Haunted Magazine 33: Is the truth really out there? by Dead Good Publishing Ltd

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL PUTTING YOU AND I INTO THE PARANORMAL COMMUNITY Have you ever found yourselves at a crossroads in your paranormal journey? I have and I think it’s more common than people realise. The paranormal is not like a Roman-esque straight road created and constructed for a speedy journey or to see what lies up ahead, potentially spotting dangers, hazards and such like in advance. The paranormal journey is a complex one BUT I don’t think that’s a bad thing either. Battling your paranormal beliefs happens a lot too. I speak to many, many people in the paranormal and whilst some are of the same and similar perception as me, some aren’t and I feel that when you listen to people with different views and opinions, some of their thoughts and theories stay with you (and possibly vice versa). I often tell my kids you learn more from the things you didn’t know than the things you already know. Thanks to the success and popularity of shows like ‘Uncanny’ where people have retold their ghost stories, their paranormal experiences from their normal everyday life happenings and experiences it feels like avenues, portals (if you like) have opened up and given more people a platform to share and discuss more than ever before and whilst I am sure these ways have always been it feels like they are becoming more prevalent than ever before. There’s a buzz and a hubris of paranormal positivity around and whilst we shouldn’t always wear rose coloured glasses when it comes to the strange world of the unknown we find ourselves part of we should embrace, learn and respect the other thoughts, views and opinions of others that cross our paths whilst trying to bring our positivity to all things spooky, whatever our beliefs. Enjoy the magazine. Don’t be normal, be Paranormal

Paul

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THE LURE OF THE LORE: Amy Boucher’s tales of Shropshire Folk MIND GAMES: Sarah Chumacero explores Dream Telepathy. FACTS AND FRICTION: Is it time to unpick old paranormal theories? DO YOU COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER: Five spiritualists you may not have heard of. WRONG TIME, WRONG PLAICE: A fishy witchy tale from Leonard Low. THE REINCARNATION OF NICKY ALAN: She came, she saw, she was born again. NOT SO ‘ORRIBLE ‘ISTORIES: The trial and error of T.O.W.I.E [Tons of Witches in Essex!] IS THE TRUTH REALLY OUT THERE: Can compelling evidence & never heard testimony prove UFOs and UAPs exist? PAREIDOLIA, YES THAT WORD: Sarah Streamer and the perceptions of paranormal patterns. THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: Morgan Knudsen explores the story of the Jersey Devil SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: Charlie Hall investigates the Stone Circles of Northern Ireland. GRAVE MISUNDERSTANDINGS: Tamar Newton digs deep into bizarre headstones. THE HAUNTING OF: Graiseley Old Hall. Lorien Jones explores an old hall, lost in time.

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STUMPED BY THE SUPERNATURAL? Amy L. Bennett and the comfort blanket of confusion. STEP BY ESTEP GUIDE: Richard Estep saddles up & rides into town to investigate McInteer Villa. AN ANATOMY OF A GHOST HUNT: Hubert Hobux and the before, during and after of a paranormal investigation. LIFE IMITATING ART IMITATING LIFE: Sarah Sumeray and her retro comic paranormal infused creations. A FUNGAL AFFECTION: Kate Ray and her love for the magic of mushrooms. PERSONAL PARANORMAL: Nigel Higgins explains how & why he investigates the paranormal the way he does. THE PLAUSABILTY OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY: Higgypop asks if Parapsychology has given credence to the Paranormal. FRIGH(TEN) TO YUMA: Ryleigh Black and her spooky experience in Arizona. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Want to research the paranormal in a historic building full of antiques? We know just the place. ALEXANDRA’S HOLZER FILES: Love is in the scare as Alexandra explores mysterious matters of the heart. WHAT DID KATIE DO NEXT: Katie Waller investigates Old Forde House, that’s what!

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THE LURE OF THE LORE OF SUPERNATURAL SHROPSIRE

Polly & Mary:

Two Lives Cut Short

s anyone who has read my previous articles may know, my primary interest is in the paranormal folklore of Shropshire. For me, ghost stories are such exciting things, and they serve as conduits for the attitudes and fears of a particular time or place. I think that when looking at such stories, it is as important to ask why apparitions are remembered, as it is to question their validity. More often these stories are crumbs of collective memory, perhaps relating to real people (though it is sometimes difficult to track them down historically, which you will see below) who had their lives cut short by traumatic events or cruelty. Thus, I think this is where the ghost originates, amid the shock and distress surrounding such a profound loss, a powerful, human desire to remember, and to understand rises from the ashes. When looking at Shropshire’s ghost lore, I am often struck by the harrowing nature of some of the stories, particularly those involving women and young girls. Littered over Shropshire’s blue remembered hills are tales of murder and profound violation, and female apparitions who got left behind. Though these folk tales are difficult to read, they are certainly worthy of discussion. I’ve chosen two of such stories, the ghost of Mary Way- a women murdered whilst walking home, and Polly Mayas- a young girl who was treated appallingly before her murder in 1883. Stories like those told about Mary Way demonstrate the attitudes to women of the period, and also the systematic abuses women had to face. Polly’s story is a heart wrenching example of how children can suffer at the hands of those who purport to love them. Both Polly and Mary had their lives, and their personhood stolen from them, which is representative of many female voices lost in the patriarchal world of the past. Perhaps their ghosts serve as a reminder then, and a collective rally against the indignation and ill treatment they faced. There are a number of female murder victims in Shropshire whose deaths have entered into paranormal discourse, such as Nanny Morgan – who I have covered previously, but the stories of these two girls, especially Mary Way are less known. Therefore, I have had to rely in part on the folklore surrounding them. These stories convey the violence, violation, and appalling treatment they both faced, and the horrifying way their bodies were cast away. These girls were murdered in familiar settings, and in Polly’s case, by someone who should have loved her. Their names, and their stories deserve to be known. I want to retell these tales and discuss their importance to the wider paranormal narrative.

The Tragedy of Mary Way

ur first ghost story takes place in the parish of Muckley Cross, which sits on the road between Bridgenorth and Much Wenlock. It’s a small place and probably looks much the same as it did at the time of our story. Not much happens there, if we are to believe the silence of the surrounding fields and the birdsong, which made it the perfect place for such a heinous crime. From what we can discern about Mary Way, she was a local girl, and in some versions of the folktales she was in her late teens or early twenties. She knew the area well, and walked the road frequently, on her way to work. Unfortunately, if she truly existed any facts about her personality or features are forgotten in the folklore, but we know that she was walking home from work one evening, when her life was tragically cut short. The story states that though she

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was comfortable walking these country lanes, she was still at risk. For two men were following her as she walked home, and they violently attacked her. Mary was beaten by the men and sexually assaulted, before they murdered her. It is said that the men cut off poor Mary’s head, before throwing it in a hedge and absconding from the scene of the crime. When Mary didn’t return home, her parents grew worried. Her father, as well as several other local men formed a search party, and went looking for her.

“Unfortunately, they found her body, and severed head on the main road out of the village.” One cannot imagine how traumatic witnessing such a sight would have been. After she had been found, the search widened,

Right: A Map of Muckley Cross

to try and find the murderers. It didn’t take long before the two men were found still covered in Mary’s blood. They were arrested and the next few days were spent trying to gain a confession. Eventually the men confessed and were sent to trial. The story says that they paid for their crimes and were hung at Shrewsbury Jail. As for Poor Mary Way, in death she gained no respite. For her spirit is said to wander the road between Muckley Cross and Bridgenorth in a confused and restless state. When she is seen, her spirit often manifests without her head, which to me is very sad. It’s sad that even in death she is being denied a personhood. She was once described as a very active spirit, however since new roads have been built, diverting traffic from the area, sightings have dwindled, and she’s faded from popular memory. On first reading, you cannot help but be shocked by the brutality

of such a story, and how a crime like this would have profoundly affected an area like Muckley Cross. To witness such a young woman snatched from life would have been a collectively traumatic experience and would have left a lasting impression on the community. Perhaps that’s why her ghost endured, any strange noises became her whispers or events became a sign she hadn’t truly gone. Hers isn’t a story of anger or revengelike some other famous Salopian spirits, rather I feel her spirit wants to understand why. Is this not representative of the community who lost her?

passed became the retelling we know now. As I have said a there are a multitude of examples of murdered women littering Shropshire, throughout history. Perhaps hers is a far older story than we realise.

As I have previously mentioned, at the time of writing I cannot find much historical verification of the crime, but this doesn’t mean we cannot learn from the folklore. To me, though it cannot be specifically proven that Mary existed, it also cannot be proven she is a complete product of fiction. Perhaps there was a similar crime, a murder or attack of a young woman that later, as years

“She has become the woman that didn’t get away, all of our fears personified.”

If we move away from the conversation regarding historical basis, we can turn to discussions as to why her story has endured. I believe this is because she is a symbol of that collective fear of a community, she represents the reason why women quicken the pace and stay vigilant whenever walking at night.

Mary Way’s story has endured because although who she was has been lost to time, crimes

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on such a scale have, and continue to happen to women. As generations past, those who told her story would have done so to remember, but also to warn young women of the dangers such a world posed to them. A similar example is within the ‘Bloody Jack’ serial killer narrative at Shrewsbury Castlea character lost to history. His story continued to warn women not to trust strange men, the soldiers that came and went from the town throughout the Middle Ages.

Photo: Shrewsbury Castle today

POLLY MAYAS I want to go to a different part of Shropshire now, to the village of Kynnersley and its nearby Apley pool. Kynnersley is part of Telford and Wrekin today, but it still bares all the trappings of the small rural community that it once was. Its local church has its origins in the 13th century, and the villages oldest house dates in part to the 16th century. In the centre of the village there’s a raised bit of land known as ‘The Whim’. On The Whim an oak tree stands, which served as the hanging tree for the local courthouse in years gone by. These were the parameters of Polly Mayas’ known world, the community she grew up in. This would be where she would meet her end. We know much more about Polly Mayas, and her death, due to newspaper reports after her murder. Polly lived with her father Thomas, and her stepmother Elizabeth, as well as Elizabeth’s three children in the village of Kynnersley. She was still a child at the time of her death, with her age varying between 10 and 12 depending on reports. One source suggests she was a vulnerable child, perhaps suffering from some sort of learning disability due to the dated language used to describe her. Her father was hardworking, and spent long hours out of the house, leaving Elizabeth to contend with four children. The story suggests Elizabeth resented this and directed her aggression towards Polly.

“Polly suffered greatly under the watch of Elizabeth. She was starved of food and affection, and beaten frequently, used as a human punching bag for Elizabeth’s vile temper.” Polly hadn’t known much love in her short life and was ostracised from the other children. It hurts my heart to think of the fear she lived in before her death. It’s not known whether her father knew the true extent of the abuse, due to Elizabeth covering her tracks, or if he didn’t care. However, Elizabeth was to go too far. One day she chastised the girl, hitting her several times, each time harder and without restraint. Polly didn’t stand a chance and died of a fractured skull. Elizabeth then cut up the young girl’s body and tried to burn it, but it didn’t work. Thomas said in his statement at the time that he returned to find Polly dead, and Elizabeth claimed it had been an accident, that Polly had fallen on the fire. She

Photo: St. Chad’s Church, Kinnersley

then prevented Thomas from getting the doctor, claiming they should ‘make away with it’ (Polly) due to her history of abusing the girl. Polly’s remains were discarded in several places, with her severed head being disposed at Apley Wood pool (known as Apsley park at the time) near Wellington. The neighbours (who had raised concerns previously about Polly’s treatment) were told that she’d been sent to Shrewsbury to learn a trade, and nothing was spoken of her for around a month. On the 9th February 1883 Polly’s head was found. There are two stories regarding this, that which was told in the newspaper at the time, and the paranormal folk tale- which parallels in part, the narrative. That day, two men were poaching on the banks of Apley pool, when they came across the bag containing her head. According to the ghost story, the men were poaching when they noticed a young girl paddling in the shallows of the water. They called to her, but she continued to play, as if in her own world. She was walking slowly towards the reeds, so they tried to follow her.

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When they approached her, their dogs began to bark and whine, so they turned to find out what had startled them. When they turned back to the girl, she had gone, but in the reeds near where she was heading was a sack floating on the surface. The men approached it, and looked inside, to find her partially burnt remains. If we are to believe the ghost story, Polly wanted to be found, and she has frequently been sighted in that area up until the time of writing, both in the direct area and the surrounding vicinity of Apley wood. The newspapers correlate in part with the story, though there is no mention of her ghost. The men – one being Joseph Bates, ‘gas man’ at Apley Castle, were hunting for duck eggs with their dogs when they found her head. The police were informed, and the pool was drained but no remnants of the body was found, though a few days later her legs were found after a widespread search. Locals were called in and she was identified as being Polly Mayas (or Mayers as some newspapers spell it). Police, later on, arrested Mr and Mrs Mayas for the murder.

They had been transported from Shrewsbury to Wellington by mail train’ The trial took place in Stafford, and Mr Justice Stephens heard the case on 26th April 1883. Polly’s father was acquitted of murder but sentenced to 18 months hard labour due to being an accessory, and Elizabeth, despite her plea of having mental health problems was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter. She died within six years of her imprisonment. The murder was reported all over the world, and it is said that “Large crowds have visited the place, and intense excitement prevails”. Even as this excitement dimmed, and the years passed, reported sightings of Polly continued, she never left Apley wood.

“Apparitions of a young girl playing alone, as well as her wandering the area are being reported to this day.” When details of Polly’s murder hit the newspapers, the local people were understandably outraged. The cottage Polly had lived in was ransacked, and Elizabeth’s belongings burnt. So shocking was the crime that extra police officers had to be drafted in to stop Wellington police station from being overrun. Huge crowds assembled outside the police station shouting and demanding to get to the two people. Extra precautions had to be taken when transporting the pair to avoid them being lynched. The Cheshire Observer stated, “The feeling aroused against the prisoners since their apprehension is of such a nature that the police are compelled to use extraordinary precautions in conveying them to and from Shrewsbury Gaol for the purpose of examination before the magistrates, the crowd being most threatening and loud in the desire to wreak summary vengeance on the accused”.

Strange feelings, noises and high emotions are also reported, and I certainly believe that areas of Apley wood felt melancholy when I used to walk my dog through its well kept grounds. If we are to believe these apparitions are true, I don’t think Polly wants to be forgotten. I think with this sentiment it’s important to understand why her ghost story has endured. Whether or not Polly haunts the area, the shocking details of this crime would have had a lasting legacy on its inhabitants, and to those directly involved in finding her remains, she would have haunted them for the rest of their lives. Polly’s story is a heart wrenching example of how children can suffer at the hands of those who purport to love them, and who are let down by the world around them. Polly’s ghost conveys the violence and appalling treatment that was the reality for the vulnerable, in a HAUNTED MAGAZINE

world where their voice didn’t matter. She is remembered due to the sorrow and rage of her community, who were willing to tear down police doors in hope something like this could never happen again. Polly is a reminder not to let something like this happen again, to strive to give a voice to the voiceless. This desire to avenge her, to right those wrongs done unto her, would have been the driving force behind her story entering folklore, and one of the things that made poor Polly a ghost. It was a crime that was talked about, passed on from generation to generation, which when coupled with unexplained phenomena or events, would have created the ghost. One of the things that struck me most about these two ghost stories is that both girls suffered a complete loss of identity, their bodies cast away- and beheaded, with any semblance of who they were, destroyed. There was no regard for their personhood, they were dehumanised to an extreme point, and now we know so little about who they were before their spirits became a lasting memory in the minds of the local community, little recalled today, and this is so sad. Unfortunately, crimes such as these haven’t gone away, and thus to modern audiences it’s easy to understand how such a legacy continues. And here is where I want to return to my original point. After the shock and distress subsides, that powerful human desire to remember and understand the unthinkable rises from the ashes, and the ghost story commences. I want to remember these two women. They deserve to be remembered.

A my

www.nearlyknowledgeablehistory. blogspot.com

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. AND SOMEONE ELSES... Dream Telepathy by Sarah Chumacero Our very own Wizardess of Oz

eople have long associated paranormal experiences with sleeping or more precisely, our dreams. From dreaming of visitations from our loved ones who have passed on, to dreams of events that are yet to happen, can we say for sure it was all just a dream? A dream itself is a story or a movie that our brain creates while we are asleep. When we fall asleep, we go through 5 different stages of sleep. 4 of these are considered to be NREM (Non-rapid eye movement). The final stage is called REM sleep (rapid eye movement). While we can dream during any cycle of sleep, our most vivid dreams occur during REM sleep. It is believed that we have between 4-6 dreams every single night, we just don’t always remember them. The ones that we do remember are the ones that sometimes have a lasting impact. Something about it seems a bit real or gives you a feeling you can’t shake. We might tell our friends or loved ones about it because something about it has us questioning

“Was it just a dream?”. There is still a lot about dreaming that science does not yet know or understand. Psychology suggests our subconscious and current state of mind or emotions can play a role in the type of dreams that we have. From falling from a building, spitting out teeth and even being stark naked in public, there are common dream scenarios that people share. A lot of people tend to argue over what the meaning of these dreams are and there are a range of dream dictionaries which attempt to tell us what they could mean. That naked dream could mean you are afraid of showing your insecurities for example. In the early 1900s, Sigmund Freud explored the psychology behind this quite extensively. He believed a dream was a result of our deepest anxieties and desires and felt they often had a connection to repressed childhood memories or obsessions. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Famous philosopher Aristotle also linked dreams to our subconscious by writing:

“Often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream” While the above could help to explain why we might get dream visits from our loved ones, is it also possible to share the same dream with another person and how might it be possible? Ancient cultures often refer to phenomena which we now consider to be a form of telepathy. They also reference this as being a part of our dreams. The Greek philosopher Democritus believed that the images we see during a dream can be shared telepathically. He theorised that the images we dream of are composed of atoms from the physical items around us that enter our body through the pores on our

creators Veronica Kent and Sean Peoples sleeping on the floor beneath the paintings wrapped in blankets. They were encouraged to sleep on the postcard and then record on the back, a summary of their dreams and then post them back to the gallery where the results would be collated and compared to one another. The experiment culminated in a 12-hour event where the dreams of participants were read out to audiences. While this was more artistic expression than solid scientific research, they claimed the exhibition to be a success with many people reportedly sharing similar dreams with one another. Some even had to attach extra pages to the postcards they sent back as they had such detailed dream recollections they wanted to share. Images courtesy of

thetelepathyproject.com

skin. It is referred to as the ‘atomist theory of dreams’. In 2013, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne Australia held an exhibition called ‘The telepathy project’, to test out Democritus’s atomist theory of dreams. After visiting the exhibition and viewing the paintings, guests were given large postcards to take home. They featured a picture of the National Gallery and the telepathy project

It wasn’t the first time they dabbled with dream telepathy. In 2011, Sean and Veronica experimented with what was called ‘20 days of telepathy’ while living in an apartment for 3 months in Spain. Every night before they went to bed, they would put something that was small and flat in an envelope and place it under the other person’s pillow. The person sleeping did not know what the contents of the envelope under their pillow was. They also made sure to sleep in separate bedrooms at opposite ends of the room so that if the telepathy did take place, it was coming from the object and not the person. The following morning, they would meet in their studio and talk about their dreams from that night. They would then open the envelope that was under their pillow to see if the item that was inside had any connection to their dream. On their return to Australia, Sean and Veronica worked together to turn their favourite dreams into collaborative oil paintings which were displayed to the general public along with recollections of their dreams. Some of the results were quite intriguing! One of the objects placed under a pillow was a picture of two children one with their arm around the other walking in a field. The dreamer who slept on this image that night had a writing: “I was back at high school and heading off to Art class. It was my first day at this high school. I didn’t tell them that I was also doing my PhD in Art. I kept forgetting I was meant to be a teenager and I was smoking in class whenever.” Was Democritus right? Was the dreamer absorbing parts of the image taking them back HAUNTED MAGAZINE

to their high school days? It is of course possible that the power of suggestion could influence our dreams or maybe it was just coincidence, but what if there was something more ‘telepathic’ to it? If we go back to issue 32 of Haunted Magazine, I wrote about Zener Cards and how they were used to test if a person could telepathically send a message to another person using the power of their mind. It is made possible by ESP: Extra Sensory Perception. It is what many refer to as ‘the sixth sense’. It is used to essentially explain any sort of psychic ability. Was the other person actually sending the image telepathically to the dreamer while they were asleep? Stranger things have in fact happened.

Photo Sarah Estep Courtesy of AAEVP

Famous EVP pioneer Sarah Estep was known for recording up to 25000 EVP sessions. Many people believe EVP to be spirit voices, it seems with Sarah, not all of the voices that appeared during her sessions were from the other side. Some were from people who were very much alive but were asleep at the time of the recordings meaning. She called it Sleep EVP. “I’ve had on two occasions, voices that sound exactly like two people I know, they gave their names too, but they are STILL living. I don’t know what to make of that. Do you? One of them I played for my brother and his wife, and they recognized them straight away and they have always thought that I played a joke on them.” Sarah Estep 1982 AA-EVP

There are just so many possibilities to explore beyond it being just our imagination. While Democritus thought we literally absorbed the atoms of the items around us, research indicates that dream telepathy could be a part of what is called a psi-conducive state. It means that in many circumstances, we are best able to access our potential psychic abilities when we are in a relaxed, or dream like state making it ample time to telepathically communicate with another person. It seems that even when our physical body is asleep, our mind is always awake and ready to send or even receive a message. Maybe we just have to stop and take a moment to listen to who or what it is trying to tell us!

Sarah

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DOES RESIDUAL ENERGY REALLY EXIST?

During the 19th century, there was a movement where mediumship and spirit communication became quite popular. In fact, it became its own kind of religion. It was known as spiritualism. One of the core beliefs in the spiritualist movement was that a person survives the death of their physical body by ascending into the spirit realm. For those who had lost faith in traditional Catholic values, spiritualism offered them a new religion and they were referred to as spiritualists. When you read the paranormal history books, people will often be able to tell you about famous figures within spiritualism from England and even the US, but they don’t know much about the work that was done here in the land of Oz. It is time to change that, so let’s meet 5 famous Spiritualists from Down Under!

By Jane Rowley

n the 4 years I have been at the Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre (HAPRC) as the residential Medium, I have found that despite having many paranormal encounters and discovering many new things regarding the Spirit World and how it works, I have not encountered any energies that could be considered as Residual. I have questioned the notion of Residual energy for many years, and seeing Spirit since I was a child, I do not recall engaging with anything that was not a ‘real’ energy. I have come across many spirits, creatures, the Fae and energies from

darker realms, but nothing that I would class as a ‘replay’ of a former energy that has been ‘stored’ or ‘recorded’. Of course, as always, this article is based on my own opinions, experiences and research.

What the conditions are, no one seems to know but the ideas were shared by a few 19th century intellectualists and psychic researchers, such as Charles Babbage, Eleonor Sidgwick and Edmund Gurney.

In the paranormal world many people refer to the ‘Stone Tape Theory’ - the theory that ghosts, and hauntings are similar to tape recordings and the energies of traumatized souls being trapped in the materials of their surrounding environment at the time of their passing (stones, bricks, slate floors etc.), only to be released at some point in the future, to keep replaying their experience as a residual energy, and over time they fade away. I have always been skeptical of this theory as it is not compatible with what I have experienced and what I have researched. So, where has this theory come from?

In 1837, polymath Charles Babbage published a work on natural theology called Ninth Bridgewater Treatise. Babbage speculated, that spoken words leave permanent impressions in the air, even though they become inaudible after time.

The idea that environmental elements are able to store traces of human thoughts or emotions was introduced by several 19th century scholars and philosophers. They tried to find a natural explanation for supernatural activity. It was believed that during emotional or traumatic events, energy can be projected and “recorded” onto rocks and other items and “replayed” under certain conditions.

An interesting read, regarding Natural Religion, Mathematics, Physics, God and Miracles... The concept of “place memory” was a consideration in the early days of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Place memory was thought to be an explanation for ghostly apparitions, seemingly connected with certain places. In the late 19th century, two of SPR’s investigators - Edmund Gurney and Eleonor Sidgwick, presented their views about certain buildings or materials being capable of storing records of past events, which can be later play backed by gifted individuals. There was much speculation in the early days, but nothing actually proven. So why is the concept of The Stone Tape theory still around today? The theories from the early days were the inspiration for a television play written by Nigel Kneale called “The Stone Tape”. The Stone Tape was directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant,

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Jane Asher, Michael Bates and Iain Cuthbertson. It was broadcast on BBC Two as a Christmas Ghost story in 1972. It combined aspects of science fiction and horror. The story is about a team of scientists who move into their new research facility, a renovated Victorian mansion that has a reputation for being haunted. The team investigate the activity, trying to determine if the stones of the building are acting as a recording medium for past events, however, their investigations serve only to unleash a darker, more malicious force. The Stone Tape was written by Nigel Kneale, best known as the writer of Quatermass. The play was also inspired by a visit Kneale had made to the BBC’s research and development department, which was then located in an old Victorian house in Kingswood, Surrey. Critically acclaimed at the time of the broadcast, it remains well regarded as one of Nigel Kneale’s best and most terrifying plays. Since its broadcast, the hypothesis of residual hauntings – that ghosts are recordings of past events made by the natural environment – has come to be known as the “Stone Tape Theory”.

Was the success of this broadcast the reason The Stone Tape theory is now cemented firmly in the Paranormal Field, even though it was fiction? The Stone Tape Theory concept was retrospectively and inaccurately attributed to British archaeologist turned parapsychologist - T. C. Lethbridge, who believed that ghosts were not spirits of the deceased but were simply non-interactive recordings similar to a movie. This has led to many people in the paranormal field today believing that the Stone Tape theory is actually a thing, but it was based only on the speculation of a few people and was never proven to be real. The fact that it provided inspiration for a televised play, which was popular at the time, has left the paranormal world with a legacy of people believing that the Stone Tape Theory is actually real, and ghosts and

spirits are released from stones and other environmental materials in the form of residual energy.

have heard many people referring to the Stone Tape Theory when on investigations and it appears that many in the paranormal world, have gone (with full blinkers on) down the road of believing it to be real and many newcomers into the field have inherited the belief of the theory without question. Following the speculation of residual energy, a belief evolved that ghosts and spirits are different things. A ghost is believed to be the residual energy of someone who has died tragically and doesn’t know they are dead, and a spirit is the soul of a deceased person…. I don’t see the difference but researching for a clear definition of this has been very interesting with the varied points of view found. On the BBC Website, Medium Philip Solomon states the following “Ghost and hauntings are very different to spirits. A spirit is a continuation of your soul that goes on forever, but a ghost is just something that has happened in the past and replays back in the ether. They are the emotional memories of an ordinary human being who has died unexpectedly or tragically and are not aware they have died. A part of their personality carries on in the HAUNTED MAGAZINE

surroundings where they lived or died repeating their last actions over and over again. Like a tape-recorded message.” The late Hans Holzer (1920 –2009), was an Austrian-American author and parapsychologist. He wrote more than 120 books on the supernatural and occult, as well as several plays, musicals, films, and documentaries, and hosted a television show, called Ghost Hunter. A professor of parapsychology, he wrote “Ghosts are similar to psychotic human beings, incapable of reasoning for themselves. … Spirits on the other hand are the surviving personalities of all of us who pass through the door of death in a relatively normal fashion.” He also wrote that ghosts are tied to the location of their death, usually a sudden or tragic one, and they often don’t realise that they are dead. In most cases, they have “unfinished business” as the deceased person does not accept the way in which they died. A point of view from author, Toni Therese Maisey, who wrote “Ghosts and Spirits Are Real and What Is the Difference” (Paperback). She writes: “To explain what a ghost or a spirit is, simply means that a spirit is from a live human body, whose spirit is traveling to others and often you can hear them coming to you. A ghost apart from the Holy Ghost is a dead man’s spirit. If a dead man’s spirit comes into you then you will need exorcisms.

In a Christian exorcism, we ask Jesus to perform the deliverance prayer and ask the person to repent of sin, so the evil spirits and ghosts will not have any strongholds.” Whilst I respect everyone’s point of view and understand that we all have different opinions, which are based on our knowledge and experiences, I would like to offer a different point of view based on my spiritual experience and research.

The Spirit World is very simple and is not as complicated as some would have us believe. We use the words ‘Ghost’ and ‘Spirit’ a lot in the paranormal field. In my experience and having worked with the Spirit World for quite a few years now, Ghosts and Spirits are one and the same and they are not different. When the Soul/Spirit leaves the body, the Spirit World does not differentiate whether you died tragically or not or if you passed ‘normally’. It does not tie you to a location and there is free will. It does not judge you and determine whether you are a Ghost or a Spirit and when they pass over, they DO know that they are dead, as they spend a period of time adjusting to their new form when they transcend back to the Spirit World. For me, Residual energy does not exist, however I do remain open minded. If the evidence was available or I did experience it myself, I may well change my mind… As a Medium, Investigator and Researcher at the Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre, I believe that seeking the truth in paranormal activity is at the heart of everything we do at the Centre. Understanding the Spirit World and finding the answers is what truly drives us to learn more and challenging what information is already out there will only enhance our knowledge further. So, something to think about when on your ‘Ghost’ hunts, and just remember, be careful what you wish for...

Jane

Spiritualists from the land Down Under

by Sarah Chumacero During the 19th century, there was a movement where mediumship and spirit communication became quite popular. In fact, it became its own kind of religion. It was known as spiritualism. One of the core beliefs in the spiritualist movement was that a person survives the death of their physical body by ascending into the spirit realm. For those who had lost faith in traditional Catholic values, spiritualism offered them a new religion and they were referred to as spiritualists. When you read the paranormal history books, people will often be able to tell you about famous figures within spiritualism from England and even the US, but they don’t know much about the work that was done here in the land of Oz. It is time to change that, so let’s meet 5 famous Spiritualists from Down Under!

William Terry

Alfred Deakin

William Terry was originally born in London in 1836 and ended up calling Melbourne home in 1853 when he travelled here with his father and siblings. In the late 1850s, his family became involved in spiritualism where William discovered that he had psychic abilities along with the gift of mediumship. Giving up on the family drapery business, in 1869 he decided to become a full-time medium. The following year he set up a shop on Russell Street in the city of Melbourne where he sold spiritualist faith books as well as offering his services as a trance medium, magnetic healer, and clairvoyant herbalist. His shop would later become the Melbourne headquarters for the Victorian spiritualist movement. He was responsible for sponsoring tours from famous mediums such as Henry Slade (who was later charged for fraudulent activity back in London) and in 1870 Terry launched The Harbinger of Light, Light, Australia’s first spiritualist magazine based on the faith which he edited until he retired in 1905. He helped to establish the Victorian Association of Progressive Spiritualists and became an inaugural fellow and councillor of the Theosophical Society in Australia. He even toured the USA as a representative of the spiritualist movement here in Australia. Terry passed away in 1913 and is buried at the Melbourne Cemetery. While he wasn’t born in Australia, he remains one of the key figures in establishing the spiritualist movement here in Australia.

This former Prime Minister from Melbourne was a prominent figure in the spiritualist movement. Born in Collingwood in 1856, long before he became Prime Minister of our country, he was president of the Victorian Association of spiritualists in 1877. He was a teacher at Progressive Lyceum which was a spiritualist Sunday School where he would also meet his future wife. Deakin would often attend seances, arrange lectures and even organize experiments to test various paranormal phenomena. He also published A New Pilgrim’s Progress an allegory of the progress of a soul towards perfection which was supposedly channelled through Deakin from preacher John Bunyan who published the original The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come in 1678. Aside from spiritualism, Deakin was also a journalist, politician, and even a lawyer. He famously defended (unsuccessfully) infamous murderer and Jack the Ripper suspect, Frederick Deeming. Later on, Alfred Deakin became Prime Minister of Australia three times: from 24 September 1903 to 27 April 1904, 5 July 1905 to 13 November 1908, and 2 June 1909 to 29 April 1910, making him the second, fifth, and seventh Prime Minister of Australia for which is he most well-known. Deakin passed away in 1919. While he is most famously a Prime Minister who led Australia into the federation, he was also a very important figure within the spiritualist movement.

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Charles Bailey Born in 1870 in Melbourne, Bailey became a World famous apport medium who was later exposed as fraudulent. His loyal following, however, stuck with him until he passed away. In 1889, Bailey who was a bootmaker at the time attended his first seance where he was told that he had abilities of his very own and he began his work with mediumship as a part-time professional medium. In 1902, his work was highlighted in William Terry’s publication Harbinger of Light intriguing the world with his ability to apparently summon items from thin air, otherwise known as apports. Famous spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was particularly fascinated with Bailey’s abilities producing coins through to live birds and even a live shovel nose shark measuring 18 inches long. For a period of time, Bailey was the personal medium to Melbourne millionaire Thomas Welton Stanford, who made a collection of the apports Bailey produced which is now preserved at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. While figures such as Doyle were initially impressed by his abilities, Bailey would later be exposed as a fraud finding that one of his controls was responsible for bringing in the apports which would later ‘appear’. Even after being exposed with figures such as Harry Price outing the claims, Bailey was still practicing up until 1930 where he still had a small, devoted following. Bailey passed away in 1947 and remains the most controversially famous apport medium in the World.

A.J Abbott A.J Abbott (Albert James) was a selfproclaimed spiritualist from Melbourne Australia. Well, he was really born in Devonshire England in 1856. His family moved to New Zealand and then to Melbourne Australia where he became the pastor of the Free Christian Assembly in Melbourne. As many were in the early 19th century, Abbott became fascinated with spirit photography. In 1910, he gave lectures to an intrigued

audience about seances, spiritualism with a presentation projecting images of spirit photography onto a white screen using glass slides. The images were copied from a book by famous spiritualist medium and artist Georgiana Houghton in 1882, which included photographs by many spirit photographers that were later exposed as frauds. The full collection of AJ Abbott’s slides is on display at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in Canberra, a building that many claim is haunted itself due to its previous life as a morgue and the Australian Institute of Anatomy where it held human remains. The collection covers many areas of spiritualism and is not just limited to spirit photography.

Richard Hodgson Born in 1855 in Melbourne Australia, he originally intended to work in the field of law. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, his interest in philosophy and the very concept of the paranormal led him to be introduced by a fellow student into spiritualist literature where he eventually found his way to his first séance. He travelled to the UK where he studied at St John’s College in Cambridge. It was there he met Henry Sidgwick (who would become one of the founding members of The Society for Psychical Research) and studied philosophy under his guide. In 1882, he joined the Cambridge Society for Psychical Research where he was involved in investigating the claims of mediums as well as exposing some of the fraudulent activity. In 1887, he became the secretary of the American Society for Psychical Research. It was here he was introduced to the infamous Leonora Piper. She was a popular trance medium that Hodgson became fascinated with. The information given in the sessions he conducted with Piper were so specific and convincing to Hodgson, that he felt it was proof of survival after death and changed his outlook on life completely. Not long before his death, he was quoted as saying “I “I can hardly wait to die” die” and 6 months later on December 20th, 1905, he suffered heart failure while he was playing a game of handball. Of course, Hodgson had long promised colleagues he would be back for a visit which were said to have been communicated through the famous Leonora Piper. The evidence, however, was deemed inconclusive and the sessions ceased.

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Sarah

THE LOWDOWN ON WITCHES

FISHING FOR A STORY By Leonard Low

t’s 2020…nearly October. A last chance to go fishing before the first realms of Winter approach the Fife coast. Pittenween, where late at night the last few deep-sea prawn boats make their way home, the ships mast lights, slowly illuminate the other silent berthed boats in the harbour.

A ghostly quiet as a low tide gently starts to turn. No wind on these nights. Calm, calm sea like a glass surface. Only broken by another cast of the rod of a fisherman and the sea line, making ripples in the dark tide where the moonlight dances over the expanding little wakes. A shadow near of a Heron, sentinel, one legged, but certain death to any crab or small fish that moves near. The gulls now at peace on boat masts and lampposts around the beach, a day long haggling sea boats of excess baits and tourists of chips had finally taken its toll. All is perfect, beautiful melancholy and still, absolute conditions perfect for fishing, so perfect, Leven based Robert Anderson, was fishing alone for a change as his usual friend was otherwise occupied elsewhere…. lost to his own thoughts in a peaceful tranquil surrounding… then it started... A sharp scream! Then more, obviously a woman in great distress. It came from the right…it continued for a few moments…loud distressing…far too dark to see anything but it was close. Robert dropped the rod, fixed his head gear light and shone it towards the noise. A powerful beam but it illuminated nothing, really disturbing now…still the screams…louder more desperate…Robert now regretting coming alone, the desperate cries continued. As a regular fisherman he knew the noises and calls of the marine life…this was human and someone in a terrible way. Loud distinctive screams for now 20 minutes ...unearthly mournful wails! Then a thought came. He rememHAUNTED MAGAZINE

bered a book he had read ‘THE WEEM WITCH’ that would give some history to the ruined old harbour to his right…where the screams were coming from. In 1705 January 30th the final act of a 12-month Witch hunt that had already claimed one life and a Minister so determined it should claim 7 more, saw a woman handed to a mob who hanged her from a ship mast for 5 hours throwing everything at hand at her, in between releasing the rope and dropping her into the sea. The enraged mob finally bored with the nights action, cut her loose where some kind person approached and tried to rescue her, bringing her into the nearest house on the sands… the villagers, furious she was being saved, surged forward and broke down the door of her rescuer. Pulled it from its hinges and ripped her from her safe haven throwing her to the ground outside where again she was assaulted. The heavy broken door was raised and placed on poor Janet, pinning her to the sand while they found the heaviest stones from the beach to dump down on her, the whole village joining in this effort. The great stones piled up finally crushing the woman to death. They, then mad with bloodlust, rode over her mangled corpse with a heavy ledge pulled by a horse. Its sharp metal runners sliced off pieces from their Witch, where they then picked up the trophies and ran screaming through the town throwing them in the air as they cheered and screamed approval.

veni, vidi, meditatus sum

TIME AFTER TIME… The Reincarnation of

obert remembered the history, but not the exact location of the murder on the beach. The screams continued, Robert now seriously spooked considered swimming in the sea with his rods to his immediate left, to avoid going back down the harbour alone and confronting the source of the screams. “If anything appeared, I would be straight in the sea!” he explained to me. In all, the screams started and continued for around 40 minutes… Rob was packed up and gone by 11pm.

Knowing I was the author of the book, he emailed me his nights terror, the next day Friday 25th September 2020. I confirmed to him that this area was the location for the horrible murder of Janet Cornfoot, murdered by the people of Pittenweem in 1705, it was exactly where the distressing cries were coming from.

“This is not the first mention of strangeness here. Back in 2010 I sold my books during the Arts festival from the Tower dungeon that once held the Witches of Pittenweem. A woman in her 50s approached me with a strange tale, its remarkably connected to the fisherman’s tale above.” It’s 1980s hot summer and where better to take the kids but the seaside. Pittenween where the old natural harbour holds a sandy grain fit for any child’s magnificent sandcastle. Mother left her 5-year-old to dig away as she warmed her bare feet in the hot sands. Suddenly they were not alone. A woman in bad dirty rags was standing not ten feet from her, smiling, and gesturing with her hand at the child’s efforts of a sandcastle. The mother politely smiled at the strange woman looked at her child then back towards the frail woman in rags…but she was gone! Immediately vanished! This was indeed instant as she was nowhere to be seen, no one was around and clear views for over 100 yards each way showed no woman in rags! Then it

Nicky Alan struck…. the woman had left no footprints in the sand…nothing, not even where she had been standing. The woman asked her child “did she see the lady standing there” to which she replied, “she seemed nice yes”! It was a conundrum of mystery for the next couple of decades. Then she read THE WEEM WITCH and the chapter on Janet Cornfoot and her horrible death and where exactly it took place! It hit home, exactly where she had seen the strange lady, as memories returned of the strange day on the beach with her daughter, it could now all make sense, had she seen the ghost of a murdered Witch called Janet Cornfoot? And are her ghostly screams a lament of a bad day many years past that even today the Pittenweem church does not want to talk about today! Hearing Robert’s story, I went to the old harbour with my good friend Roger Wilson. We arrived and stayed in the harbour area at the low tide till dusk came and although now pitch dark it remained peaceful and calm. We remained for several hours and left, we took a multitude of photos and in one a figure is seen, sitting at the extreme low tide on inaccessible rocks, strangely watching us … the figure of a woman. As a footnote, Janet was killed around 11 pm after 5 hours torture on the beach, the exact same time that our fisherman heard the screams!

L e on a r d Do you want to know if your ancestors may have been accused, tried and/or killed for Witchcraft? Leonard has access to certain historic records that others don’t. Send us your surname (or maiden name) to

thelowdownonwitches@hauntedmagazine.co.uk and we’ll let you know if your bloodline shows any traces of Witchcraft running through your veins. You never know. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

had been told throughout the years through meditation that we have many lives down here so that we can enjoy ‘human experiences’ as a contrast to the sublime existence of being a spirit up in Heaven. But do we really? Do we cling on to the fact that we all are immortal and come back down to earth in a different body, a different existence as we fear one life is too final? Months after being retired as a Police Detective I was to get the answer in the form of my first spirit guide introducing himself… I was sunbathing in my back garden. It was a glorious summer’s day in 2003. My mind was at rest listening to the bird song in the garden. I was totally relaxed and feeling completely calm. I decided to do a little meditation. I suddenly felt exceptionally cold and realised I was in a cave. I could smell the damp moist soil on the cave floor and heard the incessant tap tapping of a water source somewhere nearby, dripping onto the rocks. I started to try and open my eyes, but realised that this was an important meditation as I heard a voice say, “It is time that I introduced myself, I am Julianus, I will show you how we met and that I have been responsible for you ever since.”

Now when I say ‘heard a voice’ it’s a bit different from human hearing. Sometimes they are discarnate, in the ether, like a proper human voice. The majority for me are in my head. It’s like a loud insistent thought that you know is not your own. I can sense the tone and accent easily, a bit like when I channel through spirit people during readings, or the angel realms. They all have a different energy and power, the angel realms are like a startling command, it’s quite amazing. Well, this voice was melodic and velvety with a slight Italian accent. I fell in love with the energy of this stranger’s voice immediately. I was intoxicated with each word. The rocks at the entrance of the cave then started to drag open. I walked out and found myself in a very hot climate looking out at a beautiful landscape lined with Cypress trees. I asked, “Where are we?” He replied, “Trastevere, Rome.” “What is the year?” I asked. “1452” “Why am I here?” “This is where we shared a life together, your name was Mary.” I then felt a massive whoosh as if I was lifted into the air and found myself outside a stunning church with white pillars fronting the entrance. I looked up and saw the name of the church, ST CECILIAS. This man I recognised as the man who had been sitting in my shack for years in dreams and meditations took my hand and said,

“You were welcomed here in the House of Mary Magdalena in this year.” I looked into his bright blue eyes and wanted to cry, the care and love that exuded from them was indescribable. He then took me through to a courtyard and led me through an archway to the left. He pointed to the arch and said, “Here I write the word of the lord. My prophecies will remain here intact forever.” We then came out through the arch and were standing by a tomb, St Cecilia’s tomb. “This was your home, Mary.” In the sun I looked to the crypt and saw the outline of my habit in silhouette form. It had a square shape. He then said, “I have someone for you to meet.” A man approached me with the most beautiful thick wavy hair. His face just represented total serenity and love. He took my hands and said, “Mary, I am Nicholas, I preside over you and the men in this space. I am here to protect you.” I saw the letter V in my head. He placed a kiss on my forehead, I could feel the emotion spread through me like an unknown heat. His love was infinite. He looked up to the sky and said, “Come we must make haste, Ava Mary is upon us!” He gently led me towards the church where I heard the most stunning chanting. I was then ‘back in the room’ as they say. I was wide awake and crying my eyes out. It was one of the most beautiful things that I had ever experienced in my life. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Once I had blown my nose the next thing, as any ex-Detective would do, was hit the Google button! It was a weird experience because every time I tried to google St Cecilia’s I would get to a link but then the computer would go down or the internet was lost. I sensed that perhaps it wasn’t the right time. To be honest I was a little scared that my miracle introduction was just my imagination. I didn’t want to discover that it didn’t exist. Silly me! But there came a time when I realised, being a spiritual ambassador wouldn’t just work on my word only. I needed proof that he and I existed, so that I could challenge the sceptics with my evidence. I decided to get a ticket to Rome. I was terrified as if I went there and none of this existed, it would seriously give my faith a huge kick in the balls. I needed to know though, Julianus hadn’t left me alone since that fateful day, so I needed to know that he was real and not a figment of my imagination. I got to the hotel, dumped my suitcase and went outside to hail a taxi. I cannot tell you the fear that smashed through me as I got into the taxi and asked the driver, “Can you take me to St Cecilia’s church, Trastevere?” he just said “Si.” My heart was beating out of my mouth as he drove straight into a square and stopped. I looked up and let out a gasp mixed with a sob. I was in St Cecilia’s Square and was looking up to the familiar church frontage with the white pillars and ‘St Cecilia’ written as bold as anything across the rendering. I walked through the courtyard in a daze looking at everything I had seen years before in my meditation. I touched the familiar fountain, a ruin now, but remembered it flowing vibrantly with water. Instant memories kept hitting my mind with every sight that I took in.

I could see the gated area to my left that I knew led to St Cecilia’s crypt and the archway that had Julianus’ writing etched into it. I was exceptionally frustrated as the gate was locked. I then walked into the church and saw a bust of a monk. It was a St Franciscan monk, which I later discovered did a Sabbatical in a cave prior to serving God. That explained the cave then! I went on to discover that Julianus was here in 1452 and did write words of prophecy in the arch that led to the house of Mary Magdalena. Nuns were welcomed into the church here in 1452 where they were allowed to reside with the monks.

It was simply staggering. I was standing in a place that I knew so well, 600 years later! To say it was overwhelming was an understatement. Now I knew why I was always completely at peace in churches despite not being religious. I had to have incense burning all of the time at home as well. I just couldn’t stop crying as I touched the walls of this sacred

space wondering if I had touched the same places hundreds of years ago. I also learned that “Ava Mary” was what they called the Ave Maria prayer in that time, that was chanted at sunset hence why Nicholas looked up to the sky. ‘Nicholas,’ I thought, ‘I now need to find Nicholas.’ Reluctantly I left the church and headed straight for the Vatican. If you have ever been to the Vatican you will know it’s like a house for giants. It is colossal with thousands of people wandering around everywhere. Well, I knew it like the back of my hand even though I had never been to it in this life. I went straight over to a guide and asked quite impatiently, “Where is Pope Nicholas V crypt from 1452 please?” The guide looked into his guidebook. “No, he is not here, Signorina” “Yes he is! Look again,” I said, frustration lacing my words. “No Signorina there is nothing here.” “Oh don’t worry!” I said abruptly, which was quite out of character for me. I then turn around like a woman possessed and walk towards this concrete opening with complete confidence and bounced down the stairs frantically. The second crypt on the right, I threw my body over and sobbed like a baby. I had nuns coming up to me asking if I was ok! I then looked down to the plaque and saw ‘Pope Nicholas V’. From his details I saw that he did cover the Trastevere diocese during 1452. Don’t even ask me why I was so emotional, I felt like I was mourning the loss of a family HAUNTED MAGAZINE

member. I was so amazed and humbled at the same time. Previous incarnations, soul guides and everything I had ever seen since a child was real, this was never a figment of my imagination. I had proved it to myself. After what seemed like a lifetime, I reluctantly pulled myself away from his crypt and went back up to the main hallways. Amazingly the same guide came running towards me. “Signorina,” he smiled, “My apologies. How did you know of his crypt? It is in no guidebook, but I asked one of the oldest guides here and he told me it was indeed down below in the crypt room!” I had no words to answer him, I just smiled. “You are a special lady, come with me!” The next thing, he was guiding me towards this small shop in the Vatican. “Go buy two phials.” Without questioning him I went into the shop and picked two small bottles. At the till the lady gave me my change. I looked at the coins and said, “This is unusual, you have given me a gold coin in my change!” “It should not be here, it is the Vatican’s currency,” She frowned looking confused. She was obviously in two minds as to whether it should be given to a member of public. She hesitated but then made her decision, “Well it was obviously meant for you, take it!” I thanked her enthusiastically, wow one of the Popes special gold coins! I then gave the two phials to the guide and he spoke in Italian on his radio.

NOT SO ‘ORRIBLE ‘ISTORIES*

WHAT THE DICKENS? Penny Griffiths-Morgan investigates

The Witch Trials of

Chelmsford

harles Dickens wrote in a letter to his friend Thomas Beard on January 11th 1835 saying that “If any one were to ask me what in my opinion was the dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the Earth, I should decidedly say Chelmsford”

An armed man with an earpiece then arrived and spoke to the guide and then they both looked at me. He smiled at me and then took the two phials. I had no idea what was going on. A little later he returned with the two phials filled with water. “This is from the Popes private font. Take it with you and use it wisely,” the guide smiled. I couldn’t believe it! I took the phials and thanked him and the armed guard with so much zest they must have thought that I was a nutter! How lucky was I? I have asked sceptics, very well-known ones in fact, about my story. They have said that they can’t explain it but it’s not supernatural(?) or I fell asleep in front of a history programme! What bullsh*t! Since this experience I have seen three other previous lives that I have led. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that we are reincarnated time after time. The only thing I would say is, be the best version of yourself that you can be in this life as if you are not, you’ll be back to perfect it until you get it right!

Nicky x

Psychic Medium, Tutor & Magazine Columnist Author of M.E Myself & I: Diary of a Psychic Twitter @NickyAlan07 Instagram @nickyalan333

Unsurprisingly (well, I do live here) I would vehemently disagree with him, as Chelmsford in Essex (UK) actually has a lot of fascinating bits of history which it can lay claim to, even if all Dickens found of interest was attending public hangings at nearby Springfield Prison (true story). Whilst I could go over around four hundred years of intriguing Chelmsford and Essex based history, I am going to focus on one element that may interest readers, that of witchcraft.

gnes Waterhouse is frequently written about as the first woman to be executed for the felony of witchcraft, but this is not actually true, she was actually the first for whom her trial and subsequent hanging was a media frenzy (as much as it could have been in 1566). She was in her mid-sixties and came from a small village on the outskirts of Chelmsford called Hatfield Peverel. What many do not realise about Essex is that during the Tudor period, it could have been seen as Witch central, in fact over a period of just twenty three years, ten different people – nine women and one man - from the same village as Agnes were tried and found guilty of that crime. Astonishingly one of the charges levied against Agnes was that she had been heard saying her prayers in Latin, and this was expressly forbidden in now Protestant England. Less than one hundred years later we have the appearance of the infamous Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed witch finder general (or misogynistic murdering conman, whichever job description you think fits). HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Here was a man born in Suffolk, who is said to have bought an Inn/Hotel in Mistley in Essex, settled in nearby Manningtree and began in 1644 with his witch hunting all over East Anglia, but unsurprisingly, Essex took the brunt – remember, it was associated with witchcraft already, if the cap fits and all that. They were not looking for those practicing maleficium so much, but to prove that an individual had made a deal with the devil, it was then they could be seen as heretics, and that was a crime deemed so heinous that normal legal procedure ceased to apply.

One of the reasons I despise Hopkins and his partner John Stearne so much (could you not tell?) could be that it is quite obvious that they were not looking to rid the world of witchcraft, more so saw an opportunity for money and notoriety. They would charge each town for the amount of witches that they were being expected to interview, with many having to heavily tax their inhabitants to pay for it. To give you an idea as to how exorbitant their costs were, in one small Suffolk village the cost was around £28…when the average wage was nearer sixpence. You can also look at their methods of torture, swimming being one, now this was not a new way of finding out if someone was deemed in league with Satan, it was advocated in King James I book Daemonologie, and had been mentioned in the Northampton trials in 1612. Merely operating a type of reverse baptism was not going to be enough for the cruel fame hungry pair, they came up with their own method where the individual was bent double, their arms crossed in front of their legs, and their thumbs tied to their big toe. A rope was looped around the person’s waist, and they were then placed into the water to sink and raised three times, if the men controlling the rope were not quick enough, it would be very easy for the individual to drown, and many did lose their lives this way.

n July 1645, thirty-eight individuals were accused of the crime at an emergency assizes held in Chelmsford, a subsequent twenty nine were charged and a total of seventeen hanged…ten of those in the town itself. It was this huge show trial and totally excessive display of arrogance in being the saviour of the country from the demonic influence of witches that caused Hopkins to coin the term he is now best known for, the Witch Finder General. The site of the gallows in the city is known to most as being on the corner of Waterhouse Lane and Primrose Hill, there are many who wonder if the name of the first road is linked to poor Agnes but with the fear of witches still having been prevalent well into the 19th century it is very doubtful. In 1863, an eighty-year-old man from Sible Hedingham nicknamed as “Old Dummy” (yes, it makes me uncomfortable writing that) because he was unable to hear or speak, was accused of being a witch, the village decided to dispense their own brand of justice and employed the swimming torture, and whilst they watched this poor terrified old man struggling in the water, they pelted him with stones. What is so horrific in that story, especially as it happened only one hundred and seventy years ago was how it all started. The woman who ended up being arrested for his death was one Emma Smith, the wife of an inn keeper in nearby Ridgewell. Nobody ever knew the old man’s name, and many supposed

he was French (why, I have no idea) but he would earn a livelihood by telling fortunes, especially for young couples in love. The story goes that one day he is said to have indicated to Mrs Smith that he wanted to spend the night at her beer house, and when she refused, he started to stroke her walking stick which was said to be how he would indicate displeasure. Shortly after this, Mrs Smith fell ill, and believing she had been bewitched by the old man, told many of her patrons that she needed him to remove the curse. On the 3rd August 1863, she found him outside the Swan Public House in Sible Hedingham, and offered him three sovereigns if he was to come back with her to Ridgewell, but did not tell him that she blamed him for her illness. Despite him being known as Old Dummy, he was no fool as he drew his finger across his throat – signing that he feared she would do him harm. A crowd had gathered as it was well known that Smith felt the old man was responsible for her ailments, and her and a carpenter by the name of Samuel Stammers threw him into the river that passed close to the pub.

What of Smith and Stammers? The former was heard to have said before forcing the old man into the water “You old devil, you served me out and now I’ll serve you out”, but even still, many of the spectators denied anything had happened, and it was the testimony of a young girl that ensured the judge at the Chelmsford Assizes found them guilty and sentenced them to six months hard labour each. It could be said that it was too lenient considering what they did, but it was a sentence nevertheless and showed how some parts of society were not going to condone witch hunts.

It was actually Stammers who pulled him from the water, and on the 4th August 1863, the victim was taken to the Workhouse at Halstead, not because of his age or state of living, but because the Union was the only place for those without money to receive medical care. He sadly passed away a month later, the post mortem confirming it was due to his immersion in the water and then sleeping in his wet clothes.

*when we say not so ‘orrible, it might actually be ‘orrible, it’s just a tag line.

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That is just a small overview of why I think Dickens was wrong about my home town, and also why if you ever mention Hopkins or Stearne to me, you will see my face screw up into a look of disgust.

Penny x

HISTORY-FINDER GENERAL

For more information on Witch Trials click here

http://www.witchtrials.co.uk/

Where do you want Penny to investigate, she has a knack of discovering the undiscovered, turning half truths into non truths or full on truths. Email her at pennyinvestigates@ hauntedmagazine.co.uk note: If there’s a drink involved she’ll get to the bottom of it (quick), if there’s a hole involved she’ll definitely look into it.

IS THE TRUTH

REALLY

For more fantastic information, articles and insight into UFOs and so much more please check out www.history.co.uk

OUT THERE?

Presented by BBC Radio DJ Craig Charles, alongside renowned space journalist, astrophysicist and award-winning author Sarah Cruddas, Sky HISTORY is on a mission to uncover the truth behind some of the most compelling extraterrestrial encounters, evaluating evidence to uncover whether unexplained aerial phenomena are prowling the skies above us and, more importantly, why in a brand-new UK premiere series, Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies. In each episode, Craig will investigate some of the most iconic and perplexing extra-terrestrial incidents of recent years, many of them from the UK, calling on Sarah’s scientific expertise along the way. Running parallel to the US Defense Department’s investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, released by the United States Congress in June 2021, the series reflects on a series of unexplained incidents. These range from the infamous ‘Tic Tac’ craft sightings and footage taken by US Navy Pilots in 2004, and the detection of interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua’ in October 2017, to historic sightings and encounters, such as the Rendlesham Forest incident in Suffolk in 1980 and the alleged alien abduction of Yorkshire police constable, Alan Godfrey. The series investigates UFO hotspots in Ireland and Scotland, a village in South Wales that seemingly witnessed the military engage in armed conflict with a UFO, as well as a spate of unexplained sightings in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Chile. With evidence including never-before-heard testimony and disturbing documentation, the team scrutinises each UFO sighting in a specially created ‘investigation hub’, sifting through a range of materials to determine whether there is an earthly explanation for it or whether it is beyond the reach of conventional science. World-leading UFO experts, including UFO investigator Nick Pope and former Director of Investigations at BUFORA (the British UFO Research Organisation) Philip Mantle, are joined by whistle-blowers and eyewitnesses, as Craig and Sarah build each case. They compare other ground-breaking UFO sightings, scrutinise historic documents, and reveal shocking government secrets, before finally grappling with the big question: are we alone in the universe?

“We were given the opportunity to examine some of the most unbelievable cases from around the globe and heard mind-blowing firsthand witness testimony. Working with Sarah and using her scientific scrutiny, we examined a mountain of evidence in which we were able to hunt for the truth about what is really going on in our skies. The whole experience was eye-opening and sometimes left us unable to come to an earthly conclusion!” Craig Charles

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CONSPIRACY KIND U F O :

C O N S P I R A C I E S ,

E P I S O D E

G U I D E

...Episode 1: Wales...Episode 2: Ireland...Episode 3: The Pentagon...Episode 4: Rendlesham...Episode 5: Scotland...Episode 6: Phoenix...Episode 7: Chicago... Episode 8: Todmorden...Episode 9: Stephenville...Episode 10: SETI...END REPORT

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INTERVIEW WITH

CRAIG CHARLES When did your interest in UFOs first begin? Ever since my love of science fiction began but back in the day you would never say so because people would think you were a bit of a crank. Now, the Americans have released all this footage that clearly shows these UFOs, and UAPs [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena] are there. I’m not saying they’re not aliens but they do exist. What are they?

“We are living in an incredible time for space exploration, but we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what is out there. Marrying together Craig’s passion and enthusiasm with my own thirst for evidence and an application of science, we have been able to explore what is going on in our skies like never before. Some of the answers are likely to be stranger than anything you could ever imagine.” Sarah Cruddas

Do the Russians and Chinese have technology that is so much more advanced from our own? That is as frightening as aliens to be sure. How can craft travel 3,000 m/h then stop instantly? The G-Force alone from that would turn a human being into mush? Are they drones, or are they robots? Some of them fly and then go underwater. We have footage of that from fighter jets and aircraft carriers. What are they? Have you ever seen a UFO? Me and my friend were in Galway once, sat in his garden and these weird things flew over. The next day, there was like, lots of stuff on the news about it. People had been phoning in to report seeing alien craft flying over the skies of Galway. Me, and my mate saw that but I don’t know what it was? Before making the series, did you have a UFO case you were particularly interested in? The Rendlesham Forest case is really interesting because it was American military who reported seeing all these weird lights in the woods. These are highly trained officers who aren’t going to mistake a car headlight for a spaceship. You do wonder what they actually saw there.

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What other compelling cases really stood out for you? A lot of the footage that’s just been released by the American Air Force is, is very compelling. You can see these things on film and they’re all different shapes. A lot of people report seeing this pyramid-shaped craft. It doesn’t have an engine and it’s just thrusting forward and flying through the air. This pyramid shape comes up quite a lot, from many different sightings. There’s a lot of different kind of craft that people have claimed to see: barrel-shaped, disc-shaped and boomerang-shaped craft. Unfortunately, with this series, hard evidence is really thin on the ground and that’s one thing I found a bit frustrating. Although all of the stories are told with conviction and are certainly very believable. Do you have any UFO research heroes or idols in the field? No, to be honest, I didn’t know there was a field. I was surprised by how big the industry around this is. Some people are making a lot of a lot of money out of UFOs. So, you do wonder about the veracity of some of the claims, simply because there’s a vested interest in keeping their story going. I’m certainly not one of them. I just wanted to have a closer look at the evidence and listen to the stories and make up my own mind. Did taking part in the series challenge any preconceptions you had about UFOs or UAPs? I know now that these things exist. They’re not a figment of anyone’s imagination. Even the American government admits that now. It’s proved to me that I’m not a Fraggle. Unexplained Aerial Phenomena are out there, we just don’t know what they are.

Craig Charlies: UFO Conspiracies continues Tuesdays 9pm on Sky HISTORY. All episodes are available on catch up services.

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INTERVIEW WITH

SARAH CRUDDAS Sarah Cruddas the renowned space journalist, astrophysicist and award-winning author investigates some of the most iconic and perplexing extra-terrestrial incidents of recent years in Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies. Calling on Sarah’s scientific expertise along the way the series investigates UFO hotspots in Ireland and Scotland, a small town in South Wales that seemingly witnessed the military engage in armed conflict with a UFO, as well as a spate of unexplained sightings in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Chile. With evidence including never-before-heard testimony and disturbing documentation, the team scrutinises each UFO sighting in a specially created ‘investigation hub’, sifting through a range of materials to determine whether there is an earthly explanation for it or if it is beyond the reach of conventional science. Can you tell us a little bit about the show and your role in it? We are trying to take the most methodological and scientific approach to date, to try and answer the most profound question of all humanity, which is ‘Are we alone?’ Craig and I are like the real-life Mulder and Scully because I’m a scientist and Craig who is smart as hell wants to believe there is something out there. But that combination of the two of us enables us to approach these kinds of earthly mysteries with a more scientific and thorough approach. Can you talk a bit about your approach to investigating these UFO incidents? Mine and Craig’s approach to this show is trust and verify. Trust all witnesses and try and try to verify. I’m trying to rule things out because I want to find out the things that we cannot explain while Craig is enthusiastically looking at everything and bringing new evidence to the table. We spoke to witnesses, and we looked for hard evidence. It is like that clichéd Carl Sagan quote: ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’ You spoke to some interesting people on the show from Phil Mantle to Luis Elizondo, who did you most enjoy talking to? The team in SETI who we spoke to about Oumuamua which is an extrasolar object that passed through our solar system. As scientists, we expected an extrasolar object [an object which did not come from our solar system] to be spherical but Oumuamua was a cigar-shaped, rocky object. Many scientists have said it was a chip from a cosmic block, but it

was not behaving - or was shaped as we expected. Others have come forward with the hypothesis that potentially that could be an alien civilization passing us by. For me working with that team at SETI was important because they have that credibility. The idea that there is life beyond Earth is something that very serious scientists are working on right now. In terms of UFO sightings, what is the usual scientific explanation for them? Can you share any UFO encounters from the show that you can’t explain? There are lots of things that can be explained by science, by weather, by light or by military technology we don’t know about yet. Planets reflect light from the sun and don’t twinkle. Often the planet Venus has been mistaken for a UFO. There are lenticular clouds, which these flying saucer-shaped clouds that you see to the lee of mountainsides. There are a lot of UFO sightings at 3am when people may have been in the pub for many hours. We know so little about Earth, but it’s fair to be open-minded and say that we do not know what they are just yet. It doesn’t mean its aliens, but it also doesn’t rule it out. The military video the Pentagon released from the USS Nimitz is a good example of this. There are credible military witnesses, coming forward and

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saying, ‘We saw something that we couldn’t explain.’ Should governments be taking UFOs more seriously? Governments and the media are starting to take things more seriously. It would be naïve to think we are all alone. There is a scary aspect when you look to Earth as an example of what happens when different civilizations meet each other. It has not always been that friendly. So, it is frightening to think about what could happen. Though this new era in space exploration we are in now is bigger than any one company, country or individual. That is why the International Space Station has 60 nations working together on the first off-world outpost in space. The optimist in me would say that an alien civilization that has managed to leave its own world have had to work together and would be coming in peace. What do you hope viewers will get from the show? You can be a scientist, you can be a layperson, you can be a UFO enthusiast to enjoy it. ‘I hope the viewers will be left with a sense of wonder’: I just want people to watch this and to go out and look up at the night sky and to wonder ‘What else is out there?’ and be left with that sense of mystery.

By Sarah Streamer

PATTERNS IN THE PARANORMAL AND HOW TO AVOID THEM…..

atterns are all around us, they find us in daily life, and our brains are programmed to recognize and interpret them. Apophenia or patternicity is a part of the psychological software that every human is equipped with. We evolved this pattern recognition to interpret danger cues to help us survive as a species. In the past, this was an effective way to identify which foods were safe or when a dangerous situation could cause harm, like when a predator was hiding and waiting to attack.

In our modern world, although there are times we need to recognize danger, there aren’t as many life and death situations that we need to worry about. This doesn’t stop our brains from seeing patterns in the randomness of life and this is a very common phenomenon among the paranormal community. A common form of patternicity in the paranormal world is pareidolia. This is a visual form patternicity that tells our brains to recognize faces where there

A cheetah using its camouflage as disruptive coloration.

Photo credit: https://www.africa-wildlife-detective.com/cheetahs.html

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aren’t any. We see this all the time in our daily lives, finding a face in the foam in our cup of coffee or when we look at wall outlets. This is how babies instinctively learn to recognize people as they are growing and has its place in our lives. There are times that our brains kick it into overdrive and cause self-deception, especially when we are in high stress situations, like being in the middle of a paranormal investigation in a haunted and creepy location.

uditory apophenia is also a common phenomenon in the paranormal world. This is hearing something that is not really there. This happens often in review of electronic voice phenomena or EVP evidence. While there are often words that you can hear in these evidence reviews, there are also sounds that your brain picks out and assigns word meanings to. This is why the audio challenge of “Laurel or Yanny” went viral. Different brains interpret different things from the same sound. It’s especially easy to do with short, one-syllable words. Was that “you,” “new,” “two,” or “blue?” It gets even more difficult when the sounds are very faint and there is background noise.

Examples of pareidolia in everyday things

• Test your hypothesis objectively: Gathering objective data is the best way to avoid bias. Objective data points are those that do not take into account any personal issues or feelings. Objective data should be able to be reproduced by any person put in the same situations. • Ask others: Once you have formed and tested your hypothesis, run the results by others in the field that you trust. Having an accountability partner can be the best way to keep your own confirmation bias in check.

Photo Credit: https://owlcation.com/stem/Pareidolia-Explained These visual and auditory patterns that we recognize during our investigations and evidence review can cause issues for us and our research in the end. When investigating, we can identify ways to impact on how both visual and auditory pareidolia play a role in our investigation and evidence. An easy way to do this is to not fall into the group bias trap. This happens when someone in your group specifically identifies what they are seeing or hearing, and this provides bias to everyone in the group to unconsciously see or hear what the first member identified. An easy way to do this is to not specifically identify anything to your group until everyone has formed an opinion. Instead of saying, “I hear a male voice saying, ‘Come back here.’ What do you think?” you can say, “I hear something in this audio clip, what do you think it is?” If there are two or more of your group that can see or hear the same thing, there is a drastically lower chance that it’s your mind playing tricks on you. In addition to pareidolia and auditory apophenia, generalized apophenia can also sneak up on us. Sometimes we want something to work out the way we see it in our mind, so we begin to see patterns that support our idea. This confirmation bias can happen to the best of us. A great researcher will ask questions and look for answers during an investigation, this is a part of the scientific method, better known as “mess around and find out.” Confirmation bias happens when we test a hypothesis with the belief that it is true. We then look for the patterns or evidence that will prove our hypothesis and dismiss the evidence that disproves it.

s paranormal researchers and investigators, how do we avoid believing the patternicity and confirmation bias that we will surely encounter? These psychological phenomena will never go away, but we can take steps to make sure we are not blindly believing everything we see or hear. The following are some things that we can all do to while we’re investigating to combat confirmation bias: •

•

I have a challenge for anyone reading this article. Start looking for patterns and faces in your everyday life. When you find one, record it in a journal. You’ll start to see that patternicity is a common part of life and is everywhere. Now take that a step further and start recording the patterns you find in your investigations. Not all of them will be your brain playing tricks on you but being able to actively recognize these patterns will make you a better researcher and investigator.

Be a skeptic: A healthy amount of skepticism is a good thing! Healthy, intellectual skepticism can help us ask the right questions and explore the possibilities when Myself and Robert Gray discussing a piece of investigating and reviewing audio evidence during an investigation at the evidence. If you ask these Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa. questions and still come up with a truly unexplainable experience or piece of evidence, you I want to end this by saying that there have taken steps to prevent a blind aren’t always ways to explain away assumption. evidence. There are truly things we experience that are not normal, Learn to identify bias: It can be explainable or of this world. This is why easy to overlook your own ability we are so passionate about exploring to have confirmation bias when the paranormal and haunted locations. I your beliefs are being questioned, have experienced, seen and heard things even if it’s by you. Identifying what that I can’t explain and after extensive confirmation bias is and being able debunking efforts, they can only be to recognize it in your own thought classified as paranormal. These are the patterns can help you go into a moments we search for and are more situation without bias. meaningful when we can definitively Form a valid hypothesis: As say that we have done everything in our researchers or investigators, we power to identify explainable causes to need to be able to identify and test the evidence. Stay weird and ask great a hypothesis by gathering evidence. questions, the future of paranormal A hypothesis can be something as science is in your hands! simple as, “I believe this location is haunted.” Once the hypothesis is identified, stick to it! HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Sarah Streamer

By Morg a n K nud s en, Ent it ys e eker Pa r a nor m a l Re s e a rch & Te ach i n g s

ew Jersey: The state associated with urban sprawl and bustling highways is not what many associate with its nickname, the Garden State. The primeval swamps and unfriendly soils that lay deep in the woods of what is infamously known as the Pine Barrens; a seemingly endless stretch of trees, strange shadows, water-logged marshes, tea colored rivers and a landscape that transports any visitor back in time to years where humans had not yet touched the continent. The very environment that spawns images and dark dreams of devils… and dragons… The Jersey Devil has become synonymous with legend. It has transfixed minds through books, pop culture, lore, and has even been recognized as the official state “demon”. It is harder to find a stranger pastiche of creatures than this bizarre gargoyle-looking beast, but as witnesses have said ‘If you imagine a dragon, you’re 75% of the way there’. It’s cloven hooves, long tail, spectacular leathery wings, horselike head, horns, and massive size has been stitched into the memories of all children that have heard the stories. The sound of hooves on the rooftops, the nearly silent flight of wings, and the graceful darkness it brings as its shadow swoops over cabins and trees brings nightmares to even the deepest sleepers.

But it is a nightmare. Or is it? As a paranormal researcher, the thing I’ve learned about legends is that there is often a kernel of truth somewhere in the middle. When you dig through the tales and lore, sometimes strange truths make an appearance if you keep your mind open. The factor that keeps them as lore is what the real world calls ‘insufficient evidence’. Whether it be tracks, hair, DNA, or even a body, a lack of satisfying the one thing we 28

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can quantify, our physical senses, leaves beasts like the Jersey Devil under the dark cover of myth. In Man and Beast in American Comic Legend, folklorist Richard Dorson outlines a six-point criteria for establishing distinction among legendary creatures of American folklore. Dorson specifies that the qualifier must exist in oral tradition, inspire belief and conviction, become personalized and institutionalized, is fanciful or mythical and contain a “comical side,” which endears it to the American public. Accounts of the Jersey Devil predate printed works such as newspaper accounts, and belief in the creature persists today in culture and on shows such as In Search of Monsters. Skeptics believe the Jersey Devil to be nothing more than a creation of early English settlers, similar to boogeyman stories created and told by bored Pine Barren residents; the byproduct of the historical local disdain for the historic Leeds family; the misidentification of known animals; and rumors based on biased perceptions of the local rural population of the Pine Barren (known as Piney’s). But just how deep does this strange legend really go? Have people really seen the Jersey Devil? For witnesses, the answer is a disturbing yes.

ne such reported account was given to the television show, “In Search of Monsters”. A man, fishing in the deep wilderness of the Pine Barrens, was watching a herd of deer relaxing and nibbling on the foliage. The day was still, calm. The odd bird barely made a noise in the whispers of the breeze. No other animals seemed near that day, but something was out of line with nature’s force. A crack of branches, a sudden stirring. The deer were alert. Ears perked as another presence made itself known. A new smell on the wind as it tickled the deer’s noses. Another snap of

a stick, a black shape shifting, moving in the woods beside them – watching. Another predator was breathing in the dense woods. And then… an explosion. A burst of speed and blur and wings blew out of the trees like a firecracker. As the fisherman watched the deer run for their lives, trampling the earth to get away from the incoming assault, the man saw what he described as a large black creature with a horse-like head. However, it was not lunging as a horse would gallop, with its shoulders and muscles undulating as it ran; instead, it flew. It glided forward with lightning speed as if it were an arrow hunting its mark. Its feet never seemed to touch the ground as it pursued its prey with focus and fervor, the herd of herbivores running, hearts pounding, through the woods and disappearing with their predator into the deep dark of the Pine Barrens.

any trace the history back as far as 1736, when a tale began that gave the Jersey Devil another nickname still heard today: The Leeds Devil, birthed from a woman known now as Deborah Leeds or “Mother Leeds” in the old stories.

“Most of us know the legend well, a story re-told in the film Rosemary’s Baby.” A woman gives birth to a cursed child, which becomes a demon or a devil. The tale of Mother Leeds tells of a woman who, upon birthing her 13th child cursed him upon his birth with the words “Let this child be a devil”, upon which it grew to its massive size almost immediately, sprouted wings, screamed, and took off into the Pine Barrens like a dragon unleashed. Historians, however, tell a different tale; Brian Regal, a historian of science at Kean University, contends that “colonial-era political intrigue” involving early New Jersey politicians, Benjamin Franklin, and Franklin’s rival publisher Daniel Leeds (1651–1720) resulted in the Leeds family being described as “monsters”, and it was Daniel Leeds’ negative description as the “Leeds Devil” that created the later legend of the Jersey Devil. Ostracized by his Quaker congregation after his 1687 publication of almanacs containing astrological symbols, cosmology, demonology, occultism and natural magic, Leeds’ fellow Quakers deemed the astrology in these almanacs

as too “pagan”, and the almanacs were censored and destroyed by the local Quaker community. Not giving in to the demands of the local community’s censorship, Leeds was labeled as a traitor for rejecting Quaker beliefs, and they subsequently dismissed Leeds as “evil”. Titan, Daniel’s son, continued his father’s legacy in his own writings and their family crest began to be printed on the almanacs he was publishing. The crest depicted a wyvern; a dragon headed beast with bat-like wings and two clawed feet, eerily reminiscent of the depictions of the Jersey Devil. By the early 1800’s, witnesses were beginning to come forward with accounts of a creature in the woods of which they could not account for. The First Nations people of the area call the Pine Barrens “the place of the dragons” and lends those to wonder just what ‘dragon’ they might be referring to, as they were settled there long before any feuding writers. 1909 marked the height of the Jersey Devil sightings, with newspaper reports doing their best to document the terrified people’s frightening stories. Vigilante groups and hunters roamed the woods in search of the creature, some claiming to have fired upon it with no effect. Even the brother of Napoleon himself, Joseph, claimed to have fired a cannon at a winged beast he could not identify. The cannonball, he later stated, seemed to pass right through the creature leaving it unharmed as it flew on. To this day, affidavits have been presented from police officers, hunters, hikers, and residents all claiming, throughout the years to have been up close and personal with a bat-winged beast in the Pine Barrens of the Garden State, and yet, no photos exist, and no tracks have been cast.

obsolete? Perhaps, instead, we need to take a look at our definition of insufficiency itself. Is insufficiency the end of the story, or is it the beginning of the adventure? Is it the absence of joy, or is it the pinnacle for the beginning of new information? Is the joy in the legend itself, or are we rooted to the idea that we cannot take pleasure or curiosity in the idea until we have a body physically manifested in front of us? Regardless of the Jersey Devil’s place in American history, cryptozoology, and our pop culture, this state demon continues to make its presence known in the Pine Barrens and across the world, sparking terror, imagination, and a pursuit of the grandest curiosity.

Official Sites:

Morgan X

www.entityseeker.ca www.supernaturalcircumstances.com Want to get your claws into more info about the Jersey Devil? Just type into Google* and explore away. You will come across a PlayStation game and an ice hockey team but there are many more rabbit holes for you to explore. *other search engines are available

Jeff Brunner of the Humane Society of New Jersey thinks the sandhill crane is the basis of the Jersey Devil stories, adding, “There are no photographs, no bones, no hard evidence whatsoever, and worst of all, no explanation of its origins that doesn’t require belief in the supernatural.” However, perhaps both legend and belief are the point. While we tend to see non-physical as a pre-requisite for something being “fake”, this flawed belief often creates a mental pitfall; If something is not physical, then it must not be real. Scientifically, we know this is simply not true. Many things are not physical, and yet are still studied and accepted. Does insufficient evidence of the Jersey Devil make its existence HAUNTED MAGAZINE

ROCK OF AGES

The Haunting Stone Circles of Beaghmore & Ballynoe Photo: Dad on Ballynoe

By Charlie Hall, The Musical Medium

tone circles have always fascinated me and as a child I envisaged them being magical places of conjuring, rituals, chanting and dancing. I found them exciting and a little unnerving and wished I could be a part of something in one of them someday, (just not as the sacrifice!!). The exact purpose that they were constructed for is unknown, but historical research, artefacts and evidence suggests the main use was for worship, communal and ceremonial events and for the burial of important people. In ancient times of Ireland some thought stone circles to be delivery portals for mythical beings and said the stones awaken at night, so I decided to visit two of Northern Ireland’s greatest circle locations, Beaghmore and Ballynoe. Hidden away in a remote area outside of Cookstown, Beaghmore is one of the country’s most haunting mystical sites. On the edge of the Sperrin Mountains, this early bronze age setting of impressive megalithic formations, consists of 7 stone circles with 12 burial cairns, (mounds for the inhumed or cremated) and 10 stone alignments, all but one circle are paired and each with a cairn in between. Being the cornerstone of much folklore, the number 7 represents a connection to the universe, spiritually and philosophically as well as relating to lunar

phases and astrology. It is a widely used number, 7 notes in a scale, 7 deadly sins, 7 days of the week, that most religions and cultures believe to be divine. Beaghmore began in a woodland environment of oak, birch, and hazel trees, reflected in the name which translates to ‘Place of birch trees’. The trees were cleared by Neolithic clans, who utilised it for cultivation and grazing livestock. Discovered in the late 1930’s by peat farmers who noticed the arrangements after revealing around 1300 stones and consulted experts.

“The investigations suggested that the circles and cairns were constructed approximately 2000 – 1200 BC and are one of the largest and most significant stone complexes of its kind, with much still hidden in the peat waiting to be unearthed.” The construction of it represents substantial organisation and endeavour, indicating that it was a place of great importance to the folk that created it by providing a way of connecting death and burial to the land and sky and was quite possibly the meeting point for religious and social gatherings. Cremated bones, fragments of human skull HAUNTED MAGAZINE

and partially preserved pieces of spine and limbs proved that the cairns were used for burial purpose. Further excavations between 1945 and 1965 showed signs of ceremonial and ritual activity and saw items such as tools, pottery, and weapons being recovered. Having gotten lost on route, it was definitely worth the wait, and I found myself in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. The panoramic landscape was spectacular, with no one around for miles and a silence so eerie that you could have heard a pin drop, I immediately felt a strong energy resonating from this truly sacred place. It is no surprise that Beaghmore attracts many curious mystics and ghost hunters due to its mysterious layouts and alignments. The stone alignments radiate from the circles in a Northeast direction running to the cairns, three of the rows point to the solstice sunrise and the rest to the moonrise. Probably put up for ritual processions as well as calendrical indicators that could warn onlookers that winter solstice was close. Four of the cairns contained cremated human remains, three of which were placed in pits lined with stone known as cists. The biggest cairn held within an enclosed oak tree branch, whilst a porcellanite axe was located in a smaller one and a hearth with charcoal, flints, and Neolithic bowls in another.

Photo: Ballynoe Circle and Mound

Photo: Mountains of Mourne

Photo: Offerings

Photo: P of O

Photo: Burial Cairn

Approaching the second set of circles, a female spirit appeared with long hair, shawl and a brown dress, I smiled and said hello, she looked over inquisitively but remained silent so I continued to the neighbouring section where there was a much more distinguished circle, that I now know to be called The Dragons Teeth. Named after a mythological tale about dragon’s teeth being planted and grown into soldiers, the unusual circle stands alone with taller enclosing rocks than the others and is filled with over 800 smaller adjacent stones. I started to hear a child quietly singing, then to my surprise I saw three seemingly happy spirit children playing in and around it but got a very odd and uneasy feeling that I could not explain. I later found out upon researching the site that remains of buried children were allegedly uncovered within this circle and visitors have reported sounds of children’s weeping and laughter. Others claimed having physical sensations especially on their hands, seeing lights near the circle entrance and hearing voices. Several people pendulum dowsing there noted anticlockwise spinning, (feminine energy), at the dragon’s teeth and clockwise spinning, (male energy), opposite where there are three large boulders supposedly HAUNTED MAGAZINE

placed in a certain configuration forming a doorway, that according to local legend acts as a portal to another world. People have commented on seeing strange, charred patches on the surrounding grass by these stones but with no valid explanation. My druid dad Clive (Culbertson), once told me that his Old Gaelic Order teacher Ben MacBrady, said that people needed to learn to be walking standing stones as they bring energy from the earth, give it to the sky and the sky gives it back down to the earth, thus believing in some form of untapped energy or magic within these stones. Being a renowned dark sky area, it is a perfect spot for viewing stars and was a featured location for BBC’s Stargazing live. Astronomers theorised that the layout could symbolise comets due to the natives yearning to link with the sky above. Some say that the circles could also map out particular constellations and may have acted as an observatory for solar, lunar, and celestial events. In recent times someone documented experiencing a time lapse when sky watching and found a fairy tree nearby, whilst a student on a field trip described feeling drawn into the nearby woods and seeing legs in the trees like a person was standing up above and immediately ran off petrified.

Photo: Portal

“Walking towards the last pair of circles I heard someone chanting, as we got nearer, I saw a dark haired, older male spirit by the cairn, in a robe with a shoulder drape. I stopped out of respect as I somehow felt that he was of importance, a chief or leader perhaps, he turned his head slowly, looking at me whilst chanting, then acknowledged me with a nod and faded away.” The right-hand circle had two larger stone entrance pillars and a very powerful energy that myself and my dad could see radiating from the stones. Considering this and the chieftain’s presence he felt it a great place to do a Druidic rite. Dad chanted in English and Gaelic, giving thanks to the sun god, asking for their blessings and to send light and power to illuminate and awaken us. We inhaled the sun’s rays and sent peace to the four directions (NSEW). Upon closing our ceremony there was a deep sense of peace and belonging to this mesmerising place, even though so much of it is still unknown. Ballynoe is just as spectacular on a smaller scale, with a large circle and mound that can hold at least 150 people. Situated

in Downpatrick it dates from the late Neolithic period and has a magnificent view of the pyramid looking Mountains of Mourne, which are known as the real-life Narnia, due to author CS Lewis basing his land of Narnia there. The plot has a beautiful entrance path, with a stunning surrounding tunnel of trees and foliage. Once known as the cow trail leading from the road to the circle field, now an enchanting passage of offerings baring all sorts of gifts for the gods, including decorated pebbles, toys, fairy doors, shells, runes, wind chimes and ribbons. It is a very peaceful and humbling feeling walking through and has an immense spiritual energy that envelops you. The circle entrance has Northwest calendrical and cardinal alignments, specifically to the sun set at the vernal equinox. It is a huge space made of many local stones and huge boulders in ordovician granite and silurian grit. Some of the stones have puzzling round, cupmark depressions ground into them which have been theorised to symbolise the breasts of the mother goddess/sun god, in religious and magical ceremonies. In 1937 excavations revealed remains of several cremations and some stone tools in the cists, during which cremated bones of a young male and possibly two females were recovered in a segmented chamber. In a bronze age mound inside the circle HAUNTED MAGAZINE

two rectangular graves were found and some wondered if the surrounding stones may be the grave of a dead giant. Near the mound cairn sacred meteoric rocks, (baetyls), were found that are said to give access to the gods. A cairn with a passage tomb also contained burial remnants and a decorated Carrowkeel ware rimsherd of pottery. The amazing mountain view there is other worldly and the sun casts some astounding shadows across the stones. As I wandered around taking pictures, dad climbed the circle mound to be nearer the sky and chanted to the gods. The atmosphere became heavy and electrically charged and a beautiful cloud mass expanded above him, was quite a surreal occurrence. I love hearing of the exciting discoveries at these places, so much exhilarating history and customary knowledge to be learned, it’s so gratifying. I respect and admire our ritualistic ancestors of the past, with their beliefs in greater things and the importance of connection with each other, spirit and the universe, attributes that we seem to have lost but will instinctively find again one day. I will return to these wonderful places in the future to further investigate and hope to catch a glimpse of some cosmic dark sky phenomenon.

Charlie X

TAMAR NEWTON AND SPITEFUL GRAVES

MALICE

IN ‘UNDER’LAND

Humans are malicious.Observations on animals have shown animals to be vengeful but not spiteful. The difference?

he difference between spite and vengeance is that spite is ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; a desire to vex or injure; petty malice; grudge; rancour while vengeance is revenge taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong. The graves you are about to read about show true spite and vengefulness so powerful that those interred took their malice into the grave but weren’t happy to end it there. Such is the nature of a truly glorious grievance. You might be dead but you can still harbour and fester a grudge, and more importantly, let this immortal outrage be known to your enemy even after your demise. You somehow think it’s what they would want, such a dull drizzly ending to such an outrageous cruelty and cunningly fought battle to just suddenly expire over a midmorning cocoa on a Wednesday morning when both parties had planned so much

more. Such enmity can only be applauded. Unless you were someone who just wanted a quiet life and thought their troubles were over with the funeral service of someone who really knew how to hate. Those who died with malice in their heart maybe cannot bear the thought of those who might have driven them to an impromptu grave still gaily residing about their everyday existence. If only there was a way of curtailing the frolics of the alive and despised, despite the slightly unfortunate aspect of mouldering six feet below. These people knew.

Gravestone - St Bartholomew’s Church, Chipping This is a tragic tale, but which also pleasingly includes pubs and ghosts as well as cool clothes, sex, death, malice and a double betrayal. A bit like Eastenders but with more ghosts. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

izzie Dean was, in the year of her demise in 1835, a pretty, young scullery maid who resided in the Sun Inn in the Lancashire village of Chipping and was known for her bright attire and pleasant nature. Then pretty, sweet young girl meets a cad and a bounder. It is an age-old tale that never ends well. Lovely Lizzie met a local lad, a man of means, he was charming and debonair (no, Lizzie, don’t even go there!) who told her many wonderful things about herself, made her feel special, more than just a wench to light a fire, wash jugs and clean pans. She was born for better things and with him, she felt safe, knew a whole new life was around the corner where maybe she would be the one in control, could wake up to a roaring fire that somebody else had made, hands less dry and cracked, her pretty eyes less tired, proper candles, a proper family. She just knew it. And then it happened! A proposal! Everything was going to be so different

now, think of all the multi-hued colours she could now wear, the hats, the wedding, the future. But charming lads are charming, some things do not change through the centuries and weddings take a long time to organise. Charming lads are handsome, charming lads have their ways. It was so important for her to keep her virtue but then again, she was practically married, practically. Surely nothing would happen? Once her ‘fiancé’ had had his way with her, suddenly a change of heart. He no longer wanted to marry such a charming young thing but instead soon afterwards decided that Lizzie’s best friend was the one for him. Despite Lizzie’s desperate entreaties to the both of them, they became engaged. Young Lizzie, virtueless, poor and heartbroken had lost everything and everyone she held dear to her heart. And worse, saw it given to another.

t was the day of the wedding, the day that should have been hers. Maybe if Facebook had been invented, Lizzie could have resorted to some cutting memes and received some calming ‘u ok huns? ‘ to pacify her utter bereftness and fury.

A dark blustery November morning, November 5th, a date of passion, excitement, brightness and death. She walked up the stairs to the attic room of the pub overlooking the church and hanged herself. She carried a note with her. It said, ‘I want to be buried at the entrance to the church so my lover and my best friend will have to walk past my grave every time they go to church.’ Such romance, such spite, such a guilty admiration. Surprisingly for a suicide, her grave lies in the churchyard and buried under an ancient Yew tree. According to legend, the reason she is still unrestful is the fact that her grave was not in the required position, close enough to the footfall of those who loved her and betrayed her. Thus, she is said to still stalk the rooms of the Sun Inn and is still said HAUNTED MAGAZINE

to be very pretty. And dressed in very colourful clothes. Another source says that she cursed her ex-lover and wished their children to be born deaf and mute and thus was the case but nothing has been found to give this pleasingly Biblical legend credence. There is frustratingly little evidence as to her cruel lover and friend and their reactions to her deed. Did they turn their heads in shame or sneer and laugh at the brightly dressed girl with ideas above her station? And what of their children? History lies silent again. Unlike the ghost of Lizzie. If only she had been able to watch Carrie instead to get some more vengeful ideas. To hurt the hurter, to burn the church down instead of requesting to be meekly laid beside it. To run away somewhere, bearing the best and brightest silk dresses she could lay her hands on, the best silver candlesticks hidden beneath her layers. To be someone. Or to die whilst attempting to be somebody. In one way History has the last laugh. Her intended and his wife have forever vanished into history.

“Lizzie still speaks. Lizzie is still seen, still beautiful and still bright with her story that resonates through centuries.“ I went there to look for her grave. I could not find it. The small attic windows of the Sun Inn looked over me as I wandered around in vain, the church was closed, the day dying, single trees silhouetted against the sky. I thought to ask at the pub itself and despite its antiquity and having a dining room dedicated to Lizzie (such a privilege for a scullery maid, definitely not using her demise and ungodly resurrection for a certain fame) was filled with men, maybe some were of the type that Lizzie once thought could tame. Hunters, noisy and all dressed for a killing. I left. I had so far not been able to find the church records or indeed any other historical recordings of the date in question for such a surprising day of death and burial which does tend to make one wonder as to whether history may have been romanticised somewhat.

But then, an interesting thing. A look at the Parish Records of Chipping. Burial: 9 Nov 1835 St Bartholomew, Chipping, Lancs. Elizabeth Dean Age: 19 Abode: Chipping Buried by: E. Wilkinson, Vicar Register: Burials 1813 - 1853 from the Bishop’s Transcripts, Page 119, Entry 950 Source: LDS Film 1514321 A quick funeral, perchance because of the occasion of it, suicides were not ‘approved of’ in these times. The pleasure of breaking through history in such a small way is tainted by the fact that this girl really did live and thus may well have died in such a tragic desperate fashion (as opposed to all the other far more pleasant manners of dying). The recorded marriages of St Bartholomew’s of the time period, however, do not match up with the alleged suicide of Lizzie. The closest marriage before the date of her death was on the fifth of October and related to a widower re-marrying which does not fit the narrative of such a young cad and bounder. Maybe it was a desperate narrative spun to excuse the horror of self-murder. Maybe Lizzie never committed suicide at all but a pretty young thing suddenly expiring from all the things that a hearty young girl could suddenly expire from, became a different rumour, something more of an alluring tale as it was repeated and embellished over the years, decades and eventually centuries. Something of a second death for Lizzie Dean, the death for now no reason and no romance, no spite.

The Peat Cutters Grave

ccording to the Grantham’s excellent website detailing unconsecrated graves, two neighbouring farmers on a windy fell near Lancaster were at war due to one farmer cutting more than the allowed forty cartloads. Outrageous and sacrosanct actions like this become things to dwell over, to worry and fury over during long cold winter nights. Sleep is ruptured. Bitterness grows stronger. The beauty of the fells is despoiled, only injustice can be seen now, not the brilliance of a winter sunrise. Eye and heart become tainted, inward, looking for the taunt of the neighbour, not the horizon. The wronged farmer found out he was not long for the world, found he was going to die, yet co still could not let matters lie. Of his mourning family, he refused to think, of never seeing another Christmas day dawn over the quiet

lavender hued moors, no. He did not think about that. He did not think about the horror or pain of death. Or maybe as a human, a stupid mortal human who struggles with immortality, he focused on one thing and one thing only to stop himself thinking about anything else, anything important or worrying like his imminent demise. He hated the fact that his neighbour, the peat stealing monster would still be alive, smirking, still cutting illicit peat as he mouldered silently and furiously below. When the time came for his certain demise, he did not seek sanctuary in the civilised peace of a local country graveyard, soft turf, and iron gate, the peal of anciently cast bells every Sunday, the old bones of his family and friends gently turning to dust alongside him. He requested to be buried upwards in one of his own fields, facing the path his enemy had to use. At least the sorrow of dying was interjected with the pleasure of knowing his neighbour would have to face his lonely grave and face the grave injustices he had inflicted on his dead neighbour. Every single day. I hope the peat thief turned nervously at a sudden gust of wind, a strange cawing, a sudden billow of Something in the distance. Always in the direction of the hideous blasphemy of the standing up skeleton in unconsecrated land who HAUNTED MAGAZINE

somehow, the farmer thought, was always looking at him. I hope these good dead smiled as they died. And footsteps slowed and heads were turned by those who did them wrong. You can stay in luxurious converted barns at neighbouring Rooten Brook farm. Was this the enemy? It is historically known as a Quaker home, a gentle religion not known for their fire and brimstone. However, there is an interesting story of valour related to the premises as in 1687, 54-year-old Jennet Cragg rode singlehandedly to London on her own, not an easy ride in those times, on those roads and as a single quite old woman for her time. Her mission was to retrieve her orphaned grandchildren from an uncertain fate and bring them in her horse’s panniers to a safe home. A beautiful Quaker burial ground lies nearby, simple and restful, no fancy script, no manner of deaths, just names and dates in a quiet corner of the world, nothing to show the passing of time. No spite here.

Joseph Thompson, Workington, Cumbria- a tale of two tales and two graves Tale 1: Joseph’s actual burial place was in the middle of a field, sources defer

road close to a clump of trees half a mile from the Harrington junction. The actual grave lies in the middle of the field over the hedge. CHECK OUT MORE UNCONSECRATED GRAVES http://www. thegranthams.co.uk/ paul/graves/

as to whether it was his own field or in the middle of the moor at Scaw. A plain unembellished slab once lay there in the middle of this stark field near the howling gusts of the isolated Northwest coast. The weather stays the same throughout the centuries. His stone did not. Joseph Thompson may here be found Who would not ly in consecrated ground Died May ye 31st 1745 Aged 63 when he was alive Joseph had intended through spite for this resting place to be so, intended to be interred away from the consecrated ground of his church, from the place of holiness that had treated him so badly. Even in rest, his wishes were not kept to. His stone was moved because it interfered with the cultivation of the moor, placed by a road. Progress has always been more important than people. From the road junction in High Harrington a minor road (known locally as Scaw Road) leads northeast to join the main A596. The headstone lies on the left-hand side of this

His body still lies ignored and forgotten somewhere in the midst of a field. Nothing ever went well for Joseph Thompson. He was known for being an eccentric figure. He had the unusual skill of the time in the mid eighteenth century, for a farmer in a far-flung inhospitable area of being able to read. An overconfident old soul was Joseph. Proud of his abilities and keen to show them off or merely in spite, whilst the anxious clerk in church on a Sunday was reading his lines, he quickly and loudly read aloud the words the actual clerk was about to carefully enunciate before the poor man was able to do it himself. He was keen to be a victor in a race the other participant had no interest in winning. We have all worked with people like Joseph before. This was a time before unions and disciplinary procedures, a time before Human Resource Managers. The clerk had had enough of his careful writing being quickly spoken by some rough farmer. His gentle blood was up. He was being mocked, his words not his anymore, but muffled in Cumbrian canter, too quick and too rough to be understood but of enough significance as to ruin his speech, a ‘spoiler’ in the mid eighteenth century. One Sunday, one more outrage, the scruffy head of the farmer over his shoulder, reading so quickly and badly the words he laboured to write, the words he considered so carefully how to speak, the enunciation of certain words to really make the congregation stop and pause, to reflect HAUNTED MAGAZINE

awhile upon pastoral matters, rather than the mundane. This was his job, his livelihood but the farmer so close he could smell his breath, the sanctity ruined, the labours of speech and cadence ruined by that rough quick muttering and mocking burr.

“By somebody no better than he should be! What would you do in this situation? Reader, he slapped him.” Slapped him right across his smirking ruddy face in the midst of a stunned, no doubt delighted, furiously gossiping church and then he finally talked over him and before him. ... ‘Thee clerk or me clerk’. A furious Joseph was out for vengeance. He complained to the vicar, but the church can be and certainly was in those times a closed place. Nobody was going to chastise the clerk against some upstart rebel farmer with ideas above his station. An upstart rebel farmer with ideas above his station and a furious nature. ‘If I cannot please myself I shall come no more to your church’ were the last words spoken on consecrated grounds by Joseph. When his body started to fail and he knew his time had come, the horror of being taken back to the church, the place of his humiliation was absolute. He requested his body to be buried at midnight, in a bleak unconsecrated place in a time of darkness not light and sanctity. No readings, no sermons. He was dying but knew how he wanted the manner of his death. His anger at the church and the way they treated his helpful readings, the way they dismissed his fury at the way he had been treated, like a nagging wife! They were never going to get his body or his soul. Thus lies Joseph, No stone, no faith, just bones and ancient enmity. Tale 2: This is another version from a different source of Joseph and his antipathy towards the church, (from Curious tales of Workington) This time his thumb is more prominent. Yes, his thumb. It is said that back in 1744, the farmer suffered a slight farm related injury causing a festering swollen thumb, throbbing, engorged and unpleasant to smell (I will refrain from making any obvious joke). The NHS not being available, Joseph resorted to poultices of carrots, puppies, toadstools, and eels along with other less delightful substances but for some reason his condition (gangrene?) did not improve. The local vicar told him to put his affairs in order (‘you will die soon’ ) which is only then when Joseph resorted to a costly visit to a doctor.

The medical opinion was to chop the thumb off (the strong medical opinion at the time was to chop off offending diseased parts or to ensure the weak patient was relieved of more blood). Joseph duly consented to the first, keeping the thumb in his pocket, it was a costly thumb after all. Why waste it? We all know people like Joseph. In this story, Joseph still had faith in his church and decided his thumb should be buried in the sacred ground where the rest of him would one day lie. The vicar and his clerk did not like the idea of burying a thumb and it was then that the unholy argument of the first legend became to be. Joseph in this story is still a stubborn pig hearted man and persuaded his long-suffering wife to secretly bury the thumb in the graveyard. One can only imagine the arguments incurred after such an unreasonable request, number one being ‘bury your own damn thumb!’ An uncommon phrase in most arguments to be fair so maybe the novelty aspect won. But yet still Joseph complained, oh how he complained, oh how the place where his thumb should be, ached so hideously, oh the pins and needles in his dear departed thumb. Oh, how his entire body ached so! Rather than do the obvious thing and cut off his head and halt all lamentations, his long-suffering wife consented to going back to the graveyard and finding the severed thumb. A miraculous feat in the days

before torches on mobile phones, a miraculous feat even now with them. He stopped moaning once he had his odorous thumb back from the grave (and she had a tale to tell to other embittered wives whilst rolling her eyes) but his anger towards the church had not dissipated and we go back to the first version where he asks to be buried in unconsecrated ground, with his dearly beloved blackened severed thumb beside him. History does not relate what his wife related back to him or where she hopefully peacefully resides with all digits intact and free from outrageous thumb related demands.

A lonely, murdered souls grave that is passive aggressive rather than spiteful Poor old Joseph Glendowing, murdered near Workington and the stone cutter made his death seem a slight irritation that his murderers might well have forgotten. We’ve all had nights like this. Is this a first mention of bowels on a gravestone? It should be because bowels have the intrinsic snigger aspect especially when a dead person is sad because they are all broken. There are no cries for a vengeful God to smite the murderer dead, just a sad lamentation of the unfortunate way they died like a post it note in a shared fridge sorrowfully reminding people to please not use the special gluten free bread.

Joseph Glendowing 1808 Murdered near this town June 15, 1808 His murderers were never discovered. You villains! If this stone you see Remember that you murdered me You bruised my head and pierced my heart Also my bowels did suffer part Imagine the situation. It’s 1808, you’ve been to your favourite hostelry again, stagger through the graveyard, need to unleash that gallon of ale, your breeches are pulled down, you swear you will never do this again, how long have you been staggering home now? You swore this would never happen again a few months ago when you woke up covered in a gory matter, must have stepped in a badger again. A suitable place to piss. The headstone looms ahead of you. You lean in... read, a sudden recollection. Some strange fury from nowhere due to vaguely chastising remarks. A sudden remembrance of head bruising, heart piercing, bowels suffering partly. You turn around, leave. People remark on what a reformed person you are, how you do not go the alehouse anymore but how nervous you seem when you leave the church service. How pale you are nowadays. At the time of writing, nothing else can be found on poor Joseph Glendowing.

Tamar x

JUST WHO IS TAMAR NEWTON? Tamar is just an everyday sort of person who looks relatively normal on the outside, although does have a penchant for a charity shop frock coat. Her interests lie in history and folklore, especially the darker side. She loves a good graveyard, the older the better, a good ghost story and searching for the forgotten history and facts behind old stories and mythologies. Tamar lives within sight of Lancaster Castle and at the time of writing currently has a black cat sitting on her knee. She has spent most of her life writing, particularly about the stories and ghosts behind gravestones. She loves unearthing old stories about alleged witches, cursed stones and ghostly phantoms then digging deeper to find out more, to research more, then fall down into a rabbit hole of history and legend. Tamar is a fan of MR James and vegan sausage rolls.

HAUNTED MAGAZINE

By Lorien Jones

s I explore the many historic buildings around England, I’m beginning to realise that I have a favourite type. And that’s not to specify or single out castles or pubs or churches. All of these could fall under my favourite explores, as does this property that you are about to discover. For this, we venture into the bustling West Midlands city of Wolverhampton. The rich industrial history of the area, particularly in coal mining and steel production, provides the longused title of The Black Country. Still well known as an engineering city, the historical diversity can be seen in many ways, architecturally especially. Existing buildings, including St Peter’s Collegiate Church, date as far back as the 13th Century and we will explore one such building now. Driving south of the city centre into the suburbs, you are surrounded by a mix of eras. Victorian houses lead on to 1930s styles which neighbour up to much more modern builds. Driving down Carlton Road, you begin to wonder if you’re in the right place. It’s a normal residential street, tree lined and not overly populated, but no sign of an ancient hall or even where one might exist. Against HAUNTED MAGAZINE

the darkening sky, you see yourself coming to a dead end of trees and pause to plan the next move. Upon closer inspection, you realise that the dead end is in fact the entrance to two further properties, both gated driveways. The left bears no signs of a hall, and as you look to the right, your heart skips a beat as you read, crafted into the old iron gates, ‘Graiseley Old Hall’. Setting foot on the driveway, tall trees behave in the way I love and seem to close you in and close the world out. And with that, this instantly becomes one of my favourite types of properties. You’ve stepped over some unseen threshold, and you feel it. The modern world is back there on Carlton Road with its building works and schedules, and suddenly you’re somewhere else, you’ve been welcomed into some other ether. Time loses meaning here, and you are free to embrace this taste of the past at your leisure. Passing through the gardens, you look up to see Graiseley Old Hall in all her glory. Thought to have been built around 1485 by Nicholas Rydley, there is a belief that an older property once existed here but let that matter not for what you can see is history enough!

he building you see before you now very much remains in the same state it has done for hundreds of years, but at one time, the exterior would have looked very different. Cast your mind to the medieval timber buildings and you can imagine how Graiseley would have looked? The building was strengthened and updated by John Jesson who lived, and died, at the hall in the 17th into 18th centuries. Jesson replaced the wooden structure with brick, giving the old hall a new, updated look. The surrounding land would have once appeared very different, farm buildings occupied large areas and the entire property was surrounded by a moat to ward off cattle thieves. But the present version feels much more intimate. You feel invited in, welcomed with an air of caution. Almost like being in the headmaster’s office at school. Curiosity and awe fill your senses with enough of a knowing not to overstep the mark. That’s how this house makes you feel. You look up at the beautifully ornate windows and feel a thousand eyes looking down on you. Every haunted building now seems to have this effect from the outside, the more you explore, the more you feel it, but this house feels especially busy. Stepping through the heavy, dark-wood front door brings the history rushing at you. You stop for a minute and take in the atmosphere. The smell so often found in older properties is hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it before, and once you do, you appreciate it every time. It brings the same feelings as a heavy leatherbound book, full of substance and life. So many stories waiting to be told. You pass on through into the hallway, the place of an unexplained incident that led to the hall being nicknamed ‘The House That Cries’. Over the past decade, a handful of separate occurrences have taken place that are yet to be suitably explained. A small pool of water has appeared in the same place for no obvious reason. On one instance, this was witnessed by the owner and visitors. Water dripped from a beam, the source

was searched for to no avail, and upon return several minutes later, the beam was completely dry. Opinions have been given but none seem to provide a plausible explanation. Beams in the ceiling came from old ship timbers and some of the decorative wood came from nearby, and equally as ancient, St Peter’s Church. This was done during historic restoration work by George Green. Whilst taking in the beautiful woodwork that surrounds you, a chill suddenly runs down your spine as if caused by a draft of someone hurrying by. You turn, preparing to apologise for being in the way but find yourself alone. A faint smell of baking bread carries through the air, and you wonder if you are not alone in the house. Hearing hushed voices coming from the parlour, you walk through in anticipation of meeting other guests. The large room centres around a grand, elaborate fireplace of wood, stone and decorative brickwork. There are ancient tapestries adorning the walls and other antiquities to pore over. But to your surprise the room is empty, and you question whether you were mistaken. Rain begins to slowly patter against the thin windowpanes, and you enjoy the comforting ambience of the room. As you examine all it has to offer, you begin to feel drowsy. Your vision becomes hazy, and the woozy feeling makes you feel a little unwell. You sit in one of the vintage, plush armchairs scattered with feather pillows and relish in the comfort it brings. You close your eyes for a second to try and rid yourself of the fogginess you feel. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

The sound of the rain is soothing, you have always appreciated the calm it brings. The wind is starting to pick up and you hear a fire begin to crackle in the hearth. You have the rest of the house to explore, but you take a minute to enjoy this repose. Suddenly, an enraged shout pulls you from your respite. You open your eyes but struggle to see. The room is much darker than it was just moments ago. A fire is now dimly glowing, waiting to be tended to. Around you, candles flicker and shadows dance across the walls. The room is much colder than it just was, causing you to shiver. Rising to search for the light switch, you find that there are none. Small footsteps run across the room above you, but loud conversation leads you back into the entrance hall. Candlelight from wall sconces help to guide you. Despite the darkness, you see a small face and hands on the stairs peeping through the spindles. With a giggle, they vanish. Down the hall to your right, you hear a busy kitchen. The house smells entirely different now, food you don’t quite recognise, wood smoke and tobacco. But you’re drawn to a room you haven’t yet been in, a room where the aggressive talk is emanating from.

“With his head in his hand, you see the master of the house, Walter Rotton, a renowned gambler, with a penchant for cockfighting, and losing Graiseley Old Hall to his gambling debts.”

Pushing back the old door, you walk into a dimly lit room swirling with tobacco smoke. Another fire is glowing, this one also needing more wood. A large table in the centre of the room is scattered with gambling paraphernalia. Pouches spilling coins lay scattered about. Cards in hand, men sit around the table, the tension can be felt in the air. Dice from an earlier game of Hazard are strewn about, one found its way to a groove in the floorboards. A carafe with a little remaining dark liquid twinkles in the candlelight and pewter tankards are never far from the intoxicated men. Pistols lie threateningly on the table and only add to the unease in the room. With his head in his hand, you see the master of the house, Walter Rotton. He is a renowned gambler, with a certain penchant for cockfighting, and is in the throes of losing Graiseley Old Hall to his gambling debts. One of the men at the table scoops up the coins ready to pocket them. Rotton asks for one more game as he lights another cigarette. The fire grows weaker in the grate as men stand around in the shadows watching the inevitable unfold. You leave the room and its fate to get some fresh air. Stepping out into the wet night, you take a deep breath and try to process all that you just witnessed. The night seems much quieter now, and as you look back into the house, you realise the electric lights have returned. The house is bright and still once again. With the rest of the building yet to explore, you wonder what other stories Graiseley Old Hall has to tell….

HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Lorien

**SNEAKY NEXT ISSUE PREVIEW** (Shush, don’t tell everyone...)

THE TANFIELD

POLTERGEIST (as featured on ‘Uncanny’) “Patti’s Story” “When the poltergeist sounds first started, I was curious rather than afraid. I had never been afraid of the dark, having previously lived alone, in the disused attic of an empty Edwardian house, one of a row of empty houses in Wolverhampton town centre. At the beginning of the poltergeist phenomena, the sounds were mundane : amplified tickings, scrapings, tappings. I took no notice of them until they started to become more insistent. The timing of the sounds was theatrical. When I tried to pinpoint the source of these sounds, they would lead me on, when I turned away, they would follow me again. It felt like a game.” Patti Keane

COMING SOON

Haunted Magazine Issue 34 June 2022

#UncannyCommunity

MIKE COVELL’S

CURIOUS CASE OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE AND THE SHOCKING TRUTH BEHIND

THE ALLEGED HAUNTING OF GEOFF MONROE INTRODUCTION

he City of York is said to be one of the most haunted cities in Great Britain, if not the world, boasting a plethora of spectral sightings, with properties playing host to phantom footsteps, ethereal tapping, and full-bodied apparitions of Kings, Queens, Monks, Romans and more. If York takes the title, then the property with the biggest reputation in York has to be the Golden Fleece, which itself boasts several ghostly apparitions. Today, however, we are concentrating on the story of just one, a phantom airman said to be named Geoff Monroe.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

efore we get into the story of “Geoff,” let us first take a brief look at the history of the location as seen through historical primary sources, such as contemporary newspaper accounts, census returns, and historical trade directories. The Golden Fleece Inn was first mentioned in 1503 in a document held in York Archives and it was known as an inn as early as 1656, although it was not officially licensed until 1668, although records survive that show that Richard Booth, was working as a landlord on this site in 1666. Booth had been commissioned to make a number of trade tokens that could be used after the English Civil War on account of their being a lack of money. Ownership at the time was via the nearby Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, and businessmen would stay at the inn, keeping their coach and horses in the rear yard, known as Lady Peckett’s Yard, while they did business down at the hall. In later years the Lord Mayor of York, John Peckett, owned the pub, and this is why the rear yard is named Lady Peckett

Yard, after his wife, Lady Alice Peckett. John Peckett was the Lord Mayor of York during the years 1701 and 1702 and served as the Sheriff of the City in 1695. He married Alice Pawson who became known as Lady Alice Peckett. Lady Alice Peckett died in 1759. It has been claimed that convicted felons on their way to be executed at York Castle/Baile Hill would spend their final night on earth in the Golden Fleece. It is also claimed that those who were executed had their bodies stored in the cellar of the Golden Fleece until they were collected. On Saturday August 17th 1765, The Newcastle Chronicle reported that a black mare was for sale from the Golden Fleece; it listed the sellers as William Laycock, but stated that the horse could be obtained via Mr. Edward Wilson at the Golden Fleece. On Monday November 7th 1803, The Leeds Intelligencer reported on an auction at the Golden Fleece, it listed William Clark as the landlord. The pub had a new landlord when The York Herald, dated Saturday February 16th 1805, reported that Robert Reeves had taken over the property. The History, Directory & Gazetteer of the County of York, by Edward Baines and published in 1823 lists William Schofield as the landlord. On Saturday August 23rd 1828, The York Herald featured an advertisement stating that William Schofield had taken over the pub, he advertised that the property had recently been enlarged, and that it had been partly rebuilt, and that it offered fine well stocked wines and spirits, well aired beds, and good stabling. A similar advertisement appeared in The York Herald, dated Saturday March 5th 1831, when it was advertised that Mr. M. Todd had taken over the property. He advertised stabling and a coach house.

HAUNTED MAGAZINE

On Saturday September 29th 1832, it was announced in The Yorkshire Gazette, that the Golden Fleece was up for sale and was available immediately. On Saturday July 6th 1833, The Yorkshire Gazette reported that the Golden Fleece had been taken over by Thomas Triffitt, who had previously been attached to the Black Horse Inn, Pavement, York. The Hull Packet, dated Friday November 15th 1833, lists Mrs. Triffitt as the landlady at the Golden Fleece Inn, she was involved in an incident where a stranger dropped some money in her pub, and she was eager to find him. Fortunately, the man was found and the money was returned to him. Inquests were also held at the public house, and on Saturday July 12th 1834, The Leeds Intelligencer reported that an inquest had been held on the body of Richard Richardson, a 21 year old, in the service of Mr. Sowray linen, a draper of York. It transpired that on June 16th 1834 the deceased was taken ill with a rash. He had previously been suffering with the cholera, but he said that he had recovered. He bought some of Moorison’s pills, and bought them off Mr. Webb, an innkeeper, taking them in small doses. On the 20th he developed symptoms of smallpox, but declined the help of medical men, and was convinced that the tablets would help cure him. He died a short while later, and on the morning of June 27th a postmortem was undertaken. Dr Belcombe, Dr Wake, Mr. Matterson, and Mr. James Allen, surgeons discovered that there was inflammation of the stomach and bowels, but no one could decide on the cause of death, so a verdict of “Visitation by God” was returned. By Saturday June 1835, The Yorkshire Gazette was featuring advertisements and notices stating that Mr. Thomas Triffitt was running the pub, but tragedy struck during July 1835 when it was announced that Thomas Triffitt had died at the property.

The Leeds Times, dated Saturday July 18th 1835, The York Herald, also dated Saturday July 18th 1835, and The Yorkshire Gazette, also dated that day, all featured a report stating that on the previous Saturday at the Golden Fleece, after a short illness, at the age of 40, Mr. Thomas Triffitt had died.

The case appeared in The Leeds Mercury, dated Thursday July 14th 1859, The Wakefield and West Riding Herald, dated Friday July 15th 1859, The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday July 16th 1859, The York Herald, dated Saturday July 16th 1859 and The Barnsley Chronicle, dated Saturday July 16th 1859.

On Saturday July 25 1835, The York Herald featured a notice stating that Mrs. Elizabeth Triffitt, widow of Thomas Triffitt, wished to thank friends and customers for their help, and custom, during the period, and wanted to inform everyone that the Fleece Inn would remain open for trade, and that she was now taking care of the business.

The 1861 Census shows Edward Warneford residing at the Golden Fleece, Pavement, York, thus: [Class RG9, P3552, F45, P10, GSU543150]

Elizabeth Young took over the pub in 1849 and was assisted by her eldest son, William, and four other employees. Elizabeth Young appeared in The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday June 15th 1850, when it was revealed that two men, named John and Samuel M’Lachlan, had stayed at the inn during the Spring Assizes of 1849, but they had not paid, Elizabeth was hoping to recover the money owed to her, and won the case.

The Golden Fleece, 25 Pavement and Elizabeth Young, appear in the 1851 census, thus: [Class HO107, P2355, F269, P12, GSU87620-87621] Elizabeth Young

Head Innkeeper

William Young

Son Draper

Thomas Foster

Servant / Ostler

Elizabeth Bielby

House Servant

Ann Johnson

House Servant

Teresia Smith

House Servant

William Young, the son of Elizabeth Young, died during November 1856 at the Golden Fleece, he was aged 34 at the time, and it was reported that he was a well-known, wellrespected sportsman, who played around Yorkshire. His death took place on Sunday November 9th 1856, and was reported in The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday November 15th 1856, and The Sheffield Daily Telegraph, dated Wednesday November 19th 1856. His death appears in the British Death Registers, thus: Surname: Young, Forename: William, Age: Year: 1856, Quarter: Dec, District: York, Vol: 9D, Page: 22 Elizabeth Young worked at the pub until Edward Warneford became the landlord, with his tenure appearing in print as early as Saturday May 23rd 1857 in The York Herald. Warneford moved into the property, bringing with him his wife, Fanny, and their young children; Henry, Edward, Fanny, and Frederick. It wasn’t long after the family took over the pub when they were robbed by William Jennings, a 33 year old man.

Edward Warneford

37 Head Innkeeper

Fanny Warneford

33 Wife

Henry Warneford

7 Son Scholar

Edward Warneford

5 Son Scholar

Fanny Warneford

4 Dau Scholar

Frederick J Warneford 2 Son Edwin Warneford

26 Cousin Assistant

Mary Toes

23 House Servant

Elizabeth Belwood

14 House Servant

Mary Grocock

13 Servant / Nurse

A similar case took place in July 1869, when 46 year old Susannah Burns was charged with stealing two dresses belonging to Edward Warneford, on May 31st. The story was reported in The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday July 12th 1862. Tragedy struck in March 1864 when Edward Warneford died, which resulted in the pub being transferred to Joseph Beaumont. Edward’s death appears in the British Death Registers, thus: Surname: Warnefield, Forename: Edward, Age: Year: 1864, Quarter: March, District: York, Vol: 9D, Page: 39 Joseph Beaumont announced that he was running the property with a notice which appeared in The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday April 30th 1864, which stated: FLEECE INN, PAVEMENT, YORK. JOSEPH BEAUMONT begs most respectfully to inform the Public that he has Entered on the above Inn, occupied by the late Mr. Edward Warneford, and intends to keep a superior quality of Wines, Spirits, Ale, &c., and hopes by strict attention to merit a share of Public patronage and support. N.B. – Good Beds, Stabling & C., William Coates took over the running of the property in 1871, and at this point Fanny Warneford, the widow of the deceased Edward Warneford, moved out of the Golden Fleece and went to live in the Yorkshireman Inn. The 1881 Census shows William Coates and his family at the Fleece Inn, Pavement, thus: [Class RG11, P4724, F8, P9, GSU1342142] HAUNTED MAGAZINE

William Coates 57 Head Licensed Victualler Helen Coates 47 Wife Catherine Wilson 20 General Servant (Domestic) William Ashton 46 Visitor Retired Farmer William Coates ran the inn until his death in 1882, his death was registered in the British death Registers thus: Surname: Coates, Forename: William, Age: 58, Year: 1882, Quarter: December, Vol: 9D, Page: 37 After the death of William Coates, his wife Mrs. Helen Coates, took over the inn. Helen Coates was in trouble in April 1887, when The Richmond & Ripon Chronicle, dated Saturday April 9th 1887, reported that she had been summoned for allowing drunkenness. Sergeant Raisbeck was outside the inn on the previous Tuesday afternoon when he saw a drunken man leave a cab and stagger into the inn, when the police officer walked into the inn, the drunken man was sat at the bar with a freshly poured glass of gin. Mrs. Coates stated that her niece had supplied the liquor, but if she had seen it, she would not have allowed it to happen. The charges were dropped when the fine was paid. The 1891 Census shows Helen Coates at the property, now named The Golden Fleece Hotel, Pavement, it appears in the census thus: [Class RG12, P3892, F105, P6, GSU6099002] Helen Coates 50 Head Hotel Keeper Pub Henrietta Coates 23 Niece Barmaid Inn Mary Ann Raftree 24 General Servant Domestic Charles Simpson 28 Servant Ostler Groom The York Herald, dated Tuesday July 14th 1891, lists Mrs. Coates as the landlady of the Golden Fleece. She ran the pub singlehandedly between the years of 1882 and 1892, but then married George Daniel, thus becoming Mrs. Helen Daniel. Their marriage entry in the British registers reads:

Surname: Daniel, Forename: George, Year: 1892, Quarter: September, District: York, Volume: 9D, Page: 65 Surname: Coates, Forename: Helen, Year: 1892, Quarter: September, District: York, Volume: 9D, Page: 65 The Yorkshire Gazette, dated Saturday July 21st 1894, lists Mrs. Daniel as the landlady of the Golden Fleece. From as early as Friday February 17th 1899, The York Herald, was reporting that George Daniel was running the Golden Fleece, he was also a member of the Licensed Victuallers Association. Tragedy struck again at the inn during April 1899 when at the age of 66, Helen Daniel passed away. Her death was announced in The York Herald, dated Thursday April 20th 1899, which stated: DEATHS: DANIEL. – On the 19th inst at the Fleece Hotel, Pavement, York, Helen, the beloved wife of George Daniel, and relict of the late William Coates, aged 66 years. Interment to-morrow (Friday) afternoon: Service at All Saints’ Pavement at 3.15 p.m.: York Cemetery at 4 p.m., Friends please accept this, the only, intimation. Announcements of her death were also published in The Yorkshire Gazette, dated

Saturday April 22nd 1899, and in The York Herald, dated Saturday April 22nd 1899. Her death was registered in the British Registers, thus: Surname: Daniel, Forename: Helen, Age: 66, Year: 1899, Quarter: June, District: York, Vol: 9D, Page: 24 On Saturday May 6th 1899, The York Herald published the following notice with regards to her death, it stated: MRS HELEN DANIEL DECEASED. All persons having claims against the Estate of Mrs HELEN Daniel, late of the Golden Fleece Hotel Pavement in the City of York Innkeeper who died on the 19th APRIL 1899 are requested to forthwith send detailed particulars thereof to the undersigned to whom also all debts are due to the deceased must immediately be paid. The same notice was also later published in The York Herald, on Saturday May 13th 1899. Her husband continued to run the pub until 1905, when Frederick Coates took over. On Tuesday November 16th 1915, The Hull Daily Mail reported that the landlord of the Golden Fleece, Pavement, was summoned for serving intoxicating liquor to two soldiers during prohibited hours, namely at 11.20 a.m. on October 23rd. The landlord was named

Frank Jackson, and he appeared before the magistrates at York on Monday November 15th 1915. The Chief Constable reported that the two men were from Hull and were on leave at the time when they were found to be drinking. The men had been serving at the Front, and after having breakfast at the hotel asked for two beers. There were some legal discussions at the time, and it was felt that while there were a number of laws in place which were relevant, such as The Defence of the Realm Act, there were also a number of amendments which made it unclear what acts or laws have been broken. In the end the chairman decided that the Chief Constable had done the right thing in bringing the case before them, but the charges were dropped, and the case was dismissed. Some books written about the history of the public house in recent years erroneously name the landlord of Frederick Jackson. The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, dated Friday January 13th 1950 reported that the landlord of the Golden Fleece was Olive Rind, aged 42. It transpired that Olive and her husband Jack Rind, aged 44, were found driving in Clitheroe in an unlicensed motor car. According to numerous magazines, books and websites the Golden Fleece is one of the most haunted public houses in York, and boasts and impressive cast of spectral characters.

THE STORY OF GEOFF MONROE

ccording to numerous ghost tours, books, magazines, newspaper articles, paranormal groups, and websites, Canadian Airman named Geoff Monroe is one of the main ghosts that haunts the Golden Fleece. For as long as I can remember I was told this story, it appeared in print in several books, and it appeared in print in several magazines, it was mentioned on several of the York ghost tours, mentioned on several radio shows and podcasts, and made its way into several television shows filmed at the property. One of the earliest editions of Haunted York, by Rupert Matthews, published in 1992 [Pitkin Guides, 1992], does not feature the story or even the location. According to all the stories it is claimed that after a very heavy night of drinking at the pub Mr. Monroe was either pushed, jumped or fell from the window of room four upstairs on the third floor. Guests have reported seeing a dark figure dressed in full military uniform standing over their beds, and they have

reported being woken up by the phantom airman. The story appears to have originated with Jack Currie, who died in October 1996 aged 74. Jack had written a book entitled Jack’s Echoes in the Air, which was published by his widow after his death. Three stories from the book were read out on air on BBC Radio York in May 1998, and since then the story of Geoff Monroe has become well known. The book claimed that Geoff Monroe haunted the landlady, April Keenan, who was the landlady at the Golden Fleece, and then the spirit had followed them to their home when they moved to Quincy, California. All sources that feature this story feature it after 1998. Obviously, such a story would be easy to prove, so I began searching the newspapers that covered York, Yorkshire, and England, but could not find any reference to a death at the pub involving anyone known as Geoff, Jeff, or Geoffrey Monroe/Monro during WWII, before WWII or after WWII. Haunted York, by Rupert Matthews, [History Press, 2009] states simply that the ghost is a Canadian airman named Monroe. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

The Ghosts of York, by Rob Kirkup, [Amberley Publishing, 2012] states that the ghost is called Geoff Monroe, and that he has been seen by guests wearing WWII attire, and often seen looking out of the window of the third floor. Some books, such as Ghostly Encounters: Terrifying Tales of Paranormal Activity, by Jeff Bahr, published in 2013, do not even mention his name, but simply state that he was a “WWII airman who fell to death from a window.” Parapsychology: Ghosts and Hauntings, Robert Young, 2015 states that it was a Canadian Airman who fell or committed suicide. Paranormal books aside, even books on the history of the property include the claim, such as York Pubs, Nathen Amin, [Amberley Publishing, 2016], which names the Canadian Airman as Geoff Monroe. Haunted York, by Vincent Danks, [Halsgrove, 2018] also states that the ghostly airman is named Geoff Monroe.

GOLDEN FLEECE * GEOFF MONROE * THE TRUTH

an you imagine if the name of the ghost was not Geoff Monroe, or a variation on that name? Can you imagine if the story behind him was false? What would that mean for the many researchers, writers, tour guides, publishers, paranormal investigators and mediums that got it wrong? I wanted to get to the bottom of the story, as this is one of the quintessential ghost stories from York, but in doing so it would require a lengthy systematic search of archives around the world, and take in hundreds of documents, but after months of painstaking research, I was able to uncover the truth. Searching the British and Yorkshire death records for the county of York looking for deaths associated with the name “Geoff/ Geoffrey/Jeff/Jeffery Monroe/Monro,” I came across one death during the period for someone named Monroe, and that was for William K Monroe, who was 69 at the time of his death in 1941. There were no other Monroe’s recorded as dying in York between 1939 and 1950. This search involved the Yorkshire death records, the British death records, and was later cross referenced with the death records held on the genealogy site

“Find my Past,” and the genealogy record site “Ancestry.” None of them had any such death taking place in York with the surname of Monroe or Monro other than the previously mentioned record. Next up I searched service records for a Geoff/Geoffrey/Jeff/Jeffery Monroe/Monro who was a Canadian airman stationed in Great Britain during the period. For this search I searched records in the National Archives, but also managed to obtain access to the records of Canadian Royal Air Force, as well as searching the Imperial War Museum, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission archives. None of them showed a Geoff/ Geoffrey/Jeff/Jeffery Monroe/Monro dying in York. Searching the newspaper archives in Britain, America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia failed to turn up a death relating to a Geoff/ Geoffrey/Jeff/Jeffery Monroe/Monro in York during the period in question. With all the archives searched, it was clear that the story of Geoff/Geoffrey/Jeff/Jeffery Monroe/Monro was falsified, a made-up fictional tale, that had been copied and retold, regurgitated and resold time and time again. There was, however, an accident at the pub which illustrates just how much real history is lost while fictional history is created. On Wednesday August 9th 1944, The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer reported that an inquest had been held on the body of Sergeant Air Gunner Gerard Tierney, a 35 year old, from Sun Hill House, Hey Lees, in Oldham. He had been at the Golden Fleece in York when he had accidentally fallen from a window and broke his back. He was subsequently removed from the property to the Military Hospital but died on August 7th. It was stated that Tierney, who had only married ten weeks prior, had served in the army for 11 years before joining the R.A.F. On August 4th he went to bed in a room at the hotel, and the following morning it was revealed that he had fallen out of the bedroom window, down a shaft, through a skylight and dropped a total distance of 19ft 8in.

of Doris Tierney. His service number was 1077613, and he had enlisted with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, serving with 41 Squadron in Group 4. He was buried at Oldham, in the Greenacres Cemetery, Section D, Row 1A, Grave 121. On his gravestone it reads: “On whose soul sweet Jesus, have mercy.” Commonwealth War Graves Commission Grave Registration TIERNEY, Sgt, GERARD, 1077613, R.A.F.(V.R), 7th August 1944. Age 35, Son of William and Mary Tierney, husband of Doris Tierney of Lees, Sec: D, Row: 1A, Grave: 121 His Grave Registration Report Form reads: P.R.G. 121, No and Rank: 1077613 Sgt, Initials, and Name: G. Tierney, Unit: R.A.F.(V.R.), Date of Death: 7.8.44, Details of Grave: C.H. The entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for his grave transcription record reads: 1192/1/A/6 D.1A.121, 1077613 Sergeant G. Tierney, Royal Air Force, 7th August 1944, Age 35, (Cross) On whose soul, Sweet Jesus, have mercy.

His death was registered thus; Surname: Tierney, Forename: Gerard, Age: 35, District: Yorkshire, Sub District: York – East, Year: 1944, Quarter: Sept, Vol: 9C, Page: 798a Records show that Gerard Tierney died on August 7th 1944, and that he was the son of William and Mary Tierney, and husband HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Given that his age at the time of death was 35 in 1944, I went back to look for earlier records and made some interesting discoveries.

The birth of Gerard Tierney was recorded in the first quarter of 1909, but in Oldham, Lancashire, and not in Canada. His birth entry reads: Surname: Tierney, Forename: Gerard, Registration Year: 1909, Registration Quarter: Jan – Feb – March, Registration District: Oldham, Inferred County: Lancashire, Vol: 8D, Page: 594. In the 1911 Census Gerard Tierney is residing with his grandparents and parents at 26 Conduct Street, Oldham, his surname and the surnames of his family are spelt “Tarney,” but this was not uncommon. The entry reads: [Ref: RG14, RDN469, ED17, P24455, 1911] Joseph Woodruff

39 Head

Machel Woodruff 43

Wife

William Tarney

34 Son in Law

Mary Tarney

29 Daughter

Gerard Tarney

G/Son

Annie McAvady

G/Daug

You will remember from the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that the parents of Gerard Tierney were William and Mary, and that when Gerard Tierney was buried he was buried in Oldham Cemetery. All the details match and show that this is the same individual.

The 1939 Register shows Gerard Tierney working in Oldham, Lancashire, working as a grave digger. His details in the register state that he was born on December 25th 1908, and resided at 13 Eric Street, Oldham, with his sister’s Annie, Winifred, Catherine and Mary, and his father, who was the head of the house and named William. You will remember that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission listed that his father was named William also. You will also remember that when Gerard Tierney died he was buried in Oldham. [1939 Register Reference: RG101/4561A] The discovery of the real identity of the airman at the public house has never before been published in relation to the pub; no other book, magazine, or newspaper has brought to light the real identity, but for the first time the mystery is solved. But the story does not end there. During my research I was to discover that several forums with information about

British and Canadian air force crews had listed Gerard Tierney in their discussions, but they all claimed that the airman’s death was “unsolved,” with many claiming that it was a mystery. Could it be that the original story was heard but the name was unsure, and as such the character of Geoff Monroe was created? It appears as though countless writers, researchers, and authors have failed to fact check the story and continue to perpetuate the myth regarding Mr. Monroe. Now, for the first time in writing, we not only solve a British Mystery that has dumbfounded military researchers, but we provide the real name and real story for the ghostly apparition encountered by visitors to York’s most infamous public house.

R.I.P. GERARD TIERNEY

r u o y s ’ t a Wh Pois on?

Percy is given a pill, from Famous Crimes Past & Present.

A drawing of Dr Lamson, from the Penny Illustrated Paper, March 11 1882.

ome years ago, I read on a now defunct internet homepage about London’s spectral world, that a school in Wimbledon had been subjected to a prolonged haunting in the 1880s and 1890s: a crippled boy who had been one of the students at this establishment had been deliberately poisoned to death and expired in great agony. Soon after, the other pupils saw his ghost and heard the whirr of his spectral wheelchair. Not unnaturally, they demanded to leave the school at the earliest opportunity, and the parents were also reluctant to keep their children at such a sinister establishment. The headmaster vainly tried to convince them that there were no longer any poisoners at the school, dosing the boys with noxious chemicals, but the pupils all left, and the murder school was closed down as a result. The ruined former headmaster had to become assistant in a shoe shop, selling footwear to the boys he had once taught; he eventually died mysteriously himself, being swept out to sea while bathing and drowning miserably. But was there any truth to this story, which at first seemed too good to be true? Yes there certainly was! George Henry Lamson came from a respectable American family. His father was Rector of the American Episcopal Church in Paris, and George soon became perfectly bilingual; he graduated from his French school in the late 1860s, and went on to become a medical student, making excellent progress at the great Paris teaching hospitals. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the Rev. Mr Lamson became Chaplain to the American Ambulance, and George, who had studied medicine for several years in spite of his youth, became dresser to Dr John Swinburne. Both of them distinguished themselves throughout the HAUNTED MAGAZINE

war, and remained in Paris during the Commune, before moving to Ventnor in the Isle of Wight to join the remainder of the Lamson family. After graduating as a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, he set up a practice in the State of New York, but it did not flourish. After his adventurous father had got involved in the Balkan wars of independence, George joined him in Serbia and Romania, being twice decorated for his valiant service at the military hospitals.

fter passing his final medical examinations in 1878, and obtaining a licence to practice in Britain, George Henry Lamson settled down in Rotherfield, Sussex, taking the large house Horse Grove for his practice, marrying Miss Kate George John in 1878 and fathering a daughter. He also gained two ailing brothers-inlaw, Hubert John who was afflicted with tuberculosis and Percy Malcolm John who suffered from severe scoliosis of the back, and lived at Blenheim House, a boarding school in Wimbledon. In June 1879, there was a jolly family gathering at Horse Grove, with Hubert John coming to visit. Although Hubert was far from well, he was obviously capable of locomotion and fit enough to travel. There was tragedy when Hubert died suddenly and mysteriously during this visit. George Henry Lamson wrote his death certificate, giving the cause of death as pulmonary consumption and amyloid degeneration. As a result of Hubert’s demise while still a minor, Mrs Kate Lamson inherited £479 in India Stocks and £269 in Consols, money that went into the Doctor’s pockets since there was no Married Women’s Property Act back in 1879. Delighted to have got his hands on some hard cash, he soon spent much of it on his various amusements.

Albeit an excellent military surgeon, George Henry Lamson found rural general practice pointless and dull. He was fond of travel and holidays and had a firm dislike for hard graft and honest toil. Since his bedside manner was far from the best, the locals found him flippant, inattentive and unreliable. He often showed his contempt for the trivial complaints he was presented with. After his position in Rotherfield had become untenable, he spent the remainder of Mrs Lamson’s inheritance to buy another practice in Bournemouth. The problem was that Dr Lamson had become addicted to morphine during his years as a military surgeon, and that with time, this addiction escalated out of control. He became incapable of running his practice, claimed medical degrees and military decorations to which he was not entitled, and circulated libellous statements about the wife of a friend of his. A bad businessman, he accumulated considerable debts and eventually had to flee Bournemouth in disgrace as a bankrupt, leaving his wife and daughter behind in a cheap Chichester hotel. George Henry Lamson returned to the United States, making futile attempts to combat his morphine addiction, before going to Shanklin to see his family. After a jolly family gathering in August 1881, the cripple Percy Malcolm John became severely ill, groaning with pain and vomiting copiously; just beforehand, Dr Lamson had purchased a quantity of the potent poison aconitine. The hapless Percy recovered from this attempt on his life, however. As Dr Lamson sat brooding over his failures in Rotherfield and Bournemouth, and his futile travels to America, alone in his tiny hotel room in the London November gloom, he was becoming increasingly desperate. Not long ago, he had possessed a comfortable house, a good medical practice, and a steady income; now, he had neither of these things, and he was poor as a church mouse. Dr Lamson entirely lacked employment and occupation, something that did not agree with him, and we all know who it is who finds work for idle hands to do. Had the Doctor been classically minded, he would have been reminded of the legend of the once-famous Byzantine general Belisarius, said to have been reduced to a blind beggar in his old age, having to ask passers-by ‘Date obolum Belisario’ – ‘Give a coin to Belisarius’. Dr Lamson had once had power over life and death, the wounded Serbian and Romanian soldiers relying upon him for their recovery like if he had been something of a deity; now, he was just yet another penniless, unemployed vagabond, struggling to keep his head above water amongst London’s unwanted flotsam and jetsam. Once more, George Henry Lamson thought of Percy Malcolm John, upon whose demise his wife would inherit much

money. In December 1881, he visited the school in Wimbledon and persuaded Percy to swallow a gelatine capsule, with the words “Here, Percy, you are a swell pill-taker; take this and show Mr Bedbrook [the headmaster] how easily it may be swallowed!” When Percy died in agony the same evening, the doctors present suspected that this was a case of murder. Dr Lamson had fled to France, but due to the lack of both money and morphine, he did not carry out his plan to hide in France, but returned to London to face the music, hoping that the poison he had made use of could not be detected. When Percy had been autopsied, samples of various organs had been kept for analysis, however, and the forensic scientists found that he had been poisoned with the uncommon vegetable toxin aconitine. This sealed the fate of Dr Lamson: he was found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, and executed at Wandsworth Prison on April 28 1882. During his criminous and wasted life, the Doctor had accomplished some good but also much wickedness; short and evil had been his days, as he stood on the scaffold counting one or two more seconds, the longest lasting in his life, waiting for the drop to open. The police detectives, and even Lamson’s barrister Montagu Williams, felt certain that Dr Lamson was a double murderer, having poisoned both his brothers-in-law for the sake of profit. Comparing his murderous career with those of the prolific medical killers Palmer and Pritchard, it indeed seems likely that Dr Lamson murdered Hubert John as well and got away with it. As a military surgeon, he had seen that life was cheap, with the wounded soldiers dying like flies; now both Hubert and Percy were invalids, crippled by tuberculosis and scoliosis, worthless and parasitic existences whose sufferings should be put an end to, he must have reasoned, like hastening the death of a badly mutilated soldier. Perhaps the greatest mystery in the Lamson case is why he did not wait until he had Percy under his influence at the Chichester hotel, where the invalid could be given some ‘medicine’ with complete security, before Lamson signed the death certificate himself. At Blenheim House School, all was not well after the execution of Dr Lamson. Many parents objected to keeping their sons in a notorious murder school, and although the headmaster Mr Bedbrook tried to convince them that there were no longer any murderous doctors on the premises, he was soon in serious difficulties due to the lack of pupils. It did not help that there were rumours that the ghost of Percy was haunting the murder school: nervous young boys swore that they had seen his spectre and heard the whirring of the wheels of his spectral wheelchair.

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The Blenheim House murder school at No. 1-2 St George’s Road, Wimbledon, from Famous Crimes Past & Present.

Dr Lamson, and some vignettes from his career, including Percy Malcolm John in his wheelchair, from the Illustrated Police News, March 11 1882.

What appears to be a small print about the ‘Wimbledon Mystery’.

The murder school was still Blenheim House School in 1884, but by 1888, it had become St George’s College; it was still operational as late as 1894. In the end, Mr Bedbrook had to lease the school to King’s College, London, as a boardinghouse for boys, but the deal was a very unfavourable one, and poor Mr Bedbrook had lost his livelihood. In 1898, he took King’s College to court for allegedly breaking the original agreement but lost his case and was condemned in costs. In the end, Mr Bedbrook had to take a job as an assistant in a boot shop to provide his wife and five children with food on the table; to earn a meagre living, he sold footgear to the former pupils he had once taught Latin and Greek. In the summer

of 1921, when William Henry Bedbrook went bathing at Southsea, he was swept out to sea and drowned miserably. ‘Famous poisoning case recalled – Aconite in Dundee Cake for Schoolboy!’ exclaimed the Dundee Evening Telegraph, reporting on the sad demise of the 75-year-old former schoolmaster. His wife Rose survived him until 1928, and he is likely to have descendants alive today. The haunted murder school no longer stands, having been destroyed many years ago. There may well be some truth in the story that Lamson thought the aconitine was an untraceable poison, but nevertheless, he had taken one risk too many and this would lead to his downfall. Through

his escalating morphine abuse, George Henry Lamson had created a fearsome Golem in his own image, a perfectly amoral creature capable of killing with coolness and premeditation; this once brave and promising young doctor had become both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, both Frankenstein and murderous Monster, as he sped towards his doom from Wimbledon’s haunted murder school on a Highway to Hell.

Jan B. This is an edited extract from Jan Bondeson’s book Doctor Poison (Troubador Publishing 2021)

A rare ‘execution broadside’ on the Lamson case.

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GAUZE AND

EFFECT

Ectoplasm and the empowerment of Women By Amanda R. Woomer

omanhood has been met with endless attempts to control her. For centuries laws, fashion, and religion have been used to control females no matter the color of her skin, the amount of money in her pocket, or the power she may hold. Despite the fact that women have been closely linked to the supernatural in the form of healers, witches, priestesses, and shamans since the dawn of time, over the centuries, she was pushed aside to make way for priests, doctors, and, even today, macho ghost hunters. But despite this dismal peek at the history of femininity and the paranormal, there was a time in our history when women were seen as leaders and were able to find some sort of autonomy in life… and it was all thanks to a slightly questionable, most likely fabricated sticky substance called ectoplasm.

And yet, no matter how many frauds there may be, people have always flocked to psychics (and will probably always flock to them). As long as someone claims they can communicate with our dead loved ones, we’ll be drawn to them… it seems to be part of our mortal nature. Back when psychic mediums first appeared on the world’s stage, they didn’t just tell audience members that their loved ones were present—for who would pay to see a show like that? In the early days of mediumship, it was a performance for the masses, and these performers—whether truly gifted or not—knew that words were not enough to convince their audience that the spirit world was present all around them. They needed to show them in creative (and sometimes messy) ways.

In the midst of the 19th Century, the views of life and death and what came next were changing rapidly. Thanks to women in power—Queen Victoria and Mary Todd Lincoln—who openly grieved for their husbands, new (and extremely regimented) mourning customs were born, focusing especially on the changing roles of women. With the birth of the Spiritualist Movement with the Fox Sisters in Hydesville, New York, and the unimaginable death toll from the American Civil War, people stopped turning to their churches and priests to seek out answers about the afterlife and, instead turned to themselves.

“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

ediumship is a contested topic even in today’s day and age—not just in the paranormal world but in the mundane one as well. Charlatans hide among the genuinely gifted individuals, sometimes tainting the group as a whole.

Timothy 2:11-12 (KJV)

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Mina Crandon’s “hand” most likely made from animal liver

Mina Crandon producing ectoplasm at a séance

hen people think of the VictorianEra Spiritualist Movement, they often imagine a group of finely dressed men and women surrounding a Ouija board with candles burning all around them. Throw in a few spirit trumpets, a flash of spirit photography, and you’ve got the perfect séance. Of course, it’s a romanticized concept, and Ouija boards and Planchette writing was child’s play when it came to physical mediumship in the Victorian and Edwardian-Eras. In reality, objects were thrown through the air. Women were the ones in charge (many times performing in the nude). Lewd language was used freely—for it was the spirits talking, and not the fair ladies who simply acted as a conduit. And above all else, the proof of a quality physical medium was the slimy presence of ectoplasm.

ctoplasm is said to be a seemingly life-like substance that a medium will produce during a séance. It’s been described by different individuals as “luminous spiderwebs” that solidify into various shapes (usually transforming into limbs [pseudopods], faces, or sometimes even entire bodies of a spirit). According to reports (of varying authenticity), the ectoplasm would extrude from the body, usually coming from one of the medium’s orifices such as the mouth, ears, nose,

Amanda at the Fox Sisters Home

and eyes. There are also many reports of ectoplasm seeping from the medium’s navel, nipples, rectum, and vagina.

Not what you were expecting from the Victorian-Era? Well, Spiritualism shook the Victorians to their core, many times allowing women to become leaders, financially independent, and have a bit of autonomy. And in many women’s cases, ectoplasm was their ticket to notoriety in the world of mediumship.

hile ectoplasm has made it into mainstream pop culture, there isn’t any scientific evidence that it exists. Skeptics and scientists of the day declared that much of the ectoplasm photographed was fabricated from cheesecloth, gauze, and paper pulp. And yet, despite how fake many of the photos from séances appear (especially by today’s standards), people clung to the idea that ectoplasm was an integral part of materialization during a séance. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author

Eva C. with magazine cutout ectoplasm

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Mina Crandon with Harry Houdini, 1924

of Sherlock Holmes and Spiritualist advocate) wrote about this spooky substance, saying it was “a viscous, gelatinous substance which appeared to differ from every known form of matter in that it could solidify and be used for material purposes.” Psychical researcher William J. Crawford, who studied physical mediumship, claimed that “ectoplasm was the basis of all psychic phenomena.”

n theory, spirits would take the ectoplasm created by their medium and drape it over their nonphysical body to be seen by those at the séance and use it to move objects such as tables. Materialization was seen as the pinnacle of psychic ability in physical mediumship—it took a tremendous amount of concentration and even put the medium in harm’s way. Producing ectoplasm was painful, and while the spirit materialized, it harnessed enormous amounts of energy, leaving the medium extremely vulnerable. Despite this danger, the medium would willingly enter their cabinet in the séance room time and time again to make contact with the other side for those desperate to see a glimpse of the spirit world.

ut… were these physical mediums truly in danger? Many psychical researchers (and even the staunch antiSpiritualist, Harry Houdini) believed that the séance— even the supposed ectoplasm and vulnerability—was an elaborate performance.

Kathleen Goligher, 1921

lthough some of the brightest minds of the day, including Nobel prize laureates, scientists, and physicians, did everything in their power to expose physical mediums as frauds, several theories were drafted by psychical researchers of the day to try to find a way to prove the existence of ectoplasm. Despite endless evidence against materialization and ectoplasm, physical mediums continued to shock audiences with their performances, constantly pushing the boundary of what women could do in the Spiritualist world. Eva C. was known for performing séances only after being stripsearched and sewn into a skin-tight costume. Ectoplasm would ooze from her mouth, ears, nipples, and vagina. One séance produced a humanoid pseudopod from her vagina, spectators dubbing it the first (and most likely only) “pseudobirth.”

nother famous physical medium from the 1920s was Mina Stinson Crandon, also known as Margery. She was a

highly controversial medium of the 20th Century—her fans believed she was the greatest medium of all time while others saw her as a fraud and blamed her for nearly destroying psychical research in the United States. Ectoplasm would spill from her mouth, ears, and nose, though she also (supposedly) created a grotesquely formed hand that grew from her navel. Like Eva C., Margery produced pseudopods from between her legs that would ring bells, throw megaphones, and move tables. One researcher believed she hid the fabricated ectoplasm in her vagina and pushed it out with muscle contractions (did we mention Margery liked to perform her séances in the nude?). A young Irish Spiritualist, Kathleen Goligher, was another female physical medium known for her abilities in mediumship at a very young age. William J. Crawford began studying her in 1914 when she was only 16 years old. It would appear that Kathleen was yet another medium that would produce “psychic rods” from her vagina, but unlike other psychic rods produced by

A censored photo of Eva C. Naked during a séance

mediums, Kathleen’s rods could be seen, touched, and photographed. Other investigators visited Kathleen through the years to see her psychic rods for themselves, and by 1922, Kathleen was exposed as a fraud and retired from mediumship. Despite the allegations of fraud, early infrared photos were supposedly taken of her ectoplasm and psychic rods, but they were destroyed during World War II.

piritualism was a movement driven by women. High death rates from tragedies such as the Civil War and the Spanish Flu left wives and mothers grieving. Queen Victoria and Mary Todd Lincoln were both extremely open with their heartache, allowing others to focus on grief, death, and what lay beyond. Women weren’t just followers of Spiritualism, they were leaders, and mediumship was one of the few professions available to women at the time. In fact, with mediumship and Spiritualism, women’s

religious leadership became the norm for the first time in American history. Of course, not all feminists were Spiritualists, but all Spiritualists fought for women’s rights. In fact, Susan B. Anthony, herself, spoke at Lily Dale in the 1890s. According to reports, spirits from beyond the grave even called for equality for all—a sort of divine intervention that would eventually come to pass. These women were able to earn money, have influence (even over men), and find autonomy over their lives and bodies… and in the process, allowed others to connect with their dead loved ones on the other side. While the truth surrounding ectoplasm most likely lies in the “fraudulent” category of paranormal research, there is no doubt that it had a hand in providing a way for women to finally rise up in society, and even paved the way for equality.

A manda X

VALLEY

OF THE

DEMON

Written by Eli Lycett

ouses, castles, railway stations, hospitals, churches…amongst the great cannon of haunted locations throughout the British Isles, all serve as homes to sightings and phenomena and we, as enthusiasts of the subject, are all well accustomed to the nature of the supernatural occurrences typically found within. Poltergeists, grey ladies, phantom soldiers. All much loved, but perhaps, rarely surprising in their influence and activity. Something we don’t come across quite so often, however, is the altogether more opaque issue of the haunted landscape. Even less so, that of the landscape haunted not by the ghosts of the departed, but by a sense of something altogether darker. More elemental perhaps. In one bleakly beautiful corner of Cheshire however, where the plains rise through rugged foothills to the Derbyshire Peak District beyond, there has been a persistent suspicion of such a force for the better part of 1000 years.

There are spots located in every county of Britain that until relatively recently had remained untouched by modernity. These are the places where local traditions, customs, and beliefs have lingered on far longer than in the towns and larger villages; particularly where the auspices of industrialisation have seen fit to leave it comparatively late before arriving on the scene. The parish of Rainow is one such place. Taking its name from the old English for Ravens Hill, even today, overlooking the town of Macclesfield, it retains a certain sense of otherness; the surrounding countryside, littered with strange histories that that come together to create a genuinely unique situation. At the spot known as Jenkyncross, no less than seven ancient trackways come together under the gaze of a curious local building known as Jenkin’s Chapel. A religious house, built in the style of a local cottage with a saddleback roof and chimney stack during the 1730s, the chapel causes pause for thought not only due to its unusual appearance but even more so from the nature

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of the circumstances that saw it first erected. The creation of Jenkin Chapel wasn’t endorsed by a local diocese and it wouldn’t be consecrated by the Church for another 90 years following its first service. It was built because the locals felt they needed to bring a sense of God into a community so concerned by the events of the preceding century. Not least of all, the matter of the Rainow Witches.

Throughout Europe, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw the process of identifying those that were believed to be practitioners of Witchcraft become a dark art in itself. With both religious fervor and the possibilities of political favour fueling an expansive appetite for the matter across all levels of society, the hunt for witches was as much a stake of authority as it was a genuine concern of the Church. Such were the levels of interest in the subject that in 1599, King James IV of Scotland - he would become King James I of England too in 1603 - published his personal study on Witchcraft entitled Daemonologie.

t was a move directly inspired by his own deeply held beliefs regarding the topic; James had personally presided over the North Berwick witch trials of 1590, believing a curse to have been responsible for the storm that prevented his new bride, Anne of Denmark, sailing to Scotland in 1589.

By the seventeenth century, witch hysteria had long since become established as a national obsession, with more than 500 people being formally tried for acts relating to witchcraft across England since 1560. But given the fact that “just” 112 of those accused would be hanged as a result, it would have been quite the story if 2 of that total number were to have come from the same tiny, rural Cheshire settlement. For Rainow women Ellen Beech and Anne Osbaldeston, that was precisely the case.

At the Chester Michaelmas Assizes of September 1656, both were tried and convicted before subsequently being hanged on October 8th. The charges read as follows: Ellen, wife of John Beech, late of Rainow, in Cheshire, Collier, on the 12th of September 1651, and on diverse other days as well before as after, at Rainow, did exercise and practice the invocation and conjuration of evil and wicked spirits with which she consulted, entertained and rewarded. She did exercise certain witchcrafts upon Elizabeth Cowper, late of Rainow, spinster, whereby she, from the 12th day to the 20th of September, did languish and upon the 20th day died. Anne Osbalderton on that same 12th September practiced certain wicked and devilish acts upon John Steenson, husbandman, which caused his death on the 20th of September. On the 30th of November 1651, Anne used enchantments upon Anthony Booth of Macclesfield, gentleman, causing his death on the 1st April following. Barbara Pott, cursed on the 20th November 1651, dying on the 20th January and on the 17th July, 1655 she practiced “sorceries” on John Pott, a yeoman of Rainow, who too died less than a month after. It is often stated that those accused of witchcraft were little more than the folk of a community most considered to be odd and as such, tailor-made scapegoats for any ills that may befall HAUNTED MAGAZINE

others around them. This may well have been true, but for the people of Rainow, such a formal acknowledgement of witchcraft being an active force in their community would have been viewed in very literal terms. It would be the defining moment of their religious lives.

Rumours would have lingered large, casting their shadows long into the time of the chapel builders; something illustrated particularly well by the fact that chapel trustee Edmund Pott was a direct descendant of the aforementioned Barbara Pott, “victim” of the hanged Anne Osbaldeston.

emories of the Rainow witches and their alleged acts would have naturally given rise to the specter of devilry each and every time the difficulties of life made themselves apparent in the local community, but the idea that supernatural forces were present in their lives was nothing new for the people of Rainow Parish. It is entirely probable that the scattering of families living on the peak slopes of east Cheshire at the time of the chapel’s construction had been working the same land for hundreds of years, and it is from the history of their forbearers that we can see connections to earlier, more elemental terrors associated with the local landscape. It is in the details of the earliest recorded dwelling of these families, first appearing on record in 1384, that holds the key to a far deeper understanding of the area as a whole; the house with a particularly unusual name, known as Thursbitch.

First noted by the Professor Ralph Elliott of the Australian National University, when in conversation with the author Alan Garner in the early 1970s, he proposed that the eventuality of such an unusual name was in fact due to its conversion from old English. Þyrs, he stated, is a word that most closely translates in modern English to monster or demon. Bæch, meanwhile, is a word for dwelling. Thursbitch, therefore, translates quite literally to the dwelling of the demon. A wide range of folklore is attached to the area, but it is in the sightings, or perhaps the sensing of the “þyrs” that our curiosity really spikes.

The creature is variously said to appear as a raven, a horse, or, as the words of a chronicler from nearby Dieulacres Abbey attested in his writings following a visit to the village around the year 1400, as “some part of the mist itself”. The þyr it seems, whatever its intention and form, has been haunted the landscape of Rainow for a very long time indeed. Its influence on the witches of Rainow, suspected by local clergy of nearby Prestbury during their trial testimony as a plausible defense, quite remarkable.

Less than two miles from the site of Jenkin Chapel is a rocky outcrop that has fueled local legend for hundreds of years. Popular today with hikers and photographers, Pym Chair is often said to have been so named due to its use as the lookout point for a highwayman called Pym. Yet the name seems to cast that association away when compared with similar features elsewhere in the country. Such formations are much more commonly associated with the supernatural - the Devils Chair at Stiperstones in Shropshire is one such example, as is a similarly named feature down in Wiltshire. This observation, together with the absence of any actual record of a highwayman named Pym and one would think this record would be far from obscure given that the era of the highwayman took place within the timeframe of the printing press - suggests that Pym Chair gets its name from a different, more ancient source, all the more likely. Surely þyrs chair - the chair of the demon - would be much more in keeping?

ere we have a longstanding rural settlement whose very origin seems to be bound together with issues of the supernatural and the idea of “other”. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Add into the mix the fact that from these ancient roots we have not just the matter the Rainow witches in the century leading up to the building of the chapel, but the fact the surrounding region was then pressed beneath the breaking wheel of the plague of the 1660s, and it all adds up to quite the time of it for those folks surviving in Rainow. The reasoning of its people seeking the establishment of their own religious house to comfort them, therefore, could well be little more than pure desperation. When the chapel was eventually consecrated, its dedication too would change, at the instance of the Church, who had for so long avoided the issue of worship in the hills, yet seemingly quite aware of the local’s concerns of the ancient forces at work there. It would be dedicated to St. John the Baptist…the converter of Pagans.

Eli

By Juliette W. Gregson

ost of this story has been compiled by “Professor Edwin A Dawes M.I.M.C.” with his kind permission and its source from The Magic Circular Vol. 83, pp.133-135; 161-163 (1989). The Original story was from ‘A Rich Cabinet of Magical Curiosities’. Some extra parts have been added by David W Gregson who worked with him for many years as his organist and co-producer of his show at the Pleasure Beach. His daughter (and your author) Juliette W Gregson was in charge of lighting and sound. On any Sunday night of the season at South Shore, Blackpool, some of the crowds at the Pleasure Beach were seen to detach themselves from their fellow fun seekers who sampled the Noah’s Ark or the Big dipper and to enter the Horseshoe Showbar. They were drawn irresistibly by posters claiming that Lorde Payne, the Sensational Hypnotist, is presenting another Hypnotic Sunday Night, just as he had done since 1975. Richard Lance Payne was born on the 19th March 1913 at Hinckley in Leicestershire. His father, Arthur Horace Payne was an amateur conjurer, principally interested in close-up magic, and his uncle was Professor William E Payne, a conjurer and illusionist of Burbage. Under their tutelage the lad became fascinated with magic and by the age of 11 was able to give his first show in public. At the age of 17 he acquired a ventriloquist’s dummy called ‘Timmy’ which he kept all his life. Timmy is now owned by a private collector.

He adopted the title of The White Wizard. In February 1934, after he had appeared at the Hinckley Liberal Club, the local paper observed he is one of the cleverest young magicians seen on a local stage for a long time and singled out the burnt and restored banknote as the outstanding item in a programme that also included the razor blades and a guineapig from a saucepan! Now both Richard’s father and uncle were interested in hypnotism and had experimented privately but had never given public demonstrations. At the age of 16, Richard also started to dabble in hypnotism and found he could make people fall backwards and forwards. As he puts it, “This was when I realised my father and uncle were not talking a lot of ballyhoo”. This interest continued in a rather desultory fashion until a subsequent wartime event served to convert the minor concern into a major one, as we shall relate. When Richard volunteered for service in the Royal Marines, he entertained troops alongside such stars as Gracie Fields and Arthur Askey.

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ollowing the outbreak of war in September 1939, both Richard and his brother Dudley Vincent, volunteered for the Royal Marines and were called up for service early in 1940. Their training was done at the Royal Marine Reserve Depot at Lympstone, near Exmouth in Devon, where they were soon involved in entertainment as The Payne Brothers. In June 1940 they participated in a Farewell Concert on the occasion of their unit’s transferring to another area. A clever display of the Payne Brothers, who in private life perform under the title of ‘White Magic’ and are members of the Magic Circle. Objects just disappeared – that’s all I can say, and if I had a gold watch when the show started, well, I haven’t got it now: but try as they would, one trick they could not perform was that of disappearing off the parade ground without being spotted by the sergeant major! The war ended in 1945 and Richard, after demobilization from the Royal Marines, returned to his native Hinckley, to resume his occupation as a bookbinder with Pickering and Sons. However, the call of the boards was strong, and he decided to become a full-time professional entertainer. Arthur Kimbail, a Hinckley agent, secured him his first hypnotic engagement, at the Kings Hall, Stoke-onTrent, with Ted Heath and his Band, in 1946. In 1948, during the week of the 20th December, Richard appeared at the Chevrons Club, Dorset Square, London, during which he was filmed for Pathé Pictorial. Its subsequent screening during the next six months in some 800 cinemas throughout Britain provided some splendid publicity for his demonstration. (Interesting to note the Pathé newsreel can still be viewed) CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PATHE NEWSREEL: https:// youtu.be/T_WbX407eug

During April 1949 one of the most amusing and publicity garnering episodes in Richard’s career occurred. His local football team, Hinckley Athletic F.C., an amateur-professional club, had won only one game since January. Prior to their Easter Tuesday match with Bedworth Town in the Birmingham Combination League, Richard subjected seven of the Hinkley team to hypnosis, although they would not allow him to visit them in their dressing room. They lost 2-1, despite their supporters’ change of touchline cry from Come on the Paralytics to Just one more the hypnotics. Tremendous national publicity ensued, including a Giles Cartoon titled “The New Factor in Sport” in the Daily Express on the 21st April. Headlines such as “No Dream Win for Soccer Team” (Daily Mail). “The Hypnotised Soccer Team Did Not Win” (Daily Mirror), and “Hypnotist Sees His ‘Fluence Team Lose” (Daily Express) were all grist for the publicity mill.

The story was even picked up by a Russian sporting publication Sovietsky Sports, as according to a British United Press report in the News Chronicle on the 13th May: The crafty managers of the local club announced that the hypnotist, Richard Payne, would hypnotise the team. That day Richard arrived in the dressing room and before the game hypnotised the team and hypnotised the ball. The local team lost but it would not be wrong to assert that the hypnotism succeeded. The objective was achieved. The public was hypnotised and the organisers of the hypnotic game got their not small pile.

uestions were raised in Parliament and a Private Member’s Bill to make illegal the demonstration of hypnotic phenomena for purposes of public entertainment was presented in the Commons in December 1951. It went before Parliament in 1952 and received the Royal Assent in August of that year. This gave the local authorities discretion to implement its recommendations. Soon afterwards, the London County Council banned such shows and other authorities followed suit. Faced with legislation against hypnotists, Richard Payne forsook hypnotism and HAUNTED MAGAZINE

became the flamboyant landlord of the Shakespeare Hotel in Horsedge Street in Oldham in Lancashire, in August 1953. On the 26th March 1954, the Oldham Evening Chronicle noted that Richard had been developing a completely new act, escapology, and that he had designed a water torture cell similar to that used by Houdini, who rated a photograph alongside Richard’s. But he also operated a hypnotherapy clinic in Union Street, Oldham, for a couple of years addition to being mine host at the Shakespeare The well-known and often controversial landlord of the Shakespeare Hotel left Oldham in 1963 to occupy a similar post at the Theatre and Concert Tavern in Ashtonunder-Lyne, almost opposite the Theatre Royal where he himself had topped the bill. Richard created a theatrical atmosphere by decorating the Tavern with photographs and mementoes of his theatrical days and for the next five years was a popular host while continuing to do some entertaining on the northern club circuit. Under his tutelage one of the taproom customers, Derrick Melia, a 42-year-old butcher of Dukinfield, undertook a milk-churn escape with equipment belonging to “Murray.”

Murray was at the time acting as business manager for Richard Payne’s entertainment interests, and was to remain a lifelong friend of Richard’s for many years, always visiting him at his hypnotic shows in Blackpool until his death on the 22nd January 1989 aged 87.

ventually, the high taxes on beer and spirits and the introduction of the breathalyser test led Richard to forsake the role of landlord. This government has made things impossible for the small businessman like me, he said. “Costs keep going up, and I am fed up with being a Tax Collector – I wonder how many people realise that on every bottle of spirits I sell £2-6’s goes to the Government?” He left for Blackpool in 1968 with the comment “I am loath to leave Ashton because I have made many friends here, but in show business I will be able to provide a decent living for my wife and kids.” So, Richard now turned his attention to magic again, doing children’s shows, while also continuing to entertain adults with his hypnotism, which proved as popular as ever. And under the name of “Zan Astaire” he presented a mentalist act, Mysticisms of the Mind. He also set up business as a consultant psychotherapist and hypnotherapist at the salubrious resort of St Anne’s on Sea and became a Founder Member of the Federation of Ethical Stage Hypnotists. When in his early sixties he decided to ease off on his manifold activities and in 1974 he became a security man at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach. At a Christmas Party there, he did a show for the Pleasure Beach Company and the management immediately perceived a solution to their problem of Sunday night entertainment at the Horseshoe Showbar. So, it came about that in 1975, as Richard Lorde Payne, he commenced a season of Sunday night hypnotic entertainments, little realising that their popularity would carry him on relentlessly long past his projected retirement.

Indeed, at the age of 75, he completed his 14th successive season in 1988. As he moved his home to Abergele in North Wales in 1979, this necessitated travelling to Blackpool every Sunday during the long season that distinguishes this holiday resort from all others in Britain. Ideally, Richard Payne preferred about 100 to be in his audience for the hypnotic show, which comprises of two parts. For the first half of the show, Richard and his assistant Eric Strong were dressed in long robes, and from Richard’s neck hangs a medallion, Dave Kenny plays incidental music in the background. Richard worked in a measured, gently deliberate fashion. Susceptible volunteers were seduced by means of the interlocking fingers test and then sent to sleep. Thereafter they were successfully taken to a party, the cinema, perhaps a disco or the ballet, and enact their various experiences.

One male subject was allowed to be controlled by his wife or girlfriend, and much humour extracted from the sequences. Catalepsy is demonstrated and there is the opportunity for those who are smokers to be cured of their habit. They were then all put back to sleep again for the duration of the interval. Richard and Eric then returned in dinner dress and the subjects are awakened and turned over to the audience for their requests. What hidden talents are then revealed! Cowboy, body builder, John McEnroe, Shirley Bassey, Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill were all paraded at the whims of their friends. The subjects then found themselves now seated on hot chairs and the stage then becomes hot. There were more humorous situations before all the volunteers were awakened and sent away assured that they are all healthy and with no hang-ups. As they took their seats Richard clicks his fingers and the volunteers then shout out to him Mr Payne, would you HAUNTED MAGAZINE

like me to get you a barley wine from the bar? (As the participants all make their way there). They argue amongst themselves until Richard says ‘Sleep‘ and they all immediately fell to the floor. Richard then says, you are now all awake, and thanks them for the drink! After this they all returned to their seats once again. Handshakes for the stage-side spectators follow, Richard takes his well-deserved, sustained applause and another evening in that incredibly long success story at Blackpool is concluded. After 1991, Richard finally retired to his home in Abergele, North Wales, and sadly on 10th April 1996, aged 83, he passed away after a stroke, and was cremated close to his home, I was privileged to attend his funeral to say a fond farewell to one of the world’s greatest entertainers, magician and friend.

Juliette

KATE CHERRELL’S

CODE HARD TRUTH “Two Minds with but a Single Thought” – Julius and Agnes Zancig

ne thing I love more than grand Victorian Spiritualists, commanding rooms with a wisp of ectoplasm and messages from the great beyond, are lesser-known mentalists, delighting in their fraud. Julius Zancig (1857-1929) and Agnes Claussen Jörgensen (c.1850s-1916) were Danish mentalists who enjoyed great fame in the late 19th and early 20th centuries thanks to their mind-reading stage act. Indeed, they were so good and ‘of so puzzling a nature that to many who had witnessed them the only explanation of the results obtained appeared to be that genuine telepathy was at play.’

“Two minds with but a single thought. Two tongues that speak as one.” Few famous spiritualists and mentalists had conventional paths to success, and the Zancigs were no different, sharing the working-class roots of so many other prominent figures. Julius Zancig was an iron smelter by trade who developed an interest in mentalism later in life. Alongside his wife Agnes, the pair became prolific writers on the occult, while also nurturing a skilled comprehension of stage magic. The couple met early in life, being childhood sweethearts, grew apart and rekindled their love as adults after they both had emigrated to America. They married in 1886 and began performing soon afterwards, touring internationally for three decades. The pair became particularly well known for their mindreading act, which took them to stages across

the world, including India, China, Australia, Japan, South America and England. This act, and the perceived powers that emerged during these demonstrations, fooled many spiritualists into believing their psychic legitimacy. However, as with many esoteric figures of this time, they later confessed that their claims of supernatural powers were little more than well-practised trickery. The Zancig’s act of mind-reading was achieved by means of a verbal code, later known as the ‘Zancig Code’, which was an elaborate system of undetectable verbal cues, hidden within standard speech. The couple could communicate information with a few, cursory, seemingly unrelated phrases. From names to objects to ages, Julius would typically ask his wife to name the relevant data and she would respond appropriately. In the cases of objects, as recorded in I. L. Tuckett’s The Evidence for the Supernatural (1911), ‘While Mr Zancig stood among the audience and held some object handed to him by one of the audience, Mrs Zancig on the stage described it…Mrs Zancig succeeded in rightly naming the most unlikely things handed to her husband so that there are only two possibly explanations, viz., telepathy or the use of a code.’

n 1929, British magician Will Goldston explained their curious act in his chapter ‘The Truth About the Zancigs’. The book itself, ‘Sensational Tales of Mystery Men’, was a huge tome chronicling the lives and acts of famous magicians, including several others whose paths crossed with spiritualism. ‘The pair worked on a very complicated and intricate code. There was never any question of thought transference in the act. By framing his question in a certain manner, Julius was able to convey to his wife exactly what sort of object or design had been handed to him. Long and continual practice had brought their scheme as near perfection as is humanly possible. On several occasions confederates were placed in the audience, and at such times the effects seemed nothing short of miraculous. All their various tests were cunningly faked, and their methods were so thorough that detection was an absolute impossibility to the laymen.’ Harry Price, arguably the UK’s most famous ghost hunter, reportedly interacted with the Zancigs and revealed that in 1924, Julius had explained that in order to keep their act in order, they had to practice for ‘several hours’ every day.

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nsurprisingly, Arthur Conan Doyle and fellow oft-credulous psychical investigator W. T. Stead, investigated the couple and believed their psychic powers to be genuine. Both men frequently presented their latest findings in periodicals and papers of the time, and their belief in the Zancigs was no different, with both men publishing their reports on the couple’s telepathy. Following a sitting with the Zancigs in Washington D. C., Conan Doyle wrote a letter for use by the Zancigs, stating:

‘I have tested Professor and Mrs. Zancig to-day and am quite assured that their remarkable performance, as I saw it, was due to psychic causes (thought transference) and not to trickery.’ Harry Houdini, ever hot on the heels of Conan Doyle spoke very highly of Julius Zancig, but as a magician, not a psychic. Writing in 1924, Houdini effused ‘I believe he is one of the greatest second-sight artists that magical history records. In my researches for the past quarter of a century I have failed to trace anyone his superior. His system seems to be supreme. The Zancigs performances inspired countless copycat mesmerists, who attempted stage mindreading with varying successes. In ‘Telepathy, Genuine and Fraudulent’ (1919), Sir Oliver Lodge wrote of a derivative ‘thought-transference’ performance:

‘I perceived…that the performance, which was stimulated by the success of what they had achieved, and was manifestly done by a code of some kind.’ The Zancigs were not left to their own devices for all their 30 years of performance, but were – like so many spiritualists, psychics and mesmerists – subjected to extensive testing by British newspapers. On November 30th, 1906, The Daily Mail arranged for the couple to be tested at their offices and the successful outcomes of the experiments were promptly printed. These reports were not so warmly welcomed by other media outlets, particularly the Daily Chronicle, who began a war of words between their pages. The first reports cited ‘an exhibition of true telepathy, while those of the second paper declared the codes – visual and verbal – would account for the phenomena.’ Later investigations by W.W Baggally of the Society for Psychical Research were overwhelmingly positive, with calls for further study into the ‘Zancig phenomena.’

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In 1924, the Zancigs deliberately revealed themselves to be frauds, after years of preaching their own legitimacy from stages across the world. They finally admitted their less-than-psychic methods an article entitled ‘Our Secrets!’ Elaborating on this, the pamphlet ‘The True Secret of Mind Reading as Performed by the Zancigs’ (1912) by Laura G Fixen chronicled the minutiae of the couple’s code. Fixen had completed a course operated by the couple in ‘Palmistry and Telepathy’ and was given the couple’s blessing to transfer their curious system into print. This system of ‘tells’, called the ‘Second Sight System’ explains how the use of certain words correlated to a letter, which would then be used in sentences to spell out the name of the object held by the other. The book gives an example as follows: I=A Go = B Can = C Look = D Please = E Will = F For numbers, a similar code was applied with the lead word(s) of the sentence correlating to a number, i.e. I want this number... = 1 Go on give this number = 2 Can you give this number = 3 The same system would be enforced for months, years, coins, common objects, keys, jewels, countries, military ranks, colours and even

the phrase within their work. Quite brilliantly, when Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy fame) was asked by those creating his fan club for an official motto, he offered a spoof of the Zancig’s tag line, ‘Two Minds Without a Single Thought!’ The Zancig’s last work, Crystal Gazing, The Unseen World: A Treatise On Concentration was published only a few years before Julius’ death in 1929.

A names, with extensive lists of men’s and women’s names correlating to numbers within the couple’s minds. On stage, this system would appear to be little more than inane talk between the couple, but would produce astounding results, implying they indeed had powers beyond human comprehension.

mazingly, the death of Agnes in 1916 aged 59, did not signal the end of the Zancig’s performance. Julius remarried a Brooklyn schoolteacher called Ada and revived the mentalist act, much to Ada’s resistance. The newly-weds managed a year in performance before Ada’s hatred of the stage led Julius to hire a man named Paul Vučić (Paul Rosini) under the name ‘Henry’ to join him on stage. However, this partnership was also not to last as, at the advent of the US joining WWI, Vučić joined the army and Julius was forced to search for a new partner, with a great memory. Julius didn’t have to look too far, as the teenage son of famous magician Theo ‘Okito’ Bamberg was poised to step into the vacated position. David Theodore Bamberg went on to perform with Julius

under the snappy name ‘Syko the Psychic’. In this role, he acted as a blindfolded medium ‘divining articles from the audience, solving mathematical problems, and ending with an impressive book test.’ Bamberg went on to achieve immense fame in the magic world as Fu Manchu, presenting some of the most elaborate and popular illusion shows the world had ever seen. However, when returning to the States from a prolonged stint in places such as South America, Spain, Portugal and the West Indies, he had to rename himself Fu Chan in order to avoid a lawsuit! The couple retired from their extensive touring programme in the 1920s but settled in America and continued working under the occult and magic umbrellas. Reportedly, the pair worked as professional tea leaf readers, palmists, crystal ball seers and astrologers for private clients, eschewing their public audiences. In their time, the Zancigs – in their many forms – were some of the most famous mesmerists, being household names across continents. They created one of the most complex code systems in performance history and have never been bettered. Yet today, they’re little more than footnote in a magician’s biography.

Katie X

References

The code was bafflingly complex and remains known by professional magicians today as one of the most complex communication systems between two people. In the intervening years, many magicians, such as Robert Nelson in 1940, have attempted to create their own Zancig codes, but none have been able to match the complexity of the Danish couple’s vocabulary. Between 1900 and 1926, the Zancigs published several books under the name ‘The Zancigs’, (or as Prof. Zancig and Mdme. Zancig) most relating to palmistry and fortune telling using cards. In 1907, Julius wrote ‘Two Minds With But a Single Thought’, a work that professed the psychic connection between the couple and popularised

W. W. Baggally, Telepathy: Genuine and Fraudulent, Marlowe Company (1919) p.61 Ivor LL. Tuckett, The Evidence for the Supernatural: A Critical Study Made with “Uncommon Sense”, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & co., LTD.(1911) p.120 Will Goldston, The Truth About the Zancigs. In Sensational Tales of Mystery Men. London (1929) Harry Houdini, A Magician Among the Spirits, Harper Brothers, (1924) p210 Harry Houdini, A Magician Among the Spirits, Harper Brothers, (1924) p210 W. W. Baggally, Telepathy: Genuine and Fraudulent, Marlowe Company (1919) p.57 W. W. Baggally, Telepathy: Genuine and Fraudulent, Marlowe Company (1919) p.61 Laura G. Fixen, The True Secret of Mind Reading as Performed by The Zancigs, Diamond Dust (1912) Online resource via archive.org David Bamberg Illusion Show: A Life in Magic. David Meyer Magic Books. (1991)

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THE PUZZLING PERPLEXITY OF THE

PARANORMAL The Comfort and Confidence of Not Knowing

By Amy L Bennett, Full Dark Paranormal Explorers

f there’s anything Full Dark would want to impart on anyone interested in the paranormal and even to others within it now, it would be to find comfort in not knowing: a sense of peace in unanswered questions and endless possibilities. No closure to an investigation, no conclusions drawn with definitiveness, no crutches of dogma to carry from one haunted location to another, wash, rinse, repeat. The confidence of not knowing when it comes to the paranormal can be terrifying to conceive, but once attained can be straight up bliss. Okay that’s a bit much, but it’s at least a hell of a weight off one’s shoulders, mentally. If you need weight off your shoulders physically, fix your posture. I get it, we’re human, so we’re hardwired to want reasons and definitions and facts. Those are our controls. What other control in the universe do we have besides what we know, irrefutably for certain? What we know and sling around, just in comments sections is astounding after 30 years of the internet’s existence. We use facts to refute, to play devil’s advocate, to debunk, to prove or prove wrong, to explain and define and quantify our entire world, let alone in the paranormal. That’s really difficult to break away from or even compartmentalize in some way. When it comes to the strange

and unexplained, the most profound thing I’ve learned over nearly two decades running after ghosts is that I have no choice but to leave the control and feeling of knowing to the wind. At the very least I have to leave that sense of knowing at the door when I head out to investigate.

t’s strange at first, to deviate from the rigidity and reliability of paranormal definitions and the terms we use make sense of our experiences. The sounds we hear on recorded audio are sometimes very human sounding - full words and phrases, pitch and timbre apparent. But sometimes they are not, and yet we strive in those moments of listening back and analyzing to push that audio anomaly into a human construct. We tend to anthropomorphize the sounds; a simple whooshing noise becomes a human breath. A creak or crack or tap becomes a footstep. In that way, we give human qualities to nonhuman things - sounds, sights, etc. - that we experience through ourselves or our equipment. Pulling away from the immediate need to apply a human origin to our experiences is so difficult because we are human. It’s our ancient lizard brain DNA. Yours and mine both.

“The confidence of not knowing when it comes to the paranormal can be terrifying to conceive, but once attained can be straight up bliss.” HAUNTED MAGAZINE

So, what do we do? Hack our own brains. Assess, erase, recode. I truly believe anyone can leave the control of knowing and defining and providing oneself a sense of closure behind them in pursuing the paranormal. Ryan and I have both experienced years of the strange and unusual, indoors and out, in both insignificant and famous locations, and not a single instance of unexplained activity has led us to a direct and irrefutable conclusion about, well, any of it.

Are ghosts: Deceased people? Maybe.

Conscious nonhuman entities interacting with us? Maybe.

Something with ill intent toward us? Maybe.

Something defined within a particular religion? Maybe. Aliens of some sort, physical or incorporeal? Maybe.

That is a lot of maybes, but I say them with complete comfort. “Maybe” has never had a soft place to land on an investigation, and we see that within the mainstream TV shows about the paranormal too. Closure is everything in how investigation shows are set up. The business wants to know it’s safe for customers, the family wants to know who’s haunting their house and what they want. The closure you see at the end of a show is only for the world of TV, a tidy ending, and happy viewers ready to move on to the next story. If you’re in the paranormal field and have been out a few times to investigate, you already know this, it’s no secret. No one would want to see a family left frightened and in tears as the investigators left, their promises to help snatched away after a night investigating the home. A network will never create or air that kind of paranormal content, as much as that exact scenario has and will continue to play out in reality. Already it’s hard to break from a need for closure in the paranormal, because the most overt and constant way most people absorb it is full of closure and concisely wrapped investigations. It can make it that much more difficult to find one’s way to the comfort of not knowing and not having answers when we’re primed for results and resolutions at the end of investigations. With so much of the paranormal aimed at us through media, know that I only mention TV because the struggle of seeing the “other side” of it all is very real.

o why do Ryan and I think not knowing and not having answers is so worth it in the paranormal? The obvious answer might be “science hasn’t figured it out yet!” and sure, absolutely valid. Absence of evidence doesn’t equal evidence of absence. Nice phrase, but that isn’t the end of it for us. The not knowing, and not defining what we experience has helped us widen every avenue of possibility in our investigations. Where we may capture the sound of a door opening on one of our recorders, and in fact a door somewhere opened without a human hand, we don’t apply humanity to the situation. A human spirit maybe opened that door, and we caught the sound. But maybe a repeated action from years previously was so ingrained in some portion of the atmosphere or environment around it, it just happens now and again when the conditions are right. What are those conditions? (There’s that need to qualify.) Maybe the conditions for a haunting are us, the investigators, maybe they’re our brainwave frequencies altering with our awareness in the dark spaces and late hours. Maybe it’s not us at all. Maybe it’s just the time of night or day. Or not. It keeps our possibilities, and our understanding of our own experiences and interactions, that much wider in scope from that point forward. It’s limitless!

ee all those maybes? I love them. I marinate in them. I wrap myself in a fuzzy blanket of maybes and curl into the unknown and the curious and the bizarre because I do not know, and I have found comfort in endless wondering. Comfort in imagining the ways the world around me could play its hand and cause a mystery to fold further into itself. Comfort in possibilities leading to only more questions and the pop and fizzle of my thoughts as they whir through the mechanics of my mind. For every aspect of the paranormal I wouldn’t necessarily want to be true, I have to give them room to exist and be possible. Let’s use demons as an example. No one in my family is HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Catholic or even very religious, so the concept of demons has never been part of my life one way or another. But are demons still a possibility on the table? Sure, in some way, secular or non, the possibility exists because I have no way of knowing otherwise, and I’m okay with that. Knowing and believing are two different things. I don’t believe in demons, but at the same time, I can’t be certain they don’t exist. My beliefs aren’t facts. Instead, I assess, erase and recode. If demons are taken out of the context of religion, perhaps there is something that exists and is incorporeal that can cause psychic or mental distress to people. Perhaps these things exist, but we just don’t have a name for whatever they are yet. I’m open to it, man. Ryan and I can’t provide quantified or qualified explanations of what’s unknown, and yet we love the endlessness of not knowing. We love the continuous mystery of strange occurrences and happenings and the stories, legends and lore that grow from them. It doesn’t bother us to not have answers, it would bother us far more to have them. Both of us are comfortable in saying “We don’t know,” and if it vibes for you too, let some of the rigidity of the paranormal fall away from your thinking now and again. We wouldn’t want the mysteries of the paranormal figured out or solved, or ground down to definitives, statistics and ticked boxes. We want the mystery, and we love the journey. I don’t know how else to put it besides Ryan and I really feel like leaving all possibilities on the table is a much broader way to approach investigating and experiencing the weirdness of the world (and if you’re a billionaire or an astronaut, beyond this world). We say, “I don’t know” and we’re very confident we don’t know, but damn do we love searching.

A my

“For paranormal enthusiasts, arguably Atchison’s biggest draw is the infamous Sallie House, scene of a dark haunting which some believe continues to this day. Yet there is another haunted location, just five minutes away from the Sallie House, which deserves investigation every bit as much: the historic McInteer Villa.”

THE STEP BY ESTEP GUIDE TO…

McINTEER VILLA All Photography © Sarah Streamer

eople visit Atchison, Kansas for lots of reasons. The mid-western city is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart. Apparently, the house still stands, and is now a museum, although I’ve never been able to find it. (Sorry, couldn’t help it!)

Speaking of the owner, she greets us at the door with a smile. It soon becomes apparent that Stephanie is nothing less than a force of nature, with boundless energy and enthusiasm for her haunted home. She bounces from room to room, then floor to floor, showing off the place and talking my team-mates and I through its history.

I first visited the Villa in early 2021, prior to spending a few nights at the Sallie House to research a future book project. I had reached out to the Villa’s owner via social media, and she extended me a friendly invitation to drop in and get a guided tour. I had driven through the night from my home in Colorado, taking around ten hours to reach Atchison, and was running on an unhealthy mixture of caffeine and enthusiasm.

The McInteer Villa sits at the top of a moderate hill. It stands out from all the other houses in the neighborhood, not least because it *looks* like a haunted mansion, if ever I saw one; the sort of building where countless episodes of Scooby Doo took place. Standing outside in the front yard is a skeletal horse drawing a card. Other skeletons can be seen riding a bicycle. It’s immediately obvious that when it comes to spooky, the owner has really gone all in.

Unlike many of today’s homes, which tend to be built out of lightweight materials such as wood, the McInteer Villa was built to last. Much of the construction is brick, made to stand the test of time. There are two floors, a huge basement, and a capacious attic with a turreted tower. Stepping inside is like going back to the Victorian era. Stephanie has gone to great lengths to furnish as much of the house as possible in period-appropriate style.

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he Villa was built in 1889 at the behest of local entrepreneur John McInteer, who built his fortune in the livery trade. McInteer, an Irish immigrant with a strong head for business, was also a savvy investor in real estate, and owned a number of different properties spread throughout the region. He used some for business purposes, and several others as personal residences, of which the Villa was one.

here have been several deaths in the Villa over the course of its lifetime, but two in particular stand out. One was an eccentric lady named Isobel Altis, who died at the age of 75. Her body was found sitting in a rocking chair in one of the downstairs front rooms, the day after her death (which was, according to the doctor who examined her, a peaceful one). She was, by accounts, an eccentric but good-hearted woman, who was known among local children as the lady who owned “the scary haunted house on the hill.” It is believed that she still haunts the McInteer, dropping in decades after she died to keep a protective eye on the home she loved so much in life.

A more tragic death was that of Charles, a former soldier who shot himself in the Villa’s second-floor library. There were stories concerning him being depressed and possibly suffering PTSD as a result of his wartime experiences. His ghost is also said to be active there and can sometimes be heard pacing back and forth when the library is empty. Of course, it seems that every historic old house has a ghost. The McInteer, however, is more paranormally active than most. To rattle off a complete list of the phenomena which have been reported there would take an entire book (I should know, I’m in the process of writing one!) but some notable examples are the sound of a baby crying when there was no child in the house; heavy dragging noises coming from the second floor; doors slam of their own volition; knocks and raps coming from inside the library; and, in one of the creepier pieces of video evidence I’ve ever seen, a skeleton up in the attic slowly turned its head to face the locked-off video camera, before its eye popped out and its hat fell off. It’s tempting to dismiss this as simply being gravity at work, but the skeleton in question had been sitting in place for weeks without moving, before this spontaneously happened. What caused the head to suddenly begin turning and twisting? It is something that, while not demonstrably paranormal, certainly could be, and the footage is creepy enough to spark a nightmare or two. https://www.facebook. com/1889mcinteervilla/ videos/233317678760488 It took less than an hour for my friends and I to fall in love with the Villa. Fortunately, Stephanie granted us permission to come back for a return visit later in the year and spend several days living at the McInteer and researching it. With the benefit of hindsight,

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we could have chosen our dates a little more wisely: it was the Fourth of July weekend, when the entire state of Kansas was letting off enough fireworks to repel an alien invasion. (Talk about “Independence Day”). Unfortunately for my fellow paranormal investigators and I, this meant that most of the audio recordings we made after dark were contaminated beyond all means of salvaging. Adopting the philosophy of “if you can’t beat them, join them,” my colleague Mike Taylor purchased a small arsenal of

fireworks himself, and proceeded to let them off in the street outside the McInteer. The end result: a near miss when one of his rockets veered unexpectedly off-course and set fire to a length of garden hose connected to the house. Fortunately, prompt action averted disaster, and the Villa remains standing.

Photography © Sarah

Streamer

Fortunately, the Villa had no shortage of genuinely bizarre occurrences for us to puzzle over. Sleeping in the master bedroom overnight, Erin and Mike were disturbed by the sound of heavy footsteps walking around on the second floor (the rest of us slept like the dead). None of the motion cameras were set off, so whoever — or whatever — was responsible, either stayed out of range or did not have physical mass; perhaps a residual echo of a bygone tenant, still making the rounds years later. It’s a rather comforting thought, at the end of the day, the possibility that somebody could love a house like this so much that a part of them would linger behind after their death.

One of our investigators is taking a shower in the second-floor bathroom. When she emerges, she glimpses a shadowy, human-shaped figure lurking on the landing of the back staircase. Upstairs in the library, we gathered to carry out a Phasma Box session at the behest of another colleague, who prioritizes the software over most other investigation techniques. I have heard a lot of gibberish come out of the Phasma over the years, but also some startlingly impressive hits. So, it was to be on the 4th of July, when, after a few minutes’ worth of meaningless jibber jabber, we all heard the very clear and distinctive sound of a single gunshot emanate from the box. Now, THAT got our attention. I have never heard anything quite like it come from the Phasma Box before, and to hear it come from within the same room where Charles had died of a self-inflicted, .22-caliber gunshot wound seemed to stretch the bounds of coincidence too far. The sound came again later that same evening, once again in the library. We did not hear it anywhere else in the house, nor (to the best of my knowledge) has it come up at any other location; if readers have experienced this themselves, do please write in and let us know.

ebunking is all part of the paranormal investigator’s stock in trade. Having rigged up motion-triggered cameras throughout the building, we were initially excited when one of them was set off by a bedroom door on the second floor apparently opening itself. It was a very impressive piece of footage, and it would have been easy to simply label it as being paranormal, without digging any further. That’s not the way we work, though, and our efforts at debunking it were subsequently rewarded when we finally discovered that the negative air pressure of a door opening further down the hallway was responsible for it. A thumbs-down for the paranormal but a win for intellectual honesty.

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Before she can grab her camera, it is gone. I always take solo shadow figure sightings with a grain of salt, simply because of a) the human brain/eye combo loving to play tricks on us, and b) the fact that there is only a single observer, and no corroborating second eyewitness. Therefore, although she is not the first person to see shadowy activity in this part of the building, this experience gets filed under “interesting anecdote, but not hard evidence.”

e returned to the Villa for Thanksgiving, where we all got together for a “Friendsgiving.” Stephanie had gone all out decorating for the Christmas holidays, with holly, mistletoe, and festive garlands decking the halls. It was like being inside a Norman Rockwell painting, in the very best sense of the term. Our on-call sensitive, MJ Dickson, suggested we set a couple of places at the dinner table for the dead residents of the Villa, and invite them to join us for food. I thought this was a terrific idea, and we did exactly that. The table bugled under the weight of turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings, along with more sugary treats than the average human’s insulin count could handle. The atmosphere was warm and friendly. After dinner, we settled down to enjoy the obligatory Thanksgiving film (exposing my American cohort to “The Parapod Movie”) and the inevitable carbohydrate coma that follows a slap-up meal.

bells. Nor was it a ringtone, text, fancy doorbell, or any other sort of electronic device within the Villa. Fortunately, our audio recorders had been running, and picked the sound up. Its source remains unidentified to this day. The team assembled downstairs in the basement, one of the reportedly active parts of the McInteer, for a game of Cards Against Humanity. In the hours that followed, the foul, open sewer that constitutes the collective psyches of our group, managed to shock even me. Apparently, I wasn’t alone, because a series of heavy thumps upstairs on the ground floor seemed to signify disapproval. None of our cameras were triggered, but we could all hear them one floor below. These are just a few highlights of our visits to McInteer. There were many more, which will be detailed in my forthcoming book about the building’s history and haunting. Should you ever have occasion to visit Atchison (and I would encourage you to do so), I would advise you that a visit to the Sallie House is a must if you are not faint of heart — but spending the night at the McInteer Villa is an experience not to be missed.

In order to get the blood flowing a bit, we went up to the attic and the second floor to do some burst EVP work. On the way down the master staircase, just as the last of us was stepping onto the ground floor, we very clearly heard the sound of bells jingling. At first, I took it for one of Stephanie’s many Christmassy decorations, but she confirmed that none of them made the noise of sleigh

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The opening protection ritual did not start well for me. As the white light mantra began, I closed my eyes and through my third, saw a tall, suited, blond haired spirit man march up to me and punch me straight on the nose! No messing, boxers jab! Didn’t hurt of course because it was all in the psyche, but the vision of that occurrence stayed with me most of night. Whilst holding vigil in the projector room later on we had chance to engage with him, a dominant spirit character of the place would seem? Luckily, we had split into our smaller gathering of friend groups by then and we were getting spirit actually approach us, only trouble being, as soon as a communication link was starting up, our hosts would stop everything flat by insisting we go “ for a tea and blood sugar break “ every time. Our party and several other guests were getting to the end of tether with that approach, being cajoled and corralled around the building somewhat. Noticeably his ‘regulars ‘ were content with the regime, so all was happy in their world. Andy, (Sarah’s hubby of course), has this peculiar trait of ‘frightening spirits off’ (long story) and Sarah unadvisedly mentioned that fact to the “ medium”. Unfortunately, ructions were caused by that statement, and something was commented on about the sensibility of bringing such a person to an inaugural event, captious, just relieved Sarah maintained restraint and didn’t deck anyone. The spirits had not been overly responsive to calling out, but the amount of non-existent ‘knock’, ‘shadow’, ‘green mists’ and flashing mystery lights our attention was distracted to was amazing. I’m a big believer as you know but even I will not declare an experience if I have not actually experienced it. Why pull fantasy from the ether? However adventitiously misdirected, you’re only deluding yourselves! Even if you think you’ve got to provide your guests with value for money. Plus the amount of spirits they were “communicating with “ and insisting on offering help to, “to cross over “if they’re wanting to work the place on the regular basis they’re talking of, better leave some ghosts to practice on hey? We were getting stuff, having a thoroughly pleasing night drawing a few, friendly but (perhaps understandably) nervous spirits and as the hosts realised we were finding them our welcome on the event was turning slightly sour. We are too cocky about our abilities I accept that, but we were drawing a definite mood of snideness, the night was turning fractious, could well have been the spirits in there, testing us all out as much as we were them. At the end of the night, the self-appointed *ambassador to the spirit realm* was complaining he had been scratched, possibly a portent of troubles to come there? “Time for the briefing break guys”

3am came around remarkably fast. The old cinema was a worthwhile place to visit, if only the event had been more considerately managed, to be fair they may improve. It is a thankless task trying to amuse, educate and host such demanding guests for little reward and critical aggravation, good go on their part, in their own eyes I’m sure but it didn’t encourage several of us to seek out their other events ... surely that’s what the business is all about? So, for Sarah Andy and me it was a ten-minute walk back to the haunted hotel and a little quiet vigil of our own sat in that eerie lounge we had encountered something earlier. Bang on 3:33am, Sarah saw a shadow flit across that little room, reflected in the shiny brush aluminium fridge door, we were then entranced by a shadow that seemed to linger about that fridge, the air turned staticky and I caught one of those contentious light anomalies shooting across and from the fridge but that’s another story, of course it is. So that was the chronological events of choosing and attending a “paranormal investigation”, sometimes a disappointing venture, sometimes good. The secret is to find an events company with a good long reputation that you can trust implicitly, after all everyone that goes on a couple of paranormal nights thinks they could do that too, they soon get found out though. Oh and extend your nights interest by choosing a haunted hotel nearby to!

Sunday Get up, bathe. Realise miserably that due to Covid the hotel are not preparing food. Buzz the room of my dear friends and Sarah drives me and Andy northwards homebound giving us chance to post mortem our endurance of the night before, concluding that what’s meant to be will be and if it didn’t kill us the whole experience merely made us stronger. we pull in at Tibshelf services before reaching home, we have Bagels and salmon for brunch. Intermittent showers; wind (that’s what happens with Salmon Bagels – Paul) I, Hubert Hobux was at a haunted old cinema.... Till next time…

Hubert Hobux

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An Interview with

Sarah Sumeray

t’s December, our latest magazine has just hit the shelves. We’re in the office sharing it to social media (as we do), mug of Yorkshire Tea in one hand, Tunnock’s wafer in the other when the little bell thingy pings on Twitter. It does that quite often to be fair only this time we are in for a real treat. It’s Sarah Sumeray who as we soon discover turns out to be something of a rather talented artist with a penchant for the paranormal. Sarah, thanks so much for getting in touch with Haunted Magazine. We absolutely love your art. As a voiceover artist, writer of comedy material a really interesting artist, how do all these different areas connect with your work life?

Honestly, when a potentially fun profession has caught my eye, I’ve always gone for it without a

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second thought. Sometimes they’ve worked out, sometimes they haven’t, and it’s made for a somewhat... eclectic CV. I’ve always been a bit of a hustler, trying to find ways to make money from what I love, and art is something I’ve been doing since I was a kid, always with an undertone of creepiness. Tell us more about your artwork. It’s a really unusual style to recreate some of the most iconic images of horror and paranormal films. What type of images inspire you and how do you create the pieces themselves?

Most of my work is done on Procreate on the iPad, and sometimes I work with ink on paper. I love everything about vintage cartoons and comics. With the comics, it’s the beautiful messy halftones that were so charming back in the day. Now, comics tend to be too slick and clean. It’s all about the errors, stained pages and worn-out ink, and I always include these effects in my comic-style work. I’m a big fan of Archie! When I’m doing my retro cartoon-style art, I’ll pop on

YouTube and watch some old animations from the 1920s and 30s. There’s a surprising lack of reference material for this kind of art but I sort of like that, it forces you to really study the style, and I love immersing myself, watching hours upon hours of these often extremely trippy animations. There’s something so inherently spooky about the old rubber hose cartoons from this era, and for me, it’s the perfect style for recreating horror film scenes. I strongly recommend readers to search the 1930s Fleischer cartoon Betty Boop: Snow White. It doesn’t get much spookier than THAT. Whereabouts have you exhibited your works and do you have any famous clients that you can share?

I’ve sold my work at a few fairs, my favourite being the Satanic Flea Market (not as terrifying as it sounds) as everything about it is so unique. You can buy old haunted books, possessed dolls, human skulls and tons more. Last time I was there, I left having bought a 100% haunted puppet that currently sits

happily on my shelf, alongside a recreation of the Babadook book. Famous clients? Now that’s confidential... What made you interested in paranormal / horror designs? Have you had any paranormal experiences yourself?

I adore horror films and ghost stories, so it was inevitable that it would be reflected in my work. I’ve always had quite bad anxiety and somehow discovered that watching horrors would soothe it. I don’t know if there’s any science behind it, but that’s always been the case, and so I find them kind of comforting. I’ve never really had any paranormal experiences myself, but not for lack of opening myself up to them! If there are any ghosts out there that want to knock over a cup or stack some chairs, bring it on! I draw the line at a Ouija Board, though. Do you believe in the paranormal? Yes, yes I do. Do you think the ghosts heard that?

Vintage Comic Strip / Art seems to have a had a renaissance over the last few years. What is the appeal, do you think?

As I mentioned, there’s a real charm and beauty to old comics, and with such a focus these days on everything being so clean and perfectly presented, the messiness and grittiness of vintage comics I think has really captured people’s imagination. You seem to have a sense of fun in your writing and art. Is that just a bonus, or do you think it helps, inspires and aids your creativity?

I love a bit of dark humour and often reflect that in my work. As well as horror films, I love grim comedies such as Nighty Night, Brass Eye and Jam. I don’t feel as if adding humour to my work is necessarily a conscious decision, but I like to surprise people by creating a juxtaposition between horror and humour in my art. What advice would you give to any aspiring writer / artist?

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Just do it and see where it takes you. Your Halloween 2020 Covid outfit caused quite a stir on social media and the local press? How did that come about and are you planning any other outfits in the future? Haha! Yes, I love absurd “sexy” alloween outfits and after pondering what could be the most ridiculous one ever, I settled on Sexy NHS Test and Trace App. Not sure how I’ll outdo that to be honest. Suggestions for this year are welcomed. How can our readers purchase / commission work from you? They can drop me a message on Instagram @ThisIsFunArt or on Twitter @SummerRay. I’m open to all commission ideas, particularly if they’re spooky...

Sarah it’s been an absolute pleasure to talk to you today.

Fungi and the Paranormal: The magically weird world of Mushrooms

“Living People eat dead mushrooms. Living mushrooms eat dead people” Written by Kate Ray

hen we think of mushrooms, we often think of the humble button mushroom, this small unassuming fellow that is a staple of the English breakfast and spaghetti bolognese and is a gateway into the world of the fungi. It may be that your cooking skills have taken you further a field into the exotic realms of adding chestnut mushrooms, even shitake to your daily dinners, but there is a huge alien vista of fungi to be explored beyond out supermarket staples and one that will take you beyond the dinner plate into other worlds

It is when we step out of the kitchen into the woods, fields and wild spaces that are around us, that we step beyond the culinary and into the medicinal and the mythology of the fascinating and secret world of mycelia networks and freaky fruiting bodies. Mushrooms reveal to us not only food, medicine, and folktale but a deeper spiritual understanding of the unseen worlds of the paranormal.

“Mushrooms are my obsession, well my biggest obsession.” I make mushroom inspired art piece and jewellery; this gives me an insight into their world, physical structure and their magic. I have a humble stall that I take to fayres to peddle my wears, and it was at one such fayre that an old friend made a comment about my love of fungi, and one up until that point I hadn’t considered. She said she wasn’t surprised that I had become focused on making mushrooms, I was naturally curious as to such a statement, so I asked what she meant, her reply, “it is because that represent they (mushrooms) traversing of the gap between life and death”. How I hadn’t considered this before is beyond me, but it was a light bulb moment, and this began my journey into exploring the connections of the mushroom and the paranormal. I am a paranormal investigator and researcher and the concept of these two worlds colliding intrigued and excited me. I deal with the dead in my paranormal role, and so do mushrooms. Is that where the connections end though? We will explore only a small proportion of the vast nature HAUNTED MAGAZINE

of this strange connection, the association between mushrooms, death and beyond.

y relationship with mushrooms germinated many years ago and was an easy journey, once it was formed there was no going back, much in the way that my interest in the paranormal formed, it seems that the two have a unconscious underground network of connections that I hadn’t consider. Both span the spaces between the liminal and material realms, it seems so simple, but like the mushroom, which is the beginning and end of the fungi life, there is much more to discover between the paranormal and mushroom. It is said, and beautifully talked about on “Fantastic Fungi”, available on Netflix, that wherever your feet are there is an estimated 300 miles worth of mycelia network directly beneath you. Imagine miles and miles of fine threads intertwined reaching down into the earth in the space in which only your feet occupy! The mushroom is actually the fruiting body of an immeasurable fine thread of networks that are found on every continent of the planet. It is the biggest living organism we have here on planet earth. This network is sometimes referred to as the wild wide web, and this is a good way to look at fungi, they have a critical role in the life and death of every living thing on the planet. The winding twisting curling mass is sentient; mycelia hunt for food and reproduces, it communicates, but more surprisingly it not only talks to each other and to plants, but carries messages, much like the internet, to plants and trees.

ycelia is a complex network, and in that network, there are battles taking place and the most mind-blowing love stories (fungi have so many ways to reproduce it would make you blush). They are one of the oldest surviving living species on the planet, and they are more closely related to humans than we could easily comprehend. There is evidence of prehistoric mushrooms that would grow as large as trees and dominate the landscape. I love the notion of sheltering under the umbrella of a giant mushroom, maybe this is where the images of gnomes and pixies under toadstools come from, a long distant ancestral ingrained memory, perhaps? It also makes me think that the food source for the mycelia, the dead matter, that these fungi must have needed to sustain themselves would have been huge. Because of the historical development of fungi, which predates humans, it is an obvious natural species to intertwine with mythology and folklore of human history. We see toadstools as a theme through out literature, we see it in art, religion, fashion, in fact wherever humans have inhabited mushroom motifs have popped up. There is in Algeria cave paintings of mushroom men and stone statues of the ancient Mayan that depict the same thing. A blend of mushroom and humanoid forms were worshiped, from the prehistoric times, and maybe even before the use of art as an historical source. In recent years, that seems to have grown with the modern interest with fairies, there has been a soaring interest in foraging skills, mushroom hunting has taken off.

“There is evidence of prehistoric mushrooms that would grow as large as trees and dominate the landscape.”

few years ago, I encountered very few people, as I wandered the woods, that were little more than bemused by my excitement as I ferreted in the woodland undergrowth for mushrooms. Now people who discover me admiring a bracket, oyster or other fruit, met me with more than a whimsical curiosity. They genuinely want to know more, they pick my brain for tips, and everyone seems to have a favourite mushroom.

“I welcome people becoming involved in their natural environments, the more time we spend there the more love and respect we develop. Needless to say, the mushroom is making its heyday, and so it should.” I forage, not so much for the edible qualities of the fruit, although a good chunk of chicken of the woods, or a batch of juicy oysters are welcome finds, but first and foremost I like to document their types, environment, the season, size and quantity as a year-by-year comparison. I use a photograph log of the different varieties, not only for future foraging reference, but as a personal library for my artwork. If there is a good abundance of a certain mushroom I will harvest, but only as much as I can consume. This harvesting is very rarely for the dinner plate, and the majority of the mushrooms I collect end up prepared for personal medicinal uses. Birch polypore is a favourite weekly pick for me, when they are in season and still young. I drink a decoction of this abundant mushroom in a strongly brewed cup of coffee. I make tincture, decoctions, as well as dehydrate them to intensify their properties and to preserve them for use all year round. Some, like the polypore I take fairly regularly, some infrequently (when I feel it is needed) and some on rare occasions. Their benefits to our health outweigh beyond our understanding, and how can we

understand as we have only really discovered a small percentage of the fungi of the world.

edicinal fungus use is filtering into the mainstream consumer world. You can readily buy lions mane, cordyceps, and other rare or exotic mixes in tablet form. There is research currently taking place on the effects of magic mushrooms on issues of mental health, with interesting results. Even the world of cosmetics is buying into the mushroom, with Vogue sighting the benefits of skin care products that include a percentage of mushrooms.

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“This relationship with mushrooms will lead us into our deep historical bonds to them and open a door to understanding the link with the world of the paranormal.” Like our new found friends of the mycelia network, I am going to meander through the world of the fungus to hunt out ideas of

death cap can do some serious damage (including death), and as a result the fly agaric should be met with caution and respect. In saying that, all mushrooms are edible, once! As we delve into the beautiful and mysterious world of this fruiting body, we will discover that its deadly reputation is not all together true.

“I must note here, as a responsible person, I do not encourage anyone to use any mushroom, for any use and advise that if you are interested in them, please do your research and when you think you know enough, research some more, mushrooms can kill.”

ave you ever considered why the dominant colours of the yule period (Christmas) are red and white? One theory is attributed to our newfound friend the fly agaric.

The pre–Christian Christmas time (yule) would involve the practice of inviting shaman into the home or gatherings, the shaman, having ingested the prepared fly agaric would then offer the participants his pee! This sounds gross but this process was part of an important ritual. Through the shaman the fly agaric would be further processed, and the sickening properties eliminated and so those who drank the pee could experience a shamanic fly agaric journey without the risk of becoming seriously ill. The fly agaric was hugely revered for its spiritual properties, taking the participants on journeys to meet their ancestors, to gain wisdom and ask for insight into the coming year. The shaman, offering dried fly agaric, would dress in colours to represent them, in reds and whites. It is interesting to note that fly agaric are at their happiest grounding under pine trees, and in modern terms these are the species of trees used as a Christmas tree. Because of heavy snow drifts blocking the doors to homes, it is said that these shaman would drop a parcel of dried fly agaric down the chimney for those families that could participate in the ceremony; sound familiar? Let’s exchange the mushroom parcel for a gift and the shaman in red and white for Santa and hey presto a Christmas tradition! The Sami people of Scandinavia are said to give us a glimpse into why our modern Santa Clause had his sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. An amanita muscaria trip is said to feel like you are being pulled through the air, that you have a lighter body mass, hence the flying element. Sami people like others of Siberia and north Europe would rely on reindeer for food and warmth. Reindeer would seek out and eat fly agaric, as the fly agaric fruit grown in the winter and can easily be spotted in the snow. These people would have observed the reindeer ingesting the fruit and the association between reindeer, the mushroom and flying became fixed.

mushrooms and the paranormal but first I would like to introduce you to my favourite mushroom, an iconic little fellow who will help me tell the stories of shrooms and spooks; amanita muscaria, or to me and you, the fly agaric.

here are many other references to fly agaric and their Christmas association, but the above is an indicator of our more modern connexion with them. They aid the journey into other worlds, worlds beyond the material, that on the point of the “trip” become as real, if not hyperreal, as the material world. Being used to enter the spirit world, receive visions, grow spiritually and to communicate with the dead and deities.

Fly agaric have a dandy red cap sprinkled with white warts, its colourful and bold nature, is unmistakable (well almost, all identification should be triple checked) in the wild, are just one of the reasons it holds magic for the beholder. The amanita family of mushrooms have a deadly reputation, the panther cap and

In Mexico, a Mexican Indian said that “the little mushroom spirits are the spirits of the Holy earth. They take me to the ancestors, they speak with the voice of God, they show me my life…” (encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Mushrooms. S.H.Snyder and M.H.Lader) HAUNTED MAGAZINE

A connection to God or Gods is important to many societies and psychedelic fungi is one way in which some culture access these divine deities. The “trip” from a psychedelic mushroom takes them on to different nonmaterial plains of existence, and aids in the work they do in their communities. From these realms they bring back to the living messages from deceased loved ones, they are mediums to the spirit world, and this is a practice that takes place around the globe.

s we move into the more civilised world of literature, I look to the children’s classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (Lewis Carroll), to help us further understand this particular toadstool. In this bizarre tale we see the main character Alice encounter a giant caterpillar sat crossed legged on top of a sizable fly agaric smoking a hookah pipe. He administers irritating, drawn out and cryptic advice and to Alice, including inviting her to take a bite of the mushroom, saying that it will help her change her size and in turn help her adapt to her environment. One side of the mushroom will make Alice grow larger and the other will make her shrink, however she isn’t told which side is which. The description of the balancing act she takes, a little bite of one side is too much and she shrinks and a little too much of the other side makes her not only too big but makes her head like a serpent. These bizarre physical sensations, of entering or shrinking limbs and even the whole body are reported by fly agaric trip takers, this in part leads to the sensation of being liminal and floating. The caterpillar is seen as a teacher on this weird journey in wonderland. It is no mistake that the toadstool in question is an amanita muscaria, these have been used to teach spiritually since ancient times The world of Alice is both liminal and spiritual. She must grow, adapt and change in an unfamiliar environment to survive. Much like we all must adapt, it is a story of growth, surrealism, and a nonsensical reality. Much as the world of the paranormal is surreal, mercurial, and ungrounded, Alice seems to have passed into a paranormal realm.

hamanic practices around the world have long used psilocybin and psychoactive plants and mushrooms in order to journey to other worlds. Many receive prophet visions and meet not only deceased human ancestors but other mysterious entities. This is documented (Dr David Luke) many modern “trips” in which the users’ meet aliens, faeries, cryptids, and spirits, and it seems to be a common theme. So where do these entities come from, and their presents regardless of location, cultural background, religious beliefs, people ingesting these have similar encounters and experiences? Dr David Luke spoke to me in an interview which can be found under my name on Youtube and work plays an important part in the documentation of the experiences people have, globally, while ingesting different psychoactive plants and mushrooms. It is shamanic practice and even more modern use of mind-altering mushrooms that play the great part in the connection of mushrooms and other worlds.

“Fairies and Toadstools allow for another curious connection between fungi and the paranormal, it is the association between the fairies and toadstools.”

canning any good mushroom hunting book, we can see reference to the fair folk. Elf cups are tiny blue turquoise trumpeting fungi that can be hard to spot, they nestle in dead wood. One way to find these magical cups is to scan the forest floor for piece of rotting wood with the same blue running through the grain which they stain. There are bioluminescent mushrooms, that glow in the dark, there are ones that look like tiny bird’s nests, ones that look like alien fingers breaking out of an egg all with their own folk tales. Fairy rings are circles of mushrooms that are usually found in lawns, pastures and woodlands. These are thought of as portals into the fairy world and are created by a circular fairy dance. It is considered that to step into one will bring ill to the person, who by doing so will have subjected themselves to the will of the fairies. A person stepping into a fairy ring could find themselves whisked away to fairy land, kidnapped by the fairies or even dance themselves to death! We often see images in children’s books and artwork of fairies either living in, sheltering under or dancing around fly agaric, again possibly symbolising its otherworldly aspect.

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Mushrooms decompose, almost everything and anything, they do this efficiently and quicky, converting waste into food not only for themselves but for plants and trees. Without them we would have a build-up of waste, a stinking mass of dead things. They breakdown the dead matter, taking the nutrients deep into the earth while feeding the earth and its inhabitants. The earth has its associations with both life and death. Out of the soil, seedlings sprout and it is the earth that will take back these seedlings once they have reached the end of their lives. We have a connection with the earth and death, we bury the dead, committing them to the earth, covering the body ritualistically with earth. The earth, for the western world is where the dead go to rest, a place where their souls can be at peace. For most of its life the fungus is unseen, living deep within the earth, consuming the things living and dead. It will fruit in ground where the remains of dead things are. A rotting tree stump, a clump of fallen leaves all give good habitats for the mushroom. The fact that in Europe and parts of America mushrooms will only display their fruit in the autumn months, also lends to their association with death. Autumn is seen as the dying season, when flora and fauna wither back and growth slows to a halt, in this death state the mushroom pushes through into the world. Mushrooms need moisture to bloom, and when they receive enough water, they are propelled into the world in a capillary way. Autumn in most of Europe and some of America means wet weather, and it is this rain that pumps the fungus into fruiting shapes The natural history, mythology and religious aspects of the mushrooms and their connection with the dead and the astral plains is a rich tapestry, one that is woven into every culture and spans the globe. I could have included here the appearance of the mushroom in Greek mythology that links into ritual ceremonies around Hades. There are associations with mushroom and Native American Sharman, to Vikings, as well as Britain’s Pagan past; in fact the references are endless and widespread through history and in modern terms, too numerous to contain in a short article. As I continue to seek out more about this shy and diverse world of fungi, I am continuously surprised and delighted about its plentiful history and continuing modern discoveries. It is a world of the weird, the fruiting shapes of fungi alone are shocking, and their deep and complex mycelia networks are still little understood. It is only proper that these ancient and giving mushrooms should have a close and magical relationship with humans and in turn a gateway to other worlds. We have so much to explore with fungi, both in this world and within others.

Kate

INVESTING IN AN INVESTIGATION Written by Nigel Higgins

W “I am one of those frustrating people who questions everything. I want to understand and use the information available to try and validate the experiences I have. Before an investigation, I try to arm myself with some information about the venue, small snippets gleaned through a bit of internet research or book reading.” Nigel is a paranormal researcher and investigator from Norfolk, with an interest in history and local folklore. He has been actively investigating since 2005, although his interest in all things spooky goes back a lot further than this. Nigel is the Lead Investigator with Out There Paranormal, a group he started in 2009. Out There are very active across social media, having a dedicated YouTube channel, and their own podcast channel.

e all love a paranormal investigation. To take the chance to go out with our friends, to see what experiences we have at a spooky venue. Sometimes we get lucky, and events occur that make us think we have witnessed something paranormal. When these moments strike, it is easy to convince ourselves that they are genuine phenomena. After we complete the investigation, my team and I look at any evidence we captured and research more thoroughly to see if we can find anything relevant to our observations. Careful notes are taken, and the information gleaned is often shared by means of an investigation video or blog post. Recently, I put a post together for my group’s blog which looked into a local tale about The Church of St Mary at East Somerton in Norfolk. The objective was to explain how important research is when visiting venues and analysing any evidence obtained during an investigation. To help me understand what events were happening at the site in question, I watched a few investigation videos on YouTube. I then enquired on a few Facebook groups to see what other investigators had encountered at my chosen location. After watching several videos, reading many different accounts of investigations, and asking for personal experiences on Facebook, I was surprised HAUNTED MAGAZINE

to see monks mentioned in more than 50% of responses. One individual even sent me an EVP which sounded like monks chanting! These ghostly monks appear to be rather upset, prodding and pushing investigators at the location.

“Spirit monks are seen in several places, with the obvious locations being ruined monastic buildings and the occasional church. There is also a well-known ‘Black Monk’ who supposedly haunts a semi-detached house in Pontefract.” For all these wandering monks, it seems that no one has posed one relevant question; why were there monks at this location? I believe this to be a fundamental question needing greater consideration. Therefore, I decided that further research was required to try and understand why monks would be hanging around this ruined church. Typing something simple like ‘The Church of St Mary, East Somerton’ into a search engine will bring up thousands of results. The top sites will hold a handful of historical facts and folkloric tales about the wicked witch buried under the church (and how a tree grew from her wooden leg!).

As exciting as witches are, focusing exclusively on historical fact and making a few notes is one way to improve your appreciation for a location. When I conducted preliminary research for The Church of St Mary, I found a few simple pieces of information that would throw different light on any further research on the purpose of wandering monks. Firstly, one sentence, and one word, jumped out at me. ‘There was formerly a chapel in East Somerton, now used as a barn.’ This was followed by ‘there was formerly a chapel in East Somerton, into which the rectors of Winterton are instituted, but has been in ruins many years it was dedicated, to St Mary.’ It’s the word chapel that springs out at me. Suddenly we have a different word applied to the location we are investigating. The word chapel has not appeared in any other group’s reports or research. It may seem a minor difference, but chapels and churches are very different animals indeed.

So, what makes a chapel? Chapel 1: A subordinate or private place of worship: such as. a: a place of worship serving a residence or institution. So, we now have a private place of worship serving another building. Time to dig a little further to see if we can find a suitable structure for our chapel to serve. There is mention of one such place in a few of the investigation reports I had previously encountered. The secondary place is Burnley Hall, where reports alluded to St Mary’s serving as a Chapel of ease. I hit the internet again, searching for Burnley Hall at East Somerton, and results came back as clear as day. The hall was there, with the ruined church or chapel virtually next door. The problem is, this was where we hit a wall. Burnley Hall is the perfect candidate for our chapel to serve, but Burnley Hall does not appear until 1710, and our ruins go back way before then! The ruins at East Somerton date back to two different periods of history. The tower dates to the 13th century with the main body of the church dating back to the 15th century. It seems strange that we have a 200-year gap between the two, but of course, they could have knocked down the older part of the church and rebuilt it in the 15th century. The records all say that the church/chapel fell out of use in the 17th century, being a good few years before our chapel candidate, Burnley Hall, was built. It is not looking likely that Burnley Hall is our chapel residence unless, of course, there was an older building on the same site. I wanted to get an idea of what might be hiding under the ground around the area, so I thought to consult old ordnance survey maps. They are useful tools, having many ancient monument sites marked and are hugely underrated research tools. After consulting the maps, another candidate was found, not a hall, but a hospital! So, what is this mysterious ‘hospital’ that lies less than half a mile away from our holy site?

Figure 1 (Left) Location of the hospital site

Searching for a hospital at West Somerton, a surprising result reveals itself. The hospital is no ordinary medical facility, but a specialized leper hospital. Figure 2 (Right) from Index Monasticus by Richard Taylor

Sufferers of leprosy have long shouldered an unpleasant and unfair reputation, they are depicted as hooded figures ringing bells, shouting ‘unclean!’ while parts of their person fall away.

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owever, in the period that concerns us - the 12th to 15th centuries - reaction to the disease was a lot more complicated. Some people believed leprosy was a punishment for sin, but others saw the suffering of lepers as similar to the suffering of Christ. Because lepers were enduring purgatory on earth, they would go directly to heaven when they died and were, therefore, closer to God than other people. Those who cared for them or made charitable donations believed that such good works would reduce their own time in purgatory and accelerate their own journey to heaven. As such, funding such projects as a leper hospital or a simple ‘Leper’ or ‘Lazar’ house was seen by the nobility as buying your way into heaven. It was a commonly held belief that leprosy was brought to our country by returning Crusaders, who had been over in the holy land. Randolph De Glanville, the hospital benefactor, was a powerful figure in the 12th century. At the height of his powers in 1180, during the reign of Henry II, he was the Chief Justiciar of England. In 1189 Henry II died. At the coronation of his successor, Richard I (the Lionheart), Chief Justiciar Glanville was present. When Richard ‘took the cross’, Glanville joined him, contributing a considerable sum towards what was to be the third crusade.

This is one side of the story. The other side is not quite so pleasant.

fter the death of Henry II, De Glanville was removed from his office by Richard I and imprisoned until he had paid a ransom, according to one authority, of £15,000 – an enormous sum of money for the time. Shortly after obtaining his freedom, he also “took the cross” and went off on the Third Crusade. In the autumn of 1190, fighting in the third crusade, Glanville died at the siege of Acre, falling victim to one of the many epidemics that swept through the Crusader camp. Was he inspired to go crusading by the new king, or forced to pay a sum towards the third crusade after losing his powerful position? Not only did De Glanville build the hospital at West Somerton. He also founded two abbeys, both in Suffolk: Butley, for Black Canons, in 1171, and Leiston, for White Canons, in 1183. One would hope that after “taking the cross” and for all his charitable expenditure, he earned his place in heaven. Most hospitals consisted of a few cottages built around a detached chapel, where praying and singing continued throughout the day. The rules decreed that the lepers should observe the disciplines of obedience, patience, and charity, and hold all their property in common - the principles of monasticism. Is this where we finally find our angry ghostly monks? HAUNTED MAGAZINE

The Lepers at the hospital would have had some support in the form of a Prior or a Chaplain, and it seems that these individuals were not always shining examples of monastic life and would take advantage of their position.

e know a little about living arrangements in twelfth and thirteenth-century leprosaria. Some lazars were small and contained fewer than a half dozen lepers. Larger institutions numbered twenty or more inmates attended by mass priests and clerical assistants. Built to house thirteen lepers under the care of a prior and a handful of lay assistants, our hospital would, like many others, have rules for admission and everyday life. Searching through various ecclesiastical accounts, I came across the following rules. Lepers had to swear that they would never go out of the hospital, look over the walls or climb trees, talk to their friends, or complain in any way about their state, justly or unjustly. Frequent prayer and a strict religious lifestyle would have been maintained, with daily prayer for themselves and the founders and patrons of the hospital as a standard practice at all hospital sites. The food was usually plain but plentiful, the lepers received meat or fish three times a week, and on the meatless days, there were eggs, vegetables and cheese. Beer being the staple drink was in plentiful supply too. It appears, however, that all was not well at our hospital. In amongst the ecclesiastical accounts, I found evidence of a court case against the hospital Prior. To frighten off the friends of the lepers, the prior kept a guard dog. He maintained living accommodation for his personal use within the leprosarium, which consisted of a hall, bedchamber, chapel and receiving room. The prior held large parties for guests on an almost daily basis. His guests would stay the night and destroy or make off with the leper’s goods. If this was not enough, the prior also deprived the lepers of their beer allowance of seven gallons a week! In 1297 the residents of the leper hospital mutinied against the thieving prior and his men, looting and demolishing the buildings and killing the guard dog. It appears that the lepers were having a rougher time than we thought. They weren’t allowed to have friends visit, and they were trapped in the hospital while the prior in charge has a jolly time with his guests. Their possessions get stolen and to cap it all off, they don’t get the beer promised to them. Are we getting the feeling that they may be an unhappy group? So, what if the Leper Hospital was a little further away from its possible site, and the church at St Mary’s was a chapel for the Leper hospital? It would certainly account for the ghostly monks. These ghostly monks could be lepers who are frustrated at unwelcome investigators entering their space, concerned that more visitors mean more thefts of their property.

It’s a bit of a leap, I know. Archaeological finds at the hospital site given on the OS map consist of some bones and an old jug, which is hardly conclusive evidence that a building was there. Looking at the details in the court case, it seems the hospital had both a hall and a chapel, so you would expect there to be something more substantial left behind. There is something else to consider. Earlier, we looked at the possible timeframe for the construction of St Mary’s. The building of the chapel was in two distinct phases. The tower came first in the 12th century, which ties in with the construction of the hospital in 1190. The Leper Hospital is all but gone by 1399, regarded as desolate. The construction of the main body of St Mary’s took place in the 15th century, long after the hospital was empty. As such, I believe that the church building lies over the remains of the hospital leaving no trace of the former behind, except the tower. By limiting yourself to a cursory internet search before an investigation, you will learn nothing new. By watching videos and repeating what previous groups have done on an investigation, you will similarly get no new experiences. Worst of all, there will be no new content, no interesting new ideas for others to consider, just a rehash of the same old things.

Undertaking some thorough research will give you much more information and the chance to learn so much more. In this simple exercise, we have learnt much more about our site and can now consider many new ways in which we can interact with this beautiful site. These are skills that we can develop and transfer across all our future investigations. Proper research is an excellent and indispensable tool for paranormal investigators to add to their arsenal.

If you would like to look a little further into some of the points raised, I have included the sites I referenced for this article. Leprosy https://www.buildinghistory.org/articles/ heritagemercy2.shtml https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/26/ health/leprosy-medieval-pilgrim-skeletonstudy/index.html https://www.historytoday.com/archive/ feature/medieval-hospitals-england For a more in-depth read about medieval hospitals. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/23473/1/ Martin%20Huggon%20Hospitals%20 Thesis%20Redacted%20version.pdf

Historical information about the area of Somerton East and West. https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/ record-details?TNF1301-Parish-SummarySomerton-(Parish-Summary) Finally, an excellent resource for looking at old maps https://www.archiuk.com/archi/archi_ maps.htm

PARAPSYCHOLOGY Is it all nonsense or has the world benefited from the study of the weird? “I think there has been a perception of some of these paranormal experiences and beliefs, that either mainstream science or some of the media regarded it as a joke in the past, and by attaching parapsychology to it, it’s given a little bit of credibility to it.” Ciarán O’Keeffe

hen I tell people I am interested in parapsychology, I usually get one of two reactions. They either find it fascinating and have hundreds of questions about ESP, poltergeists and psychics, or they think it’s all a load of nonsense and ask why I am wasting my time reading about it. It got me wondering, has the world benefited from the study of parapsychology or have the many academics studying this branch psychology been wasting their time? After one friend asked, “what’s the point in researching something that’s made up?” I decided to ask parapsychologist Ciarán O’Keeffe what, if anything, the field has given back to the world. Ciarán works out of Buckinghamshire New University. He lectures on the subject of psychology and parapsychology, and actively researches the field. So, of course Ciarán sees the value in researching this topic. Ciarán told me that he thinks that parapsychology is almost duty bound to investigate some of the paranormal experiences that people report. He said, “I think there has been a perception of some of these paranormal experiences and beliefs, that either mainstream science or some of the media regarded it as a joke in the past, and by attaching parapsychology to it, it’s given a little bit of credibility to it.” HAUNTED MAGAZINE

These experiences can be very real, sometimes even traumatic or life changing, so by treating these cases with respect, it gives those having the experience a much-needed opportunity to talk to someone sympathetic about what has happened to them. As well as offering this personal help and understanding, parapsychology’s biggest impact has arguably been on how scientific experiments are carried out, especially those of a psychological nature. Ciarán explains, “there are some key things that parapsychology did in its development, which were first. So, for example, the blind and double-blind protocol, which is ensuring that the experimenter is not in contact with the participants.” In a double-blind study neither the experimenters nor the participants know the conditions of each particular test. For example, if you wanted to test a volunteer’s ability to perform remote viewing by identify what is in a sealed box through psi abilities, then you should ensure that it’s not only the volunteer who doesn’t know what’s in the box, but also you yourself as the researcher. By doing this you reduce the possibility that you are influencing the volunteer or showing a bias in the way you are recording the results. The blind protocol is something that parapsychology did first in its evaluation of the original claims of Anton Mesmer - mesmerism being the forerunner to hypnosis.

Feeling the

Future The most famous of Bem’s original experiments was dubbed the “feeling the future” experiment, in which he gave his volunteer test subjects a list of words to memorise. They were only given a short amount of time to learn the list before being given a test to see how many of the words they could recall. The results were not revealed to the test subjects and at some point, after the test some of the words were randomly selected and the students were asked to retype these words multiple times for practice. When the results of the test were analysed, it showed that the students were better able to recall the words chosen for the practice session, even though these words were randomly selected after the test. This seems to imply that studying the words in the future helped the those being tested in the past, however the professor’s experiments seemed to show biased in favour of supporting ESP, as well as serious methodological flaws, such as changing the procedures partway through the experiments and combining results of tests with different chances of significance. One team of researchers, headed up by skeptics Professor Chris French and Professor Richard Wiseman, conducted Bem’s experiment in exactly the same way, they found absolutely no evidence of participants being able to predict the future or being influenced in any way by future events. In 2016, Bem told his peers at a meeting of the Parapsychological Association, that he had carried out a replication of his experiments, using more rigorous methods than in his original research. This time round the experiments yielded no evidence at all for the existence of ESP or the feeling the future effect.

It has, however, become particularly important in many aspects of research, perhaps more than anywhere in the development and testing of new drugs and treatments in the medical world. In clinical trials, neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment. Not only does this prevent bias in result, but it also helps to minimise the impact of the placebo effect. This is the weird behaviour where a person can report an improvement of symptoms as a result of a substance or treatment that has no therapeutic value. Another important process which was established in parapsychology is the practice of pre-registering a study. Ciarán explains, “the pre-study database, effectively, is a way of controlling for the ‘file drawer effect’.” He adds, “there was concern in early parapsychology, that if the results were not positive, they would just be literally put in the file drawer.”

“We have a scientific responsibility to understand more about these experiences.” Ciarán O’Keeffe

This pre-study database means that researchers don’t end up filing papers away rather than publishing them when the study doesn’t yield the results they’d hoped for. When a researcher is at the point where they’re ready to conduct the study, they submit details about the study and how they intend to conduct it.

Ciarán says, “you submit the method that you’re going to do, and also your hypotheses.” The idea is that you follow this up with your findings after the study is completed. Should a researcher not publish the findings of the study, then others in the field can look into why that was. This is so important in the study of parapsychology where researcher of the past have taken it upon themselves to try to prove the existence of fringe beliefs, like telepathy. Ciarán says that putting certain studies in the file drawer distorts the overall picture, “you only got a sense that ‘oh, yeah, there’s lots of positive results here’. Well, no, that’s only the case because only the positive ones were reported.” The parapsychologist adds, “the pre-registering of studies was something parapsychology did some time ago, to try and counter the criticism it was getting from mainstream science. And now, of course, it is a feature of mainstream science.” Another research related problem that parapsychology actively tackled is that of replication bias. According to Ciarán the controversy caused a bit of public debate. He said, “we call it the replication controversy, or replication crisis.” Ciarán told us, “About ten years ago, there was a controversy in psychology about a journal, not publishing studies that replicated an earlier study.” As Ciarán points out, this really is the basic premise of science, “if somebody does a study, the whole point is that other people then try and replicate it where they’re based. If they’re not showing the same results, that should be published.” HAUNTED MAGAZINE

This became hotly debated in the parapsychology field after researchers attempted to replicate the work a Cornell University professor claimed to have found proof of presentiment, an intuitive feeling about the future. An article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology described Dr. Daryl Bem’s nine different experiments and shared his conclusion that his participants were able to gain unconscious influences from future events.

Bem’s tests have since been replicated and produced conflicting results. When these researchers tried to get their findings published in the same journal that published details of the original study, they found they couldn’t get published as the journal wasn’t interested in public replication. So, while the wider world might not have directly benefited through innovation, inventions or findings made by parapsychologists, it’s clear that parapsychology has had its biggest impact on the scientific method, this has led to advancements through other branches of science. But of course, parapsychology has also helped advance the field of paranormal research and helped those who have been troubled by hauntings or anomalous experiences.

to be hard numbers, it can be recording people’s experiences. So, there should be more talking because effectively what ghost hunters are doing, or people that have experiences are doing, is observing in the real world.” However, it needs to work both ways, “ghost hunters can learn from parapsychologists about stuff like sleep paralysis, temporal lobe lability, all of the research and findings that we’re doing in parapsychology, a prime example is the paper that I published about environmental explanations.” The paper looked at how factors like visual cues in the physical environment, lighting levels, air quality, temperature, infrasound, and electromagnetic fields could cause someone to have the type of anomalous experience that they might categorise as a ghost, demon or poltergeist. Their study concluded that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that these factors may provide an explanation for a location’s haunted persona, perceived creepiness, or experiences that arise from these settings. because effectively parapsychology is about understanding people’s behaviour, understanding the mind.” He adds, “we have a scientific responsibility to understand more about these experiences. I think the only caveat to that is, is that message out there? So, if somebody has a paranormal experience, I don’t think their natural reaction would be ‘I’m gonna call a parapsychologist’.” When it comes to ghosts and haunting, Ciarán addresses a clear divide. He said, “Steve Parsons has always been saying, which I think is a brilliant way to look at it, there is a gap between ghost hunting and parapsychology and that gap needs to be filled. It’s a gap where we can learn from each other.”

Ciarán says that people without an understanding of parapsychology can often be immediately dismissive of people’s experiences as being fraud or hallucination, but Ciarán says “you cannot ignore the thousands-upon-thousands of people that have these experiences, and if anything, there is a responsibility on science, especially a branch of psychology to try and understand more about these experiences

Ciarán explains that this is down to the history of parapsychology being primarily lab based. He said, “it’s only really within the last five to 10 years that parapsychologists have really started talking to ghost hunters.” He added, “I think because within the field, parapsychology looked at ghost hunting as a nonscientific endeavour.” The parapsychologist does agree to a point that a lot of the “running around in the dark” isn’t scientific but observing the people doing this is science. Ciarán explains, “data gathering is science and data doesn’t have HAUNTED MAGAZINE

Ciarán said, “we made a point of publishing it in a journal where there was no cost involved. People could just get free access to it, but effectively, it reviews all of the studies on environmental explanations for haunting experiences and basically concludes you know, what, the evidence is not there.” The paper made the recommendation that “future studies must [therefore] strive to measure discrete physical factors more consistently, comprehensively, and precisely.” Ciarán said, “I think even that simple message, showing that to ghost hunters has been really useful, because you can see the research. Actually, we met some of very, very few guys that are measuring the environment.

Ciarán, summed up, “I guess the issue is for me, is that I’m sold on the idea that the world in some way has benefited from parapsychology, but I am biased because I feel it has, because I’m a parapsychologist.”

Higgy. 67

THE LIFE OF RYLEIGH

The Bandit Queen Pearl Heart Source: Legends of America

t was a beautiful weekend in July 1974 and my mother had made plans for us to go and visit some of the historical sights around Arizona. We had the summer off from school and to go anywhere was better than staying home.

As kids, we were very excited to go on these adventures mostly because it was the 1970s and I was living in the old west, where cowboys still rode out to the desert, where 6 shooters and a faithful dog was a way of life. If you were lucky to get a nice day when the weather isn’t over 100* families took advantage and did fun stuff outdoors. On this special day my family loaded up our station wagon and headed to The Yuma State Prison historical center in Yuma Az. In elementary school we had learned about this place as it was built in the 1800s and operated from 1876 to 1909 before it was shut down. Just over 3 thousand inmates, men and women were sentenced to live out their lives for the crimes they committed. Some areas of the prison held the worst kind of prisoners. Life at the prison was tough but for the inmates at Yuma’s prison it was hell on earth. The desert heat, stone walls, and massive watch tower created the perfect storm for the hellish environment, and it was fit for the hardest of criminals. Outlaws feared going to Yuma prison. From

suicides to prison riots and attempted escapes, Yuma had it all. Out of 3,069 prisoners, only 111 had died on the property. Most passed away of Tuberculosis that was taking over the country at that time, but also escape attempts would get a person shot dead quick. Yuma also had its share of Outlaw celebrities like Richard Flores Magon and The Bandit Queen Pearl Hart.

hen we arrived to the prison, there was a lot of families and school trips already arriving so the place was starting to become busy. As I walked around, I could feel the uneasiness and the despair in the energy that has been left behind by the prisoners that once lived in these cells. Our tour guide took about 10 people in our group and proceeded to go over the history. After an hour passed by and the heat from the sun was starting to get hotter, I was over standing around in a group of people and wanted to venture off on my own to go play. As our group walked into what is called The Dark Room of the prison, I saw a man standing behind everyone wearing a prison uniform. He looked very thin and barley alive. I tapped my mother on her arm and pointed for her to look at this man and she just said not to worry that it was just someone dressed up as a prisoner for the tours.

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I wanted to believe her but there was something off about this man. I walked up to him to ask him if he was alright and I touched him on the shoulder, he just turned his head and stared at me and didn’t say a word. I thought that was creepy, so I walked away and stood by my mom. As the tour went on, I had noticed this same man standing behind everyone in our group again and he kept staring at me with this long cold stare. I really wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. After a while our tour had ended and we all went to the concession stand for something cold to drink and to eat lunch. My mom was busy talking to the other women in our group when I asked her if I could go play with the bigger kids next to the rock pavilion, she waved me off and I took that as a “go ahead” but stay close. So off I went to go exploring and getting to know some of the other kids that were there. Most of them seemed really nice, one kid suggested that he could jump off the rocks further than anyone else and if he did, he would call himself the king. That was a challenge to us all, so we all lined up to jump off the rocks to the desert floor. I did alright for my size and being only 10yrs old.

The higher I climbed the harder it was to keep up, so I gave it once last try. I climbed up higher on the rocks than anyone and when I climbed up to the top, that man dressed as a prisoner was there waiting for me. To this day I swear that he pushed me off the top trying to hurt me and hurt me he did. I had hit my head on the way down and was in a comma for 2 weeks. While I was “sleeping” in the hospital I felt like I was back at the prison as a prisoner with 33 other women locked in a cell with no one to hear me scream for help. The women kept touching me and reaching out for me, they were dirty and crying from despair. They wanted me to help them, but I couldn’t. What seemed like forever was passing me by, I had woken up and told my family the stories of the prison and the women that were held there and the prisoner I saw. They didn’t really think anything of it because that’s where I was when I got hurt, so to them It was just a dream. I thought to myself, maybe it wasn’t real after all. A month goes by and I’d been working out in physical therapy, getting stronger with my leg muscles and arm strength as since being in a comma I had lost

my ability to walk, when one day in the gym area I looked up because I had that strange feeling come back that I was being watched, I looked towards the window to see that prisoner staring back at me. I freaked out and started screaming. My mom took me back to the Drs. wanting to know why I was seeing such things. The Dr claimed that it must be some sort of PTSD that I’m going through from the head injury. He said it should fade away in time. As the years passed and I got older, I could still see the prisoner following me everywhere I went. My family tried for years with mental therapy and medicine that never worked. This spirit followed me around for the rest of my childhood but that wasn’t all that happened. After my accident I could feel energies that surrounded places and people everywhere I went. It was like a built-in alarm clock that went off in my body every time a spirit came near me. I had no idea what was happening to me, I couldn’t understand why I was seeing and feeling things that I know I shouldn’t have. As the years passed, I started doing some research in paranormal studies and wiccan religion. I found out that after my

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accident, while I was in a comma, I was stuck in between the living and the dead. My spirit had the chance to touch the other side for a while. It attracted many spirits to come my way, like someone just turned a light on in a very dark room. Once they knew I could feel them, they wouldn’t leave me alone. These spirits followed throughout my life. Over the years I have had a chance to zone in on my skill and get it to where I’m not scared of feeling the dead in places or seeing the memory of them in locations. I use it in everyday life to help me stay away from danger and also to contact the dead to help others say goodbye or for any final last words. I’ll never forget that day at the Yuma prison where I had an attachment of a prisoner stay with me, stuck to my light, seeing him in my nightmares and everywhere I went. One day, just like that he was gone. I never knew his name or why he stayed with me through all the years. I hope one day to return to Yuma to find out who that was.

Ryleigh

he Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre (HAPRC) turned 4 years old in February 2022. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting this location many times over the last 4 years, as have many other teams, groups and individuals. We’ve always said that there is more than meets the eye to the place. It’s hard to put it in a category, it’s hard to label it (not that labelling the paranormal is easy). We first visited the location back in April of 2018, it had just opened and our relationship with the place and more importantly the owner, Neil has grown from strength to strength. If you’re one of those people who go ghost hunting or paranormal investigating then you’ll have the chance to visit locations full of history, mystery, intrigue and (fingers crossed, touch wood and all that) potential paranormal activity. HAPRC is no different to that, the location is allegedly haunted, has a history (it’s in the oldest part of Hinckley, Leicestershire) and many people have experienced many, many different things over the years.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION… Hinckley Market was established in 1311, with the town going back as far as the 1100’s when the motte-and-bailey castle fortification was raised by the Sheriff of Leicester in the late eleventh century. The road from the castle (Castle Street) led straight to the marketplace. HAPRC is located on the edge of Hinckley marketplace directly opposite Castle Street. There has possibly been a structure on the site of HAPRC for nearly 1000 years. The site of the building has seen many changes over the centuries and its history is one of the key factors to its activity. With many layers of history and the volume of people who have lived, worked and died in and around this site makes it one of the most haunted places in the UK. Where HAPRC can differ is that you have much more than a haunted location. You have the vast range of Antiques on show that may or may not be haunted. Antiques that you can pick HAUNTED MAGAZINE

up, touch, wear, sit in. Literally, nothing is off limits. Neil, the owner invites people to use the antiques in the location, hence the title of Paranormal Research Centre. You’re not just visiting a location, you are immersed in a building full of

antiques, rooms and rooms of them. Add to that it’s also a shop selling a plethora of wonderful magic and mystical items it really can be a one stop shop for all things paranormal at times. Over the last four years, the location has grown in size and stature and despite Covid and the lockdowns affecting many paranormal locations and on February the 9th (2022), we held an event there, this coincided with the 4th birthday of HAPRC. We took cake, fizzy pop, jam sandwiches and cheese and pineapple cubes on cocktail sticks and caught up with Neil. It’s so hard to believe that the centre has been running for 4 years now! Such an incredible achievement. Other than the obvious difference of space available, what changes do you feel have taken place from a paranormal perspective? Obviously having the new shop has given HAPRC a presence on street level, which is

attracting more people from the local area to come inside. It’s amazing to think that we get visiting teams from all over the UK but not enough people in Hinckley even know the centre is here, but the shop and our advert on local radio is changing that. In a paranormal perspective the new rooms have made a huge difference to us, as we are able to conduct bigger and more controlled experiments ourselves, which is something that we are looking at doing more of. The areas are becoming more themed which means we can direct our experiments to specific residents. i.e. The War Room: We can use war time music and sounds that only war time spirits would possibly react to. Have you taken anything supernatural home with you that required cleansing etc? I have never taken anything home with me, although there are a couple of child spirits from the centre that do visit our home from time to time. You’ve obviously seen so many teams pass through the doors with different styles, equipment and even ability levels. What would you say are the best ingredients for the perfect investigation at HAPRC? Yes, there has been so many teams that have visited the centre, and to see the different styles and techniques is always fascinating for us all, as I do believe that we should be able to learn from each other. Teams do have good points and some have bad points, so I take on board the good points, perhaps develop them to suit us and leave the not so good points with them. The best ingredients when investigating the centre is to be respectful of the building, objects and spirits. You are coming into their home after all. Be open minded. Laughter always works well here, even your jokes can get a response Paul. I think the main thing though is to enjoy it and try anything, within reason. The centre is a perfect location to try new things. Finally, tell us everything even if it sounds completely crazy, as we can record that to see if it comes up again. If there’s a reoccurrence or pattern, we will know about it and can work on it. Has the activity surprised you? The level of activity has amazed me. I never thought that we would witness what we have in the last four years. Some of the photos, EVP’s and videos that teams have captured have been incredible. However, it’s not just the quality it’s also the sheer amount that

The Cracked Mirror which many believe could be a portal

“The level of activity has amazed me. I never thought that we would witness what we have in the last four years. Some of the photos, EVP’s and videos that teams have captured have been incredible.” Neil Packer, Haunted Antiques

have been captured. I can’t think of anywhere that so much has been experienced or captured, even though some like to plaster everything on social media or even newspapers. We at HAPRC don’t, we sit quietly working in the background doing what we do, compiling our evidence. Building our own picture out of the social media public eye. Hopefully, the centre will eventually, get the recognition that I believe it deserves. As always, I do have a plan. HAUNTED MAGAZINE

What object(s) do you wish you could have at the centre and why? That’s an easy one. I would dearly love objects that belonged to famous rock musicians especially something of David Bowie as he was a god like figure to me personally growing up. Then have a rock music room in the centre maybe. Also, I’d like to have one of the famous haunted objects like Robert the Doll or the Annabelle

them, I get a sense or a feeling, and whether the residents of the building know this I just don’t know. I do believe the spirits adapt to what we are feeling about individuals though. We always say hello to the spirits of the centre when we arrive and goodbye when we leave. One thing I will say is be careful what you wish for at the centre: You just might get it. How important is it would you say to explore the centre with an open mind?

“Being open minded is very important when coming to the centre. We do have some unusual entities within the building so be open minded to anything within the realms of the paranormal.” What are the positives and negatives of running such a well-known paranormal venue and how have you adapted / changed things to accommodate these? The positives have been that I have met some amazing people during the last four years, many of whom I now class as friends. Having the centre has allowed us to advance our knowledge within the paranormal, to try out different ideas and experiments. Our only limit is time, as we do have lots more that we want to do, but I need the teams in at the weekends to give me the finances to keep the centre running. The negative is pure and simple jealousy from other people. I have changed as a person since the centre opened. I am more confident when speaking to people, I was quite an introvert before. I don’t let negative people get to me now. I do firmly believe that the centre is a very special place which deserves even more recognition. Is social media a hinderance or an advantage to the paranormal? Social media is a nightmare to be honest. That is why I created our own App, so I could get away from it as much as possible. If only social media was used properly by everyone, the paranormal field could progress. Instead, it has become the centre of drama and bitchiness, name calling and falling out. It just makes no sense to me. At the minute it seems to be about clickbait, share share share send us your stars, we are the best. WTF is that? Lots to unpack in this photo!!! Whilst investigating, Viv Walton scrys into a mirror, her face completely altered as a strange creature emanates in the doorway to the séance room.

It does my head in to be honest. The movies don’t help either though. You really have to think long and hard before putting on a picture or video on Facebook because you know you are going to get attacked from some people over it. We need to move away from this culture, and help each other, no-one is better than anyone else.

doll perhaps and then allow us to do some investigating on them to see if the stories are true. How do you think the centre adapts to its visitors? To me the centre is like a living organism it changes from day to day, from team to team. Other locations are famous for a black monk or a grey lady, here no-one knows what or who they are going to get. I can always tell if any individual isn’t going to experience something at the centre. As soon as I meet HAUNTED MAGAZINE

proper job so I could keep the centre going. Who would you most like to explore the centre with and why?

Left to Right: Neil, wife Julie and Jane Rowley

Lockdown was tough for many people. From a paranormal location viewpoint, how was it for HAPRC? Lockdown was very hard for the centre, just as it was for everyone, but we survived and actually recently expanded. I followed all the Government guidelines throughout the Pandemic. Legally, we could have come to the centre to do live feeds but I didn’t think that was the right thing to do so we stopped completely. That was when I created the HAPRC live feeds channel and had different presenters doing shows from their own homes. These were a huge success and hopefully helped people to get through the lockdowns. Huge thanks to all the presenters who gave up their time to entertain people. You were all fantastic. During the second lockdown I had to go out there and get a

That is quite a difficult question to be honest. I have investigated with many well-known names In the paranormal, so I think I’d have to go back to when the paranormal became more popular in the UK. I do believe that when Most Haunted began it was a fantastic TV show, and it did start my interest so I’m thankful for that. So, I’m going to say Yvette Fielding. You’re fortunate to have a great support network around you with Julie, Jane and Ames and co… how important is that for you and the energy of the centre? What can I say about this crazy bunch? They are all amazing and I really couldn’t have achieved any of this without them, but also the old members of the team when we first started four years ago. My wife, Julie, has always supported me in my ideas and she is the backbone of the centre. Julie is also

More evidence. Could the full-spectrum camera have detected a spectral stethoscope that wasn’t actually there?

“Lockdown was very hard for the centre, just as it was for everyone, but we survived and recently expanded. I followed all the Government guidelines throughout the Pandemic.” 74

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very empathic, so is a valued member of the team. Jane really doesn’t get the credit she deserves. Not only is she an amazing medium, but she is also always pushing the boundaries and asking questions. Jane does the vast majority of research before we start something new. Ames is a great investigator, scared of nothing. Ant is the newest member and has already progressed so much in his own journey. Another great asset to the centre. The energy between us all when we are investigating is so important, it just clicks into place. The combined energy is also very important to the centre as an entity, without this combination we wouldn’t achieve what we do. Is there any area of the paranormal that you don’t want to take place in the centre and if so, what is it? There isn’t anything within the vast paranormal field that we wouldn’t try or allow to be taken place at the centre. That’s why we call ourselves a paranormal research centre. If you ever find yourself near to Hinckley OR at a loose end OR after a new paranormal location to investigate please consider the Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre: https://hauntedresearchcentre.com/

“Your heart does not work alone. Your brain tracks the conditions around you via climate, stress, and level of physical activity — adjusting your cardiovascular system to meet those needs.”

s each day that one is alive and thriving either here on the earth plane or parallel to a multi-verse of nonphysical existence, we can celebrate love on either side of life. We place so much emphasis on creating materialistic holidays that have modernized an industry of gift giving and wasteful spending. Everyday should be cherished and not relinquished to a month and date to showcase such actions. The dead, for whom many are still very much alive, can experience the pain and/or joy of past physical impressions of what love meant to them. I take you back on a bit of a loving haunting history ride as we begin to see how this all came about. Many cultures today have become mass commercialized marketable holiday greeting cards, candy, flowers — “you name it” production.

like the Grinch! By the end of a long life, a person’s heart may have beat more than 3.5 billion times.

heartbeat is a two-part pumping action that takes about a second. As blood collects in the upper chambers (the right and left atria), the heart’s natural pacemaker (the SA node) sends out an electrical signal that causes the atria to contract. Electrical is a key component here as when dealing with =spirit, it’s all about the energy and harnessing enough to come through to us here. The second part of the pumping phase begins when the ventricles are full of blood. The electrical signals from the SA node travel along a pathway of cells to the ventricles, causing them to contract.

Diastole, Systole , I-stoleyour-mate-astole and on it goes in love.

f we take a look and read up on what the heart actually is, unless you’re a doctor or not one to become queasy often — it’s pretty gross. Bear with me here, there is a connection. The human heart is a muscle designed to remain strong and reliable for a hundred years or longer. Albeit today I am convinced that we should be living hundreds of years without disease or fast aging due to a suppression of tech, held back from our young race. But I digress. I often do, at times. We are told that by reducing our risk factors for cardiovascular disease, we may help our heart stay healthy longer. But I also feel that it is our minds and way of life that can also extend life beyond for this interesting and vital organ of love and vitality. Okay, here is the not so glamorous part. The heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces and is a little larger than the size of your fist. I’d like to believe that the more we love, the bigger our heart grows

In the 1960s, it was a big time for ghosts. In my late father’s first book titled ‘The Ghost Hunter’, he has a chapter entitled, ‘Fifth Avenue Ghost’ in which he got the call on from the famous Eileen Garrett in New York City. Hans, Ethel JohnsonMeyers (one of his transmediums) and the rest of the group raced across town with their tape recorders and camera’s. I am sure that sounds a tad bit ancient today for all you experts with those lovely gadgets. I did mention that I was taking you back in time this issue!

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They were able to identify the ghost as a man from the civil war who was angered over his death by his girlfriends’ other beau. Yikes! Love is love in any dimension. Hans and Ethel put the ghost to rest as they explained to him where he was and that he needed to move on towards the light. Can the heart and the way we live as human beings transfer over to the other side thus bringing us back, from time to time guiding and peeking in to see what’s the latest and greatest?

“Are ghosts stuck but never to feel as they have no place to release their past existence ?” Furthermore, this creates a cold and spooky atmospheric environment we call a haunting, they call a hell. Are some ghosts who die such as the Fifth Avenue Ghost — still in a jealous rage of love and become what my

father referred to as — StayBehinds? What propels them to still re-live those last moments speaking to the transmedium of their broken heart? I think it is safe to say that throughout history as far back as we can go, no matter what dimension we are in, including humanoids, other species and life forms on other stars; that love exists eternally perhaps and is the most joyful, as well as the

most painful of all emotions to be felt, experienced and in existence.

So, how did we get to Valentine’s Day? Saint Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day is a holiday on February 14th, here in the States. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine’s cards, gifting candy and flowers. The holiday is named after two men (it figures), both Christian martyrs among the numerous early Christian martyrs named Valentine.

he day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. When will THAT day come back around, I wonder? Well, I suppose if they can bring back bell bottoms — they certainly can do the same here. Maybe.

We all know what that was really about don’t we? Men creating this heated, loving and sensual occasion only to reap the rewards as martyrs, picking up all the savviest gals around town. I have said it before and I shall say it again, my own husband in agreement, that if men were to perpetuate our species having all the babies, then we as a human race — would become extinct after the first male live birth! Let’s face it that either way the female gives birth, it is the only way to keep the race alive. Albeit, if we can clone and grow ourselves — I suppose that is a game-changer. My husband happily agrees as he has witnessed this miracle of which I speak of; and has no issues with leaving that at the door in the ‘what woman do well department.’

he day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of ‘valentines.’ I remember in Manhattan at my school — the little odd shaped cards that came with little envelopes to hand out at class time. Thinking back on it now, that was a lot of undo pressure wondering how many cards one would rack up.

The least amount obviously stated how unpopular one would be. Nowadays, it’s not a choice in the class rooms as they cleverly have every child make a card off the class room list and the parents over see this. Not only is this a great writing exercise for the children, but also a great lesson as not to forget HAUNTED MAGAZINE

anyone whether your good friends or not. Always be kind and spread love. I feel we lose that as we age and so spirituality comes into play and the game of life becomes harder.

Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to massproduced greeting cards and in the mid-nineteenth century; Valentine’s Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. ‘The Night of Sevens’, is a Chinese holiday that also relates to love and ‘White Day’, is a similar holiday celebrated in Japan and Korea one month after Valentine’s Day.

Then we come across February’s fertility festivals though popular modern sources link random GraecoRoman February holidays, said to be devoted to fertility and love to St. Valentine’s Day. Jack Oruch showed that prior to Chaucer, no links between the Saints named Valentinus and romantic love existed. Thus, whether or not in the ancient Athenian calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. If Zeus were around now, I think he’d be a little angered at that proclamation and ask for a new ceremony with Hera being that now is a great time for love, as we are in much need of it. It is the Great Awakening! And I feel The Aquarian Age. Could you imagine that ceremony in today’s times?

Chaucer’s love birds are a portrait of the English poet named Geoffrey Chaucer by Thomas Hoccleve (1412). The earliest known link between Valentine’s Day and romance, is found in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules. The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love, is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer:

“For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese [choose] his make [mate].” This was a poem written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2nd, 1381.

They married eight months later as they both were around the age of fourteen. The earliest surviving valentine is a fifteenth-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his “valentined” wife, who commences.

”Je suis desja d’amour tanné ma tres doulce Valentinée (Charles d’Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1-2)”. In 1415, at the same time the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. In 160001, Valentine’s Day is also mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet: “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day.” In American culture in the 1840s, Saint Valentine’s Day was remade as a writer in ‘GFTraham’s American Monthly’ said “Saint Valentine’s Day is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday.”

Modern Valentine symbols include the heart -shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards and in the midnineteenth century; Valentine’s Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. In the 1969, revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine February 14th was removed from the General Roman Calendar for the following reason: “Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14.” The second part of the twentieth century, exchanging cards was extended to the United States. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began

to promote Valentine’s Day as an occasion for giving jewellery. It’s 2022, and I am still waiting for that gift! Naa, I’d probably sell it to feed kids and animals. However, I DID get a real pearl necklace from my mother in-law so, there’s that!

The day had come to be associated with the platonic greeting of “Happy Valentine’s Day.” As a joke, Valentine’s Day is also referred to as “Singles Awareness Day.”

Isn’t that a cruel joke at the very least? If your single and choose to be, then it is not an issue. But, for those who are and do not like to be single, means more candy purchases as well as perhaps movies leading to the inevitable weight gain.

‘Cute Cupid’ referred to in Roman mythology, is the God of erotic love and sex. Now, we’re getting things a bit heated here. He is referred to the Greek God Eros, and another one of his Latin names — Amor (cognate with Kama). Cupid is shown shooting his bow to inspire romantic love and sex, often as an icon of Valentine’s Day.

That really has not changed and only increased with all types or creative art depicting a modern-day Cupid. But some art also depicts traditional and old style Cupids thus giving us a huge variety on this adorable, little angel of love. A counterpart to Valentine’s Day, called “The Night of Sevens” according to legend the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid, had met in Heaven on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. That is exactly what I was referring to earlier in this article. What if love is everywhere and in all forms of

life? The afterlife as well as those about to be born are souls and spirits all coming from the same origin. A slightly different version of this day is celebrated in Japan as Tanabata, on July 7th of the solar calendar. Folks let’s face it, love is love — in ANY dimension. Appreciate each moment and whether your alone, together, content or discontent; please try in your hearts to find a place of happiness, spiritual growth and remember — if the Grinch could do it, anyone can!

Alex X

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What Katie did next...

The Investigation of

Old Forde House By Katie Waller

n England, within the small town of Newton Abbot, a beautiful Jacobean manor house proudly stands. The building is not well known and is tucked away within what is now a fairly builtup urban area. It has an extremely rich historical past and once I discovered it, I literally fell in love. As my new favourite location to investigate, I believe this place is an absolute hive of paranormal activity. Now passionate about the house, I strive to spread the word across the paranormal community as this hidden gem must be put on the map. Forde House is linked with extremely important, prominent historical figures and sadly its own tragedies including a dark curse. The building is beautiful. I can just imagine it all those years ago with the hustle and bustle of the families that lived there, the noble individuals that visited and even children running up and down the stairs, playing and hiding around every corner. Even today the grand features and decor are ornate, intricate and wonderfully preserved. There are rumours the building could potentially have hidden tunnels, passageways or secret rooms as proportions of walls and doorways seem a little odd, often not making sense. Extravagant paintings hang on the walls watching you, just like in the movies. The building was completed in 1610 by Sir Richard Reynell who was a member of parliament for Cornwall. He married a woman named Lucy Brandon and they lived within the house, enjoying the extensive grounds in which deer would

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roam. In 1625 King Charles I stayed the night whilst travelling to Plymouth for a fleet inspection and returned a couple of days later. In January 1646, during the civil war, Oliver Cromwell and Colonel Fairfax also stayed within the house prior to the second siege of Exeter. In 1648 the house and grounds were passed to the Courtenay family as Margret Waller married Sir William Courtenay; the 1st Baronet of Powderham Castle. Powderham, near Exeter was badly damaged in the civil war so the pair spent most of the time at Forde House. Until 1762 the house was owned by the Courtenay family but was then let out up to 1936. Later it was sold to Stephen Simpson who went onto also sell the property to Mrs M Sellick who kept it to run a business within. In the 1950’s Mrs Sellick attempted a negotiation to transfer it to the National Trust although this was not completed and finally Teignbridge District Council brought the property from her in 1978. Today the council still own it and use it for event hire such as weddings. The paranormal and the unexplained are supposedly common in the house. Shadow figures are seen, voices and footsteps heard, even children of the past are known to still roam the corridors and rooms within the vast building. There are stories of a curse that killed many children have been told so I was desperate to investigate further. I wanted to attempt to make as many connections as I could, discover more about the house and find out for myself if the stories are true.

s normal I brought along all my equipment which included both still and video cameras with night vision and full spectrum. Also, my static detection teddy bear, EMF meters, digital recorders, SLS Kinect camera, motion detectors, SB7 and George of course, to help me cover as much ground as I could. Before we began, Carol the events co-ordinator gave us a tour of the location and a briefing on how to find our way around as well as some history of the property.

The Long Room

The Library

This room lies at the top of what I would call, the red staircase. It is where wedding ceremonies are held if the good old British weather tries to ruin the glorious sunshine you banked on for your big day. Exquisitely presented with a mix of original features and modern finishes it certainly feels like you’re walking into a big event. In here, we set up all of our equipment and started to call out. During this investigation we didn’t pick up on anything in the long room, so we moved on as we had so many areas to explore.

Just before walking into the Library, I felt the temperature drop causing me to shudder a little. Strange, as it was a warm evening and the other rooms seemed different. This quaint little library was packed with all sorts of things from around the house as it was currently being used as a storage area. I thought it odd how I didn’t feel this rush of cold air during our walk through with Carol. We had a static camera, digital recorder and night vision camera already rolling in here as we had previously set them up whilst we worked in another room. We prepared the SLS Kinect camera and after a while a figure appeared to manifest and then proceeded to sit in the chair in front of us. A minute or so later another figure also appeared and sat in a chair behind the first one. Amazed, me and George thanked them for allowing us to see them. We asked if they could hear us and if so, could they raise a hand or arm in the air. Seconds later the figure furthest away raised its right hand in the air. I then asked “Can you see us clearly? If so, please raise your other hand or arm in the air.”

The King Charles Room On the upper floor next to the long room is another and is also often used for events. As the name suggests it is thought to be the bed chamber of King Charles I when he visited the property. We prepared our equipment and attempted to make contact but, on this occasion, we did not capture any activity. Whilst we investigated the remainder of the house, we set up a video camera and digital recorder although upon review, we neither saw nor heard anything.

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It immediately responded by lifting the opposite hand. I fully understand that you might be thinking that this is potentially a false positive, but I have to say it did seem to respond to us. Also, as this venue holds weddings, there are chairs everywhere and these figures only appeared here. Once more George and I thanked them for communicating with us. We explained why we were here and that we thought the house was beautiful. We said that Carol ensures the house is kept well, in good condition and that we all respect their home.

The Music Room There are many rooms in Old Forde House, but this bedroom is home to a large head rest where a four-poster bed would have been. Within the room now sat a long table and chairs but hidden in one corner of the room was a little doorway leading into a small bathroom area which must have been added fairly recently. Carol expressed that she occasionally felt uncomfortable in here, but on the day, we conducted a small vigil but unfortunately we didn’t capture anything during the evening.

The Downstairs Hallway We learnt that this area is quite an active one. With its beautifully crafted wooden floor running from the small back staircase down to the great hall you can sense this area is a busy one. It certainly felt like this particular part of the house was full of energy. Our night vision cameras picked up a couple of large orb-like anomalies around 7ft from the floor. Although I would normally say orbs are more likely to be dust, these ones interested me as throughout the whole building we didn’t pick up any others upon reviewing our footage. I noticed in the same area the static detection teddy bear which was place on the steps at the far end of the hallway turned off by itself. We set up the equipment and decided not to call out here but to leave it there with everything ready and rolling. After around 15 minutes, our camera picked up on a dense black shadow in the hallway which moved around several times, back and forth. We were on a different floor at the time and the shadow was nothing like I had seen before on any of my investigations. It affected even

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the smallest bit of light coming in through the far small window. In fact, the entire hallway seemed to dim, masked by the shadow’s appearance. That window was not on the ground level, so it was impossible for anyone outside to cause the dimming effect. Carol explained that a figure had been previously spotted in the exact same place which got me excited and was confirmation that I wasn’t going mad. When I reviewed our digital recordings, we had also captured a few strange muffled static sounds in the same area but unfortunately, we didn’t receive any clear voices this time.

The Parlour Next to the great hall and at the base of the red staircase is the Chairmen’s Parlour. This room is ornately decorated and is the home to some of the most extravagant paintings, wooden panelling and decorated pillars. Originally a place to relax, the parlour has lovely views over the front gardens. In here you do get the feeling of being watched, although while we were there the only eyes that observed us seemed to be those of the fine paintings that hung on the walls.

The Great Hall

The Panelled Room

The most famous room in the building due to its bold appearance. It is perfectly adorned with more wooden panelling, a large stone fireplace, chandelier and carved doorways; it’s like you’re stepping into a period drama. Sadly, during our investigation we did not pick up on any activity even on our locked off cameras.

Located off two different small staircases to the rear of the building, between the ground and first floor is a room called the panelled room. It is dressed like a study and is quite small in size. Inside there were a few decorative chairs, a table and some fabulous paintings including one of a woman and another old painting of the house. It was decorated from top to bottom in beautifully carved dark panelling. I personally felt that this room had paranormal potential although during our research we didn’t capture any evidence. Just outside the panelled room in the hallway, I noticed an atmosphere. This area was interesting as there was a glass cabinet and exquisitely carved dresser and large original window. Previously in here the furniture once held antique items but unfortunately in recent years were stolen during a break in. Here on the SLS camera we captured a figure which appeared in front of the window and then seemed to leap through it and disappear. We were left disappointed and absolutely gutted as we didn’t manage to record it. I’m definitely planning to go back to re-investigate this part of the

The Cellar From the kitchen there is a small staircase which leads down to the cellar. Cold, dark and dank the cellar is perfect for what it was meant for, keeping wine and food chilled as well as being a hub for the servants. In here I wanted to leave cameras, recorders and other equipment running while we investigated other areas of the building as the location was so extensive. The atmosphere in the cellar felt oppressive although during our investigation, on this occasion, we found no evidence of the paranormal but only a few creaking and shuffling sounds which perhaps could have been due to draughts.

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building for sure! I did wonder if this is connected to the burglary, or could it potentially have been a tragic fall? As we captured no other evidence and no intelligent responses, I believe this could possibly be a residual energy. This location, in my opinion is most definitely home to spiritual activity and an absolute joy to research. After investigating here a few times there are still rooms I haven’t researched thoroughly yet. My highlights of this investigation were definitely the library and the downstairs hallway. It is an important historical building which requires some repair in places but it’s character and charm is undeniable. I cannot wait to return as I simply adore it. If you or your team would like to contact Old Forde House to hire the venue privately or run a paranormal event, I highly recommend it. For details, please contact Carol here: 01626 215484 or check out their website: www. oldfordehouse@teignbridge.gov.uk For anybody that is lucky enough to have the chance to visit the location please get in touch with me as I would be very interested to know what you find.

Katie x

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Haunted Magazine 33: Is the truth really out there?

Articles inside

WHAT DID KATIE DO NEXT: Katie Waller investigates Old Forde House, that’s what

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Want to research the paranormal in a historic building full of antiques? We know just the place.

ALEXANDRA’S HOLZER FILES: Love is in the scare as Alexandra explores

THE PLAUSABILTY OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY: Higgypop asks if Parapsychology has given credence to the Paranormal.

FRIGH(TEN) TO YUMA: Ryleigh Black and her spooky experience in Arizona

PERSONAL PARANORMAL: Nigel Higgins explains how & why he investigates the paranormal the way he does.

A FUNGAL AFFECTION: Kate Ray and her love for the magic of mushrooms

THE HAUNTING OF: Graiseley Old Hall. Lorien Jones explores an old hall, lost in time

STEP BY ESTEP GUIDE: Richard Estep saddles up & rides into town to investigate McInteer Villa.

AN ANATOMY OF A GHOST HUNT: Hubert Hobux and the before, during and after of a paranormal investigation.

SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: Charlie Hall investigates the Stone Circles of Northern Ireland

LIFE IMITATING ART IMITATING LIFE: Sarah Sumeray and her retro comic

GRAVE MISUNDERSTANDINGS: Tamar Newton digs deep into bizarre headstones

THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: Morgan Knudsen explores the story of the Jersey Devil

THE LURE OF THE LORE: Amy Boucher’s tales of Shropshire Folk

WRONG TIME, WRONG PLAICE: A fishy witchy tale from Leonard Low

NOT SO ‘ORRIBLE ‘ISTORIES: The trial and error of T.O.W.I.E [Tons of Witches in Essex

THE REINCARNATION OF NICKY ALAN: She came, she saw, she was born again

PAREIDOLIA, YES THAT WORD: Sarah Streamer and the perceptions of

FACTS AND FRICTION: Is it time to unpick old paranormal theories?

IS THE TRUTH REALLY OUT THERE: Can compelling evidence & never heard

DO YOU COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER: Five spiritualists you may not have heard of