THE TANFIELD HOUSE HAUNTING: The journals and journeys of Patti. A personal paranormal story.

exist outside our measurement of perception, I can’t say at this time. What I do know, is they exist. I have seen them visually, I have felt them, I have spoken to them, and we have documented their existence; using ITC audio equipment capturing responses and conversations, on cameras and using EMF interactive measurements.

Listen to my Spirit Talk podcast #128 on Gnomes as I discuss more of my interactions with elementals and how I came to this conclusion. I play some of the direct audio communication I had with them. It will blow your mind!

How do you communicate with these types of spirits? As a spiritual medium, what is it that you actually pick up from these encounters?

In regard to elementals, I feel them similar to spirits and imps, but slightly different, it’s hard to explain. With human spirits I get genders, personalities whether male, female, child or adult. Angry, sad, lost, etc with imps, demons, evil spirits, I can feel their heaviness, their anger, their evil, their fear. I can get glimpses of their dark forms moving quickly and start to see some of their features. While they have manifested completely in my past, it is still rare to see their full manifestation. With elementals I don’t sense their genders, their age. I just feel something similar to the imps, but it takes me longer to interpret, because I can’t just place it yet. I need more encounters to be certain, as there are many variations of them.

The pixies I can sense, having encountered them several times, they are similar to the imps but happier, they have an insect chiming little children type sounding voice, as do the fae but still because these entities are smaller and in a different vibration then ghosts, I have to focus harder and quite my mind to perceive them. I have noticed that these imps, these little devils will pretend to be the fae as well, so I have to be careful. The imps are from the darkness, the underground, descendants from the fallen. The elementals are from nature, some underground, some in the trees, and some in the aether outside our sight but reside deep in the vibrations of the forest or gardens. They too are somehow related to the fallen. I just don’t know exactly how yet.

It’s an area that often provokes ridicule amongst so-called serious investigators. Why do you think this is?

“…..not all hauntings are caused by ghosts, negative entities, environmental factors, Psychokinesis, or easily explainable factors. Sometimes it’s because of elementals.” There was something that happened in the forest outside Brodick Castle that I did get one hell of a scare, I have to say, I was not expecting it. Both Gail and I screamed. The amazing thing are the EVPs I caught before and after. The spirits were trying to get us to flee. It’s funny, after we screamed, but didn’t leave they said, “Well, that didn’t work!” When I was analysing the audio, I laughed so hard when I heard it. There isn’t much that scares me in regard to the paranormal, but I admit I screamed and jumped. There is one other thing that really unnerved me, I am not sure whether we are going to leave it in the episode or not from what happened in Sterling. We had a discussion about it, whether to air it or not. It was very embarrassing in some ways, but in others, as a paranormal investigator, we have to share our findings and experiences and what happened to me was, well, not pleasant. We will have to wait and see if it makes it in the episode. I was not expecting that to happen, and it was unnerving to say the least.

Not sure, I don’t think of it that way. It’s the paranormal, it’s the unknown, we are investigators, and our job is to investigate and report our findings, our data (evidence). So, if we sense and come in contact with a pixie, an imp or other form of elemental, sure I understand some might think we are crazy or full of it, I get that, but our job is to share with our peers and those in the field what we are encountering. The crew is documenting our experiences, our findings. When we support it with EVPs, and direct radio voice phenomena we are capturing in real time. With answers, conversations back and forth then what more do you need?

Especially, when other members of the team or crew having similar experiences.

Was there anything during the series that you were not expecting? Anything that’s left you feeling terrified or unnerved?

Spooked Scotland sees you joining

forces with the lovely Gail Porter who you worked with on Dead Famous all the way back in 2004 (how can that be?!). Have you kept in touch during this time and how was it working with her after so much time apart?

Yes, always. We are friends for life. We talked about working together again over many years.

Plus, she became a believer due to the Dead Famous series. She had numerous experiences and some things followed her afterwards. She used to call me telling me her place was haunted, so we would discuss it. We have had some wonderful chats over the years, when our parents passed, when going through hard times, etc. The conversations always led back to the Hotel Coronado in San Diego, California where she had her most profound “walk-in” experience with the ghost of Kate Morgan. There were some others, as in supernatural experiences that happened on and off camera to her, but never made it in the show. Gail is quite sensitive, especially to children’s spirits.

In your opinion, how much has paranormal investigating changed in the last 18 years and how much do you think audience sophistication and hobbyist ghost hunting has impacted upon this?

Not sure. I stick to what I do and don’t really pay much attention to what others are doing unless I find use of the latest technology to support, validate and sometimes guide the conversations I have with spirits. When it comes to evolving, I pretty much can see where it is evolving to next, before it hits. Like I told Zak Bagans in 2015 that Paranormal’s next wave is going to be actually helping people. Not just saying you are doing it but showing it in the episode. We then saw all these shows come up with people focusing on that. I know where it is headed next, as well as it should.

So, we have this weird, wonderful Spooked Scotland to look forward to. Do you have any other projects in the pipeline and are there hopes of a second season to look forward to?

Personally, I hope the viewers and fans love the series Spooked Scotland as much as we did investigating the locations and speaking with the spirits. As for a Season 2, it is up in the air until we hear from the network. I really don’t know. I chatted with one of the producers back and forth about this during our last block with what we could do. Which it would be great, there is so much more to explore and share with viewers. Tern TV is a great production company, and I am excited to see what the future brings with them.

In regard to future projects, I am focusing on some paranormal documentaries on topics I find interesting and some scripted programming in the comedy, syfy and paranormal thriller series/movie genres I plan to produce. At this point in my career, I really want to produce my own content or partner with someone. That is all I can say for now. We will just have to see what happens.

It is so good to see you back on our screens in a paranormal setting! How does it feel returning to paranormal investigating after such a long time?

It’s an absolute honour to be involved with something that focuses on Scotland because it’s my home turf, we have so much history and to be involved in a programme that lets me go home, lets me find out more about our history, but then also find out about the ghosts and what actually happens when we all go to bed at night. It’s just been an amazing experience and I’m honoured.

You do look incredibly nervous at times. How afraid are you of what may happen and is that fear element stronger now or back in 2004?

What was it like working with Chris again? Has he changed much since the last time you investigated together?

Chris hasn’t changed in the slightest! We’re still like brother and sister, we love each other, and we could also knock each other out (laughs), because we disagree on some things but that’s why we have such a great relationship. We can’t all love each other 24/7. I think a brother and sister relationship is really good fun to watch because he’ll go, ‘This has just happened’, and I’ll go, ‘No, this has just happened’. Me and Chris are a Ghost-proper family!

There’s a lot of weird, wacky and absolutely wonderful elements of investigating in the show. How comfortable are you with investigating such areas as elementals, fairies and pixies? Were you expecting this before the investigations started?

that every single minute of every single day something weird and wonderful is going to happen. So, you just have to have an open head and an open heart and take it all in and learn.

I think I’ve always been a little bit scared, I’ve always been a little bit of a nervous person, but the fear is with me all the time, but that fear has almost become less, if that makes any sense. So, I’m more open and understanding as opposed to being fearful.

What’s been your most scary investigation of the series? Could you tell us a little about it?

I think the first time I was completely terrified was when I was in Brodick Castle, because our tech expert Ryan had all this amazing equipment, things that he was placing all around the castle that didn’t respond to anyone, at all. Then anytime I was near them, they would go off. Everyone was saying, “Someone wants to talk to Gail”, and I was really uncomfortable because I don’t know who they are and obviously I can’t see them! I kept walking away saying why is it me, why do they want me? So, I think that was probably the first time I freaked out and thought, why is everything reacting to me and nobody else.

Why do you think Scotland has such a reputation for being so haunted?

I think Scotland has got such an amazing rich history, and obviously it’s the most beautiful place in the world ever. We are very proud of our history, and we hang on to it. Although I live in London, I can tell my daughter about Scotland, as she’s never lived there, she’s never felt the love, the passion that people have in Scotland. I think that’s the reason there’s a lot of things resonating in Scotland. When I die, God bless you all, ‘cause I’m going to come back to Scotland and I’m going to haunt you, but in a good way, a very good way (laughs).

What (if any) is something that you would refuse to do for investigation?

Nothing. I think I’ve done it all. I’ve lived a very colourful up and down life and no, I would not refuse to do anything. I’ve slept in Alcatraz twice! “Chris hasn’t changed in the slightest! We’re still like brother and sister, we love each other, and we could also knock each other out (laughs), because we disagree on some things but that’s why we have such a great relationship.”

What personal paranormal experiences have you had and what was the catalyst for your interest in the field?

Personally, I was never sure what was happening after my mum and dad passed away but things would move in the house, and I thought maybe a window was open, and I once had a vase in my hallway, it fell down, I heard a noise when I was sleeping. When I woke up in the morning, the flowers were on the floor and the vase was upright. That freaked me out. I used to have friends come to stay and some said, ‘I’m not staying here, there’s something in this house and we don’t like it’.

Is there a season two in the works and would you be up for investigating again?

If there was a season two, I’d be absolutely blinking delighted. I loved working on it, even though I got grumpy at times. It’s a long day of filming, it’s cold and you’re working with spirits and not fully understanding what’s happening… but if there’s a series two, I’ll take it!

“I think I’ve always been a little bit scared, I’ve always been a little bit of a nervous person”

EVELYN HOLLOW

First and foremost, it’s great to finally see you in action on our screens after being a part of the brilliant ‘The Battersea Poltergeist’ and ‘Uncanny’ podcasts! How did Spooked Scotland come about?

After the success of The Battersea Poltergeist and Uncanny a lot of TV production companies got in touch with me to pitch show ideas, out of all of them I liked the premise of Spooked Scotland the most and wanted to work with both TERN and Discovery.

You obviously have strong connections to the areas investigated. Were there any bucket list locations that you were able to investigate as part of the show?

Bannockburn House was the stuff of dreams, very Spencer’s Mansion from Resident Evil. Brodick Castle on Arran was also incredible. I’ve never been in such a grand and impeccably preserved castle; it makes the set of Downton Abbey look naff. Grandeur and splendour beyond the imagination.

Spooked Scotland really is a wild ride in comparison to similar shows of its type in particular with its open discussions of contact with elementals, the Fae etc. How comfortable are you with these areas and why do you think it seems to be much more of a taboo for mainstream investigators?

I think people believe ghosts are an acceptable belief, but cryptozoology isn’t. It’s really to do with priming and societal in group/out group behaviour. There’s no difference between belief in werewolves and belief in the Christian God, but one is widely accepted, and one is viewed as a fringe belief. I’m very familiar with the mythology and I’ve certainly lectured on mythological creatures, but I’ve never had to actively investigate them, so that was new to me.

How was it working with Chris and Gail? Had you seen Dead Famous before filming?

I’d never heard of either of them before we got onto set but I had a great time. Two very different personalities. Chris has been doing this work for ages so he’s always great to talk to and Gail and I became friends that hung out outside of the show. We had a lot of fun on set.

Were there many occurrences that you couldn’t explain away? Did you have any truly terrifying moments during filming?

There were lots of strange phenomena that we struggled to rule out, and that often linked to other phenomena in a fairly striking way. The one that messed me up was the bathroom incident in Dundee Verdant Works. We weren’t filming at the time since we were in between takes when it started but I think Chris McMillan filmed me freaking out in a Vox Pop and then we started investigating it afterwards and it got pretty wild pretty quickly.

What equipment do you use when investigating and what do you find gives you the best results?

Ryan is the tech guy, I’m the psychologist so I leave the kit up to him. I think the piece we used the most though was the Franks Box, which is a rare and unique bit of kit that Ryan thankfully brought with him.

Why do you think Scotland has such a reputation for ghosts and the supernatural?

Because it’s one of the oldest nations and she’s endured hundreds of years of genocide and oppression and war and horror. How could she not be haunted?

What future projects do you have coming up?

I’ve just recently been to the Hay Festival where I took part in a special version of Uncanny with my good friends Danny Robins and Ciaran O’Keeffe and I’m due to start working on new radio shows and podcasts for the BBC this summer, none of which I can formally announce yet. I’m also hoping to finish one of my several book manuscripts this summer.

RYAN O’NEILL

Hi Ryan, you’re very much the tech guy on the show! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to join the team with Spooked Scotland?

Firstly, thank you so much for the questions, and just to say, I am a massive fan of Haunted Magazine, well over a decade of fantastic work for all us paranormal enthusiasts out there. So, my name Is Ryan O’Neill, and I am the founder of Scottish Paranormal, which was created in 2004. It’s an organisation I envisioned would assist in continuing my journey into ‘mostly’ the afterlife and hauntings side of the paranormal. If you ask most Paranormal Researchers & Investigators, there is usually a catalyst for their interest and 9/10 times; it will be personal experiences that could not be explained throughout life; I am no different.

My approach has always been to collect the data to see if something is going on that could be of interest or easily explained. So I certainly love equipment, and I use it in an open-minded, balanced way to hopefully gain some clarity. I’ve been involved in this area for two decades now, mainly looking at Scottish locations and cases, but I have ventured into Ireland, England and even Jamaica. I was approached and asked about my thoughts on joining an amazing professional team of people who would dig deep to find the answers required. Searching, investigating and then uncovering answers to mysteries at the most spooky and vastly intriguing hauntings around Scotland, some that have never been looked at before now!! The balance of the team was highly appealing to me, covering all areas.

What gadgets and gizmos can we expect to see during the show?

We covered all bases and used specific equipment depending on the reported activity. So, you will see a lot of environmental devices such as Rempods, EDI+ (Environmental Detection Instruments), Vibration Detectors, Tri-Fields and specially set up infrared cameras that constantly monitor the hot spots of each location from our war room. In addition to monitoring the environment for changes in areas such as electromagnetic fluctuations, temperature, humidity and even movement, we dive deep into ITC - Instrumental Trans Communication - to see if we can communicate with any potential unseen energies that witnesses report. We have the legendary Franks Box, only 180 ever made by Frank Sumption before his passing, and we are lucky enough to have one of these originals to see if it can tap into potential spirit voices. We also deployed the DR60 Panasonic audio device, something many paranormal researchers with love for EVPs will be very much aware of through their research. We used many tools, and some will make specific appearances in certain shows as we looked to cover all angles and potentials in our search.

If you had to pick one gadget out of the vast range of gadgets that are now available, which one would you choose, and why?

It’s an ever evolving and changing field of research, and the technology as we progress keeps getting better in many areas. I am in awe at some of the ideas and improvements made by my colleagues within the paranormal field; they know how to push forward in their quest. Kudos to them all! I cannot think of something I love better than the EDI+ due to the ability to monitor so many different environmental factors from within a set area. Then to see it produced on a graph so I can pinpoint events that have taken place during a session. Place a few of these around your location and hit record and you have a lovely data gathering instrument that will vastly help. Do not rule out audio, though; I still firmly believe that we will see much more in the ITC area in the future, love it or hate it!

What evidence was captured during the show?

I shall not say exactly what was captured as I seriously feel the whole circumstances as we investigated will make it so much more powerful for the viewer as they walk the process with us, but I had some eye-opening moments.

I will say though; that some absolutely astonishing audio captures will blow people’s minds, devices will go off that fit the witness reports, and physical activity DID happen. I never ever thought I would be spooked too, oh my gosh!

Fairies, pixies, elementals… They aren›t necessarily conventional areas of the paranormal to investigate. How does your role on the show impact on this? Are you a sceptic or a believer?

I have come across various reports with regards to elementals in the past and Scotland is rife with myths, legends and even reports that touch on the area. You are correct, it’s not an area we see a lot during paranormal investigations and research, but I deal with it the same way I deal with cases of hauntings and the afterlife. I’ve always come from the position of being impartial and open-minded until we gather the data, and information, then build the bigger picture. So if I go into a case ready to attempt debunking, or on the flip side believe everything as fact, I am already compromised in how I will approach it. So with this topic, I had to put any beliefs of what may or may not be fact or fiction and approach how I would any other case, show me the data and let’s see if we can solve this. In such cases, we can still look at the environment and record any anomalous readings. Looking for anything beyond the normal baselines and then exploring it deeper. My role stays the same in that I am here to use whatever tools possible to gather any evidence while listening to my team’s input and specialities. I always see myself as an open-minded researcher & investigator, very much I do need to experience and be in the thick of the action, as no matter what way I go with a belief system with this, I can be wrong.

Why do you think Scotland is so paranormally active?

I’ve always said where you find deep history, you are sure to find a plethora of mysteries, and Scotland has both in abundance. We have not even started to scratch the surface in terms of Scotland and what secrets she holds. As many know, the historical battles, the age of the land itself and the deep sorrow and emotions etched into Scotland’s very fabric can all have a part to play. Whether this is your classical non-sentient ghostly replay of a bygone event or something a little more intelligent and interactive said to walk the areas being accessed, we certainly see it all reported up and down this country. Could the very earth Scotland sits upon be abundant in energy ley lines as mapped by our ancestors, could this fuel energetic paranormal activity and sightings? So much we can speculate about but make no mistake, it’s a very paranormally active country and we are about to see just how active it can be!

Episode One: BRODICK CASTLE – ISLE OF ARRAN With a blood-soaked history of murder, betrayal, beheading, invasion and disease, the Isle of Arran is awash with tormented spirits and ghostly apparitions. It is also home to the infamously haunted Brodick Castle, but that’s not all that lies within these walls. In this episode our team not only encounters very vocal spirits, but they also face the wrath of the fairies. They will need to come up with unique ways to communicate with these mythical and mischievous creatures.

Episode Two: BANNOCKBURN HOUSE Sending shivers through your body at first sight, the 17th Century mansion, Bannockburn House, is the epitome of a haunted house. In this episode our team will be battling souls lost throughout Scotland’s bloody history. Using one-of-a-kind equipment they’ll be interacting with what could be Bonnie Prince Charlie’s ghost. Not only that, our team will come face to face with what we believe is a demonic entity. Is this the evil force that has trapped so many souls within this tormented house?

Episode Three: STIRLING OLD TOWN JAIL With a blood-soaked history of brutal warfare, public torture and grisly executions, Stirling Old Town is said to be the most haunted square mile in Scotland. Slap bang in the middle of this hotbed of paranormal activity is the Old Town Jail. In this episode, the team are here to uncover if all the aggressive paranormal activity plaguing the jail is down to Stirling’s very own Poltergeist. Chris will face one of his toughest challenges yet when the spirits get a little too physical. Clearly, they’ll do whatever they can to push our team out. Episode Four: TRON THEATRE The Tron Theatre sits on sacred ground, the stage stands in the shell of an ancient church burnt to the ground during an ancient ritual performed by Glasgow’s satanic “Hellfire Club”. In this investigation, the team uncover poltergeist activity, shocking electronic voice phenomena and try to capture spirit interaction on camera. Did the evil arson by the Hellfire Club open a gateway and release a dark entity? We’ll need our wits and rosary beads to battle this mystery. Episode Five: CULROSS PALACE & TOWN The town of Culross has a dark and shameful history, for it was the epicentre of one of the worst witch hunts in European history. In this episode, the team contact the tortured souls of those wrongfully accused of making a pact with the devil. Trapped by the past, Chris wants to bring them peace and hold those responsible for such unspeakable cruelty to account. Episode Six: EDINBURGH’S VAULTS The city of Edinburgh is widely considered to be the most haunted in Europe. Buried beneath the cobbled streets of its Old Town lies the mysterious forgotten vaults. This is known as Edinburgh’s “City of the Dead”. Our team struggles to handle so many spirits at once and Gail will have to deal with more child apparitions. Episode Seven: GLENCOE MASSACRE In one of the most dramatic landscapes in Scotland lies the legendary Glencoe. The site of a notorious massacre, where Clan Campbell murdered over thirty MacDonalds in cold blood as they slept. Nearby stands Barcaldine Castle, said to be plagued by the ‘Campbell Curse’. In this investigation, the team spend the night in the Castle and uncover a male spirit who torments Gail and leaves her terrified. Episode Eight: COMLONGON CASTLE Just off the most haunted roads in Scotland lies Comlongon Castle and Hotel. Both have been abandoned, but in this episode the Spooked Scotland team have been given unique access by new owners. The castle is known for its infamous white and grey lady ghosts. Gail and Chris attempt to communicate with these tortured women. The team also have terrifying encounters with male spirits that lurk within the dungeons. It’s a long night that nobody will ever forget. Episode Nine: CASTLE MENZIES Castle Menzies is a spectacular sixteenth century Scottish castle. By day it’s a scene of romantic beauty, yet by night dark forces try to push any unwitting visitors out. In this episode, the team encounters the true wrath of murdered British soldiers and Gail will be faced with her toughest decision yet. Will this castle be too aggressive for our team to crack? Have they finally met their match? Episode Ten: DUNDEE’S VERDANT WORKS Nearly 200 years ago, the Verdant Works was one of Dundee’s deadliest factories. The owners were amongst the wealthiest in Europe, but their fortune was built on the exploitation of women and children as young as six. For the first time ever, the Mill has opened its doors to a paranormal investigation and the team are given the run around by spectral children who lead them to an unexpected and terrifying part of this Victorian factory.

The series recently premiered on Really and streaming service Discovery+. Really is available on Sky 142, Virgin 128, BT 17, Freeview 17 Freesat 160 and is available to stream live or catch up on demand on Discovery+

In 1879, one of the veteran inhabitants of the tiny village of Knowle St Giles, situated between Chard and Ilminster in Somerset, was the eighty-three-yearold farm labourer Samuel Churchill. In spite of his age, he was still working on various farms, cutting hedges and tending pigs and poultry. Samuel Churchill had been married once before, but his wife had died twenty-five years earlier; they had a daughter named June who had married the labourer, George England. After Samuel’s first wife had died, he had employed a much younger woman named Katherine Walden as a housekeeper, and they had an illegitimate son named Samuel, before Katherine finally managed to persuade the stubborn old man to make an honest woman of her in 1871. They lived together in a small cottage, along with the adult son Samuel. Katherine’s mother, a cantankerous old woman who was nearly deaf and blind, also lived with them. S amuel and Katherine Churchill never got on particularly well, however. They quarrelled at regular intervals, and these altercations sometimes ended in blows. Old Samuel was still hale and hearty, but Katherine was a strong, forceful woman with a furious temper. Since she worked as a laundrywoman, and in the fields, she was sturdy and muscular. It was well known in the neighbourhood that Samuel and his wife fought frequently and angrily. Samuel’s daughter June England disliked her overbearing stepmother, and often said that one day, this wicked woman would bully her dotard husband into making a will leaving all his money to the bastard son Samuel. Herself, Katherine was equally fearful that June would persuade old Samuel to cut her illegitimate son out of the will. In 1877, Katherine and young Samuel had set upon the old man when he was returning from Ilminster Fair: they had beaten him up and torn the shirt off his back. Old Samuel had sought refuge with the English’s, complaining of the harsh treatment to which he had been subjected, but the wily Katherine had later persuaded him to return home.

On March 4, 1879, George English was called to Samuel Churchill’s cottage, after word had spread that there had been an accident. He found old Samuel dead in the fireplace, his body much burnt and charred. Sharing his wife’s low opinion of Katherine, George English immediately suspected that she had murdered the old man. He saw her lurking in the bedroom, and remarked that this was a bad business, and the sinister woman agreed. She said that old Samuel had been suffering from fainting-fits, and that he must have fallen into the fire when she was out. When she came back home, she had tried to pour water on him, but he was already dead. A police constable and a doctor came to the cottage, and although old Samuel’s body was very badly burnt, they found marks of blows to the face, head and hands. A blood-stained billhook matching these injuries was found hidden on the premises. When Katherine was taken away by the police, she turned to her son Samuel and said, “See to the will, and mind they don’t cheat you out of the money!”

When Katherine Churchill was on trial for murder at the Taunton Assizes, before Baron Huddleston, the doctor and the two English’s gave damning evidence against her. George English added that a few weeks before the murder, he had heard old Samuel threaten to cut his illegitimate son out of the will. As for young Samuel himself, he was fortunate to possess a cast-iron alibi: at the time of the murder, he had been at work at a farm nearby, with a number of other labouring men. A young servant girl, Eliza Barrow, had an important story to tell. She had been walking past Samuel Churchill’s cottage when she heard an outcry of ‘Murder!’ and saw a woman attack an old man. She ran to her master’s house, suggesting that perhaps he ought to go to the Churchill cottage to make sure that all was well, but he just laughed, saying that the two Churchills were notorious for their fighting and quarrelling. In the end, Katherine Churchill was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The usual squeamishness with regard to hanging women did not apply to such a hardened wretch, who had beaten her elderly husband to death for reasons of greed of gain, and she was executed within the precincts of Taunton Gaol on May 26.

In December 1879, the following short but sinister account was published in the Illustrated Police News, quoted from a Plymouth newspaper:

In March last an old man named Churchill was murdered in a cottage near Chard. For some time after the execution the building remained uninhabited, but at length it was let to a labourer and his family, but the incomers soon found they could obtain no rest. They state that the murderess, ‘Kitty’, has been frequently seen to glide about the premises in ghostly attire, and that old Churchill has been distinctly observed to look in at the window, with hideous countenance. This added to the appearance of blood on the floor of the room in which the tragedy was enacted, supernatural movements amongst the furniture and other articles, and unearthly noises in the immediate vicinity of the cottage, so unsettled the occupants that they at last abandoned the dwelling, which is now regarded as ‘haunted’.

It is a pity that nothing is known about the later fate of this extraordinary, haunted murder cottage near Chard: does it still exist today, and are these formidable ghosts, worthy of the Amityville House of Horrors, still active on the premises?

Top Left to Top Right

1. Fore Street, Chard, from an old postcard. The inquest on Samuel Churchill was held at the George Hotel [which still stands] a few houses down the left side of the street.

2. The murder near Chard, from the Illustrated Police News, March 29, 1879.

3. The ghosts frighten the inhabitants of the murder cottage, from the Illustrated Police News, December 20, 1879.

This an extract from the book Strange Victoriana, a compendium of tales of the curious, the weird and uncanny from our Victorian ancestors, written by Dr Jan Bondeson.

THE CASUAL CONCURRENCES AND CONNECTIONS OF CIRCUMSTANCES

Bil Bungay, despite owning 30 East Drive, will not stay over in it. Danny Robins is passionate about sharing other people’s ghost stories. Barri Ghai has his gadgets. Higgypop doesn’t believe in ghosts, yet he thinks he saw one and Neil Packer lets people investigate his Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre. They’re all good and great people, connected via their passion about the paranormal all be it with slightly different beliefs, thought systems and modus operandi on all things supernatural. Is that a coincidence?

There’s an unorthodox eccentricity to the paranormal at times. Not knowing what will happen on an investigation versus a sometimes somewhat expectance of what might happen. It’s a kind of Déjà vu flip reverse in motion. Two worlds colliding, the living and the dead, life and the afterlife and (often) common sense prevails that their paths should never cross, but in the paranormal bubble that a lot of us find ourselves consumed with. Our senses are thrown out of the window left, right and centre.

A few years back I couldn’t shake the thought of the Haunted Antiques Paranormal Research Centre out of my mind. A place I had been to many times but never thought about as soon as I woke up (it’s normally Weetabix, to be fair). I rang Neil, the owner, up asking if the place was available that night, I spoke to the rest of the HauntedLIVE guys and asked if they fancied an unplanned, unannounced road trip. Fast forward 12 hours later and we were there doing a social media live stream from the place. I felt compelled to go, felt the need to go, felt like I had to be there and that something was making sure I went there. To cut a long story short, things did happen there, it was a weird night for sure. Was I meant to go; did I know something would happen, was it a flip reverse Déjà vu, was it foresight, was it a premonition? I mentioned eccentricity before and Sam Knight’s first book, “The Premonitions

Bureau,” is about two eccentric Englishmen, a psychiatrist (John Barker) and a journalist (Peter Fairley). In 1967 they tried to tap into the many forms of foresight. Placing an ad in

The Evening Standard, setting up an office and urging people to call in with their premonitions.

Remember this was 1967, the start of flower power, the swinging 60s, a new generation of young adults not scarred by the harshness of war and what their parents and grandparents had gone through. Barker and Fairley wondered if it was possible to somehow look into the future and (maybe) stop bad things from happening.

The book kicks off with the sad, sombre story of the 1966

Aberfan mining disaster where more than a hundred children died when an avalanche of coal waste slid down a rain-soaked

WITH PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BARKER FAMILY mountainside and into the town. John Barker became convinced there had been otherworldly warning signs and Peter Fairley and himself set up the premonition’s bureau with the hope that any foreknowledge of events like this could somehow help in some way shape or form. YES, this is not a work of fiction, The Premonitions Bureau was a thing, it existed and it goes to show that the whole culture surrounding the paranormal and the supernatural is as weird to some as it is commonplace to others and is absurd to others as it realistic to some.

The more I entwine myself with the paranormal, the more I contemplate the supernatural, the less weird and less absurd it becomes.

No spoilers as to what happened to the bureau, but I hope {somehow, somewhere} it is operating in a secret underground bunker right now.

PHOTO COURTESY CHRISTINE WILLIAMS