Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Castle of Comfort Investigation
Saturday 2nd February 2008
Attending Investigators: – Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Sandy Rutter, Eileen Rutter, Amanda Horley, Alison Blyth, Elias Kupfermann, Mark Pettet, Sarah Couper, Marie Holder, Cathie O’Donnell, Maureen Taylor and Rachel Steadman.
Introduction
The Castle of Comfort Country House and Restaurant is owned and managed by Carol and Nigel Venner. It is situated on the slopes of the Quantock Hills, which is an area of outstanding natural beauty near Bridgwater in Somerset.
The Castle of Comfort was once described as a stone inn at the foot of the Quantock Hills where it is rumoured that pirates off the English coast used to dispose of their loot. This former coaching inn is now a small country house providing 5 star guest accommodations with a first class restaurant.
The Castle of Comfort, which is a Grade 2 listed building, is believed to date from the 16th century or even earlier. It was a Coaching Inn during the 17th century after which it became a coffee house and then a cider house when copper mining took place in the area. Miners collected their wages from the Counting House just to the east and came down to the Castle of Comfort for refreshment!
During the latter part of the 18th century the poets Coleridge and Wordsworth were living in the area. Coleridge was befriended and financed by Thomas Poole, a prosperous local tanner, and lived for three years in Nether Stowey in a cottage which is now a National Trust property where he wrote much of his best poetry. He spent many hours wandering the Quantocks with William and Dorothy Wordsworth who lived at nearby Alfoxton House in the village of Holford. The Castle of Comfort was a small cider house at the time and they called in for sustenance on the walk to Lynton. Indeed Dorothy mentions a visit to the Castle of Comfort in her diaries in 1798.
The Castle of Comfort website can be viewed at www.castle-of-comfort.co.uk
Our thanks go to Nigel & Carol that made our visit to their beautiful hotel possible.
The Investigation
Vigil Teams
Team 1
Julie Team Leader
Amanda
Sarah
Team 2
Maria Team Leader
Cathie
Mark
Sandy
Team 3
Marie Team Leader
Rachel
Eileen
Team 4
Maureen Team Leader
Alison
Elias
Vigil Area's
Ground Floor -
Lounge/Saloon Bar
Restaurant
Tintern bedroom
First Floor -
Mariner Bedroom
Italian Bedroom
Dorothy Bedroom
Wordsworth Bedroom
Itinerary
9.15pm Arrive at Hotel
9.30pm Meet owner Nigel
9.45pm Quick tour round the hotel. Baselines completed by Julie, Maria & Amanda.
10.15pm Pre vigils break – set up equipment – Get into vigil teams.
10.45pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – Mariner Bedroom
Team 2 – Italian Bedroom
Team 3 – Dorothy & Wordsworth Bedroom
Team 4 – Tintern Bedroom
11.30am Vigil 2
Team 1 – Italian Bedroom
Team 2 – Mariner Bedroom
Team 3 – Tintern Bedroom
Team 4 – Dorothy & Wordsworth Bedroom
12.15am Break
12.30am Vigil 3
Team 1 – Dorothy & Wordsworth Bedroom
Team 2 – Tintern Bedroom
Team 3 – The Lounge
Team 4 – The Restaurant
1.15am Vigil 4
Team 1 – Tintern Bedroom
Team 2 – Dorothy & Wordsworth Bedroom
Team 3 – The Restaurant
Team 4 – The lounge
2.00am Break
2.30am Vigil 5
Team 1 – The Restaurant
Team 2 – The Lounge
Team 3 – Italian Bedroom
Team 4 – Mariner Bedroom
3.15am Vigil 6
Team 1 – The Lounge
Team 2 – The Restaurant
Team 3 – Mariner Bedroom
Team 4 – Italian Bedroom
4.00am Pack up
4.15am Depart
Baseline Tests
completed by Julie, Maria & Amanda
Lounge /Saloon Bar – Temp 17, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading, heating seemed to still be on
Restaurant – Temp 15, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading, open fireplace
Entrance Hall (downstairs) - Temp 8, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading, stone floor, door to outside
Bedroom Corridor – Temp 22, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading however floor is uneven and so people may feel wobbly and a little unsteady on their feet.
Tintern Room – Temp 17, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading, heating only just switched off. Outside room.
Mariners Room – Temp 22, raised emf reading by bottom of the bed – random fluctuating reading not consistent and seemed to be static in mid air
Mariner en suite bathroom – Temp 19.5, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading
Dorothy Room – Temp 22, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading
Italian Room – Temp 21, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading
Italian en suite bathroom – Temp 20, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading
Wordsworth Room – Temp 22, 0.01 – 0.02 no unusual emf reading
Team / Vigil Notes
Team 1
Vigil 1 – Mariner Bedroom
Temp on entering – 23
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 22
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
10.30pm Light anomalies on camcorder near to bed
10.30pm at the same time Sarah captures a light anomaly on her stills camera
Sarah moves to chair by the radiator but can feel a chill by her
Temp of the area by Sarah 23
Julie & Sarah think they see a movement under the door (from the corridor) – Julie checks but no one is out there. Contacts other team in area and confirms it was not them.
Light anomaly caught on stills by bathroom door.
Temp in bathroom 17.5
Julie tries experiment and bangs on the bed to see if any dust creates light anomalies on camcorder or stills – No anomalies caught even though a little natural dust was seen with the naked eye.
Julie sits where Sarah was and can feel a cold breeze / spot – temp still 23
Team hear a knock by the bathroom door and light anomalies are caught on camcorder at the same time.
Amanda sits on bed and can hear sound like someone is outside the door again
Julie & Sarah hear the sound of a cat hissing / squeaking and at the same time camcorder turns itself off even though battery is fine.
Amanda’s back feels hot even though it is actually colder than her front or Julie and Sarah’s backs. Amanda’s back – 25, her front 27.5
11.00pm Amanda lies on bed and can smell a bitter acrid smell. She feels there is definitely something in the room with us.
Camcorder again catches light anomalies flying all around the room
Sarah’s camera starts to play up and won’t take a picture properly
11.05pm Sarah feels like her hair is moving
11.08pm Julie feels like someone has just prodded her chest just as a light is seen on camcorder moving towards Julie
11.10pm Julie gets a connection to a priest or a vicar (or even a preacher) but feels he is a joker.
11.11pm Amanda gets a non menacing spirit who means no harm
11.14pm team try glass divination – Sarah feels someone touch her shoulder
11.15pm When Amanda says she feels relaxed Sarah gets the phrase “well this is the castle of comfort!” come into her head
11.20pm All team very jovial, making silly jokes and generally giggly – very uncharacteristic for these members when on a vigil
11.22pm Julie & Sarah get a creepy crawly feeling like something is crawling on their skin
Julie then smells a strong smell of tobacco but not cigarettes, this is a more fragrant aroma, more like specialised rolling tobacco
Julie also gets a drugs connection and considers the possibility that the fragrant tobacco could have actually been lased with drugs
Team very jokey again and Amanda gets the feeling that a man in the room with us likes all the risqué jokes from women
11.25pm Amanda asks for a name and Julie gets “Big Bobby”
On leaving the room team ask “big Bobby” to affect the team in Mariners room next especially the men in the team Mark & Sandy
Vigil 2 – Italian Bedroom
Temp on entering – 21 (20 in bathroom)
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 21 (19 in bathroom)
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Lots of slow moving light anomalies are caught on camcorder even though the team are not moving about – they all seem to be moving in different directions and are not uniformed.
Team note a totally different atmosphere in this room.
Amanda does not like under the bed even though see cant actually see under it and both Julie & Sarah feel something is not right, like there is the air of something about to happen
Sarah senses a woman and Julie gets the number 1623
Julie gets the thought “how long can you hide a body under a bed?”
Julie feels the bed is too small and Amanda feels the bed should be longer
Amanda feels the bed is wrong as it goes right down to the floor and should instead be a wooden framed bed with space underneath
All team feel like there could be residual energy in the room and all feel that if something is here it is unaware of the team and will not interact
There is an air of expectancy but we all know that nothing will happen
Vigil 3 – Wordsworth Room
Temp on entering – 15
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 16
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Julie feels cold in this room, but then this room is noticeably colder than the other rooms.
Julie feels like she has been drugged. She feels woozy, sleepy and a little sick. She states that “she is seeing it from the other side”
Amanda is still talking about Big Bobby and feels he is a “good fun man”
Julie becomes agitated with Amanda feeling like this.
Julie is getting very angry with Amanda as she feels she knows “Big Bobby” is not a nice man at all and is a B*****d.
Amanda and Julie feel there is the spirit of an older woman who is not allowed to go to the parties that her brother goes to (Big Bobby?)
Amanda feels that she is stopped doing what she wants to do because of her brother but she has no inclination to be like her brother
Amanda swaps places with Julie and sits by the dressing table. Amanda feels fine but Julie sees Amanda with much longer, straighter and thinner hair.
Vigil 4 – Tintern bedroom
Temp on entering – 17 (14 in bathroom)
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 18 (14 in bathroom)
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Before this vigil on the walk around Julie sensed a horse, dogs and a stable hand (aged about 10) in this room. She also felt this room was an add on and not original to the building. Felt like the room was built on where some stables used to be. She purposely did not tell Amanda & Sarah this and just noted it on the sheets as she was taking notes for that vigil.
Sarah can hear a clicking noise. Amanda suggests it may be her travel clock.
Amanda senses a woman in her 60’s who does not want to come forward and show herself. Amanda feels she is scared of us.
Amanda feels she is a spinster and feels like calling out “ I am not married either”
All team hear knock from inside the room
Amanda describes the woman like a mouse, shy and scared in the corner
Sarah finds the rooms “a bit of a puzzle”
Julie can still sense the horse but not the boy or the dogs. Julie feels like she is starting to get hay fever.
Sarah feels like on one hand the room is not original but on the other hand that it used to be a formal area i.e. dining room
All team hear knock to right of Amanda but then the rooms goes very quiet and Amanda feels even the shy woman has stepped back
Vigil 5 – The Restaurant
Temp on entering – 18
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 18
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Team attempt glass divination
Glass moves slightly but in no definite way
Julie gets the name Peter and years 1795 – 1799
Room very quiet and so team decide to join team 2 in the lounge bar (which is where team 1 are next anyway)
Vigil 6 – Saloon Lounge – Please see team 2 notes
Team 2
Vigil 1 – Italian Bedroom
Temp on entering – 24
Emf on entering – 2.0 by the fireplace, 6 over the bed, 0.01 – 0.02 rest of room
Temp on leaving – 23
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02 all round
Emf meter starts to click by chair by the window
All team try calling out but no response is noted
Maria feels uncomfortable by the head of the bed
Glass divination tried
Maria gets impression the team are welcomed
Cathy asks if spirits are happy with the team being there and the glass moves
Mark & Maria feel any presence in this room would be female
Mark tries an experiment with a tissue on the mirror to see if it moves
11.13pm Cathy sees a flash of light in the fireplace
11.14pm All team hear what sounds like the front door slam twice ??
11.20pm Cathy feels uneasy sat on the bed. Team feel rooms feels colder but temp is the same.
Maria gets the impression of a young woman in her 20’s, dressed in green with a white bonnet, knelt down praying.
EMF rises to a reading of 4.0 by the bed
11.24pm Cathy kneels by the bed and her and Maria recite the Lords Prayer
11.24pm Maria’s legs tingle and Cathy feels a loud sigh from behind her
Cathy stands in the corner of the room with her arms folded and Maria feels there ios someone stood behind Cathy in exactly the same stance.
Vigil 2 – mariners Bedroom
Temp on entering – 21
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 22
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Maria gets shivers as she walks into the room
Maria also has a bad feeling from the bed
Team smell tobacco
Cathy thinks the room smells of sick people
Cathy tires scrying using the big mirror in the room and it looks like her face is melting
Maria gets shivers down her spine
Team hear tapping from the bathroom after calling out
Sandy feels very hot and sweaty
Mark is also feeling warm
Cathy feels a breeze across her face.
Mark tries scrying in the mirror and sees an old man with grey moustache and jet black lacquered hair. He also looks like he only has 1 eye (1 missing)
Light anomaly captured on camcorder
Sandy walks into the bathroom and starts to feel tingly. He also sees a light flash up the wall.
Maria & Cathy both smell smoke
Vigil 3 – Tintern bedroom
Temp on entering – 18
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 19
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Light anomaly caught on camcorder but dust is noticed in the air as team have been moving about.
Team feel the room is very damp
Security light comes on in the car park but team can not see anything out there – wild life?
Nothing else to note
Vigil 4 – Dorothy & Wordsworth rooms
Sandy & Mark – Wordsworth Room – Both members called out but nothing notable happened.
Cathy & Maria – Dorothy Room – Calling out – loud tap heard. They get the impression of a young girl, catholic. Maria gets the words “Jesus aint dead” in her head.
Vigil 5& 6 – The Lounge
Temp on entering – 22
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 23
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Glass divination
Did you used to live here – yes
Door to room opens slightly – wind outside?
Maria gets “Lady Madonna” in her head
Are you Catholic? – yes
Did you kill someone? – yes
Are you frightened to cross over? – no
Did you murder your wife? – yes
Are you a god fearing man? – no
Did you die here? – no
Is your wife here? – no
Was your wife pregnant? – yes
Was the baby not yours? – yes
Was it your brothers? – yes
Team picks up names of James, Peter & George
Note – after the investigation the team involved has been advised that this was not a suitable line of questioning and was too leading.
Team 3
Vigil 1 – Dorothy Bedroom
Temp on entering – 21.5
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 20
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
11.00pm Eileen mentions hearing a underground thumping
Team call out and hear two loud thumps from downstairs (front door?)
Rachel calls out for bathroom door to move and Eileen is sure she can see it move
Team inspect the door and agree it does seemed to have opened more
Marie feels a draught
Team call out and Marie feels something touch her head
Eileen has a “walk over grave” feeling
Marie calls out and sees the bathroom door move (also seen by Eileen)
Team move onto the Wordsworth Rm
11.30pm Rachel & Eileen hear a whistling noise
Marie feels cold in this room and keeps getting the shivers
Marie called out and team hear a noise – sounded like it came from the corridor, Eileen thought it came from behind the bed
Team call out and Eileen hears a crack coming from floor by the bed
Vigil 2 – Tintern bedroom
Temp on entering – 18
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02 apart from by the desk where the reading jumps to 2.0
Temp on leaving – 19
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02 all over
Rachel calls out and Eileen feels cold round her ankles. Marie still feels colder in this room.
Team hear lots of thumping and can only presume its the guests in the room above them.
Vigil 3 – Lounge
Temp on entering – 20
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 21
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Team watch the lounge door open but it could be the wind
Eileen sees a shadow by the bar
Glass divination – no response at all
Marie gets a tickling sensation on her head
Vigil 4– Restaurant
Temp on entering – 19
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 21
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Team hear creaks coming from kitchen area when they call out
Team hear other team in the bar calling out loudly
Area feels very calm and quiet
No response to calling out or to glass divination
Vigil 5 – Italian Bedroom
Temp on entering – 20
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 22
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Room feels very calm and still
Everyone feels relaxed and comfortable
Nothing to report
Vigil 6 – Mariner bedroom
Temp on entering – 21
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 23.5
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Light anomalies caught on stills cameras
Team call out and tapping and clicking is heard however the noises seem constant and regular
Team call out for the noise to stop and it does for a little while before starting again. Team ask for noises to speed up, no result
Team believe noises in this room could be due to heating
Team 4
Vigil 1 – Tintern bedroom
Temp on entering – 17
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 19
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
10.35pm Maureen senses a male presence near the end of the bed
10.39pm As Alison calls out Maureen & Elias feel as if the presence is moving towards them
Alison senses a dog snarling because he is protecting something
Elias and Maureen feel it is more threatening
Alison gets the name Henry Bartholomew as possibly the dogs owner
Maureen hears a distant barking noise
Alison gets the date 1872
Team acknowledge that when they arrived room felt comfortable however Alison now feels uneasy in here.
Alison senses a partridge and gets a hunting connection
Maureen tries divining rods to confirm some details
Is anyone in the room with us – no reply
Is Henry with us – no reply
Are there animals here – no reply
Alison tries the rods – no replies to any questions
Maureen asks that a spirit come close and communicate with team – rods move to left
Maureen starts to ask out again but gets an icy cold blast across her arm
Temp readings taken but no change in temp
Maureen feels a spirit is behind her touching her lightly on her shoulder
Maureen asks the rods again for a positive response and the rods move
Team ask if there is a connection to shooting – rods move to confirm
Are we talking to Henry – yes
Does Maureen remind you of your wife? – yes
Rods confirm the significance of 1872
1872 is confirmed as the year his wife died not the year he died
Maureen senses he was only in his 40’s
Maureen asks if his wife died of Cholera – no response
Rods confirm that the subject is too painful for him to talk about
Maureen asks him if this is his home – yes
Has it always been a hotel or was it once just your home – home
Elias asked if they moved here because of the sea – yes
Maureen asks if they came here to help his wife’s health – yes
Maureen asks if he lived here long after the death of his wife – no response
Maureen and Alison feel Henry did not last long after his wife died
Maureen can feel Henrys grief and anguish
Vigil 2 – Dorothy bedroom
Temp on entering – 20
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 19
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
11.45pm Emf starts to beep on the bed
Everyone feels comfortable in this room just very warm
Team feel this room could have been a child’s room as the atmosphere is light and they can sense mischief.
Alison feels a little girl’s room
Alison senses a little girl aged 3-4 with a illness, being looked after
Maureen and Elias sense an 8 year old girl bouncing on the bed
Possible sisters?
Elias senses a girl in a white dress
Maureen gets dates of 1830-1840
11.57pm Temp guns starts to play up and starts reading 73! Team wonder if children are playing with the equipment whi8ch up until now has been working fine
Pendulum tried in this room – no response
Last 5 minutes spent in Wordsworth room – feels a very ordinary and quiet room
Vigil 3 – Restaurant
Temp on entering – 22
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 22.5
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Alison not happy about the fireplace – senses murder to order – body hidden in fireplace
As Alison speaks about the murder the lights start to flicker and stop when she stops talking
Alison feels it was 4 against 1. 1 man was bragging and the other men set about murdering him.
Team feel someone is with them in the room but is playing with them
Maureen feels something flick the back of her head
Team feel it is a man who picks on weaker people and is sussing the team out
Team sense the man in question is sitting on the wall at the right of the fireplace
Alison senses the man has either had his throat slit or was hung
Team call out asking him to affect the lights – bright for no answer, dimmed for yes answer
Team ascertain the man was hung
He likes to sit by the fireplace as it is warm and cosy
1.00am Atmosphere in the room changes
Tried glass and got the letter A being the first letter of his name
Acting as if scared of the team as he did not want to come forward
Vigil 4 – Lounge
Temp on entering – 19
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 19
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
1.20am Maureen is checking the emf reading in the room when she suddenly feels very dizzy and light headed as she walks around the room
Glass divination tried –
O R I S Y R S GOODBYE XDZ
Not a little girl or boy
Man – no movement
Woman – no movement
Female – unsure of sexuality – yes
Are you here to please clients – yes
To please male clients – yes
Likes men
Frilly clothing
Highly paid
Pretty boys
What is the first letter of your name – Q
Next letter – U
Are you frightened – yes
Are you frightened of the Queens Magistrate – yes
Were you scared of being found out – yes
Have you been threatened – yes
Were you happy in life – yes
Any sadness in your life – no response
Do you not wish to discuss this – yes
Did you use the rooms upstairs – yes
Were you aware of smuggling activities here – yes
Did you live in the house – yes
Vigil 5 – Mariner bedroom
Temp on entering – 22
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 24
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
Female presence sensed in the room
Feels like child or at least connection to child birth
Glass divination tried –
I A A A D GOODBYE A 3 A 3 D C
Team wonder if they are talking to some one who could not read or write
Removed letters and asked for certain movements of the glass
Alison senses anguish, woman lost a child and was very unhappy, could not get over it and so took her own life.
Vigil 6 – Italian Bedroom
Temp on entering – 19
Emf on entering – 0.01 – 0.02
Temp on leaving – 20
Emf on leaving – 0.01 – 0.02
None of the team like walking from the bedroom down to the bathroom, all felt a very negative atmosphere and energies here
Called out in main rooms for rods to respond using movement as yes
Are you female ? – no response
Are you male? - no response
Are you a child? – yes
Are you happy here? – no response
Do you live here – yes
Are you allowed to talk to us – yes
Do you want to talk to us – yes
Do you get lonely here – yes
Were you happy in life - slow to start but eventually yes
Was there someone here that used to upset you – yes
Was it another child? – no response
Alison feels the room was used for ritual fertility
Team call for someone to come forward but area falls very quiet
Team move to the bathroom and both Maureen and Alison feel sick in here
Both also feel threatened and frightened
Both feel stabbing pains in the chest area
Team note that it only affected Alison and Maureen and not Elias
Personal Reports
Julie Harwood
I had been looking forward to this investigation as it was booked months before our visit and stories I had heard made me hopeful of a good night.
When we arrived at the hotel all four of us (Maureen, Rachel, Maria & I) were quite taken with how pretty the hotel was. We were greeted by the other members and also by our host Nigel. We had a quick tour and then it was time to get going.
My teams (Amanda, Sarah & myself) first vigil was in the Mariner room. We started to capture light anomalies on the camcorder and to me this room had a definite atmosphere however for the first half of the vigil we all felt normal and fairly relaxed although Sarah and I did show concern for the dark foreboding bathroom though it could be, as we discussed, the fact that it was just very dark when we looked in there from the bedroom. Sarah & I were feeling odd breezes and cold spots even though we were sat right near heating and at one point I was sure I saw someone move outside the door to the room (light disturbance) but when I rushed to see who was there, the corridor was empty. At one point I also felt as if someone poked me in my throat / chest. It was a definite feeling followed by a creepy feeling, like I had bugs or ants on me. Very surreal. I believe Sarah also had this feeling at the same time. We were still capturing light anomalies so we tried an experiment where I banged the bed covers and tried to stir up some dust and even though some could be seen in the air no light anomalies were subsequently caught on camcorder which we were very surprised at.
We then all started to get a bit giggly and all felt like there was a man in the room with us. He was very well dressed, like a debonair and he liked to have a good laugh. I also got the impression of a priest or vicar but did not feel it was related to the man that was apparently with us. All 3 of us started to act completely out of character and even though we were all aware we were doing it, we could not control it and every time we spoke out ended up just collapsing in fits of giggles. Amanda asked for his name and immediately I got the name Big Bobby in my head and that it was a nickname to denote this man was “well endowed”. We tried glass divination and the glass did not move much but it did tip over when we asked it to. It was a heavy glass and I trust Amanda and Sarah explicably so I know none of us tipped the glass over (it would have been near impossible anyway with just our little fingers on it. Still in fits of giggles we moved onto out next vigil. Another thing I remember getting in this room was a strong smell of tobacco. Not cigarettes or even cigars but an aroma like an expensive fragrant tobacco, the kind you find in specialist tobacconists.
When we entered the Italian room (after almost stumbling down the corridor like we were all drunk) we noticed that our moods instantly changed! We were all a little sombre now and were not enjoying being in this room. Amanda and I both felt the bed was the wrong size and we all felt like there was an air of expectancy in this room. There was also something I felt not right with the relief above the fireplace. I can’t put my finger on what I thought was wrong as quite frankly I don’t know enough about architecture but it just felt wrong. We all tried Psychometry on the relief and I felt like it had been carried from elsewhere and put in place in that room. Amanda was also very wary of under the bed and when she said this I got the thought “how long can you store a body under a bed?” I have no idea why I thought this!
Our next vigil was in the Wordsworth Room. As soon as I entered this room I felt cold and just wanted to curl up in a ball and lie down even though I was not actually tired. After about 10 minutes of sitting by the dressing table I felt drowsy and almost drugged. I wanted to curl up on the floor and could hardly sit upright, instead I slumped leaning on the dressing table. My eyes were very heavy and I could not really think straight. Like I said it was like I was drugged or so physically drained I could not think properly. All I do remember from this vigil is feeling very very angry at Amanda when she expressed sympathy and a likeness for the spirit of Big Bobby. This made me see red as I felt like I hated the kind of person he was. Every time she spoke I found myself cringing and wanting to tell her to shut up. This was nothing personal to Amanda I just did not feel myself at all.
Our last bedroom vigil was the Tintern room, the room Amanda was staying in. We settled in and I made a note on the team sheets about what I had picked up on our walk around earlier in the evening. When we had visited that room previously I had sensed a horse, a dog, like hunting or farm estate dog and a young boy. They all seemed to belong together and it made me feel like the area where we were was not original and had actually been built on where stables or a barn used to be. I purposely did not tell Amanda and Sarah about this until half way through the vigil as I was interested to see if they picked up on any of the above. I was interested when Sarah said she was puzzled by this room and felt it was not original. Other than this, the Tintern room was very quiet for me.
The next vigil was in the
Restaurant and again even though this room had a very definite atmosphere
(and a very beautiful fireplace) it was also a very quiet vigil so we
were invited to join Maria’s team as they were holding a successful
glass divination in our next vigil area
– the bar lounge. Unfortunately I don’t believe anything was achieved
from this glass divination as questions
from some of the team were too leading and far too presumptuous.
All in all it was a great night with a great team – thank you Amanda & Sarah, working with you was a real pleasure. Thank you also to Nigel & Carol for making our visit possible. I may not have experienced much that night but it was an honour to visit and investigate such a beautiful and well preserved building!
Maria Street
Every time I thought of this location, it sent a thrill through me. I had been told by a member of another paranormal group that this was a place that had scared him the most. After dinner at Julie’s we travelled to Somerset with Rachel in Maureen’s car (Thanks Maureen). It was a two hour journey and it was a relief to stretch our legs, but what a sight for sore eyes this place was. A beautiful country house hotel with bags of charm and plenty of atmosphere. We all met up in the bar room and nestled into the comfy sofas. Lovely. We couldn’t stay there for long though as work was to be done, so, Julie and I introduced ourselves to our very friendly and welcoming host, Nigel, who led us all on a tour of the building.
I was in Team 2 with Cath, Sandy and Mark P. Our first vigil was in the Italian room, a very comfortable and classically decorated room with a huge fireplace. With such serene surroundings it was initially hard to pick anything up. A glass divination proved unsuccessful so Sandy and Mark made their way to the bathroom where they caught light anomalies on their cameras. I was, by now, starting to feel a little uneasy about the corner of the room by the head of the bed and I felt there was a black mass there. Cath also noticed it and was also feeling increasingly uneasy. I was starting to get the impression that there was a young girl in the room with us and that she was kneeling by the side of the bed and praying. I also felt that she was dressed in a green dress coupled with a white bonnet. I have no idea if the building was ever used in a religious vein, or whether, perhaps this is from a previous era.
After our break we were off to the Mariner’s Room. I sat on the bed and the EMF meter spiked frequently along one of the posts. On a more amusing note, I had the song ‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ in my head. I also had the overwhelming impression that the room was not named after any seaman but from the poem ‘The rime of the Ancient Mariner.’ After a while, Mark and Sandy, once more, made their way to the bathroom. I went with them for a while then reaccompanied Cath in the main suite. We heard a few taps and clicks but nothing really concrete. Mark and Sandy sounded as if they were having a good time though, as frequent giggling could be heard coming from their direction.
Our next vigils were held
in the Dorothy and Wordsworth rooms. Cath and I went into the Dorothy
room and Mark and Sandy went into the Wordsworth room. It was very quiet
for both of us, although we did feel the religious connotations once
more. I was hearing ‘Jesus aint dead’ in my head. Not a lot
more happened here and our next vigil was in the Tintern room.
Again this was very quiet, although the smell of leather was detected.
Our final vigil was in the
bar and we decided to try a glass divination. The glass moved and our
communication was supposedly with a man called Robert who had killed
his pregnant wife because she had had an affair with his brother.
We asked Team 1 to join us and somebody asked if anybody in the room
reminded Robert of his wife and the glass came over to my direction
so we decided to try an experiment. Everybody on the glass closed their
eyes and with the assumption that I had moved places. I hadn’t. In
fact, Mark P, who had been standing behind me, moved instead. They asked
where I was standing and the glass immediately flew over to my direction.
Once again, they closed their eyes and Mark moved over to the bar. They
then asked the spirit to move the glass to whomever it was that reminded
him of his wife and the glass moved directly to where Mark P was standing!
I found this very interesting as he was stood behind me when the glass
was first asked to move to whoever reminded the spirit of his wife.
This marked the end of our time at The Castle of Comfort and I would like to thank Nigel for his warm hospitality and for showing total trust in us. I hope he enjoys reading the reports.
Eileen Rutter
It was an old 16th century building it was tastefully redecorated weather windy and wet but beautiful food.
Vigil 1 Dorothy Room
Small single bedroom with bathroom. We sat quietly. I sat on chair at side of bed. Bathroom door open about half inch. We ask if there is anybody there but no reply, a few creaks, but that was it. As I sat on the chair and looked towards the bathroom door I thought the door was moving again but it was very dark with lights. Told the others. I shivered a couple of times, the old saying when someone walks over your grave, also to me it looked like the door was moving again. No reply to our calling out. We put the lights on, we all agreed the bathroom door opened about one and a half inches or so, heir was no window in the bathroom.
Vigil 2 Wordsworth Room
Nice double bedroom with bathroom. We closed windows in the bathroom. We all sat down calling out in turns, no replies, asked them to knock something the windows rattled a little but we put that down to the wind. Also got those strange shivers again, window rattling but still no other reply to our calling out.
Vigil 3 Tintern Room
Double room outside access with bathroom. Large old room backing nearly onto road. Again made ourselves comfy and quiet. Called out, few noises from guests up in room above very wet and windy outside.
Vigil 4 Lounge
We put all the lights out and sat down at bar end off room. We tried glass divination for quite a while, asking different questions with no response. The little bar door shot open, but we put that down to the wind. Clock chiming and all quiet. Sometimes when you looked towards front windows it seemed to go darker like dark shadows passing.
Vigil 5 Dining Room
Went and had a quick look in kitchen and around. We all sat down an tried glass divination but no response. Little chilly in the area and a few creaks toward kitchen, but then again was it the weather?
Vigil 6 The Italian Room
Two rooms joined by small corridor. Bedroom as you walk in door unusual old stone fireplace and stone carving on ceiling we made our selves comfy, called out if anyone present no replies. nothing happening so I sat on the small sofa down corridor by bathroom put all the lights out again. We called out again all quiet! Few noises by skirting board on outside wall but was it the weather? Felt a little eerie down in the corridor!!!
Vigil 7 Mariners Room
Went in large room with 4 poster bed and drapes, separate bathroom with roll top bath down a small corridor. Sat down and took some pictures off bed etc. Called out several times no response. Again, few noises on left side, thought central heating, stood in bathroom also quiet. I thought nice and calm and peaceful in there.
Sarah Couper
1stvigil
We settled into the first (very nice) room. I took some photos and captured some orbs. The room felt warm, relaxing and happy. At one point Julie and I heard a kind of hissing noise but could not pin point where it came from. All 3 of us felt very comfortable in the room and gradually we all became a bit giggly.
We took turns sitting on the bed – when I sat on there I felt as if my hair was moving but didn’t experience it anywhere else I sat in the room prior to that. We decided to sit round the table and try and do a glass divination. And at one point shortly after we started the glass did tip – I believe it was caught on camera. But we got no further movement on it. Both Julie and I felt a tickly sensation on our arms and at one point it felt as though I was tapped on the shoulder. Amanda said the room felt so relaxed and I felt as someone said ‘well it is the castle of comfort’.
We all felt the room belonged to a man and Amanda felt that this was someone who liked a good time. Julie got the name Big Bobby. The more time were spent in the room the more giggly we got almost like we had been drinking. We were all sad to leave the room.
But we had to move on to the second room – the atmosphere in here was different all together and the joviality we experienced before left us. I took photos round the room and picked up a lot of orb activity in the corridor to the bathroom that none of us had moved down.
I sat on the bed in this room – I had the feeling of a lot of activity happened in the room a rush to get things ready for someone who wasn’t going to appreciate it anyway. Julie and Amanda both felt uneasy about the bed at one point so I got off of it.
The atmosphere in the room seemed to tail off and began to feel ‘boring’ almost. SO we decided to switch the light on to look at the room in more detail as it felt not quite right, like things did not belong.
2nd vigil
We started in the room next to the first one. There was a loose window in here and it was rattling in the wind. I didn’t really feel anything in this room but Amanda and Julie were which was quite interesting. They were both experiencing differing opinions.
In the next room Amanda was picking up on an oldish spinster in this room type but they seemed afraid to communicate to us. After a while Amanda felt as though she couldn’t be bothered with her.
I felt that the room was not original and on the other hand it was quite a formal room once it was in place. But it still didn’t feel right in the sense of its current layout. Otherwise we weren’t really picking anything up in the room.
3rd Vigil
We were in the dining room –before coming in to this room I has been stood outside and seen the lights flickering. I had been tapping my foot when suddenly the door to the room started moving in time. I stopped and it stopped then there was the sound of footsteps and a door opening right above me – the rest of the team were in the lounge at the time – no one was in the room above me and if I remembered the layout properly there would not have been a door there either.
So I was looking forward to investigating this room. We took photos round the room and decided to do a glass divination in there. I felt uneasy about the far side of the room like we were being watched but by someone who didn’t want us there. However, we were getting nothing on the glass divination. A member of the team in the lounge spoke to us as they were getting responses to their divination and wondered if we would like to join them. As we were getting nothing we decided this would be a good idea.
Amanda and I joined Sandy and Cathy in the divination. They appeared to be in contact with a male person, it was quite interesting and at one point I felt as if I was prodded on my back which made me jump. When we asked who this was the reply was it was the brother of the male entity that we were communicating with. The glass seemed to move fast and with ease, at some points I was unable to keep my finger on the glass.
All in all I enjoyed the
investigation in the Castle of Comfort
– I found it welcoming in the most, relaxed and yet puzzling. I was
amazed when the glass tipped during our first vigil and also at the
change in us during that vigil – out of the whole investigation that
1st vigil was the most interesting one.
Amanda Horley
This was a lovely small hotel, with stunning rooms and facilities, and thanks have to go to Nigel and Cathy for making us feel so welcome and “re-arranging” the other guests staying there to maximise the rooms we had to investigate.
I was in a small team with Julie and Sarah, and our first vigil was really strange. I had already commented to Julie during the walk round that the general atmosphere within the group was quite upbeat, and thought no more about it when the three of us settled in to the Mariner Room. Initially I was holding the camcorder and there seemed to be a lot of orbs coming off the bed. They were moving horizontally off the foot of the bed, sometimes singularly, and sometimes in large groups. Julie tried to see if it was dust causing it, but this didn’t increase the orb numbers, and the orbs seen didn’t tie in with her hitting the bed. I also picked up several orbs around Julie when she was sitting near the television, and they were moving in various directions both horizontally and vertically, which tends to rule out a breeze. During this time we were quiet and what I would describe as “normal” for an investigation.
After a time we sat round a table to try a glass divination. We didn’t get any real movement on the glass, but we all became aware of a man being present. I would describe him as fairly well off, and from the end of the Victorian period. He liked to party, and indulged in both drink and opiates, although neither to excess. He considered himself to be a big hit with the women, and we got the name Big Bobby in relation to him. I felt that he was out of place here in the middle of nowhere, and would have fitted in much better in London or one of the big cities. Very rapidly after this presence became obvious, all three of us dissolved into fits of giggles (to the extent that we had tears streaming down our faces) and we found ourselves becoming quite lewd with our comments. It felt very much like he was laughing along with us.
Our second vigil was in the Italian Room and contrasted sharply with the first. I wasn’t particularly comfortable in there, and really didn’t like the bed. Specifically, I didn’t like “under the bed”. The bed, in fact went right down to the floor, so I cannot explain why I felt that way. We tried some Psychometry on the area over the fireplace which had some old plasterwork on it. I didn’t pick up anything, and in fact didn’t feel that the plasterwork was as old as it was claiming to be. It also didn’t seem to fit the room. Had it been moved there from another room?
Next we investigated the Wordsworth room where there appeared to be a women present. Both Julie and I felt that she was not a teenager, but not old. I felt that her name was Susan although Julie (or Sarah) came up with Sarah. She wasn’t happy with “Big Bobby’s” activities. Possibly because his antics meant that she wasn’t allowed to attend parties. I felt that she could be his sister.
Vigil 4 saw us in the Tintern room, and although I felt that there was possibly an old lady around. She was keeping well away from us, and seemed very timid and very distant. I felt little else in here.
Our final vigil started in the dining room, which was very quiet, although I think the glass may have moved very slightly. We quickly moved across to join the group in the lounge as they were having a very successful glass divination. Full details of what was picked up will appear in the team notes, but I felt that the man known as Robert was not evil or sinister. The murder of his brother and wife seemed to come across as a very matter of fact thing, as if this is something everyone does at some time.
All in all this was a fabulous place to investigate and stay in. I would love to go back, and would have no problems with sleeping in one of the “haunted” rooms. Thank you again to Nigel and Carol for looking after us so well.
Marie Holder
Introduction
I was very much looking forward to this location, not only for the investigation but for the chance to stop at this wonderful location. I arrived not long after 5.30pm and was warmly welcomed by our hosts, Nigel and Carol who showed me to my room.
Vigil 1 – Dorothy and Wordsworth room
We settled down into our
first location and I called out. Eileen said that she saw the bathroom
door move slightly and that she had a
‘walked over her grave’ type feeling come over her. Eileen
also mentioned that she heard an underground thumping noise.
I thought a felt a draught
coming from the bathroom door but there were no windows in the bathroom.
We all agreed that the bathroom door had moved some more. Rachel then
called out and I felt something touch the top of my head.
We then moved into Wordsworth
room and Eileen and Rachel said they heard a whistling sound which I
thought might have been coming from the radiators.
I felt very cold in this room and kept getting the shivers even though the radiators were on (hence the whistling). I called out and we all heard a dull thud which Rachel and I thought was coming from the door/corridor area but Eileen said she thought it came from behind the bed.
Vigil 2 – Tintern room
I felt very cold in this
room and Eileen said she felt a draught round her ankles. We did lots
of calling out but no responses were forthcoming.
Vigil 3 – Lounge
We tried a glass divination
in this area but we got no response, we also tried table tipping but
again got no response. During this vigil the door behind the bar
kept knocking but I thought this might be caused by the wind as it was
quite blowy outside. We called out but we got no response.
Vigil 4 - Restaurant
We, again, tried a glass
divination in this area but it only moved very slightly. Apart
from some creaks coming from the kitchen all was very calm and quiet.
Vigil 5 – Italian room
After taking some pictures we settled down and did some calling out but unfortunately we got no response and all was very calm and quiet.
Vigil 6 – Mariner room
We again took some pictures and got quite a few orbs, especially around the bed. We tried calling out but we got no response to our questions and all was very calm and quiet.
Conclusion
This was a lovely location and I had a very comfortable stay. Unfortunately my team did not capture much in the way of paranormal activity but we did capture some lovely bright orbs in the Mariner room. I would like to thank Nigel and Carol for their wonderful hospitality and warm welcome.
Maureen Taylor
As we drove into the car park at the front of the hotel there were comments from all my passengers (Julie, Maria and Rachel) about what a beautiful building this was – and I couldn’t disagree with them at all. We were all really looking forward to this investigation; I’m sure that all the members who attended felt the same – the constant updating of directions from the owner and the promise of coffee and tea etc all night gave the impression that we were going to be very welcome here - - and we were certainly not disappointed, a warm welcome from the owner, a tour of the building, including the kitchen where the coffee machine was located, made us all feel quite at home here – and a great night was had by all.
My apologies right here for any deviations on my partI’m likely to make comments on how I felt about the building and the architecture as I go along, one of my interests is in timber-framed buildings, and I just can’t help but talk about them...but hopefully much of it will be relevant to the report.
Vigil 1 – Tintern
To get to this room we had to go out through the main door of the hotel. The fact that this room could not be accessed from inside the main building, and that within its wardrobe were some steps that led to a blank wall suggest that this part of the building was added to the main structure at some point in time. The steps hidden in the wardrobe may indicate the presence at some time of an external doorway, but they are the only indication that I could see of this.
When we first arrived at the hotel several of us joined Amanda for coffee in this room – she had booked it for the night so that she could get a few hours sleep before driving home again. While we were there I was sitting on the end of the bed and was aware of some sort of presence close to me, I felt that it was masculine – more of this in a moment.
Our vigil began, and the first thing I did was to walk to the bottom of the bed where I had been sitting, just to check whether what I had sensed earlier was still there – it was.
Alison sat on the bed, while Elias and I took an armchair each. Alison commented that she thought there was a dog in the room and that could be what I was sensing. She felt it was a Rottweiler and was snarling at her as if warning her that this was his place and she was an intruder; whereas I got an image of a large black Labrador and its owner, but the dog, though not entirely happy with our presence in the room, didn’t seem to object too much. I could sense it sitting to my right, just a few feet away from me, the tip of its tail thumping gently against the floor.
Alison was given the name Henry Bartholomew – she asked us how old the name Bartholomew was, she seemed to think it was a relatively modern name, but Elias and I enlightened her – it’s actually a very old name, whether used as Christian name or surname.
She then asked us if there was likely to be any connection between a man, his dog and a partridge – to which Elias immediately answered ‘shooting’ and I said ‘hunting’. At the end of the night as we were chatting while we were packing up it turned out that at least one of the other teams had felt that this room was part of a stable block and had sensed horses in here, so though teams seemed to have picked up on different aspects of the buildings’ past, there were links between what each group got.
A few minutes later I sensed the man walk towards me and round behind my chair, just seconds later Elias commented that the back of his neck had gone icy cold. I felt that the man was standing behind us in a position between the two armchairs. He stayed there for much of the rest of the vigil. I got out my dowsing rods at this point and we started asking some questions. Henry told us that he had moved to the house as it was an ideal location for his wife’s convalescence, she had been ill for some time apparently. We weren’t sure what illness she had suffered from, but there was some talk of cholera, though we dismissed that one fairly quickly as being unlikely. With the sea air and sunshine we felt that it was more likely to be something like TB that she had suffered from.
As we were talking to Henry there came a point where I was starting to feel very sad, and was near to tears, I felt that it was his tears that I was sensing, his sadness about the death of his wife. He told us that he stayed on at the house for some time after his wife died.
Here time ran out and we had to move on….
Vigil 2 – Dorothy and Wordsworth rooms
We spent most of the vigil in the Dorothy room, we were quite comfortable in here, but got no results to calling out. The rods didn’t respond to questioning, so here we relied mostly on our own senses. Both Alison and I felt the presence of a little girl, but I think it may actually have been two little girls, as Alison had a child of 4-5 years who either was or had been ill and had a nurse or nanny looking after her at times; while I was sensing a very happy eight year old. I felt that they were possibly sisters. We had already realised that though this room is quite small today, without the ensuite bath/shower room it would have made a perfectly adequate bedroom for two little girls. I felt laughter in here, and had an image of the two girls jumping up and down on their beds (probably while their nurse/nanny wasn’t looking, as I’m sure they would have been forbidden to do it), each trying to bounce higher than the other – with much giggling ensuing.
For the last ten minutes
of the vigil we moved into the Wordsworth room, but this felt
like a very ordinary and peaceful bedroom, we sensed nothing in here.
Vigil 3 – the restaurant
On entering this room I
was drawn to the fireplace and as I was the first to go in I selected
a table near to it for us to sit at - - but we barely used it. Alison
headed straight for the fireplace – and into it. She immediately commented
that she sensed murder had been done either in this room or close by.
Vigil 4 – the lounge
I spent the first few minutes in here filming as I walked round the room, while Elias and Alison set up the glass and alphabet on the coffee table. As I walked through to the front section of the room, under a low beam I suddenly felt very dizzy and had difficulty staying on my feet for a moment or two, but was fine when , at first I assumed that this was simply because I was walking around at the same time as filming, but when I walked towards that part of the room later in the vigil the same thing happened again.
We settled down at the table and started to call out. It wasn’t long before a spirit came through to us, but we had some difficulty deciding whether it was male or female. Alison got a feeling of petticoats, but at the same time of a male presence. It was then that Elias suggested that the person had, in life, had problems with his/her sexuality – then the light apparently dawned, and Elias asked – ‘are, or were, you a Molly?’ - and we got an answer in the affirmative. We asked for the first letter of his name, and the glass gave us Q, followed up with a U, but nothing more, but it wasn’t necessary by this time – we’d all got it. We then asked if the place had been a Molly House, to which we got an affirmative, and a date somewhere in the middle of the 18th century. He told us he was married, but that his wife had no idea of what he did.
The movements of the glass changed and Alison and I realised that we had a female spirit with us – Elias asked us how we knew, but neither of us could give him a real answer, it’s instinctive, we just know somehow, but can’t explain why. The femal spirit was, we believe, the wife of the man we had just been talking to, the answers to our questions suggested that the wife knew nothing of her husbands activities.
Vigil 5 – Mariner bedroom
A very impressive room
– four poster bed and all.. Having spent some time
watching and listening, we decided to set up the glass again. The results
were strange to say the least. Whatever spirit we were communicating
with seemed to have some difficulty spelling anything out
– we were getting an S instead of yes to many questions, but weren’t
sure that it meant anything. On several occasions the glass went to
‘goodbye’, but mostly we were getting A, D, or 3 in answer to our
questions. I realised after a while that we probably had a spirit with
us who was illiterate, and the glass was moving towards one of the three
of us each time – I was nearest the 3, Elias the D and Alison the
A. We removed the alphabet and tried questions that could have just
yes or no answers, and got slightly better results. We were talking
to a female, it seems that she had had a
miscarriage, though survived herself. Unfortunately I was getting tired
by this time and concentration was
lapsing at times, so I didn’t register the whole story
Vigil 6 – The Italian bedroom
A room with some intriguing architectural features. A fireplace that, though it was quite wide overall, had had its sides blocked in at some time and the grate area was very narrow. A couple of steps down through a short corridor to the bathroom. The corridor went through an archway with semi-circular top to it, but nearly half the width of that arch had a thick section of wall protruding into it. The wall itself was very irregular, and it looked to me, from the thickness and the irregularity of the wall that at some time part of the original wall had been knocked down in order to create an access to another part of the building – in fact, it felt to me as if this had been two cottages/houses at some time, but had been knocked through into one.
Alison went into the bathroom – quite a long, narrow room, with shower cubicle at one end and bath at the other. Alison was very uneasy in here and felt that something unpleasant had happened. She called me in to see if I could sense anything in there. I had no problems at the shower end of the room, but when I walked towards the bath I was in total agreement with Alison – it wasn’t at all pleasant in there. Was murder committed here? Much discussion ensued, and I think Elias was quite disappointed that he didn’t sense what both Alison and I were getting – the female instinct/intuition again perhaps? While Alison, if I remember correctly, felt that a man had committed murder in here, I got the distinct impression that it was his wife that was the victim.
In the bedroom calling out gave us no results, but Alison sensed some sort of fertility rites taking place here – the almost phallic feature dependent from the ceiling did nothing to dispel that impression! Discussion about what sort of thing might have happened here took place, and also discussion about the age of that part of the structure.
Elias said that he had noticed a number of features around the house that suggested a 17th century date, but I felt that parts of the building were certainly considerably older than that, possibly back into the 16th century at the very least.
Above the fireplace was some fancy plasterwork of a type known in other parts of the country as pargeting, reasonably common around Essex and parts of Suffolk, but most unusual in Somerset as far as I am aware. The central feature was a shield with what looked like three hunting horns on it and below them the date 1655, below the shield and slightly to the right were a pair of initials – I.C. and A.L. On either side of the shield were square panels depicting what may have been something like a Tree of Life – sprouting flowers, foliage and fruit. A near identical panel was located on the ceiling, repeated four times, with, in the centre, a round projection, probably about a foot long, hanging from it - a decidedly phallic looking object.
Alison got a sense of some sort of fertility rites taking place in this room, but couldn’t be sure what form they might have taken. Discussion followed. I don’t recall all of it, but it included speculation about a couple being watched on their marriage night by family and friends – just to make sure they did things right! I then commented that tradition tells us that sometimes the lord of the manor, though this would have been a newly married couple, had to right to the bride first – before her new husband.. Alison commented that she had felt uneasy about the whole thing, and that perhaps I was right. I felt, however, that it wasn’t in the room as it looks today, but was from event before the date on the fireplace.
Time finally ran out on us and it was time to pack up and go home. I certainly had a very interesting night in the hotel, and judging by the buzz of conversation and the snippets I caught as I packed up my belongings, everyone else had one too.
The owner of the place had made us feel very welcome, and was very trusting, leaving us to roam at will throughout most of the building while he went off home to bed, though he did say that he’d counted the bottles of wine...
A great investigation location, and if we ever get the chance to go back there again I’ll be first on the list...
Elias Kupfermann
I felt an overall feeling of peace and tranquillity in this historic building. Though there were areas where other members of my group felt a really a oppressive atmosphere.
Sometimes I felt very comfortable
in particular in the Mariner room. In our first vigil we were
in the Tintern Room where Alison first felt that as spirit of a dog
with us who seemed to be very protective. The name Henry Bartholomew
was suggested by Alison who was a gentleman who liked to hunt and shoot
partridge. A number of questions were asked using divining rods
– in particular we found that Henry had come to the house for his
wife to convalesce who died in the house. At one point it felt that
Henry was standing behind Maureen who was holding the rods.
The next room we went to was the Dorothy and Wordsworth rooms where very little activity was discovered. We then went down to the ground floor to the Dining room/restaurant area. We all thought that there was some activity inside the large inglenook fireplace. We picked up a big male spirit who had been hung but had hidden in the fireplace at some point.
We then moved into the lounge which was one of the most intriguing experiences of the night. There we made contact with a spirit who was unsure of his sexuality and were were able to ascertain that the building was used as a ‘Molly House’ in the mid 18th century – he told us that he liked men and his name was ‘QU…’ – say no more! He was also scared of being found out and then became quiet. There was a pause and we detected a second spirit – a woman – I was intrigued to know how both Alison and Maureen had come to that conclusion - the answer I was given’ its something you know..’ This was apparently the wife of the aforementioned gentleman but she had no idea about his activities in the house!
We then moved upstairs to the Mariners bedroom and used a glass and letters – we picked up another spirit again a woman who we thought could possibly illiterate as we could not make any sense of the letters the glass had arrived at – they kept going to the same letters A & D – it was felt that someone was perhaps playing. Our final port of call of the evening was the Italian bedroom – not sure why it was called that but there was a fine example of pargeting above the fireplace with 3 hunting horns and the date 1655 and the initials IC and AL – my first hunch was that this was a celebration of a marriage. On the ceiling was what can only be described as a phallic object with similar decoration around it as on the fireplace. No spirits were detected though we got an idea of some fertility ritual which had some sinister twist – the girls found that they could not enter the bathroom area as they had a sense of foreboding – though when I entered it I felt nothing at all. We tried calling out but nothing happened. Though the whole evening was very interesting.
As a postscript and talking to people after the investigation it was amazing that there was a great variety of different tales coming from possible previous occupants of the building one wanders how to make sense of this...
Rachel Steadman
This was a last minute investigation, so I knew nothing of the location. The hotel looked very pretty from the outside, a typical country hotel; the inside was just as pretty, although it did not look as old as it is.
Vigil 1 - Dorothy bedroom and Wordsworth bedroom
This was the smallest room we investigated, so we settled quickly, taking a few photo’s and filming. Very little happened in this room, we did hear a loud bang from downstairs, but there were people still down there so I can not say it was paranormal, as I can not rule them out. We did think the bathroom door opened on its own very slowly and only a little, but I have not been able to view the video so am still unsure.
We then moved into the Wordsworth bedroom again we settled quickly, and took photo’s, again little happened, by this time the weather had turned and it had become very windy, as we called out we did hear creaks and groans although we put these down to the wind, as none of the noises seemed to be responses to our questions. At one point towards the end of the vigil Eileen did say she had gone colder and that she felt slightly uncomfortable in this room.
Vigil 2 - Lounge and Dining room
We started in the lounge with glass divination we produced no results, so we tried table tilting which also had no response. So we all sat quietly listening and calling out, the bar door did open but again we put this down to the weather conditions as the wind was getting worse. We took video and photo’s. We then moved on to the dining room which was also very still, a few creaks were heard coming from the kitchen area but nothing significant.
Vigil 3 - Tintern room
This again was a very quiet vigil with no response to our calling out, so we sat listening and taking a few photo’s.
Vigil 4 - Italian bedroom
We settled in for what turned out to be another quiet vigil, we did take video and stills photo’s but do not appear to have caught anything.
Vigil 5 - Mariners room
This was our final vigil, and unfortunately again we caught little evidence, so possible orbs were caught on stills cameras but, calling out received nothing, there were constant bangs and creaks which we put down to the heating as they never changed, and were to regular.
Even though I caught very little evidence, I know other people have had very good paranormal experiences at this hotel, and I did have a really good night there, it’s a beautiful hotel, and the staff are lovely. I would love to go back even though this time little happened there is always next time, we can’t make things happen we just have to be in the right place at the right time.
Sandy Rutter
Eileen & I arrived a bit early and Amanda, Elias and Cathy were already there as they were staying for the night. Eileen & I decided to join then for something to eat. It was beautiful and the hotel was very clean and cosy, a very good atmosphere. The others arrived and then we had the tour. We needed to be very quiet as not to wake the other guests. It was a really a nice country hotel. After the tour we had a short break before vigils began.
Vigil 1
Our first vigil was in the Italian room. We took a few pics with camera. The temp was around 22c and the emf was fluctuating but that was due to electrical wiring in places. Unfortunately it was very quiet in here so I decided to join mark in the toilet area and for some reason we started to laugh like 2 stupid school kids. Then we started to see light anomalies going down the wall. Mark caught a light anomaly going up the wall and then go out the door. That was it for this roomVigil 2
We took a few pictures before we settled in. Cathy tried sitting front of the mirror and all of a sudden she shrieked and we asked what was wrong and she told us when she looked in the mirror her face melted and she did it again to the same affect. Then Mark tried, he saw an old man with a long white moustache and black greasy hair like a Mexican type style. Maria & I could smell something like old pipe smoke (tobacco) and Cathy smelt the same smell but she said it smelt like sick people. I decided to go into the bathroom area for some reason I was stood just inside the door and the tingling sensation I got was unbelievable. I also caught a light anomaly on camera so the team decided to join me in there but it went quiet really fast.
Vigil 3
Was in the Dorothy room & the Wordsworth room. We decided to split into 2 teams and Mark & I were in the Wordsworth room and Marie & Cathy in the Dorothy room. We called out to no success but we did here a window rattle in this room but we realised it was a lose pane of glass. After about half an hour in there we had heard nothing or seen anything unusual so we decided to join the girls in the Dorothy room.
Vigil 4
Next was the Tintern room. We took a few pictures and settled in. It was very warm as the radiator was on. When I was filming the curtains were drawn and I caught 3 light anomalies coming down the curtains but not at the same time. Cathy sensed the presence of horses.
Vigil 5&6
We were in the lounge area and Julie’s team was in the dining area. Again we took a few pictures and settled down. Cathy & I tried glass divination and before that I had my camcorder set up pointing towards the glass and Mark set his camcorder up pointing at us. It started off really slow little movement from the glass then it started getting better moving from side to side and Maria asked Mark to go and get Julies team and they came through. By this time the glass had taken on a new life as it was going really well and we had a name. It was a man with the name of Robert and we asked Robert if he minded if the other team could join in. He didn’t seem to mind. We asked Robert a few more questions. We asked why he was there and why he did not want to go over to the other side. We discovered he killed both his wife of 3 weeks and his brother William. His brother got Roberts wife Pregnant and Robert got the blame for it. Sarah asked if we could speak to William and Robert agreed as Sarah was getting poked in the back by William. William was sorry what happened to Robert and he didn’t mean to do it but we did discover that Robert didn’t love his wife. Robert died by being shackled and hanged. He was up the tree for a year and a day.
Later I discovered through a little research that Roberts name was John but after a little bit more research he had a middle name of Robert and he preferred to be called Robert and not John. This is probably why we picked up on the name Robert.