Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Marwell Hall Investigation
Saturday 13th March 2010
Attending Investigators – Maria Street, Amanda Horley, Maureen Taylor, Mark Pettet, Sarah Pettet, Rob Butler, Gill O'Farrell, Mark Boulton, Alison Crocker, Kieran Gillingham, Jane Gillingham, Karen Reynolds-Day, Robin Turton, Steve Boston
Guest – Gilly & Scott
Marwell Staff – Regan, Leah & Becky
Time of Investigation – 6pm – 2am
Marwell History
Marwell Hall is situated 6 miles south east of Winchester in the grounds of Marwell Zoo and was built around 1320 by Walter Woodlock, a relative of the Bishop of Winchester. The original building was a timber-framed structure and over the centuries there have been many alterations. The original medieval hall still remains. The name Marwell comes from the words "mere" (meaning pool) and "well" (referring to a spring or body of water). Although there is no natural lake at Marwell, the nearest being Fisher's pond a mile away, there are several natural springs around the zoo. Although the land had been granted to Walter Woodlock by the Bishop, he did not initially have the King's permission to build there and the hall was built before this permission was granted.
During the 1500's the Seymour family took over the ownership of the Hall. Local legend says that Henry V111 and Jane Seymour were married there and it also said that their son who later became Edward V1 was a visitor the Hall. They certainly were visitors to the hall on more than one occasion and the family's coat of arms is carved above the fireplace in the library. On 2nd March 1644, 60 Round heads who formed part of Waller's men were based at the hall as the troops pressed south. Cavaliers were based in Winchester and on this occasion, after the Cavaliers had spent a greater part of the day drinking, they rode out to the hall to challenge Round heads. In spite of heavily outnumbering the 60 Round heads, the 200 Cavaliers went back to Winchester well and truly beaten.
From 1799 the Long family owned the hall for some 40 years until the death of Alice Long. William Long made major alterations to the hall between 1813-1816, tearing down much of the existing upper 2 storeys and rebuilding them. This resulted in the building that still exists today. The large cedar tree that stands on the back lawn was probably planted during Long's time at the hall. Between the period 1851 to 1862 John Gully owned the hall. He was a gentleman and a sportsman of the time. He was a boxer and trained race horses (although not at Marwell) and went on to become MP of Pontefract. He had two wives and 24 children.
Thank you
Our thanks go to the Marwell management for not only allowing us to revisit, but also to use areas that would not normally be available for vigils. Special thanks go to Kieran for setting up the investigation and for liaising with Regan and the Marwell management in sorting out the vigil areas. Finally, a big thank you to our guests and the Marwell staff who came to the investigation open minded and eager to investigate and who worked so well with the SP UK members they were teamed up with.
Vigil Area's
Ground
Floor area 1 (includes the Library, Woodlock room, Mildmay room and Dovecote)
Ground Floor area 2 (includes the Main Hall, Kitchen and Kitchen corridor)
First Floor area 1 (includes the staircase, area at top of the stairs, corridor, gents toilet)
First
Floor area 2 (includes the former boardroom, small kitchen, corridor and former
hospitality room)
Attic – (Maureen's room, Christmas tree room, Animal room, bathroom, storage
room, top of stairs
Groups Base – Woodlock room
Teams
Team 1
Amanda – Team Leader
Sarah
Mark B
Gill
Robin
Team 2
Maria – Team Leader
Kieran
Alison
Steve
Leah
Team 3
Rob – Team Leader
Mark P
Karen
Jane
Regan
Team 4
Maureen – Team Leader
Gilly
Becky (until 11 pm)
Scott (until 11 pm)
Itinerary
5.45 pm Meet outside the main entrance of the zoo
6.00 pm Amanda to collect members and escort them to the Hall
6.15 pm Prepare team room and set up technical equipment
7 pm Maureen to give members a short tour of the Hall
7.30pm Vigil 1
Team 1 – Ground floor 1
Team 2 – Ground floor 2
Team 3 – First floor 2
Team 4 – Attic
8.15 pm Break
8.30 pm Vigil 2
Team 1 – Attic
Team 2 – First floor 1
Team 3 – Ground floor 2
Team 4 - First floor 2
9.15 pm Break
9.30 pm Vigil 3
Team 1 – First floor 2
Team 2 – Attic
Team 3 – First floor 1
Team 4 – Ground floor 1
10.15 pm Break
10.45pm Vigil 4
Whole group vigil – Main Hall
11.15 pm Break
11.30 pm Vigil 5
Teams 1 and 4 – Ground floor 2
Team 2 – First floor 2
Team 3 – Ground floor 1
12.15 am Break
12.30 am Vigil 6
Teams 1 and 4 – First floor 1
Team 2 – Ground floor 1
Team 3 – Attic
1.15am Pack up
2.00am Depart
Personal Reports
Amanda Horley
My first ever investigation was at Marwell Hall and it is somewhere that I visit regularly and because of that and the fact that it is such a welcoming building, it is one of my favourite places to investigate. Despite having attended many investigations here over several years, it never fails to be a good night, and always seems to have new surprises in store for us. I was particularly looking forward to this investigation, as the teams had been organised in such a way that in the team with Sarah and me were those group members who although they had investigated with SPUK before, had never investigated Marwell. It was going to be important (and hard) for me not to give away any specifics about what I was picking up on and to give the others a chance to say what they thought was happening.
Our first vigil was on the ground floor covering the north end of the building and the Dovecote. As somewhere that had never been investigated before, we decided to start in the Dovecote, however, for me it was very quiet in here. After a short while we returned to the main building and moved into the Library. When setting up earlier in the evening I had been aware of a lot of “bustle” in the corner by the door to the stairway. Almost as if someone was rushing around in that area. I still felt that there was someone rushing around here but although there were some thuds from this area, we didn't get any further information and I couldn't tell who exactly it was there. We tried calling out but were unable to get any responses other than the thuds, despite the fact that I could feel a spirit stood watching us to the right of the fireplace. I didn't say anything to the others, but I knew from experience that this was Alice, and that she tended not to come forward much when investigations were happening. I went and stood by her but the others didn't seem to be picking up on her, although Gill was sensing the presence of a woman/girl in the room. We ended this vigil in the Mildmay room, where Gill was still picking up on the woman/girl, who didn't feel comfortable in that room. I wasn't able to connect with her, but felt that there was also a male presence in the room, who didn't feel particularly welcoming. I couldn't however get any other information about him.
After the break we moved on to the attic. It had been several investigations since we were able to go up into the attic, and I am very grateful to the Marwell management for allowing us partial access to what has always been a fascinating area for me. Storage areas in the attic have changed in recent years, so the rooms (with the exception of Maureen's room) are named in the itinerary to match their current use. We started in Maureen's room. Although this was relatively quiet for me, I got a sense of pain and sorrow that I haven't had in this room before. I couldn't pin it down and there were several very annoying flies in the room (always a problem in this room rather than any of the other attic ones) so we moved on to the animal room, which contained several very old stuffed animals and sets of antlers. I found this room very unnerving, and felt quite fearful, although knowing what had been picked up in this room previously, I cannot be sure whether this was a real feeling, or linked to my knowledge of the room. Other team members felt that there was a presence in this room, in particular by the door, and I was also aware of this spirit. I believe that it was the man who is associated to this room, but he seemed content to stand and watch us rather than do anything further to confirm his presence. I became aware of another presence in this room that appeared after the male spirit, and to me it felt like Alice from the library (I kept this information to myself). At the same time I became a lot calmer about being in the room, and no longer felt any fear. Again, this could just be because of what happened in here on a previous investigation. After a time we moved into the bathroom and the old storage room. The bathroom was quiet for me, but in the storage room I smelt a flowery smell that I couldn't tie down to anything in the room, and Gill said that she felt they would have been Gardenias. We did try to get the spirit to do something to confirm her presence, but I wasn't aware of anything happening.
Our third vigil was on the first floor, in the southern area of the building. We started in the old boardroom, and I was very aware of a male presence stood by the doorway into the kitchen. Other members of the team also reported sensing this presence. I believe it was the man from the attic and (Rowland) was someone I was very familiar with from previous investigations. Initially we had the door to the corridor closed, but we kept hearing noises from the corridor so we wedged it open. The noises could easily be explained away as being from the pipes or floorboards; however, after we opened the door, the noises seemed to stop, which we couldn't explain. Gill sensed a young girl in here, and described her as being 15 with golden hair and blue eyes. Gill said that she wasn't a servant, but wasn't well off either. She also got the name Emily. All this (with the exception of the name) ties in with a spirit called Lucy who was the niece of one of the owners, although regretfully, I wasn't able to pick up on her myself this time. Therefore, I don't know if it was Lucy, or if Gill was picking up on somebody else.
We then moved into the kitchen, which was a quiet area for me, and after a time we went into the old hospitality room which was being used as the technical hub, and was also quiet for me.
Vigil four was the group vigil in the Main Hall, and unfortunately, this time it was a relatively quiet one for us.
For the last two vigils, Maureen and Gilly joined our team, and for Vigil 5 we were on the Ground floor in the kitchen corridor area. Sarah very quickly picked up on a spirit who appeared to be a Canadian Airman from the Second World War. This was someone new for us, and I don't think he has been picked up on before. When asked to think of his name, Maureen came out with Derek at the same time as Gill said Eric. Sarah was using the dowsing rods to get answers to her questions from him and we did seem to be getting good responses on them. When we tried the same thing with a surname, I was thinking Sanders, and Maureen said Saunders. Neither of these seemed to be right, and Robin said Svenson (or possibly Salverson), which seemed to be correct. After a time, there seemed to be other spirits around, as we were getting responses on the rods, but nothing that made much sense. Maureen seemed certain who was present, and because I wanted to try and keep the questioning unbiased, and so as not to influence the answers we got, I suggested having Sarah and Maureen standing back to back to see if we got the same answers on both sets of rods. The responses still seemed to be random however. After a time, there was a sudden tapping (either 3 or 4) on the door next to where Maureen and Sarah were standing. They both turned and looked at the door, and the tapping repeated. Robin tried tapping on one of the panels of the door, and it was exactly the sound that we had heard. However, this was a locked (empty) office and as we were all watching Maureen and Sarah at the time it happened, we know that no-one touched the door. Despite several requests from us, the tapping didn't happen again, and all too soon the vigil was over.
Our final vigil was back up on the first floor, this time at the northern end, at the top of the main staircase. We tried areas at the top of the stairs, and along the corridor, but for me this was a quiet area. Both Sarah and Gill were sensing a boy, playing with toys on the floor, which would place him in the last 200 years, as prior to that the floor level was considerably lower. Sarah also sensed a man who was visiting his brother (the owner) and he also had a sister.
As always, this was a great place to investigate, and for me it was a pleasure to come across spirits that I have met before, and to know who was there just from their smell or presence or sense of energy. What was even better was to hear other people, who had not done Marwell before, describe (very accurately) the spirits that I was sensing. The Canadian should be possible to research further, and I am looking forward to doing that. The tapping on the door was sensational, even if we couldn't get it to repeat for us. Thank you Kieran for doing all the initial work on this one, and thank you Marwell for letting us come back, and trusting us with what is a beautiful and very special building. I can't wait for the next one.
Rob Butler
Team 4
Rob Butler, Mark Pettet, Regan ( staff ) Jane Gillingham and Karen Reynolds-Day.
Vigil 1: First Floor (board room, kitchen, corridor)
As I had already been shown around the house earlier by Amanda I was looking forward to the investigation. It was a lovely house with so many rooms to investigate. Thank you to Maria and Amanda for allowing me to be team leader for the evening.
We started our first vigil in the board room. All emf and temperature readings were fine although the board room was very warm (think it was due to the amount of monitors that were in there.) I began to call out and ask if any spirits would like to come forward and speak with us. Immediately Regan began to feel very uneasy and one of her hands was going very cold and temperature readings indicated that indeed she was cold on one hand more than the other. There were no signs of a draught in the room so I began to ask the spirit if they could politely step away from Regan and affect another member of the team. Mark said he could feel a little pressure behind the ears. Jane and Karen could feel no uneasiness. By this time Regan felt less uneasy although her hand was still rather cold.
I was feeling very uneasy by the boardroom door/ kitchen door so I stood up and placed myself into the middle of it facing into the room. I had the desire to turn and face the door so I did and when I did I could see the outline of a man (it was like the door wasn't there and I could see him looking at me from the kitchen side). He was probably 5ft 10 tall with a definite triangular style goatee beard and a moustache that curled at both ends. He was very intimidating looking, almost arrogant. He had a top hat on and long style jacket and trousers that came above his ankles. He looked like he was sniggering at me but when I called out and asked questions he never responded or moved. He looked to me like he wasn't rich or poor he was middle class in stature just seemed to be a bully type of gentlemen. Regan had a sensation that some one maybe a woman was holding her hand (could she be hiding from the figure I was seeing in the kitchen doorway). I also had three names pop into my head, Camilla, William and Henry. How significant they are I don't know.
I opened up the boardroom door into the kitchen and we all went through into the kitchen area. In this room we all felt calm and not uneasy in any way and it appeared to me that the person I could see previously had disappeared and was no longer there. We continued to call out but no responses were heard so we went into the corridor again was very quiet and normal feelings at this time.
Vigil 2: Ground Floor (Main hall, Kitchen, Kitchen corridor)
We started off in the kitchen area but although we tried to call out we couldn't really hear much in the way of responses as there was a lot of noise coming from the fridges and other items in the kitchen, so we decided to go and sit outside in the kitchen corridor. We were sat there for a little while when the phone in the kitchen started to ring. Regan thought that was very strange as no one would ring the kitchens at that time of the evening. As that phone stopped ringing another one began to ring in the finance office which was behind us and locked. Again there was no reason for the phone to be ringing this time of the evening. That phone stopped ringing then another one started to ring down the corridor. Again, the phone rang in the kitchen and I went to answer it and it immediately rang off. When I dialled 1471 there was an engaged tone which we found very confusing. There were no other feelings or incidents during this vigil.
Vigil 3: First Floor (Gents toilet area, Top of main stairs and corridor area)
We started our vigil at the top of the main stairs and managed to take some good photos of various light anomalies, around the stairs area.
We then went and sat by the end of the corridor by the gent's toilets. Although it seemed very calm, I could see what appeared to be a shadow at the far end of the corridor, static for a time and then it seemed to evaporate. There were no suspicious knockings or other feelings although I did feel a little queasy for a time. We did hear what sounded like shuffling feet down the corridor when we were calling out but could see no visual signs apart from the static shadow at the end (maybe a trick of the light at the time).
Vigil 4: Group vigil in the main Hall.
This vigil didn't really have many positives from a personal point of view however other members of the team had there own personal experiences during the vigil and it was very interesting to hear the other members picking up on certain things and members of the Marwell team substantiating them.
Vigil 5: Ground floor area and Seymour library room.
This vigil was very interesting for me as I picked up on a figure of a man stood by the wooden carved fireplace to the right of it. The library room itself was very oppressive at the time of the vigil and it seemed darker in places than normal. To me personally the fire place never used to be there. It looked like it didn't belong there although it was a magnificent piece of sculptured wood. When we were calling out and asking for responses there were quite a few tapping noises in response to our questions which we found very interesting. I did manage to catch a few light anomalies. One was above Jane's head and at the time she was feeling really cold on her skin and had the feeling of being scared. Although we were supposed to investigate several of the ground floor rooms, we spent the whole of the vigil time in the library as it seemed active during the duration of the time we were there.
Vigil 6: Attic area
The last vigil of the night was a very interesting one, as being in the attic at the top of the house there were no knockings coming from above us. We tried to do some glass divination in Maureen's room but got no responses. In the stuffed animal room there were also no responses when we were calling out, however when we were in the doorway of the stuffed animal room we did have the feeling that someone was in the corridor. We then went to the bathroom area and started to call out. We immediately got taps as responses and when Mark was asking out there were definite responses which was very interesting to me and the other members of the team. We then had to end our vigil as sadly time was up.
Overall Marwell Hall was a great investigation for me personally and would love the opportunity to go and investigate again. I would like to personally thank the staff at Marwell for making our stay very relaxing and thank you to my team members and to Amanda and Maria for making me team leader for the night.
Alison Crocker
I was very excited to return to Marwell. Not only is it a beautiful location, I can always sense the history when I'm there because the location, not just the house, has so much history to it but on different levels and timelines.
As soon as I arrived at the location I was immediately drawn to the right hand side (as you stand at the entrance facing the house). I wanted to walk around the side of the house but found a brick building in the way! I was going back to a time when that building didn't exist. Myself and Amanda has a walk in that area and I picked up on a young maid/nanny who was victimised by a very austere Victorian looking gentleman. He often used to beat this maid and I picked up she might have fallen pregnant by him. I can't be sure if that baby was born, as in the attic later on in the investigation, I picked up on an abortion taking place, but not in a caring professional way, more a botch job!!
Our first team vigil was in the kitchen area and I felt immediately on edge, standing in there in the dark - it was awful. I saw hundreds of tiny pin prick lights (I believe that's spirit energy) and was also drawn to the roof in that area. I picked up on a leak coming through the ceiling and Kieran confirmed this. I was also drawn to the view outside the kitchen window. I felt there is more than one body buried out in that area. I felt especially drawn to the middle of the lawn and to the left. We were not alone in the kitchen and I felt it was the presence of the Victorian man. Quite domineering and threatening but from a distance if that makes sense!?
We then moved to the Great Hall. I had a link with the sea in this room, I picked up on a stolen item, although what I couldn't quite get, and someone finding an old shoe. I didn't feel uncomfortable in here though and was happy to sit. We ALL saw a huge flash through the window and radioed out to see if someone was taking pictures outside....no-one was. Very strange. We also all picked up on the feeling someone was sitting in the leather sofas in the corner of the room and kept hearing movement in that area....again nothing explained that either! I was aware of the Victorian man and a woman in a huge gown (the ones with the huge skirts and many layers). I caught a glimpse of a lady who was wearing a pale yellow/cream dress. Sadly, no other details. Later on in the group vigil in this room I picked up on witchcraft connected to the area, like a travelling coven.
We then moved upstairs to the stairs and the first floor corridor and the toilet. We ALL heard a loud scream in this area, 2 - 3 times. I think it sounded as if it was outside but the others thought inside.....not sure. Sound does funny things at night. I picked up on a rape in one of the bedrooms, a man, and three women....sisters? I also had a link with a Church and asked if a vicar/priest had ever lived in the house? I also felt that there was a mystery connected to the house and a conspiracy....I'd like to return to the house just to find out what. It's quite a big mystery and rumour and whatever it is, people think something happened, but actually they are believing a lie! Very intriguing. Our investigation in the toilet was interesting. I had the most awful pains in my legs around the shins, and for some reason Henry V111 came to my mind! Kieran said he almost certainly stayed there in that area on visits to the house! I was amazed. I don't think he haunts the house but I do feel his energy is imprinted in the fabric of the building, simply because he was so immensely powerful! Suddenly the leg pains made sense as he suffered with ulcerated legs. I also sensed that somewhere in the house there are old costumes/clothes. These also give off energy and the area around them might be quite active. Kieran didn't know about these?
We then moved to the Attic. This was very unusual. I immediately said the floor is not safe and so we moved around carefully. I picked up on a fire that started in the right wing (as you look at the house from the entrance) and I saw in my mind floors tumbling down on to the rooms below. I also sensed it was started by a candle. We all smelt candles as if someone had blown one out. I picked up on a man who wrote for a newspaper, like an editor or similar. I think he was around up there although not in a menacing way. The room at the front of the house in the attic (Maureen's room) had a horrible energy in it. This is where I picked up on an abortion. I felt really uncomfortable and on edge. I felt he was watching us and threatening us. I was glad we had the men with us. I also felt someone was nursed up here and that they might have died. I felt it was an elderly lady. That was reasonably recent, about 1925/1930. I also sensed children running around. I feel a family lived in the attic around this time.
A word of warning though, Kieran showed us the old medieval roof and I sensed a wiring fault (modern day). I also sensed that when the house is empty of people on a day to day situation that there might be a fire started by old or dodgy wiring. I told Kieran and Leah it needs to be checked out.
We then went to the office. I think it's called the boardroom. I was drawn to the doorway. I'm sure I saw a black shape move in the doorway. For some reason the doorway is prominent. I felt immediately threatened in here and wherever I sat I wanted a man next to me!! I was standing by the door into the office that goes out into the corridor and had an enormous fright as walking towards me was a huge black shadow! I moved very quickly out of the way but still didn't feel safe. I was very happy to leave. I feel I was picking up on the Victorian man again and the rape situation. He does not like women at all!
The rest of our time at Marwell was spent walking around outside, and downstairs in the chapel (Woodlock room) with Kieran, talking about Marwell's plans for the future. We did visit the dovecote building and he showed me the shoe that had been found (see earlier paragraph). I sensed it was worn by a male in the 17th century that had connections to London. I also sensed that more artefacts will be found when the digs begin by the old wall.
Sadly, when my computer crashed in March last year I lost everything on it including my first Marwell report, so I can't check what I wrote last time, but I can say that I don't remember picking up on the same energies as last time except for the Victorian man. That's what I like about Marwell, there's so much history to be uncovered!
Gill O'Farrell
Team 1 – Amanda, Sarah, Gill, Mark, Robin.
This was my first visit to Marwell. The house looked beautiful and was very well preserved inside. Our initial walk round gave us an orientation to the house and I had the feeling this might prove to be an interesting evening. We were quite a large group with a number of guests so we were able to investigate many parts of the house.
Vigil One
Our first vigil was on the ground floor of the building. Firstly, we went out to the Dovecote. I was quite unnerved by the growling of various large animals that were in the vicinity! The Dovecote itself appeared very quiet apart from the odd flapping from crows and pigeons outside. I had the impression of a middle-aged man wearing a white hat and dressed in a dirty white apron, as if he was a baker.
We moved inside and took position in the library. During the walk back into the building I had the sense of a young woman in a full skirt. The skirt was of an emerald green embroidered shade. The woman stayed in the library with me and I was overwhelmed with a great sense of sadness as if I wanted to cry. She felt as if she liked to be in here as that's where the people were that she was looking for. She called several names: “Helen, Edward, Richard.”
For the last part of this vigil, we moved into the outer room leading to the garden, which had a glass roof. The lady felt more agitated in this room and wanted to go back into the library. I felt she wanted to bang on the door to get back in to the others. It felt as if she was looking for something.
Vigil Two
We moved into the Attic rooms. Our first location was “Maureen's room”. I had initially thought that this room would yield good activity but it turned out to be fairly quiet. The only impression I had was off a man in his 20s who was quite a practical joker and might have had something of a learning disability. He had very dark eyebrows and a stubbly growth to his face.
We moved into the Stuffed Animals room. Some of the other group members had some experiences in this room but I felt very little here. Lastly, we moved into the room with a sink. Amanda senses a woman to which I felt she would smell of gardenias.
As we got back to the ground floor, Sarah and I heard a noise as if a door had creaked open. Upon exploration is appeared that this might have been one of the doors in the corridor moving apparently on its own.
Vigil Three
The third vigil took place on the first floor, starting in the Board Room. This was a rather active area with lots of rod activity that indicated about four spirits. I had a clear impression of a young girl of fifteen floating into the room. She had golden blond hair swept around her neck around the left side. She had a serene expression and a slight smile. She was wearing a white cotton shift-like nightdress with a high waist and a lace border around the hem that sat just above her ankles. I felt she did not belong in that room but had been waiting in the corridor outside. During this, I had a sensation in my right leg as if I could not move it. The girl had entered the room in a strange way as if she could not move her legs although I did not think she had a disability. I did not think this girl was a servant; nor did I thing she was “well to do”. I could not seem to ascertain any further information from her. I had an impression of the name Emily around this girl. I felt the time period was within the last 200 years.
Group Vigil
The group vigil took place in the main hall. Fairly early on I felt a man of about 5' 6”standing close to my right side. He had a top hat and a grey suit with a long-line jacket with two black buttons above pleats on the back. He had black hair and dark features. I did not think he was a particularly nice man. He had a rather pensive expression and tapped his cane into his other palm in an anxious manner. He said the name “Percy.” I felt he dated back around 100 to 150 years.
Vigil Four
The next vigil was in the other side of the ground floor. Most of our time here was spent in the kitchen corridor working with the dowsing rods. The others linked with a sprit of a Canadian airman. I felt his name was “Eric” or “Derek” and his surname had two syllables starting with an “S” and ending with “…son”. I felt he was still visiting as he had danced here happily with his girl and they had a child, Dorothea.
Vigil Five
For the last vigil we visited the main staircase, Gent's toilet and upper corridor. There was little activity in these areas and intermittent responses with the rods. In the corridor area I felt a small boy playing with toys. His name was “Samuel” and he had a freckled face and reddish wavy hair.
Marwell was a wonderful building with a great deal of history and, I believe, a lot of activity. I would welcome the opportunity to visit again.
Maureen Taylor
Before the first vigil, we did a quick tour of the house. As the purpose of this tour is to familiarise everyone with the layout of the place, so that they know where vigil locations are we don't often pick up on a great deal, as we are generally concentrating on remembering where we have to go later in the night. However, on this occasion, as we were walking through the Woodlock Room, Gilly suddenly commented that she had just felt someone or something pat her on the back of the head several times (I now believe this to have been Beth, who always turns up at some point during a Marwell investigation).
Starting the vigils – my team consisted of myself (of course), plus Becky - a member of staff, and her boyfriend, Scott plus Gilly – a guest, but no other Southern Paranormal members, a most unusual situation, but it proved interesting. Scott unfortunately was feeling unwell so really wasn't able to sense much at all, and of course Becky was no doubt, though not outwardly, concerned about him, so in turn she was possibly not picking up on as much as she might have done otherwise.
Vigil 1 - the attic floor.
Becky was a little nervous to start with and none too happy about having all the lights turned off, so we kept at least one torch lit most of the time – for me it makes little difference whether it's light or dark during a vigil, so I was quite happy to keep some light on for her. As we stood outside the Christmas tree room, Gilly commented that she was smelling something that resembled a bathroom type air freshener of the floral kind, so having checked that there were no air fresheners in the area we all stood sniffing for a few minutes – apart from poor Scott who due to the incipient cold he had coming just couldn't smell anyway. I'd had the name May in my head just previously to this, but didn't connect the two, and it wasn't until a few days later that, when chatting to Rodger (a friend and medium who knows a little about Marwell), that he made me realise the connection between May and the smell – it was rosewater, a fragrance that nearly always accompanies her presence. In the room that is still known to the group as ‘Maureen's Room' we tried glass divination but with no results, so we tried the dowsing rods instead and were starting to get some results, but nothing very definite – at which point the walkie-talkie started crackling, but it seemed that none of the ones with other groups was in use at the time, so the reason for that remains a mystery. By now we had run out of time and had to return to base.
Vigil 2 - Board room, kitchen, Becky's office, and first floor corridor.
Nothing happening in the office, though we did hear a phone ringing, a little odd for that time of night, maybe the phone company testing the line? Little reaction from the pendulum, but Beth did come through briefly to let us know that she was around. The kitchen itself was quiet, but Gilly could hear distant music, as if from a radio or television. I could hear noises, but was unable to definitely identify what I could hear; to me it was more like the hum of distant electrical appliances of some sort. The corridor was quiet too, and by this time it was time to return to base again anyway.
Vigil 3 – Library, Woodlock, Mildmay and the dovecote
We decided to brave the cold and go out to the dovecote first, but all we felt out here was - well, cold…. In the Mildmay Room I got the feeling that there was someone in the room with us but they were reluctant to come forward and speak to us – in fact that was a feeling that I'd had for most of the night so far. Nothing in either the Woodlock room or the library.
Vigil 4 - group vigil in the Tudor Rose Hall.
Unfortunately this proved to be very quiet without much happening at all as far as I can recall. There was one point when I had a sudden sharp pain above my right eye, but this subsided after two or three minutes.
Vigil 5 – Kitchen corridor, Long Room and corridor outside it.
Scott and Becky had had to leave by now, so Gilly and I joined Amanda's team for the rest of the night. The Long Room seemed very quiet, as did the corridor beside it, so we went out to the kitchen corridor. Here we got out the dowsing rods as on previous occasions we have had very good results with them here, and this was to be no exception. However, I am more than a little suspicious of the results that we got with them. We seemed to be picking up on a Canadian pilot who had been here during the war. He told us not only his first name (Derek), but also his surname (something like Sanders/ Saunders/Salvesen/Samuelson) – it's most unusual to get a surname, so that aroused my suspicions right away though I didn't say anything to the others. He told us that he married a British girl, presumably at some time during the wartime occupation of the hall. As we had several sets of rods we decided to try an experiment – Sarah and I, with a pair of rods each, stood back to back so that we couldn't see how the rods were reacting to questioning – Sarah's rods were still going to and fro and round and round quite madly, while mine were hardly responding at all, though some answers did coincide. This ‘experiment' came to an abrupt end however……there was a door immediately to my left as we stood there, and there was suddenly a knocking on it – four knocks, a momentary pause, then four more knocks. My immediate thought was that it was caused by a draught of some sort, or alternatively, that there was someone the other side of the door knocking on it - - but it was an empty and locked office. Those thoughts took no more than a microsecond, and what I actually physically reacted to was Sarah's reaction – on hearing the knocks she, just an instant before me, shot away from me and from the door, while I headed off equally quickly in the other direction….and once we were a few feet apart both of us turned to see what was going on – we saw nothing of course. Attempts were made to get the knocking to repeat, but with no success, so that one remains unexplained.
Vigil 6 – Part of first floor corridor, top of stairs and gents loo
We picked up nothing on the stairs or around the gents loo, so moved into the corridor. We could hear the other group laughing on the other side of the door at the far end of the corridor, but all was quiet at our end of it. Sarah was picking up on a man (at least, she thought it was a man at the time). He said that he was brother to an owner of the hall. When asked if he ought to be there he replied saying ‘I will go where I please' (all this still coming through Sarah). In spite of what I know about the hall I was unable to establish just who this was. We also felt that there was a child about, this may have been Michael, who often turns up on our investigations here, but we couldn't be quite sure. Some of the group, sorry can't remember who, had their hair touched, felt taps on their shoulders and were getting a general impression of people walking along the corridor.
Right through the night and I all vigil locations I had the feeling that there was someone following us around, quite likely the same person all the time, and whoever it was to some extent preventing us from picking up on other spirit activity in the building, and this I think was the reason why my group was getting so much less activity than the other vigil groups. I have since had a chat with Rodger (mentioned earlier) and he has confirmed that this reasoning on my part was correct, and I see no reason to be at all sceptical of what he has told me, and in the light of what I know about the history of the place it seems more than likely.
Anyway, another great investigation at Marwell…….
Mark Pettet
This was my second visit to Marwell and also the first time of using the CCTV system so it should be very interesting watching the footage of the night's proceedings. One at the bottom of the spiral stairs, and the other one right at the top in the attic down the long corridor to the far end of the building, then one camera placed along the first-floor corridor and the last one looking at the main staircase. With the hub in the fundraising room, while setting up the cameras I had noticed light anomalies from the various cameras. I was looking forward the watching the footage from this.
Team 4. Rob, Jane, Karen, myself and Regan (Marwell staff).
1st vigil
The team went into the board room first. Quiet to start off with. A few pictures were taken. We all settle down quite quickly and Rob started to call out. Jane and Karen felt a bit uneasy, also Regan had a feeling of someone near her and she said her hand and started to go cold which Rob confirmed by directing the digital thermometer at her hand and it was quite a few degrees colder than the other hand. Rob was in the far corner near the door that leads into the small kitchen and was leaning against the door and he was getting a vision of a tall gentleman with a top hat and a diamond shape goatee beard. Apart from a little bit of uneasiness that's all this room had to offer for us. We then decided to go through the door into the small kitchen which we stayed in here a little while but nothing was really picked up so we decided to move into the fundraising room and finished up our vigil in here with no results either.
2nd Vigil - kitchen and adjacent corridor.
We started this vigil in the kitchen and it was very cold. I don't think any of us liked it in this room as you just didn't feel comfortable in there and also it was quite noisy due to the fridges. What was also odd was as Regan was just about to open the fridge she said 'careful that there is not a pig's head in there' and when she looked there was bottles of wine which had a boars head picture on it. We moved out this room and into the corridor where we all took places and sat down. After a little while the phone in the kitchen rang but we didn't think much of until the phone in the Finance room rang and then about 10 seconds later the phone in the IT room rang as well which struck us as being very odd. Regan couldn't understand why anybody would be calling the kitchen at about 9:30 at night and why would anybody be calling Finance or IT as well. The phone rang in the kitchen again so Rob and I went to answer it but it only rang twice so we tried 1471 but as soon as we got to 7 we had an engaged tone. I called out and asked if there was a spirit with us if they could make or the phones ring at the same time and the phones in the IT and finance rooms rang once simultaneously and that freaked out the female members of the team. It was a shame about the cellar being locked as it would have been interesting going down there.
3rd vigil - landing at top of stairs and gents toilets.
This vigil seemed to be the quietest of the night. We all sat down on the top of the stairs with Rob sitting in the far corner looking down the first-floor corridor. Jane, Karen and Regan felt slightly uneasy so they joined Rob over in the corner and left me on the top of the stairs. I then went to investigate the gents toilets after what would be described as a splash was heard from there buy myself and Rob but could not find any indication that would have made that sound. Pictures were taken down the corridor and there were a few light anomalies
.
4th vigil - group in the main hall.
The whole group gathered in the main hall for a group vigil Amanda started to call out but did not have any response so she nominated Rob to call out and again no response, the only person that did have any response was Maureen as she said she felt a cold presence go by her.
5th vigil - downstairs library and dovecote.
We started this investigation out in the dovecote which is a small outbuilding at the end of the main building this was a very quiet building and also very cold building so we didn't stay in here that long. Moved back into the main building and into the library and settled into some seats dotted around the room. All was quiet at first and then Jane had the sensation that she was being tickled or touched on the back of her neck. I called out and asked if whatever was affecting Jane could affect somebody else. It did stop affecting Jane but didn't affect anybody else and then it went back to Jane and started again. Rob had moved from one end of the room down to the other by the fireplace and here he was picking up on something, then after a while it all seemed to get a lot calmer and at that time it was the end of the vigil.
6th vigil - the attic.
When we finally made it up to the attic, the first room we went into was the stuffed animal room. Most of the team didn't seem to like in that room and Rob was attacked by a bluebottle fly. After this we went to Maureen's room in which a table was laid out for glass divination which Rob and Regan and I began to use. But this was very unsuccessful. Then we went on to the Christmas tree room and that was just as quiet. Lastly we moved over to the bathroom. We settled in here and got ourselves nice and quiet and start to call out. At first it was very quiet then we could hear some noises from above us. It sounded like scratching so we called out some more and we were having responses by knocking which we were all quite excited about I think.
Sarah Pettet
Team – Amanda, Mark B, Gill, Robin and myself
Vigil 1
Dovecote – I have never been in the dovecote before. It was a little chilly and had lots of bits and pieces that had been found whilst digging had been taking place. The dovecote had been partially restored so you could see what it would have looked like when it was in use. We took photos and called out in here. A couple of people felt like they were being watched through the window. I felt like I was swaying, like my knees kept giving way.
Library – We took photos and settled in to the room. We called out; Gill felt she had a female with her. Amanda and I had the sense of there being someone else in the room but we were not getting much interaction apart from a few unexplained thuds.
Room next to kit room – It was very chilly in her due to the large roof window. I gave Gill the rods to use as she had the sense of a female. Amanda was cold and whilst Gill was using the rods, also started using her rods. However, we were not really getting anything
Vigil 2
Attic – Maureen's room – The room seemed rather quiet apart from the flies. I was being particularly bothered by a fly and jokingly said kill a fly for me. One fell to the table in front of me on its back as if dead! I popped a glass over it and in a few minutes the fly had come round – so I would consider that the fly was probably getting to the point of dying off naturally and it wasn't anything paranormal.
Animal room – We settled in here, took photos and called out. I got a terrible pain over my right eye. I sensed a male presence and he did not want to be looked at, especially by women (I think there was some sort of disfigurement to his face). I felt he was to my left and when I took a photo a light anomaly appeared, then when I took another it had gone. Amanda sensed he had moved to the doorway. She also felt uncomfortable where she was stood by the window so she moved toward door. I called out but we were getting no interaction or response. I tried provoking a reaction but got nothing.
Rooms next to bathroom – in here the atmosphere felt calm and happy. We called out but no responses. A sense of femininity was felt here. I caught a light anomaly moving from one side of the room to the other on still camera.
Vigil 3
Board room – We settled in took photos etc. We called out and heard taps out in the hallway so propped open door as we weren't sure that it wasn't just heating pipes. We called out again but we were not getting any response. Gill sensed a female presence in here so Gill and Amanda started using the rods with me asking questions. Unfortunately, we were getting conflicting information. Whilst asking out I had my eyes closed and was shown a pair of bright blue eyes. We established the owner of the eyes was in the room and stood over by Robin but that was all we were given. My hand on my lap felt odd and I could see my fingers were moving as if being pulled. I dropped my hand down and it felt like my fingers were being held on to. I have no explanation for this other than it could just be down to my hand having been in one position for a long time?
Kitchen – called out – sensed nothing, felt nothing and heard nothing.
Group vigil
I heard voices in conversation, male – almost sounded like a TV in another room. I felt a presence a few times between myself and Amanda. It was a female and she appeared just to be checking us out and then moved on. I felt a male presence with an eye problem (right) and he was unhappy. It turned out that a number of the group had felt some sort of sensation to do with their right eye over course of evening.
Vigil 5
Down stairs corridors - we settled down took photos and called out by Regan's office. I got ‘Chatanatta choo choo' in my head and an impression of an American soldier/airman, and war time dances – I asked if that sort of thing would have taken place at Marwell and Maureen and Amanda confirmed it was a possibility. We moved down towards kitchen and here Maureen and I used the rods. I felt the gentleman was still with me and using the rods and things that were popping in to the team's heads we established the gentleman was a Canadian, Derek Salverson?, to do with airplanes in the second world war. He met his wife (called Maureen?) at a dance at Marwell. We started to get conflicting information with the rods and it became hard to establish who wanted to talk to us after that. Maureen and I both continued wit the rods, but my rods were going wild. Amanda suggested we stood back to back whilst Amanda asked questions and that way we would not be able to see what was happening with each other's rods. However my rods were still going wild. There was a door to the side of Maureen and I and we heard (as a group) a distinct knocking from the door. Maureen and I instinctively stepped away from it. Neither of us were close enough to have knocked the door ourselves. Despite trying to replicate it and trying to encourage it to happen again we got nothing further.
Vigil 6
Main stairs – Personally I found the main stairs very quiet and was disappointed as on previous investigations I had always found them quite busy!
Upstairs hall – Again we settled in and took photos. I sat on the floor in the middle of the hall. I felt like a child was lying on the floor – male – playing with toys and he was a bit annoyed as we were in his way, he didn't seem to realise he was spirit. I got the impression he was proud about losing a tooth and the impression placed him at around 6 years old. I then started getting a pain over eye again sense of male spirit encountered previously. Amanda asked a few questions and in answer I was given impressions that he was staying at house (it was not his) with his brother (who perhaps owned it), he had one sister, and lastly find Ben? Unfortunately, that was where our session ended.
Summary – Over all I enjoyed this return visit to Marwell, and feel I learn more each time and different things to what have already been found out, which has to be very good.
Mark Boulton
I've never been to Marwell before and was surprised at the exterior grandeur of the Hall building. We had a quick walk through the many room on the three floors (including the Attic). The state and condition of some of the rooms was also of surprise as the Hall seemed to deserve better.
I was in Team 1 with Amanda, Sarah, Gill and Robin. Through most of the investigations I operated the team's video camera.
Our first vigil was on the ground floor of the building. We went straight out into the Dovecote. The evening was fairly clear and still, this was echoed in the Dovecote. We did not spend too much time out there as nothing much happened. We went back inside and sat in the library. This was laid out for mother's day lunches the following day. Despite all the cutlery, glasses and crockery available for movement or noises the calling out elicited no responses or events to record. The last part of the vigil was held in the room next to the ‘break' room that had a large glass window in the ceiling. Again there were no responses to mention. All through the vigil, various members of the team were sensing the ‘presence' of a young lady that was either lost or was looking for something.
Our second vigil was up in the Attic rooms. The first location was ‘Maureen's' room. This did have a Ouija board set up but was not used by our team. After a short period we moved on to the Stuffed Animals room. Some of the team members felt the ‘presence' of a man standing in the doorway and also felt differing emotions depending on where they were in the room. Towards the end of the vigil we went to two adjacent rooms one I believe was the ‘Christmas tree' room. These were both very quiet with little or no activity.
Our third vigil was on the first floor, starting in the Board Room. This seemed to be the main office in the building. Again some members sensed an impression of a young girl, who didn't seem to fit somehow.
After the break we carried out a group vigil in the main hall. Despite several attempts at calling out there were no reported events. Gill (standing to my left) did say she felt the presence of a man between us.
The next vigil was probably the most interesting in some ways. This was held on the other side of the ground floor. We spent most of our time in the kitchen corridor outside the accounts office (or similar). Maureen and Gilly joined us on this vigil.
There was apparently some communications via Gill, Sarah, Maureen and Amanda using some dousing rods. I forget the exact names date etc (I was filming). It was interesting for the fact that seconds after I stopped videoing (time and tape running out) all the team (except me, as I'm a bit deaf) heard a rapping on the Accounts room door (locked), so much so that both Sarah and Maureen jerked away from the door at the same time. It was a shame that the camera was off, as we may have picked up the knocking.
Our last vigil was on the main staircase including the gent's toilet and upper corridor.
I checked out the gent's loo with Robin for a time but there was nothing unusual or strange about them. The team then spent the remaining time in an adjacent corridor.
Whist my report does not contain any riveting ‘paranormal' events, overall the investigation was one of the better ones, this was probably due to the experiences of the other team members.
Maria Street
Marwell is a particular favourite of mine, as it was the location of the very first investigation I ever conducted with SPUK. This was to be my third visit and I was just as excited as I was at my first.
We arrived in lovely sunshine, just as the zoo was closing. Amanda picked me up, along with Rob. (Thanks Amanda) We sat in the private car park watching the big cats until it was time to go in. We were met by our host, Regan and we began to set up for the evening before the others got there. At 5.45pm, Amanda went out to meet the rest of the group. As soon as we were all ready, we got started. I was in Team 2 with Kieran, Steve, Leah (guest) and Alison and we started in the kitchen corridor on the ground floor. We stood quietly and began to call out. Steve was picking up something on his camera. His ‘face recognition' was recognising something further along the corridor but we couldn't discover what as we were the only ones in that area at that time. Alison became aware of lights around where Leah was stood. Unfortunately I couldn't see them as I'm not very good at that. She said they were green lights and there were no green lights in that area for them to be a reflection of something. We moved into the kitchen where previously, lights had been captured on camera. This was sensed by somebody in our team but I can't remember who. It was all very interesting. We moved on to the main hall. Alison felt that something had been taken from here and it had caused quite a furore at the time. I felt something to do with a painting, but didn't know what the connection was and Kieran couldn't think of anything. I also got the name of Albert but kept it to myself as it is my dad's name. We heard a couple of taps in here also, particularly from the sofa area, which is something I had witnessed on a previous visit, so was intrigued to hear it again.
Our next vigil took place on the first floor and we started by the gent's toilets. We stood quietly and called out. We kept hearing noises along the main corridor so I sat on the steps and Alison stood close by. She felt there was the presence of a threatening man here and he didn't want us there. I suggested moving further along the corridor but it seemed noises were also being heard from the gent's loo and Alison was keen to investigate there, so we all squeezed in. There was a definite feeling in there and I felt the partition wall behind me move with an audible rattle. I looked round but there was nobody there. I was not leant up against it and neither was anybody else. Alison felt the presence of a female and Kieran confirmed there was once a dressing area where the gent's loos now stood.
We made our way back to the corridor and could hear noises from the far room. We soon determined there was a team in there however. Having said that, the room that Kieran was sat by was also omitting noises of shuffling and footsteps and this was a locked room. The door handle also rattled but there was definitely nobody in there.
After a welcome break, we made our way to our next vigil which was in the attic. We started in the stuffed animal room, but this proved to be quiet, so we moved along to the nursery. This was slightly different, as the feeling was more menacing and Alison grew very wary of a presence she was picking up on in the corner. Steve's camera did it's ‘face recognition' thing again and kept picking up on things that weren't there. We moved along to the bathroom which was another room I didn't like and Kieran confirmed that things had been reported in this room. We settled in Maureen's room, where Alison felt the floorboards were very unsafe and could fall through at any moment. I kept perfectly still after that! She also picked up on a fire that had swept through here and Kieran confirmed this had happened. We then, very gingerly, made our way to the attic where Alison picked up on electrics that needed seeing to. Kieran made a note of this and we moved back downstairs for a welcome break.
Our next vigil was a whole group vigil to be held in the Main Hall. I once again had the name of Albert, so voiced it. Kieran confirmed that somebody by that name had retired from Marwell a few years earlier and had been presented with a painting in that very room. I finally found my painting! Other than that it was quite quiet for me, apart from getting the name of Reg, but that didn't ring any bells with anybody.
For our final vigil, we went back up to the first floor and made our way to the board room. We had had some very exciting vigils in this room on previous visits and this proved no different. I sat close to the kitchen door with Alison sat to my right and Steve stood to her right. We called out and Alison got the impression of a forbidding Victorian gentleman stood by the kitchen door. He did not like women and did not like us being there. I knew who this could be, so threatened to tell his story if he did not prove to us all that he was there. Immediately the kitchen door handle rattled. I have to say that the weather was very calm on this particular night. I have been to Marwell on a very stormy night but have not ever witnessed the door handles rattle and this was the second time on the same night. We did open the door to check for draughts but there were none forthcoming. This signalled the end of our night at Marwell and I would like to thank Amanda and Kieran for all their hard work and also to our hosts for trusting us once again and allowing us to investigate this wonderful building.
Gilly (guest)
Gilly was a guest of one of the group members, and decided that she would like to submit a report on her night with us.
On arrival we unpacked and we went on a quick tour of the house. From the kit room we went into the library which was full of tables laid for mothers day lunches. I felt a gentle pat on the back of my hair- tap tap. We went into one room where the batteries failed on all the equipment and returned to the kit area to swap batteries and start again. Going upstairs on a tour of all the accessible rooms we ended in the attic where there was very little electricity connected. Hosts of flies greeted us in the disused attic bathroom- no one touched us again.
Our first vigil was up on the attic level.
Becky preferred the light of a torch instead of total blackness. Outside the Christmas tree room I noticed an aroma. Not unpleasant, -something akin to a floral air freshener. Inside the room there was nothing, but on the outer threshold there was a distinct perfume. I questioned was it our perfume/aftershave? No. The aroma was also picked by the others. In Maureen's room we sat and tried the glass- nothing. Questioning whilst using the rods indicated that there was a lady present who‘s name we should know! It was just becoming interesting when the walkie talkie crackled into life. We returned downstairs.
Next vigil was the board room on the first floor, corridor and kitchen. There was nothing in the main office, despite swapping seats with Scott who had the seat in the corner. We did hear a telephone ringing. We used the red pendulum to see if Beth was about, and she was, but not for long. There was nothing in the kitchen, but I could hear faint strains of music from a radio. It was like hearing the next door neighbours TV through the wall. The fridge was switched off, but it was not the noise made by the fridge warming up. I was standing opposite to it. M, S and B were on the same side as the fridge, but could not hear it.
Our final vigil with Becky and her partner was to be the Library and 2 rooms downstairs including the dovecote. Nothing appeared to happen although the temperature in the room adjacent to the disabled toilet was very chilly. Becky's partner had a heavy cold, which I felt was pulling away his energy. The aroma block in the disabled toilet was nothing like the perfume we encountered up in the attic rooms.
During the group vigil in the hall, Maureen had a pain in her eye. Was it possibly a man with a single eye? The pain receded and we continued. I wondered if I had seen a face at the window- second panel from the left, and I asked if Marwell had a night watchman that was walking outside. NO. There was, I found a tall plant /weed outside the second panel of window which could have been the face. But I felt I saw a man walk left to right outside with a norm lantern held at shoulder height. Had we all sat/stood or been seated on the floor- would the energy have been better. As it was, some sat on the floor, others lounged, some were seated on chairs and some stood. Would that have had any effect on the energy of the circle?
We then split into groups again, with Maureen and I joining group one.
We went to the other end of the ground floor, into the kitchen corridor by the cellar door. After making several calls to the spirits we were rewarded by contact via the rods. Held by Sarah they continued to turn in answer to the questions posed. Are you anything to do with the house in early times-no Later say -1939-45 –yes. Airman yes pilot- yes. Single- yes. Did you marry later –yes. Was she British? – yes. Are you British no. American – no. Canadian- yes. The name Derek was given and his surname we felt was ****** son. We continued questioning him about attending dances held here in the hall, what planes he preferred. He left. He was followed briefly by “Bill and Ben”, who were asked -Are you friends yet?- yes. Do you still fight each other?- yes. It was decided to experiment with 2 sets of rods, and the holders were to stand back to back. Suddenly on the locked door at their side was heard 4 taps which were repeated. The rod holders leapt apart. Contact was broken and we went back to the main room
We began on the first floor again, on the landing and long corridor. Sitting on the top steps nothing was heard or felt. We moved into the corridor, and could hear another team laughing behind the end door. A man came through- saying he was brother to an owner. Asked -Should you be here on the first floor?, I will go where I please - was the gruff reply. Meantime the gent's toilet area was being investigated and photographed but no one was appearing there. I felt the right side of my chin being stroked. At the same time a small child was felt to be around. Others had their hair touched and taps on their shoulders and had the impression of people passing by them.
I was there as a guest and have never been on an investigation, nor have I seen the equipment used before. It may have been a quiet night for the Marwell spirits, but I thought it was a magical experience, and an honour to be allowed to attend.