Southern Paranormal - Investigations

The Junior School (Southampton) Investigation

Saturday 25th November 2006

Attending Investigators – Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Di Moore, Brian Ward, Ed Ashton, Rab Gardner, Amanda Horley, Emma Curtis, Ken Taylor, Val Butler, Louise Williams, Wayne Blyth, Alison Blyth, Paul Martin, Charlotte Munro, Marc Munro, Jan Coles, Adam Hackett, David Ireland

Guest Medium – Paul Wayman

Guests of SP UK – Sue Ward, Chris Green, Hannah Martin, Alison Wilson

Members of staff – Dan, Rachel, Gloria, June, Cath & Denise

Introduction

When we were invited to this school (which will remain nameless in this report to provide the school anonymity) I was intrigued to hear of some of the stories of sightings. However when trying to research it our historical researcher could find little on it other than the year it was built. This was unfortunate in the fact that I could get no information to back any experiences up but fortunate in the fact that this place was pretty much un researchable. We had plenty of sensitives attending the investigation and while I trust them not to research before hand, this made sure all the sceptics out there knew there was no way they could.

We would like to thank the Head teacher for allowing us (and trusting us) to conduct a sensitive investigation of his school.

History

This was a particularly hard place for our historical researcher to research. He knew the date it was built (1899) and from studying pictures of it could tell it was a typical turn of the century school building and would have been used as a school from the onset, however much digging could not find any other information. In a way this was a good thing as, although we trust the team not to research, on this occasion there was no way they could! The snippets of info we did have came from the school staff themselves and this was kept closely guarded and only known by Julie, Wayne & Maria.

Reported Sightings/Experiences

Alice – a little girl has been picked up, seen and heard in the school. Little is known about Alice apart from that she is very young and legend has it she died at the school but no one is sure when.
A former caretaker - has also made his presence known, especially in there area that his office used to be. He died of Lung Cancer in 2004. His name has been withheld to protect his families privacy.
Foot steps have been heard on stairs in one of the buildings.
A little girl singing has also been reported (some believe to be Alice).
Doors in a certain area fly open of their own accord.
It was also hoped that a former head master of the school who dies in 1998 would also be picked up on.
The art cupboard in one of the blocks is apparently haunted by a little girl so much so that some of the cleaners refuse to go in to that area.
Humming and laughter have been heard in one block.
Fleeting figures/flashes have been seen in the library
Pencils have been reported to fly off a desk in front of 2 witnesses.

Vigil Area’s

East Block, Lower floors
Library
Year 3 hall and 5 classrooms (all lead off from the hall)
Year 6 hall and 7 classrooms (all lead off from the hall)
East Block, Upper floors
Bell Tower and music rooms
The Snug / art cupboard
South Block, Lower floors
Corridor
Main hall and 5 classrooms (all leading off from the hall)
South Block, Upper floors
Caretakers room / The Snug.
All classrooms were accessible if anybody should feel drawn to them.
Team Room – Staff Room
Technical Hub – ICT Suite (off of Library)

Vigil Teams

Group 1

Val – Team Leader
Jan
Charlotte
Hannah – Guest of SP UK
Gloria – Member of staff
June – Member of staff

Group 2

Alison B – Team Leader
Di
Ed
Marc
Sue – Guest of SP UK
Dan – Member of staff
Rachel – Member of staff

Group 3

Brian – Team Leader
Rab
Maria
Emma – New Member (1st Investigation)
Paul M
Adam
Paul W – Guest Medium

Group 4

Amanda – Team Leader
Ken
Louise
David
Alison – Guest of SP UK
Chris – Guest of SP UK
Cath – Member of staff
Denise – Member of staff

Hub -

Julie
Wayne
Itinerary

8pm	Team arrive and meet in Playground
8.30pm	Tour of the school highlighting vigil areas
9.00pm	Preparation Break
10.00pm	Vigil 1 Team 1 – East Block Upper Floor Team 2 – East Block Lower Floor Team 3 – South Block Upper Floor Team 4 – South Block Lower Floor
11.00pm	Break
11.30pm	Vigil 2 Team 1 – East Block Lower Floor Team 2 – East Block Upper Floor Team 3 – South Block Lower Floor Team 4 – South Block Upper Floor
12.30pm	Break
1.30am	Vigil 3 Team 1 – South Block Upper Floor Team 2 – South Block Lower Floor Team 3 – East Block Upper Floor Team 4 – East Block Lower Floor
2.30am	Break
3.00am	Vigil 4 Team 1 – South Block Lower Floor Team 2 – South Block Upper Floor Team 3 – East Block Lower Floor Team 4 – East Block Upper Floor
4.00am	Pack up
5.00am	Depart

Team Equipment

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

Locked off Experiments / Camcorders

Locked off Trigger object experiment in Rm 7
Mini DV Camcorder
Motion Sensors
Trigger objects – cuddly toy x 2
Set – 8.50pm
Set by – Julie & Wayne
Results – Analysis shows that a few auditory and light anomalies have been caught on the recordings but none of the trigger objects moved.

Locked of Audio Tape Player & Dictaphone in Rm 3
1 x Audio recorder and Microphone
1 x Sony clear voice Dictaphone
Set – 9.10pm
Set by – Julie & Wayne
Results – Analysis is still ongoing for this experiment. The results will be updated when analysis has finished.

EVP Experiment in the library
EVP Software & Laptop
Microphone
Night Vision Camcorder
Started – 12.10am
Finished – 12.22am
Completed by – Wayne (asking questions) & Julie (filming with camcorder)
Results – The camcorder showed no anomalies or anything unusual. EVP recordings are still be analysed and will be updated with results shortly.

Baseline Tests

East Block – Completed by Alison, Di, Emma & Adam
Music Room 2 – Temp 17, No notable EMF reading, PC is running in this room and fan can clearly be heard.
Music Room 3 – Temp 16.5 near main door, 13.5 in other corners of the room, No notable EMF reading.
Class SFC – Temp 11.5 fluctuating to 12.5 in centre of room. No notable EMF reading. Sash windows – possible draft, rattle in wind.
Dinner Hall – Temp (Outside Wall) 12.5 fluctuating to 13.5 in other areas. No notable EMF reading. Sash windows in this area also. See warning above. Also a constant ticking sound in this area – possibly lights and / or heating cooling / settling.
Class 3CB – Temp on inner wall and room 15 dropping to 13 on outside walls. No notable EMF reading.
Library – Temp 15.5, No notable EMF reading.

South Block – Completed by Alison, Charlotte, Marc & Jan
South Corridor – Temp 16, No notable EMF reading, Draft noticed from door
Main Classroom – Temp 25.5 however a cold spot was recorded at 9.5 to the right of the door (by the table). No notable EMF reading. Taps heard however noises were considered to be from building settling and the wind outside. Lots of computer equipment in this area.
Stairwell – Temp 15.5 fluctuating to 25 (no explanation for sudden rise). No notable EMF reading, strong smell of disinfectant.
Upstairs classroom – Temp 25.5 (24 by window), No notable EMF reading. Electrical wires to right of door.
Upstairs Corridor – Temp 24.5, No notable EMF reading.
Upstairs Office – Temp 16.5 in middle of room. Inside wall 6.5 then sudden unexplained drop to 1.5, then up to 23 (?),No notable EMF reading. Smell of disinfectant, In the doorway a cold spot / draft was felt by hand (at about hip height) but this very quickly disappeared.

Team / Vigil Notes

Team 1

10pm Music Rm 2
Temp middle of the room 15.5
No notable EMF reading
Everyone feels cold in this area
Gloria feels peaceful
Possible orb caught on camcorder
Denise feels a draft on the back of her neck
Small light under table – suspected to be coming from the keyboard

Music Rm 3
Temp 17 middle of room, fluctuating to 17.9 near loft hatch
No notable EMF reading
10.30pm Jan – sudden headache

SFC Rm
Temp 12.5 – 13
No notable EMF reading
Séance / Glass Divination
All try calling out
Glass moves slightly but nothing definite
Val has salty taste (and has had it from the second she entered the building)
Jan has started to shake
11.10pm End vigil

11.40pm Kiln Rm
Temp 12.4 in corners, 2 in corner to right of the door
No notable EMF reading
Calling out – orb across window

11.45pm ICT Room
Val shivering, she does not like this room
Temp 17.3, 16 in corner by door, floor 25
No notable EMF reading
June sees a white light on the floor
Temperature on floor is now 16.5 on floor opposite door
No notable EMF reading
June has clammy hands
Val feels an accident happened in here
June feels cold and tingly on legs
11.52pm Val feels there was a fight in here and someone got stabbed. Probably the teacher when he broke up 2 boys fighting.
Jan has a tingling/butterflies sensation in her stomach
Val can smell wood shavings
11.55pm Val calls out for a George – no response
11.57pm Everyone hears the sound of machinery
11.59pm June hears whispering in the far corner

12.00am Year 3 Hall (Dining Hall)
Temp 15, corners of room 14.5
No notable EMF reading
Team hold a séance around the table
Cold draft is felt by Val, Hannah & Charlotte
Team smell the odour of stale / dirty clothes & Urine
When Team pass Julie in Hub she advises them she can smell urine, which she could not smell before

12.15am Gym Hall / Main Hall
Temp 13.5, corners of hall 14
No notable EMF reading
Team can still smell stale / dirty clothes
Val – senses a Roman Soldiers
Charlotte – Smells the odour of stale alcohol
South Block Upper Floor

The Snug
Temp by window 12.5, around room 15, centre of room 17
No notable EMF reading
Team try a glass divination – no response
Val senses a little girl, aged 7-8 who drowned when running along the bank of a river towards her father. Name Mary.

Caretakers Office
Temp 13.5 around room, 16.5 in centre of room
No notable EMF reading
Val calling out – All except Gloria hear a snoring sound
Val and Jan are drawn to behind the door
Jan hears a tinkering of glasses from outside the door
When Val was leaving the vigil area she was carrying the clipboard and something tapped on the front of the board. South Block Lower Floor
Just before the start of this vigil, Val went to the ladies and heard something like it was coming over an intercom (see Vals personal report for details) She rushed out of the toilets and apparently Amanda and a guest standing outside the toilets had heard the same thing.

Classroom 4AC
Temp 15 all around
No notable EMF reading
Charlotte feels apprehensive in here
While calling out Val feels sick

Rm 4MA
Temp 14.5 all around
No notable EMF reading
Vals top teeth are aching
Charlotte, Jan & June feel uncomfortable in here
Team feel they are being watched
Séance in Hall with glass
Ticking/tapping heard however it is believed to have been the lights in classroom 4HW
Val feels very sick
Team feel cold breeze across the table
While calling out – all feel uneasy

Rm 4HW
Temp 14 all around
No notable EMF reading
Charlotte feels very heady in this room
Couple of the team feel the table move
Team are surprised they can no longer hear the ticking/tapping noise they heard earlier that seemed to come from this room
Team go back into hall and can again hear the clicking sounds from Rm 4HW as Charlotte calls out
Again team has feeling of being watched
Team feel cold
Finish 4.05am

Team 2
East Block Lower Floor
10.05pm Di feels sharp pain which feels like stitch, more on a par with a hernia type of pain as if she has over excerpted herself.
1.10pm Room seems initially cool but warms up after a while possibly due to body heat from team
10.15pm Calling out team hear 1 tap from the corner. Asked to tap twice – no response. Could have been the sound of building settling.

Rm 551
Initially on entering feels cold
The pain Di had went when entering this room even though she feels a little more uncomfortable in this room than the other
10.20pm Alison has a headache in this room that goes when she leaves room

Rm 6DW
Comfortable temp in this room
Team all feel fine
Alison feels school could have been used as a make shift hospital for chest complaints. Possibly Second World War.
Marc mentions whilst in the play ground earlier he felt that “Tommy’s” were marching on parade. He felt this was definitely First World War. He felt sad and disheartened.

10.40pm Séance held in Main Hall
Called out and slight taps were heard – but team felt this could be the building settling. Some seemed to be ground level and others seemed to be higher up.
Marc was smiling a lot but could not explain why.
Team asked for 3 taps in succession but no result.

East Block Upper Floor
Rooms felt very calm and comfortable to the team. The only noise team observed was a clock ticking.
Alison saw a flash of light and called out for it to flash again.
Some of the group seemed to get the giggles
Alison calls out again and Marc appears to be drawn to the sink area
Marc calls out and Di feels cold down one side of her body, Alison also gets this feeling.
Di called out for anyone that lived here to make themselves know – no repsonse

Art Cupboard
Room feels very cold to some and not to others
Alison calls out
Temp 15.5
Team hear a humming noise all around them but no one is sure where it is coming from however they believe it could be an extractor fan in one of the toilets
Team moves back to the meeting room
This room now feels very cold, temp 15
Sue & Di are very cold by the sink area
When Ed calls out Alison captures 2 light anomalies on camcorder

South Block
Team attempt glass divination – no response
Both Alison and Marc sense something in the far area
Alison hears 2 people speaking in the hallway between the rooms so the group split between the classrooms 5 stay on the glass, Marc & Alison move down to where the talking was coming from.
Marc & Alison feel agitated in this area and Alison feels it could have been a nurses station where decisions were made about patients on the verge of death but no definite responses to calling out.
Alison feels very dizzy in far classroom as if she has been drugged. Dan also feels the same sensation in the same area.
As Alison sat to write the notes the door handle to the area went as if someone was coming in. Group investigate and split again half in the room and half in the corridor to see who made the door move.
Members in the room try a glass divination and the glass moves to confirm the presence of a lady. No further movement was recorded. Sue felt it was a little girl as light anomaly caught was ground level and seemed to be scurrying along the floor from one classroom to the next.
3.20am Di called out asking if they had an Alice or a Lucy with them, asked for a sign to show their presence. A couple of seconds later the wind chime in the window moved though team could feel no draught around it and the other 2 remained still. Team called out for wind chimes to be moved and all 3 simultaneously moved seemingly on command.
Temp 17.
Alison also picked up on Stephen a child with Downes Syndrome. She could not sense an age but thought he was quite young.
Team hears taps and murmurs near the big ball in the room.
Sue’s camcorder dies despite it being fully charge
Team placed a red car on the table and asked for Alice to move the car across the table – no response reported
3.40am Adjoining room – light caught rising to the ceiling.
Team feels very cold in here despite it being the same temp as the snug room.
Temp 17
3.45am Ed called out and the big red ball moved across the room
Alison senses a Dave. Called out asking for Dave but no response heard.
Alison felt that he died from a chest condition as she felt restriction in her chest. Also felt he was 54 years old, greying but not totally grey and about 5’10’’.
He was a heavy smoker and died leaving 2 children behind which he deeply regretted. Did not get a surname for this man.

Team 3

South Block Upper
10.20pm Paul W’s back is cold
Team see red light behind door
The middle window mobile starts moving – draught?
Sense of a bed along the wall by the cupboard
Team shut the door
Red light seen behind Paul W

Caretakers Room
Paul W gets the name Peter Wright or Wainwright a stern, formal man, facial hair, slim man
Desk is in the wrong place

Landing area
Team smell moth balls
Paul W calls out and felt a touch on his head
Teams hears a click like a footstep
Team notices one area feels a lot darker than the others

South Block Lower
Paul W can hear the sound of people singing – Sound of Music?
Temperature fluctuating in bottom right of hall
Emma hears exterior door close and the sound of footsteps
East Block Upper Floor

5FC classroom
Team feel it is very flat
Maria can smell hay
Paul W feels there is little activity in the room

Music Rms
Paul W and Julie have a anxious feeling like they are expecting something to happen (anticipation of something, butterflies)
Cold spot between Julie & Paul M
Paul M back cold (draught from window?)
Cold spot has moved to between Rab & Paul M and then seems to hove in the triangle between Paul M, Rab & Julie
Paul W senses uniforms
Clicking sounds coming from room behind Paul W
Paul W wonders whether the bell tower was used as a look out and senses that one of the walls did not used to be there and it was in fact where a staircase should be. Where we were stood is where refreshment for the men in the tower used to be.
Julie gets image of little old man, white beard & moustache, a hermit, does not like people or groups
Paul thinks he sees movement come from the room behind him

Library
Paul gets a choking sensation and that someone is trying to call out but can’t (sighing sound/moan)
Team attempt glass divination and glass does start moving immediately and seems to go backwards and forwards between the 2 Pauls.
Maria, Emma & Adam in art cupboard – strange emf fluctuation picked up
Rab, Paul M, Brian, Wayne & Julie go into a classroom off the hall and attempt glass divination. Glass moves towards Paul M
Team confirm spirit of a lady, 27, Anne, she did not work here just visited, fiancée of a soldier who died in the war. Very happy feeling to the room.
Team ask Anne if she will go and get Susan a little girl someone sensed in another room
Glass stops and team are rejoined by Maria, Adam & Emma
Maria sees a shape by the door which she presumes is a member of the group but is not
Glass starts moving again and team seem to contact the spirit of a man called Edward though he would only confirm certain details.
Asked him to allow Anne back – did not want us to talk to her
To some of the members in the room the atmosphere changed and became very oppressive
The glass claimed to be Anne but when asked to confirm Anne’s age again confirmed 29.
Julie feels hands round her throat and feels drained of energy
Rab getting increasingly cross with “Edward”
Julie very quiet, head in hand
Glass divination closed, Julie walked out (please see Julie’s personal report)

Team 4

South Block Lower Flr
Temp 16.5 near window, 17.5 inside walls
No notable EMF reading
Using the diving rods team appear to speak to a man called Roger who is in his 20’s or 30’s. He died a tragic death in a car accident in Hampshire. Team tried glass divination but no movement was felt
All team feel cold as they go into different rooms
Cath got the feeling that she needed to cough
Using the rods team seemed to pick up on a girl who was being strangled and was in her 20’s
Cath started crying and felt very overwhelmed
The girl died in the spring and was pregnant when she died, she did not work here but was a visitor.

South Block Upper Flr
Snug – Temp 16 – 16.5
No notable EMF reading
Team all feel very comfortable in here and don’t pick up much
Ken does feel a draught above him by the door (temp 16.5)

Site Managers Rm
Temp 17.5 –18
No notable EMF reading
Ken feels very un happy and depressed as if something is dragging his mood down
The rods direct the team to the right hand side of the office (as you walk in)
Team get the sensation of burning cheeks, more one side of their faces than the other
Ken calls out into that corner of the room as he is drawn in using the rods
Team seem to pick up on the same lady as they did downstairs, she used to visit here as it was the caretakers room.
The lady was raped and fell pregnant
The team note that it remains a comfortable temp in the room but the temp gun shows a drop in temp
Amanda & David pick up on the lady “tatting” please see Amanda’s personal report
No notable EMF reading
Rods direct the team back to the snug room
Lady appears to follow the team as she wants help but when David asks if she wants the help the rods indicate No
Team pick up a name beginning with S (Sally, Suzanne or Sharon?)
Team notice that when the rods do move the emf clicks to indicate a slightly raised reading
She is still claiming she was raped and does not want to cross over and is beginning to get a bit awkward
Temp rises to 21 in the room and seems to keep rising
Team smell strong aroma of polish but Louise can smell urine
On the stairs some people feel sick and believe that this is not the same lady or if it is she is playing games with them

East Block
Temp 16 all around
No notable EMF reading
The battery life on the camcorder keeps changing – going down to nearly run out then back up to half an hour power then dropping again. Team find themselves having to turn it off and then wait a couple of minutes before turning it on again.
Amanda calling out, Ken has the rods. 2 thumps heard.
Louise feels a temperature change on her back and room has got colder (temp 14)
Digital picture taken and 2 light anomalies appear to me on Ken and Louise
Chris has the rods and they appear to be following Ken
Camcorder battery dies completely
Team call out and confirm it is not the same lady who was with them earlier
Ken calls out – no reply
Louise is getting colder
Rods seem to want to talk to Chris
Team attempt a glass divination
2 children present, a boy and a girl
Glass moves and twists like kids playing
Tambourine placed on the table and glass moved to tap it
Did the same with a pen
Glass seemed to respond well to Ken
Team enter a classroom, No notable EMF reading, temp 14 – 14.5
Chris uses the rods and calls out
Man in the room with team but its not the caretaker it is someone new
Amanda calls out and the team can confirm he did work there, he was a teacher. He was here after 1950 and taught 10 year olds. The rods moved to confirm he was standing in front of Amanda
Temp 14.5
No notable EMF reading

Library
Temp 15.8 all around
No notable EMF reading
Amanda uses rods and calls out
Team hear a noise but can not decided whether it was the photocopier or not
Rods keep pointing to Ken and seem to follow wherever he goes
Team note the room feels a lot warmer than the classrooms
Team attempt glass divination and the glass moves with just Ken, Amanda and Chris on it.
Amanda calls out
Louise’s legs feel a lot colder than her upper body
Everyone feels relaxed and the team get little else from the glass

Personal Reports

Julie Harwood

I must admit I did not think either Wayne or myself would need to write a report for this location as we were positioned in the hub away from the vigils. This was not to be the case. After the team went off for their first vigil and we had made sure all the locked off experiments were set we sat in the hub discussing what questions to ask for our EVP experiment that we were planning. I said, as one of the sightings was that of a caretaker, who liked his smokes, we should have set a cigarette as a trigger object. The minute I mentioned it both Wayne and myself heard a loud very audible moan, typically like a classic ghost "ooooooo”. This seemed to travel across the room we were in, almost from one side to another. After we shut our mouths and stopped staring around in amazement we tried to rationally explain it but we couldn’t! Cars that went past sounded nothing like it, the cistern flushing in the nearby toilets created a sound nothing like what we had heard and having designed the itinerary myself I knew no team was anywhere near the hub.

After we had done our change of batteries and tapes we decided to join Brian’s team on some of their vigils in the area we were in. We went up to the music room in the East block and I did experience a static cold spot that was either between Paul Martin and myself or between Rab and Paul. However as we were sat/stood together we could not discount it was a draught from the window near us. Also in this room I got the image of an old man, with scruffy white hair and a scruffy but twisted white moustache. I imagined him as a bit of a hermit who would not come out of the adjoining area because he simply did not like to socialise and did not like people. I have no idea why I imagined this. We also then tried a glass divination in the library and the glass did start to move quite strongly and go towards both Pauls, maybe as they are both very sensitive, but unfortunately this was cut short by the end of the vigil.

On Brian’s teams next vigil Wayne and myself also tagged along. After leaving Maria, Emma and Adam upstairs, Paul, Rab, Wayne, Brian and myself headed for one of the classrooms off the main hall to try a glass divination again. We seemed to pick up on the same spirit we had earlier and established her name was Anne, she was 27 years old and was the fiancée of someone that died in the war and she just visited here (we were team 3, but please see team 4’s notes on a very similar spirit) The room felt happy and comfortable and we appeared to be having quite a laugh with the apparent spirit, which was moving the glass strongly even though it only had Paul, Rab and my fingers on it. We then asked her if she would go and get the young girl the team had picked up on in another area. At this point Maria, Adam and Emma rejoined us we presume just as Anne left as Maria saw someone by the door. Suddenly the room seemed to take on an oppressive feel, very different to how it felt minutes earlier. We tried the glass and appeared to contact a spirit called Edward. He would only confirm details he wanted to and at one point the group felt a little uneasy so we decided to reinforce our protection. At this point the glass shot across the table away from Rab towards Paul. This is when I started to feel like something had completely drained my energy but I kept quiet. We kept asking Edward to leave and let Anne back but he appeared to not want to let us speak to Anne anymore. At one point we seemed to have Anne back but it was then I said to the group who are relatively new to glass divination to be careful as it may not be Anne, something I have picked up from taking part of hundreds of glass divinations. Rab then picked up what I was suggesting and asked “Anne” to confirm her age as 29. It did move to yes and at this point I must admit I swore quite aggressively, as I knew we had confirmed earlier that Anne was in fact 27. It was then I started to feel a clutching round my throat (again see team 4’s notes for quite spooky coincidences). The others in the group may have been unaware of this but I had to keep taking deep breaths (which may have sounded to them like I was sighing) so I could breath. I have never experienced anything like this before. All the time this was happening I was getting madder and madder and just wanted to kick out or hit something. Rab also seemed to be getting cross. Now I have contemplated whether to include this in my report or not and after a lot of deliberation have decided that we go on these investigations to experience things, however nasty so the least I can do is report it even if it embarrasses me a little. I have only been able to tell Rab and Paul M about this until now. While the group continued to ask questions I sat quietly. After a couple of minutes, still feeling hands round my throat I also felt something grab my chest. I am not talking poke or touch, this was more of a groping sensation on my left breast. Obviously this made me feel extremely uneasy and almost to cover up invisible hands I slumped forward on the table and put my head in my left hand. This just made me see red and to be honest being the kind of person I am, if I could have seen who was doing it I would have laid them out cold. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am not a violent person in any sense but I am not a person not to defend myself. The problem being I obviously could not see the person and so my anger was just bubbling away. The glass session was closed and when everyone sat back to take stock Brian asked me if I was ok. At this point I could not control my anger or myself any longer and had to walk out. Noticing the feeling did not lift when I left the room I had to go and stare at a blank wall and use all the character I have (and I have quite a bit!!) to calm myself down. I would really like to thank Rab & Brian for snapping me out of it and letting me sob on their shoulders also I apologise to the rest of my team for my behaviour. Obviously now you can see why I did what I did. Having thought about it for a few days, it has made me wonder whether this was Edward getting his own back on the person that caught him out for lying! It certainly makes you think and has made me consider protecting myself a little bit more in the future rather than taking a blasé approach to it.

My sincere thanks go to the headmaster of the school for trusting us come in and investigate and also Maria for suggesting such a wonderful location! If we would be allowed back, despite my experiences I would jump at the chance as I don’t think there is anything nasty there, just that I may have upset the wrong person! I would also like to thank Paul Wayman on behalf of the whole team for travelling a long way to join us. Your input at our investigations is always invaluable.

Maria Street

This investigation was extra special for me as I have links with this particular school and I was very excited to see what lay ahead. The day had started with torrential thundery downpours and strong winds but, thankfully, this had eased by the time we all arrived. We were accompanied by six members of staff, who were all very interested in what we do and were looking forward to the night ahead.

After a short tour of the vigil areas we had a break and started the investigation. I was in team 3, which was led by Brian and my team mates were: Adam, Emma, Paul M, Rab, and Paul Wayman, our guest medium. Our first vigil was in a separate building to the rest of the school and we started in the Elsa room, or the snug. We sat in silence for about fifteen minutes when Paul W picked up on the presence of a female in the corner of the room. Emma reported seeing a small red light in the same corner. There were also temperature fluctuations felt, but the thermometer recorded the same temperature of about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Paul W then said that his back was getting very cold and it must be noted that he was sat with his back to the window. Emma gave a sweep of the room with the EMF meter and it spiked temporarily close to where Paul was sitting. It was not long after this that I noticed one of the mobiles in the window rotating quite fast. We checked the windows for draught, but none could be felt. As I mentioned earlier, the wind had dropped considerably and the night was clear. There was no heating on so this wasn’t heat from a radiator causing this. There were also two other mobiles either side of this one and they were still. They were a different design to this one but they were of a lighter material. The one which was moving appeared to be a wooden one. This continued to move for the whole time that we were in this room and at on a couple of occasions, was seen to sway backwards and forwards.

The next room we investigated was the Site Managers room. Paul W picked up on the name of Peter and Wainwright. Not sure if they were connected. He said this man was authoritative and slim. Nothing much more really happened in here so we moved onto the stairs and landing. On the landing are two cupboards and Paul W asked if there had been noises heard from this area. I replied that only this week was a loud bang reported coming from these cupboards. Both Paul W and I then stood on the landing and looked towards the bottom of the stairs. After a couple of minutes, Paul asked Emma if she would swap places with him. As Emma was settling into her new position, I spotted movement downstairs. Paul then confirmed that this is what he had also seen and this is why he asked somebody else to stand there, to see if they could see the same. He and a couple of others could also hear footsteps on the stairs and I was able to confirm that this was a common occurrence.

We moved down the stairs and in to the corridor and Paul W sensed a feeling of unease. This was also the place that I have always felt uneasy, and I don’t particularly like this area much. Paul W felt that there was a stern man here who kept pacing up and down, but he wasn’t threatening.

We then broke off for a while and went back to join the others. Julie then called me over to tell me that both she and Wayne had heard a long moan in the ICT suite. I later remembered that that room had once been part of the Medical room. Very interesting.

After a few refreshments and something to eat, we returned to the same building and concentrated on the hall and classrooms. Straight away there were some very loud creaks and taps. I know that this is a very old building so I asked Rab if he had come across anything like this before in a similar environment and he said “No”. This sounded very much like a wooden ship out in the middle of the ocean. The creaks and accompanying taps were very audible and were too many to ignore. It was thought that maybe it was the lights that were cooling down but they were too high up for where this sound was coming from. We sat in silence for a while, until Paul W felt drawn to the corridor at the far end of the room where taps could be heard. Adam volunteered to sit there for a while and Paul W went to join him. After a while, Rab called me over because he could see shadows moving above the plant room door and he was wondering where it was coming from. We went in to the opposite classroom to see the blinds were moving but we quickly established that a vent in the windowsill was causing a draught which was causing the movement, and, in turn, the moving shadows. We came back in to the main hall and Rab showed me how to use the dowsing rods. They, first of all, directed me towards the door to the outer corridor where Paul W joined me. He said that he could still detect the presence of the stern man. He could also hear the sound of a child singing. I was able to confirm that this had been heard before. The rods then directed me back to where Adam was sitting. He had his back to a classroom and both Paul and I felt drawn towards this classroom, so we both went inside. It was whilst we were inside that Paul told me that he had seen the face of a child at the classroom window and detected the name Emma or Emily. He felt that she was in the left hand corner of the room and had a mischievous nature. We called the others in to do a séance. Paul W called out and he felt that she had moved, so he asked if I would call out to see if she would respond to a female voice. All was very quiet, so Adam suggested that she was probably intimidated by the presence of so many adults so we all did as Rab was doing and sat on the floor. Rab and Adam both felt a cold breeze rush past them and Paul W felt that the little girl, who Rab felt was named Susan, was hiding under the table. This was very interesting because when the bombs were dropping in the war, the children were made to sit under the tables for safety reasons. It was at this point that Paul W announced to the group that he had seen a face at the window. Adam immediately picked up in this saying that he thought he had seen something similar earlier on in the vigil, whilst he was panning around with the camcorder. We are all now hoping that he managed to catch it on tape.

We left this building for our next break and felt really excited about our next vigil which was in the upper and lower floors of one wing of the other building. We started in a classroom on the upper floor. We could detect nothing in here except I did smell what seemed like hay. We moved into one of the music rooms which had a totally different atmosphere. One of the rooms of from here houses the school’s main server and Paul W stood with his back to this room. He felt that the floor above us could have been used as a look out post at one point. This is quite likely, as this was the old bell tower and may have been used for this purpose during the war. Brian called out and there were taps heard coming from the direction of the room with the main server in it, so Paul W, Adam and I went in there and immediately Paul and Adam detected a very sweet rotting smell in here, very similar to the smell of hay!!

I took a photo of the corner of the room where there was a shelf full of folders. A couple of minutes later Paul W stated that he had seen a folder move on the top shelf. I then took another photo of the shelves but it was hard to tell if one had moved or not although it did seem as if this was the case. I will be very interested to see what David, our stills and audio analyser will make of them.

We stayed for a little while longer, and then made our way down in to the main corridor. Not a lot was picked up here so we carried on down to the library where Julie and Wayne now joined us. Paul W immediately sensed the feeling of being unable to breathe and felt constricted around his throat. He also picked up on the sound of a long sigh or moan as if somebody was in pain. Julie then confirmed that this is the sound she heard earlier. We then decided to try glass divination. The glass moved the instant we touched it. We ascertained that we were talking to a lady called Anne. We asked her if she recognised anybody around the table and the glass moved to me, which was very interesting because I work in this area. She did not work at the school, but was a visitor.

We took another break and unfortunately Paul W had to leave us as he had an early start in the morning. We started on our final vigil which was on the opposite wing, taking in both the upper and lower floors. We started upstairs in The Snug, but just felt very comfortable, so we split up, with Julie, Wayne, Brian, Paul M and Rab going downstairs whilst Adam Emma and I went in to the art cupboard. All was very quiet so I called out and asked for a noise or for one of us to be touched. It was still very quiet so I asked again and this resulted in a sound behind me which sounded like something had moved and I then felt a tingling all down my back which made me move forward. Nothing else happened so we decided to join the others who were doing glass divination. They were once more talking with Anne and the glass was very positive. Emma and I joined in and Rab then asked if Anne could fetch Susan to come and talk and as he did so I turned around to smile excitedly at the person by the door, and there was nobody there. At the same time it was felt that Anne had gone out of the door just as the last question was being asked. The glass did not move then for a while and then picked up again but very slowly and hesitantly. We thought it may have been the little girl but then Rab picked up on the name Edward and it seemed he only answered questions that he wanted to. There was a sense of real anticipation and frustration as this person would not move on. Finally we decided to close it down and Julie was sat with her head in her hands. When asked if she was okay she said “No” and rushed out of the room, visibly distressed. She later apologised and said that she did not know why she felt the way she did but that she was very angry. This was a fantastic investigation and I would like to thank Paul Wayman for giving up his free time to join us. His contribution was invaluable. Also thanks to the caretaker for his assistance this week and last but not at all least, the Head for allowing us the use of the building for the night, it was much appreciate. We had a great time and it was very productive.

Val Butler

I had long been awaiting to do an investigation at this school and had wondered if the night would be an exciting one. As I entered the playground I had a peculiar taste in my mouth of which I could not describe. Through the entrance with BOYS written above on concrete and into the building I met up with all members of the Hants and Dorset team. All baseline tests done we split into teams mine being team 1 and at 10pm started our 1st vigil the East block. In one classroom we held a seance, I felt quite comfortable all through these classrooms. I felt as though one was more special than the others I felt as though it had been a woodworking room and came across a boy named Georgie. He was very scruffy shirt hanging outside his trousers hair uncombed and wore dirty boots. Then the name Dixon Georgie Dixon. He was a bully no-one was better than he, a loud mouthed bully, who had an argument with either a pupil or teacher who he had attacked with an instrument perhaps a screwdriver and stabbed him. Upon calling out for him to come forward to us a noise was heard by all of us not unlike the sound of a hand held drill, or lathe. In the boys hall we held a glass divination I felt very sick in there but nothing unusual was seen or heard. A short break followed and I visited the ladies loo, and had the shock of my life a voice came through I can only describe it as though someone was talking on an intercom system. What they were saying I dont know only MAKE YOUR WAY with trousers undone I rushed out into the corridor where other members were standing they also heard the voice but didn’t understand it either. We went back into the ladies there was nothing at all to suggest an intercom or such so where DID that voice come from. We made our way to the caretakers office I didn’t like the corner behind the door I just seemed drawn to that part of the room, the caretaker some years ago I felt brought young children here for his pleasure. We then made our way out of the building into another playground that led to the GIRLS school. On crossing this playground I could see piles of salt lots of them it was then I realised the taste in my mouth was of salt (very peculiar.) We then entered the girls classrooms. I came across the name of Kathleen and of Mary but no surnames. Also of a little girl, I could see her running along a river bank running toward her daddy but running to fast she stumbled and fell into the river and drowned. She was aged about 7-8. Again we held a seance in the hall and all the time we were in there we all heard the sound of clicking, when asking if they would click twice if they could hear my voice two clicks followed. We decided it must be the electrics on the switches making the sounds so moved into the far right classroom from where we could hear the clicks coming from. It was silent no sounds of clicking anywhere. We spent some time in each of the classrooms before sitting down in the hall again and immediately the clicking started again. We could feel cold draughts around us and for sometime all felt as though we were being watched. We then made our way back to the hub. I took a walk into the main hall and wanted to sing all things bright and beautiful why I dont know. We decided to hold another seance in here, again there were moments of extreme cold, I had the feeling that the hall wasn’t there, no walls no roof nothing but empty space, then in the space came land with Romans some kind of a settlement, from there came bombings one of which killed several children who were sheltering nearby, but then I was back in the hall again it was as though my mind had gone from me for a few moments. This investigation met all my expectations. Thank you group 1 you were great, and thank you Julie for allowing me to attended an investigation by Hants and Dorset SP.

Amanda Horley

Our first vigil was in the lower South block. There was a hall surrounded by several classrooms and a small corridor to an outside door. I immediately felt drawn to this corridor and the classroom next to it. Both Ken and I took turns in using the rods in this area and we picked up on a man who died in a car accident. He was in his twenties and had been a caretaker at the school, although may not have been at the time of his death. His death had taken place in the 1980. We did try a glass divination near that area, but were unable to get any responses. We then moved on to the next door classroom where the rods were being pulled towards a corner of the room that Ken also felt strongly about. We picked up on a female spirit who had not worked at the school but had been involved with a caretaker there. She had not died a natural death.

Our second vigil was in the same block but on the upper floors. We started out in the assisted learning room but this felt fairly quiet so we moved to the caretaker’s office. We did pick up on a female presence there, and thought it may have been the same one that we had been talking to downstairs. There were some crotchet cottons in a tray on the desk and as David was holding the rods I took the opportunity to ask some questions relating to them and their use in Tatting. I was fairly certain that David would not know what I was talking about and as the lady we were talking to had heard of Tatting (a craft linked closely to Bobbin Lace) and therefore David could not have sub-consciously affected the answers. Out of eight or nine questions, only one was answered incorrectly. An interesting experiment from my point of view.

The next vigil was in the East block and we covered the hall and the upstairs area that led off of it. The hall itself seemed quiet, but upstairs we picked up on a number of children in one of the rooms. We set up a glass divination and they were happy to move it about and knock a pen, a button and a tambourine that we placed on the table. They didn’t really want to answer questions though.

Our last vigil was in the library, the music hall and the upstairs music rooms. For me these were quiet areas and I didn’t feel that there was much there with us.

Investigating a school was very different to our usual locations, but we were made very welcome by the members of staff that attended the investigation, and hopefully have answered a few of the questions they had about the unexplainable happenings that went on from time to time.

Wayne Blyth

I honestly didn’t think I would have anything to report on this investigation as myself and Julie were spending our time in the "hub". However, things turned out to be quite eventful. We had set out the equipment for the teams and sent them on their way. Myself and Julie were discussing which questions to ask in our EVP experiment when Julie mentioned cigarettes, (relevant to the investigation), as soon as she mentioned this we both heard what we both describe as a long moan. The sound seemed to travel from one side of the room to the other. We were both rational and tried to compare it with normal sounds like traffic or heating pipes etc, however, nothing we heard sounded like it.

Further into the night we joined Brian’s team in their vigils. One noteworthy happening was in the East block upstairs. The team were in the room, while I stayed in the hall. Captured on camcorder was an impressive orb which travelled up and towards the camera. The next vigil was in one of the class rooms off the main hall. Here the team managed to get quite good results from the glass divination experiment. Unfortunately I was only an observer, but I witnessed one of the best examples of this fascinating phenomenon.

A brief report unfortunately as I was in a different role this time. Nonetheless, a great location and worthy of a return visit. Thanks to all who let us carry on.

Ed Ashton

Apart from a few odd occurrences during the vigil on the lower floor of the South block, this was another fairly uneventful investigation for me. During this particular vigil, whilst attempting a glass divination, Alison claimed she heard the voices of 2 men coming from the far end of the room, even though the rest of the group couldn't. Later, whilst everyone else was exploring one of the classrooms that adjoined the main area, she said she heard the latch on the door go, as if someone was coming in. Sue also explained that she noticed a light out in the corridor had gone on even though it had previously been turned off by another group who had gone upstairs. When asked later if anyone from that group had turned it back on again, they claimed they hadn't.

I did observe that many of the people in the group felt slightly uneasy in this particular area. It will be interesting to read the reports from the others and compare results to find out if they felt the same way or if anything seemingly odd may have happened to them.

At numerous times throughout the evening, Alison felt as though the building may have been used as a make shift hospital during either the 1st or 2nd World war. Even though apparently this has not been documented, it may be possible as Southampton was bombed heavily during the war and the main hall would've been an ideal place to house injured casualties. Again, it will be interesting to see if anyone else felt this as well.

Alison Blyth

I initially thought that this building would just bring back memories of my school years, but first impressions are not always correct. The building has so much mixed atmospheres it made me buzz from the onset.

My first vigil was in the east block downstairs.

As the area was quite vast, as team leader I decided to split the group to enable us to cover the area in the time we were allocated. Di, Marc and I started in the first classroom nearest the entrance. From entering the room Di advised me that she had a sharp pain in her side similar to a stitch, which worsened as time, went on, Marc felt that he was experiencing a bad headache and I had chest pains. This puzzled us as we were all feeling something different. I felt that the room had a distinct feeling of a make shift hospital used during the war put I couldn’t pin point which one. It suddenly clicked as Marc piped up and said that he felt the same and said he had seen what he thought was ‘Tommy’s’ on parade in the playground whilst on the tour before we started and was adamant that it was the first world war not the second. I would like to make it clear that no pre-conceptions had been given and no notes compared so this fascinated me why two different people would feel the same.

The next room we entered was the adjacent classroom, which to me felt the same and used for the same purpose, and again in the classrooms across the hallway.

To see if we could get any answers we decided to conduct a séance in the main hall. We called out and heard a few taps but I cannot confirm that these were not natural settling of the building, but one noise in this area did puzzle me. There was a water cooler at the end of the hall and a photocopier, which seemed to make a loud tap each time we called out. I decided to run over to this area and asked permission to turn off the electrical supply. Despite no power being given to both machines loud taps were still heard .I have no explanation for this.

Our next area was the upstairs area in the East wing. The first room we felt very comfortable and despite calling out nothing really happened here. We moved on to the supply room and to be honest we couldn’t concentrate for the humming noise. Dan and Rachel advised that there was no generator or water heater which could cause this noise but it could have possible be caused by the toilets downstairs. I later popped my head round the door to the toilets and no humming was heard so I cannot say what caused this.

Our third area was the south wing downstairs. This area was the most frightening for me to date despite me doing well over thirty investigations. It started off fine and my group decided to conduct a glass divination experiment, which at first was going well, but I could hear two distinct voices in the corner of the room. I agreed to keep calling out and the group continue with the glass. I could hear what could only be described as a serious conversation and when I arrived at the area I felt as if they became guarded as these two men were aware that I could hear them. I have never experienced such interaction before and I admit it caught me totally off guard. I felt freezing here and asked for Marc to join me as I felt a tad out of place .At first he couldn’t hear what I could hear but admitted to hearing a low mumbling. Again I felt that the area was used for medical purposes but this time I felt as if the two men I was hearing were discussing who would have a better survival rate if treated. I felt very uncomfortable in this area and had loads of notes to write up so sat in the main hall to catch up whilst the rest of the group investigated the other classrooms so I sat at the table and started to write. I firstly saw a light go on in the corridor so assumed that the other group were coming down so dismissed it, then a few minutes later the door handle rattled from inside the room. This scared me and I felt frozen to the spot. I called out for Ed to come with me to see what was going but he didn’t respond so I called him again. Poor Ed thought I was telling him off for blinding me with his camera so didn’t come until I called him a third time. I told him what happened and he went out into the corridor with, but by this time whatever was there had obviously gone. This area made me so jumpy and nervous that I had to go to the far end of the room to calm down. I entered the far classroom and felt dizzy almost sick as if I had been sedated. I thought that maybe this was connected to the gentlemen I heard earlier and the strange part about it was Dan felt the same in the same area whilst I was sitting at the desk writing. Once again I have no explanation for this and the fact that I felt frightened in a junior school!

My last area to visit was the upper area in the south block.

The first room we visited I sensed very little apart from a young down syndrome boy named Stephen. I don’t know whether this boy is alive which seems strange, but I do believe the room is used for children with special needs so felt that this was purely a residue of energy that is contained by the room itself. Di did sense a child by the name of Alice and I do admit that the ornaments in the window seemed to move on command despite there being no draught.

I decided as we were running out of time to move half the group to the room next door and I am so glad I did. I called out for a Dave, and as I said it both Marc and I felt very cold. My chest became tight and pressured which to me felt like emphysema and it made me gag. I could also smell cigarette smoke so believed that Dave was a heavy smoker. He was what I would describe as salt and pepper; verging on grey but not quite there yet and I thought he gave me the age of 45. I felt his sadness as he so regrets leaving his two children behind to cope without him. He didn’t give me a lot of information, which indicated to me that he was new at this game. What I mean by that is that he hadn’t been gone for long , I guessed possibly just over a year and a half so he was still learning to contact effectively.

All in a roller coaster of emotions but a very worthy investigation.

Jan Coles

Baseline Test Instruction, South Block
During this, in the Girl’s Hall, unexplained taps were heard, aside from the known cracking sounds of the strip lights. Also a presence felt, a light anomaly – Orb - photographed in the corridor to the South Wing Door as we left. Also temperature changes differing by ten degrees in areas of very close proximity were taken. Noted lights that creak, draught sources, loud wall clocks, door and window sounds, the presence’s of alarm systems and lights, electronic equipment, power sockets, electrical wiring and appliances etc.

Corridor back through Library
Again felt a presence and took photos, two Orbs and some unidentified light anomalies, possibly lens refraction.

East Block Upper Floor
Gloria became aware of a name – Alice, a little girl, also picked up on by Val, who mentioned long curly hair with a ribbon. We asked if they could knock or bang on the drum, with no results. The name Catherine or Kathleen were picked up by Gloria.

Corridor
We asked out here, and physical sensations were felt here - tingling sensations in legs, arms and hands. Temperatures fluctuated at about waist height of an adult, on a doorframe. One of our Guests for the evening, Diane, became paralysed, unable to move her arms, body, and legs – these last with a tingling. Laura and Hannah felt sensations about knee high, perhaps the height of a small, clinging child. Several of us heard a child’s whimper.

Wooden Mantelpiece Room
Was personally drawn to the mantelpiece, a place where many people had perhaps stood, warming up. I took a photo and an Orb was captured at the bottom right, in front of the wooden surround. We asked out and had no response.

Caretaker’s Room
In this room, several of us were drawn to the right hand corner of the door wall, where there was a door less built in cupboard. We asked if any of the previous caretakers of the school were present. During a period of silence, we all heard a snore coming from the area of the cupboard. We asked an indignant Gloria if it was her we could hear, as she was sat very close by. Apparently not so we had to apologise. A Caretaker’s room would be the place for him or her to have a snooze in quiet times after a hard mornings work, early start etc.
Val felt that one of the Caretaker’s was a Ladies man .We asked out again, if anyone was there if they could touch one of us and Hannah, who was filming at the time, was pushed. Several of us then smelt, a brief scent of cigarettes. We checked to see if it came from any of us from our clothes – it was not. It was mentioned that a caretaker had sadly died, at an early age from lung Cancer.
Small taps were heard in the left hand corner of the window wall. I took photos to see if anyone was around the desk, the window and the large model of the ‘Great Eastern’ steamship, with no results. Two orbs were photographed – one on Val’s coat collar and another on the hem of Hannah’s coat. She had reported her right leg being hot.

Classroom next door to above room
Undertook a séance with the glass. The video camera shut off and my digital camera’s battery drained. Cold fingers on glass. No response to asking out.

Corridor outside the above room
My camera batteries recovered, the video camera switched back on again. As we moved into the corridor, we saw two tiny white lights, and was aware of something near a cupboard. As we went down the stairs, I captured a tiny orb at the bottom of the cupboard, one large orb hovering above the lower staircase, and then almost immediately caught two orbs on the floor of the corridor to the main doors.

East Block Lower Floor

Kiln Room
Was not aware of any presence in this room. No response to asking out.

Classroom
Several of us sensed the room was once a woodwork room. Val sensed an accident that once happened, a fight between boys with a teacher being stabbed with a sharp tool. We all heard a whirring sound, of a lathe being started, then stopped. We asked out for pupils, boys, teachers, and the headmaster - Sir. Val picked up on George/Georgie Dickinson, a bully. I sensed he had auburn hair and the words ‘hand-me-down-boots’ came to me. A strong smell of urine, unwashed body and clothes became very apparent. We sensed he had been a bully at school and Val picked up on his Father being an alcoholic and violent. We asked if he would talk to us in anyway he could, and the temperature dropped in 10 degrees in a pattern that could be followed as if a person was moving around the room. Laura felt the temperatures on her hands and legs were intermittently changing, from hot to cold. Val and Gloria called out other boy’s names that came to them, with no response.

Library Corridor
Spoke to Julie who commented on a sour smell- after asking us not to tell her what it was, she came to the same conclusion as we had of urine and unwashed body and clothes. We then were aware that Georgie had followed us and we asked if he would talk to us through the glass in the Library. One area in the bookshelves was uncomfortable to be in, but no sense of malevolence, just a gentle, female despair. We used the glass with no response.

Boys Hall
I kept hearing ‘Soldier, Soldier’ whenever I entered the Hall throughout the evening. We placed a glass on a table, placed one forefinger each gently on it - and asked if there were any Spirits who wanted to speak to us, using the medium of the glass. Questions asked were those requesting children to come and play, or teachers to come and speak to us.
I asked if there were any soldiers present, to which the glass moved just perceptibly. I felt that these were older men, perhaps the Home Guard, which was also picked up on by Charlotte.
I asked if there were any military nurses present and the glass shifted a little. I said we had a lady here who was a nurse – would she speak to her, tiny response though glass. Maybe it was a school nurse instead. Asked if there were any airmen, or sailors, Val asked if there were any Merchant Seamen – neither gained much response. Asked for Headmaster, Headmistress again. No response.
Val had images of a Roman Battle, with the Sotonians of old, a very fierce battle – which as Roman Southampton - Clausentium, Bittern, is very close to the school, along with Peartree road – known locally as a Roman road.

South Block Lower Floor

Girl’s Hall – Val was picking up on a little girl who had a terrible accident, which could not be prevented. She picked up on a river, a little girl running alongside it. A few minutes later she felt that the little girl was running to her Daddy when she fell in. The river Itchen is a few roads from the school. Val also picked up on the little girl being a pupil at the school, her name being Mary.
On the wall by the door to the corridor was a World War 11 exhibition of the Blitz, with gas mask, first aid kit, together with Warden’s and Home Guard helmets. I was hoping that maybe a spirit unattached to the school but attached to a helmet would be present. I took several photos and asked out specifically for them to contact us, with no response.

First Classroom on left – very warm, Pleasant, welcoming atmosphere. Felt, calm, confident and happy to sit far away from each other. We chatted noisily in between vigils – like a happy class in between lessons. Captured image of tiny orb on table.

Séance in Girl’s Hall – We were seated at tables in the centre of the room, each with a finger on a glass. As we began to call respectfully out for former pupils and teachers of the school to come and talk to us, a cold breeze circulated round three Investigators at the end of the table. We asked if the spirit causing the breeze could please make it go all the way down the length of the table – which it did. We thanked them then asked for former headmistresses of this lovely school, needlework mistress, domestic science to come forward and talk to us.

Throughout this, an unaccountable clicking and tapping was heard from a classroom to the left of the table. Several of us felt that we did not want to move our heads to either side, for fear of what we may see. We did look, but nothing was perceptible to us. This feeling slowly dissipated. The clicks continued and a feeling of slight dread or of being scared became apparent, seeming to me to be coming from the classroom where the clicks came from. We really did not want to enter this room, but as Paranormal Investigators this would be defeating the object of our study. As we spoke of our intention to move to that particular classroom, the clicking stopped, and remained absent during our time in the room.

Second Classroom – Clicking sound stopped as soon as we entered the room. Unpleasant atmosphere, we all seemed to gather together near the door. Very cold, disapproving, negative, unpleasant sensations. Several painted faces were strung out over the room on string and these were unpleasant to see and be near. A further notice on string from the ceiling regarding Nouns began to swing. I took a photo and caught two Orbs and a streak of light. Charlotte sat on a table, it was wobbled from underneath.

Captured light anomalies twice here, with possibility of being glare from flash.

The Ladies’ Room – Val was powdering her nose in this location when she heard a woman’s muffled voice, very loud and as if it was coming through a megaphone or Public Address system. Two Investigators directly outside this room were also witness to this.

Staff Room Corridor – As I entered the area by the PE equipment, just by the Boy’s Hall, I heard the beginning of the whine of an air-raid siren. It stopped abruptly and I asked Julie and Rab, who were actually in the Hall if they had heard it. Sadly, they had not.

Playground – personal perception of something tangible, but I could not fully pick up on it. Just made aware of something immense, powerful and watching. Felt this on arrival and departure, also every time we moved from one building to another, or went outside on a break for some fresh air.

Cloakrooms - in Boy’s part of the school – Had a dreadful feeling of foreboding here whenever I passed it. Was very much like the feeling of knowing someone is in wait for you – a bully perhaps.

School Atmosphere – very joyful, full of calm. Had the feeling that the laughter and humour we experienced among ourselves in the location generally on our breaks perhaps partly came from this.

Must also add that this School is the cleanest, best looked after school I have ever been in. I for one was dreading that awful School smell and was delighted not to have to experience it again.

Paul Martin

Vigil 1
South Block - Upper floor.

We initially settled in the larger of the offices, where after a few minutes, Paul W felt an energy in the corner behind him, and had the feeling that the room had had a medical use in the past.
While in this room, Emma said she could see the outline of a small shadow move up close to my own shadow, which happened to be cast clearly on the wall behind me.
Also while we were in this room, one of three mobiles that were hanging from the ceiling was continually moving, but we could not tell why.

Working our way downstairs, we encountered various cold spots and Paul W heard footsteps on the stairway, and sensed a male energy pacing up and down the corridor.

Vigil 2 -
South Block - Lower floor.

The first part of this session, we sat/stood in the main hall, where we heard many distinct creaks and taps, particularly from one corner of the hall.
We then went into a classroom that Paul W had seen a little girl peering out of and attempted to make contact with her,
We could actually feel her movements around the room, by following the cold spot as it moved around the room.
Paul W sensed that she was very shy of us, but after a few minutes of coaxing, Rab and myself, both at the same time, clearly felt her move up to us and place herself close to where we were sitting on the floor. Rab sensed the name Susan.

Vigil 3 -
East Block - Upper floor.

We entered the Music rooms in this area, and most of us seemed to feel a heavy atmosphere, and in one of the rooms there was a feeling that we were not welcome.
Paul W saw a folder on one of the shelves move out from where it had been positioned.
We moved on to the Library room, where Paul W felt a choking sensation, as someone had been struggling to breath.

Vigil 4 -
East Block - Lower floor.

Half of the team stayed upstairs, while Brian, Julie, Rab, Wayne and myself settled into a classroom, off the main hall downstairs, that we had been drawn to. We again used the glass, and seemed to make contact with a friendly talkative female spirit called Anne.
We spoke to her for a while, before she appeared to be pushed out by another, more dominant spirit, who we felt did not seem all that pleasant. This male spirit, who Rab felt was named Edward began to try and trick us into thinking he was Anne - and had come back to speak to us... However, Rab and Julie tricked him into revealing that he wasn't in fact Anne, and he then appeared to take exception to this.
He took his anger out on Julie, in a particularly nasty way, which led to her feeling that she needed to hastily and angrily leave the room.….. We ended the vigil and returned to base.

Emma Curtis

This was my first investigation with the group and therefore you can imagine how nervous I was at the beginning of the evening ! I arrived at 8pm and I met a few of the group at the door who showed me where to go ...after the initial meet and greet process I felt much better and went on a tour with some of the group so we would know where to go during the evening. As I was new to the whole thing I was first asked to perform and shown how to do baseline line tests for the temperature readings for some of the rooms, I found this quite interesting as I have never performed anything like this before.

Now my nervousness had gone and I was excited to get on with the night ahead.

My team were great, very friendly and helpful. The whole night was great to me especially as we had the medium in our team.

The vigil that stood out the most was vigil 1,there we all were sat in this cosy little room, pitch black and silence just waiting for something to happen and I saw a tiny red dot appear in the door frame but decide not to say anything in case I’m going silly but keep this in the back of my mind, looking around the room trying to note everything mentally ie positions of items, shadows etc. Someone mentions that the mobile hanging in the window has started spinning but the other 2 either side had not moved ...strange as it stopped for a bit then started again, slowed down then speeded up.... we checked for a draft from windows and doors to eliminate that this was why it was doing it but no draft was found. I decided to mention my red dot now as people had mentioned temperature drops ,noises etc so it seemed like a good time ! A couple of minutes later someone else saw this dot in the opposite side of the room ,unexplainable as none of the equipment used in that room or from outside could have made these dots. I experienced lots of weird things in that room, a shadow on the wall I thought was someone’s head in the room but turned out to disappear when I looked later. I also mentioned this and we tried to create the same effect by standing in different places to see if we could recreate the same shadow but couldn’t . we were all so engrossed in this room that we went over into our break.

What a great first vigil. Throughout the night in different vigils all sorts of things happened temperature drops, the medium sensing a little girl in one room, glass divination to which a lady called Anne was contacted the whole night in general was great but if I wrote everything down I would be here all night. Dont forget this is my first personnel report and am all excited about being a new member to the group, hope this explains most of the evening without going into pages and pages.

I would like to thank the group and especially the people who allowed this to happen at this location.

Brian Ward

Yet another investigation. This was at a Junior School in Southampton, just around the corner from where I was born plus I had the great pleasure of working with our Medium Paul Wayman again which is always good.

My team’s first vigil was in the south block upper floor, Caretakers room and The Snug now to be quite honest with you I did not feel or sense anything both areas felt very calm we had a break then went to our second vigil area The; Lower part of the south block which consisted of a large hall and 5 class rooms. The moment the lights where turned off I sensed in my mind a boy about 10yrs old dressed in a thick brown short trouser suit with a grey knitted jumper grey socks and black boots all very warn and tattered. We moved into a class room of the hall where our medium and Maria felt the energy of a little girl we tried calling out to get her to come closer to us but she must have been very shy with us strange people about I did feel a very cold breeze across my face but this was most probley down to natural causes.

Our next vigil was in the east block upper floor The music room and Bell Tower unfornatly there was no access to the bell tower our Medium had the feeling of this area being used as a look out now this I am going to have to do a bit of research on this as the Bell Tower and the room underneath could have been used as a Air raid warden or a home guard post and look out during world war 2 as Woolston was badly bombed by the German air force trying to destroy the navel ship building yards.

After a break we set of to our last vigil of the night joined by Julie and Wayne on the east block lower floor our Medium had left by this time to drive back to London, We decided to have a glass divination experiment in one of the class rooms Julie opened the divination I was filming sat on a table the glass moved almost straight away and very strong movements they were too. The glass was moving to all the questions being asked by our team member Rab. During the divination Rab asked where the spirit lady was standing the glass moved straight to where I was sat I did think my front half of my body was very cold and my back was warm.

Then Rab asked if the spirit lady could touch one of us at that moment I felt the sleeve of my coat being tugged, none of this I could find a natural reason unless it was the spirit lady.

After packing the gear away I still felt that the same boy I sensed earlier in the evening, hewas still watching what we where doing. Was this picture I put in my own mind I don’t know.

I would like to thank Maria for securing this investigation and for the school for having us and I hope we can return soon

Di Moore

I arrived at the school, the weather was fine, not wet, a little cold but a clear sky with stars. Maria took us on a tour round the school where I did my first baseline tests (very interesting) with Alison B, Emma, Marc, Charlotte & Jan. We found cold spots in the South block lower floors especially in the hall and the caretaker’s room behind the door (this was on the upper floor), but I felt fine. After leaving south block I felt I had to look back at one of the upstairs windows (Snug) and was expecting to see a face at the window. I asked the rest of the group to look, as I was sure there was something. I felt like we were being watched.

For the vigils I was in Team 2. First we went to the east block lower floor, this was the hall with all the classrooms off of it. We split up into smaller groups, each going into a different classroom. I was with Alison B and Marc and we went into Classroom 5**. On entering this room I asked Alison to shine the torch at the window as something looked like a head! It was in fact a cuddly duck, we had a good laugh. Standing there I got a pain in my groin (like stitch). This was painful. Alison got breathless and also had a headache. These feelings left us when we left the classroom. In the hall we had a séance and all heard creaky sounds and knocking.

After our break we started vigil 2 on the east block upper floor. We sat in the snug and this felt fine. Some shapes in the window but we explained these as tricks of the light (from outside). In the art room cupboard we heard a noise like a machine or generator but when Dan, Rachel and I investigated this we found the noise coming from the disabled toilets downstairs. The fan was on and we could not turn it off. Not much happened on this vigil.

Vigil 3 was over in the south block on the lower floor. I didn’t like the feel of this building. We sat in the hall and tried to do a séance but Alison heard the voices of 2 men talking and we didn’t so her, Ed and Marc went to investigate. When they were in the classroom I spotted white mist outside and I thought it was my eyes so asked Rachel & Dan to look. They both saw it too. I asked Sue to scan round with the camcorder and she also saw it. Right then Ed came out of the classroom and walked right through the mist, the entire group outside the classroom saw this. It was about 6ft tall and slim like an adult. Is this my first ghost?? I do hope Sue picked it up on camcorder. We then went into this classroom. The room was very cold and spooky. Marc, Rachel, Dan & I tried glass divination on the table, placing our fingers very lightly on the glass. I asked questions with Marc and the glass moved. We asked it to go back to the middle of the table and it did. At this time Sue was filming and said there were lights under the table. Really spooky time in these rooms. I felt a little scared and I needed the next break!

We were standing talking outside the ladies toilet near the staff room (on our break) when Val came running out (with trousers undone) as she heard a voice, like it was coming over a loud speaker. I was outside and never heard it but seeing Vals face I believed she had heard it.

Our last vigil was back over to south block and I was not sure I wanted to go. The room we went into was the caretaker’s room at the top of the stairs. It was still very cold behind the door. We then went into the snug. This room was very warm, cosy and friendly. We sat in the dark, I was at the table with Ed. Alison started a séance. I asked spirit to come forward and make the window mobiles move. First the middle one which was wood did, then both of the ones hanging either side moved too. There were no drafts as we felt all around the windows and they were also double glazed, however I did not feel scared.

This is the most I have felt and seen happen on any investigation I have been on. Loved it! Can’t wait for next time! Thank you once again for including me.