Southern Paranormal - Investigations
National Spiritualist Church - Walthamstow Village
4th November 2006
Attending Investigators – Kerry Price, Mandy Bradley, Val Butler, Ken Taylor, Louise Williams, Laura Brown, Lee Barrows, Leeanne Westwood
Guests – Mona Banerjee, Margaret Wilde
+9 guest from the church including mediums/clairvoyants/sensitives etc
Introduction
Margaret Wilde has been the President of the National Spiritualist Church in Walthamstow for 10 years. She very kindly offered to let us investigate this lovely building in the heart of Walthamstow's conservation area.
The spiritualist church is housed in a former school built in 1819 for 200 pupils and a mistress and master and was tithed to the Workhouse opposite which is now Vestry House Museum.
Walthamstow was a small village which sat on the borders of Epping Forest. The parish was very extensive, consisting of three manors. The church, a large gothic structure dedicated to the Virgin Mary, probably dated from the twelfth century. During the Regency period Walthamstow village had two dissenting meeting houses, as well almshouses and schools.
Team 1:
Kerry Price
Mona Banerjee
Ken Taylor
+ 3 Guests
Team 2:
Mandy Bradley
Leeanne Westwood
Laura Brown
+ 3 Guests
Team 3:
Val Butler
Lee Barrows
Louise Williams
+ 3 Guests
Vigil Areas
Corridor and adjacent rooms
Main church hall
Library
Vigil 1:
Team 1: Corridor and Adjacent Rooms
Team 2: Library
Team 3: Main Hall
Vigil 2:
Team 1: Library
Team 2: Main Hall
Team 3: Corridor and Adjacent Rooms
Vigil 3:
Team 1: Main Hall
Team 2: Corridor and Adjacent Rooms
Team 3: Library
Vigil Rota:
8:00pm- Kerry arrive to set up with Margaret.
9:00pm- Rest of Team arrive, meet and greet
9.15pm- Set- up and baseline tests
9.40pm- Break
10:00pm- 1st Vigil
11:00pm- Break
11:20pm- 2nd Vigil
12:20am- Break
12:40am- 3rd Vigil
01:40am- Séance, table tilting, glass divination.
02:30am- Pack up and leave
Locked-Off Equipment:
Camcorder on piano to cover main hall ( Kerry's).
Camcorder in Library
EVP + Dictaphone on stage (Kerry's)
Equipment:
Team 1: Ken's camcorder , Kerry's EMF, Kerry's Temp gun
Team 2: Mandy's Camcorder, Jim's EMF, Jim's Temp gun
Team 3: Lee's Camcorder, Jim's EMF, Jim's Temp gun
Séance
- Margaret's legs feel cold. Temp 26c either side 20c.
- Temp drops near Margaret to 19c.
- Temp 19c in middle of séance area.
- Temp 25c on armchair. 20c either side.
- Lee feels cold on his legs. Temp 23c left 25c right.
- Candle fickers.
- Breeze around Ian's back. Temp 20c on back 25 rest of body.
- Margaret feels unwell/shaky. Temp 19c on back 25c at front.
- Temp taken of armchair still 25c(same temp as most peoples body temperature).
- Kerry feels someone standing in corner behind her.
- EVP pitch changes and stays constant.
- Ken, Lee and Val all feel cold breeze. Temp behind them 19c In front 25c.
- Temp of armchair still 25c.
Team 1
Vigil 1:Corridor and adjacent rooms.
End of Hallway
- Ina picks up on 2 men.
- Ina asks 'Is there a man here with a bad leg?
- Kerry says that she does not like this area as it makes her feel
unsteady
- Ina feels out of breath and believes that it is associated with the man
with the bad leg, she also feels that people would have been locked
in this room as punishment.
- Ina picks up on an energy of a man of the cloth, John says ' in a
brown cowl', Ina agrees.
- Ina is given screaming.
- Kerry feels numb down her left-hand side.
- Ina feels that someone is here trying to help their brother but the
brother/man in brown will not let it happen.
- Ina believes that the spirit gentleman present is missing a finger.
- Ina can now pick up that the man in brown is indeed a
brother/clergyman.
- Ina sees a large field used as a playground behind the building.
- John suggests that Ina will 'see more' if she pushes open the door to
the toilet.
- Ina picks up on a Polish gentleman who is very tall, he makes her
want to stretch her neck and believes that he may have been hung.
- Ina picks up on a lady and is given the names Rose and Elliot, she
wore gloves and is given the date 1517.
- Ken calls out.
- Ina can ' see' 3 children 2 boys and 1 girl and are around 9 years
old and says that the woman is not very nice.
- Ina can 'see' the clergyman again and seems to be in charge of the
place.
- Ina is given the name of Tony who used to help people and says she
feels shaky.
- Group move to hallway
- Ina points to the area below the sky light and says that a school bell
was mounted here, like a church bell and this area faced out to the
play area.
- Ina points to the area of the hallway which backs on to the library
and believes that this area was a dormitory and for the older
children 11/12 years.
- Ina is given the name of Molly who was a strong minded child, she
had red hair and seemed to be in charge of the younger children
and gets a strong smell of unwashed bodies.
- Ina then picks up on well dressed people coming in to check up on
the children and the work being carries out here.
- Ina then picks up that someone has been sent to the clock room for
punishment and the spirit does not want us in that room.
- Ken says that the ' posh' people are bringing the kids in to board.
- Ina and John believe that the man in the brown cowl/robe does not
travel all the way through the building but is restricted to the
hallway area as this was his space and wasn't 'allowed' to come any
further.
Side/Store Room
- Ina believes this room to be the 'clock room' which she mentioned
earlier and believes that we are not welcome here.
- Ina feels a struggle taking place in here and 'sees' a large mirror on
the right hand wall and believes the energy level in the room to be
4.5-5 ft off the ground.
- Ina can now see pots and pans and believes this could have been a
kitchen/scullery at some point and is very noisy ' activity' wise.
- Ken sees the man in the brown robe coming through the far right
corner of the room and believes that the wall is not 'true' to the
current building.
- Ina says that the room was once used as a prayer room and this is
what is keeping the bad energy away from the room. She also says
that she can see someone here that has lost an eye.
- A cold breeze comes through the doorway into the room.
Prayer Room
- Ina sees a modern energy of a man in a blue boiler suit and believes
that there are many energies in this room, confirmed by John.
- Ken feels an energy build in the far left corner which is again the
man in the brown robe.
- Ina tells Ken to ask him to step back, Ken confirms that he has been
trying to do this for some time however the man keeps following us
- Ina is given the names Harry/Harold Higgins and Evelyn. Evelyn
was in charge here.
- Ina can 'see' dogs either spaniels or hunting hounds.
- Ken is given the name of Masters
- Ina can see a girl who was good at art who says,' I don't have any
certificates'.
- Ken can see squares appearing on the wall as if something used to
be there.
- Ina feels a nice energy come through which is in the near right
corner about 4/5ths up the wall which is showing itself to Ina as a
white shadow. Temp is 2c colder above Kerry's head where Kerry
feels that the spirit is.
- Kerry feels a dog sitting by her left leg, Ina says that it belongs to
the spirit gentleman.
- Ina points to cold spot which is 2c colder than the rest of the room.
2nd Vigil- Library
12:11am- Kerry stands in Far right corner near door to
hallway & rest of team sit around the small table
- Ina believes that there used to be a fireplace behind her
(opposite the door form church hall).
- Kerry feels odd, temp 12c(nearest fire) to the left and 16c to
the right
12:13am- Ina believes that the man in the robe is standing
where Kerry is and can 'see' a bible.
- Ina can 'see' a Victorian slim gentleman with
sideburns. John can see him pacing the floor.
Temp by John 2c colder than surrounding
ambient temperature.
12:16am- Ina can see that the gentleman has a cane. John
confirms that this gentleman is associated with
the male 'bad' spirit in this room and can see him
in his rolled up shirt sleeves metering out punishment.
12:17am- Cold spot between near Ina which is 20c but 23c either
side.
12:18am- Ina sees a dentist, not the modern type and is given the
name Richard.
12:23am- Ina picks up on people with connections to France and
Industry connected with material. Children used for cheap
labour.
12:25am- Ken sees a big bolt on the door that leads to the corridor.
12:27am- Ina sees a girl in a scarf.
12:28am- Both Kerry & Ina feel dizzy.
12:30am- Kerry feels unwell.
12:31am- Ken is cold on his back.
- Ina says it is the man with the beard.
12:32am- Ina sees man with a bible in his hand asking for forgiveness
and sees uniforms from a long time ago.
12:33am- Ina feels someone touching her hair.
12:34am- Ken sees a flash of light in the middle of bookcase about
2/3rd's up.
12:36am- Ken feels cold and Ina moves to doorway to corridor &
feels that there is a big dog there. Kerry says Irish
wolfhound, Ina agrees and believes it stands guard at the
door.
12:37am- Ina sees a man with 1 hand missing.
12:38am- Ken believes that the room was once used as a surgery and
sees instruments in the bookcase. Group discuss the smell in
the room(camphor?).
12:39am- Ken gets a headache and sees a 'brown' orb.
12:41am- Ina can see a couple holding a baby in the far left corner
And temp is 3c colder than either side of it.
12:43am- Kerry still feels unwell and feels as though she has been
whacked in the head. Her temperature is far hot than
everyone else's.
12:44am- Ken sees another brown orb from Ina to the bookcase.
12:45am- John believes that the orb is a mixture of energies that
come in through the corner of the room.
- Ina sees an old lady connected with Hampstead who is
connected to the man with the beard and is given the date
24/12/1612.
12:48am- Ken feels the presence of a boy on the floor in front of
Kerry, there is a cold spot there. Ken believes he dies here.
12:51am- Ken is given the name Tom.
12:52am- Ina sees Kerry transfigure to a woman in a tartan shawl
and both Kerry and John feel uncomfortable.
12:54am- Ina feels the presence of the bearded man again and Ken is
given the name of Parker or Barker.
Vigil 3: Main Hall
1:37am- Mona is given personal reading by Ina. Not included in
notes.
1:40am- Kerry feels sick and goes to sit in the cubicle to the right of
the one that the other are in as Ina feels that there is an
atmosphere growing in there.
1:44am- Kerry returns to rest of group and reports that there did feel
like there was movement in there but felt very peaceful.
1:45am- Ina feels pressure build and feels as though she needs to
push someone away from her and says that it is one of the
spirits in the church and she feels cold.
1:46am- Ina picks up on a sergeant major here in the 1840's and feels
like the pushing is coming from children fighting over toys.
She also picks up rows of bookcases in rows around the hall
and stuffed animals and a doorway in the wall where the
cubicles are.
1:48am- All separate around the hall, Ina is given the name Jones by
the podium and says that she is taken back to a time when
the podium wasn't there and is also given a veil.
1:50am- Ina feels cold in the area to the left of the podium.
1:51am- Ken given personal reading. Not included in notes.
1:52am- Ina picks up on pews rather than chairs in the window area.
1:54am- Kerry given personal reading. Notes not included.
2:00am- Ina comments that she regularly feels tears coming from the
area to the left of the podium and reports that her face is
very hot.
Team 2
Vigil 1- Library
NO EMF. TEMP gun not working.
10:55pm- Fire is switched on as the room is far, far colder than the
rest of the rooms.
11:00pm- Table tipping experiment starts.
11:03pm- Josie picks up on a lady connected with the school, she has
dark hair and could have been the headmistress.
- Josie says that the room hasn't always been this
cold(activity).
11:04pm- Josie and Margaret pick up on a smell that makes them
want to sneeze. They believe that it has been caused by the
caretaker.
- They are given the name George but it isn't the name of
The caretaker.
- They are also given the surname Currothers.
11:05pm- Margaret has a tickly cough and is finding it hard to
swallow.
11:06pm- Sylvia is given the name Mavis Harding she has a silk dress
and is quite haughty. Could have been in charge.
- Sylvia feels cold and stiff.
11:10pm- Table starts to judder.
11:15pm- Table tipping continues but participants have changed.
Movement stops.
11:20pm- Table tipping continues with a change over of participants.
Constant movement of table.
11:28pm- Sylvia suspects Male spirit of table movement and asks
female
spirit to join them. The table turns and then starts to
judder.
11:33pm- As team leave the Library EMF readings of 2mg noted.
Vigil 2- Church Hall
12:15am- Laura calls out, no response.
- Leeanne calls out, no response.
- Tapping heard
- Josie is given the name Jimmy Matthews
12:20am- Margaret is given the name Pauline Butler
- Margaret feels cold down right leg.
- Josie picks up that there was a fire outside the door.
12:21am- Mandy calls out
- Margaret has gone cold down right hand side again.
- Sylvia given the name Jeremiah Windsor
- Josie is given the name Jacobs
12:25am- Josie picks up on child called Martin singing Christmas
carols.
- Laura calls out.
12:26am- Sylvia is given the name Jackson David
- All of team feel a cool breeze at head level.
12:27am- Josie senses a telegram being given containing bad news.
- Margaret and Mandy sense cold breeze.
12:28am- Sylvie senses a boy riding a bike backwards.
12:29am- Mandy sees movement in left hand corner at back of room.
12:30am- Josie feels a breeze at her elbows.
12:31am- Leeanne's back is freezing even though she is sitting facing
heater.
- Orbs picked up on camera.
12:32am- Leeanne can smell cigarette smoke.
- Sylvia says'…gently Jonesy, careful or the whole lot will
come down together', believes this could have been a sailor'
jack tar'.
- Josie senses horses and cart could be from the fore station
Next door.
- Sylvia can ' see' broken green glass.
12:33am- Mandy feels blowing in face.
- Josie can hear a woman is saying ' not to worry' and is
Taking a little girl home who is called Susie.
- Margaret can sense someone by the main door to the hall.
12:37am- Glass divination starts, Mandy, Margaret and Laura
participate.
12:38am- Josie picks up on a scullery maid called Peggy and is given
the date 1851.
- Is also given the name of Betty who worked with Peggy.
12:40am- Sylvie is given the name Mabel Archer who was a wet
nurse to the gentry. She can see her holding a baby.
- Josie says 'He was a hard master, he was'. Believes him to
be a school master with a rich cockney accent. He was not
popular.
12:41am- Josie can 'see' a sailor climbing a ships rigging and gets a
cold breeze around elbows.
- Leeanne feels a sharp pain in her shoulder.
- Sylvie and Josie feel cold air.
12:45am- Josie picks up on a boy called Christopher who likes to hide
and is given the name Timothy Rider aged 11 or 12 who
joined the forces.
- Josie gets sudden smell of burning.
12:49am- Josie and Sylvie can sense stained glass and a font.
- Josie picks up that someone got burned
across the road to the church and that is
why she can smell burning.
12:50am- Sylvie calls out, no response.
12:51am- Josie gets draught across back and knees.
- Leeanne feels draught on left hand and hears a slight noise
behind her.
- Josie is given the surname of either Masters, Matthews or
Matthewson. She then says ' I'm sorry I didn't mean to do
it' and believes that it is something to do with an accident.
- Josie can see button up boots that have a connection with a
female benefactor of the school.
12:53am- Sylvia is given the name Mariah Corby and believes that is
the name of the benefactor.
- Josie is given the name Amelia, she is a child.
12:54am- Josie is given the surname of Barrett who came from Wood
Street. She is also given the name Montgomery Sneddon
who attended the local school.
Vigil 3- Hallway and Side Rooms
Healing Room
1:40am- Leeanne calls out and her legs feel cold.
- Mandy calls out.
- Josie can sense the Lady flitting, she was a previous resident
and has dark hair. She has been taken to 'Jimmy's bench'.
1:47am - Leeanne can see lights coming from the door coming
towards the chairs.
- Leeanne calls out.
- flicker of a light seen coming from the far left corner.
1:50am - Team move to hallway.
- Margaret calls out.
- Sylvia is breathless and says that she can see a man who is
'humpty-dumpty' shaped who's name is Humphrey. He has
blonde hair and is in his late 50s to early 60s. He fiddles
with his fingers and thumbs. He wore leggings and socks
that showed and shoes like slippers that were an oatmeal
colour and was a man of substance.He likes to stand here.
- Leeanne sees a flash of light on the ceiling.
- Sylvia moves to the end of hallway by toilets and is given
The name Ben Carter.
- Leeanne hears noises.
- Sylvia picks up that people were dragged to this area for
Punishment and can hear the words 'they can't hurt us
now'. She is also given the name of Oliver Ridley who was
not a man to be' toyed with'.
2:00am- Torch goes out
- Team move to the middle of the hallway.
- Sylvia can feel water running down her face and is given the
name William Carter.
- Josie feels cold.
- Mandy calls out, no response.
- Leeanne calls out, no response.
- Draft felt over Sylvia's face. Could be the whole in the
ceiling? She then gets a series of 3 breezes 1)to her left,2)
straight down her body, 3) a gentle breeze around her
stomach.
- Sylvia picks up on a man in a navy blue uniform, could be
connected with the old fire station next door.
- Josie feels cold down the front of her body and is given the
name Paulette.
Team 3 Vigil Notes:
Vigil 1- Church Hall
11:00pm- TEMP 23c all around
- Val calls out
- Ian sees girl in Victorian costume, he has seen her here
before
11:10pm - Ian can see the girl pushing a hoop and is given the name
of Geraldine.
- Temperature drops by 1 degree to 22c.
11:20pm- Temperature rises 2 degrees to 24c.
- Val has the sense of a stern mans presence
- Ian can see strings of conkers hanging up
- Smell of buring and strong alcohol smells picked up on.
- Group are given names; Roger, George and Robert.
11:35pm- Strong smell of tobacco comes through at waste level no
higher. Continues to come in waves.
Vigil 2- Hallway and Healing Room
12:15am- Move into Healing Room
- NO EMF
- TEMP 13.6c
12:20am- Members of the group pick up on beatings happening in
this area.
- Val picks up on 2 children Thomas and Rebecca.
12:30am- EMF gives off small clicks around Val in the corridor
outside the healing room.
- TEMP 14.2c
12:40am- Lee sees a shadow in the corridor
- TEMP 10.1c
12:50am- TEMP 14.1c
- Louise comments on the heaviness of the healing room that
makes them feel tired.
NO MORE ACTIVITY REPORTED
Vigil 3-Library
NO EMF. TEMP not taken as fire had been switched on.
- Some of group pick up on a fat man who doesn't want us in here.
- Camcorder switched itself off
- Val picks up that this room was once used as a
bedroom/dormitory.
- All feel very uncomfortable in the room as it is very unsettling and
makes you feel uneasy.
- Surgical cleanliness is picked up on as though this was used as an
operating theatre etc.
- When group leave the vigil they all feel as though they have been
followed out of the room.
Reports
Val's Report
I had been very excited to investigate The National Spiritualist Church in Walthamstow and was greeted with a warm reception. After baseline tests were completed we all joined in the main hall at around 9-30 for a seance. I was surprised at how miserable I felt, I had goose bumps although I was hot. The name of Andrew Masters came through to one of the mediums. While the seance continued I was thinking of a victorian picture I have at home of highland cattle, it belonged to my grandmother and the name of William Morris which is printed on the picture why I was thinking of this I do not know. The candle in the middle of the circle was burning irratically although there were no drafts.The corner of the room behind Kerry kept me interested I felt as though someone was there watching us. The seance drew to a close and we started our individual vigils. My team was 3 with Louise, Ian, Lee, Keith and myself and our vigil was the main hall. The temperature reading was 23 deg all around the EMF reading was nil. Ian picked up on an energy of a girl in victorian clothing by the name of Geraldine. I started to call out but there was no response. I had a male a stocky male quite stern with a small chin hands on his lapels rocking back and forth on heels and toes. Ian could see conkers all threaded together on string. We decided to hold a seance in the back of the hall and Lee's camera suddenly switched of. I felt really sick. Louise had the smell of smoke come to her Lee and I both felt shivery and then we all could smell smoke, tobaco smoke from a pipe it was sweet and we all agreed that it was Clan Dew tobaco. I came across the name of Robert and Louise had the names of George and Roger. At the back of the hall to the top was shadows of beams and I saw a light about the size of the temperature reading but it was white not red. We all moved to our second vigil the hall. It was very cold in here temperature reading was 13.6 and the EMF reading again was 0. I didnt like it in here. we made our way to the small room with chairs in it room temperature was 16.2 EMF was 0. The temperature suddenly dropped to 10.1 I could picture a man in my mind and quite clearly could link him to films, I could see birds but did'nt connect with anything. I felt a little uneasy in this room but cannot explain why. Then had to smile as the name of Alfred Hitchcock flashed through, why him I don't know as I never really liked him. We made our way back into the corridor and walked to the end. I came across 2 children Rebecca and Thomas. Aged about 5-6 the little girl was dressed in a brown dress down to her ankles she wore black worn out ankle boots her hair was long and straight falling either side of her face she was neglected, dirty and hungry, the little boy wore trousers to his calves again worn out brown shoes, he was blonde with curly hair that desperately needed washing and he again looked very neglected. Both of them very scruffy. I felt that a lot of wrong doings had taken place in this building. Lee Louise and myself then started our 3rd vigil the library. We sat by the fire to the right of the room around a small table with a candle on it. Lee calling out but nothing heard. I started to call out and we all heard a faint noise, my throat became very dry and irritating. We all agreed that we did not like this room. Louise felt as though the room had been altered and we both felt it was a clinical type of room no comforts at all in here. Louise felt she was sitting in someones office or a waiting room. We were all drawn to the right hand corner of the window and felt uneasy. Then we all heard a noise a clicking sound coming from behind the screens on the left of the window. Lee Louise and myself agreed it was horrible in here. Louise felt a black presence coming toward her and thought of horses. Lee said he felt as though it was a headmasters room. Louise again said there was a black hooded figure but could not see a face. Again clicking was coming from behind the screens. No EMF readings in here. We were so uncomfortable Louise felt as though someone was walking in circles around us I felt sick. Louise said there was a line of children standing in a row. The more we stayed the more restless we became. Lee's camera had been placed on a table in front of the bookcase and we all hoped it would pick up the noises we were hearing, but to our amazement although it had been switched on from the start and checked again by Lee half way through our vigil it had recorded nothing, the batteries were ok and the camera had been running throughout. Although it was warm in this room we all became quite cold and decided it was time for us to leave. This was a great investigation one with many mysteries still to unfold. I would like to say thankyou to Margaret and her fellow helpers for making such a lovely buffet and for making us all so very welcome and thankyou Kerry you turned up trumps for this investigation. Well done to everyone.
Ken's Report
After meeting and greeting we all held a seance. The temperature was erratic and the name of Andrew Masters came through to one of the mediums. My legs felt cold and the candle I noticed was burning with an iregular flame one minute it was very still and the next minute dancing all over the place. Seance finished at 9-45. My team was number 1 Kerry, Mona, Ina, John, and myself. Our 1st investigation was the corridor, Kerry had a pain in her back and Ina picked up on a man with a bad leg. The temperature was a low of 7 deg. I felt the man that was present was angry, I came across a man dressed in a brown robe his head not covered as I could see that he was bald. Ina had said that there was a man who had lost his hand or fingers. I could feel the man in the brown robe following me and he came into the room that had seats all around. On the wall opposite the door I could see a lot of squares and felt that this was'nt right. Again Ina came across the name of Harry, Kerry felt a dog by her left leg, as we came out of the room Ina thought there should have been a bell just outside in the corridor. Time for a short break. Our next vigil was the library. This room felt depressing to me and I sensed a small boy had died in here and his name was Tom Barclay, also I felt there should have been a cabinet on the wall with medical instruments in. The floor seemed to me to be very wet as if it was constantly being washed. The door on the right that led to the passage was I felt not the original door, I felt the original one had a large bolt to make sure it was always locked. Into the main hall now and I did'nt feel any presence in here. I would like to say thankyou to Margaret and friends for the welcoming buffett and tea and to all of them for making me feel so welcome.
Lee's Report
The night of the investigation was quite a cold night, plus it was the height of firework season, which unfortunately proved to be a bit distracting on one or two occasions later on in the night.
We began the investigation with a group séance in the main hall, sat around a candle. Several strange things occurred during the séance that I can not explain; firstly there were on a couple of occasions quite noticeable temperature changes. Although it was cold outside the main hall was very well heated by electric heaters, so the unusual coldness experienced by several people is a bit of a mystery. Also, the flame of the candle was very active, it would switch from constantly flickering to being quite steady very quickly despite there being no noticeable drafts.
After the séance, we split up into smaller groups and began the vigils.
The main hall
I personally found the hall to be quite uneventful, apart from three things. Firstly, I thought I saw a light above a group of chairs, at about head height, no one was using torches at this time and it was very dark, so I do not know what could have caused that.
Secondly at one point whilst standing near the corner filming the room I thought that there was someone behind me, upon turning around there was no one there. Thirdly, we sat down and did a smaller séance in the same area as we had earlier done the group one. During this séance I began to feel quite uncomfortable, with major goose bumps and I started to shake a little bit. Shortly after this, we were all presented by an incredibly strong, sweet smell.
The corridor and side room
It was very cold in the corridor, very cold indeed. During our time in the corridor our EMF meter started acting very strangely, I am not sure if it was broken or just picking up very unusual readings in the area by the front door, a couple of feet off of the ground!
Also, whilst filming along the corridor I thought I saw a shadow about halfway down the corridor, we were the only people in the corridor and we were not standing in front of any windows where we might have accidentally cast a shadow.
We moved into the small side room, here it was very calm and peaceful and apart from the odd strange ticking or creaking noise, there was not much to be said about this room.
The library
The library was a very strange room. Upon entering it, it had a very vacant feel to it. It wasn't a bad feeling, it wasn't a good feeling, it was just a room… blank. There were seats positioned by the gas fire so we decided to position ourselves there. I placed the camera on the side and spent a good minute or so making sure that it was all lined up and that we were in shot. I even went back and double checked after having sat down. But when we went to leave the room the camera had switched itself off. In fact, it had not recorded anything from a few seconds after we went into the room - this I can not explain as I had seen it recording a good five or ten minutes after that!
Whilst the room had started off with a very empty feel to it, after a while we started to get a feeling for it. We started getting various impressions of what we thought the room had once been, from a bedroom to nurses room to a headmaster's office. We also started to get the feeling that there was something else in the room with us, specifically in the corner by the window, unfortunately behind where we were sitting. There were some quite loud noises, tapping and creaking mainly and at one point Val thought she'd seen a figure at the window looking at us. We were definitely starting to feel unwelcome in the room and decided to leave it - it was at this point that I discovered that the camera had not been recording.
Leeanne's Report
This was my first investigation as a member of Southern Paranormal UK, and I have to admit that I had high expectations of the location, purely because of its use and connections. I felt completely at ease upon entering the church, which was warm and welcoming.
I was teamed with SPUK investigators Mandy and Laura, and Sylvie, Josie and Margaret who were members of the church. Our first investigation took place in the library where we tried table tipping. Margaret, Sylvie and Josie seemed to pick up on a few spirits and provided many names. Margaret's hands began shaking so uncontrollable that she had to sit out. The table then began to rock and twist, and its movements appeared to coincide with questions that were being called out. However, it is unclear whether this was completely due to paranormal reasons.
Our second vigil was in the main hall, where we experienced very little activity. Again, Margaret, Josie and Sylvie picked up on many names and residual images of the past. However, both Mandy and I captured a number of orbs on our digital cameras.
Finally, we investigated the entrance hall and an adjacent room. During this vigil I saw a number of orbs with my naked eye, and these were also caught on digital camera. Further down the hallway some of the team sensed a bad atmosphere and became quite unsettled by the feeling. I certainly didn't like to have my back to the corridor in the dark.
My expectations for this investigation left me a little disappointed with the lack of physical activity that my team experienced. I believe that the other teams experienced a lot more than we did. Hopefully, further research will be able to confirm the names and details that our mediums provided. However, it was an interesting building to investigate and a good introduction to my time as a member of SPUK. I would like to say thank you to the members of the National Spiritualist Church who made us all feel very welcome and provided a fabulous spread of food for our night with them.
Kerry's Report
I was looking forward to investigating this site as I knew it was built on what used to be the church common and then the Workhouse green and knew that the area was rich in history that could hopefully be picked up on.
I was also aware that the church used to be a school and hoped that this could also be picked up on which it did.
During vigil 1 we seemed to be in contact with quite a few spirits including children and a man of the cloth who seemed to follow us around during our 1st vigil and was present shortly during our 2nd vigil but did not join us on the 3rd.
There was a very eerie sense of foreboding and as though one were being watched in the corridor, I did not like the sensation that I felt and felt uncomfortable anywhere in this area but felt fine in the 2 rooms off it.
During vigil 2 in the library for some reason I did not feel very well and the whole thing passed in a blur. I remember people picking up on names and activity but the only thing I remember is feeling that there was an Irish Wolfhound to my right hand side and that there was someone in the middle of the room at floor level.
After watching the footage some of the information came back to me but I must say I felt sedated during this vigil.Maybe it was related to the attachments to dentistry/surgery in this room?
Vigil 3 in the main hall was interesting as lots of messages were coming through personal readings.Ina thought that maybe it was because this church was used for such purposes so why should it be any different. For Ina it was hard to stop the messages coming through and concentrate on the church itself however she did pick up on an army man and children fighting over toys in the church hall.
Some things I found strange about this investigation were the temperature of the armchair which was at the same temperature of peoples body temperature. Also the fact that when myself and Mandy went to check the EVP buzzing was heard when myself and Mandy were discussing if we would pick anything up in the EVP experiment. The buzzing seemed to respond to our questioning and could not have been picked up by interference as we were using cd and not radio.
A lot was picked up at this site including names, mainly by the mediums present and will be researched and reported back on.
Thank you to Margaret for her hospitality and allowing us to investigate and to the mediums and clairvoyants who attended this investigation.