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Southern Paranormal - Investigations

The Gorge Café & Echo Offices, Blandford

Saturday 2nd December 2006

Attending Investigators - Julie Harwood, Wayne Blyth, Alison Blyth, Pauline Bailey Wright, Liz Evans, David Bailey Wright, Ian Pratchett, Maria Street, Di Moore, Rab Gardner, Cath O'Donnell

Guests - Paula & Tony

Click here to for EVP audio files from this investigation

Introduction

Its always a treat to return to locations we have investigated before as it gives the group a chance to re evaluate previous findings and hopefully learn more. This time it was a double investigation as we have never investigated the Gorge Café but have previously investigated the Echo offices, so I know the team were looking forward to it. Many thanks to Pauline, David, Liz & Paula for arranging us to investigate the Echo offices again and also Tony the manager of The Gorge café for letting us investigate his place of work.

Previous Sightings / Experiences at The Daily Echo Offices

From the 1960's there have been strange reports of moving furniture on the first floor of the 300-year old building which is located on Sheepmarket Hill. Tables and chairs shift position overnight and on one occasion the office safe, small but far too heavy for one person to lift was found moved several feet into the middle of the floor. The only way it could have been moved was by dragging it, yet the vinyl flooring underneath was undisturbed. More recently sweets have disappeared from the office only to turn up in a completely different place 24 hours later. Printers and hand dryers start up of their own accord a black cat has been seen by staff sat just outside the ladies toilet door. When staff go to approach it or step over it, it disappears.

The staff have started leaving controlled experiments over night, only to find the next morning the experiments have been moved. They often leave a game of Jenga and also several coins (drawn round) as trigger objects. More often than not, the next morning the game has been disturbed and the coins are well out of the circles they started in. A man has also been seen sitting at a desk in one of the offices and a photo frame was found one morning completely dissembled with all its screws removed.

The strangest thing is the phone calls that members of the office staff receive when they are at home and often late at night or very early in the morning. Phone calls from the office number when they know it is empty!

However disturbing all this sounds the staff are adamant that nothing there is malicious as it is a happy office.

Previous Sightings / Experiences at The Gorge Café (and in the grounds)

A lady in black has been seen in and around the café and its grounds and children have also been seen and heard. This café has been investigated before and their report is as follows -

"THE ghost of a woman in black is haunting a Blandford 
café, it has been claimed.

****** investigators stopped off at the Gorge Café for
a cuppa and say they spotted the ghost of a woman in a
Victorian-style black dress and black hat at the back
of the shop.

And that sighting has been substantiated by the
manager, who claims a woman who cleaned the café 20
years ago regularly saw a ghost of the same
description.

One of the group sensed a definite cool
atmosphere there, as if someone was walking around,
and then the lady was actually seen.
She was wearing all black as if she was in mourning
and is aged between her late 30s and 50s.

I think she was there long before it was the Gorge
Café.

*** added: "She feels she still lives there and I
sensed she was waiting for someone. She could be a
widow.

"It is quite rare to have a sighting as clear as that.
Some people sense a ghost by sound or smell. She went
to the back of the café, then just disappeared."

Tony Harrison, manager of the Gorge, said: "The
cleaning lady 20 years ago claimed to have seen the
ghost of a lady in black a few times. We thought she'd
had too much port!

"But I've never seen anything - there have been no
paintings moving or rattling of trays. But I do
believe something is there. I should think she is a
friendly ghost."

The Gorge Café used to be a greengrocery and the area
of the reported ghost sightings used to be sheds and
storage area.

Itinerary

Team Equipment

At least one digital camera
1 x Night Vision Camcorder
1 x EMF Meter
1 x Non Contact thermometer
Clipboard, note sheets, pen
Teams also had access if they required it to - glass for divination, automatic writing planchette, dictaphone.

Experiments set up in Echo office while team were at the Gorge Café

EVP Experiment

Set by - Wayne & Julie
Time set - 8.50pm - 9.10pm
Recording time - 20 minutes
Controlled - Wayne & Julie set EVP equipment recording and left the building empty for the test (locking it so no one could enter)
Results - 2 spikes on graph / recording = The noise of bottle / glasses being clinked together

Locked off Trigger Object

Set by Julie & Wayne
Location - Middle floor
Time set - 8.50pm
Times closed - 9.10pm
Other equipment - Trigger object of a glass was left by the EVP recording devices

Locked off Trigger Object experiment

Set by - Julie
Location - On filing cabinet on ground floor
Time set - 8pm
Time closed - 9pm
Other equipment - trigger objects covered by motion sensors, dictaphone and Camcorder
Results - No movement recorded

Locked off Dictaphone

Set by Julie
Location - Top floor
Time set - 8.30pm
Time closed - 9.15pm
Results - Nothing out of the ordinary recorded

Vigil / Team notes for Gorge Café Investigation

Team 1

Outside

Church bells ringing initially made it difficult for the team to concentrate
Alison senses a male presence who had hidden something and was scared of being found out
Alison also senses a woman & children - see her personal report
8.40pm Cathie has orbs on pictures of the garden
9.30am Inside - Cathie uses dowsing rods. Liz and Alison also try dowsing
10.00pm Alison & Cathie go into Ladies toilet
9.50pm Glass divination experiment tried with team 2
Pauline asks whether a small girl is with us and if so could she move the glass - no response
Asks if male is with us - no response
Asks if a Mrs Sims is with us and Rab feels the glass move slightly towards Maria
Alison picks up the name Samantha - no reaction from the glass
Team ask if Elizabeth Bethany was with them - no reaction
Ask again if a man is with them - slight movement
Team hears slight knocks and bangs from above them despite there being no rooms above them

Team 2

Inside

Café walls 18.5 all around
Bells ringing from church across the road and lots of road noise and flashes from headlights
8.17pm Temp drop to 17.5 along right hand side of café
8.18pm temp of 16.5 reported by Liz in booth on same side
8.20pm Pauline reports a further drop in temp to 15.5 further along
8.21pm Cold spot in ladies toilet (averaging 12.5) but understandably the toilet with the window is colder than the toilet without a window
8.25pm Rab feels something touch the top of his head
8.26pm Di & Rab feel a draught/cold spot
8.27pm Cold spot in booth where Pauline is now sat
8.30pm Movement seen on camcorder by where Paula is sat
Back of Café - Glass experiment conducted with other team (see above notes)
Pauline feels there is power in the glass
Team hear knocks from cupboard Grill at rear of café
Team 2 go outside and Rab spots an orb with his naked eye on the steps at the bottom of the garden however considers the possibility it may had been a leaf blowing in the wind

TEAM RELOCATE BACK TO THE ECHO OFFICES

Baseline Tests of the Echo Offices - completed by Wayne Blyth 9.30pm 2/12/06 while building was empty.

Top Floor - Temp 18.5, No notable EMF reading apart from near radiator & light switch as expected. Floor dips in middle and boards are very creaky.
Stairs down to middle floor - Temp 20, No notable EMF reading, steep area
Middle Floor - Temp 20, No notable EMF reading
Kitchen - Temp 23, No notable EMF reading apart from near electrical appliances as expected
Ladies Toilet - Temp 17, No notable EMF reading, no windows
Male Toilet - Temp 18, No notable EMF reading, no windows
Stairs to Ground Floor - Temp 19, No notable EMF reading, door at bottom of the stairs
Ground Floor - Temp 19.5, EMF readings impossible to take in this room/office due to presence of computers, cash tills, photocopier etc. Noise apparent from the street. Door to alleyway, plus entrance to cellar - team to be aware both could cause draughts.
Alley Way - Temp 13, No notable EMF reading. Door to outside (onto street) and door to fish and chip shop next door (Rattles as is loose in frame) Noise outside from Taxi rank apparent.

Vigil / Team Notes

Team 1 - Alison, Cathie & Paula

Ground floor

11.15pm Cathie felt suddenly dizzy
11.40pm 4 degree temp drop in the corner where the entrance to the cellar is
12.00am Team smell a wafting smell described as damp and musty
12.05am Dowsing rods began to move when team called for William but when asked to communicate further - nothing
12.10am Team chatting and rods begin to move again and the same musty smell is picked up on

First Floor

12.30am Team can smell pipe or tobacco smoke but no one has been smoking in the building
12.36am Alison and Paula smell ladies perfume. When they describe it it seems to be the same perfume that Cathie smelt when she arrived at 7.30pm.
12.55am Paula experiences sudden pressure on her head - like someone prodding her
1.10am Upon re entering the room all the team smell the perfume again
1.12am Cathie gets an allergy rash on her lip - like when she has been near cats and dogs (no animals in the building)

Top Floor

Nothing abnormal experienced

Team 2 - Julie, Maria, Liz & Rab

Middle Floor

Temp of room 20 but feels a lot warmer
EMF spikes in corner by ladies toilet
Julie feels sick sat in chair opposite kitchen door, EMF spikes around Julie
Rab is sat with his back against the kitchen door and his back feels cold
Julie moves away from the seat opposite the kitchen and feels fine
Liz feels very sick
Liz moves away from where she is stood and EMF spikes where she was stood
Liz calls out asking if there is a man in the area with us - Julie feels cold breeze across her face and arm. Maria immediately brings EMF over to Julie and the meter spikes a high reading 3 times
Julie thinks she sees flash of light in corner by loo but thinks it may be the flash from a camera down stairs
Liz and Maria feel a cold spot at the bottom of the stairs to the top floor
All team hear the sound of something glass or metallic dropping on the floor above us
Team hear click from the corner of the room and at the same time Rab gets the name Michael
All team hear click from the same corner again
Minutes after all team hear click from corner by the ladies toilet
Maria sits on the top of the stairs after the EMF meter spikes a reading there - after a couple of minutes her whole left hand side is cold
Liz senses a man called Edward who has white long hair, a white beard, tall, slim
Maria has a prickling sensation on her right hand side, when we run the ENF meter over Maria's arm it spikes
Julie thinks of the name Smith
Red spot seen on office floor though no one is using a temp gun
Maria and Liz after calling out various names sense Wilfred is right and when calling out for Mr Wilfred Smith the EMF meter on the floor by Maria spikes

Top Flr

Team attempt glass divination
Full charged camcorder battery dies within minutes of starting
Julie & Maria can see a shadow on the wall between Liz and Rab. It stays still, is not a mark on the wall but does not move when walked in front of like a shadow should ??
Taps heard coming from behind Rab - however that is where the radiator is (cooling down?)
Glass moving - makes little sense and nothing noteworthy to record for this location.
Team attempt table tipping and the table shifts from Julie towards Liz (opposite)

Ground Floor

Rab feels a tap/touch on his head
Team get hysterical giggles for no apparent reason
Julie attempts automatic handwriting - no results
Room feels fine to all team
After about half an hour team notice a temp drop from 25 to 17 and all can feel the cold, unfortunately this was right at the end of our vigil and so we could not monitor it any further.

Team 3 - Wayne, Pauline, Di & Ian

Top Floor

11pm Average temp of area 18
11.15 - 11.30pm Glass divination experiment tried slight movement of glass towards Di though the glass was only moving mm at a time
11.35pm Temp in area normal, 19.5
11.20pm Wayne feels a bump on his chair, like someone has kicked it
12.05am Table shakes (vibrates) for no apparent reason
12.06am Di's chair moves slightly

Ground Floor

12.40am Team notices 2.5-degree temp drop near cupboard
12.45am Temp rises back to normal near cupboard
12.50am Alleyway - Knocks and bangs heard by all members
1.05am Thud heard by all team, like someone stamping their foot

Middle Floor

2.05am Another EVP recording attempted
2.30am Team hear what they describe as a cat meowing during a fight. Sounds like it came from the top floor
2.40am Di suddenly feels very hot and starts sweating

Personal Reports

Julie Harwood

We arrived in Blandford a little earlier than we would normally arrive at a location as this was going to be a slightly different night than usual. The plan was the team was going to investigate the Gorge Café first, while Wayne and myself stayed at the Echo offices to conduct some controlled experiments such as EVP and trigger objects. I know myself and Wayne were looking forward to this and when the team left for the Gorge, Pauline kindly gave us the keys so we could lock ourselves in ensuring no one could enter the building, therefore creating a completely controlled environment. Unfortunately none of our trigger objects moved however the night became almost immediately worthwhile for myself and Wayne when we captured an EVP of glasses chinking. We had gone out for fresh air at this time and locked the door behind us so we knew no one was in the building. We left the EVP software and the laptop running/recording and when we returned we noticed the chart had spiked signally we had caught a sound of some sort. It was definitely glass on glass. Eager to analyse this we tried to recreate the sound knocking different things like mugs and glasses together in different parts of the building and recording them. The only noise we managed to get close to that which we had captured was by knocking two glasses together in the kitchen however we had to search for glasses and so we could not understand what had made the clinking noise. Wayne and I only told Pauline about what we had captured and were interested to see if any team picked up on a similar noise during the evening.

When the group returned we re joined the teams and started out on the vigils in the offices. I was with Maria, Liz and Rab and our first vigil was on the middle floor. We felt a distinct cold spot by the door to the ladies loo however this did not appear to be like a draught as it was above the floor and static. Interestingly enough when we passed the EMF meter over it, it peaked very high but then after a few minutes it was gone. I was sat opposite the kitchen door and I felt very very sick. Liz reminded me that last time I was here I felt the same in the same place. It seems such a long time ago and I certainly did not remember but on checking my previous report she was absolutely right. I moved and after a while the feeling subsided but then within minutes Liz started to feel sick. Rab did feel coldness down his back and he and Maria when they stood in one spot with their back to the stereo, both felt as if someone was walking behind them. I sat by the desk and suddenly felt really odd and noticed a really cold breeze. When the EMF meter was passed over the area it again spiked high. To check the meter we ran it by some electrics/laptop/sockets etc and even those did not make it spike quite as high as our cold spot appeared to make it. On this vigil Liz also came up with the name Edward and described a man with long white hair and a white beard and moustache.

Our next vigil was on the top floor where we tried glass divination. The glass moved and seemed to keep coming to me and going to IF. We could not work out what it meant until Maria guessed it might have something to do with the school investigation we had done the week before. We communicated with the glass for quite a while but very few questions were answered. The most interesting thing was the shadow on the wall that myself and Maria could see (behind Liz) though I am not sure Rab or Liz could see it. It never moved the whole time and I even went and stood where it was to try and show them. No movement in the room of any kind was changing the shape of it and obviously on camera it was not showing up! Very strange.

Our last vigil was on the ground floor. This was very weird, as we just could not stop laughing. The more we tried to stop the funnier it became. I really apologise to the other teams if we disturbed them, we were trying so hard to stop giggling. Apart from that we did not experience anything major on this floor. We tried automatic writing but nothing was achieved and when we had eventually calmed down we tried to stay very still and see if we could smell or sense anything. The room got dramatically colder within a couple of minutes (from 25 to 17 I believe) but apart from that all was quiet (apart from the couple rowing on the street outside).

A very enjoyable investigation for me and proof that for a investigation to be interesting does not mean it has to have huge amounts of activity. Thank you to Pauline, David, Liz and Paula for arranging another visit for us. We hope to see you on other investigations with the Dorset & Hampshire team.

Wayne Blyth

My second visit to Blandford was one I was quite looking forward to. Our previous investigation had been quite eventful. This, however, was to be somewhat disappointing.

While the rest of the groups were over in the Gorge Cafe, Julie and myself stayed in the offices to set up lock off and trigger objects etc. We had done our chores and decided to run a quick EVP experiment. I set the laptop to record and we went downstairs and outside for a bit of fresh air. Interestingly, after about ten minutes, we came back upstairs and on checking the laptop, we discovered a couple of spikes in the graph. When we listened back, there is what sound like bottles chinking. We tried to recreate the sounds, and the only way was to knock some glasses together in the kitchen. I will swear to the fact that the building was locked up and no one at all was in the building, so what made the noises? On a few occasions, while venturing around the building, sorting out the equipment, we both heard the occasional knocks and bangs.

Unfortunately these were to be the only things of note to happen for the rest of my time here. I think you have to take the good as well as the disappointing. This investigation is no less valid for it. Next time who knows, we may get the whole full manifestation on camera. Fingers crossed. Thanks to all for your hospitality.

Rab Gardner

The Gorge Café

Vigil 1

Inside Cafe: A difficult area to investigate, its proximity to the main street resulted in a lot of noise and light interference. As we settled down Pauline felt we should go into the Ladies toilet. Maria and I went in and noticed a draft possibly from a window. The toilet with the window was warm with no draft. But, the toilet with no window was colder and the draft was a cold spot moving around. After a while the cold spot would move from the toilets and into the café then back again. No further anomalies were detected.

Vigil 2

Garden & River Bank: Luckily it wasn't raining and we proceeded to the river bank. The high winds made it difficult to settle in and many small leaves were blowing about giving the impression of orbs. Overall impression of the area was that of loneliness, but otherwise, no EMF spikes or light anomalies.

The Echo Office

Vigil 1

2nd Floor: Early on, we were able to detect a draught coming from the Ladies toilet. This is a windowless room with a closed cistern, so it was difficult to tie down the draught. Maria was picking up EMF spikes and they were particularly strong when Julie sat near the toilet door. As we settled down the 'draught' could be felt moving around the room and EMF spikes confirmed its presence. At one point Julie was affected by a sickly feeling and we got a spike where she sat.

Vigil 2

Top Floor: Initially nothing was detected. Julie & Liz called out and we heard knocks and clicks in response. No 'spikes' or light anomalies were picked up so we attempted glass divination. On calling out, the glass moved very slowly, but soon began to speed up. It started spelling out letters that made no real sense apart from Julie's name. On asking if it knew her, it responded yes. At that point Julie felt something wasn't right and it quickly dawned on us that it was Edward from the previous week. Maria then recognised that he was spelling the letters of the classroom that we were speaking to him in. What Edward failed to realise was that Julie was ready to read the riot act. Fair play to Julie, he got it and Edwards only response was to swear at us and eventually went in the 'huff'. Shortly after we closed it down.

Vigil 3

Ground Floor: This is the main office with lots of electrical equipment - EMF readings were unreliable. As I stood by the printer, I felt something touch my forehead - more likely to be a spider web. Soon we discovered a weak cold spot moving around the room but it didn't linger for long. At this point I have to apologise to my fellow Investigators. Sat in silence all I could think about was the previous vigil and why would Edward follow us here? So I broke a cardinal rule during a vigil and started talking about anything other than investigating. To my team of chocolatiers, I'm sorry but we needed a laugh. Brian, I'm sorry too' cause I didn't realise we were being filmed. I was in such a dark mood that I needed to get out of it.

Alison Blyth

We arrived at the location at about 7.30pm on a damp Saturday night.

The investigation was split between two locations, the first being the Gorge Café.

My first vigil was outside the café in the grounds leading up to the river. The evening was perfect as the moon was almost full and when the clouds covered it we would plunge into darkness. It gave the location an air of mystery. I stood at the wall which is where the garden ended and the river began. I felt edgy here as if something had been hidden and I was frightened it would be uncovered. I Distinctly felt like someone or something had been hidden in the undergrowth and when the river swelled with rain it had come unstuck. I felt a man had done this but couldn't distinguish whether the connection was poaching or that he had committed an awful deed. All I know is that I felt his apprehension and felt that he had done something he was ashamed of.

We walked on up the garden and for some reason I was given the image of a woman. Now I am not good with period dress but I know she was wearing a bonnet which tied up under the chin and her dress had a bustle and petticoats. She kept herself to herself and seemed totally oblivious to me being there. I could also smell herbs and was given the picture of a square herb garden. It was neatly edged with box, and cordoned off into four departments all neatly tended. She gave me the smell of lavender and a visual of rubbing the plant between her fingertips to extract the scent. I also saw loads of apple and pear trees with children laughing and playing amongst them. I was given the summer period of warmth and the children were happy and smiling.

We moved on to the alleyway between the café. I didn't really pick upon anything here and most concentration was lost due to the onset of rain.

Our next vigil was inside the café, but unfortunately I felt totally comfortable here. As it was raining outside the second group joined us and we conducted glass divination. The glass didn't move but a few taps were heard but I cannot rule out the conditions outside.

We moved on to the Echo office. Our first vigil was the ground floor. We all felt cold but I feel this was due to a draught coming through the door. Both Cath and I smelt what could only be described as a mixture of urine and musty clothes from the cellar area, but we couldn't rule out the fact that it could have been caused by the damp conditions and the age of the building. We sat quietly and called out but unfortunately received no response. Our second vigil was on the first floor. We were greeted by the smell of gardenia. We all searched for a plug in air freshener but couldn't find one. It was strange as it went as soon as it came and seemed to come to us on command, but we didn't get to the route of it unfortunately. Nothing else was experienced here. Our last vigil was in the attic area. We sat quietly and decided to use our senses rather than rely on the glass or any other aid. I was interested in being able to use our own abilities to see if we could feel, smell or sense anything. Unfortunately we had no experiences in this area.

Thanks again for inviting the group to this location.

Maria Street

This was a very quiet investigation for me, although I was expecting exciting things after first sight of the buildings. Blandford is a very pretty place and is somewhere I’d like to return to, but in daylight. The shopping looks good here!

I was with Di, Rab, Pauline, Ian and guest, Paula for our first investigation at the Gorge, where only a few cold spots were detected. We then all moved over to the Daily Echo building where we swapped teams and I was with Julie, Rab and Liz. The first vigil was on the 1st floor and a few cold spots were felt and both Julie and Liz felt sick in certain places. The EMF meter also spiked when a cold spot was felt. Liz also picked up on the name Edward which was to be more significant than we could ever have imagined. After a break, we then moved up to the 2nd floor for our next vigil where both Julie and I could see a long slim black shadow against the wall, but nothing obvious was causing it. The camera stopped within the first ten minutes, it’s battery completely drained, which was unfortunate. After a few clicks were heard coming from the corner of the room, it was decided that we would conduct a Ouija glass experiment. The glass immediately started flying around the board settling on JU and JI which made no sense to us. After a bit more questioning the cold realisation dawned on us that this was Edward who we had encountered at our Junior School investigation last week. He spelled out JULIE and kept going back to JI. It was then that I realised that this was the initials of the classroom that we were in where he last appeared. After a few obscenities (from him, not us) we decided to close it down and finish this particular vigil.

Our last vigil on the ground floor was a lot quieter with just a few cold spots reported. I’d like to thank Tony, the owner of the Gorge, and Pauline from the Echo for the refreshments and the use of the buildings for the night. Thank you also to my team mates for their patience with me whilst I am still learning. I couldn’t hope to work with anybody better.

Di Moore

7.30pm – We all met outside the Echo Office. I had never been to Blandford before so was excited about the fact I was there. Went across the road to the Gorge Café to meet the owner Tony. This was a nice warm place but there was a lot of traffic passing.

Vigil 1 at the café. I was in team 2. We walked around then settled down. I did find a cold spot in the ladies toilet. I had the camcorder so I filmed the group doing a séance. I felt fine and nothing happened to me.

We had a break and at 9.15pm we started vigil 2 in the alleyway and at the bottom of the garden by the river bank. There was a lovely moon in the sky. Once again I had the camcorder and I unfortunately felt nothing out of the ordinary. At this stage it started to rain heavily so we went back inside the café and joined team 1. The camcorder battery went at this point so I used Maria’s which had been charging. I filmed the group doing another séance and I did not see or feel anything.

We then went back to the Echo office and as this was a small building on 3 floors we split into 3 smaller teams. I was in team 3.

Vigil 1 – Top floor. All sat around table and asked any spirits to come forward. Heard creaks but on investigation found the noises to be coming from the floor. We had little response until the end of the vigil when we gave up and then noticed the table shaking. We got up and walked round the table and found it did shake but at the time it started shaking we were all sat still!

Vigil 2 – Ground Floor. Two sides of this area were onto the street and so it was very noisy. The team picked up nothing out of the ordinary in this area.

Vigil 3 – Middle Floor. All sat around table and asked spirits to come forward but we experienced nothing. I closed my eyes and asked spirits to give me a vision (as I have done this before) but I still got nothing.

We then packed up, tidied up and departed. Very windy drive home. I was disappointed but expect the spirits were elsewhere. Still can’t wait til next investigation!