Paranormal Press Issue 12
The Southampton Ghost Walk The Schooner Hotel Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum
August 2012
EVENT NEWS WITH HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON. Haunted Southampton arranges and hosts paranormal investigations across the South of England. Working with experienced and knowledgeable psychic practioners and using our scientific equipment we hope to establish if indeed these venues are as haunted as they claim to be Join us for the night , all tickets for our event investigations are available at the website www.hauntedsouthampton.com
EVENT DIARY Some people claim that Burseldon Brickworks is the most haunted location within Southampton. So, upon Saturday 8th September 2012 we undertake a paranormal investigation with psychic medium Andy Ford to try and establish if indeed the rumours are true.
The Southampton Ghost Walk Tuesday 18th September 2012 7pm. The Southampton ghost walk takes a journey through the most haunted locations of the city – With tourist guide Derek Challaghan who specialises in the darker stories of the city plus Peter Collins and Medium Andy Ford. Travel through the city and find out about the hauntings and ghost stories - We also take a journey into the Undercroft vault to try and make contact with any ghostly spirits using some of the equipment used upon our events. The ghost walk takes approximately 90 minutes - covering 1.6 km, across uneven pavements and in dimly lit streets
Tickets £7 and can be booked here Saturday 29th September 2012 The Almshouse, Winchester. 10.30pm - 06am Steeped in over 900 years of history , Haunted Southampton undertakes it’s second overnight investigation of this venue. Join us for the whole night and investigate with us as we once again try and establish just who is in residence during the night. Tickets available via the
Haunted Southampton Website
Inside This Issue Features INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT A look at our investigation of The New Forest Inn , Emery Down , Lyndhurst.
Paranormal Press August 2012
CURRENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Issue 12
The Southampton Ghost Walk with Haunted Southampton and tourist guide Derek Challaghan
EDITORIAL GUEST CONTRIBUTOR Movie producer Lura Ketchledge writes for The Paranormal Press
Content Peter Collins _____
THIS MONTHS ARTICLES
Contributing Articles
We take a closer look at a most haunted hotel with Spiritualist medium Ray Bokor.
Penny Legg Paranormal Press talks to American paranormal author Stephen Prosapio.
Readers interest in the paranormal - We asked for your input about the paranormal and your thoughts - here is what Paranormal Press reader Debbie Williams had to say.
Author and Journalist Penny Legg gives us an up-date on her recent works and paranormal books.
Stephen Prosapio Andy Ford Ray Bokor Debbie Williams James Lysadrides Juliet Collins Lura Ketchledge
Paranormal Press Talks To ….. Author of The Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum
Stephen Prosapio After reporting for one of America’s largest fantasy football websites, footballguys.com, Stephen Prosapio wrote his first novel, Dream War. Competing against 2,676 other novels, Dream War won a top five finalist award in Gather.com’s 2007 first chapters contest. His paranormal suspense novel, Ghosts of RoseWood Asylum, briefly overtook the acclaimed Stephen King in Amazon kindle sales in 2011. Now, prior to the launch of the next instalment of the acclaimed Xavier Paranormal Investigators series, the best-selling author talks exclusively to Haunted Southampton for the Paranormal Press.
Stephen Prosapio Hello Stephen can you tell us about Xavier Paranormal Investigators. Hi Pete, I founded XPI on Facebook as the fan club of the fictional group in my novel. It’s grown into much more than that ,it’s a worldwide community of independent people interested in the topic, watchers of ghost hunting shows, paranormal investigators, paranormal radio bloggers and many, many more.
Your first novel was “Dream War”. How did that come about? found a key on my key ring and had no idea how it got there. It freaked me out and I got to thinking “what if someone stashed a key for something sinister on someone’s key ring as temporary safe keeping because they were under surveillance”. So I wrote Dream War. I
So, do you believe in ghosts? Yes. There are way too many unexplained phenomenon.
Have you had any dealings with the paranormal? Yes. When I was between two and four years of age I had a lot of interaction with a relative who died when I was a baby . He adored me and was very much into the supernatural.
What makes a good writer great? Holding on to tiny little things. Flashing back to your childhood, your first day at school, or the first time some-one said yes-or no-to dance with you. Those are the things every writer needs to remember. A great quote I heard once is that “every great writer remembers every scar.” I don’t know who said it, but to me, that’s exactly what makes a good writer great.
And what about Ghosts of RoseWood Asylum, what was the inspiration behind that? I had been watching quite a few of the ghost hunting shows and the "inspiration" came as a story that was completely different than what ended up coming out. Almost an inverse inspiration which worked out to what most have found a really engaging story.
How did you feel when it overtook Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’ on Amazon? Yes, for a brief hour Ghosts of RoseWood Asylum ranked just ahead of ‘The Shining’ in Kindle sales. I think it was 41st in Horror. I've had other incidents like this with my novels either in terms of sales or ratings and I must say it's an incredibly rewarding feeling.
And the follow up, can you give us a sneaky insight into the plot? The next book in the series is called The Atchison Haunting. As for the plot, nope, I’m not giving that away! What I will say is that The Atchison Haunting will hopefully be digitally released on October 1st 2012! Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum can be purchased at Amazon here Buy prior to the sequel comes out. More information about Stephen’s next book coming soon
A huge thanks to Stephen for the interview and for taking time out from his busy schedule to chat with the Paranormal Press.
Ways To Contact The Dead The appliance of science within paranormal investigations By Peter Collins
During any paranormal investigation it would make good practice to look at the various pieces of equipment used to try and establish or even discount if any paranormal activity is occurring. So often I see or am made aware of some thing new coming onto the market that is supposed to enhance the toolbox of any paranormal investigator and often I am quite surprised when items are for sale, the strange price when some thing is labelled for ghost detection. In my experience often the eyes and ears are the best pieces of equipment , however I do enjoy using equipment as I nor the Haunted Southampton team claim any psychic ability. Here is some of our thoughts about the specific equipment we use during investigations.
The next time you are on an investigation ask if any pre – assessment of the building has been undertaken. Make sure your mobile phone is turned off. Try and take readings standing still and take three points of reference i.e horizontal, vertical and lateral . If you are placing an EMF Meter on a floor for analysis make sure it is not near plug sockets, electrical appliances and overhead cables.
EMF Meters. EMF measurements are measurements of ambient (surrounding) electromagnetic fields . There is a massive amount of research across the internet about ghosts and their association with such EMF variations.
Take notes of where you find any high readings , the time and what was also happening such as a vigil , what other experiments were you conducting at the time
The most common train of thought is that if a spirit is close to any EMF Meter then readings will indicate a high level - this is of course assuming that the theory is correct that ghosts and spirits affect environmental readings. EMF Meters come in a range of designs—some bleep at you , some show flashing lights and the more in-depth professional versions have digital readouts, my personal preference because then you can easily establish the exact level of electromagnetic fields that are occurring within your environment. Basic background EMF readings should be around 2—5 milligaus within any household obviously the closer you get to any electrical appliance the higher reading you get , so we are focused upon background levels. Any device that has a form of electrical source will affect readings , mobile phones, overhead power lines , internet cables all produce a form of EMF - therefore when we are investigating any location we undertake an in-depth analysis a few days prior. What this does for us is to discount false readings upon the night, if we are getting some unusual readings within a particular area and the pre assessment indicated no EMF readings then this is an area of interest and more experiments can be conducted to find out more.
Tips for using EMF Meters
Just a few EMF meters currently available TOP The K2 MIDDLE. Digital EMF analyser BOTTOM. The Tri Field meter
.In my opinion EMF Meters don’t indicate that a ghost or spirit is present to you , what they do is analyse an area for readings, so don’t be fooled into thinking that, just because your getting high EMF readings your experiencing ghostly activity you should take all of the other surrounding factors into consideration to form an opinion. If you are getting high EMF , the temperature is dropping and humidity is increasing for example , well that sort of combined changes within the environment could be some thing going on that is of interest … Happy Investigating ……..
Burseldon Brickworks Anyone who wants to know more about Steve and the Xavier Paranormal Investigators Southampton can visit his websites at www.prosapio.com, or www.xavierparanormal.com OPEN DAY Sunday 19th August
Psychic Occasions Hosting Evenings of Clairvoyance
10am - 4pm
WEBSITE
www.psychicoccasions.com
Health & Holistic Fayre Salisbury Playhouse Malthouse Lane Salisbury SP2 7RA
Saturday 3rd November 2012. 10am - 5pm Gifts, treatments and therapies, readings and aura photography.
Order Copies Here
Order Copies Here
Free talks and demonstrations. ÂŁ3 entry fee
Andy Ford Psychic Medium 1 - 1 Mediumistic Sittings
Tarot Readings
Past Life Regression
Group Sessions / Workshops
Skype readings available
Contact me through my website or directly for further details about bookings.
Andy Ford Website 07983 356894
The Schooner Hotel Spiritualist Medium Ray Bokor gives The Paranormal Press an insight to … A Most Haunted Hotel
Ray Bokor has been hosting paranormal investigations at The Schooner Hotel for some time now. The hotel is located in Alnmouth, a small village on the coast of Northumberland .
“stories of murders, suicides and massacres “ The hotel dates back to the 17th centaury and is a listed building as such and originally was built as a coaching inn . It is noted that people such as Charles Dickens, Basil Rathbone, Douglas Bader and even King George III have enjoyed stays here, so what about the alleged hauntings and ghosts? You can understand the attraction to the Schooner Hotel for paranormal investigators as the stories of murders, suicides and massacres are very well documented . Also the small village of Alnmouth has a history of smuggling being rife and was quoted as being “a small seaport town famous for its wickedness", it is even reported that young babies were thrown into the open fires many years ago. Ray explains that at present he is representing the world famous Schooner Hotel in Alnmouth, Great Britain’s most haunted hotel, as the head spiritualist medium. My job there is to organise and host regular ghost hunts and paranormal investigations. During these events I insist that the guests work with and experience the many different spirits and energies that reside in the hotel. This is just a little insight to one of the numerous investigations undertaken by Ray and a small group of people .
The sign outside The Schooner Hotel
Schooner Hotel Ghost Hunt - 27th February 2010. With Ray Bokor .
The guests who attended this event were all experienced ghost hunters from Northern Paranormal Investigators (NPI) and were well equipped for the hunt. I took a team of 6 people and F. Cooper (aka Fred - a local spiritualist medium) to work with the energy of the hotel. As the group was hoping to catch phenomena and work with it on a spiritual level rather than use electronic gadgets, only digital cameras were used for this part of the night. Room 4 Normally I would start a ghost hunt by introducing the feel of hotel to the guests. This is achieved by sitting in a bedroom, getting a feel for it and learning to understand the basics of working on a psychic level with spirits.
The Schooner Hotel A venue investigated by The Most Haunted Team and broadcast November 25th 2003
On this occasion, we skipped this introduction and went straight up to Room 4, where I conduct experiments around the vortex in that room. I started off by asking an individual from the group to stand near the edge of the energy vortex and getting him to hold his hands out at the edge of the vortex. I immediately asked another individual to stand over by the wall mirror. At this point Fred stated the lady who had stood by the mirror had changed appearance, to what Fred described as a ‘nun like’ figure.
We spent ten more minutes working with the vortex before we turned our attention to scrying in the big mirror in the bedroom. The first lady was Susan Wells, a core member of NPI. As soon as she sat in front of the mirror her face changed to that of a long faced man with blonde hair and a sneaky look on his face. Tracey Dixon, a guest who wanted proof that spirits exist, followed Susan. As she sat in front of the mirror her face changed to that of a young girl, about 8 years old, with a sad face. Angela Crossley was next. This was the most outstanding transformation as her whole features changed to that of a stout, heavily disfigured man. One side of his face was bloated and the other side appeared to be burnt. Also, one eye seemed to be higher than the other. Whilst these transformations were taking place, the background of the mirror seemed to be disconnected from the real room. The whole room in the mirror seemed larger. All of my team took part in these experiments and added to the events with their own observations etc . Room 5 We used the chair by the fire place in Room 5 as a focal point. Susan Wells was first in the hot seat. For the first few minutes she felt normal. Then the energy levels went up and Fred stated she was aware of a small, bad tempered gent. (I believe this to be Max, the gent who is normally linked to room 28). He was not happy with the people in this room (mainly ladies). He appeared to be located between the chair and the window of the room. At this point some light anomalies were noticed within the room. Fred added the name of Max/Mac/MacPearson to the spirit. She asked the spirit to show himself in one of the photographs taken by the ladies. Five minutes later he was noticed in one of the photographs of myself, stood by the chair. Next in the chair was Fran. The group all appeared to notice that the chair had changed to what looked like a rocking chair. As I looked at her, what looked like shadows of footprints seemed to walk away from her. Angela followed Fran into the chair. Straight away she picked up on an old lady who she described as feeling very guilty about what she had let her son get away with for most of his life. Angela said that she knew her son had committed murder and she never reported him . Angela stated she could feel her guilt and sorrow for her son’s crimes.
Room 7 On a previous visit, Fred had noticed a dark-skinned gent protecting the doorway of room seven. She described this area as a ‘safe’ area of the hotel. Fred asked all the guests to feel the doorway and see if they agreed with her findings. Once everyone was in the room and had settled down, I stood in the doorway. I realised that I was in the way of everything, so I moved. The energy then seemed to grow and people started noticing the feel of the room changing to a more homely, comfortable feel. Fred picked up on a lady in the room and told her to sit near Fran. Fran noticed her hand tingling as it rested on the bed and the area around her seemed to heat up. Fran describe the lady as Victorian and that she would have looked after this room and the people in it. At this point, Susan said she felt that children were kept in this room. She also said that she could see a child’s spinning top. We all concluded that this room was probably a safe haven for the children of the hotel. Room 11 This was the last part of the hunt and we all agreed to do an Ouija board. I said a prayer of protection for the guests before we started. As I sat over the other side of the room, I saw, for a fleeting second, what I thought was a boy under the bed. The board seemed dead but I felt the energy of the room was over towards the door side of the room. So we moved over to that area and straight away they picked up a spirit. A young boy came though and told us his name was Calum, he was six years old and that he had been under the bed because he was a bit shy to come out. He didn’t tell us much more during the séance, I felt that he was being held back or was too scared to talk with us due to a more dominant spirit in the area. These few snippets of the report are just part of a report written up by myself , the Schooner Hotel awaits future guests and groups for further investigations. If you are interested please contact me , take a look at the Schooner Hotel website for information about it’s history and some of the reported paranormal activity , rather than offering you all of the report why don’t you come along and find out for yourself Ray Bokor
www.theschoonerhotel.co.uk/
INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT
New Forest Inn. Emery Down
The New Forest Inn . Emery Down Lyndhurst. Investigation Date. 30/01/201
With stories of famous guests, unexplained footsteps and pictures being moved around the inn during the night , we as a team were very keen to hold a paranormal investigation of this historic inn , located whiten the New Forest. Emery Down is a small hamlet lying south of Lyndhurst and the New Forest Inn dates back to the late 1700’s , during its many years their was a period of time within the late 1800’s that landlords came and went very quickly , was the ghostly activity causing their departure even in those days?
Last but not least , footsteps were often heard in the upper bedrooms when no person was upstairs - It seemed we were investigating quite a few different aspects of reported paranormal activity and strangely enough during the actual event night we were in for a few surprises.
Time 11pm - 06am
Haunted Southampton Team plus 20 guests. Psychic Team Andy Ford & Kathy Bavister
Today the inn is a combination of three original small cottages , various out buildings all of which the owners were convinced was experiencing different forms of ghostly happenings. During an interview with the owners prior to the investigation we asked if they could explain exactly what sort of experiences they were having. It turned out that their was three main areas of the inn that seemed the most active plus this was backed up with first hand encounters. One of the most puzzling experiences was the movement of objects during the night, when the owners would come down in the morning they would often find pictures taken off the walls and carefully laid out of the bar tables, plus other items have come off walls such as plates but never broken - just put down carefully. The owners had two large German Sheppard dogs , since the dogs had been at the inn both of them had always refused to enter one particular out building, they would just turn around and walk away from the main door.
The New Forest Inn The New Forest Inn also lays claim to some famous former residents who enjoyed hospitality at the inn over the years. Although it is a claim that is local rumour but can’t be validated today is that Captain John Smith (Capt of Titanic) stayed at the inn a few days prior to sailing the ship from Southampton. One former resident who resided at the inn and it is documented is in fact Arthur Conan Doyle. Joining the Haunted Southampton team was twenty guests and psychic medium Andy Ford and psychic artist Kathy Bavister . The weather was freezing on the January night and investigating the outside buildings was going to be a challenge especially when we discovered that one of the buildings had recently been catching the attention of the owners for some unexplainable noises during the night - just what did await us at the New Forest Inn ?
Various experiments were undertaken during the night by our guests. If I first start with the outside buildings. I carried out an EVP session at the garage building which had not been entered for some time , the tractor inside apparently belonged to a regular and popular customer who had passed away some time ago. For me it was one of the best responses I had experienced when playing back the recording. Phrases quite clearly heard were “Come In” within 10 seconds of me asking out for a response. The sound of the door latch was easily heard lifting and also what seemed to be horses hooves - I know being in the middle of the New Forest may explain this , but I would have heard them easily with my own ears. The final audible was the distinct sound of whistling. With my interest in the out buildings stirred a group of eight people entered the outer barn. We wanted to see for ourselves the response from the two German Sheppard's. We tried our best to encourage the dogs but nothing was going to make them enter the building, even when we put a few treats just inside the doors they would approach and quickly walk away. Later on during the investigation a clear white form was captured on night vision camcorder floating across the barn, was this the reason for the dogs reluctance the area was responding to tapping and sounds of very heavy breathing. There is a story about the a suicide during the early 1800’s in the barn, a man called William who was once a landlord - our research did find the name of such a landlord and his name was a regular feature during some of the séances where one word that was spelled out several times was ROPE. Another person who’s name became known to us during the night and that was of a young lady called Ivy. The name came through the Franks Box and one séance , Ivy it appeared used to work as a servant at the Inn during the early 1800’s and it seemed she liked every thing in its place as the landlord liked the inn looking spotless at all times , was Ivy the mover of pictures ?
As the investigation carried on the two names of Ivy and William seemed to be consistent in most experiments. It was much later on during the night when we experienced for ourselves the movement of items from the wall. A small group was asking for responses to their questions in one of the upper bedrooms - when suddenly an almighty bang was heard , everyone in the Inn stood as we heard the sound of people running down the stairs , a five foot mirror had come away from the wall , landing on the floor with its 5 inch wall plugs still intact upon the glass and four holes in the wall where the screws used to be - well we asked for some thing to happen and it did.
Psychic Art by Kathy Bavister
One lone vigil in the bedrooms produced very quiet voices caught on camera within the room as if hurried whispers were being said. Throughout the building temperature recording were consistently going lower during experiments which is always of interest. The out buildings were a real test of nerve for all those who wanted to a vigil as the noises and sounds of footsteps heard by several groups during the night seemed to get more louder as the night went on. This was the first time the Inn had ever held an investigation and we find some times the ghosts seem over keen to make some sort of contact it could be suggested , they have been quiet for some time I guess So, to summarise our investigation of the New Forest Inn , we encountered many strange experiences and some of those were exactly as the owners described during our initial interviews several months prior to the event. The movement from the walls , the two dogs refusing to enter the outer barns and the sound of what appeared to be footsteps in empty rooms. The two names of William and Ivy did match researchable names of people attached to the Inn during the early 1800’s . On one down side there was no contact with either of it’s two former special guests of Captain Smith and Arthur Conan Doyle which was a shame because you would have thought Conan Doyes association with spiritualism he would have seen the opportunity to make some form of sign or indication he was with us , maybe, just maybe he may want to come and chat the next time we go to The New Forest Inn.
Readers Thoughts My interest in the paranormal started......well since I can remember. As a child ghost stories fascinated me especially the ones that were supposed to be true. My dream was to visit these places just to see if I could catch a glimpse of the ghost that haunted the place. My best ever Christmas present was a copy of Arthur C Clarke’s World Of Strange Powers in 1986. I still have this book which I still fondly look at and cherish. A few years ago I started to watch ‘Most Haunted’ although I knew that maybe this programme wasn’t all it seemed I was hooked . Wow, I so wanted to do that and hoped that I would one day get the chance to do so.
Northwood House on the Isle Of Wight was huge, a location that we didn’t fully cover but again great results with the dowsing rods and the Scrying mirror a particular favourite of mine gave us an image of a man that we believed to have been in contact with during the evening.
So many to choose from. I am a believer but I try to debunk things, sometimes it’ explainable and nothing to do with the Paranormal....... BUT sometimes well ????
Debbie Williams
My first chance was an investigation at The Red Lion, High Street in Southampton. I had booked with a friend but at the last moment she couldn’t come. My initial thought was to not go, but my husband persuaded me to go along. I’m so glad I did. A great night it was too, the Franks Box picked up a man called Bruce, the Séance board gave us so much information and the use of the Dowsing Rods were fantastic !! An appearance from my Grandfather Bill who came through and tried to help us with questions about the building, a fabulous first investigation. Since the Red Lion I have been lucky enough to have been on many investigations to some fantastic locations, including Michelam Priory, The Wates House in Alton and Northwood Manor House upon the Isle of Wight.
The Star Inn Romsey
The Army Flying Museum at RAF Middle Wallop, Stockbridge was one of those places that was jumping with phenomena, that place didn’t fail to deliver, the Morse code experiment was interesting ! Table tipping at Michelham Priory was something else, luckily the energy was running high within our small group a very interesting place to visit and would love to go back. The Star Inn, in Romsey has to probably be high up in the list as a MOST SCARIEST place, great results on the Séance board in room 2 resulting in a two members of the group being pushed over , but they carried on regardless !! St Cross, a must visit again location, dark shadows, temperature drops and that awful groan at the bottom of the spiral staircase, the only time we were all in agreement that we needed to leave. Salisbury Guildhall, keys jangling, voices, dark shadows and a ghost that showed himself to me it was very quick but he was definitely there.
The Red Lion Southampton
Penny Legg A Update from journalist, writer and author of Haunted Southampton
Hello Everyone,
Penny's Paranormal Books.
Life continues to be busy. Under the Queen's Colours has kept me out of mischief as I go to book signing events and receptions.. The staff at Australia House in London have been very welcoming and supportive - thanks guys! The soft launch aboard HMS Dragon at the dockyard in Portsmouth and then the official launch of Under the Queen's Colours went well, with the sun shining on us at the Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, on 3 June.
Breaking News!
Haunted Southampton is to be reprinted! This is super news for any author as it shows the book is popular. Thanks to everyone who has bought it! Since Haunted Southampton was published at the beginning of 2011, interest in my work in the paranormal has been high. I am often contacted by those with ghost stories to tell or photographs to show me. I like to hear from my readers interested in any aspect of ghostly phenomena.
With Capt Simon O'Brien on board HMS Dragon, with Under the Queen's Colours, May 2012
I am waiting for my local history book, Eastleigh Then and Now, to be published. It is due out shortly. Will keep everyone updated Other news - I have just started work on A 1950s Southampton Childhood with my friend and colleague James Marsh. This is proving to be quite interesting as we delve into what kids got up to in the fifties. Other projects are in the pipeline, including more military history, so watch this space! More detailed information about the launch of Under The Queen’s Colours with further pictures and how to order copies visit the dedicated webpage - http://pennylegg.com/NewWork.html
Several of my books have elements of the paranormal within them: Folklore of Hampshire - the book that started it all! Chapter Two is all about things that go bump in the night and features stories old and new, including exclusive interviews with those who have had some startling experiences. Haunted Southampton - this in-depth look at the city features interviews with mediums and investigators, first hand stories and photographs. Winchester: History You Can See - ghosts are dotted about the ancient town and pop up in this book. My next book of ghost stories is well underway and will be published by The Thorn Press - more news about my latest books coming soon .Take care and hope to hear from you soon
Penny
http://pennylegg.com
Current Project Spotlight The Southampton Ghost Walk James Lysandrides
Tuesday 18th September 7pm Start We are really pleased to set a date for The Southampton Ghost Walk with Official Southampton Tourist Guide Derek Challaghan. Derek specialises in the darker stories of the city . Starting at the Bargate Southampton, we take a 90 minute tour of some of the most haunted venues within the city , and , entering the Undercroft Vault to try a few paranormal experiments to try and make some contact with its ghostly residents. Joining Derek is psychic medium Andy Ford who will be giving us his insight during the tour. We are able to visit locations that have historical ghost stories along with venues that have been investigated by Haunted Southampton to offer some personal experiences of their paranormal activity. Tickets for this ghost walk is by advance booking only as numbers are limited , cost is ÂŁ7 pp and is not suitable for young children. Meeting point is the Bargate , City Centre Southampton . The route includes walking through dimly lit streets, uneven pavements and steep stairways so please wear appropriate footwear and a torch. A very haunted public house ends the walk , Derek, Andy and the team will be taking a refreshment inside and you are more than welcome to join us for a few more ghost stories Tickets can be booked on line or by e mail . To book online visit the Haunted Southampton Ghost Walk page here Haunted Southampton Ghost Walks or E mail petercollins@hauntedsouthampton.com Cost ÂŁ7 pp. Start Time 7pm Meeting Point . The Bargate Southampton Please remember to wear comfortable shoes and bring your cameras , camcorders and a torch, you never know what you may capture during the walk. The walk is led by Derek Callaghan, a professional Green Badge Tourist Guide and member of the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
Guest Contributor Writer & Movie Producer Lura Ketchledge writes for The Paranormal Press
Ghost investigation August 2009
I
am a skeptic by nature, a person who thinks twice before
believing anyone living or dead. The cold hard facts of this is case is that I have seen sprits “ghosts” on my farm for the last seven years. I have taken my personal paranormal experiences and par laid them into three novels. My stories are peppered with my first hand paranormal knowledge. At the same time I finished my third novel I decided to sell my farm and move to Florida. With the housing market in a slump a friend of mine suggested I list my home as haunted .It is listed it on eBay under ‘Haunted Kentucky Horse Farm For Sale’ (where else can you list haunted property!) In five weeks I have had 6,000 people view my farm! I did not contact the Kentucky Spirit Seekers they found me in early August! For many years I have been a closet queen so to speak about my own paranormal experiences. I have not watched the ghost hunters on TV or know any of the lingo in the paranormal world. I didn’t know what to think about the Kentucky Spirit Seekers. Were they nice honest people who happened to research ghosts or were they a group of weirdo’s that needed to be locked up? Before the group even set foot on my farm these people had already done their home-work. After the phone interviews with me they researched my property. I built my home seven years ago, it is not old its new. Right after I moved in ghosts made a house call sorts, a welcome to the neighborhood kind of thing. The night the ghost hunters arrived everything was going in my favor. The weather was warm but not to humid, the phone wasn’t ringing for once and the horses were well away from the house and being quite. As the team of ghost hunters came to my door I was imressed .They were polite, educated, well dressed and most of all ready to help me. After introductions they got right down to work and started setting up their equipment. I didn’t know there was so much work setting up microphones, cameras and performing sound checks. I made sure I did my part turning everything electrical off including the air-conditioned. Next I went outside while the team took pictures asked questions aloud with no one in the room. An hour later I sat with two members of the team while the first set of investigators went outside to take more pictures. I have to say sitting on my bed answering paranormal questions about where the ghost came in and what they looked like made my heart race. It was the first time I opened up with anyone face to face concerning ghosts and it felt good telling these people. The Spirit Seekers don’t ask for a dime they are not looking for publicity or to sell a book. What they are is a team of reputable paranormal investigators that help folks like me.
After the cameras microphones and all the equipment was packed up they explained to me that it would be a couple of weeks for them to go through all the data they had collected. True to their word two weeks later two members returned to my home to present their findings. In several pictures were balls, I guess you might call them orbs. In the video there were darting lights in my master bath. Why it was in the bathroom and not in the rest of the house I can’t tell you! I was fine with all the results but one. In some of the audio were answers to questions that had been asked. Most of it was garbled some of it was not! It sent shivers down my spine when I heard a name I knew in the audio. A name of a person that was dead! To say I was impressed by the results of the investigation is an under statement! I am the type of person that only believes what I see and hear only. Since I have seen ghosts I know they are real that’s a given even if I never met any ghost hunters. When someone else confirmed that ghostly visitations happened right in my home it confirmed what I all ready knew. The only thing I am at a loss to explain is the darting flashes of light shooting through a room in my house. This phenomena is still a mystery to me. When all was done and said the Kentucky Sprit Seekers gave me copies of the pictures and audio. Just the other day it happened again a ghost came into my bedroom around 8am . I didn’t know who they had been when they were alive although I had a guess. What I did know was that my ghostly visitations aren’t slowing down
News & Views A Mediums Responsibility by Andy Ford With mediumship being extremely visible these days with the famous names doing the rounds of the theatres. The audience see people being reunited with loved ones from the other world which is often an emotional experience for the recipient. Some people have waited years for the communication to prove that their loved ones have survived what we call death. Which is just the shedding of the earthly body but the spirit is eternal and still loves us and wants us to know that they still keep an eye on us, that they care, On these nights the tears turn to smiles and often laughter but the medium has a great responsibility to the recipient and to the themselves in the way that the evidence is delivered. Sometimes the information contains sensitive details where the communicator reveals that they have been murdered, been in a tragic accident, had taken their own life and due to the state of mind also their children. There have been times when the spirit communicator has told me that the sitter had been considering taking their own life. The spirit wants the recipient to know that they have been watching over them and still loves them. This sort of information can bring out a variety of reactions from the sitter as it is a shock and a medium can then find themselves in more of a counseling role. Mediums are not always trained to be able to cope in these situations but those who have not should consider taking some sort of counseling training. A medium has a responsibility on how they deliver the information as the sitting may contain shocking information and the aim is, that if it does, the sitter should leave at the end feeling uplifted.
Andy Ford Just to say a huge thanks to the contributors of this issue of The Paranormal Press. I always enjoy talking to different people associated within the world of the paranormal and I think it is good to share different peoples experiences and thoughts. Over the last month I have been really lucky to take a good look at different venues that are reporting different accounts of paranormal activity, and I always feel quite privileged to be asked to give an opinion. My travels have focused manly across Wiltshire and have included a castle, manor house and a haunted pub. All of the venues have such historical stories , whether the activity occurring is paranormal is as always subjective to the need of a full investigation . One place I recently visited at the owners request is a real puzzle. The building was built for just one person and it is an impressively large property , but has never been lived in !! For nearly 200 years this building has towered over the small thatched cottages within its vicinity , yet has laid empty for many years . It was quite an eerie experience walking into room after room with the current owner hearing the stories of the house and what experiences people have encountered. Much work is required on the property to bring it up to date for health and safety reasons , a new roof is a must as leaks occur here and there , most of the rooms need re-plastering , floor boards replaced . It was a shame to turn down his offer of holding a public investigation as I am sure people would have loved to find out some answers for the owner to the reported ghostly experiences that are reported. To be in the house during the night in the dark is a risk that will not be covered by the companies insurances , however the possibility of a very small private investigation is on the cards. When the house becomes safer - I have the first option to hire the venue for the night which would be a great experience for us all , till then I wait for developments. I am looking forward to the start of The Southampton Ghost Walks , working with Derek is some thing I have been working on for several months and I hope its some thing people will enjoy. Like many of the behind the scenes locations we are looking to investigate it takes time, most of the places have never considered such an event despite the rumours and ghost stories - but developing a good reputation helps open a lot of doors Take care & best wishes Pete Collins
Contributors
Penny Legg
Andy Ford
Writer, Editor, Photographer, Tutor.
Psychic Medium
For several years, he reported for one of the nation’s largest fantasy football websites, Footballguys.com. Dream War, was a topfive finalist of 2,676 entries in Gather.com’s 2007 First Chapters contest. Stephen works and resides in Oceanside, California .
I am a British author, journalist and writing tutor. I also take the photographs to illustrate my books and articles. I am the editor of Bulletin magazine and I tutor nonfiction students for the University of the third Age. I am the founder of Writing Buddies, the group for writers in Southampton. I run workshops and give talks on aspects of writing , my life and work.
I am an experienced psychic medium and Tarot reader. I undertake paranormal investigations and work as an individual running workshops and public demonstrations. I also take personal booking for 1-1 readings.
www.prosapio.com/
www.pennylegg.com
Stephen Prosapio I received my Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science from DePaul University in Chicago.
www.andy-ford.com/ James Lysandrides
Juliet Collins Ray Bokor
I am a spiritualist medium for the Schooner Hotel , Alnwick. Since early 2009, I have been staging mediumship demonstrations at various locations throughout the Middlesbrough and north east area and I am always available for any events . As my passion for working with spirit energy has grown and developed, I have found many doors opening for me such as private readings, mediumship demonstrations and paranormal investigation.
www.healingrays.co.uk
Location Manager - working for Haunted Southampton Ltd .
Company director at Haunted Southampton. Researcher and article writer of paranormal investigation reports
Debbie Williams
Taking the role to source new venues for the undertaking of various events and paranormal investigations. Contact via E mail to discuss venue location E Mail Here Lura Ketchledge
Based in Southampton , England . Partaker of paranormal investigations and have a passion for all things related to ghosts and the paranormal.
Paranormal author and movie producer based in Kentucky, USA
www.luraketch.com/ Follow on Twitter
JulietWrites It Down EVP’s. Electronic voice phenomena. The very expression evokes mystery. Paranormal investigators have for many years been trying to record and make sense of these noises caught on tape. Thomas Edison was one of the first people to come up with the idea that it may be possible to record the voices of those passed on – he felt that sensitive recording equipment might prove more successful than using mediums to interpret the wishes of those gone before. Attila von Szalay was actually the first to try to record EVP’s , in 1956, when together with Raymond Bayless, he constructed an insulated cabinet and apparently caught voices when there were none coming from the speakers. Then in 1959 Friedrich Jürgenson, a Swedish film producer and painter heard what appeared to be voices from his deceased relatives when trying to tape birdsong in a field.
People have been both intrigued and even a little scared of the possibility of voices from beyond the grave. Indeed graveside recordings have, apparently, captured the voices of those buried beneath – though why any self respecting spirit would want to hang around with a bunch of dead people is beyond me. Recent advances in technique have incorporated digital voice recorders, the ‘Frank’s Box’, and now the Ovilus: all for the purpose in being able to better understand the noises that are hoped to be those who have passed on trying to communicate with us. White noise experiments, controlled environments - all have apparently captured words that appear out of nothing.
EVP’s are divided into three categories: Category A – clear unmistakeable human voices that can be heard without the use of head phones, Category B – noises that can be heard with head phones or a small amount of manipulation are obviously human voices, and Category 3 – sounds that resemble whispery voices, usually unintelligible and difficult to interpret. This last category is not usually counted by paranormal investigators, unless used for reference as in it is not a normal noise for the environment in which it has been recorded.
I have talked about pareidolia in the past – the interpretation of random objects or patterns as significant phenomena – and EVP’s have been described as auditory pareidolia. However though it is understandable that some ambiguous noises might be thought to be voices – how about those that are crystal clear? Echoes, distant voices have been mistakenly thought to be paranormal – even low frequency radio waves or signals from nearby broadcasting devices have been attributed to causing EVP’s, but when you have a voice that is clearly not from anyone present – or indeed occurs when there is no one present, how can you debunk it? Or easily explain it?
Sometime sceptics are so eager to prove that ghosts don’t exist that they will deny even the most amazing evidence. I put it to those out there who are still in denial – I think that the burden of proof actually rests upon you: to prove that there is no afterlife and that our souls cease to exist after our bodies cease to function. It is fast becoming a contest to see who will provide irrefutable proof first. And I know who I am backing.
Look forward to seeing you soon on an investigation
Juliet