Southern Paranormal - Investigations
The Museum of Optometrists
13th October 2006 - 10.45am-1.30am
Attending Investigators:
Keith Hudson- Medium, Kerry Price, Val Butler, Ken Taylor, Jim Lewis, Lee Barrows
Introduction
While recently browsing the internet I saw an article on the 24 hour museum website entitled ‘optical illusions?’ http://www.24hourmuseum.com
It stated that while building work had been carried out earlier in the year a workman had seen an apparition of a crouching man 1 day and a male apparition twice a couple of days later at The Museum of Optometrists http://www.college-optometrists.org/ . It also said that the builder was given the name George for the 2nd apparition and the apparition had asked ‘where is Mary?’
The article also stated that the curator Neil Handley was willing for a group of paranormal investigators to conduct some experiments at the site, which in this case would be temperature, EMF (Electro magnetic field) and EVP (electronic voice phenomena) and was also willing for a medium or sensitive to come along to see if the same names would be given.
As a point of interest, none of the investigators other than myself knew the location or the nature of the activity before it’s investigation.
The following report is set up slightly different than usual as we wanted to separate the data from the readings from the information given from Keith and Val. Please go to READINGS section of this report for data or Vigil Notes for other non- experiment occurrences.
History
The Museum of Optometrists or MusEYEum is situated at 42, Craven Street just off the Strand in central London.
The street has seen many important residents including Benjamin Franklin a few doors away. In the streets earlier incarnation as Spur Alley (pre-1730) it was infamous for sheltering many people who were on the wrong side of the law and was also filled with inns and all other vices.
As for the history of the house, not much is known about past residents although it is interesting to add that Neil Handley had found some information concerning the names George and Mary at this address. There were residents of this name in 1754 when George McCummins and Mary Berrimen secured a 20 year lease of rooms at this address.
While researching I also found that Craven Street had as many un-lawful residents as it did when it was Spur Alley and most of the houses down the street were rented out in rooms so many people passed this way.
The house way also used as a cat shelter after WWII.
Rota
All except for Keith to take constant readings of temperature and EMF around museum and office areas and monitor locked off cameras, dictaphone and EVP.
Keith & 1 member – call out to see if any response is given or any information comes forward.
Vigil Areas
Museum
Office
Sub Cellar
Locked off Equipment
1 camcorder& tripod in far left hand corner of office.
EMF meter and motion sensors in alcove to the right of the chimney breast in office.
1 EVP experiment under display cabinet to right of door from office into museum.
Other Equipment
2x camcorder
3x EMF
3xTemperature guns
Baseline Tests Taken 11:00am
Office Temp 21c towards windows 24c rest of room EMF None
Museum TEMP 23c all over, EMF 1mg between windows
All other equipment locked off at 11:00am
READINGS:
Office:
11:15am- Temp 19c near windows 22c rest of room EMF None
11:30am- Temp 21c to right of fireplace, 26c in doorway to museum, 23c all other areas. EMF 2mg in doorway.
12:00pm- Temp 21c from bin to window 22c rest of room .EMF .5 mg next to filing cabinet near doorway, 1.5 mg between desk and window.
12:15pm- Temp 21c all over, EMF 2mg half way up window nearest desk, 3mg 3rd of way up window near door.
Museum:
11:15am- Temp 23c all over. EMF Tonometer 2mg then 0mg, left window 1mg then 0mg.Test chart 1mg, window 1mg then 0mg.
11:17am- EMF Test chart 3mg
11:20am- EMF Test chart 2.5mg, Tonometer to corner behind 5.5mg.
11:25am- Val starts to ‘ call out’ covered in Vigil Notes -EMF Test chart 3mg
11:27am-EMF Test chart 2mg then 0mg
11:29am-EMF Test chart 3.5mg rising to 4.5mg constant
11:35am- Temp 21c all over. EMF 2ND microscope in wall display cabinet 3mg
- Keith starts to ‘call out’ covered in Vigil Notes.
11:37am - Temp 24c all over, EMF Test chart 5mg.
11:38am - EMF Test chart 2mg then up to 5mg constant.
11:40am -Temp 18c between windows, EMF Test chart 2mg
11:41am- EMF Test chart 3mg
11:42am- “ “ “ 4mg <4.5mg
11:43am- “ “ “ >3mg
11:45am- “ “ “ >1mg
11:46am- “ “ “ <4mg
11:47am- “ “ “ <5mg
11:48am- “ “ “ <5.5mg
11:49am- “ “ “ >4.5mg
11:50am- TEMP 19c all over, EMF Test chart 3mg
11:51am-EMF Test chart <5mg
11:53am-“ “ “ >2mg
11.54am-“ “ “ <3mg
11:57am-“ “ “ <4mg constant
12:00pm- EMF around Kerry 2mg
12:10pm Break
Sub-cellar: 12:25pm-1:10pm
Temp 21-23c with no obvious fluctuations
EMF 1mg in cellar directly under museum room.
No readings of any other significance were recorded during our time in the sub-cellar. All other info covered in Vigil Notes.
Vigil Notes
No calling out was done in this area however the following things were picked up on.
Keith believes the office to have once been a storeroom for furniture and may have also been a school room at one point. He also believed that a boy had starved to death here.
A strong smell of vomit was noticed on 3 occasions in this area. On the 1st 2 occasions by Lee and Kerry and on the 3rd also by Ken.
12:25pm- Val given the name of William Connor who was called by the name of Bert.
1:00pm- Different smell in office more like excrement.
Museum Room
As we had been getting strange readings from many areas of the museum room I decided that whoever was ‘calling out’ would stand by the test chart cabinet which was giving off some strange EMF readings. The readings seemed to come from half way up the cabinet to about 15cm above it and to the right of it but not the left hand side. There were also intermittent readings from the area of the tonometer so we left an EMF meter in each area.
The following EMF readings are for the EMF left in the area of the Test Chart. EMF readings for the tonometer are where stated as the EMF in the Test Chart area was most active.
Val ‘calling out’
Val is given the name Anna or Hannah.
Q: Was you hurt here? EMF 3mg
Q: Did you die here? EMF 2mg
Q: Were you strangled? EMF 0mg
Val can see bodies and blood in this are
Believes that what she is picking up on is whatever was here before the current building.
Q: Did you know Joseph? EMF 3.5mg
Q: Did you love Joseph? EMF 4.5mg
Q: Did Joe kill you? EMF 0mg
Keith ‘calling out’
Keith confirms the name Hannah and believes that the museum room was once a bedroom.
Q: Was this your home? EMF 4>4.5mg
Q: Was this your room? EMF 5mg
Keith believes that this woman died in this room, possibly in childbirth.
Keith feels that there are 2 women here an old lady and a young woman of about 18years who is Hannah. As Keith says this the hairs on his and Val’s arms go up.
Val asks ‘ were you born in London? EMF 2mg. Val asks as she believes the young woman to have come from the country.
Kerry starts to feel sick since she has moved over to the left of the doorway.
Temp 21c around Val, 24c rest of room. EMF 5mg.
Q: Were you smothered? EMF.5.3mg
After Keith had called out in the Museum room he and Jim went into the office next door. On coming back they walked to the right of the displays from the doorway and both became dizzy.
Sub-Cellar:
This area was not one of our main vigil areas however I was interested to see if anyone could pick up on any information.
Jim saw a grey haired man who he thought was Ken for a moment and Keith was given the name ?
Personal Reports
Ken Taylor
I met up with Kerry, Jim, Keith and Lee, with Val that made us 6. Our investigation was to be at The Museum of Optometrists in Craven Street London. We were greeted by Neil and his fellow colleagues on our arrival. On reaching the rooms to be investigated we did all our baseline tests. EMF meters, locked off cameras, EVP and motion sensors. The museum was the first room the temperature was reading between 20-25c . Two EMF meters were placed either side of a cabinet on the wall with windows. I was across the room and my EMF meter was reading 2-2.5 in front of a glass cabinet that was on the wall. Although there seemed a lot of electro- magnetic activity in this room I didn’t feel uncomfortable and I saw and heard nothing unusual.
Back into Neil's office I found an unusually cold spot by the filing cabinet behind the door. The temperature was reading 14-16c .
I really felt uneasy in this room and was cold enough to have goose bumps. On venturing around this room the EMF meter was reaching a high of between 4 and 6 in the centre of the middle window. I also at one point could smell vomit in this room.
Down into the cellar we all went and I took the camera from Jim. As I was filming I felt someone brush against my left arm although I was standing on my own. I had a general feeling of un-easiness in here.
It was a good investigation my thanks to Neil and his staff for making us so welcome.
Jim Lewis
Stepping into the museum I didn’t feel anything until I walked past the door of the museum. I started to feel dizzy not just me felt this as Kerry and Lee felt the same. The EMF meter would not stop in one part of the museum as other EMF meters placed in and around the museum would go off for no apparent reason. I made sure by asking the museum curator if there were any electrical cables that ran through the areas we was searching .To my surprise there weren’t so the only other reason I can say is that it was paranormal.
In the basement i saw a figure of a man which I thought was Ken then Ken told me it wasn’t him. So was this paranormal or was it my imagination running wild?
I haven’t seen the footage so I can’t comment at this time.
Lee Barrows
Investigator: Lee Barrows
Location: British Optical Association Museum
Date: Friday, 13th October 2006, AM
Location overview:
There were three rooms we investigated, they shall be hence referred to as 1) The office 2) The museum room 3) The basement. It is worth noting that the office and museum rooms were adjoining and both situated below street level, the basement room was beneath these (technically a sub-basement).
Report and observations:
Upon entering the office and museum rooms there was, I felt, quite an odd, almost oppressive atmosphere to them, the museum room more so. Both rooms were quite cramped with display pieces from the museum which undoubtedly contributed to the ‘hemmed’ in feeling I experienced.
Even before beginning the investigation proper (whilst base line testing was being performed I believe) it was noted that equipment performed oddly with batteries dying very quickly and EMF/Gauss meters not responding as expected.
It was also during this period that, what was probably the focus for a majority of the rest of the investigation was noted, that of very unusual EMF readings from an exhibit of an eye test chart cased in a wooden cabinet in the museum room. Very strong and intermittent readings were picked up, and sometimes seemed to react to our presence and questions. The immediate surrounding area showed no similar properties. During this period I noted a possible cold draught in the corner of the room, however, this was near a door (closed) and that could be the possible explanation for that.
EMF readings were also picked up from a section of bare wall in the museum room and we were told that the ‘active’ eye test chart cabinet had formerly been displayed there. It is worth noting at this point also that the cabinet was not originally from this building and had been purchased by the museum several years earlier.
After a short break, we returned to the location and I found a very strong, unpleasant smell of sick that promptly disappeared but without fading. Kerry also noticed this, although others present did not seem to notice it. This smell would come and go for the rest of the investigation but without ever fading, it was either not there or there really strongly. I can not think of a reasonable explanation for this occurring.
We moved down to the basement rooms and proceeded with the investigation in the dark. Several things occurred during this period; firstly I experienced a tightening feeling in my chest, although I initially put this down to nerves or maybe anxiety, in accidentally passing an EMF meter close to me, I detected very strong readings from the center of my chest over my sternum, readings that faded when moved away from that area. Also Jim thought he saw someone standing in the corner when none of us where there and Ken thought he felt someone touching his elbow. At one point, I also experienced a very warm sensation over my head, looking up I thought it was due to the pipes running on the ceiling above where I was standing, however upon reaching up and touching them, I discovered that they were both quite cold.
Val Butler
Friday 13th was to be a good one for me. I met team leader Kerry and three new investigators, Jim, Lee and Keith and would like to welcome them into our paranormal team, with Ken that made us six. With no knowledge of our destination we followed Kerry to the British optical museum in Craven Street London. We had a very warm welcome from Neil and his colleagues, then he showed us the way to the rooms to be investigated. All base line tests carried out we entered the Sutcliffe Gallery room. I found this museum to be very oppressive as soon as I had entered it. The room was full of early collections of eye instruments and I found them fascinating. The temperature fluctuated between 20c and 22.5c. On the left side of the room against a wall was a cabinet we had placed EMF meters on either side. At first the readings were normal, then one of the meters started to register and fluctuate reaching and unbelievable 8-9 then back to 0. I started to call out if there was any spirit present and picked up on a young girl named Anna and a man named Joe. When I was questioning Anna the EMF meter started to fluctuate again and it was quite high. I felt as though there had been sinister goings on in here and a lot of blood shed. It seemed to me that Anna had enticed men into this place and that Joe had done all the dirty work. I felt that there were a lot of knives involved. I believe that Anna had later been hung or knifed to death. I sensed that she took the blame for all the macabre misdeeds. We all took a short break as Neil had made us a welcome cup of coffee. It was then I went to the ladies room and was physically startled by the lights turning off I was the only person in there. I found out later that there was a fault on the switch. Back now and into Neil’s office, this was a room I felt very uneasy in. Opposite his desk to the right hand corner was very strange, I felt as though a man was watching me, he was a scruffy man who didn’t smell all that pleasant, it was the smell of unwashed feet. I got the name of William but he was nicknamed Bert and also the name of Connor. I could see candles burning very low. Back into the Sutcliffe room Keith said that there was a four posted bed there then Kerry had someone touch her neck. Ken who had a painful abscess in his mouth said the pain had suddenly gone but only to return when we left the building. Kerry felt pain in her stomach and jaw and I had toothache, all which again disappeared when we left. Although I was warm in the Sutcliffe room the hair on my arms and head were standing on end and I was shivering (very strange) .This was a grand Georgian building and a very interesting investigation. Thank you to Neil and his staff for making us so welcome.
Kerry Price
This was a change from the investigations that we usually conduct. First we were mainly there to conduct tests and also it was in the daytime.
It also became unusual from the amount of activity the EMF meters were producing, there were also strange smells (which had happened in the past but the floor had been sealed to stop this).
The Office
This room had quite an oppressive atmosphere and I wouldn’t have liked to spend much time in there. I did know at this point what had been seen in these rooms so this may have been the cause of my apprehension.
The interesting factors in this room were the smell of vomit which occasionally surfaced the strange EMF readings around the window and door areas and temperature changes.
The Museum Room
The amount of EMF readings in this room without founded cause were very unusual, especially as I had not come across this amount of EMF activity before.
I found the room very comfortable and the displays very interesting. The only exception being when I had a pain in my jaw which then moved to my stomach. When I placed an EMF meter near me there was a reading of 2mg .When the pain subsided so did the EMF readings.
Very odd indeed!
Sub-Cellar
I had wanted us to visit this room because of the discovery of bones in a nearby cellar. As we had a medium to hand I wanted to see if this could be picked up on. It is interested to note that while myself and Val had gone back to the office some of the team thought they saw a grey haired man. Which Keith believed to be a Mr. Baker?
When they returned upstairs Neil showed them a sketch of the gentleman whom he thought it might be a Mr. William Barker who was a very prominent figure in The British Optical Association. The picture did show a grey-haired man and it was thought that it could very well be the same gentleman. It is also interesting to note that some of the stored items in the cellar did have an association with this gentleman.
All in all a fascinating investigation.
Results
EVP- This was checked using audio analysis software (EVP Maker) to check for audible changes. Nothing of any significance was found.
CAMCORDER- Viewed. Nothing found other than what has already been reported.
TEMP- Many fluctuations, especially in areas where the EMF was also giving readings.
EMF- The readings were very unusual. I could not find any pattern to the readings, neither were there any power cables in the immediate area with the main set of readings. Also, all the main electricity points and cabling was checked which gave off a constant reading of 2mg for the under floor cables and 1.5mg for the power points. I also checked to see what emissions depleted uranium would give, as it is a possibility that the test chart could have contained some early radioactive element. I tested 5 items with radioactive elements in which gave off readings of between 0.5 and 2mg however the readings were constant and did not fluctuate.
Conclusion
It is hard to conclude this investigation as I believe that more tests need to be carried out for a longer period of time( possibly negative ion tests and infrasound). However, I do find it interesting that the readings went on and off and also that some things gave off a reading when they hadn’t done earlier in the baseline tests.
Also, the EMF readings did change when ‘calling out’ was done and seemed to be in response to questioning. The temperature also changed on occasion when it was believed contact was made with spirit.
As for the names given, without surnames it is hard to substantiate however there have been residents in Spur Alley with the name of either ‘ Joseph, Anna, Hannah or William’ however I could not find a Connor (surname or otherwise).
Unfortunately, no-one confirmed the names already given to me. Also, whilst looking at maps and reading history on the area it is possible that one of the many inns stood on the site of what is now 42, Craven Street as there was a large inn which spread to both sides of the road so must have been of some stature. This also rented out rooms.
Looking at the results and the information from Keith and Val I would say that there is some king of paranormal activity at this site. It will be interesting to know if anything else happens at this site and if tests of any other kind are attempted. I do not think that there is anything at the MusEYEum that would trouble someone who isn’t sensitive but I do think that some visitors would pick up on some of the sensations associated with a haunting (nausea, headaches and possibly apprehension) as these affected sensitive and non-sensitive people on our visit.
I would like to thank Neil Handley for allowing us to investigate this site and also to the staff who were very helpful.