The Paranormal Press April 2012.
Issue 10
Haunted Southampton Latest News
1
Featured Articles
Penny Legg
Investigating Crime
Bushfield Army Camp
Local Hauntings
Ouija - Yes or No
Haunted Southampton www.hauntedsouthampton.com Haunted Southampton arranges and hosts paranormal investigations across the South of England. Find out more by visiting our website or interacting with us through our Facebook pages.
Join us for the next investigation 2
Inside This Issue
FEATURES INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT A look at our investigation of Bushfield Camp
CURRENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT Can the streets reveal their secrets ?
Paranormal Press April 2012
Issue 10
EDITORIAL
Content Peter Collins
PENNY’S CORNER An up date from author Penny Legg
Contributing Articles. Penny Legg
A HAUNTING IN HAMPSHIRE. A look at a local ghost story
James Lysandrides Juliet Collins Andy Ford
THIS MONTHS ARTICLES. Tools to contact the dead. Your personal stories. Event News - Where Next.
© Haunted Southampton Ltd.
3
INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT Bushfield Army Camp, Winchester April 14th 2012. 10.30pm - 02am By Juliet Collins
Bushfield Camp lies about two miles south of Winchester. The venue came to our attention after hearing about people seeing some ghostly figures roaming the old tracks within the camp - so we decided to hold a private event and offer 2 people two places to join us to find out more. Joining us was psychic medium Andy Ford who arrived at our house for 9pm not knowing where he was being taken to.
Bushfield Camp was once a very busy army base, used during the last war as a holding base for troops in the build up to the D Day landings. We under took a bit of research prior to the event just to get ourselves familiar with the history and to establish a few facts about the location.
We did find out that people had reported sightings of soldiers roaming its main entrance and at the rear of the camp. Now was this peoples imagination or was there some thing paranormal actually going on at this now derelict base, we hoped to find out more on what was quite a cold night. 4
An aerial view of Bushfield Army Camp
Our initial walk around the camp took quite some time as the location is really quite large. We could have spent a lot longer at each building but we knew this would probably took all night just to get around. One of the first things Andy picked up upon was the sound of animals - mainly dogs as if dogs were patrolling the ground as an army base during the last war it could be suggested that guard dogs were part of the security - especially during the war. One part of the history of Bushfield was that it’s primary role was an army hospital for animals injured - however this was mainly for the care of horses. Andy also picked up upon the sound of engines - when asked more he was saying it was like the sound of aeroplanes landing. One area of the camp - as we were walking its old paths was a huge indication from all of our K2 meters - the temperature was dropping very quickly , the thermal imager was showing heat on the ground whilst the air temperature was dropping . We all felt quite uncomfortable at this particular area - the full walk around will be detailed in our final report and it was interesting the information Andy came up with whilst on site that co-insided with our research into Bushfield Camp.
Within the main control room pictured below in it’s derelict condition we undertook a few experiments and vigils. Our nerves were tested a bit as we were setting up, we were interrupted by some night visitors either bats or birds. The night vision cameras picked up upon a few dark shadows but as of yet we can’t really explain these during the initial vigil we had some interesting responses from the K2 meters when asking out. What we do know is that there is no electrical supply to the camp. We did pick up upon a gentleman called Walter who worked and died at the camp and we are looking into his details.
Bushfield Camp - Circa 1950
Throughout our four hours at Bushfield camp most of us at some time during the investigation did feel quite un-well. We can’t say why but it was odd that so many of us felt this way for no apparent reason.
One of the now derelict buildings at Bushfield
Original Wood Huts at Bushfield Camp
We undertook several other vigils at a few of the other buildings on site and once again contacted two members of army staff - dates of birth , how the allegedly passed away and the interesting note was that all was post 1950. We are still currently researching these names and their association with Bushfield so within our final report all can be revealed. One thing of note was that each person we made contact with - died in the same circumstances during the 1950’s . It was an interesting investigation for us as a team and I feel we only scratched the surface of this location. So with all of the official data explaining the role of Bushfield camp was there some thing else going on behind its quite heavily guarded fences ? We hope to find out once all the data has been analysed.
5
CURRENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Can The Streets Reveal Their Secrets? By Peter Collins
I really enjoy the opportunity to investigate places like museums. There is a train of thought that the artefacts inside could encourage “spirits” to make themselves known because of an association with the building or are in some way connected to the many items upon display. Using this train of thought, surely if such a premises of thought was capable then the same could be applied to the streets that we walk along every day. So can our streets reveal any secrets if we knew what happened at a given time?
Unsolved Crimes waiting for some potential answers For some time now I have been researching crimes that have occurred within Southampton . My main focus has been unsolved murder cases. Trawling through eye witness reports, Police accounts and old photographs - I have put an idea to three different psychic mediums.
6
Looking at over fifty unsolved murders I have finally got the list down to three rather interesting cases. Each case is over sixty years old , the final hours of each person is a puzzle , the criminal never caught or brought to justice. With so many eye witnesses and appeals to the public for information - we have unsolved crimes waiting for some potential answers. I have seen on the television programmes where a psychic medium is taken to a place and asked for their opinions and in some way the concept is not new. They have all agreed to be taken to one of the crime scenes with no information known to them what so ever. Upon arrival at the crime scene it is hoped that they can offer an insight to who the victim was, the circumstances surrounding the crime and possibly describe any potential suspects.
If we can establish that museums can have a spirit connection then can we also try and make sense of what happened at these crime scenes ?
What I will be able to do at the location is offer crime scene photographs if required. What I am looking for is any names , descriptions of how the murder occurred and if the psychics can match any of the Police records of suspects. As with all crime scenes there is a lot of information and I can validate any such given data due to the extensive background research undertaken.
It’s a tough challenge - but extensive research has armed me with the facts, the raw data , however there is no final closure to what happened to three people murdered on the streets of Southampton.
The whole story of each case will be filmed and will be available for you to watch. Can the streets reveal their darker secrets - you can find out very soon as filming starts in May 2012.
PENNY LEGG. Penny Legg is a Southampton-based author. Hi
Everyone
Well, it has been a busy time recently. I finished my Diamond Jubilee book of service personnel's reminiscences Under the Queen's Colours in January and the book is now being printed. I hope to see the first editions coming off the printing presses at the end of the month. This has been quite exciting for me. I loved talking to the men and women in the book and it is going to raise money for three service charities - the RN/RM Charity, ABF the Soldiers' Charity and the RAF Benevolent Fund, - so I hope it will be popular. I am about to embark of a series of talks and books signings to promote it. The first will be at the historic dockyard in Portsmouth on Saturday and Sunday 5th and 6th May, when I will be talking at the 'Remembering the Falklands' weekend there. I am currently coming to the end of a bloody history of Southampton, which has been great fun to write. It is amazing just what has happened here! Did you know that pirates from Winchelsea attacked us in 1321, before the sack of Southampton that most of us have heard of? Or that a quarter of the population here died of plague in the seventeenth century? Horrible, eh?!
Under the Queens Colours On the ghost front there is lots of news! I heard today that Haunted Southampton is about to be reprinted. This is music to any author's ears because it means that people are buying the book and the publisher has to replenish stocks. Super! A big thank you to all who have bought the book. I hope you have enjoyed it. 7
My next ghost book is due out in October, in time for Halloween. As soon as the bloody history of Southampton is finished, I will be finishing the ghost book. I need to think of a catchy title, so if anyone can think of one, I am happy to hear it! The book will cover ghost stories from Hampshire, Wiltshire and Sussex and there are already some spine-tingling tales to keep readers awake!
I am also very pleased to announce that I will be working with Pete, Juliet and the team at Haunted Southampton on the new 'Can the Streets Reveal Their Secrets' documentaries. This will be an interesting project to be involved in psychics trying to find clues to unsolved murders in the city. I am really looking forward to being involved. Exciting times are ahead! All for now, Happy Ghost Hunting, Penny x
Penny Legg http://www.pennylegg.com/ MyBooks.html
A HAUNTING IN HAMPSHIRE
The Death of A Dame By Peter Collins
Dame Alice Lisle was seventy one years old when she was executed at The Eclipse Inn, Winchester. The year was 1685 , her “crime� to support two gentleman who were aligned with an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Crown . The man handing down the sentence Judge Jeffries.
Sounds of hurried construction After being sentenced to death Dame Alice was housed at The Eclipse, where preparations took place outside for her final but short trip to death. Locked away in an upstairs room, Alice became aware that the initial method of execution of being burned alive had been overturned by James II. The story of how Dame Alice met her end upon September 4th 1685 in some ways conflicts with the reported sightings of a grey lady seen at The Eclipse. The full apparition is a restless soul accordingly roaming the upstairs room where Alice spent her last few hours. However, could this be Dame Alice after all the Eclipse has been around for many hundreds of years and was indeed Alice the only ever prisoner kept in the upstairs rooms. 8
The Eclipse Inn, The Square Winchester Dame Alice Lisle, sentenced to death was apparently made to depart from the Eclipse through the upstairs front window , where waiting for her was a scaffold tower and the man charged with the job of carrying out the sentence via decapitation of the head. So is it Dame Alice seen in full apparition at The Eclipse , can a beheaded woman roam the upstairs floors with her head fully attached? After all the premises has been used as rectory, a private residence and a public ale house. Who is to say that the staff have seen Alice - despite also hearing the sounds of hurried construction, is this the wooden platform being erected outside for the executioner. Whoever the Grey Lady is, she seems intent upon letting people know she is around - Alice or some other female who came to an unfortunate end at The Eclipse wants your attention , so if you are in Winchester, pop in and you may never know who you will see floating along the corridors.
TOOLS TO CONTACT THE DEAD
Ouija Boards -Yes or No? The Ouija board was regarded as a harmless parlour game Introduced July 1890 for commercial purposes by Elijah Bond
I believe it is one the most controversial tools for making contact with the Spirit World . So what is all the fuss about? Are spirits really moving the glass or could another explanation such as the Ideomotor Effect be occurring. I have over the years witnessed many séances using the Ouija board , taken part in such activities and can’t yet fully explain what is going on. During the paranormal investigations with Haunted Southampton - I try to offset the possibility of the glass moving through “spirit contact” with a few ideas of my own. During the majority of investigations people often see me with an array of equipment during the simple set up of a group séance at a table with one of our own boards. In order to validate what is happening upon the séance table I set up a few pieces of equipment as I believe that if the spirits can move a glass then they should be able to cause an effect upon precise digital scales or make some temperature changes occur quickly - it’s a simple non scientific wet finger in the air idea to see what else can be done. So far the results have been inconclusive, some times we get pressure upon the scales and temperature has changed quickly - is it spirit activity affecting the instruments or just a coincidence? I have in the past written down a single letter on paper which no one else can see and ask the spirits to take the glass to the letter I have written down and guess what it has been correct about three times - so who knows what is going on after all it is a harmless parlour game surely!!!
9
Advertise Here enquiry@hauntedsouthampton.com
YOUR GHOST STORIES Thank you to Rachel O’Connell for bringing to my attention a story from across the sea’s.
Lord Tyrone and Lady Beresford (nee Nichola Sophia Hamilton) were born in Ireland but both being orphaned at an early age were given into the care of the same person. Under the care of this guardian both accepted the principles of a religion called Deism. This beloved guardian died as the two entered upon their teens and they were placed in the care of another guardian who used various means to attempt to convert them to the revealed religion. Though these attempts failed to convert the youths, it shook their faith in Deism to the extent that the two made a solemn pact. The substance of this pact was that whichever one should die first would, if permitted, return to the other and reveal which religion was the most acceptable to the supreme Being. Some time later Miss Hamilton married Sir Tristram and became Lady Beresford. In turn Lord Tyrone married and the two families enjoyed a warm friendship, often spending several weeks in each others company. It is reported that some years after marriage Lord Tyrone passed away. Well, one stormy night in 1693 whilst Lady Beresford was residing at Gillhall, she was visited by the ghost of Lord Tyrone who informed her that indeed there was life after death. Lady Beresford needed convincing that he was a genuine apparition and not just her having a bad dream so he made one startling prediction and also left two tangible signs to confirm that his ‘visitation’ had indeed really happened. First of all, he informed Lady Beresford that she would die on her 47th birthday. Then he touched her wrist 10
The Beresford Ghost
Then he touched her wrist which made the flesh burn and shrink but caused her no pain which made the flesh burn and shrink but caused her no pain - Lord Tyrone also placed his hand on a chest of drawers and the imprint of his fingers was burnt into the wood. This piece of furniture showing the charred imprint of four of his figures remained at Gillhall for some considerable period of time. It is said that after the visit of Lord Tyrone - Lady Beresford thereafter always wore a black ribbon around her wrist and this could be seen in a later portrait of her at Howth Castle, County Dublin.
Howth Castle - Where Lady Beresford portrait shows her wearing her black ribbon around her wrist
Everything that her foster-brother had predicted came true except for her death. She did not die on her 47th birthday. On her 48th birthday Lady Beresford decided to celebrate the occasion with some friends. They included a clergyman who was an old family friend.
“You were born in 1666 “ he explained On the occasion of her birthday, the clergyman she had long been acquainted with came to visit and found Lady Beresford to be in the best of spirits. She told him that this was her forty-eighth birthday and that she would like him to celebrate with her. The clergyman informed her that he had long had a dispute with Lady Beresford's adopted mother as to the year of her birth. Having done some research into the matter he found his notion correct that Lady Beresford was in fact only fortyseven this year. “You were born in 1666” he explained. At his words Lady Beresford turned pale and bid the clergyman leave her presence. She said, "You have signed my death warrant today. I have not long to live, I must therefore entreat you to leave me immediately as I have some things of importance to settle before I die". The clergyman having retired from her presence Lady Beresford called for her trusted friend, Lady Betty Cobb, and her eldest son Sir Marcus, the son of Sir Tristram. In their presence she revealed to them the truth of a meeting with the ghost of Lord Tyrone. She revealed how she had awoken one night to see Lord Tyrone sitting on the edge of the bed. This apparition had reminded her of the solemn oath they had sworn. She described that he had informed her 11
that she would shortly bear Sir Tristram a son but that four years hence Sir Tristram would die. This son would live to be married to the daughter of Lord Tyrone. The ghost also revealed that Lady Beresford would once again marry and that in that following the birth of a son she would die in the forty-seventh year of her age. All of the statements made to Lady Beresford by the ghostly figure of Lord Tyrone had party come true. Lady Beresford went on to explain that the apparition had moved objects and scrawled notes but still she had remained unmoved until he had touched her wrist causing the muscles and sinews to wither. From that day forth she had worn a black band upon her wrist to hide the scar. In an attempt to thwart fate Lady Beresford had withdrawn from all society following the death of her first husband and had discouraged the intentions of a clergyman's son. The marriage we know took place but there again Lady Beresford diced with fate when following a short separation she was reunited with her husband.
Having thus revealed all the events of the meeting of Lord Tyrone's ghost, Lady Beresford entreated her listeners to leave her to rest. This they did only to return a number of hours later to find her dead, in the forty-seventh year of her age as Lord Tyrone had predicted. On finding her dead, Sir Marcus removed the black band from his mother's wrist and found her wrist exactly as she had described. Subsequent to his mother's death, Sir Marcus was indeed married to the daughter of Lord Tyrone as the ghost had revealed to Lady Beresford even before his birth. When the 5th Earl of Clanwilliam brought his bride to Gillhall in 1909, she was visited by both ghosts of Gillhall and fled, leaving the Gillhall standing empty until it burned to the ground in mysterious circumstances Muriel Stephenson Countess of Clanwilliam never returned to the family home - knowing the story maybe she did not want to hear any pending predictions from the houses previous residents.
EVENT NEWS Saturday June 2nd 2012 We head to The Plaza Theatre, Romsey for a paranormal investigation. This is a charity event to help raise funds for Breast Cancer in conjunction with Heidi Rehman. In the last edition of the Paranormal Press , Heidi gave us an interview saying why she wanted to host an event with us and the reasons why she is raising money for the
Walk the Walk Fundraising We really hope you can join us for the event and to help Heidi reach her targets and goals .
The Plaza Theatre
Saturday July 7th 2012 To end our season three of investigations we always like to offer some thing a bit different. So, Haunted Southampton is investigating Northwood House upon the Isle of Wight. The manor house is within a 20 minute walk from the Cowes ferry terminal.
Northwood Manor House
This house has had all sorts of paranormal activity reported so we hope to find out more during a hot summer night of investigation.
Visit the website for the full details of both events and how to purchase tickets.
www.hauntedsouthampton.com 12
Purchase signed copies of books by Penny Legg at http://www.pennylegg.com/MyBooks.html
Andy Ford is a Psychic Medium and Tarot reader and has been working in conjunction with Haunted Southampton and Psychic Occasions from the beginning. He has investigated many exciting locations such as the Michelham Priory, Tudor House, Gods House, Salisbury Guildhall and the Plaza Theatre in Romsey. Andy has also been the medium demonstrating at the events organised by Psychic Occasions. An update from Andy - Hi Everyone I will be launching my new website – The Spirit Mage at the end of May 2012. This website is being designed to bring updates about the locations I am investigating, interesting facts in a blog format as well as photographs. The site will offer Skype 1-1 readings and provide information on workshops and courses that I will be running on subjects such as mediumship, tarot, angels and past life regression. I will be offering tarot readings at the Healing Weekend in Weston Super Mare and psychic fayres in Burley and Salisbury. Hope to see you soon -
Andy Ford 13
For personal readings please contact me through my website http://www.andy-ford.com/
Juliet “ Writes It Down “ By Juliet Collins
Been thinking over our night in Bushfield – and apart from cold the main feeling was of isolation. The camp itself is not really that far away from houses or the city - but even though I was with everyone and you could even on occasion hear voices from the nearby houses I spent a lot of the night feeling alone.
Was this something that the night and the location induced? Or was it something that those who served here felt? Isolated from friends and family in war torn Britain they would have had to make the best of their situation, mingled and kept up a smile for the troops but at night and alone, in the then lonely campsite on the top of a windy hill, their minds would have gone to the family they had left behind. That and the fact that there was no telling when - or if - they would have been with them again. Was this what I was feeling? Who knows - the mind is a curious thing - and you can talk yourself into all sorts of beliefs or attitudes.
I like to try to keep an open mind – and so many things that happen I write off as environmental or not paranormal – but sometimes mere sense of a place can get to you and may be that is what happened Saturday night.
And there I go again – talking myself into something – but maybe this time it really was a sense of those who had spent their time there before the off. Whatever it was, I was glad to go home. Much longer and I feel like I would have cried. Or turned into an ice cube. I hope you enjoyed the read and the new format which we hope to continue for the majority of our publications. I have recently completed the investigation report of our night at The Bugle Hotel and currently catching up on more recorded films for the next report
Look forward to seeing you upon an investigation soon
Juliet 14