Paranormal Reason

Bicknacre Priory today In a long forgotten meadow, deep in the wilds of Essex, stands a lonely stone arch, holding stubbornly steadfast against the elements, the solitary remains of what was Wodeham Priory, perhaps better known in contemporary times as Bicknacre Priory, which was first adopted in the 13th Century. The arch, or more correctly, the western arch of the central crossing of the church, to the Nave, is the only remains of the Priory still left today, with even the stone foundations being robbed at some point in the past.  An 1832 engraving of Bicknacre Priory Thankfully, the arch was preserved by the then landowner, in 1830, who thankfully had the foresight to protect it for future generations by fitting an iron tie-rod, around the top section of the arch and, tiling the exposed upper surface. Both protective measures can still be seen, in situ, today. Historical background Sadly, very little of the Priory’s history is known today, the majority of records being lost over...

Part 2: Shadow Person Sighting (and other anomalous phenomena), Ipswich, Suffolk   A welcome I would always remember   Once upon a time........ Many years ago, when I first came to work in Suffolk back in 2001, I initially stayed with a friend for a couple of months, to test the water before relocating fully, as I wasn’t sure that I would remain with the company I was working for at the time, which was moving its Head Office from my native South Wales to Ipswich. As things transpired, I was very fortunate to have my friend’s house all to myself for the first week - she had previously booked a holiday and had already departed before I arrived, allowing me to settle in and...... clean up any mess I’d made during the week on the seventh evening. I picked up the keys for the property from a relative whilst driving through Ipswich, on my way to work, then took the decision to continue onto the office, rather than pop into the house quickly beforehand. My first day in the offic...

 Part 1: Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire, England Tutbury Castle - the sole surviving buildings When I look back at the length of time I’ve spent researching the paranormal, I can only recall three, perhaps four occasions, outside of my research with Laura, where I’ve been witness to something which left me thinking perhaps......., events that even to this very day, I am at a loss to explain rationally. Whilst none of the events in themselves could be described as particularly earth shattering, they have left a significant mark on me at a personal level. In the general scheme of things, I think perhaps now is the time to share the experiences, possibly in case any others have experienced similar phenomena in their lives at some time and wish to have the opportunity to discuss them, or simply just to record part of my paranormal journey to date. A word of warning, the events are not in a chronological order, nor a decreasing level of importance to me. In reality, my chosen order of di...

30 East Drive, Pontefract (Kester Lee) In the United Kingdom at least, many elements of a reported haunting fail when historical research is undertaken. In spite of claims to the contrary, in depth research rarely occurs. This allows for an alleged haunting to provide numerous witnesses prepared to vouch for its authenticity, witnesses to a haunting based upon an absolute lie, often propagated by those with a vested interest for doing so and other, not so innocent purposes. To this end, we have found that the amount of time engaged in historical research far outweighs the time we spend upon paranormal research itself. Fortunately, there are others that also recognise this, although they tend to be few and far between. One such researcher that we’ve worked closely with over the past couple of years, Kester Lee, recounted to his disappointment with a paranormal investigation at Leicester Guildhall that he attended back in 2015 and, his subsequent dealings with the organisers. More recent...

As we’ve written previously ( The search for the answers... ), we have an attachment to a mysterious location that is possibly far more than just an ancient redundant church in the wilds of Essex. Whilst our ongoing research relating to the site is currently on hiatus, during an attempt to make sense of a pile of loose notes from Laura tucked away in a box recently, I came across a sketch with comments which, with hindsight, has clearly added to the puzzle surrounding the church. However, before I discuss the sketch itself, it would be worth placing it in some form of context, to provide further insight. Having moved away from the area following our initial visits to the church, we found ourselves living back in the area again, after a gap of seven years, although we had no motivation to revisit the location. However, this was about to change. The Missing Notes In March of 2015, I was looking forward to the release of the updated Andrew Collins’ seminal work, The Black Alch...

Beeleigh Locks, Essex Not all researchers follow the common model In the world of the paranormal, the standard model in relation to suitable locations with a haunting to investigate is usually to identify such a location or, on rare occasions, be approached by someone affected by a haunting or some other form of alleged paranormal occurrence at their property. Clearly, whilst this model works well for most, it is far removed from the one that we follow, where locations, often obscure and with no previous history of paranormal phenomena, are usually identified, via Laura’s ability to tap into the atmosphere there. This approach has continued to work well for us, although admittedly it is a stretch to call it a model. In the general course of everyday life, many such locations, be they buildings or outdoor areas, are identified but often never progressed any further by us. We simply note what we’ve observed and move on. The majority of what we’ve written to date tak...