Spectral

The Psychic experience The facts you should know about all things psychic...

Ouija Hear a truly terrifying first hand experience of the board we love to fear...

Birmingham exorcism A creepy tale to haunt your thoughts and dreams...

Haunted: Birmingham Birmingham but not as you may know it...

Contents The Psychic experience

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Grave Mysteries

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Haunted: Birmingham Ouija experience Birmingham Exorcism Directory

Team Luke Frangeskou Eddy Burrows Brandon Hadley Jess Currier James Eden Kellie Douglas

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The

Psychic experience F

ortune telling has been around for millenia, dating as far back as the Paleolithic period, as drawings displaying images surrounding future phenomenom have been uncovered and analyzed in depth. Therefore it seems that the human race has always desired to know what the future holds. It seems that innate curioristy still attracts individuals to invest both time and money, to seek for clues or confirmation of an impending rags to riches story.

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egardless of the form of fortune-telling taken, the basic process remains consistent: meaning in random patterns and/or behind phenomenon are sought after. For example broad, random events observed in nature (animal sounds created) or brought about purposefully (tea leaves are stirred), are examined by ‘psychics’. From such results/events Psychics attempt to draw a meaning or make sense of the reason behind the occurremce. The human brain is very good at identifying (or fashioning) meaning. That's why people see faces and other images in clouds, Rorschach blots, and coffee stains. Projction of meaning is a well-known phenomenon in psychology referred to as pareidolia.

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Some of the techniques used to determine futures are: 1.

Gelomancy, invoves the analysis of hysterical laughter or even animal noises for clues about the future.

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Felidomanacy –the observation of cats, i.e. the prediction of bad luck on a black cat crossing your path.

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Haruspication, analysis of symbols formed from the removal of intestines of a recently slaughtered animal in ancient times.

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Phrenology- analysis of bumps and ridges of the skull.

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Numerous examples of numerology: tea leaves, tarot cards and examination of lines on a person’s palm.

Later on man made objects were used for spiritual readings and for healing purposes.In fact science has proven that the crystals actually are effective to kill staphylococcal infections. Maybe not as stereotypical as a woman with a crystal ball perhaps but there are many methods to fortune telling for example

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n the early Chinese dynasties they used the face reading method. They believed that many secrets show up in the face. In Persia the feet have been read for centuries. The spiritual people of Persia could read someones hidden personality just from looking at the shape and the length of the toes. However the most stereotypical and well known is the Palmistry method. This method is from Europe and India. The method can reveal one’s health and personality from reading the palm.

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rystals do a numerous amount of good for the holder.

The crystals can dissolve stress and bring harmony. However you have to pick one crystal which is for you and only you. The crystal may not be beautiful or big! It is the one which grabs your attention and that means it is the true crystal for you.

Crystals should always be cleansed to get rid of any negative energies that may have been passed on through someone touching it beforehand. Crystals are cleansed through the application of salt water and then rinsed in fresh clean water. After their secondary wash, they are left to o dry naturally.

One of the most important elements in fortune telling is the colour of the crystal (selected) as well as the type of stone.

Black and Brown- This crystal colour acts like a shield and dispurses negative energy. e.g.smokey quartz.

Yellow- Associated with abundance. e.g. Tigers eye Green- Enhances creativity. e.g. Malachite Pink- resembles love and passion e.g. Angel hair quartz Purple, Blue and White- help aid powers of intuition. e.g.

Sapphire.

Red- colour for vitality. e.g. Ruby Clear- brings clarity and focus. e.g. Diamond

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MORE DETALS AT: http://www.midlandsdiscoverytours.co.uk/ghost-walks/

HAUNTED: BIRMINGHAM The Buildings You know The Stories You don’t

Words by: Luke Frangeskou, Kellie Douglas Jess Currier and Brandon Hadley

Council House The Council House is hair-raising, you definitely wouldn’t want to be left alone there! It was built many years ago in 1875, so you can imagine how many concealed happenings there have been there.

On other occasions he remains standing powerfully behind his desk with with his arms crossed firmly Joeseph Chamberlan laid the first stone of the building and later became Mayor and then MP. Sadly, in 1914 he died but his apparition still looms around the building today. His ghost is sometimes seen sitting in the corner of his old office rocking back and forth, the thumping of his back deafens workers today. On other occasions he remains standing powerfully behind his desk with his arms crossed firmly as if he is about to take over again. The constant tapping of his keyboard can still be seen and heard.

Another previous worker committed suicide in the entrance after feeling as though he was omitted within his line of work and couldn’t provide for his family.

Now his ghost looms above the Great Staircase where he can be seen hanging helplessly. The sound of his body swaying in the air and his distressing groans from struggling to catch his breath haunts the building. A booming thud has been repeatedly heard as if his body has fell to the ground.

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Aston Hall Aston Hall is a Grade I listed mansion in Aston, Birmingham which was built by and was formerly the home of land-owner Sir Thomas Holte in 1635 and is currently a community museum owned by Birmingham Museums Trust and is open to the public during the summer. Despite its reputation for being a great museum and summer attraction, Aston Hall is said by many to be Birmingham’s most haunted building.

She has been witnessed as a glimmering figure who wanders around the upper f loors of the mansion known as ‘The White Lady’ Many years ago, Sir Holte had chosen a suitor to be married to his daughter Mary but she objected to her father’s plans and attempted to elope with her lover instead of the man he had chosen for her. Sir Holte was infuriated. He was a very dominant and cruel man and he would not allow this act of betrayal. In his anger, he locked his daughter up in her room where she was imprisoned and grew mad for 16 years and eventually starved to death. She has been witnessed as a glimmering figure who wanders around the upper floors of the mansion known as ‘The White Lady’.

There are also two more apparitions connected to the mansion.

First, there is ‘The Green Lady, who was Sir Thomas Holte’s elderly housekeeper, Mrs Walker. The Green Lady has been seen to sitting on a chair in the Great Hall wearing a green dress and she was once mistaken for an actress in period costume. The second ghost was that of a servant boy called Dick who was accused of stealing from his employers and he consequently hung himself to death.

His ghost has been seen along the corridor towards the central tower known as ‘Dick’s Garret’, which was the very place he hung himself.

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I have come across a lot of people talking about the ghosts that they have come across and witnessed in their own time of being on platform 4. The stories that I have come across are the ones of an old man called Walter Hartles. He apparently has been seen around the vending machines, where he sits alone in his rail uniform. Apparently when he has been seen, he almost looks trapped in his own thoughts. The old man has been dead for quite some time now, 75 years to be precise. I did further research about Walter because I wanted to know what happened to him for him to haunt New street station on the same plat form every night.

I found out that Walter had shot himself in the chest with a revolver. This was said to be a suicide, but no one knows why.

Even his own never knew why Walter killed himself. He seemed happy most of the time, which is why his family was so upset and confused because they had no idea why Walter would do such a thing.

They don’t understand why he had to leave them like that in such a horrific, Unexplained way. Apparently, Walter has been seen not only by himself but with another ghostly figure by a man called Claude. I being so intrigued of who this man who was found being next to Walter, I decided to do some research on Claude.

New Stree

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which is why his family was so upset

and confused because they had no idea why Walter would do such a thing.

Claude apparently is always seen wearing a top hat which is why he is so noticeable when he is with Walter as he is hard not to miss. Although Claude did not shoot himself, he poisoned himself instead. This was too another suicidal attack. When I went up to platform 4, there was quite a lot of people around so it was hard to really discover for myself if these ghost stories that I had researched were true. But I did witness how sometimes the platform would have a sense of atmosphere to it, and sometimes it would feel really ice cold at some points and they really warm other times which was quite something to experience.

et Station

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Warstone Lan Warstone Lane Cemetery, also known as Brookfields Cemetery, is a Grade II listed cemetery built in 1847 that is one of two cemeteries located in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, the other being Key Hill Cemetery. Notable people buried there include John Baskerville, printer and typeface designer from Birmingham, and James Cooper VC, a Victoria Cross recipient.

The cemetery is well known for its two-tiered catacombs and is also known for its paranormal activities.

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a young woman dressed in 1930’s clothing and she was

seen passing through solid objects.

ne Cemetery There have been many stories of ghosts and spirits witnessed among the cemetery, including one when a man was building an extension to the Birmingham Mint near the cemetery on Icknield Street claims to have seen a ghost nearby and he has never returned there since and one when a member of the public was searching for shelter during a rainstorm on that day and saw a ghostly appearance of a man wearing a trench coat.

Also there was a sighting of an apparition of a young woman dressed in 1930s clothing and she was seen passing through solid objects. There are rumours stating that this mysterious woman may have died of cyanide poisoning from one of the local factories as the apparitions are accompanied by strange smells, including the bitter smell of cyanide a chemical heavily used in the manufacturing processes.

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Town Hall The Town Hall was opened in 1834 and is now a listed building. Many spirits hover the building searching for their lost souls. However, one story in particular will torment your mind forever!

The spine chilling howls of the two men linger around the Town Hall making the hair on your arms stand up Two young men named John Heap and William Badger were building the roof when fate struck. Steel beams were being put onto the roof via an 80ft tower when it collapsed, flattening one of the men which killed him instantly. The other man suffered severe brain damage and tragically died later in hospital.

The clashing of metal and the sound of it hitting the floor abruptly is ear-splitting and it smothers the building today. Also, the spine chilling howls of the two men linger around the Town Hall making the hair on your arms stand up. Many claim to hear the tapping of tools against the metal as though the ghosts are trying to finish the work they started however no-one is ever seen.

In the theatre area an old man died from a heart attack and his phantasm seems to be trapped in this one room of the building. His soul is a prisoner. The ghoul has been seen sitting in the seating area smoking a pipe and when approached, he vanishes. The smoke suffocates visitors and it makes it torturing to sit in the theatre. People have wailed when they have looked to the side of them to find him sitting next to there, looking right through them.

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The Alexandra The (New) Alexandra theatre was constructed in 1901, the theatre had initially struggled to attract large crowds and so found its ownership change hands early into its life. The history of the Alexandra theatre is a long and terrifying one. The stories still haunt the memories of the Alexandra staff to this day and prevent them from ever feeling comfortable on the night shift again.

A ghostly figure resembling Salberg has been reported walking the halls of the theatre through the midnight hours The first story is of the former Manager, Derek Salberg, who died of unknown circumstances whilst working late in his office on the second floor of the theatre. A ghostly figure resembling Salberg has been reported walking the halls of the theatre through the midnight hours.

Little is known about what caused his death, but reports of related disturbances and strange occurrences involving his ghostly figure have been documented as far back as the 1960s. Members of the current theatre cleaning staff claim to hear knocking and strange sounds around the former Managers office and near the stage area where he would visit frequently during his management.

Another ghost that is said to haunt the current cleaner of the famous theatre is that of a young girl who went missing from the area whilst visiting with her family in the early 50’s. Her fate was never known, but what is known (to the cleaners and late night visitors of the Alexandra at least) is that her figure can be seen skipping down the halls and a childlike humming can be heard late at night on the first floor corridors.

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Memorial Hall The Birmingham Hall of Memory (or memorial hall) was constructed between 1922 and 1925. It was erected in order to commemorate the 12,000 plus Birmingham citizens who gave their lives in the ‘Great War’. The Grade I listed building is located in Centenary square opposite the new library and the famous Baskerville house.

and unaware of the fire that was blazing above them, remained in the cellar and all three rioters lost their lives The latter is a site that lays claim to a whole host of ghoulish tales.

One of these is the story of the ‘Priestly protestors’ who were involved in the riots of July 1791. The protesters were targeting Christian dissenters and began erupting onto Birmingham’s streets. During the riots The Baskerville house was ransacked by a mob of rioters. Three members of the mob broke into the buildings wine cellar, and unaware of the fire that was blazing above them, remained in the cellar and all three rioters lost their lives in the fire. Now there are reports of an extremely intense and creepy atmosphere within the basement of the building to this day. There have also been reports and sightings of three humanoid shadows appearing and disappearing in the lower floors of the building.

The Memorial hall is a lesser-known spook spot, but a place with plenty of its own stories and sightings. One of these stories is the reports of a human like whistle combined with a soft tapping noise being heard from within the Monument during the night time period.

Those who have heard the noises can only be left wondering, what is the cause of these noises?

Knowing full well that no answer may ever be found.

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YES

NO

1234567890 My first ever ‘supernatural’ encounter that I have experienced was when I was at my friend’s house party. We all decided to play the Ouija bored to experience the supernatural vibes that people have been talking about online. Some of my friends have experienced it before hand and had said nothing happened to them as such. Some others said a few weird vibes happened to them, like the room went really ice cold or sometimes the lights would go off and on. None of my friends felt really threatened or scared by the Ouija bored, there fore made me want to do it if nothing bad really happened.

We got the Ouija bored set up and then we all sat around in a circle. Some of my friends didn’t want to play so they went out into the kitchen while some of us were playing it in the living room. I was the first one to play, my first question was, ironically, ‘is there anyone in here’, being in mind my friends house was a very old manor house, which people had died in. nothing happened, then the next person asked ‘if anyone is in here, show us’. Still nothing happened. Until my go…

I asked, please… if anyone is here, turn off a light or open something. Then the most shocking thing happened. The lights went out and my friend’s window opened straight away. All of us were so shocked at what had happened, but we decide to ask the ghost what he/she name were. We only got the letter J and S and nothing else. My friend thinks it has something to do with a man or woman who once lived in the house before her. Apparently an old couple lived at the house for many years but the wife got terminally ill and unfortunately died while she was asleep. She isn’t sure about the husband and what his story was of how he died.

The last question that we asked the ghost is if he was bad or good. We all thought nothing would happen. But one thing that I won’t forget is when we asked this very question the room almost started to feel quite warm, and some of us in the room smelled sweet perfume. This made us think that ghost we happened to come across may have been the wife that had lived there who died in her sleep because she was terminally ill. We then all decided to end the Ouija experience and began the party again. I asked my friend a few days after the party if anything ‘supernatural’ happened in her house, she said the living room window would sometimes open but apart from that nothing.

Words: Jess Currier

GOODBYE

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“ HELL IS EMPTY & ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE ” William Shakespeare The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2