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

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? 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”

When 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

Written by Kate Ray

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

My 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.

Mycelia 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.

Afew 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.

Medicinal 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.

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

“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

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.

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 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.”

Have 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.

There 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.

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)

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.

As 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. S 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.”

Scanning 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. 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 X

INVESTING IN AN INVESTIGATION

Written by Nigel Higgins

“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. We 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 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.

However, 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.

After 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? 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.

We 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

When 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.” 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. 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.

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.”

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.”

“We have a scientific responsibility to understand more about these experiences.”

Ciarán O’Keeffe

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.”

It 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.

When 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.

The Bandit Queen Pearl Heart Source: Legends of America

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 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 X

he Haunted Antiques Paranormal

TResearch 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 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 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.

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

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.

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 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. 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.

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

Who would you most like to explore the centre with and why?

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 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/

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.”

“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.”

As 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.

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

Aheartbeat 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.

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!

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

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.

The 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.’

The 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 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

The Investigation of Old Forde House

By Katie Waller

In 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 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.

As 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

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.

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.

The Library

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.” 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.

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 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 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. 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.

The Panelled Room

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 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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