Yet here I was several years later leading a team of paranormal investigators round the dark and scary corridors I remembered from my youth.
I was really looking forward to returning to this location and knew a little about the history, although I was eagerly anticipating my fourth vigil which would be in the Chamber of Horrors!
Vigil 1 – Old Rectory Mansion
We made our way to our first vigil area and decided to start on the middle floor. Di and I sat on the wooden seat next to the Louis de Rochefort display. Di said she sensed a clean shaven man (no beard) and felt as though there was a draft around her face. Di checked the window next to her but she could not feel a draught coming from it.
Di and I swapped places but I could not feel the draught she described but Di said she could still feel it as though it was following her around. She then came up with the name George.
Rab was getting a lot of orb activity captured on camcorder, especially around Di and myself.
We then decided to move to the top floor. Again we captured lots of orb activity on camcorder, especially where I was standing, the chimney display and Marks stomach!
We all thought it could be a young boy aged around 4 or 5 which could explain the orbs around Marks stomach. Child height? I then came up with the name Thomas.
We then decided to move further down the corridor and it was noticeably colder down this end of the room. Again orbs were captured around Marks stomach area. We asked spirit if Mark reminded them of someone they knew and we heard a feint tap.
We all definitely felt as though someone was there. We were just about to leave that vigil location and the door on one of the displays banged twice for no reason which freaked us all out a little. We then went downstairs to join the others.
Vigil 2 – Courtyard and Priest holes
We got to the courtyard and had a wander round to get a feel for the place and see whether any of us could pick anything up. I got the feeling we should go up to the balcony so I started to ascend the stairs. As I climbed up I heard a mans voice whisper “this way” but this could have been a member of another team as they were moving through the courtyard to get to their vigil locations but if sounded very close to me as I was nearly at the top of the stairs.
I reached the balcony and immediately felt very threatened. I asked Di to join me and she said she felt the same and that she sensed a couple giggling together.
We walked along the balcony a bit more and we got to a certain part and Di said she sensed somebody was thrown or pushed over the balcony but did not know their gender only that it was a young person.
I walked towards the stairs on the other side of the balcony where Rab had said he had seen orbs with his naked eye.
We decided to sit at the bottom of the stairs to see if we could see any orbs ourselves. Both Di and I saw an oval shaped light under the window at the top of the stairs and we invited whoever it was to come down the stairs to meet us.
I then got the name Margaret. After a while the light dissipated. Di decided to try and “meet” the spirit halfway and walked 3 steps up the stairs. We called out for the spirit to make contact with Di but no response was forthcoming.
We then moved onto the priest holes and I eventually managed to squeeze myself into one of the holes with Di. I did not pick up anything but Di sat there with one of her hands resting on her face and looked like she was either praying or looked as if she was in a state of despair. Rab sensed that the wall behind her would have been knocked down with force to get to the person inside.
Vigil 3 – Gallery Corridor
Temp 11º-12º
We sat in the middle section of the corridor on the floor. I tried calling out but got no response. I could not sense anything at all in this location and only picked up on the name of Margaret who I picked up earlier but also got a two-part surname beginning with “De” like De-Winter for example but not that particular name.
Rab said he had come up with something similar which sounded like “Della Burgh”.
We tried calling out again but got no response.
We moved further down towards the team room and it was noticeably colder in this area. Di sensed that it was a very male dominant area and Rab got the name Simon.
We tried calling out some more and we tapped on the glass displays for them to respond in the same way and we did hear some feint tapping sounds.
Vigil 4 – Chamber of Horrors
I was looking forward to this vigil as I knew many of the instruments of torture displayed were genuine. We started in the middle of the location.
Di immediately said that she did not like it in there. I caught what looked like orbs on the camcorder but this could have been dust as there was dust in the torch light.
It had a very oppressive atmosphere down there which was understandable considering the displays that were surrounding us.
I filmed a display which had models of severed heads in a basket and there was what looked like a pin prick of light floating round the basket but we could not ascertain what it was and could not find any insects in the cabinet.
The camcorder battery then died on us and so we decided to walk around for a bit longer but could not pick up on anything else.
Conclusion
This was a fantastic location and the wonderful displays helped to make it that bit more atmospheric. Although we did not catch much in the way of audible phenomena what we caught in the way of orb activity more than made up for it especially in the old rectory mansion.
I would like to thank Di, Rab and Mark for making my first outing as team leader a pleasant one and to our host Ralph for showing us round this fascinating location. Till next time!
Amanda Horley
Having visited Brading on a previous investigation I was looking forward to the return visit, especially as last time it had been incredibly windy and this time it was perfectly still. We had experienced a lot of knocks and creaks on the previous visit that had been difficult to confirm as paranormal because of the weather conditions.
Our first vigil was in the Chamber of Horrors was very quiet. Ralph, the caretaker had laid out a number of the torture instruments for us to handle, and as there appeared to be no activity, we turned our attention to these. I didn’t pick up anything from any of the items I held, but have to admit to really enjoying holding the executioners axe, much to my team’s consternation. It did give a feeling of great power, but I doubt that this was paranormal.
Our second vigil was in the Old Rectory Mansion, and having several areas to cover we decided to spend a short time in each, extending our time if anything interesting occurred. We started on the first floor, and despite the lack of breeze experienced draughts around us that didn’t appear to be coming from the blocked off window. There also seemed to be a warm area about 1 metre from the floor, but we couldn’t find any explanation for it. After a time we moved up to the top floor. Sarah and Mark were seeing interesting light anomalies both with the naked eye and on camera, but it felt very quiet until Maureen and I sat in the far end. The door to the exhibit rattled for a couple of seconds and we both felt that someone was approaching us. The door had rattled a lot the previous time I had done a vigil here, but this time I can say that it definitely wasn’t caused by the weather.
Our next vigil saw us outside in the Courtyard. The beautifully clear night meant that the temperature had plummeted, so it was quite an uncomfortable vigil, but for most of the hour, it was very quiet for me. We tried sitting at various points around the Courtyard, including the priest-hole, but I didn’t pick anything up. Then, towards the end of the vigil, Sarah and I were sitting on a bench at the bottom of the balcony stairs, and we both got the impression of a man standing in front of us. I felt that he was very much in need of a wash, and his clothing smelt very dirty as well. I was really uncomfortable sitting there with him standing so close, so I stood up. The impression I was getting was of a man who was really unpleasant, not exactly evil, just not a very nice man at all. I didn’t really want to get any further information from him, so Sarah and I moved away and asked Maureen and Mark to go over there without telling them why. Maureen felt that a man had followed them into the corner, and it seems that he may have followed Sarah and me when we left the area. I was quite pleased to end this particular vigil.
Our final vigil was in the Gallery Corridor, and for me this was completely quiet.
Although this visit was a lot quieter than my previous one, we could at least be sure this time that it wasn’t the weather causing the draughts or the rattling doors. Ralph again looked after us extremely well, and this is certainly somewhere I’d like to go back to.
Maureen Taylor
On arrival the buildings comprising The Brading Experience were all I had been expecting – a group of ancient timber-framed and stone-built structures, among the oldest secular buildings on the Isle of Wight.
Vigil 1 – Chamber of Horrors
I found nothing down here at all scary, though I assume that during opening hours, with sound and light added to the displays they could prove so for some people. We, however, were not at all uncomfortable in this area. Ralph had got out some of the genuine torture instruments that have been collected, but apart from discussion about why Amanda like the executioners axe nothing happened down here for us - we ultimately decided that the reason Amanda liked the axe actually had nothing to do with the axe itself, but rather it was the feel of the wooden handle – especially as she felt the same about the muscle-melters which also had wooden handles!!
As for any paranormal activity, we experienced nothing here, so sorry, but nothing to report.
Vigil 2 – the Old Rectory Mansion
This vigil began quietly, and we were beginning to think that it was going to be another uneventful one – how wrong could we have been…
We went up to the first floor and settled down, Myself and Sarah sat on a pew type bench at one end of the area, while Mark and Amanda stood nearby. Amanda was feeling a slight draught, but was unable to trace its origins, and calling out didn’t get us anywhere near a solution either. A few minutes later, I was feeling a warm spot to my left at the end of the pew I was sitting on, it wasn’t static, but seemed to be moving around because just a few moments later Amanda commented that she had identified a moving warm spot as well. I was beginning to feel that we had a child with us, probably male as the name Henry came into my mind at the time, and that he was running around the area we were in trying to get close to our EMF meter and temperature gun but without affecting them – in effect he was playing games and dodging us and our gadgets. I got the impression that he was a rather cheeky six or seven year old.
We then moved on upstairs to the attic area. We settled down in the area nearest the stairs that we had used to get up there, a few cold draughts were felt, but once again we were unable to locate any source for them. Amanda and I moved on to the other end of the attic and sat on one of the window seats. As we sat there the glass door of the display at the end of the attic rattled, we tried to replicate this by walking around the floor, but couldn’t get it to happen again, we also listened out to see if it was caused by passing traffic, but still no results. We called out to see if there was any spirit presence that might have done it in order to alert us to its presence, but with no result, we just couldn’t get that door to rattle again.
Vigil 3 – The Courtyard
It was getting a little chilly by now and this was to be an outdoor vigil, so we all put on our coats and headed out there. Our temperature gun, in spite of our all feeling quite cold, was still showing about fifteen degrees - I should have been suspicious at the time, I don’t feel the cold a great deal but I was actually shivering out here some of the time.
We found some sheltered spots in which to sit, changing places every so often. At one point Amanda and Sarah called Mark and I over to where there are a couple of benches placed opposite the bottom of a flight of stairs. They had felt something there and wanted us to see if we could pick up on it too. As Mark and I walked across the courtyard to this area I was aware of a presence following me, but as we sat on the bench it disappeared, though Amanda and Sarah were still aware of it - - I should point out here that though I feel spirit presences I very rarely hear, see or smell them, whereas Amanda often picks them up by smell alone, and Amanda could still smell whoever was with us.
At the end of the vigil another of the teams came through on their way back to base and I heard them comment that their temperature gun was showing two degrees – very odd methinks, as ours was still giving us readings of between ten and fifteen degrees. Did we have a faulty temperature gun, were it’s batteries running low, or was someone out there trying to make us think that it was warmer than it really was????? – I suspect the latter….
Vigil 4
– Gallery CorridorOur final vigil of the night, which turned out to be another very quiet one. Having wandered around for about ten minutes, chatting quietly and taking photographs, we settled down on the floor in various parts of the corridor, getting up now and then to change positions or take more photos. As I was standing near the WWII display case I was aware of someone/something walking straight through me, but I was unable to get much information other than a feeling that this was a male presence with us. The rest of the vigil was uneventful and we had no further happenings. This may have been because there was nothing going on, but also may have been because this was our last vigil and we were getting too tired to e aware enough of what might have been going on around us.
Conclusion
Another interesting investigation location, and one that I really must go back to one day soon during opening hours, just to have a look around it. We had a warm welcome from Ralph who was there to open up the building for us and to help out with anything we might need during our stay there – thanks to him for being there and allowing us access to almost all of the building. A great night, and though for our team it was a relatively quiet investigation overall I believe that at least one of the other teams picked up on much more activity than we did, and I look forward to reading their reports on the night.
Marion McCaffery
I was in team 2 with Alison as team leader, Gil, David and Brian.
First Vigil: The Gallery Corridor
Temperature was an even 9.5 all along the corridor and there was no fluctuation on the EMF meter. Alison called out. Brian got the name Cedric Rose and he talked of having a severe pressure on the back of his head. He was sat by the WW1 Scene of soldiers firing a machine gun and wounded soldiers laid nearby. Brian also got the smell of saltpeter. A tapping sound was heard but we got no response when asking for it to be repeated. When Brian moved from the position he was sitting he felt a lot better. We all reckoned it
could have been residual energy. Above where Brian was sat was a picture of the Royal Hampshire Regiment and it had a strong energy feel to it by moving the open palm over it you could feel a pull to a young man in the pictured and we wondered if this was Cedric Rose. There were also some postcards in a frame that was sent from the trenches to loved ones at home. There was a distinctive energy feel on these postcards and the temperature gun showed quite a fluctuation when shone on this frame.
All in all in was a pretty quiet area.
Second Vigil: The Chambers of Horrors
Temperature reading was 11.1 to 12.1. We split into 2 groups, Alison went with Brian to another part of the dungeons and I was with David in the first part of the dungeon. After calling out we found it very quiet but an oppressive atmosphere in the chambers. We all moved onto where some tools that were used for torture was left out for us to examine. Whilst Alison and Brian were touching the items a light was captured on the video camera. Alison tried calling out but there was no response. The temperature on the axe and the muscle melter were registering at 10.0 whilst the other two items registered at 9.5.
Third Vigil: Old Rectory Mansion
Temperature reading was 8.5 – 9. No movement on EMF Meter. Alison called out a female sigh was heard. Brian and Alison moved to the area where the sigh was heard. David, Gill and me stayed at the other end of the floor. David called out and so did I but nothing was heard. We then moved and joined up again with Brian and Alison.
Fourth Vigil: The Courtyard including the Priest Hole
Alison calls out and all is quite. So Brian, Alison and David go into the bottom of the priest hole and Gill goes inside the top half of the priest hole. Gill got a presence of a man who was waiting in the priest hole for someone to come along. He was waiting for vengeance on a man who stole from him. I got the name Thomas – whether that was a surname or Christian name – not sure. I also got that this man was not a priest and that the hole had been used at some time for smuggling. David swapped places with Gill but did not get anything. We also got the feeling that the man that was being waited for was stabbed in the chest in the courtyard and that the man that stabbed him lived with that on his conscious for a long time after. I got the feeling that he was either hung or committed suicide over this killing.
Out of the 4 areas that we did vigils in, the courtyard to me was the most active with the most information received. To me it was a very quite night of which I was a little bit disappointed.
Di Moore
We took the 8pm Ferry from Southampton to East Cowes, It was now dark and nippy but the crossing was calm a really enjoyable trip.
We arrived at Brading about 9.45pm and were greeted by Ralph. After settling in we all went on a tour round. The Courtyard excited me, could not wait to get back there.
I was in Team 4 with Marie (Team leader) Rab and Mark B.
Vigil 1. The Old Rectory Mansion
Arriving in the Mansion we went upstairs. We sat in silence then called out to spirit. There was a open chimney in the centre which seemed to be active. We all stood round the chimney but I kept looking towards the far end of the room. Then I looked at the chimney and thought I saw a face. I put my touch on and found it to be a shield like notice, which said look with a arrow pointing down. Then Rab said he had got some orbs there going between Marie and Mark on the camcorder. We called out again and I got a little boy about 4 years old. Someone got Peter, Jason and Thomas and there was also cold spots around this chimney. We went to the far end of the room and once again there were cold spots and Rab got orbs around Mark. I felt this little boy liked Mark, as he seemed to be running round him. We then hear sounds but this turned out to be another group. Time for a break.
Vigil 2 The Courtyard incl. Priest Hole.
Outside in the Courtyard I was drawn to the balcony (as I was in the walk round). Looking up at it Marie said did I want to go up there and so we did. We went to the left stairway and went up. We sat facing out over the courtyard and took it all in. My eyes were drawn to the other end of the balcony not knowing this was another stairway I could feel spirits, a couple, male and female like a courting couple as the woman was giggly. She was in a long pale dress and had long flowing hair. Then I got up and walked to this end of the balcony, I sensed horror. Someone had fallen over this part of the balcony or had been pushed. I sensed a child, I walked back and forward to get the right spot and there it was near the end of the balcony by the other stairs. We then went down the stairway and into the courtyard. Rab called us over as he was sat at bottom of this stairway and asked us what we felt. Marie and I sat there. I could sense the woman at the top of the stairs in a pale dress. Rab also sensed a light colour dress. I called out to her and asked her to come down as we would like to meet her. I kept calling out then decided I would ask her to meet me on the stairs. I said I would walk up three steps if she could come down and greet me. Ok here goes, one step - breather, two steps - breather, still calling out and third step - panic, this felt like a lifetime but still calling out sensed she had moved down a few steps then vanished. She had gone.
We then went in the Priest Hole and crawled though as someone had said this was lucky to crawl though. Marie and I were one side and Rab and Mark the other. I sat there and noticed I was sat like the Thinker elbow on knee, fist on chin, Rab had noticed too. The other groups were coming back though the courtyard now so time for a break.
Vigil 3. The Gallery Corridor.
The Gallery Corridor was long and had glass rooms of wartime soldiers, Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten. Not much for me in this corridor but at the end of the vigil Rab was standing with me by the Soldiers and his reflection in the glass was not him it was not Rab! He also looked different through the camcorder, his face looked just like Hitler. Break time.
Vigil 4. The Camber of Horrors
Horror of horrors, did not like this place. Dont know whether it was the scenes in the glass rooms or just plain evil. I wanted to pick up the axe, but didn’t want to, but I did anyway and had to put it down again immediately. It made me fill sick in the stomach really sick in fact I nearly vomited. Just wanted to get out but had to stay as I didn’t want to walk back through alone. After that I could not concentrate, as I just wanted to go home.
I would like to thank Ralph at Brading Experience for having us there and I would love to go back.
Rab Gardner
Vigil 1-The Old rectory Mansion
For this investigation I was in Marie’s team along with Di & Mark B. This first vigil was in the oldest part of the building and I was really looking forward to it. Starting off on the first floor, we began to pick up on a cold spot moving around Di. EMF or temp didn’t fluctuate, but orb activity was evident using night vision camera.
Moving to the top floor, we settled near the ‘chimney’ exhibit and waited. Very soon an orb appeared, as seen in the camera I was filming with. On calling out, the orb would appear to confirm its presence. The orb moved relatively slowly, was large and always appeared near Mark or moving between Mark and Marie. The name I was given was Peter Melville, but the orb moved inconsistently when asked to confirm. After that a second smaller orb also appeared and moved along the corridor.
At one point near a doorway on the upper floor we had an EMF (5mG) spike for approx. 20-25 secs, especially good since there was no main power on within the building. In comparison, the buildings Emergency lighting peaked at 2mG.
Vigil 2-Courtyard
I was expecting a lot from this vigil because of the priest holes – always a mistake.
On seeing them fist hand I dismissed them as not interesting and moved on. The whole area to me seemed empty, although the other team members were picking up things on the balcony. I settled at the bottom of the stairs on a 2 seater bench and watched. About halfway through the vigil, my eyes were drawn to the top of the stairs and as I watched I saw an orb move across and head towards the others. Immediately after that, I saw a blonde haired woman running down the stairs with her hand on the banister. She was looking towards the courtyard and seemed excited. She was wearing a pale dress (18th century maybe), was aged 22 and I think she was the ‘Margaret’ that Di was picking up on. Outstanding – I could hardly believe that I was able to get so much information (were my cold spot and orb days coming to an end?)
As if in answer, I looked across to the priest hole and saw it being broken into with men using pikes. When it was open, there was a man inside wearing dark clothes. He looked scrawny, had dark grey hair and was curled up in the corner with a hand up towards his face. I then saw him stabbed with two pikes from the men outside. Since I was writing the team notes, I didn’t say anything until later. With 5 mins left, we huddled in the priest hole and just before we finished, Di asked ‘what am I doing’. Shining a torch on her, she was huddled in the same position as the man I saw earlier.
Vigil 3–The Gallery Corridor
This was another area that had intrigued me ever since the walk around. At first we checked EMF & temp then settled down. After a long time, I started to feel a presence near. On calling out, I was given the name Jane Stanton and that she had died in a riding accident, but there was no more info given after that. I would have been sceptical about this definitive information, but I got a good shot of an orb right above the area where I was sitting.
We moved along the corridor to the WW1 display area and found a cold spot near the door. Assuming it was a through draught from the entrance just around the corridor, we began to prove the theory. The temp gun didn’t support a draught, because the temp remained constant throughout even although we were physically feeling the cold. EMF also didn’t twitch and as we moved around the cold spot began to move as well. Near the end I felt a touch on the top of my head on two occasions, but area was too clean to harbour any webs and any displays were too high up to cause the feeling.
Vigil 4 – The Chamber of Horrors
This display area was very well presented and although it showed a lot of torture implements and techniques, I didn’t pick up on anything. EMF or temp anomalies were absent also. There were a number of implements available to touch, so I picked up the biggest – a battle axe! Alas, no psychometric information for me.
I really enjoyed this Investigation, not just because it’s a very good Museum, but because I picked up on certain phenomena that I normally don’t get. I was amazed at the detail of the woman coming down the stairs and hope this sort of thing continues. Thank you Brading.
Sarah Couper
Our first vigil was in the chamber of horrors, however, I felt the atmosphere was rather flat and nothing really happened in here, apart from Amanda becoming much attached to the executioners axe.
The second vigil was in the mansion house, we did not feel much on the ground floor so went up to the next floor. Here we felt more of a presence. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and one of the team caught orbs on camera. We moved up to the top floor. Whilst sitting here I saw a small white light drift up the narrow short corridor between the two rooms. We tried to see if this light could have been caused by reflection from the display cabinets and there items, but we could not recreate it. We decided to film the corridor and caught several light anomalies traversing through. We descended through the inn side of the house but felt/saw nothing further.
The third vigil – the courtyard. Initially nothing was really felt so we tried splitting up. I sat with Maureen on the benches by the stairs, and got a sense of being watched almost as if whatever/whoever it was, was right in my face. I then sat with Amanda in the priest hole but we felt nothing there. I mentioned to Amanda about my experience on the benches so we went back to there. Mark and Maureen were in another part of the courtyard. We heard a faint tap behind on the wall and checked to see if there was anything that could have caused it, but could find nothing. Amanda sensed the presence of an unwashed male who was not happy. I went to get the other and Amanda felt uncomfortable so also left. Mark and I sat there for a while but nothing further happened.
Fourth vigil – The gallery, it was fairly quiet to begin with but we were picking up orbs on the camcorder and the digital cameras. There was a sense of being watched and I felt playfulness like you get with children. However we got no further evidence other than the light anomalies.
Alison Blyth
This was my second investigation at Brading.
My first vigil was in the corridors where the first world war, Queen Victoria, Princess Diana exhibitions were held. We called out but unfortunately had no response. What did fascinate me about this area was the fact that Brian felt uneasy whilst sat by the WW1 exhibition. We established that it seemed to have nothing to do with the artefacts but seemed to be connected to the photos and postcards on the wall at the side of the exhibition. Brian felt a connection to one of the soldiers in the photo and felt that there seemed to be energy coming from one of the postcards. We conducted an experiment to see if any of the other team members could feel anything from the postcards and what surprised me was that one of the postcards was 0.5 degrees warmer than all the others. We did pick up some orbs on the camera but nothing more significant in this area.
Our second vigil was in the chambers of horrors. We called out but got no response.
Our third vigil was in the upstairs area. We called out but didn't get a response but I did sense movement in the area near to the chimney and Attic room. I walked closer to the area and felt a gentle touch on my cheek and heard a woman's voice saying 'you have soft skin' she seemed very wary of me but gave me the name of Isabel. Other than that I gleamed no more information in this area.
Our final vigil was in the Courtyard area. Brian and I sat on the steps in the Priest hole and Gill sat the other side to us. We called out and automatically Gill started pacing up and down clenching her fists. She explained that she felt the presence of a man who was waiting for his victim to arrive and that she felt she had a knife. We all tried this experiment but unfortunately I didn't feel any presence there. I did see a woman on the balcony but she seemed non-responsive and seemed to be in a loop walking the same path again and again. I didn't get a name unfortunately for her. Gill did pick up the name Thomas and felt remorse from the man she had experienced earlier stating he was paid to do the deed had committed and had regretted getting involved.
All in all an interesting evening. Many thanks for having us and making us so welcome.
Mark Boulton
This was going to be the second investigation carried out on the Isle of Wight. I was particularly looking forward to this one as I have visited the Wax Museum a couple of times previously when I was younger, and the place always gave me the creeps.
I was in team 4, with Marie the team leader, Rab and Di. After the walk through, our first vigil was to be held in the Old Rectory Mansion. As well as the ground floor this had a first and second floor. The first part of the vigil was held on the first floor. After settling down the place seemed very quiet, we could just make out some voices from another group in the courtyard. Some calling out was attempted with no real responses or sounds. Rab had come with a name, Derek and Di had impressions of a clean shaven man, maybe blind in one eye or wearing an eye patch and a feeling of cold or hypothermia. We then moved up to the second floor. Again after some calling out, there appeared to be little no response. Rab was on the video and generally scanning the room and reported seeing orb or lights moving around and having an attraction to my stomach area! This continued for quite a while and Di saying she also saw a point of light in and around my stomach area. I could see or feel nothing however. I believe Di felt the presence of a young person as well moving around, we then moved to the other end of the floor I did feel tingling down my right side and felt like the hairs on my arm were standing on end but this could have been associated with all the attention on my stomach.
Our Second vigil was held in the Courtyard, I was given the Camcorder to operate, so most of my attention was held concentrating on using the camera. So personally I experienced nothing at all in the courtyard. Both Di and Rab felt the impression or saw a lady dressed in white along the balcony and down the stairs. Di also had the impression that this lady either fell or dropped somebody off the balcony onto the courtyard below. There was nothing picked up on the camera no orbs or any other phenomena. We ended the vigil in the priest hole with Di getting the impression of a seated/kneeling person.
Our third vigil was held in the Gallery corridor, here again all seemed very quiet with very little activity or phenomena. There did seem to be some areas of coldness about with no obvious reason but other than that I experienced nothing.
The last vigil was held in the eagerly awaited Chamber of Horrors, but here again all seemed to be very quiet.
Overall on the Brading Experience investigation, I experienced nothing really of any note which was a bit of a disappointment, due to initial expectations. I feel that from a team point of view the area of most interest was probably the Courtyard area.
David Ireland
Well after a long period away from the group Brading The Experience on the Isle of Wight was my first investigation since I have returned. Unfortunately for me personally the night was quite quiet. I was very comfortable from the time I walked in, right up until the very end of the night.
The one vigil area that did interest me was the courtyard. My time had the courtyard as our last vigil area. As Alison had had previous experiences in the courtyard from the first visit she decided to go straight to the area where the priest hole was. Not having read any reports from the first investigation I dont know what Alison’s experiences of that area were.
She and Brian sat in one part of the priest hole while Gill went round the other side. Gill began to pick up on a spirit that was seemingly trying to channel his anger through her. After a while she decided to leave that area as she felt to angry. I then replaced her. I felt extremely comfortable in there. Alison began to call out again (as she had done with Gill previously). I began to pick up on a man who wasn’t threatening to me but seemed to be trying to channel his pleasure through me. He felt very pleased that Alison knew who he was because it meant he had made an impact. My vision of him was quite scruffy looking, almost like a pirate or a smuggler and carrying a knife between his teeth. At one point for a matter of seconds I had quite a sharp stabbing pain but as it was so brief, just ignored it.
I would definitely say that my opinion of Brading The Experience is that it is only haunted my residual energy. In any case it was a very interesting building and thank you to Ralph who was very hospitable to us the whole night through.
Gillian O’Farrell
I signed up for this investigation
with undue haste; I wanted to ensure I got a place. A little while
later I was feeling rather less smug when I realised I was going to
have to spend the night in a haunted wax museum. Perhaps unsurprisingly,
I was expected a stressful night with lots of phenomena or at least
to be scared out of my wits at every turn when I saw a dummy in the
half-light. As it turned out, this investigation was the quietest I
have been on.
Vigil One – Gallery Corridor
I was in team 2 with Alison, Marion, Brian and David. I had a sense in one part of the corridor of a man in area about half-way down. Some of the other team members had a sense of a man connected to the militaria on display. One of the items on the wall curiously felt warm to the touch every time we touched it. Aside from this nothing else happened here.
Vigil Two – Chamber of Horrors
With great anticipation I ventured into this vigil. The result was very disappointing as absolutely nothing was experienced and indeed it felt quite comfortable!
Vigil Three – Old Rectory Mansion
This area definitely felt more uneasy with a great sense of presence. However, we elicited very little. The only thing I heard was a kind of whispered moan at one stage.
Vigil Four – The Courtyard Area
This vigil was without doubt the most interesting part of the night. There was a strong sense of presence in the area. I moved into the Priest Hole area to investigate. After spending a few minutes in there, I started to feel a connection to a male spirit who was agitated and waiting for someone. I felt taller and had a sense of wearing some kind of long boots or leggings. I felt this man had to hiding out waiting for someone. I was waiting for a specific person with whom there was a score to settle. This person “had it coming to them”. There was s a feeling of intense anger, but a feeling that this was something that had to be done and the spirit had been waiting to attack another man. I left the priest hole shortly after as I was starting to feel aggressive. Marion then went into to area and had the sense of a stabbing. Alison felt as if she was drunk. Putting this together, it would seem that this man had been waiting to commit murder, fuelled by drink from the adjacent inn. It may be the spirit of the murderer who walks this courtyard. Members of the team called out to this “murderer”. I sensed that this man deeply regretted what had happened and committed a crime for which he was now perpetually sorry.
Ross Richardson
Brading Experience seems an interesting place to investigate. This is the first time I have investigated a museum of wax works. First we had a tour of the building with its small rooms twisting staircases lots of exhibits and even had the chance to touch a mummies hand which was 3,500 years old and is apparently cursed. My first vigil was the Courtyard and Priest Hole and I was with my team members Maria (team leader) and guests of mine Russ & Louise. We all moved over to the corner of the courtyard where a coffin is sited. We started calling out and the atmosphere changed. I stood near the wall like the others and felt a little light-headed and felt sick. Louise was pacing up and down and said something was not very nice here. A cavalier was picked up and we did pick up some orbs which were in the courtyard area. The next vigil was the gallery corridor and it seemed very active with children being picked up on and shadows near the stairs. There were a few knocking sounds as well as well as more orbs. Next was the chamber of horrors and a bit scary with it gory exhibits and torture implements, which we all picked up. We called out but it seemed very quiet apart from a slight noise. I did not like looking across to the doorways as kept sensing someone was watching us. Our last vigil was the old rectory mansion with its very small rooms and lots of wooden beams. Everyone settled down and Maria and Louise called out for a response and we did hear something like tapping. A few minutes later the room seemed a lot colder. Louise picked up on a name Elizabeth Richards which later on I shined the torch on a picture frame which had names on it and there was the same name Louise picked up earlier. When I asked her she never saw or read that information on it. The room was getting colder and an orb floating down the stairs was caught on the video camera. Next we moved down the stairs and into the corner of another room and no one liked it in there. It was as if something was watching us and wanting us to leave. I picked up on something really strange when I took a photo. A red orb which I have never seen before, what does it mean? I thought someone was using the temperature gun with the red laser but no one was using it at that time. The night was coming to an end now and everyone had an interesting time and was getting ready to pack up and head home on the ferry to Southampton. Would like to thank Ralph for the tour and looking after us for the night.
Mark Pettet
This was my first visit to Brading so I had no knowledge of the layout or of the history of the location. I was intrigued and looking forward to investigating.
On arrival, we got ourselves settled and before the walk around we set up trigger objects on the glass coffin with a small skull and drew around it. We then protected it with barrier beams. As another member set up the video camera I took a photo of the area, strangely enough I caught an orb on camera seconds after I took a picture and captured a `orb` above his head.
Team 3 -Amanda, Maureen, Sarah and myself.
Vigil 1 - Chamber of Horrors
This area seemed to me to be very quiet. Very little picked on still and video camera. Our attention came to the torture items. One in particular` was the axe. Feeling this gave us a sense of power though we could not figure out if it was a left or right handed axe as it felt different in smoothness on the handle in different hands. The team all took turns to hold it, Amanda took great interest in it by wielding it about giving me the frights. Apart from that nothing else happened.
Vigil 2 - The Old Rectory Mansion
We proceeded to ask out and were rewarded with the occasional draft and knocks from the glass doors in the far end of the building heard by Maureen and Amanda. Orb caught at low level between rooms on camcorder, besides that I found it to be very quiet.
Vigil 3 - The courtyard/priests hole
Unfortunately, I didn’t experienced anything here. Amanda and Sarah were spooked by something from by the outside staircases. Pictures taken in the courtyard showed an orb like things but this could have a rational explanation.
Vigil 4 - Display cases hallway.
Nothing to report there very quiet.
Conclusion
Although my hopes were high, I came away being mildly disappointed (not with the venue). Things did happen, but still not sure, I will not say whether they were paranormal or not. I would like to go back again sometime to see if we pick up on other things.