Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Dimbola Lodge Investigation
Saturday 1st September 2007, 10pm
Attendees :Attending Investigators - Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Di Moore, Amanda Horley, Gill O'Farrell, Mark Boulton, Marie Holder, Sandy Rutter, Eileen Rutter, Maureen Taylor, Steve Gilbert and Jeff Aldridge.
Guest Investigator : Frankie Pigerham
Introduction
A trip over to the island is always a treat for the team and the ferry journey seems to make all the travel worthwhile.
Dimbola Lodge in Freshwater is most famous for being the home of Victorian portrait photographer Julia Margaret Cameron from 1860 until 1865. The Julia Margaret Cameron Trust was set up to ensure the preservation of the lodge and to provide information on Julia's life and work. Dimbola Lodge now serves as a museum and art gallery and is run by the trust.
Our heartfelt thanks go to John Holsburt and the other members of the Trust who made out visit to the lodge possible.
About Dimbola's most famous resident
Julia Margaret Cameronwas born in Calcutta in 1815. After being educated in Europe, she returned to the Cape of Good Hope in 1836. While there with her parents, she met Charles Hay Cameron, whom she married in 1838. On Charles' retirement in 1848, they moved to London where Julia became part of Kensington's artistic community, including poet Henry Taylor, painter G F Watts, and Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
In 1860 Mrs. Cameron visited Farringford House, the Tennysons' home on the Isle of Wight, and immediately bought two adjacent cottages in Freshwater Bay. These she linked together with a gothic tower and named it Dimbola Lodge after the family tea estates in Ceylon.
The gift of a camera in 1863 sparked an enthusiasm in Julia Margaret Cameron for this new art form. Within a year she had begun to present her friends with albums of her work and was elected a member of the photographic society in London. Dimbola Lodge served as both her home and, more importantly, her studio. It was here that the greatest of the Cameron photographs were made.
From Dimbola Lodge Cameron welcomed - and photographed - the cream of Victorian Society. Tennyson, Darwin, Watts and Thackeray lived locally, and guests often included Lewis Carroll, Robert Browning, Holman Hunt, Palgrave, Edward Lear and the actress Ellen Terry. The poet Henry Taylor wrote of Dimbola Lodge
"...a house indeed to which everyone resorted for pleasure, and in which no man, woman or child was ever known to be unwelcome."
In
1875 at the peak of her fame as a photographer,
the Cameron's departed for Ceylon, their coffins filled with possessions. The
second volume of Tennyson'sIdylls of the
Kings with her photographs was newly
published, and she had concurrent exhibitions of her work in London and
Bournemouth. There was such a demand for her prints that the Autotype Company
had been instructed to make new negatives and reissue seventy early images in
red brown and black editions. One of Julia Margaret Cameron's last letters was
to Lady Tennyson, in which she looked back proudly on her achievements
"it is a sacred blessing which has attended my photography; it gives a pleasure to millions and a deeper happiness to very many."
Information and pictures used courtesy of - www.dimbola.co.uk
Itinerary
6.45 - 7pm All members travelling together meet at Ferry Terminal
7.15pm Julie to collect tickets
7.30pm Split into designated cars (see above)
8.00pm Ferry to East Cowes
9.00pm Arrive in East Cowes and travel to Dimbola Lodge
9.45pm Arrive at Dimbola lodge and meet our host John
10.00pm Tour of the building with John.
Baselines to be conducted during the tour by Di, Marie &
Mark - overseen by Julie
11.00pm Vigil 1
Team 1 - 1st Floor
Team 2 - 2nd Floor
12.00am Break
12.30am Vigil 2
Team 1 - 2nd Floor
Team 2 - 1st Floor
1.30am Break
1.45am Vigil 3
Team 1 - 1st Floor
Team 2 - 2nd Floor
2.45am Break
3.00am Vigil 4
Team 1 - 2nd Floor
Team 2 - 1st Floor
3.45am Pack up and depart
Teams
Team 1
Julie Team Leader
Amanda
Sandy
Marie
Steve
Jeff
Team 2
Maria Team Leader
Di
Maureen
Eileen
Gill
Mark
Frankie
Vigil Area’s
Ground Floor - Including Café, Reception area, Room 7, Dark Room & Main hallway.
First Floor - Attic office, Rooms 1, 2 & 3, All Galleries, Julia Margaret Cameron Bedroom.
Team Equipment
Each team had use of -
1x night vision camcorder
At least 1 digital camera
Laser temperature thermometer
EMF meter
Note pad & pen
Location Baseline Tests - completed by Julie, Di, Marie & Mark
First Floor
Stairs and Landing Area - Temp 19, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Creaky stairs and floorboards.
Julia’s Bedroom - Temp 18, fluctuating to 19.5 in centre of room as expected. EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Fairly small area and dressed tailors dummy present.
Studio - Temp 19, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations.
Olympus Gallery - Temp 20.1 fluctuating to 21. EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Creaky floorboards.
Olympus Gallery extension - Temp 21.7, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Floor carpeted.
Room 1 - Temp 21.4, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Couple of tiny flies around.
Room 2 - Temp 23, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations apart from around pipes as expected.
Room 3 - Temp 22.6, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Room has musty smell.
Room 4 - Temp 23.5, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Carpeted floor. Area has sweet smell.
First Office - Temp 23.5, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations apart from near computers etc where expected.
Second Office - Temp 24.0, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations apart from near computers etc where expected.
Attic - Temp 20.4, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Very creaky and shaky floor.
Ground Floor
Room 7 - Temp 19.5, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Small insect spotted flying about. Lots of doors into this room.
Food Store - Temp 17.3, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Tiled floor and humming from fridge.
Dark Room - Temp 18.7, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Tiled floor.
Hallway - Temp 20.1, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations.
Café - Temp 22.0, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations. Lots of tables and chairs. Sweet smell in room.
Foyer / Reception - Temp 21.0, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations.
Team / Vigil Notes
Team 1
Vigil 1
11pm Rm 7 - All team present
Temp 20.5, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
2 camcorder batteries drain immediately the camcorder is turned on, so camcorder has to be plugged in to work.
11.05pm Julie sees small red flash by bottom of door leading to stairs. Amanda has temp gun and confirms she was not pointing at the door at the time (her finger not even on trigger)
11.15pm Julie imagines a little girl in the corner where she saw the red dot. Describes her as with ringlet hair and gets the name Claire.
11.17pm Amanda calls out - taps heard from the table. Julie asks team sat at the table (Julie, Sandy & Jeff) to move away to ascertain whether they are making the noise or not.
11.18pm Amanda continues calling out and a knock is heard by several of the members by Sandy.
11.20pm Team hear a metallic click and ascertain that it is the motion sensor in the corner of the room.
11.22pm Julie calls out and again there is a click from by Sandy. Julie can confirm that she can see Sandy and he is staying completely still.
11.24pm Julie & Marie hear a loud breathing noise
11.25pm Amanda & Marie then hear a loud intake of breath
11.26pm Amanda calls out and a louder click is heard from near Sandy
11.27pm Julie imagines the little girl in the corner walking towards her in slow motion and gets the name Ford. She also feels like there is a man stood behind her and that, that is who the little girl is walking to.
11.30pm Julie again feels like there is someone behind her and moves round to face Marie for a couple of minutes but the feeling does not pass.
11.32pm Amanda stands behind Julie to try and feel the man
Amanda feels the smell in the room has changed to a more acrid smell
Marie feels her neck is stiffening and Julie’s head is hurting like she has a migraine coming.
Amanda, Jeff & Steve leave to hold vigil in the dark room - Their notes can be seen at the bottom of this vigil note.
Julie, Marie and Sandy stay in room 7.
Julie calls out to the little girl and Sandy’s arm goes cold
Marie can still feel the tightening in her neck and Julie’s head is still bad
Marie’s neck is now tingling
Marie sees light disturbance under the door to the reception / foyer like someone has walked past. She checks with John who is in the reception whether he has walked past and he confirms he has not been past the door.
Julie calls out and a loud knock is heard by Sandy.
Marie calls out asking for 2 knocks and 2 knocks are heard by Sandy.
Marie calls out again and a thud is heard from the window end of the room.
Marie feels cold even though the temp around her has risen to 21.0 (20 under the chair) Julie can actually hear Marie shivering
Julie asks for Marie to be affected more. Marie feels a cold blast pass her and feels dizzy.
Julie gets the name Ford again
The temperature around Marie has dropped to 19 yet only a foot away from her is still 20.0 and 20.5
Marie calls out and all 3 hear click from door handle to stairs, like someone is trying to open the door.
Julie feels a cold blast across her back while she is writing the notes.
Amanda, Jeff & Steve in the dark room -
11.30pm Temp 19.5, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Distinct smell observed in room that was not present on tour - very musty
Amanda feels happy and upbeat until about 11.40pm then she feels calm and normal.
Vigil 2
Rm1 - Julie, Sandy & Marie
12.30am - 1.00am
Julie does not like this room
Sandy’s camcorder drops from full battery (50 + minutes) to 12 minutes
EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations, temp 24
Sandy and Julie feel hot
Julie (sat in the corner) feels someone is stood to her right. She gets the name John and feels a connection to Augustus John
Sandy tries to film to Julie’s right and the camcorder will not focus
Marie calls out
Team hear 3 separate knocks on the floor in response to asking out
Julie feels the floorboard in front of her vibrate like someone is walking past.
Marie and Julie swap seats and Marie feels a tickling on her head when she sits in the corner
Marie feels shut off from rest of team when she is sat in the corner
Loud creak heard by Julie, temp around Julie 23
On demand more thumps and thuds are heard around Julie
EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
All members are staring into the middle of the room, temp in the middle of the room has dropped from 24 to 22
Marie calls out and suddenly Julie feels like someone has blown smoke in her face.
Rm3 - Amanda, Jeff & Steve
12.30am - 1.00am
Jeff picks up on a William Hamilton a stern but kind man, 45 ish
Cigar smoker
Bishop Stortford
Visited the lady artist a lot
He liked boats and sailed in his spare time.
1852 - 1868
Team see someone going up to the office and then come down again. When checked John says no one has been up to the office.
Team get a strong smell of cigar smoke in the room that seems to get stronger or weaker in response to questions. Makes some of the team cough.
Rm3 - Julie, Sandy & Marie
1.00am- 1.30am
Team enter room and all smell a strong cheese and onion smell (even though the rest of the team leaving for Rm 1 can not smell it)
Temp 22, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Marie is sat on the right of the door and her arm is cold. She feels a little nervous thinking someone is going to walk past the door
Julie gets the name Edwina and the years 1965 and 1865. 1865 being more prominent.
Julie feels she was a model and a friend of the owner.
Team call out for more information but nothing else is experienced.
Rm1 - Amanda, Jeff & Steve
1.00am - 1.30am
Amanda picks up on Elspeth a maid or something to do with the kitchen.
Amanda feels this is the person making her feel upbeat.
Nothing else is experienced by the team.
Vigil 3
Rm 7 - All of team
Temp 20, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Julie feels cold breeze on legs as Amanda walks past but when Amanda walks back again (on request) Julie does not feel draught.
Jeff feels cold around his knees and Sandy also feels a draught around him
Team call out
Julie and Sandy again feel a draught around them
Amanda feels the presence of Elspeth and becomes cheery and upbeat
Julie also gets the name Elizabeth
Amanda and Julie feel it may be a young female but not a child
Shuffling / thumping sound is heard by Sandy and Julie and they liken it to someone falling over outside the room - No one is outside the room.
Marie and Jeff hear 3 taps behind Jeff when Amanda calls out
Amanda feels playful and feels she needs to crouch down by the fireplace and hide behind one of the chairs (armchair)
Marie gets the name Amelia and Julie gets the name Emily
Marie sense long ringlet red hair
Amanda gets the age 7 or 8
Jeff feels the child is called Amelia and is connected to William Hamilton
Amanda feels coy and Jeff feels Amelia is also connected to a Lady Hamilton
Julie places pen on the table after writing a note and without hearing any noise of the pen rolling, team hear pen fall to the floor followed by a loud cracking noise on the table.
Team call out for noise and a loud knock is heard by the fireplace next to Jeff
Team call out again and another knock is heard to Jeff’s left this time by the door to reception / foyer
Thud heard from behind Amanda who is stood by the fireplace
Jeff feels Amelia is like a young Shirley Temple. Amanda and Jeff then both suddenly feel like Amelia is gone and both report feeling very tired.
Julie hears what sounds like a baby crying but no one else seems to hear it even though it seemed quite loud to Julie.
Team leave area for an early break as all has gone quiet
Vigil 4
Because of the early break, team 1 start their last vigil quarter of an hour ahead of time.
Julia’s bedroom - Julie, Marie & Sandy
2.45am - 3.15am
Temp 19, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Team feel quite chilly in this room
Julie is wary of outside of the room, in the corridor
Marie feels a brief static cold spot by chair
Sandy stands at the side of the bed, Julie sits on the ottoman and Marie stands by the dressing table
Julie feels like there are two women in the room with the team and imagines a lady with dark hair come up to her and say “My name is Una”
Marie calls out for Una
Knock heard next to Julie
Marie asks if that is Una and 2 knocks are heard straight away by Sandy
Marie asks if Una is still with us and a loud click is heard from the corridor just outside the room. We invite her back into the room with us.
Julie feels cold although the temp is still 19, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Julie then gets “My name is Una Taylor Woooooh!” and describes it like she is imitating a ghost sound.
Light anomaly caught on camcorder in front of Marie
Marie calls out - “Una are you a friend of Julia’s”
Light anomaly caught on camcorder again in front of Marie, near the floor
Julie and Marie feel like Una did not live here but visited often
Julie feels like a woman possibly Una, is sitting on her left side on the ottoman
Marie asks “Do you prefer if we call you Mrs Taylor and Julie immediately thinks “Mrs Taylor Woooooh” and team wonder if she is taking the mickey out of what we are doing ie ghost hunting.
The Office - Amanda, Jeff & Steve
2.45am - 3.15am
Team has a very quiet vigil although Jeff does pick up on a fisherman with a Scottish accent and gets the name Harold.
The Office - Julie, Sandy & Marie
3.15am - 3.45am
Temp 23, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
All notice how dark the office is even though there is a window
Sandy goes into second office and Julie and Marie stay in main office
Julie mentions poltergeist activity and immediately gets high pitched buzzing in her right ear like a mosquito or fly has flown near her ear
Team turn light on but can not find any flies or moths
Julie and Marie change seats
Team turn light back of and immediately Sandy reports getting light anomalies on his camcorder
Sandy hears someone whisper a couple of words but cant hear what they say. Sandy then gets a tingly sensation come over him especially in his legs
Julie calls out for someone else to be affected and Sandy feels someone breathe in his right ear
Marie calls out and Sandy feels a breeze across the top of his head
Marie calls out again and Julie feels tickling on top of her head
Team feels there is a man trapped up in the office area and he is restricted to the top levels of the building
Small knock heard in corner of the office Julie and Marie are sat in
Julia’s bedroom - Amanda, Jeff & Steve
3.15am - 3.45am
Team feel bedroom is very quiet but believe that it was used for a waiting room / drawing room for people waiting for photographs to be taken
Team goes back to room 3 but can no longer sense William
Team 2
Julia’s Rm
All team
Laser temp 20, air temp 22.5
EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
11.05pm Maria gets the name Clarence
11.15pm Di feels cold down her left hand side and gets the name Elizabeth
11.17pm Maria gets the name Francis
Team move onto Isle of Wight festival room and then into Olympus gallery. Frankie tells the team that her name is actually Francis Elizabeth even though people call her Frankie
11.40pm Maria hears what sounds like a chair being dragged across the floor
Temp 20, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
11.48pm Maureen hears a rustling to her right and feels an energy near
11.50pm Maria sees wisp pass in front of one of the pictures
Maureen stands in front of the picture and feels dizzy and quite cold
11.55pm Maria calls out for them to do something to get them out of the room and hears a long growling noise
11.57pm Maureen stands by photo and team hear shuffle
11.59pm Maria stands in front of the photo and feels cold even though it is now 1 degree warmer
Maria also notices that she keeps clasping and un clasping her hands
12.40am Dark Rm
Temp 18.1 fluctuating to 19.1, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Name Sarah Mulholland is picked up and also Jenny aged 7 years
Millsom - time is important to someone?
1.03am Shed room - Team feel very cold
Room 7 - Di sees woman in a wheelchair
Colonel Pritchard is sensed as well as a Nurse Maude and a Jessica
Some of team feel that this is where people were sent to recuperate.
Maria finds it very hard to breathe and felt room was used as a sanatorium for the privileged members of society and that people were sent here to be hidden away from society.
Di feels the lodge could have been a place for un married mothers, to hide them away during their pregnancy.
Rm 2
Temp 23.3, 22.3 ambient air temp, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Gill gets the feeling of a death in this room. Died of their own hands and feels a constriction of the throat. Gets the name of Victor.
Di hears the sound of a male voice sobbing
Maria gets the name Robert Browning spring to mind
Attic
Temp 18.8, 19.5 ambient air temp, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
Maria feels a light touch on her leg
Olympus Gallery
Ambient air temp 21.2, EMF 00.1 - 00.2, no fluctuations
No activity recorded
Café
Frankie feels sad in this area. Music heard by all the team. Team also hear noise from kitchen area but believe it could be the fridge.
Reception Area
Di hears a fly or a bee buzzing and then thought of spitfire plane
Maria feels breeze as she was sitting on bottom step of the stairs
Frankie feels she has done everything she can and Maria feels very peaceful
Frankie feels cold and Maria feels a gust of cold
Maria calls out and picks up on a Marie Ann, could be a child. Frankie gets sharp pain in her leg.
Personal Reports
Julie Harwood
I always look forward to investigations on the island as it is a rare treat for the team and makes the amount of travelling we do more enjoyable. John had been very helpful when arranging the investigation so it was nice to finally meet him in person. He certainly made the team feel relaxed and welcome at the Lodge.
The lodge itself was spectacular. From the outside it loomed over you rather imposingly but once inside it felt very homely and has been restored to a wonderful standard. It would be a wonderful test for the team. The Lodge is a museum dedicated to photography and the lodge’s former resident photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. The team could not escape this information inside the building and so I was looking forward to what else they could come up with. My excitement was added to on the tour when after taking one picture my fully charged batteries died. I went back to the team room and changed them and caught the rest of the team up. Took two pictures and the batteries died. These were brand new batteries! On one part of the tour I recorded exceptionally high readings around Di especially her left-hand side up to her head. There was no explanations for these readings (the emf was whining off the scale) but Di had reported earlier in the walk around that she had a pain that side of her head.
My team consisted of Amanda, Sandy, Marie, Steve, Jeff and myself. Jeff was our newest member and on his first investigation. What a pleasure he was to have onboard. Our first vigil was downstairs and the first thing I noticed just as we were leaving the team was the upbeat and almost childlike way Amanda was acting. She was grinning ear to ear and desperately wanted to go upstairs. Once we had coerced her into a downstairs room her mood seemed to change and she became very calm and serene. We all went into the large room just off the foyer. Sandy, Jeff and myself sat around the table in the middle of the area and the others were behind us around the room. Immediately both my camcorder batteries died and so we had to plug the camcorder in, to record our vigil. I don’t think that has happened to me before though I have to consider that where the camcorder batteries are used so much they may just be getting old and not charging as well though after my digital camera experience on the tour, it made me wonder! I will need to check that out. As I settled in the room and even though I knew Marie was sat behind me from the minute I sat down I felt as if someone was stood right behind me. At one point I even turned around and faced Marie so the table was behind me but it still felt the same so I turned back to the table and Amanda came and stood behind me. When she did this the feeling ironically went which was odd because someone (Amanda) was actually stood behind me! After a couple of minutes I saw a red dot by the door leading to the back stairs. We started to call out and got a lot of taps and creaks coming from the table so I asked that Jeff, Sandy and all moved back from the table to make sure we were not making the creaks. The creaks and small knocks we could hear around the room continued although we were able to ascertain that some of the clicks we heard were coming from the motion sensors in the corners of the room. I could imagine a little girl in the room over in the corner where Steve was standing (to the left of the window as you look at it). I imagined her with curly ringlet hair and in a white dress. This did not worry me until I imagined her walking towards me in slow motion staring at me and then I had to blink and look away from the corner. At this point I started to get pains in my head like I had a migraine and soon it became very uncomfortable. Amanda, Steve and Jeff then went to investigate the dark room and Sandy, Marie and myself stayed in the large room. Sandy sat in front of the window and we could hear quite strong knocks around and behind him. On some occasions it sounded like someone was knocking on the old front door behind him. Marie was also getting pain and tingling sensations around her neck and she had reported an unexpected stiff neck earlier in the vigil. At one point in the vigil Marie saw the light change under the door to the foyer. We presumed it was John walking past but when Marie went out into the foyer and checked with him he had not moved from the desk. Oddly after the vigil we also found out that while John was in the foyer he thought he saw movement over by the stairs and also at one point felt someone stood behind him.
Our next vigil was upstairs and we went into rooms 1 and 3. Sandy, Marie and I stayed in room 1 and the others went down to room 3. We settled down and I sat in the corner next to the fireplace. Sandy and I reported feeling extremely hot. I immediately wished I hadn’t sat in the corner as I thought someone was stood to my right even though I knew Marie was to my left and Sandy was opposite me. Sandy asked what I could feel and where and I told him. He said he believed this as when he tried to focus on that area the camcorder kept going in and out of focus and would not settle. When I put my hand into this area I could feel a cold breeze but I was also aware this could have come from the door or one of the windows. I got the name John but felt this could have been a surname rather than a first name. We called out asking for this to be validated by two knocks and two quite clear knocks we got! Marie then swapped with me. She felt she was sitting in the naughty corner and felt very alone. We all noticed around this time that the room got suddenly very dark and then suddenly it felt like some blew cigarette smoke in my face and this made me cough and I had to try and catch my breath. We then swapped with the other team and the minute I walked into room 3 I could smell cheese and onion. Marie and Sandy could smell it as well but Steve, Amanda and Jeff looked at us like we were mad (which at this point could have been a distinct possibility). They left and we settled down. We did not get much in this room though Marie did feel a little uneasy near the door (and felt as if someone was going to walk past it) and I did get the name Edwina, the year 1865 or 1965. After a couple of minutes I felt it was 1865 and Edwina was a guest to the house and maybe a model subject. The rest of the team rejoined us and suddenly we could all smell cigar smoke which unknown to Sandy, Marie and myself was what the team could smell before when they had been in the room. Amanda started coughing and Marie and Steve both had dry throats like they had been in a smoky room.
Our next vigil was back down in room 7. We started calling out and knocks were heard around Jeff’s part of the room (right side of the fireplace as you look at it). After a while we realised that it was coming from Jeff’s chair and it was like someone was trying to get his attention as he was sat dead still (excuse the pun). Marie then came up with the name Amelia just as I was thinking the name Emily. Jeff also felt drawn to the name Amelia. Amanda was again very upbeat in this room most of the time and when the spirit apparently kept leaving and coming back Amanda’s mood would change accordingly. Amanda believed the spirit to be 7 or 8. Jeff thought she could have been as old as 9. I was just writing some notes on the team sheet. I put the pen down onto the table and sat back, turning my torch off. A couple of seconds later we all heard a pinging noise and when we turned the light on the pen had appeared to have flown of the table and was now on the floor. Obviously I was the nearest to it and can say with certainty I was no where near it. We then heard the knocking on Jeff’s chair again and when we turned the lights off we all heard what sounded like the pen rolling across the table. We quickly switched the lights back on but the pen had not moved an inch. After this the room seemed to go quiet and so we moved on to have our break a little earlier than planned.
Our last vigil was back upstairs and for the first half an hour Sandy, Marie and I went into Julia’s bedroom. This was a creepy little room and you could tell it unnerved all of us a little even Sandy. Sandy stood by the bed, I sat on the ottoman at the end of the bed and Marie stood in front of the dressing table but did keep moving as she did not like the dressed tailors dummy which was stood being illuminated by the window behind it. I must admit it was making me a little freaked out as even though it has no head it felt that wherever you went in the room it was looking at or at least facing you. I felt like there were 5 of us in this room. Us three plus 2 ladies. I imagined one lady with dark hair coming up to me and saying, “I am Una” and then sitting down beside me on my left. I could feel coldness next to me on my arm. Marie called out for Una and asked that if she was present could she knock twice. Immediately 2 thuds were heard very clearly by Sandy who was stood just behind where I imagined Una sitting. I then imagined her saying to me “My name is Una Taylor Woooh”. It was like she was imitating the classic ghost noise and from this I thought she must have either a good sense of humour or was taking the micky out of what we were doing. I also thought she would prefer to be called Mrs Taylor and when we asked this we heard a massive crack that seemed to come from outside the room. We then swapped with the other 3 and spent the last half-hour of the night in the office. Marie and I sat in the first office and Sandy sat on his own in the second one. As soon as we called out I heard a high pitched squeal / buzz in my right ear and jumped to my feet. It was like when a mosquito or fly flies close to your head. We turned the lights on hoping we would see it but none of us could. Sandy was getting a lot of orbs on his camcorder and so we settled back down but this unnerved me a lot as I was sure it was a fly and yet we could not see anything. I then asked out that the same thing be done to Sandy or Marie. Almost immediately Sandy felt someone blow in his right ear and reported his legs felt tingly and cold. Sandy tried to encourage spirit to come forward more by just chattering to it but nothing came forward and we retired for the night.
In conclusion and from writing this report more happened on the night than I thought. I had a fabulous time and Dimbola lodge is somewhere I will definitely be taking the team back to. Thank you to John and Brian for making us feel so welcome and for all the tea, coffee and cake.
Sandy Rutter
We arrived at the lodge just before 9 pm after getting lost numerous times. It was a fantastic looking building. It was beautiful inside and out. We unloaded our car and got the equipment inside the lodge. John introduced himself to the team and was the perfect host. We had the tour of the house and it was bigger than I thought with lots of wooden stairs. I took a few snaps of the rooms we went through.
Vigil 1
Julie Amanda Sandy Marie Steve and Jeff
We went in to a room on the ground floor with lots of pictures on the walls. We took a few pictures and got settled in. Julie had her camcorder and both of the batteries died within a few minutes although they were both fully charged. Julie sensed a little girl in the corner walking towards her. Marie heard deep breathing and we all hear what can only be described as 2 pieces of metal clanging together, but we soon discover it was the motion sensors in the corner of the room. We split into 2 mini groups of 3, Amanda Steve and Jeff go to the dark room and Myself Julie and Marie stay in the large room. We hear a knock right behind me and me and Julie here a click beside the door near me as if something was turning the handle. It was a fantastic first vigil.
Vigil 2
We went up the stairs and into the 3 adjacent rooms. Myself Julie and Marie were in 1 end room and Amanda Steve and Jeff were at the far end room, leaving an empty room in the middle. We heard a lot of creaking and banging near me and I was as quiet as a mouse not even moving. I caught an orb on camcorder near Julie and every so often while filming Julie she seemed to disappear as if something was standing in front of her. Julie and Marie then swapped places and the same thing happened to Marie. Julie while sat in the middle of the room also felt like someone had blown smoke in her face. After half an hour we swapped areas with the rest of the team. On entering the other room the girls and me could smell a strong whiff of cheese and onion (as if somebody had taken their shoes off!) Julie gets the name Edwina from 1865 or 1965 then the rest of the team join us and the smell of cheese and onions disappeared but instead we could smell very stale cigars. It was very powerful and made Amanda cough.
Vigil 3
We went into the room we went in at the start. Me and Jeff both got hit by a cold spot and Amanda was feeling like a little girl who just wanted to play. Marie was getting the name Amelia. Julie started to write something down, when she finished Julie put the pen down on the table, switched the torch off and we all heard some thing fall. We switched the torches back on and the pen was on the floor. No one was near the table at the time it was brilliant to actually get some action like that.
Vigil 3
Again we split up into our little groups. Marie, Julie and I were in Julia Margaret Cameron’s bedroom. We took a few pictures and again settled in. I went over by the bed, Julie stood by the ottoman and Marie was standing near the seat and the tailors dummy. I got an orb nearly straight away and Julie felt 2 ladies there. One of the ladies came to Julie and introduced her self as Una Taylor (woooooooooh). I think she was having a laugh with us and I got an orb again over by the chair. The same lady came over and said her name was Mrs Taylor(woooooooh). We decided to leave it at that and we swapped with the rest of the team and went into the office. Again we took a few pictures and settled down. The two girls were in the first half of the office and I was in the other half and nearly straight away Julie got like a mosquito noise in her ear. We switched the lights on just to see if there was a fly or mosquito in the room but there wasn’t so Marie and Julie swapped sides and we switched the lights back off. I got numerous orbs on camcorder and something blew in my ear when Julie asked the spirits to do something by someone else’s ears. It was a very good vigil.
All in all a fantastic place to investigate. I want to go back even if it is through the day. John our host was brilliant for letting us investigate such a beautiful place. I was very impressed and a big welcome to Jeff our new member.
Marie Holder
Team 1: Julie, Amanda, Sandy, Steve, Jeff and Marie
Introduction
I was very much looking forward to this location as it was the first museum investigation I had done and it was a large location with lots of rooms on both floors. There was also not much in the way of ambient light which makes it all the more atmospheric.
After a long drive from the ferry terminal, down some very dark winding country roads, we finally got to our location.
We were greeted by the caretaker who showed us into the tearooms and not long after was introduced to our host, John. After a welcoming cup of coffee we split into our groups and started the vigils.
Vigil 1 - 1st Floor
Temp 20.7º
EMF readings: none
We started in Room 7 and settled down to start the vigil, but before we really began Julie’s camera battery died and the batteries of the 2 camcorders we had with us also died and they had both been fully charged before the investigation, we therefore had to plug the one camcorder into the mains which meant that Steve, who was filming, was restricted to standing near the power point.
After a while, Julie saw a red light over by the door, we called out and heard a knock, we called out again and heard a tapping noise, Julie and I also heard heavy breathing, I asked if anybody was breathing heavily and they said they weren’t.
My neck then began to ache and my head felt very heavy, at about the same time Julie reported that she was getting a headache and that her head felt heavy.
It was at this point of the vigil that we decided to split up, so Amanda, Steve and Jeff went off to investigate the dark room.
Also while in room 7 we took some photographs which did have what looked like orbs on them.
With my head still pounding, I saw something move across the door, as it disturbed the light coming under the door leading into the foyer where John, our host, was sitting. I opened the door and asked John if he had walked in front of the door, and he said he hadn’t.
I sat back down and after a while I felt a cold blast go across my body, I called out for the spirits to make it worse and they obliged as I firstly felt dizzy then I got an even colder blast go across my body from left to right.
Amanda, Jeff and Steve then rejoined the group, we called out again but this time got no response.
Vigil 2 - 2nd Floor
Temp 23º
EMF readings: very slight fluctuations
Again, at the start of the vigil we decided to split up. Julie, Sandy and I went to Room 1 and Amanda, Steve and Jeff went to Room 3.
Both Julie and Sandy reported that they felt hot. Julie, who was sat over in the corner of the room, came up with the name John and felt that this was a surname rather than a first name. We asked out and heard a knock; we asked out again and again heard a knock.
Julie and I then swapped places, with me sitting in the corner. Almost straight away I had a feeling of being closed in and claustrophobic.
After calling out again we heard a series of knocks over where Julie was sitting. Julie then started coughing and reported that she felt like she had had smoke blown into her face.
We then swapped rooms with the rest of the team and I sat by a doorway with no door which made me feel a little uneasy as I expected somebody to walk in front of the doorway, I also felt a coldness on my left arm which was the arm nearest the doorway.
Julie came up with the name Edwina and the year 1865, she then called out to ask for more information but unfortunately no more information was obtained.
The rest of the team then joined us in Room 3 and Amanda started coughing and said she had experienced a strong smell of tobacco which tied in with what Julie experienced in Room 1. Both Steve and I did not smell smoke but we both had dry throats which, to me, felt like I had been in a smoke atmosphere.
Jeff also picked up on the name William.
Vigil 3 - 1st Floor
Temp 20º
EMF readings: none
We again went back to Room 7, as we felt that this was the most active room.
After a while, Jeff said he felt cold and Amanda reported that she felt upbeat and sensed that there was a little girl present in the room with us.
We called out and got a series of knocks. Jeff then said that someone was knocking on his chair.
I then came up with the name Amelia at around the same time Julie came up with the name Emily. Amanda reckoned the little girl was about 7 or 8 and Jeff reckoned she was about 8 or 9.
I then heard something go ‘ping’ and fall on the floor and Julie reported that her pen had fallen onto the floor and she was nowhere near it.
Jeff then felt someone tapping on his chair again.
We then called out to the little girl to do something for us to show us she was there and it sounded like the pen rolled across the table, but when the torch was shone on it, it had not moved.
Towards the end of the vigil it went very quiet and none of us could sense anything.
Vigil 4 - 2nd Floor
Temp 19º
EMF readings: none
We decided again to split into two groups. Julie, Sandy and I went into Julia’s bedroom and Amanda, Steve and Jeff went into the office upstairs.
It felt very creepy in this room as there was a dummy in there dressed in a Victorian dress which freaked me out a little!
Sandy got two orbs on his camcorder, I felt a cold spot near the floor by the chair which is where the orbs where seen.
Julie then got ‘my name is Una’ in her head.
I called out for the spirits (as Julie felt there were two ladies with us) to knock twice and heard two thumps on the floor.
Julie then said she heard Una say to her “my name is Una Taylor, oooooo! As if Una was impersonating a ghost! Which, I have to say unnerved me a little!
Sandy was getting quite a few orbs on camcorder going past me!
I then asked Una if she preferred us to call her Mrs Taylor and Julie then said she heard Una saying “Mrs Taylor, ooooooo! So she obviously had a sense of humour!
We then swapped places and settled down to start a vigil in the office upstairs, which apparently had a lot of poltergeist activity reported.
Julie reported that she had something buzzing in her ear; we turned the light back on to ascertain if there was anything flying around, but we could not see anything.
Julie called out for whatever it was with us to do the buzzing noise to either Sandy or myself but ‘they’ did not oblige.
Sandy then said he heard a voice and reported that there were a lot of orbs going past him, where he was sitting in the neighbouring office, he also reported that his legs where tingling.
I (and I think Julie and Sandy) were feeling a little frustrated in the office towards the end of the vigil, as we all got the feeling that there was something with us in that room but, whoever they were, they did not want to show us they were there.
Conclusion
I think that this was quite a successful investigation, as we got quite a few orbs on camcorder especially in Julia’s room and the office. My favourite room should be room 7, as this is where the activity seemed to be centred, but in fact it was Julia’s bedroom as the atmosphere in there just did not feel right, or was it that dummy!
I would like to thank our host, John for showing us round this wonderful location and for keeping us topped up with well needed drinks and delicious coffee and walnut cake!
Di Moore
We took the ferry as a group from Southampton to East Cowes, Isle of Wight. Maria drove the car I was in to Dimbola, also in the car was Julie and Amanda. We arrived in front of this large white building and were greeted by the caretaker John. We were early but John said we could go in, then John the Manager arrived and took us for a tour round (lovely house). We did our baseline test on the tour around and in the bedroom straight away I picked up on a female spirit and got a pain in my left temple. There were also cold spots in this room, which gave me the shivers. In the entrance to the Dark Room once again I got shivery which to me was a spirit. Julie, as we were leaving the Dark Room took a reading for no reason at all on the EMF Meter of me and it went off up and down my left side. I asked her to do this by my left temple and it was even stronger. In another part of the house I asked her to use the EMF Meter again on me and nothing!
Vigil 1 - Upstairs.
We went to the Bedroom first. I had the camcorder and we stood in silence then called out at which stage the camcorder stopped. It said low battery, but Maria had charged it before starting. We were aware of a presence’s in the room with cold spots and like a movement of someone walking up and down. I sat on the ottoman at the bottom of the bed and got this cold feeling on my left arm. I asked Maria and Eileen to check the windows for drafts but none. It continued so I said was spirit looking at my watch (silver looking bracelet style). As it slid to my hand, I got the name Elizabeth in my mind. Maria got Francis and Clarence. I invited the spirit to sit next to me and I moved up and she sat there on the left of me. I say she as I felt it was female, which gave me a cold feeling to the left. Frankie also in our group said she could see spirit sitting there, I also got a spirit male pacing up and down near the doorway waiting for his daughter or wife. I wanted to sit in the chair but thought it best not to.
We now moved to Room 1, this was a room with two rooms off. We sat and then called out to spirit. We did not get any noises or tapping but we could sense spirit. I got a man with a large beard, dark red and bushy. Frankie also got a bearded man, but I got the name George. Frankie’s man had not much hair on his head, but I could not see his head and thought that could also mean he had not much hair on his head. Lots of smells came though, smells like cigars, animals and stale water. Now for a break.
Vigil 2 - Ground Floor
Dark Room was the first room we went in. This was the second time that evening I got an uneasy feeling of the Dark Room including cold spots. We settled in and called out. I got touched on the leg by, I only can say a child. Maria came up with Orphan Annie as the girl she sensed was bubbly and happy and had red hair which matched my man with the red beard which I think was her Father. We spent most of or time there as we all got a lot. Next room was like a store/workshop type of room. Some of us sensed nothing. I felt strange and did not like this cold room which was beside a sort of kitchen storeroom. Room 7 - down stairs off Reception. I walked around this room and was drawn to the window were I sensed a wheel chair looking out of the window and yes someone was in it. I moved to the other end of the room and sat down closed my eyes and could see the wheels of the wheel chair each side of me and a female in it. At this point I started to cough and felt like this female had a chest complaint or TB. Maria picked up on this house being a place were people were sent as their family would have been embarrassed. I said a home for unmarried mothers. Break.
Vigil
Vigil 3 - Upstairs.
There's so many room's in this house and you cant remember which one's you've been in so I cant give you room numbers. We ended up Mark, Maria, Gill and myself in the attic. Not a lot for me apart from saying it looked as if someone was bricked up in the wall. Frankie found a photo of a man and girl on the wall in one of the rooms and asked me to look at it. She asked if it was the man I saw and yes it was, the man with the beard, and he had little hair on his head and a large bushy beard (his name... George Watts).
Vigil 4 - Downstairs.
This is the last vigil of the night. We started in the restaurant but apart from a few noises and smell there was nothing for me. We now went into the Reception Area. I was taking notes and we sat round and called out to spirit. A few creeks and noises were heard and I heard a humming noise like a fly or bee (spitfire plane!). After everyone returned to base Julie said she had heard a buzzing noise and I asked what time was it, was it the last vigil (now she had been upstairs and I was down in reception) YES!!! So we both heard this and remember Julie was upstairs and I was down.
Thank you John and the Trust for letting us investigate your beautiful Museum.
Maria Street
I had been over to the island just the week before, so was really looking forward to returning. It was really nice to travel as a group and have a chance to chat to everybody. After arrival at East Cowes, our convoy of three cars made its way Freshwater, which is where Dimbola Lodge is located. First impressions were the size of the place. It was a lot bigger than I expected. It was also weird in that the outside was welcoming but you didn’t feel as if you would be welcome over the thresh hold! It was like something was lurking behind the curtains!
After a tour, kindly conducted by John, we started our vigils. I was with Maureen, Di, Eileen, Gill, Mark, and guest, Frankie. We started in the bedroom, where a headless dummy stood by the window, dressed in period costume. This freaked a few people out! Di and Frankie both felt a presence in this room and it was female. Di felt they were sat next to her on the ottoman and she got the name, Elizabeth. Di also felt there was a male present and I got the name Clarence, which is very unusual and I have no idea where that came from! I also got the name, Francis. Apart from a few temperature fluctuations, not a lot more happened in this room so we moved on to the Olympus plus room in the gallery. Maureen and I sat at the table. After a few minutes, the others made their way to the furthest room in the gallery and Maureen and I were on our own. We called out and heard what sounded like furniture being moved upstairs, but there was nobody up there. I checked with the team downstairs to see if they had moved anything and the answer was ‘no’. A little later, I saw a slight white wispy line move in front of the photo by the door. I called out again and I heard a growl and Maureen saw a red light move along under the same photo. Again, a few temperature fluctuations, but nothing more and soon it was time for break.
Our next vigil was on the ground floor and we started in the dark room. Frankie did not like it in here and felt that a presence was by Eileen, who was stood by the entrance door. We could hear water dripping from the little kitchenette just off the dark room. We investigated this at the end of our time in here and, although there was tiny pool of water in the sink, there seemed to be no water in the tap. We shook it few times but it was bone dry.
We stood for a while and then began calling out. I almost immediately got the impression of a small girl who I likened to Little Orphan Annie, in both looks and personality. She had ringlets and I felt that she was either orphaned or was from single parent family. I didn’t feel that she died here but had come back to when she was happiest. Frankie got the name, Jennifer. I then felt that there would have been somebody here whom time was very important to. ‘Time meant money’ or ‘Time is of the Essence’ would sum them up very neatly. I also got the names of Sarah and Mulholland but I do not know if they were connected.
We moved on into the dining room where Di felt she was in a wheelchair and I felt that this once might have been a convalescence or nursing home for retired military officials and their wives. I picked up on a Colonel Pritchard. I got the name Jessica in here. I also felt there was a nursemaid of some kind here. We sat for a while longer when I had a feeling that this place was once used to hide people away. I just felt that they were sent here because they couldn’t bump into anybody they knew, which they could have done on the mainland. I didn’t feel that they were badly treated and I felt that these were not poor people who were being hidden. Di then suggested that it could have been a home for single mothers to come and have their babies, which was confirmed by John in the break.
For our next vigil we were upstairs again and this time we all went in to the room at the far end of the gallery. I had an overwhelming impression of Robert Browning, but I dismissed it as my imagination, as this was the name of a famous poet. I stayed quiet for a while but the feeling was too strong, so I mentioned it. I also got the name Jacob whilst I was up here. The smell in the room was overpowering, like a very pungent cigar, quite nauseating, so it was with some relief when we split into different rooms. I went with Di, Mark, Eileen and Gill up to the attic. This however was very quiet and we soon went back down for break.
Next, we were back downstairs, so we decided to investigate our team room, the café. This was very quiet, so we went out into the shop and investigated that. I sat on the stairs with Frankie. It was also very quiet here, although I did get the name of Carol Ann, which funnily enough is the name of Eileen’s next door neighbours little girl. Wonder if she looks like Little Orphan Annie?! I also got the name of Tony Blair and wondered whether a Prime Minister or a head of state had ever stayed in the lodge.
As a footnote, as we were wondering about some of the names we picked up on, Frankie told us that her real name was Frances Elizabeth, but her first name was often spelt ‘Francis’. Very interesting.
All in all a very enjoyable evening with another good team. I’d like to thank John very much for his endless patience and good cups of coffee!! Of course, I’d also like to thank him for allowing us to visit this wonderful building in the first place! As a footnote, whoever makes the coffee and walnut cake - Yum!!!
Steve Gilbert
My 2nd trip to Vectis as the Romans used to call it and had we been making the trip over in Victorian times they also had a name for visitors which was less than pleasant - "Grockles". Still I wont hold it against them after all this time.
The object of the exercise was to investigate Dimbola Lodge best known as the former home of Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 -1879) known for her unusual (at the time) photography. I dont admit to having any affection with the portraits she was best known for - however the choice of residence must have been somewhat inspiring and relaxing with the close proximity of the bay. Getting back to the investigation my team having split into a smaller group of myself Jeff and Amanda investigated rooms 1 2 and 3 and it was Amanda who remarked that she could smell cigar smoke, myself and Jeff then did experience a coughing or shortness of breath and although the room did have a stale odour this seemed to me at least to be present all the time. Later on an explanation of stale water odour perhaps connected with the plant in the room seemed to fit. Other than that I personally experience anything remotely paranormal on the 4 vigils. The locked off camcorder recorded nothing un-toward. On the debriefing at the end of the investigation it was clear that strange occurrences may have took place over time during office hours. Conclusion - Dimbola Lodge is not only a fascinating history of one persons love of art it is also something of a shrine to the islands artistic and musical history. Well worth a visit - oh and dont forget to take your camera!
Amanda Horley
This was quite a strange building, as it looked large from the outside yet seemed to be full of quite small rooms. The initial walk round was interesting, as upstairs I very quickly smelt a ladies perfume on one of the landings. Definitely not something any of our group were wearing, and regrettably it did not re-appear during the evening. Room 3 when we went into it smelt very strongly of cigar smoke, but only in one area of the room. Gill and I also noticed the same smell in the doorway of room 1 when we went back into it whilst the baseline tests were being run. The other strange thing I noticed on the walk round was the lack of smells in the dark room. I expected a chemical smell, but there was nothing distinctive there. I came away from the walk round feeling incredibly upbeat and eager to get the evening started. This was unusual for me (not that I don’t look forward to investigations), but I felt that I really wanted to go upstairs, even though our initial vigils were on the ground floor.
Our first vigil started in Room 7, and although there were one or two unexplainable knocks, was quite quiet. We therefore split into two groups of three, and with Steve and Jeff I went into the dark room area, which this time had a distinctive slightly musty odour to it. During our time in room 7 I had felt quite calm and “normal”, but after a short while in the dark room I felt extremely upbeat again, almost expecting something to happen. It didn’t.
For the second vigil we went upstairs and initially sat as a larger group in room 1. This was quiet, so we again split into our two teams and Steve, Jeff and myself went into room 3. I was immediately hit by the smell of cigar smoke and it was much stronger than before, although again seemed to be centred in one area of the room. Jeff picked up on the name William Hamilton and I got the impression of a confident man, stern but kind. We asked him to knock or indicate his presence, but all we got was the cigar smell. However, we discovered that when we asked questions, we got a strong blast of cigars, or the smell disappeared almost completely, so we asked him to use the smell to give us the answers. This worked surprisingly well and Jeff was able to get confirmation that William was a visitor to the house on a regular basis for a number of years. He came from Berkshire, loved boats, and visited on business. He seems to have been there between 1852 and 1868 and met several of the famous people who had been photographed in the house.
We then swapped with the others and moved to room 1. I again felt very upbeat and Jeff picked up on a woman called Elspeth. We both felt that she was a maid in the house, and I pictured her wearing a white mop cap. She said that she wasn’t supposed to go upstairs. She seemed very full of life and I believe that she was the one making me feel upbeat.
Our third vigil saw us back downstairs again, and this time we made contact with a spirit in room 7. I felt that it was a young girl, aged about 8, and both Jeff and I saw her with ringlets. She was full of energy and seemed to want to play. At one time she seemed to be hiding behind a chair, and also kept wanting to run round the table. We also got several knocks this time, but as is often the way with children, we couldn’t get her to answer our questions.
We finished up by going back upstairs, and initially Steve, Jeff and myself went up into the office area. It felt very quiet to me up there. After a time we swapped with the others and went into a room that was set up as a bedroom. Although this was quiet for me, Jeff felt that it used to be a drawing room or waiting room and picked up on Tennyson having been there. As little was happening we moved back towards room 3, and as we passed through room 1 became very aware of the smell of cigars again. However, this time room 3 itself did not smell so strongly, and we were unable to make contact with William.
All in all, it was a great night for me, with quite a mix of quiet times with nothing happening, and seeming to contact three very distinct spirits. Thanks have to go to John who kept us supplied with plenty of coffee and cake throughout the night, and had such an enthusiasm for the building. Hopefully we will have been able to answer some of the questions he had. Definitely a place I would love to visit again.
Jeff Aldridge
This was my first investigation with the group and my re-entry into the world of paranormal and spirit phenomena. I was soon made to feel welcome and settled down to an interesting evening with Team 1.
Vigil 1
Our first room was on the ground floor close to the main entrance to the property, at first I felt very little or nothing in this room. It was decided that the team should split into two groups, so Amanda, Steve and I went to the dark room, again very little was noticed by anyone in this location so we returned to the first room, immediately after sitting down and getting comfortable I noticed some small, very bright lights dancing around Steve at about waist height.
Vigil 2
This was upstairs and our group (Amanda, Steve and I) then moved on to a suite of three rooms in a row and settled in the last room which we called room number three. In here both Steve and I had difficulty breathing at first and the presence of a man was very strong, I sensed the name of William Hamilton, this room was filled with the smell of cigar smoke and stale tobacco. Amanda called out for us and as she was asking questions I picked up the names of Disraeli and Prince Albert as if they were acquaintances of William.
Vigil 3
This was downstairs and we went to a small room on the ground floor after a short while it became noticeable that there was someone else in the room with us. The name of Elsbeth was picked up and that she was a kitchen maid was also felt, she came over as being a very bubbly type personality and I think she would have been a bit of a practical joker. We then again joined the rest of team 1 in the first room. Several clicks and taps were heard and it was apparent that a young girl of about 8 or 9 was present two names were picked up for her Amelia and Emily, in my mind’s eye I could picture her as just like the screen actress Shirley Temple with ringlets in her hair and dancing around the room.
Vigil 4
Onward now to the office area where again both Steve and I both experienced a short spell of breathlessness. I picked a Scottish connection and a fisherman, the name of Harold also came to mind, but nothing further was experienced.
We then went to the room decorated and furnished as Julia Cameron’s bedroom, after a short while I became uncomfortable with this room being a bedroom as it did not feel right. In my mind’s eye I pictured it as an informal reception area in which visitors would share a drink and a smoke and stand around chatting, the names of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Lord Byron came to mind.
Sadly time had beaten us and it was time to pack up and leave, for me it was a great re-introduction to this kind of work and was made special by the whole group and the superb hospitality of our host John for whom nothing was too much trouble. Thank you John I hope to return again in the future.
Maureen Taylor
We arrived at the house about half an hour earlier than had been arranged which gave us time to soak up the atmosphere and settle in ready for the night’s work.
Vigil 1 - Upper floors
Our first session was in the bedroom, a bit of a squeeze for seven of us, but we all found a spot to settle down in. At first nothing seemed to be happening, but after a while those of us standing nearest the entrance to the room could sense some sort of presence. It wasn’t very strong, something residual rather than actual spirit presence, but whatever or whoever it was appeared to be moving to and fro between the door and the window.
Several of the group came up with some names, among them, Clarence, Francis and Elizabeth; however, one of the group was actually a Frances Elizabeth, so it may have been her names that they were coming up with - but none of them had met her until that night so they certainly wouldn’t have known her second name, and most probably wouldn’t have realised that she was actually a Frances as everyone calls her Frankie.
Two of the group, Frankie and Maria were uneasy about the dress that was on display in the room, standing there, headless, like an extra member of the group!
We moved on to other rooms, splitting into smaller groups. There are three rooms running one from another, and Maria and I stayed in the first one while the rest of the group moved to the room at the far end. We sat at the table by the window, chatting quietly while at the same time listening out and keeping our eyes and everything else open for any activity in the area. At one point I got up and walked towards the wall opposite the window where several of the group had, on entering the room, wanted to sit for a few minutes before moving on. As I got closer to that wall I started to feel quite dizzy and disorientated, and felt as if I was going to fall over, however, the sensation only lasted a moment or two and then subsided.
Vigil 2 - ground floor.
We first headed for the darkroom area, several of the group were very uneasy walking into it, but I suspect that for some it was simply that the entrance was through a narrow and black painted, though very short, length of corridor. Once in there several of the group were still uneasy, and Frankie came up with the name Jennifer, and also said that she felt that there were others around, but all residual energies again rather than any spirit presence.
In all the other areas that we decided to spend some time in were felt to be devoid of any activity, at least at the time that we were in them.
Vigils 3 and 4 were a second visit to each floor, but we sensed no activity anywhere at all.
Gill O'Farrell
Dimbola Lodge is certainly an impressive looking building as we approached it in the gloom of a late summer evening. We had an orientation walk round by John, our host. I found the building a bit if a maze with lots of staircases and doorways. The photograph display of Victorian pictures was incredibly powerful and atmospheric.
Vigil One
Our group started in the reconstruction of Julia Cameron’s bedroom. Despite concerted efforts and lots of calling out we got nothing in this room. In fact, given the age and type of the building one might expect some creaky floorboards, etc, but very little sound was forthcoming from any source. We moved onto the Ferrari room. In this area several of us felt a sense of foreboding contrasted with a desire to sit safely in the right hand corner of the room. It was the only part of this room that felt comfortable.
We then moved onto the room containing the Nelly Mandy exhibition (Bedroom 1). I felt an incredibly strong presence in this room very specifically located in the bottom right-hand corner of the room near the pot plants. At several places within this room there was a distinct and unusual smell. It was hard to identify; some of us thought it was tobacco or meat but to me it smelt more "chemically "or musty than that. They only thing I could equate it to was like a smell of rotting flesh as if a body had been left too long! Interestingly, this smell seemed to appear in different areas of the house although mainly in this room. It seemed to come and go as we investigated. The longer I stayed in this room I felt a constriction around my throat as if someone had been hung in the room. I felt it was a male energy and got a name of Lawrence. When I stood in the corner where the presence was, I felt a clear electric tingling energy. There was a definite sense that someone was watching from the corner of that room. The person’s energy felt as if there had been a lot to get on with and that there was still so much to do.
Vigil Two
We then worked downstairs and spent some time in the dark room and older part of the lodge. There was a definite sense that this was not the purpose of this room and it felt somehow wrong. I had a great reluctance to walk across this room and wanted to stay by the edges. I definitely heard the sound of water dripping on metal clearly. Later we found a pool of water in the metal sink but could not account for the noise. Other than this I experienced nothing here. For the rest of the vigil downstairs I was videoing which dominated my concentration.
Vigil Three
We again worked upstairs and ended up again in the Nelly Many exhibition were I had felt the presence of a hung man. In this room we again smelt that peculiar smell and I experienced the throat constriction. It felt as if the death had been to some part accidental and they had not meant for it to go that far. I sensed a name of Victor who wanted to apologise to his son James.
Vigil Four
For our last vigil we worked in the restaurant area and the hall. We experienced very little in this area.
Mark Boulton
This was now my third investigation. The walk round started at 21:35. I was surprised with the size of the place, the number of rooms and its’ maze-like layout. I had a digital air thermometer to record the ambient temperatures of the rooms; all temperatures were in the range of 22.5 – 23.6 oC. The warmest temperature was recorded upstairs with the coolest downstairs, in the older section of the building. The outside temperature was 21 oC with a slight breeze. The walk through finished at 22:10. The only noted points were that most of the rooms had fire places, there was a night storage heater (on) by the bedroom and a peculiar smell (hard to define) through rooms 1 and 2. There were many creaking floorboards and cars passing down the adjacent lane caused light flashes from their headlights. Later in the investigation I was given a K-II emf detector. This I used throughout vigils 2 and 3 at no time did it register anything over 1.5mG (lowest value LED).We were as normal divided into two groups; our group consisted of Maria (team leader), Di, Maureen, Gill, Eileen and Frankie.
Our fist vigil was upstairs and stared at about 22:50 in the bedroom (air temp 22.3). There was some calling out, but with little/no response. It was reported that certain areas felt quite cold especially on the lower legs. The fire place in this room was clear, and seemed to have an unrestricted chimney; there was a discernable up draft in the fire place. I believe that Di felt the presence of a man pacing up and down at the bottom of the bed, maybe waiting for someone (girl or woman), the name of Clarence was mentioned. After about 30 min’s we moved to the room displaying the Isle of Wight music festivals (air temp 21.5). This was very quiet so we soon moved on to the Ferrari exhibition room (air temp 21.3). Again this too was very quiet so at about 23:35 we moved to the ‘joined’ rooms 1 and 2 (air temp 21.8). There was a general feeling of unease or foreboding in this area especially in the annex (Nelly Mandy) room. The smell mentioned previously was still in the air. We ended the first vigil at about midnight.
Team 2’s second vigil was downstairs. This started at 00:35 in the dark room (air temp 20.1). I experienced nothing in the room. The name of Sarah Mulholland was mentioned and Maria was getting the impression of an ‘orphan Annie’ type character. There were various other names mentioned; Jennifer, Milsom and also a thought that something to do with time or timing was an issue. A sound like a tap dripping was heard by several of the group, on investigation there were signs of water in the sink but no dripping tap. Next we moved to a shelved store room (air temp 19.5). Nothing occurred in this room. The last part of the vigil took place in the conference room (with the central long table). The impressions of a Hospice, Retirement home or Sanitarium were mentioned. Di (I believe) had the feeling of a person in a wheelchair and a nurse maid. She also had the impression of an Eagle and a Dove as symbols.
Vigil 3 was again up stairs, the rooms covered were the same as vigil 1, with the inclusion of the Attic. No further impressions were gained.
The last vigil was again downstairs, though this time it was in the restaurant and reception areas. No other impressions were gained.
Overall, as I mentioned, the place was quite impressive, but there did not appear to be any hauntings experienced. There were no abnormal temperatures or emf readings recorded. Even with all the creaking floorboards the place was surprisingly quiet throughout the investigation.