Paranormal Press The Newsletter For Haunted Southampton.
JULY 2012 ISSUE 11
Season Four starts 8th September 2012
A look at season three investigations
A Hampshire haunting
A new venture in Southampton
Not a guide to Southampton?
How many extra guests are there in a Lyndhurst Hotel?
Haunted Southampton
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Inside This Issue
Features INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT A look at our investigation. of
Paranormal Press June 2012 Issue 11
Little Hayes Lyndhurst 2009.
CURRENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT Joint venture starting September 2012
EDITORIAL
Content
A HAUNTING IN HAMPSHIRE Thoughts about a local haunting.
THIS MONTHS ARTICLES
Peter Collins
Contributing Articles
Not a Southampton Guide ? Ways to contact the dead
Juliet Collins
Your ghost stories
James Marsh
Review of Season Three The “Private” life of Ghosts
James Lysandrides
INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT Little Hayes Guest House Lyndhurst November 29th 2009 By Juliet Collins Built in the early 1900’s this venue came to our attention as the owners were experiencing some odd thingsguests at the house were also confirming the owners own views that the house may indeed be haunted. Who were the family and guests seeing in one of the bedrooms ? Who was opening and closing doors upon their own and most bizarre of all - why were males being locked into the bathroom? We as a team undertook a few months of research into the owners of the house and became aware of the person who actually paid for the house to be built this kind father figure built the property for his two daughters and so we were all set to investigate for the night on very cold November night. Our two mediums Andy Ford and Kathy Bavister picked up upon some very strong female presences especially in one room - the room that the owners has previously informed us guests had reported dark shadows and seeing a female at the window during the night..
During one vigil within one of the guests rooms, a few of us were taking a well earned cup of tea when all of a sudden the sound of a loud bang occurred , four guests came running down the stairs screaming - telling us all that a large black shadow of a figure had crept up behind them , raised its arms and made what sounded to be a human voice moan. This got us all in a bit of excitement as it was only 90minutes into the investigation , as if our nerves were not already on high alert following one lady being sick - some thing that was reported that guest have felt ill and sick for no apparent reason - so who was causing this to happen in that guest room? We hade six more hours to find out.
During our research we discovered that an old hospital lay behind the guest house. One of the séances undertaken contacted a lady who indicated that a child liked this house but had passed away at the hospital - we also came into contact with a gentleman who used to live in the house and was a local “Jack of all trades” could this chap be an old local undertaker as it was suggested that he used the house to store bodies - what truth to this is still unknown.
“We all heard the front door open and close” Another vigil tried to make contact with the little girl who both mediums felt was indeed in the house with us. Venturing into the pantry some guests tried to get the little girl to play along with them for a little fun. It was asked if she could make the light move or swing , just to let them know she was there. Well, the light cord started to swing to their asking and strangely suddenly stopped - it all went very quiet as if she just disappeared off to play some where else. A few names came to our attention during the night Mary and Grace, were these the two elderly ladies who were the houses first occupants ? We are yet to confirm. The investigation was interesting, different and at times very unnerving and as with many of the places we investigate the most odd thing happened near the end.
During one of the last vigils of the night which one of the house owners joined us - we were all together and suddenly the main front door opened and closed with such a loud bang … We all rushed down to see if anyone had come in or if the owners son had decided to come home. The door is a usual front door with a Yale lock and catch so would require either a key or a turn of the handle from the inside to open it and yet we all heard the door open and close with a bang - no one was downstairs, no one had come in so what was going on - at this time one of the male guests became stuck in the main bathroom upstairs and could not open the door , we had to open the door from the outside to let him out.
Psychic Art Kathy Bavister Is this the lady of Little Hayes?
The front door and bathroom door playing up - one of the most reported unexplained experiences at Little Hayes - Is it haunted? maybe you should book a room and find out . Myself and Pete have been back to Little Hayes several times to have tea with the owners and maybe one day we will return for the night .. Who knows.
CURRENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Southampton Ghost Walks
Starting in September - Haunted Southampton has teamed up with Southampton’s Green Badge tourist guide Derek Challaghan - who specialises in all of the darker stories of Southampton’s haunted past. Join us for a 90 minute guide through the streets and vaults - finding out about the ghost stories of Southampton. These evenings are not suitable for younger children or those of a nervous disposition . Not only will Derek be offering his tales of ghostly occurrences but when we enter the vaults we will be using some of the paranormal detection equipment we use upon our investigations. Maybe you can capture an image of some resident ghosts using thermal image camera , find out where the spirits are standing using EMF Meters - It will be a fun packed evening starting at 7pm ,You may not want to walk the streets at night again …. More information soon to be announced upon the website and Facebook pages.
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF “GHOSTS” Things go bump in the night at your house ? Well it is an old saying but over the last few years I have received numerous requests to undertake an investigation of a persons house. This is some what a different aspect to the public venues we hire to investigate as the person who contacts us is usually quite worried about occurrences happening in their own home. So, armed with a few detection devices , ask one of the psychic mediums we work with to come along we try and offer some answers. Some time ago, I was contacted by a person who had such odd things occurring at their house, after a long chat on the phone , we set a date to investigate. I spoke to John Taylor (psychic medium) and he agreed to come along , he had no idea where we were going , just the name of the town which took us just over 90 minutes to get to , it was a long drive. Popping the post code into the Sat-Nav, all sorted , or so I thought. Bearing in mind this was the first time we had worked with John, I confidently turned onto the designated drive indicated by the Sat-Nav , we all got out un loaded the car and promptly knocked the door, all of us holding some various form of case holding the equipment. Well , we waited a few moments and no answer , knocked again a bit harder, by this time the neighbours curtains were beginning to twitch - what a sight they had , the Haunted Southampton Team, with our jackets on , must have thought what the heck is going on some sort of large pest control company working late. After all we wanted to be a bit discrete , it’s not the sort of thing I guess you want your neighbours to know about is it- you’ve got a ghost in your house. Well after about 10 minutes waiting for the door to open , neighbours by this time having a major net curtain twitch , my phone started going and it was the chap whose house we were due to investigate, problem was his house was two streets away. To this day we still don’t know if anyone was actually in or just refused to answer the door to six odd people they had never met , it would have been even more funny if they did open the door and we marched in asking , right where's the ghost them? It was a funny moment and what John’s thoughts about us on our fist working project well , who knows. The night at the right house was a great success and we left leaving them feeling much happier in their own home. Another house we investigated , the owner kindly left the keys with a neighbour, the house owners were on holiday , such a compliment for us to be allowed in for the night , but they wanted some answers. Imagine our surprise when we entered the lounge to find all of the cushions from the sofa and chairs laid out on the floor in the lounge… A quick text to the house owners , they had left the house perfectly tidy with nothing left out on the floor, although a bit freaked out the owner was also reassured as this was a common occurrence they would find in the morning and believed it was their dog - no dog had been in the house since they departed for a holiday, all the fun of investigating the paranormal. I wonder who has a haunted house , PS please give me the right postcode though.
A HAUNTING IN HAMPSHIRE Not just about the animals … Marwell.
Located upon the outskirts of Winchester is Marwell Hall. The hall was built around 1320 and over the years the property has been developed but the original features still remain. Mr Walter Woodlock was the original resident of the hall and it is reported to have had royal visitors, it is suggested that Henry VIII married Jayne Seymour here as during the middle 1500’s, the hall was within the ownership of the Seymour family at this time.
Could it indeed be the so called Mistletoe Bride to which no one seems to know her name. Upon this ladies wedding day it is said that she was playing hide and seek with her husband to be and the wedding guests.
“her cries were not heard and her remains were found many years later” Our Mistletoe Bride decided to hide within an old oak chest within a remote part of the house.
As with many properties of this stature and age it has it’s fair share of ghost stories - As Henry Longfellow once said
All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses Marwell Hall is indeed famous for one particular story Apparently anomalous footsteps have been heard by staff and guests at Marwell and dark shadows have been seen moving around the corridors and rooms of the hall, so who or what is causing this to occur?
However , she was unable to get out of the selflocking chest. The groom and guests searched high and low, but her cries were not heard and her remains were found many years later. Some say it was workers brought into the house that found the bride upon opening this chest .It is the wedding guests who can be heard frantically rushing around the corridors searching for the missing bride or are the shadows , footsteps and sightings of our unknown bride frantically looking for her groom , or can the footsteps in fact be some banging from inside the chest to ask someone “please let me out”...
TOOLS TO CONTACT THE DEAD To be Frank or Bruce?
Frank’s Box, Ghost Box or Direct EVP machine it comes in many names, so what is it all about?. Frank Sumption started using an AM radio fed into an echo chamber believing that whilst creating white noise he could hear audio bits that spirits were manipulating into forming words, thus creating the concept that ghostly voices can be recorded - this was in 1995. Today the Frank’s Box is usually a digital radio doctored to prevent the scanning option stopping upon set radio stations - generating a constant scan of white noise enabling direct communication with the spirit world.
If you visit our YouTube Channel you can see and hear a conversation we had with “Bruce” Watch the Video Here The best way to achieve results is to initially ask for a repeat of words , such as your names within a vigil. This may indicate that someone is intelligent enough to respond to your initial questions , then you can ask more specific questions to establish just what spirit is actually talking to you. One good question is ask can you name the place we are in now? Plus it is good practice for any paranormal investigator to record the vigil using the Frank’s Box for later analysis. So, does it actually work? We have been using various forms and like all experiments it has been quite responsive upon some investigations—my best encounter was a twenty minute conversation with “Bruce” at the historic Red Lion, Southampton.
Andy Ford. Psychic Medium Available for 1-1 readings and Tarot Card guidance Contact Andy here
Haunted Southampton - Ghost stories and personal experiences from across Southampton. Order Your Copy Here
YOUR GHOST STORIES
Thanks to my good friend John who pointed out this story for me to read about.
50 Berkeley Square, London.
It is reported to be the most haunted property in London which itself is quite a claim due to many places that could claim such a title in the capital city. 50 Berkeley Square lies within the Mayfair district constructed during the late 18th centaury & once being the home of prime minister George Canning.
With Windows, caked and blackened by dust, full of silence and emptiness, and yet with no notice about it anywhere that it may be had for renting. This is known as the haunted house in Berkeley Square. In 1885 the house was purchased by a young gentleman called Mr Myers, who it is said had just recently been jilted by his fiancĂŠe and he choose to live life as a recluse , let the house run down. It was known that Mr Myers stayed in one part of the attic - only coming out at night and slowly went mad, ending his days a lonely recluse in the upper attic room. Due to the properties shabby decline it quickly became known as the haunted house, and , for fun or a bet of the day - Lord Lyttleton arrived, He brought his shotgun with him, and during the night fired at an apparition which had appeared. In the morning, he attempted to find what he had shot at, but could only find shotgun cartridges, the house had started its reputation as the most haunted property in London. Some five years passed and it was reported that a young maid who stayed in the attic rooms had been found dead, it was reported that she actually died within an asylum the next day but the fact of her staying in the house are without dispute.
Later reports explain how a noble gentleman also spent a night within the notorious attic room - it was he who was the first ever reported death at the address - the coroner at the scene declared her died of fright. And yet with the stories of the house gathering pace other “brave� souls decided to take up the challenge of staying just one night in the attic rooms of 50 Berkeley Square.
As with many reports of ghostly activity several versions have appeared - from a young woman committing suicide, to a young man being fed through a small hole in the attic door until he died from his own madness, locked away for years. So the year is now 1887 and the house has held the haunted reputation for many years. Some sailors , maybe hearing of the story about those who choose to spend one night in the attic decided to “take the challenge”. In the morning one of the sailors was found dead, apparently running away from a picture of terror he tripped and died. HMS Penelope was to loose another sailor that night as another was caught with such terror he became paralysed and could no longer speak. One very brave man moved into the house with his two daughters , the strange rancid musty smells were filling the house. A maid servant was asked to clean and prepare the upper rooms for a visitor, within a few moments the whole household heard terrible screams from upstairs. The maid servant was found on the floor muttering “don’t let it touch me” no one ever found out what caused this maid to have such fear, she died the next day.
A famous medium of the day Florence Cook conducted a séance in the house to try and explain the what was going on and why such fear and death surrounded the inside of the house. It was claimed that Florence was able to contact the people who had died at the house, but not the reasons why or who indeed was causing the death of those who had chosen top spend the night in the attic alone. The house was finally purchased in 1935 by the Maggs Brothers who’s business still operates from the premises today selling rare books. Florence Cook a Victorian Medium conducted a séance in the house.
Over the years the house has become quite an attraction for its reported ghost sightings and being a house of un-explained death. The house has been investigated quite recently and no reports of any unusual activity had occurred and all of the investigators came out alive in the morning.
So after all these years the house still claims to be the most haunted venue in London despite no more experiences occurring for some time. Something happened at this property, too many stories have emerged to easily dismiss the death of so many people for no other reason than shear fear , so why is so quiet today . Maybe Florence got it all sorted after all and the dark brown mists and apparitions are finally at rest. But, would you spend the night in the attic alone ?
50 Berkeley Square as it is today
A REVIEW OF SEASON THREE . James Lysandrides It is this time of year where we look back on our past season events, and what a season it has been! Our opening event of Season 3 was a trip to the Sussex countryside where we investigated probably the most haunted place in Britain, Michelham Priory, and true to its reputation, it did not disappoint. After picking up a clear audible response on a digital voice recorder during our pre-assessment the team and our guests witnessed singing, tapping, shadows and movement as well as glass divination activity. In October we celebrated Halloween with a double bill, Tudor House in Southampton and Salisbury Guildhall. Both venues proved worthy of investigating for different reasons. Tudor House, steeped in history and ancient artefacts proved to be a very spiritual experience for our guests and at the Guildhall Hall terror played a part as lone vigils by all. were conducted in the very atmospheric cells and court rooms. Into November we visited The Chough Inn, also in Salisbury where we all became very weary, very soon due to the disoriented layout of the building and the dark, underground dungeons where an entire group vigil witnessed k-2 meter activity in response to questions. After the xmas festivities we headed to Titchfield where we took on the challenge of The Bugle Hotel. This venue held many secrets for us and with audible and corner of the phenomena it was an interesting night. In March we returned to an old favourite. We held a pole on our Facebook page to ask which venue would our guests most like to visit, and with over an 80% majority we went back to RAF Middle Wallop , near Stockbridge. With multiple reports of activity it was well worth the re-visit. April brought our most unique and exciting venue to date, St. Cross Almshouse and Hospital in Winchester. With its own chapel and resident monks, known as The Brothers, this truly was an atmospheric and active venue to remember, especially for a group who held a vigil in the Undercroft. In May we held a charity event back at The Plaza Theatre in Romsey. Table tipping on the main stage and constant door movement in the lighting box were just a few activities that made our night. Our end of season finale found us travelling over water to the Isle Of Wight, where Northwood House became our latest treat. This huge manor house gave us all some scary moments from audibles in the derelict servants quarters to shadows and movement in the maze of the underground cellars.
It has been an vastly enjoyable season for us all and with season four well in hand we can only hope for more of the same. We hope to see you soon.
James Lysandrides Location Manager Haunted Southampton.
NOT A GUIDE TO SOUTHAMPTON James Marsh I recently met up with author James Marsh who was
James Marsh - Website
looking for some different ghost stories relating to Southampton. James is currently writing a book called Not a Guide To Southampton and is due to be published in 2013.
http://www.aloejimmy.com/index.html
Hello, my name is James Marsh. I am 70 and have had a varied working life. From seaman to railway fireman. I have gained experience of life in a world that has now passed us by, working in the Merchant Navy and for British Rail. When those days came to an end I had to settle for more mundane jobs and in the late 1980’s I turned my hand to writing, but never tasted success. It was an all too familiar story of rejection letters from publishers and agents, and various projects that didn’t seem to ever get off the ground. The last few years of my working life were spent in WH Smiths, and after retirement in 2005 I concentrated fully on writing once more.
Not A Guide to Southampton The new book currently being written by James he explained “I want to show the parks and open spaces of Southampton, its rich maritime history, the old walls and ghost stories as well as the new Sea City Museum plus highlight the Titanic Centenary Year” You can find out more about the work of James his books and blog at his website - To purchase copies of James books via Amazon please visit here
Available in both book and Kindle format— Growing Up in Wartime Southampton
The story of growing up in the Belgrave Road community, a post war world of rationing, hand me downs and playing in ruined buildings.
The challenges we faced and overcame, and meeting my father for the first time when he returned from commando duty as a stranger to me.
Best Wishes
James Marsh
Event news Saturday 8th September
Some people say it is one the most haunted places in Southampton… Some people dismiss the reports of paranormal activity …. Upon Saturday 8th September , the Haunted Southampton team will host a paranormal investigation of this very large industrial site to find out if indeed the rumours are true. The investigation starts at 7.30 pm through to 2am . We have an opportunity upon our first visit here to fully investigate this venue. The Bursledon Brickworks … Is it really haunted ? Join us to find out.
Saturday 29th September
The Almshouse Winchester Upon our first visit to the St Cross Almshouse we were unsure what we would find. However with footsteps, voices and the sounds of chanting following us around - we all felt that we had only just touched the surface of this location. With more questions that answers raised following our April overnight investigation ,we as a team felt we just have to go back and find out more. The building dates back over 900 years so who knows who we may encounter upon our next visit . Visit the website for all the details of our investigations of the Brickworks and The Almshouse . www.hauntedsouthampton.com
Juliet “ Writes it down”
Orbs. That one word causes such controversy that some paranormal investigators will not even discuss the subject anymore. So many pictures of orbs are sent to us – some bright, some fuzzy, some with too many to count and some that are so small that unless the picture is blown up it is difficult to tell if there is one there at all. Before the advent of digital cameras it seems that ‘orbs’ were unheard of. Literally decades of pictures developed from 35mm film showed very little evidence of the dratted things. But as soon as digital cameras were invented suddenly these little blobs started to appear. Some even seem to have features that appear to be humanoid. Sceptics will claim that orbs are dust motes, pollen, insects, hairs, cobwebs- and entirely dismiss the efforts and beliefs of a large section of society. Now anyone who has been on an investigation with me will know – I never say that orbs are not paranormal or that they are just dust – I do my best to be open minded and never dismiss anything. But there has in recent years been extensive research into the phenomena, and anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a paranormal investigator cannot simply ignore the evidence. The one of the latest weapons in disproving orbs is the Fujifilm W1 3D digital camera which employs a pair of lenses that take a picture each of whatever you are trying to capture and then marries the two images using fabulously clever microchips so producing a strikingly sharp image. Some groups with a lot more money and time than us (usually sponsored US groups) have undertaken studies and found that most images of orbs appear on one of the two pictures taken and not the other – so proving that the ‘orb’ is in fact a reflection of the flash on a particle of dust that is hovering about 2 – 3 cm in front of the camera.( The actual technical explanation was much more involved and to be honest a bit boring so this is as close as I get.) In one of the surveys 630 pictures were taken that had orbs in – and all 630 were explainable. Images that contain features within the orb are apparently just that – features of the dust particle or whatever caused the orb to reflect the light in that particular way. Pareidolia, matrixing, and anthropomorphism are all lovely big words that basically describe the human habit of interpreting random features as significant, and making them fit into a suitable and explainable pattern or event. Now I have blinded you all with science and my own brilliance, I will leave you all with a thought or two of my own. I was not there when you took the pictures you send in. I did not experience the feeling of that place, or the environment in which you took that photograph. I certainly am not trained in the art of photography, but as an enthusiastic amateur investigator – as ANY paranormal investigator is – because there is no defining qualification or governing body to oversee and set down standards of practice – who is to say that what you have captured is not paranormal? It seems that the likelihood is that the orb you have captured is not paranormal is quite high, but then you are allowed your own opinion and beliefs and far be it from me to rain on your parade. ‘Nuff said. Hope to see you soon on an investigation
Juliet