Peterborough Museum, Cambridgeshire

Back in the day, when Laura and I first started to work together, one of the things that we decided to do was to take a different approach to what we had previously done as individuals previously and cast our net wide to widen our experience, including participating in a couple of organised ghost hunt events. Please don’t judge us on this.

Background

One such event that attracted my attention was held at Peterborough Museum, in Cambridgeshire. Whilst now relatively well known as a ‘paranormal venue’ on the well-trodden event circuit, originally, at that time, had a far lesser reputation.

It appeared to offer an exciting nights experience. It allegedly was haunted by at least four ghosts, probably the best known of which was that of a young Australian Soldier, from the First World War, Sergeant Thomas Hunter.

Hunter passed away at the building, which was being used as a hospital at the time, having succumbed to serious injuries, incurred whilst fighting on the Western Front.

However, as this was an event situation as opposed to a proper investigation, I didn’t bother to research the history of the building, paranormal or otherwise, so we could enjoy the evening for what it was, as well as observed how such events were organised.

Laura, as always, knew nothing about the building, other than it was in Peterborough.

And it was a Museum.

The Museum had only just recently made itself available for hire overnight, thanks mainly to a sympathetic liaison officer in Stuart Orme and its stock was rising on the paranormal event circuit, with mainly positive feedback.

In addition, as a bonus, it also represented a relatively short drive for us so, with our immediate schedule relatively free, we found ourselves on the road heading towards deepest Cambridgeshire, with hopefully an interesting evening ahead.

Arrival

We arrived at the museum at around 8pm, fashionably late as always, only to find that all the other guests had already arrived and were settled inside the building.

Announcing our arrival by knocking loudly on the main doors, we were quickly guided to a group of 25 people or so that were gathered in a large room, where the briefing had already started.

Being the last to arrive really felt just like back at school and arriving late for morning assembly.

This room was a large room (or a small hall) that was being used as the hub for the investigation. Somewhere where we could stow our belongings and act a meeting point between sessions.

After about 10 minutes or so, where a short resume of the history of the building was given (and perhaps priming the expectations of the assembled ‘ghosthunters’), we were told that before we commenced the ‘investigation’, we would tour the building first with Stuart, who obviously had a wealth of knowledge of the location.

At this point, Laura commented to me that the group was larger than she had expected and didn’t think that she would be able to pick anything up tonight as she found such a large gathering of people distracting and off-putting.

Strange how things turn out.

A few minutes later, without any warning and, having just said that she felt the size of the group unsettling, Laura whispered to me that a guy a couple of rows in front of us, in a red t-shirt (who we subsequently learnt was Marq English, of MEV Productions / Spiral Paranormal), “had something" – implying some kind of psychic skill, although she wasn’t sure what.

Laura felt that it was possibly healing, but left it at that and thought no more about it.

We then left the hall for our tour of the building, which, despite the exhibits, had the feel of a large family home rather than the Museum that it now was.

In the former operating theatre later in the evening. Whilst everyone's
attention is focused on the glass, one sneaky team member decided to rummage
through the contents of Laura's bag....

The Tour

During the tour, we quietly listened to Stuart as he told us about the history of the building, its original purpose as a large family home, to its subsequent uses as a hospital, offices and now, in its role as Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, that it had served since 1931.

Our tour stopped in the cellar, where we stood in the dim light listening to Stuart winding up his narrative.

To access the cellar we had to leave the building and go down a flight of stone steps outside the Museum. At the foot of the stairs we were greeted by a wooden door, which allowed entry to the cellar, which was really a complex of small storage rooms, arranged along a single passageway.

As we shuffled around the side rooms forming the cellar, whilst in the room at the far end opposite the entrance staircase, Laura told me that she thought that there used to be a tunnel leading from the cellar to a local Church. She later explained that It appeared to her that the cellar now was just ‘too small’. (1) 

It was at this point that we were stood in the doorway of this room with 1 other person and Stuart, where I made an interesting observation out of the corner of my eye.

I looked across to Laura, who had a distant look in her eyes and not really listening to what Stuart was saying.

As we filed out from the cellar, Laura told me that, as we were stood in the doorway, she had suddenly become distracted by what she could only describe as shadow-like mist, in human form, in the corridor leading back to the entry staircase.

The shadow had moved back towards the stairs, getting smaller as it moved further away.

Laura advised that it could have been her imagination, but it would be interesting to see if we experienced anything further when it was our turn to return to the cellar later during the vigil placements.

Now, I found what Laura had said very interesting, as at the same time as Laura’s sighting, I also thought that I’d observed a shadow of human form where no one was standing at the time, at the end of the entrance corridor. 

This suggested that we had both observed the same phenomena, the only difference being that I saw it more as a misty brown shadow as opposed to a darker version as seen by Laura.

However, the issues for us with this shadow is that, with all the people and stray lights present, was this actually a shadow cast by a real person as to genuine phenomena? (2)

The Fun Begins

Once we had got back to the hall, we had another short debrief, during which Laura pointed out another guest, a female just in front of us, wearing a red and white top. This female, Laura advised would pick up something during the evening.

To explain, as strange and improbable as it seems, Laura has always felt that she could tell from people’s eyes if they had psychic abilities and she had just seen something in the female’s eyes that indicated that she had.

Briefing over, we were split into a couple of small groups by one of the event staff.

Laura and I soon found ourselves in a group of 7 people – ourselves, a father and daughter, two females (one of whom was the female in the red and white top) and Marq English, the guy in the red t-shirt.

Sometimes it’s amusing how things work out.

Laura told me that she felt comfortable with this group of people whilst I just found myself wondering how long it would be until the first coffee break.

1^st Vigil – Cellar Dwellers

For the first vigil, we found ourselves back in the cellar, where we spent most of our time in silence, recording and listening for any odd sounds to announce the arrival of an obliging ghost.

Nothing.

Laura, in the cellar.

Towards the end of the vigil Laura picked up upon a Male, a porter, with the first name of ‘Harry’, but nothing else.

For myself, I used the session to sit in quiet contemplation of the potential quality of the coffee available in the forthcoming refreshment break.

The time duly arrived and, when I look back, I like to think that my deep contemplation hastened its arrival. It was most welcome in any case.

2nd Vigil - Ground Floor

We started this vigil in the ‘shop’ at the main entrance area.

Once again, we sat in silence for around twenty minutes or so, with nothing of note occurring, I just hoped that the audio that I was recording was picking up some EVP for us to review later.

Eventually, we all mutually agreed to move to another area.

We walked up the hallway, towards the main staircase, quickly exploring the side rooms as we passed, until we got to the stairs, where a couple of the group sat down, allowing the rest of us to take some photographs.

At this point in the proceedings, Laura starting pacing back and forth before leaving the area and exploring some of the side rooms on her own.

Laura later reported that she felt nothing in the rooms, apart from the kitchen, where she got a smell similar to that you would experience in a butchers, complete with ‘sawdust and everything’.

Laura eventually returned to the group at the foot of the stairs and stood there for a couple of minutes, before stating that she’d heard a someone say, in a female voice, the name ‘Ann’, which she felt was in connection to the stairs.

At this point, the group above on the first floor started to get a little loud, which Laura found distracting and she was unable to pick anything else up.

After several minutes had passed, we all decided to split up and do our own thing and meet back up for the last 30 minutes or so of the session to do something as a group again.

1^st Floor

Separating from the others, Laura and I found ourselves in the area set up as little shops, as an illustration of life in Peterborough, in the last century.

We sat there alone for a while, to see if we could experience anything.

After about five minutes we were joined by Marq English, whereupon we tried calling out to see if we could get anything.

This session was commenced by Marq calling out unexpectedly in a broad Australian accent, which Laura found very amusing, to try and extract a response from the Australian Serviceman that was believed to haunt the building.

Once again, we were met with silence.

After a short while, Laura suggested to me that we move to another area. She advised that the only thing that she’d picked up from our time in this area was that it should be more open and that this area of the Museum had been changed structurally.

From here Laura and I moved to what she now refers to as the ‘Children’s Room’. As soon as we entered Laura picked up on the presence of several children in the room with us. (3)

After a short while we were again joined by Marq, whereupon we decided to sit down behind some dividing screens.

Whilst there, Laura advised that she could not get the idea of the children out of her head, even seeing in her mind the image of several children in the room playing.

We tried calling out and asking questions for responses that we hoped we could capture as EVP when we reviewed the audio later, but alas, upon checking the recording later we found that we had received no responses.

Laura then started searching the room and soon returned with a Pritt Stick (a glue stick for the uninitiated), which was the only suitable object that she could find. Laura then proceeded to ask ‘the spirits’ to attempt to move the Pritt Stick for us.

We tried this for a while, with again no response. I can only surmise that the Pritt Stick had stuck to the table, making the object unmovable for the spirits......

We were eventually joined by one of the organisers, who asked if the three of us wanted to join the rest of the group, who were now gathered on the other side of the screens, for a séance, to which we agreed and rejoined with the rest of our group, near the cabinet containing a sword.

We soon learnt that several of the people in our group had never taken part in a séance before, which, upon reflection, should probably not have been a surprise to ourselves.

Having formed a circle, with some of the group linking hands, the séance commenced.

Laura felt that the people that she had picked up upon earlier, in the other areas of the Museum, especially in the cellar area, were connected to the spirits attempting to communicate with us during the séance.

Two females amongst our group came over very emotional throughout the séance, including the female in the red and white top and there were cold and tingly feelings felt by Laura, that was also reported by the others taking part.

Things were starting to become interesting and we wondered how the rest of our evening would map out.

3^rd Floor

After a short break for refreshments, we commenced our session of the top floor of the Museum, starting in the room containing a coffin.

Initially, Laura and myself sat alone in this room for a while, as the group had again agreed to split and do their one thing, meeting up later near the end of the session for another group vigil.

Again, from my perspective, I observed nothing of note, although Laura commented at one point that her hair was being played with, along with the word ‘April’.

Laura could not be certain if this was the name of a female, although it was a female that she received the word from, or whether ‘April’ was significant as in an anniversary related to the female herself.

The search for the lost contact lens........

Eventually we were joined by one of the organisers, who sat with us for a while.

During this time Laura continued to attempt to get a connection with the female, but despite endless calling out, she wasn’t able to manage it.

Unlike the other sessions, time seemed to pass quickly and soon the rest of our group rejoined us for the last vigil, seemingly scuppering Laura’s intention to go out onto the stairway to see if she could pick up anything there.

However, the rest of the group threw themselves into a séance, so Laura and I left the room and went out onto the stairway to see what we could observe, if anything, there.

We sat on the stairs for about five minutes, with nothing of interest occurring, so we decided to rejoin the rest of the group back in the room for the end of the session.

As we retraced our steps back up the stairs, with myself leading, Laura suddenly stumbled at the doorway to the coffin room.

Laura later advised that she’d thought that there was another step to climb and started to feel confused, wondering where the step had gone. At the same time she felt as if a male had put his hands around her neck.

Laura continued to explain that then she felt as if she’d taken a blow to her forehead, as if she’d been head butted. This was the only way that she was able to describe it to me. (4)

Laura and my leg, sat on the back staircase.

Entering the room we found that the rest of the group had their séance well under way. I then realised that I’d left my torch back at the staircase, so I immediately left to retrieve it, leaving Laura to join the circle.

Once I’d reached the stairs, I set upon making as much noise as I could by proving that it wasn’t wise to walk around unfamiliar buildings in the pitch black by throwing myself downstairs. Laura later did ask me what I was doing when I went to get the torch.

Dusting myself off, I retrieved the torch and I can confirm that I found it much easier to move around the building by torchlight........

Back at the séance, Laura was starting to pick up on some information relating to former occupants of the Museum that were still in residence.

Drawing the séance to a close, Laura started to summarise what she had picked up to the rest of the group and tried to clarify who she though the occupants were.

For Laura, whilst the séance was interesting, the room never really held any attraction for her.

Once we’d finished, we all made our way down to base camp in the hall on the lower floor, where we took another break before having a final hour of free time where we were able to investigate wherever we liked in the Museum.

Free time

During this time, no organisers were present, as we were pretty much given free rein to do as we pleased for the final session, as promised.

During this time we worked our way through different rooms in the building, over different floors, to try and pick something up, but it was to no avail.

We finished the night up on the top floor, joined by one of the organisers, who we shall refer to as ‘D’, who had joined us earlier whilst we were attempting to make contact with spirit using a glass (glass divination).

When Laura spotted ‘D’, she started to relate to him some of the things that she had picked up upon previously throughout the evening, to see if, maybe, this would help with contact.

Whilst Laura did this, ‘D’ appeared surprised at some of the things that he was being told and asked Laura if she had been to the location before, to which she confirmed that she hadn’t.

‘D’ went on to confirm that most of what Laura had told him was correct, which appeared to pique his interest, so he decided to accompany us for the remainder of the session.

From here, we moved to the back staircase area to try once again with the glass, but as before, no ‘response’ was obtained.

We then all agreed that we would try one last attempt with the glass in the cold fan room, opposite the coffin room.

Once settled, we tried sitting for a short while before attempting the glass divination experiment, to see if perhaps we could build up the ‘energy’ any more.

Again we tried making contact via the glass and nothing happened, although Laura picked up some personal information connected to one of the other members of the group. However, she kept this information to herself, trying to make sense of it.

The excitement of glass divination.....

This was the first time that Laura had ever had been given information to pass onto someone before and she wasn’t what she should do with the information.

She felt that, if she was right, it was all well and good, but she was wrong she could be setting herself up for an embarrassing fall and that at that point Laura didn’t trust myself enough to do so.

Therefore, if Laura did pass on the information and it was wrong, she feared that her trust in whatever information she picked up in the future, would be gone.

With this dilemma, Laura kept going over and over the information in her head, until she finally decided that she needed to pass on the information whatever and simply just see what happens from there.

Approaching the other member of the group when he was alone, Laura passed on the information that she had been given. To her shock, the person accepted all of the information that she gave. Laura was genuinely surprised by this, whilst the person remained silent and looked almost upset.

With time running out, we soon called back to the hall for the final de-brief, effectively bringing our time at the Museum to an end.

Post Investigation

In conversation several days later Laura advised that she thought that the Museum was a great location for many reasons, the main one being that fact that it didn’t feel like a Museum at all during the whole time that she was there, but more of a grand house or home.

Laura appreciated the layout of the building and felt very relaxed there, which was the reason why, she felt, that she managed to open up and obtain some verifiable information during our time there.

With everything that she had experienced at the building, it was the final piece of very personal information that she was able to pass on to the other person that stood out and, with them able to accept this information gave her great confidence going forward and she felt that the location, in the scheme of things, was a key milestone in the development of her ‘sensitive’ abilities, if this was the correct term to use.

Overall, a very interesting evening at historic building that, in addition to what Laura picked up, a lot of which the Museum Liaison Officer, Stuart Orme confirmed was correct on the night, provided us with over six hours of audio for analysis, along with numerous photographs and video footage.

  

Notes:

1.      A tunnel leading from the Cellar to a nearby Church

There were references to local tradition of there being tunnels in the area. However, the Museum Liaison Officer, Stuart Orme, himself has pointed out that this would be most unlikely due to Peterborough being on the edge of the Fens and the geology being totally unsuitable to house any tunnels.

However, checking the ordinance survey maps, the Museum was in close proximity to a Church and the Cathedral and, there was an account from an elderly witness, who allegedly found a tunnel in the vaults of the Cathedral and was even able to explore them for a distance when they were a child.

Was this the tunnel that Laura was referring to?

  

2.      Shadow figure in the Cellar

I quickly found reference to a dark hooded figure that haunted the corridor, although few actual witness accounts. Was this what both Laura and I had witnessed whilst down in the cellar?

It seemed to fit the bill perfectly, but it’s important not to jump to any conclusions.

3.      ‘Children’s Room’

I found that this area was allegedly haunted by a young girl, whilst Laura picked up on several children.

4.      The Back Staircase

This area is not accessible to the public in everyday use and is allegedly haunted by the ghost of a Maid, who was said to have lost her life on the staircase.

It isn’t known if she fell, was pushed or lost her life through some other means, but witnesses have previously reported being pushed from behind by unseen hands.

How did this compare with Laura’s experience of having hands placed around her throat and the sensation of stumbling at the top of the stairs?    

The Mermaid Inn, Rye, East Sussex

The Mermaid Inn, at the top of a long hill
Glad we had a car.........

Reorganising our files recently provided us with the opportunity to review some of our earlier experiences and see how we have developed our methods and processes from when we first started our journey.

One of the first times that we worked together exclusively as a two person team was at a relatively well known location, especially for those in the UK, The historic Mermaid Inn, in Rye, East Sussex.

Readers of our previous articles will no doubt note that early on, our research took us on a more traditional approach, consisting of monitoring, observation and recording, although Laura would often supplement our research with any ‘information’ that she received, it was not the focus of our research.

As a result, this piece will probably read a lot different to what you have read previously, but we hope that you will find it interesting all the same.

Background

The ancient town of Rye, a member of the Cinque Ports, rises like a citadel out of the marshes as you approach and Rye, a sight that never fails to impress.

Here, amongst the maze of streets on the western side of the town, you will find the historic, timber framed Mermaid Inn, dating from the 12^th Century and in the 18^th Century, haunt of the infamous Hawkhurst Gang, a criminal organisation linked to smuggling operations along the southern coast of England.

Dr Syn's Chamber, you know you want to....

 It will come as no surprise to many, that a building with this history is reputed to be haunted by several ghosts, including a pair of duellers.

Whilst Laura was not familiar with the location, I was well versed in the history and had wanted to visit the Inn since a young age.

It’s with this background that we arranged a visit and see for ourselves the history, paranormal or otherwise, of this important building.

Arrival

We arrived at the Mermaid in the late afternoon, just as the sun was fading in the weak winter light.

I had arranged that we would base ourselves in Room 17, know in modern times as the ‘Kingsmill’ room, which has been named after Thomas Kingsmill, who, in 1747 was second in command to George Gray, the leader of the Hawkhurst Gang.

The room contained two secret passages, now sealed up, one to the south wing and the other through the oak panelling to the Royale Room.

Offending Exhibit No. 1 - The Rocking Horse

It was also the original location for a rocking chair and horse, now on display in a recess above one of the stairways elsewhere in the Inn, that were removed from the room because of their frequent rocking, as if by an invisible user, as well as depression forming in the cushion on the chair, as if someone was sitting down on it, that disturbed guests staying in the room.

Laura was unaware of the history or structure of the room, nor of the Inn itself, with just the passing knowledge that it was an old property and alleged to be haunted.

Offending Exhibit No. 2 - The Rocking Chair

We made our way from the reception area to the Kingsmill Room and immediately passed a series of photographs of past guests who had visited the Inn, including the likes of Johnny Depp, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Chaplin and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, we spotted a small staircase to our left, which led to Dr Syn’s Room, amongst others.

As we passed the stairs, Laura commented that she was drawn to them, but we left things at that as far as this area of the Inn was concerned.

Making our way up another set of stairs further along the corridor, we found ourselves up on a landing, which we walked along to a door that opened to the wing where, along the corridor the Kingsmill and Royal Rooms could be found.

The Kingsmill Room

Entering the Kingsmill Room, it felt like a different atmosphere to the rest of the building. This could simply be down to a difference in temperature or even expectation, but it felt difference nonetheless. As I closed the door, Laura turned to me and commented to me that she felt a headache come on at this point, which was usually a precursor, as we got to know over time, that it was possible that she would be able to ‘pick up’ some information .

Not wanting to waste any of the time that we had available to us, we got straight to the task in hand and set up our monitoring equipment at various points in the suite. Whilst not too heavy handed, these included a couple of audio recorders, camcorders and environmental monitors.

During this period, Laura drew my attention to a female figure, stood in the far corner of the room (which I could not see or even sense).

 The figure stood next to the window, next to a dressing cabinet. Laura described her as dressed in brown, possibly a uniform and then, the woman was gone.  Laura also advised that she’d got the impression of prostitution, but could not be sure of this was related to the woman that she had seen.

Finishing our task, we decided to take a break and left the room to get some food. Upon our return to Kingsmill, Laura immediately sensed a man, stood in a corner of the room, next to the door.

We hadn’t even started our investigation, so hopefully this augured well for the rest of our time at the Inn.

The Investigation

With all the monitoring equipment switched on, we decided to commence the investigation with a scrying exercise, utilising a crystal ball, which was a continuation of a series of experiments that I had been undertaking privately, with Laura observing.

All the lights in the room were turned off, with the exception of a table lamp located on the chest of drawers next to the bed.

No matter however hard Mark stared into the Crystal Ball,
he just couldn't see that night's winning lottery numbers.

I commented that I still found the lamp distracting, but the room would simply be too dark to allow Laura to observe the experiment without its illumination.

At this point we both felt that the room had become very warm.

After a couple of minutes focusing on the crystal ball in front of me, I suddenly observed a dark shape, or shadow, in the shape of a human form, obscure the light from the lamp reflected in the crystal ball, as if someone had walked in front of the lamp.

Laura made no comment.

I continued with the exercise, but soon brought proceedings to a halt as I was finding it very difficult to focus on the ball.

Laura then commented that, just prior to the moment when I reported the shadow, that my breathing had changed, possibly causing the effect. I advised that I was unaware of my breathing changing at the time, although I could not rule it out.

We next decided to move to the adjoining timber framed bathroom, located at the far end of the room.

We left the recording equipment running and decided to take another audio recorder with us into the bathroom.

As we prepared to move to the bathroom, Laura advised that, whilst she was observing my experiment, she had picked up on the spirit of a cat walking around the room whilst she had been sitting.

She had also picked up a name, but she couldn’t tell if this was related to the man that she’d seen earlier standing next to the door.

Laura felt that the left side of the main room (the wall) shouldn’t be there and in a similar vein, she felt that the bathroom had been ‘added on’ at some point – this was a very strong feeling for her.

Upon hearing this, I closely examined the offending wall. I noticed that behind the large mirror attached to the wall above the chest of draws, bizarrely, there were a set of windows. I called Laura over, who confirmed that I was not seeing things.

The Kingsmill Room, to the rear, the fireplace, where the offending Rocking
Chair and Rocking Horse were originally to be found.

To the right, you can just make out the mirror, screwed to the wall, where Mark
discovered a row of windows.

Undertaking a similar investigation of the bathroom, it did appear to be of a different structure to the rest of the room and out on a limb. 

Had it indeed been added onto the main building at a later point after the Inn’s original construction?

The Bathroom

Upon entering the room we activated the audio recorder and tried to make ourselves comfortable on the floor.

Mark appeared really pleased to find himself sat on the cold
Bathroom floor.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Laura commented that she felt that we wouldn’t ‘get much’ from the bathroom, it just ‘felt’ different to the main Room, not so much atmosphere so to speak.

As it was considerably colder in the bathroom, who was I to argue? I agreed that relocating back to the main room was a great idea.

Back in Kingsmill

For our next stint in the Room, we decided to undertake a period of quiet observation. I sat on a small sofa located just outside the bathroom, whilst Laura sat on the small chair near the bed, where she had positioned herself when observing my scrying experiment.

 We both sat there for approximately 15 minutes, observing the room silently.

After about five minutes I broke the silence to report that I thought that I’d seen a small dark shadow move across the floor opposite me, near to where Laura was sitting.

The shadow was cat / dog like, complete with what appeared to be an upright tail as ‘it’ moved, but I confirmed that this could simply be auto-suggestion following Laura’s earlier comments about picking up the spirit of a cat walking around the room.

There was nothing of further interest to report from this session.

Next, Laura suggested that we should attempt a glass moving experiment, to pass the time more than anything else.

I retrieved a clear glass tumbler from the bathroom and we relocated to the mirrored dressing table, where the scrying experiment took place and commenced the exercise and both place our fingers lightly on the upturned glass.

Almost immediately, we both commented that the glass felt as if it was vibrating or trying to tip over, although we also acknowledged that there was no discernible movement from the glass.

Encouraged by this, we continued the experiment for a while, but nothing else of note occurred.

At this point, we were entering the early hours and were both feeling the effects of a long drive, so we decided to slow things down and spend our remaining time observing and writing up our notes.

Nothing further of note occurred other than for one curious event that appeared to continue throughout the remainder of the evening.

Laura advised that she had continually felt that there was someone pacing up and down the corridor outside the Room, pausing outside our door ‘just standing there’, then eventually repeating the process.

The stairs, at the end of the corridor where Laura had
sensed a man pacing up and down all night

I suggested that this could have just been the night watchman doing his rounds, but Laura was adamant that this action was continuous throughout the night and probably not representative of a night watchman’s rounds.

We closed our investigation by returning to the other areas in the Inn that Laura had felt drawn to, taking photographs, but there was nothing further to report during our visit.

Reflections

Writing this summary of our visit, several years after the event, has brought it home to us how much our methods have changed since we first started working together.

Whilst we still possess all our equipment and, even adding to our inventory over the following years, we now find ourselves less reliant on our equipment, limiting ourselves to pen and paper, along with some high quality audio recorders and visual media recorders. We only use the other equipment as and when the ‘job’ requires.

What has also changed is Laura’s confidence in what she senses and the ‘information’ that she is given.

Laura, taking some final shots

Early on in our journey, this information was truly random. However, over the passing of time and with improvements in our research techniques, we have found that we have been able to validate a lot of the information, no matter how obscure and how long it takes and indeed which we have written about in previous articles.

This validation has allowed Laura to have faith in what she experiences, that is if faith is the right word, to the extent that she is now able to go along with what she perceives without question and concern herself with the validation in the cold light of day.

For myself, I guess that my role has become more of a recorder and researcher but, I still polish my large arsenal of recording equipment, just in case we every have need of it.....  

A visit to Waverley Abbey, Surrey - Britain's first Cistercian Monastry

It was that time of year again, the cool spring air was gradually turning into summer, allowing us to explore the local area, which was still relatively new to us at that time.

Whilst looking for some suitable locations to visit within an hour’s travelling distance, I stumbled across a reference to the ruins of Waverley Abbey. At first glance, this location had an interesting history, relatively remote and seemed suitable for a visit.

So what part in history had the Abbey played?

A brief history of Waverley Abbey

The ruins that we see today date mainly from the 13^th Century, as following severe flooding in 1201, the Abbey and its accompanying buildings were largely re-built and the layout relatively unchanged since.

However, the Abbey abruptly came to the end of its life in 1536 following Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, whereupon the buildings were subsequently robbed and its stones used in the construction of many nearby properties, including Waverley Abbey House and Looseley Park, just outside Guildford.

Significantly, it was notable for being the first monastery founded in Britain, by the Cistercian Religious Order, in 1128 and proved to be influential in medieval Christianity in Britain, to the extent that in a relatively short space of time, seven of the monks had been elected Abbots of their own house and four more went on to become heads of other religious establishments.

The Cisterians, also known as the ‘White Monks’ due to the colour of their robes that they wore over their habits, were founded in by Robert of Molesme, a Benedictine Abbot, in 1098, on a plot of marshland called Citeaux, to the south of Dijon, in Burgundy, France.

The Order hence took their name from Citeaux (Latin: Cistercium)

Decision taken

Whilst not being overly familiar with the location, other than I vaguely recalled that a scene from the movie 28 days Later had been filmed there a couple of years earlier.

So I really knew nothing about the Abbey other that it existed, whilst Laura had never heard of the place at all.

At the time, we were living nearby in the Surrey Hills and Farnham was just a short 40 minute or so drive westwards, so it didn't take long to set aside an afternoon to visit the ruins, setting aside a day to visit the following week, we just hoped for good weather.

The Abbey ruins, as we approached along the path alongside the lake at
Waverley Abbey House  

The Abbey

The drive took longer than perhaps it should have, but we soon found ourselves walking alongside the river path, snaking away towards the ruins of the Abbey, which we could see in the distance.

As we approached, we could see that the location was far larger than we imagined.

Whilst the ruins were fragmented, they were focused in several areas, spread across the entire site, which was now consisted of a large field of short grass.

Making our way through the entrance, onto the site, we decided to go straight across the field to the Refectory Undercroft, which we could see standing impressively, directly opposite from where we stood.

The Refectory looms ahead....

Walking across the grass, we very quickly found ourselves standing in from of the building. Entering the Undercroft, we looked up at what remained of the vaulted ceiling before splitting up and exploring the interior, where Laura spent some time examining the interior walls, whilst I took some photographs.

Taking a step back and looking on at what remained of the structure, you could only imagine how impressive the building was in its heyday - if that was the correct term that you could use for a monastic building of this nature.

 Contact – The Undercoft

Suddenly, my thoughts were broken by Laura, who alerted me that she had just picked up some information, unexpectedly.

At the end of the Undercroft, on the other side of the window to the left as we looked out, Laura had sensed a woman, peering into the Undercroft from the left side of the window.

The middle window, where Laura picked up a female, peering
in.

This seemed strange as it didn't really fit in with the location in its original context, as to where exactly did a female fit into such an exclusive and restrictive male domain as a monastery?

After taking some photographs of the window and discussing the situation, we decided to move on to another part of the site. Laura turned quickly and looked back towards the open grass area and was surprised to ‘see’ a brown horse standing on the grassed area in front of her.

Where's the horse?

Bizarrely, this coincided with myself 'seeing' a brief glimpse of a horse shape as I took pictures (nothing of the sort was captures in the photographs taken), which I just put down to a trick of the light.

Having heard Laura describe what she'd picked up, I made her aware of what I'd just experienced and we were able to verify that we'd both 'seen' the horse in the same spot.

Even as we discussed the sighting I was still trying to explain it away to myself.

The Abbey Grounds

As we walked from the Undercroft, across the open grass area towards the main part of the ruins, Laura reported that she felt that someone, perhaps a small child, was rubbing the top of her buttocks. She couldn't discern if this was being done as a playful act or something with a more sexual intent. Laura hoped that it was the former.

At this point we decided to separate to allow Laura to tour the location on her own, to see if she was able to focus and tap into the long history of the Abbey.

The execution?

After 30 minutes or so, which I spent taking more photographs, I spotted Laura across the field near the remains of the dormitory and made my way over to her.

As I drew near, Laura became aware of me and immediately reported that she had seen a man and been given what she thought could potentially be a name - something that I noted to research later.

Laura advised that she wasn't sure if the man was related to the Horse that we'd seen earlier. Although she attempted to establish this, she just couldn't tell.

However, the vision of the man that she had seen was far from pleasant

Laura took time to carefully describe the scene to me.

The man was strung up grotesquely, entrails hanging of his lifeless, bloody body, in the area that was just outside what was now the remains of the tunnel.

Laura said that it was a distressing scene and one that she didn't wish to dwell upon.

This area was formally the Abbey’s cloisters, a covered walk, rather than the inside of the Abbey itself, so from a practical basis it would make sense that someone could have been executed here, as opposed to an area that would have been inside the Abbey itself.

At this point, time was getting on, so we both felt that it was an opportune moment to leave the site and make our way home.

Reflection

The location left us a lot to think about. Yet again we'd really just planned on a normal day out, but Laura, without even trying, appeared to tap into the fabric of the Abbey.

In the cold light of day, after reviewing our notes and audio, we were left with four areas of research from a paranormal perspective -

1. The woman peering through the window into the Refectory.

2. The brown horse

3. The ‘touching’ ghost ; and

4. The male victim, executed and strung out in the courtyard.

Our search began.......

1. The Peering lady.

This was a strange one at first glance, from an historical context, other than an interloper, she just didn't appear to fit in with the exclusive male domain that the Abbey was originally at an operating level.

Perhaps she was from a later period following the destruction of the Abbey following the Dissolution? This appeared to be a more likely explanation.

Whilst our expectations were low on finding any references to such a lady or ghost, we got stuck into the task.

Not surprisingly, our research threw up no answers. Whilst this is never unexpected in the work we undertake, it was still frustrating.

Tantalisingly though, we did find a similar experience that was posted online in Marq English' Spiral Investigations / MEV Productions series, where the group's sensitive had picked up a lady at the same spot, at the window in the Refectory.

We had the pleasure of meeting Marq a couple of years earlier at an event and, I also had the contact details of the medium featured in the video, so it was a relatively simple matter to get in touch with them both.

Following some correspondence, it was established that neither could recall anything about the experience other than that shown in the video, due to the passing of time. However, they also both commented on the unexpected situation with regards to a female spirit.

Returning our focus to more traditional areas of research, I eventually source an old book, published in 1872, that gave a relatively detailed summary of events at the Abbey that had occurred since it was established, which, unexpectedly, made references to several visits from prominent ladies over time, including a couple that were actually laid at rest in the chapel.

Whilst Laura never picked up a name relating to the female, it was possible that the presence that Laura sensed could relate to the period that the Abbey was active, no matter how unexpected at first this seemed.

2. The brown horse and 3. The ‘Touching’ Ghost

A bit left field we admit, but not unexpectedly we drew a blank. We could find no reference to a horse at the location, ghostly or not, although we had no doubt that the hoof prints of several brown horses had graced the hallowed grounds of the Abbey over time..

Likewise, there was no trace of a ‘touching’ spirit, although I did find reference to a young boy, around the age of 12 years, who was recovered unconscious, after falling into the adjoining River Wey and, who unexpectedly survived and recovered from his ordeal, much to the surprise of his rescuers.

4. The executed man

This was probably the most interesting of Laura’s experiences at the Abbey.

Again, I could find no historical reference to this event and indeed, some of the sources that I referred to specifically commented that, although many priests, abbots and lay brothers, including those religious houses linked to Waverley, were indeed executed during the Reformation (particularly by being hanged, drawn and quartered), history was strangely silent with regards to the fate of those at Waverley.

The area outside the cloisters, where Laura 'witnessed' an execution

However, all was not lost, I did manage to uncover a local legend of a haunting at the Abbey, by the ghost of a monk who was hung, drawn and quartered during the reformation and walks the ruins of the Abbey on moonlit nights.

Was this the execution that Laura had been able to tap into?

Afterthoughts?

Despite a very interesting visit to a location that appeared to offer so much areas of research, once the dust had settled we were left with several areas of research that, after spending much time and effort, whilst able to get ‘close’, were ultimately unable to confirm anything of what Laura had picked up.

Whilst this was disappointing, in reality this represented what typically could be expected when researching.

It’s not like what you see on TV and social media, despite what many would have you believe.