Southern Paranormal - Investigations
Investigation at a private house in Eastleigh
by Maureen Taylor
4th October 2007
Attendees :Maureen Taylor, Amanda Horley, Rab Gardener, Frances Pigerham, plus guest Edmund Taylor.
Introduction
We were invited to spend an evening in this house as the occupier over the four years he has lived there has always felt the need to have the bedroom door closed at night (not normally something he would bother to do) and has frequently heard footsteps coming up the stairs and into his bedroom, but always dismissed it as 'rats with hobnailed boots on'.
To set the scene -
About a week before this investigation, Frankie Pigerham (a new member of the group and my son's partner, who live in the house) and myself spent a couple of hours with the dowsing rods in the house one afternoon. We communicated with a young couple from 1893 who had apparently moved into the house when they got married, the house was new at the time. Their names were William Charles Hadleigh, and Emelia Cooke (or Clarke), she seems, unusually, to have kept her maiden name after they married. Her mother's name was Frances, and his father's name was Edmund - coincidentally, the couple living in the house today are also Frances and Edmund - just coincidence? - or predestined somehow? Who knows…?
As a result of the above conversation several members of Southern Paranormal were invited to spend an evening in the house to see if they could get any more information.
Equipment
Equipment just one EMF meter and a couple of digital cameras. We had a quick tour of the house (2 up, 2 down with modern bathroom and kitchen added on the back) so that we all knew how it felt before anything began.
Before vigils proper began Rab took some photos, one of which appears to have a figure sitting on the end of the sofa close to the fireplace. A few moments later, another photo shows nothing.
Vigils
Vigil 1 - the front room
Curtains closed and lights off, but bright street lighting and quite a bit of traffic noise as the house is situated on a busy main road. Amanda sitting on the floor between television and fireplace feels a cold draught across her hands, which seems then to continue on across the room and round my right shoulder (I'm sitting on the sofa at the end nearest the fireplace) and across my back.
First Frankie, then Rab have a urge to giggle and think perhaps there is a little girl with us. Rab gets the name George, then Carruthers, but feels that it's not connected with the house. I feel icy cold across my back and down the back of my legs.
Rab thinks the name might be John and not George.
Frankie mentions that she has seen a cat in the bathroom, and Rab says that he has been getting the image, not of a rocking horse, but a rocking cat, with a little girl on it, moving across the back bedroom, we think it's a rocking toy of the type that moves across the floor when you bounce it up and down while sitting on it.
Rab then gets the name Weston or Westbury, possibly connected to the John he had earlier. Frankie says that she once knew a John Weston.
Rab sees a wooden armchair in the corner by the fireplace, it has a green leather seat. He says that the room looks much bigger in his mental image than the room we are sitting in, but Amanda suggests that he might be getting a childs-eye view of the room. He also sees red wallpaper, and gets the name Janet or Jane.
Rab asks if there is an Eastbury Close anywhere in Eastleigh - there isn't as far as I'm aware as he has been given an Alice White who lives at number 49.
All of us have a feeling that there is something that wants to happen but just can't get going.
Rab gets a vinegary smell, Amanda can smell something too, but can't identify it.
Before the vigil started Frankie and Amanda could smell tobacco in the downstairs rooms and could even identify the brand (Condor I think they said).
Vigil 2 - Front bedroom
At the moment this room is used mostly for storage.
Rab is standing in the corner diagonally opposite the door and is feeling very cold. He then moves to stand near the wardrobe and feels a touch on his head.
Ed and Frankie are sitting at the top of the stairs and Ed can feel a cold draught coming up the stairs and across his and Frankie's feet.
Amanda then gets a cold draught across her feet as she sits on the left hand side of the bed (as you look at it from the doorway).
Ed gets the name Gary.
Amanda has a sensation of being in the mid-1920s. She also has very cold hands and a sense of pent-up energy.
Beth (a friendly spirit from Marwell who often attends investigations with us), and Emelia are with us in the room. Frankie asks Emelia if she wants us to go to the canal at some time during the evening and gets a definite yes response from the dowsing rods.
A sudden EMF spike between myself and Amanda, near the bottom of the bed - may well have been caused my Beth and/or Emelia.
Vigil 3 - Back Bedroom
Amanda getting a musty smell, and didn't like standing with her back to the door.
Rab sees a grey shape move from the head of the bed towards the window.
Amanda's palms are tingling.
Rab asks if Emelia was pregnant, Frankie confirms this (we had this from our session with the rods the previous week) and says that Emelia died in childbirth. The child was to have been named Frances.
Amanda getting the smell of cosmetic creams, powders, lotions etc, but it's an old-fashioned smell. Frankie says that this is Emelia's smell. Amanda also getting the a name beginning with El, but isn't quite sure what it is. Frankie asks if it might be Elizabeth - yes, it is. The woman's name is Emelia Elizabeth.
Rab has a buzzing and gets a sensation of cold just to the right of the window.
Amanda getting what she calls a 'newborn' smell - this possibly connected with Emelia and the child she lost.
During this time Ed and Frankie are standing by the window looking out of it. Frankie feels that this is a spot where William and Emelia often stood, perhaps to admire their garden or to watch the trains go by.
Rab asks if Emelia's child would have been named Frances if she had survived, gets a yes answer from the rods.
Frankie asks Emelia if she likes the red roses that have been placed in the grate and gets a definite yes answer from the rods.
At this point in time the rods are shaking almost continuously. We think that it might be William wanting to get in on the act and talk to us, but he has to wait as Emelia still has things to say.
A passing comment from Frankie as she is lying on the bed and looking upwards - - 'that lampshade is bloody 'orrible' - - and I get a very positive yes answer from the rods, which makes everyone laugh.
We ask if the red wallpaper that Rab visualised in the living room was there in Emelia's time, she says no.
We ask Emelia if her husband's name was William - yes
We ask her if she likes having Ed and Frankie living in the house - yes again.
She says that Ed reminds her of William and that Frankie reminds her of herself.
She is laughing with us, she is happy.
Frankie asks if it is William's father that was sitting in the living room - yes
Did he smoke a pipe - yes
Was his name Edmund - yes again
Frankie asks if Ed will ever get used to William and Emelia being in the house - a no answer this time, but not a very definite one. Ed says that it's all good, he doesn't mind.
We ask if William is in the room with us - yes
Rab is getting a sense of impatience, we think from William, because we're not asking him the questions. He's now reluctant to talk, it's almost as if he is sulking.
Ask Emelia a final question - did she have a stillborn child from a previous pregnancy - yes.
Vigil 4 - Dining Room
Rab is attracted to the cupboard in the corner, under the stairs - he can see a shelf with an old biscuit tin on it, he feels that there is something of value or importance to its owner within it. Gets the name James.
When we tried glass divination we had little in the way of answers to our questions. William, though we asked him, didn't want to come forward and talk, and Emelia seemed to have disappeared. At the end of the session Frankie said that she could see the glass rising from the table and flying towards the fireplace, and Ed said he had a very definite feeling that he wanted to smash the glass.
I had the name Andrew or Andrews in my head, and a feeling that it was a surname, but it didn't feel as if it was connected to the house, a feeling that was later to prove correct.
Vigil 5 - the Canal (actually the Itchen Navigation, a canalised part of the river)
This is just a couple of hundred yards away from the house, so we took a walk over to it, crossing under a railway bridge then over the canal and onto the old towpath, now a well-used footpath.
We walk to a particular tree, where Emelia tells us her ashes were scattered. All of us are feeling perfectly comfortable standing there chatting for a few minutes. The atmosphere then changed very suddenly. Frankie suddenly says that Emelia has gone. Rab feels as if he is being pushed into the river, and Ed feels as if he is being pushed back along the towpath the way we had come. Suddenly none of us feel very comfortable - we all leg it back to the railway bridge as quickly as we can, and then back to the house.
Vigil 6 - the back garden
It's getting a little chilly by now so we don't stay out here for very long.
Amanda wanders down to the bottom of the garden, feels melancholy, regret, sadness and that she doesn't want to be there. I feel that this is Emelia trying to communicate how she feels about the garden. That she is sad that there hasn't been the time or the energy to spend time working on it and that she would love it to be restored to its former glory. Amanda's feelings possibly also connected with William and Emelia, and that this is where Emelia often waited for her William to get home from work.
The follow-up - - talking to Rodger Pigerham a couple of days later.
During the time that we spent in the house our young spirit friend Beth from Marwell was flitting to and fro between Eastleigh and Suffolk keeping Rodger up to speed with what was going on. He had an answer for us about Frankie and Ed's reactions to the glass divination. The previous Saturday the pair of them had been to Marwell Zoo for the day. It's at the zoo that I used to have the use of an attic room for my archaeological activities. A few years ago Ed and Amanda helped me to set up the room and give it a much needed coat of paint. It seems that another Marwell spirit, and one that we have some bother with at times, was out and about, and spotted our couple enjoying their day out, not only that but he apparently recognised Ed from his previous visit and his efforts with a paintbrush, and following on from that he realised the resemblance between Frankie and her father, Rodger.
Now, ever since an investigation at the zoo where this particular spirit (we'll call him R for now) tried to keep Rodger out of the old boardroom because he 'knew too much' about R's dubious activities in the past, he has been making a bit of a nuisance of himself at times, and has even tried to turn up at both my home and at Rodger's.
On the evening in question, following the zoo visit, the spirit that was trying to come through turned out almost certainly to be R, who had followed our couple home from the zoo in the hope that through them he could get at Rodger. In addition to this a second spirit had come along - one who had been trying to protect Frankie all week apparently. This was the doctor who had attended the needs of R's 'maids' back in the late 19th century - it seems he had been around at the time when Ed and Frankie were at the zoo and realised what was going on.
Rodger (we were visiting he and Les in Suffolk last weekend) then got told by Beth to get out his little grey notebook and open it to a particular page - - where, lo and behold - he had, some months ago, written the name of the doctor mentioned above - as a Richard A? - so in the end it was me who came up with his other name - I was quite surprised.
Getting back to the house investigation - the reason for Frankie seeing the glass fly through the air, and for Ed wanting to smash it was that the doctor from Marwell was trying to get them to break our circle and prevent R from getting through. It was nothing to do with any of the spirit presences resident in the house at all.
It would be good if we could persuade the occupiers of the house to allow us to take a slightly larger group back there at some time in the future as we feel that there is much more to be learned about the house and its past - so watch this space - we might be back before long...
Personal Reports
Amanda Horley
This house is a traditional Victorian cottage built on the old 2 up 2 down system with an extension to the back to take the modern day kitchen and bathroom.
Our initial vigil was in the lounge, which for me was quiet. We then moved upstairs and in the front bedroom I felt the presence of a woman in her mid to late 20s. She seemed very full of energy, and it was only when she seemed to be suggesting mischief making that I realised I was picking up on Beth, who is normally around at Marwell as Maureen had said a little earlier that Beth seemed to be with us quite strongly.
We moved on to the back bedroom, and there were definite cold drafts moving along the left side of the bed. I checked both the fireplace and window carefully and am fairly certain they weren't the cause of the drafts. We picked up on both a man and a woman in this room although personally I didn't experience anything further than the cold spots and didn't seem to be able to connect with either spirit.
After spending some time upstairs we went down into the dining room and tried a glass divination. The glass didn't seem to want to move, but I was very aware of a female spirit standing behind Maureen and Frankie who I believe was Amelia that was around upstairs.
We then moved out into the garden and I did then pick up on Amelia. She seemed to feel a mixture of sadness and regret and I wanted to move down towards the end of the garden. It was quite a difficult mix of emotions to pin down exactly, but I felt that I desperately needed a hug, and was quite pleased when we left the garden area.
We then moved down to the canal for a final vigil, and although I was a little nervous about how narrow the path was, and how close the water was, I didn't feel anything unusual. It was therefore very interesting to see both Rab and Edmund becoming more and more agitated whilst Maureen, Frankie and myself just stood there feeling fine about the area. Neither of the men were happy there and both wanted to move away, and yet their feelings of apprehension did not seem to transfer to us, despite the dark uneven path and water too close for comfort. I even found myself offering to go at the back when we were returning to the road, so that Rab would have someone behind him.
All in all, this was an interesting building that would certainly merit further investigation. I would even like to spend some more time down by the canal, although it would probably be better to cover that area in daylight or early evening, to avoid the possibility of anyone ending up in the water!
Rab Gardner
Vigil 1 living room
I was looking forward to this room since I smelt tobacco (Condor pipe tobacco) earlier during baseline checks. As we sat, I found it difficult to concentrate. My head seemed full of names and numbers and I was trying hard to make sense of them. At first I got the name George and Caruthers, but as I concentrated more I then got John Weston - which turned out to be a connection with Frankie.
A little bit later, I can see a green leather chair in the corner next to the fireplace, but the room seems larger. Amanda suggests that I might be seeing it from a child’s point of view. As she says that, the name Janet/Jane comes up and I now see the wall covered with a red floral pattern.
Just to keep me guessing, I then pick up on an Alice White who lives at number 49 Eastbury Close - got to check that later. But is soon replaced by a strong vinegary smell.
Vigil 2 Front bedroom
Not long after stepping into this room we began to feel a cold spot moving around that wasn't present during our baseline check. Amanda feels a presence close and Maureen gets a response from the dowsing rods. The cold spot moves towards Maureen and much to my surprise, I got an EMF spike (8-10mG) in the same area.
Vigil 3 Rear Bedroom
This room was quite a revelation to me and affected me on an emotional level. On walking into the room towards the window I went to step over something and realised it was a grey shape moving from the bed to the window - amazing! Sorry about the swearing though, it was a bit of a shock. I stood over by the window and waited to see what would happen. A sadness came over as I picked up on Emelia, that she was pregnant and that both had had died in childbirth. By this time Frankie and Ed were standing by the window and a cold spot could be felt near.(no EMF spikes). At this point I asked if the child would have been named Frances if she had survived the birth and the rods indicated a yes. Near the end there was a strong feeling of impatience and restlessness that seemed to arise from the questions we were asking.
There was an awful lot of information given to all of us in different ways in this room so please see main report for more details.
Vigil 4 dining room
In the dining room there is access to a cupboard under the stairs that I can hardly keep my eyes off. In there I get an image of an old biscuit tin on a shelf (not present) and a man called James who keeps something valuable, not money, in there. I also got the impression that he wasn't too happy with me telling everyone about his tin.
We tried glass divination to no avail but throughout, Ed had a feeling that he should throw the glass against the fireplace. A little disconcerting since he kept rolling the glass with his hand, but thanks to Frankie Ed saw sense in the end.
Vigil 5 canal
We walked along the canal to a particular tree and stood for a little while taking in the moonlit washed scene. As usual, it all seemed peaceful at first, but then things began to change. Frankie had been using the rods to talk to Emelia, at the same time that Frankie said 'she's gone' I got a very powerful image of a figure running out of the trees to push me into the canal. It felt very uncomfortable and there seemed to be an angry presence very close. It was so strong that I was actually scared and had to leave the area.
Vigil 6 back garden
I had a strong impression of a gate at the bottom of the garden that William would have come through, but nothing after that.