The Paranormal Press. Issue 18

Issue 18 October 2013

Author & Historian Rupert Matthews Interview

Investigation Spotlight Haunted Southampton at

Exclusive Two Part Interview with Old School Investigator

RAY JORDEN

HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON Haunted Southampton arranges and hosts paranormal investigations across the South of England.

Join us for the night , all tickets for our event investigations are available at the website

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

Based in Southampton, England. Haunted Southampton is a team of paranormal investigators undertaking investigations of a variety of locations that have reports of unexplainable occurrences.

Since 2009 we have investigated over 60 locations and still find the experience fascinating , enjoyable and great fun . The majority of our investigations are available for members of the public to join us , using the extensive range of equipment we use and experiments we undertake to try and establish if indeed these venues are as haunted as they claim to be.

You can find out more about our investigations through our website and Facebook group page - with over one thousand pictures posted of investigations by people who have joined us investigating the paranormal we hope you too may want to become part of our work.

Haunted Southampton is (left to right)

Juliet Collins, Patrick Collins, Pete Collins, James Lysandrides & Rebecca Lysandrides

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

Inside This Issue Features Regular Features INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT A look at our investigation of Michelham Priory GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Paranormal Press Facebook Page

Paranormal Press October 2013 Issue 18

Medium Andy Ford . An insight to the history of Halloween

EDITORIAL

____________

Content Peter Collins

GETTING CONNECTED Jamie Roush Pearce & Historic Haunts THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE The Sixth Sense device JULIET WRITES IT DOWN Thoughts about the world of the paranormal.

_____ Contributing Articles

Andy Ford James Lysandrides Juliet Collins Penny Legg

—————— THIS MONTHS ARTICLES Interview Pt 1: Ray Jorden Interview with author Rupert Matthews From séances to science.

Contact The Paranormal Press

Ray Jorden Rupert Matthews Jamie Roush Pearce

An interview with:

Ray Jorden.

Hi Ray, thank you for taking the time to talk about your work .

Upon your website, you talk about your first experiences of unexplainable occurrences at your grandfathers house, could you tell us a bit more about those days?

Hey it’s a pleasure Pete really happy to be here. My journey started out well over thirty years ago when I was around five years old. In the summer holidays we use to always go to my grandfather’s house to play every day as, as a kid it was just so much fun and his garden was a huge play area for us (my cousin and myself).

Just to set the picture, his house was on three levels, so you had to go through the cellar basement area to get out in to the back garden. The cellar was another dark and errie play area for us and have to admit Pete, we were quite naughty by playing with my grandfather’s old curios he had collected over sixty maybe more years, to us with our vivid imaginations it was a fantasyland to play in.

Back then my cousin and I use to have a fascination for spooky things, ghosts and ghoulish monsters, so without even knowing what we were really doing, we would get an old mirror and although we were not allowed too, we would find a candle and light it, the stare in to the mirror in a hope of seeing a ghost or something, well…….. We now know this to be scying of course but back then we didn’t really know, but we knew what to do?? I can’t explain it we just knew what we were doing.

Another time, I was playing with my sisters and cousin again in my grandfather’s garden, I remember it being a warm summers day, everyone was down the bottom of the garden and I was a few meters from the back door, I just happened to look up to the kitchen window which was directly above the back door and I saw my grandmother. She was staring at me with a serene look on her face, she seemed almost integrated in to the net curtains (why net curtains in a kitchen window I do not know lol, must be a generation thing) But I knew that she had died, that she had passed away a few months before and I just could not understand why she was there, I didn’t really have a concept or understanding of what a ghost or a spirit was, I knew loosely what death was at a young age but again in ways I didn’t really understand.

So after looking at her for a while I looked away to see where if anyone else was near, looked back and she was gone, even to this day I know I really saw her and have never forgotten her lovely look on her face. I can also remember another bizarre situation that happened to me when I was young and went on for a few years. Opposite my parent’s house are some old taller houses which are slightly raised up due to the bank they are on. The house directly opposite the family home had and still has a small porch extended from the main house, to the right hand side there was a small bit of wall and the then the front window (hope you get the general picture) So at night when I was either returning back to the family home or just looking out of the living room window or front bedroom, on this small piece of wall I mentioned I use to see a face, now it is possible to suggest now as an adult and experienced investigator that the pattern of the all could have suggested to my mind that it was a face. This face was gaunt I could see the definition of the eyes nose and mouth, and at times it appeared to me as if the mouth was moving as if it was saying something or talking to me (I could never make out what was being said) whether I was walking from the left of right hand side to house, the eyes and face seem to follow me!!!!

I was never frightened by the face in the wall but I was compelled by it and I still remember it well. One day and I can’t recall when if I am honest the face in the wall just never showed itself to me again!!!!!!!

So these experiences I do believe set a journey on a path within the paranormal, from this I found I have a thirst and wanting to know and read more about the subject, I use to read books I shouldn’t never telling anyone in case they thought I had an unhealthy interest in a subject best left alone or that I should not be interested in.

How do you think those early experiences signposted you to the work you undertake today , and how did those early experiences help your journey to develop to where you are today.?

Those early experiences set a path of interest and engrained a lifelong passion, thirst and quest for proof also answers in the paranormal field, so I guess without that Initial interest this might have just been a general interest and not turned in to a wonderful journey and career, which has given me the opportunity not only to meet some amazing people, but also to work with them as well, and also to travel to amazing locations around the UK and around the world.

Throughout the years you have been presenting upon radio and television, can you remember your first broadcast, how that came about and how did you feel about that broadcast today?

Again since I was very young I always wanted to perform, was always putting on school assembly’s, I can recall telling my mother I wanted to be a ballet dancer and actor, so to work in TV and Radio seems to come very natural to me.

My first very first radio appearance was on Radio Gosh, Great Ormond Street Hospital Radio back in early 90’s where for a very short time I helped out at the station, I co presented once or twice. 2001 I appeared in a film, and everything grew from there really, my media journey in effect started over 17 years ago!!!!!!

Investigating paranormal reports and occurrences is often quite challenging as the hours tend to be long , how do you prepare yourself prior to an investigation and what sort of investigation technique do you undertake. ?

I do believe in a lot of rest the night and day of the investigation (if time permits and its possible) plenty of fluids and refreshments on standby (for me its plenty of coffee) as we know investigations can be very long in to the early hours and at times the locations can be very chilly and cold, so always recommend warm clothing, gloves and hat, if your anything like me I wear thermals lol.

In preparing myself for an investigations, I make sure that my pieces of equipment are charged and ready, that I have fresh batteries, that my kit bag is packed and ready and I tend to go over the brief of the location which I also take with me, so as have to hand if I need to refer back to any part of the history at a moment’s notice. As for my approach, well its very old school and I tend not to use a lot of modern ghost hunting gadgets, I like to think myself is a little vintage and retro which I like because it is something I really enjoy, really enjoy thinking outside of the box, have been referred recently as a Sherlock Holmes kind of ghost hunter.

There are numerous pieces of equipment developed today for paranormal investigators, with a scientific theory based to them, are there any items you have found that have helped you or improved an investigation you have been part of.

There are so many gadgets for ghost hunting coming out all the time, I have recently had the pleasure of working two great tech guys, who not only utilises these items but are very creative to come up and adapt outside of the box using other equipment you might not really associate with ghost hunting, to see this was very inspiring.

Using my old school ways with the odd bit of modern tech seems to have worked very well for me, but being I have to admit I prefer being the way I am, but with a major keen interest in tech world, so have they helped yes and no, it’s totally hit and miss, you get results or you don’t, you can never predict what results you will get.

Going back to your roots, I believe you come from the county of Wiltshire. This county for many years has had countless reports of various paranormal activity occurring , do you have any thoughts why this may be , after all locations such as Stonehenge and Avebury Stone circle are in the county and these go back to Neolithic times?

Yes I was born in Salisbury Wiltshire, and it seems Wiltshire as a county has a rich ghostly history and very much spiritual connections, with the county having the mysteries of Stonehenge and the magical site of Avebury. Wiltshire has so much folklore and ghost stories, many I should imagine have been expanded and embellished over the years, but for any keen ghost hunter its certainly worth investigating these claims and the what if’s.

What projects have you been working upon recently?

Few weeks ago I came back from filming a new TV series in Australia with the most amazing cast, the show is called Haunting: Australia and it was an epic adventure and one I shall never forget.

You have undertaken investigations in numerous countries, what country stood out for you and why so?

It was until recently Mexico where I got to explore and investigate some of the most amazing locations and work alongside a fantastic Mexican paranormal team, have to say we got some good results, but Australia took me to a whole new level of location opportunity. Los Angeles was great also because I love Hollywood and the old golden era of the movie stars, so that was a huge bonus to visit and Investigate some locations connected to a rich history of movie making and of course all locations come with their own hauntings and stories.

Ray Jorden Interview (Continued) If anyone was due to undertake a paranormal investigation, drawing upon your vast experience, what tips and advice would you offer to people to maximise their investigation results and findings.

Always go in to the location and investigation with an open mind, never want or will things to happen because half the time they won’t, things happen when you least suspect them too, just let things happen naturally try not to have any expectations.

Also make sure you take a pen and paper with you, anything info that might come to light for me is always important, just as how people are feeling, take note and write it down, everything is important….RECORD EVERYTHING. Make sure that the best piece of equipment you can ever use its yourself, go with your gut feeling as you know yourself better than anyone else, we all have senses so use them again take note and listen to yourself as to what you think or believe might be happening at that point, in that moment on investigation.

What are the future plans for Ray Jorden ?

Well I would love to switch on the 2013 Christmas Lights (no really that’s been a dream of mine for years) but who knows, seriously though I have some radio show guest appearances coming up, these will be announced on my social media sites.

Haunting: Australia hits the TV screen in 2014, and a few other little projects which are in the works which I cannot mention at the moment.

I am open to offers and suggestions lol If people wish to make contact with you for bookings, how do they go about that?

If anyone would like to get in contact with me there are various ways, you can email directly rayjorden909@msn.com You can follow me on Twitter @rayjorden (I always follow back) or you can find me on Facebook Ray Jorden, where you will also have my little “Like” page, this page comes with all updates as they come in or happen.

I also have my personal website on www.rayjorden.com Thank you Ray, we really enjoyed chatting and getting to know more about your work and some of the exciting projects you have been working on.

Ray Jorden on location with Ian Lawman

We are looking forward to finding out more in the interview part two, hopefully authorisation can be allowed to talk about your recent investigations within Australia , I’m sure it will be fascinating reading for everyone.

You can find out more about the work of Ray Jorden at his official website or interact through Facebook and Twitter through the links within the above paragraph.

The Appliance of Science

By Pete Collins

Equipment used for Paranormal Investigations The Sixth Sense . A one stop shop for paranormal investigators. The sixth sense has been developed by Steve Ranger and is regularly used by myself and the Haunted Southampton team . Each time we have set up the machine the results have been of real interest. So, what is this portable device , how can be of use and what are the benefits of using the device for paranormal detection.?

The basic concept , rather than carrying around in your pockets numerous devices , what the sixth sense offers is a one stop shop with six environmental monitors within one small aluminium carry case.

Best practice to use the sixth sense is within a locked off room or a specific area where reports or accounts of unusual activity has been reported or witnessed. Setting up night vision filming equipment and infra red illuminators—the sixth sense will monitor away for several hours , fully alarmed to let you know when any form of environmental changes our occurring . Can be used in conjunction with trigger objects , digital voice recorders to enhance the opportunity to capture any form of unusual activity.

Components for the sixth sense include the following Geophone & Infrasound monitor for the detection of vibrations , EMF Field analyser , digital temperature monitor , a motion sensor that will alarm if movement is detected close to the device. A static meter to monitor the amount of discharged electricity , a shadow detector that will signal if any movement across the device is noticed and finally an Radio Frequency monitor that will detect any Above: Myself and Steve Ranger setting up the

interference within a local vicinity.

sixth sense device on location at a venue just

This also enables us to analyse man made signals interrupt-

over 900 years old . This particular vigil returned

ing the monitoring , like mobile phone or WiFi signals , that

some great results and an EVP that is still for us

could in turn effect the EMF readings.

quite unexplainable .

The whole system is fully alarmed , so when any activation is sensed we can also hear this from a distance and time document this for future filming analysis. Each sense can be adjusted to different levels of sensitivity so can be adjusted depending upon your location.

So far the device has been used by Haunted Southampton at five different locations since the final development was completed and we have found the sixth sense a valuable asset . It offers a full monitoring system that can be easily filmed either by tripod mounted cameras or using our CCTV night vision system to fully cover an area that has reported activity. We will update more as we use the system on a more regular basis.

Hauntings with History There are some venues that have their own unique ghost stories and accounts of ghostly sightings. However, when a

The Southampton Ghost Walks Dates

venue has an historic event happening within its premises, this can only add to the mystery and enjoyment of it’s paranormal happenings.

One such venue lies upon Southampton High Street. The

Thursday October 31st

historic Red Lion , some say , dates back to 1148.. The Red Lion has a place in history during the times of King Henry V. It is said the infamous Southampton Plot trials took place here . Three men who plotted to assassinate Henry V in 1415

Monday November 11th

whilst he was amassing his troops to leave for Agincourt from the port of Southampton.

This notable Inn is reported to be haunted by twenty one

Monday November 25th

ghosts , having investigated this property twice I would say that indeed some things that happen within it’s even older cellars are hard to easily explain away.

Monday December 2nd

So the Southampton Plot , the three men who plotted against the king were The Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope of Masham and Sir Thomas Grey , they planned to install a rival claimant to the throne, Edmund, Earl of March.

It is said that these three plotters are seen within the Red

Please note that booking spaces for the Ghost Walks can be obtained from

Lion , in full dress as they are led away to the town gallows

http://hauntedsouthampton.com/ghostwalks.html

for the ultimate punishment for treason, to be hung , drawn

—————

and quartered.

One of the stories within The Southampton Ghost walks goes

An option to book your own private

into more detail about the sightings , one of the most talked

ghost walk with friends or for

about stories is an account from some American tourists who took bed and breakfast at the inn.

entertaining guests is now available.

For full information about booking a private Ghost Walk please contact petercollins@hauntedsouthampton.com

—————————-

The Southampton Ghost Walks

Haunted Southampton and Derek Callaghan offer you an opportunity to explore the darker side of Southampton, with factual experiences of paranormal investigations within the city and Derek's knowledge of all ghostly sightings; you may not want to walk the streets alone again.

The Southampton Ghost Walk takes a ninety minute journey through the most haunted locations of the city - joining Derek is Peter Collins, paranormal investigator with Haunted Southampton.

Travel through the city and find out about the hauntings and ghost stories: who are the ghostly figures seen leaving the historic Red Lion? Why does Lizzie Loader come back to haunt the Bargate area and what made a young bride scream out in terror at her wedding reception? As the walk takes us into The Undercroft Vault - can we pick up any signs of its resident ghosts using some paranormal detection equipment supplied by paranormal investigation company Haunted Southampton? Maybe you can capture an image of the ghosts using the latest thermal imaging and full spectrum cameras.

http://hauntedsouthampton.com/ghostwalks.html Bring your cameras and experience the Ghost Stories of Old Sout

Halloween: Thoughts from Andy Ford Halloween is fast approaching and is the time of celebration and trick or treating. Halloween is the Celtic festival of 'Samhain' which is pronounced as 'Sah-win' or 'Sow-in' and is the first and most important of the quarter days in the medieval Gaelic calendar. The quarter days were the four dates within the year where the servants were hired and rents became due.

These dates fell on the religious festivals and close to the solstices and equinoxes.

It was the time of year when people were preparing for the coming winter months, as the harvests had been completed and the food stored. Any animal that was unlikely to make it through the winter was killed and eaten as part of the celebration. It was believed that this was the time of year when the veil between the earthly world and the spirit world were at their thinnest. So places were set at the tables so that the departed family could join them for the celebration.

Candles were placed in the windows to guide the dead loved ones to them but also to protect them from an evil spirits. People believed that fairies and harmful spirits were also venturing through the veil and bonfires were lit to add to their protection from such forces.

The holiday on the 31st October is also known as 'All Hallows Eve', as the 1st November was adopted by that Christian faith as 'All Hallows Day' and the 2nd November as 'All Souls Day'. The three days of celebration was known as Hallowmas and was a celebration time to honour the saints and to pray for souls of the dead that had not yet reached Heaven. In the year 609 'All Saints' was created to be celebrated on the 13th May but it was switched in the year 835 to the 1st November by Pope Gregory IV. It became tradition to ring the church bells for any soul in purgatory and became known as 'souling'. At this time groups of poor people, who were often children, would go door to door collection soul cakes. These were baked as a way of praying for the souls in purgatory and it was suggested that this was origin for our custom of treat or treating.

Mischief night is often celebrated on the 4th November but in some parts of the country it was moved to the night before Halloween. Mischief night was also known as the Devils night, Hell night and is traditionally a time where young people played pranks or get up to mischief. Some believe that this also played a part in the creation of trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-treating or guising became a Halloween tradition where children dressed up in costumes and travelled from house to house asking if the home owner wanted a trick or a treat. The treats were often sweets but the threat, which was often idle, was to perform the trick or mischief on the person or their home. In North America the trick-or-treating became a tradition since the early 1950's where those willing to take part decorated the front of their houses and some would leave bowls of candy out for the children. Guising has been recorded in Scotland as early as 1895 (pre-dating trick-or-treating) where people were out in disguise, carrying lanterns made out of turnips, visiting homes where they would be given cakes, fruit or money.

The custom of creating Jack-0-lanterns can be linked to several folklore stories. One of these stories comes from an old Irish folk story about Jack who was very miserly farmer. Jack trapped the Devil and would not let him go until he agreed to not take his soul when he passed. Jack finally died and could not get into heaven due to his evil ways and could not get into Hell due to his agreement with the Devil. He then asked the Devil how he could see where to go so the Devil threw him an ember from Hell that would never go out.

So Jack carved out a turnip and put the ember inside and then wandered the earth endlessly trying to find a resting place. Another folklore story states that it comes from the strange phenomena of dancing lights above places like the bogs or marshes which looked like a flickering lamp. These became known as will-o-the-wisp or jack-o-lantern. was to use the pumpkin and faces on them were carved to represent spirits or goblins.

The flickering lights would try and draw the traveller off the safe paths that they were following across the dangerous ground. In England and Ireland turnips or beats were hollowed out to represent these lights but the tradition in America was to use the pumpkin and faces on them were carved to represent spirits or goblins.

So on this night will you be setting a place at your table for your loved ones from the spirit world, enabling them to join you in your celebrations. Or perhaps you will pealing the skin (in one piece) from an apple and throwing it across your shoulder to see the initial of the loved one that you will marry!

Whatever you are doing always remember that its not just on Halloween that your departed loved ones and friends are close to you.

Andy Ford has been involved in Spiritualism for several years and is a Spiritualist Medium, Reiki Master, Trance Healer, Teacher and Tarot Reader.

Andy is a natural medium and has trained at the SNU Arthur Findlay College, College of Psychic Studies (London) and the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain.

A traditional Irish Jack-o'-Lantern in The Museum of Country Life, Ireland

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

Getting Connected With...

Jamie Roush Pearce & Historic Haunts

By Pete Collins

Paranormal investigator, author and genealogist Jamie Roush Peace chats to the Paranormal Press about her work. Based in Florida and owner of Historic Haunts investigation team , here is what she had to say.

Hello Jamie, thank you for your time. Upon your website you explain that you have been involved within the paranormal for 16 years, can you tell us how this journey started for you ? Thank you for this opportunity, Pete. My journey in the paranormal actually started when I was about 5 years old. My mom used to flip houses when I was growing up so we moved a lot. She had just bought this one house in St. Petersburg (where I was born) and it was our first night there. My mom had tucked me in like she always did and turned out the lights. I fell asleep but was awoken a short time later.

There was an older lady standing next to my bed. She looked down at me smiling, pulled the covers up as if tucking me in, leaned over, kissed me on the forehead, stood up, and disappeared. Ever since then I was curious about what was out there. My mom was open to the ghost things so it wasn't anything weird. I wasn't taught to fear it. As I got older I started reading more and more about the paranormal and started visiting haunted locations. I have always been post cognitive, which means I can see things from the past. It doesn't always work but most often does. We would visit different locations I had never been and I would tell my mom about something that happened or something I saw and I had no way of knowing it. I joined Michigan Ghost Watchers when I was about 18 (I am almost 35 now) then started my own group Historic Haunts Investigations in 2004.

I'm sure over the years you have investigated numerous accounts and reports of paranormal occurrences , in your opinion which one has been of the most interest ? Wow, that is tough. I have had several interesting experiences. My favourite would have to be the ghost ship we saw. It was funny, about 10 years ago my mom and I went to Jekyll Island for the weekend to see what was there. Never been there before and it started storming. Down pour, thunder, lightning, wind, you name it. We thought, well this stinks we can't really explore so we decided to go eat at a restaurant on the beach. We finished lunch and the storm went through so jokingly I said let's see if any treasure washed up on the beach. We started walking the beach and I looked out on the water and saw off in the distance a 3 massed old wooden ship. Beautiful!!

I have been around a lot of old ships and it had that amazing historic feel, but was different. It wasn't solid, it was misty/ foggy looking....transparent! I turned to my mom to ask her if she saw it and she was fixated on it as well. I said, "Do you see it!!!????" She was like, "Yea, do you?" We turned to see if anyone else was there to validate it and we saw no one.

Turned back around and it was gone. We ran back in the car to drive around the island to see if it maybe hauled butt out of site and found it no where!!

We were very puzzled by it and decided to go into a gift shop near the beach (the shops aren't there any more since they have done a ton of construction on the island). We went into this one shop and they had a lot of nautical merchandise and started looking around. In shock, there was a photo for sail of the ghost ship! The same one I saw!! I said out loud, "That's it!!!" The clerk came over, "Oh, did you see it?" I was like, "YES!" He nonchalantly explained, "A lot of people have see it after a bad storm like we just had." Apparently everyone explains it in the same detail as the photo that someone took capturing the ghost ship. He told us that a ship sunk over a hundred years ago in a storm and many believe that is the ghost ship seen today.

There are many ways to investigate , do you have a particular approach , I noticed that you are also a genealogist, how do you find that helps for investigating the paranormal.? Genealogy helps in my research. I learned how to

flashlight and set it to where if you barely touch it and it will turn on. I always use at least two, one for yes and one for no. I tell the spirit to touch one for yes and the other for no and have had amazing success in this. Yes, the light can get warm enough and turn it self on on it's own but that is why you ask questions multiple times to validate the answers and it isn't a malfunction. I also use a full spectrum camera and a digital recorder to try and capture EVP (electronic voice phenomenon).

Your featured column within The Florida Times is about various ghost stories, are these stories people send to you or do research them for your self , also can this be read on line ? The column is in the Shorelines edition of The Florida Times Union and is called Ghostly Shores. It can be viewed online and people do email me stories but I do all the research to back them up and validate them. I have also investigated many of the locations. The link is http://jacksonville.com/community/shorelines It seems you have quite a passion for writing books about the paranormal, what books do you have due out soon? Where is the best place for people to purchase your books ? Historic Haunts Florida came out in 2011 and Historic Haunts of the South came out last month. Historic Haunts of the South 2 is due out in the spring and I am working on a couple other titles as well. I tried to investigate many of research through genealogy and that helps me learn how to do

the locations for the books so I can write about

other research whether it be historical or otherwise.

personal experiences as much as possible. The best place to purchase the book is directly from

As for equipment and approach. I totally believe in using your senses. You can not ignore them. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and just that gut feeling all come in to play. You might smell someone's perfume or pipe smoke on an investigation, you might get

me

http://www.historic-haunts.net/ I also sign

my books when people order from me.

Do you use any specific equipment during

touched, you might hear voices or footsteps, you might even taste

your investigations , if so do you have any

something but gut feeling is a big one! Most of the time I get a "vibe" off of a location or even a person. You have to be aware of

favourites? My favourites are the Mag light flashlight, a digital recorder...I do have the RTEVP

all these things.

and it is real time so you can hear it while you

I also have EMF (electromagnetic field) meters. Spirits often make

are recording. I do like the K2 EMF Meter and have had success with that and as I mentioned

this field fluctuate when they are present. Temperature meters are great because the spirits often will cause the temperature to drop

earlier a full spectrum camera is great to have.

when they are present, it pulls energy out of the air and this is why the temps drop. I use a flash light.....yeah I know that might sound

Is there any location , that you would like to

like a duh item to have in the dark but it comes in handing with

don't know how haunted it is but I have always wanting to go to Sleepy Hollow. Cont ˃˃

trying to communicate with the spirits. You get a MAG Light

investigate ? Oh goodness, there are a few. I

I have been obsessed with that story since I was little!!

One of my favourite rides at Disney was Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Ha Ha Ha One place I would love to investigate is the Knickerbocker in Los Angeles. My favourite actress is Marilyn Monroe and she supposedly haunts there and would love to run into her. I would love to investigate Chillingham Castle in Chillingham England.

My ancestors lived there and some supposedly haunt there. It would be really cool to investigate there. I have a very LONG haunted bucket list. :o) How is the best way for people to contact you about your events , talks and to gain further information about the work you do ? The best way for people to contact me is through my website or anyone can E Mail me at

historichaunts@yahoo.com

My website address is http://www.historic-haunts.net/

Haunted Southampton : The next venue to be investigated

The Groundlings Theatre The Groundlings theatre is located within the city of Portsmouth. The theatre offers many different services , events and shows throughout the year.

Coming up soon ;

10/10/2013....

1920’S MURDER MYSTERY 11/10/2013....

Beer Festival 17/10/2013....

Dr Who Dunnit Murder Mystery.

19/10/2013....

“Both Sides The Solent” 24/10/2013....

Jekyll and Hyde 27/10/2013....

Story Box 29/10/2013....

Stella 31/10/2013....

Halloween Ghost Tours For Theatre, Film and Television...

Groundlings Costume has provided a vast selection of Period and Contemporary costumes and accessories for hire to the theatre, film and television industry with over 10,000 items in stock.

The Collection has been built up with costumes either made for, or bought from, BBC, Royal Opera House, National Theatre, West End shows and various other sources. Designers can come and choose costumes or we will put shows together for you. Staff here have an extensive knowledge of the history of costume as well as specific plays.

For film and television we can send costumes anywhere in the country by overnight Courier.

For Events, Parties and Fancy Dress...

It was grate chatting to Jamie and getting her perspective about the paranormal and her investigations. A wealth of information about different locations and venues that have an historic haunted past. We could have talked all day , so, I have asked if Jamie can provide another article or in-depth piece about some of the venues she knows all about . Thanks Jamie and hope to hear more soon.

If you’re looking for something a little simpler, Groundlings also offers a range of Fancy Dress costumes for all occasions. Whether it be Peasants or Princes, Pirates or Penguin-suits, we’ll be sure to have something for you.

Penny Legg. Books Haunted Southampton Explore the darkest secrets of Southampton's past with this collection of stories telling of the inexplicable occurrences and ghostly apparitions that have haunted residents of the city for centuries.

From the Roman soldiers who pervade Bitterne Manor to the Grey Lady at the Royal Victoria Country Park, the site of a former military hospital, the city is host to spirits not yet departed who send a shiver down the spines of the living. No matter where you are in the city, incidents of unexplained phenomena have taken place nearby. The Tudor House Museum is frequently visited by poltergeists, while numerous mysterious figures have spooked the staff at the City College. Southampton is 'alive' with ghosts and, for those who dare, their stories can be discovered in this chilling book.

Under the Queen’s Colours, which is a book of the reminiscences of service men and women who have served under the Queen’s colours in the sixty years of Her Majesty’s reign.

The book raises money for three service charities. Promoting the book has led to my making appearances at the War and Peace Show, several veterans events around the country and at Australia House in London. I have been privileged to meet some super people and it is great to know that the book will, in a small way, go towards helping those who have served their country in both Britain’s and the Commonwealth’s armed forces.

You can find out more about the work of Penny Legg by visiting her website, where also signed copies of her books can be purchased ..

http://pennylegg.com/

Michelham Priory

INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT WITH HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON.

Michelham Priory

Investigation Date. Sept. 2011 Time 16:30 - 05:00

Haunted Southampton Team Founded as an Augustinian priory in 1229. At the dissolution of the

&

monasteries the church was demolished. Transformed into a Tudor

18 Guests

gentleman's residence and later a farmhouse, the building was restored in the early part of the 20th century. Set on a moated island, entrance to the property is gained through the imposing 14th century gatehouse.

This infamous priory has many reports of paranormal activity occurring and it’s reported hauntings are legendary. So, upon a cold night in September

Psychic Team Andy Ford

night in 2011, we spent twelve and a half hours at the location to establish if indeed this venue stands up to it’s claim of one the most haunted venues within the United Kingdom.

Our research into this venue was quite standard . With many historical records on-line plus our discussions with the some of the present owners about the activity that has been witnessed or experienced , we looked forward to our night at The Priory. We had visited the priory a couple of times during the day to meet the staff and to plan our night’s investigation, some thing we feel is so important as when the darkness of night descends knowing where you are is crucial .

Michelham Priory. East Sussex England the visitors have left and the staff have left us to explore the venue alone. So after a few cups of tea , we decided to undertake a few vigils within the main building prior to the main group of guests

The team arrived at just after 4pm

joining us at 20.30.

upon the investigation night , which

We were quite surprised upon entering the main building, after a few

gave us a little time to prepare ourselves , setting up our hub area within the main gatehouse also enabled us to leave the priory a sterile area so people could spend time investigating alone or in twos if they preferred. The priory is a beautiful setting during the day , but when night time comes along due to its extremely isolated location , it has an eerie feeling when you realise all is empty,

moments of setting up quietly within the now empty building , sitting upon the main staircase we could hear what sounded like some form of chanting., very quietly , we all thought it was unusual to start getting a response so quickly , but the chanting was clearly heard by us all and this indeed set out the night for what was to become one of our most fascinating investigations.

The second occurrence was a clear voice recorded upon one of our digital recorders , James had strolled into one of the side rooms and could hear some form of noise , he called out hello and to our amazement , there it was, a gravelly hello response .

EMF fluctuations but noting of note was recorded. The most interesting experience for me personally was the soud of what seemed a gruffed voice in my ear. Myself and one of the guests were undertaking a vigil within the upper floors and we both heard this voice .

Looking at each other we both just seem to freeze on the spot and just stood in wonder for a moment or two, thinking did we both really hear that?

It was one of those moments you had to be there to fully understand the experience.

Other unusual occurrences upon the night were the sounds of footsteps , mainly when we were in the main building upon our own , they were quite heavy distinct sounds , but when we went to look into the corridors , no one seemed to be there.

The Gatehouse Entrance Our base for the night After exploring the house and taking a few breaks it was time for our main group of guests to arrive , how the time alone in the main building passed so quickly .

Michelham Priory has a reputation no doubt, mainly due to the two televised investigations , so everyone felt on edge and excited to actually be within a location with such media exposure about its ghosts and alleged hauntings.

Listen to the Evp Recording of Hello The recording is set to play twice , you can

The staircase at Michelham where we heard the sounds of chanting

hear Juliet and James talking then James says “hello “ you can hear the amplified version on the second play. The recording last about thirty seconds .

One particular area notable at Michelham is the secret passageway behind the main stair case. The passageway is accessible via a panel and is a network of levels from top to bottom of the main house. It is within this passageway that several people experienced being touched , could hear footsteps very

Michelham Priory was indeed a night of intrigue for the team and it is one of those venues that should be upon the bucket list of the majority of paranormal investigators.

The venue holds many stories , one theory being that because it is totally surrounded by water this may actually increase it’s paranormal occurrences.

What ever the reasons , Michelham does provide a good test , once you get over the dramatisation of the media interest and settle down for the night , with patience I’m sure that you will experience

close to them and EMF Meters indicating a

some thing that can’t easily be explained .

build up of electromagnetic fields , upon our

The venue is open during the day and it is worth a visit just to

visit several months prior to the investigation night , we checked for such

experience it’s history .

Rupert Mathews author, speaker and historian takes time out to have a chat with the Paranormal Press

An Interview with Rupert Matthews Hello Rupert : I read upon your Amazon page that you have written over 170 books ranging in many subjects from history, military and ghosts. What made you interested in writing about the paranormal and what was the first book you published about this subject .?

I am a historian first and foremost, my interest in the paranormal came later. More years ago than I care to remember, I was up in York for a couple of weeks doing research for a history book. As is the way of research trips I spent all day in the archives, but after they shut at 5pm I had nothing to do, and all the museums and such were also closed.

Being away from the family is no fun and evenings were restricted to watching tv, reading a book or going down the pub. After a few days I got bored - I had been away on several of these trips and there is only so much tv you can watch, books you can read and pubs you can visit.

The tourist info people had made a big fuss about York being very haunted, so I thought I would find out. I got a list of haunted places and buildings and spent a few evenings going to visit them, taking photos and talking to locals. It was all great fun. So after that whenever I was away on a research trip that is what I did. It was really just for my own amusement. But then I visited one of the publishing companies I freelance for on a history related matter. Quite by chance the editor told me that they had been asked to put together a project about ghosts but did not know any writers who handled that sort of topic. He asked if I knew anyone who had an interest in ghosts, so I said that I did! The first book I did was on Haunted Chester, but I think it must be long out of print.

Once I got one or two paranormal books under my belt I found publishers coming to me. It is certainly a popular subject.

Within your work writing about the paranormal and haunted counties, you have covered many different accounts , what would you say has been the most unusual story you encountered.?

Oh gosh, there are so many to choose from. I think the one that made the biggest impression was when I was interviewing the landlord of the Black Horse in Boldon, Co Durham. The ghost in the pub is of a man who stands by the front door looking sad. There is nothing very special about him at all. But the landlord's description of his encounter with the ghost sent shivers up my spine. It had occurred just two days after he took over the pub and he had no idea the place was haunted.

I t was about 11.30am and the landlord was in the bar getting ready to open at 12. It was a sunny day so he had the door propped open even though the pub was not yet open. As he was pottering about he was suddenly aware that a man had come in the front door. He looked up at the newcomer, who was wearing a thick brown overcoat despite the hot weather. The landlord gave a very clear description of the man, saying that he looked just like a real customer "so real and solid I felt I could reach out and touch the coarse, thick fabric of his coat".

The History Man Rupert Matthews

The landlord called out "Hello. We're not open yet, but have a seat and I'll be right with you." The newcomer did not move, nor did he say anything. He just stood there. Thinking there might be something wrong the landlord stepped forward toward the man - who promptly vanished into thin air. The landlord was so shocked he did not know what to do. He sat down. Then he fled.

He came back a few minutes later and slowly got on with his work. It was not until two weeks later that a barmaid told him about the ghost - which was exactly as he had encountered it. There was just something about how he told the story that made me shiver.

When you have been writing books related to a specific county such as Haunted Hampshire where do you start for your research ?

Well, these days I start with a websearch. That gives me some places to start. Next comes a visit to the county library to look for folklore books and local history books - you can get a lot of leads there. Then the local newspaper - their archives and cataloguing can be very varied so they are sometimes not much good, but can be useful.

After that it is a matter of getting on the ground. For a place I have located it is a matter of calling ahead to check it is OK to visit and that someone will be there to talk to me. I often pick up another lead while doing an interview - "Have you heard about the white lady down in Nether Wallop?", that sort of thing. But just calling at newsagents or pubs or village shops can often turn up a haunted location or a person to talk to.

Do you find that people send you their stories about personal ghost experiences ?

Not very often no. I will sometimes get sent an eyewitness account of a ghost I have mentioned in a book or magazine article, but simple cold calls are rare.

English counties are a wealth of history and ghost stories and you have covered quite few , have you ever considered writing about hauntings outside of the United Kingdom – if this was a train of thought what country do you feel may spark your interest.?

I have not no. My experience is that to do justice to research you absolutely need to visit the place and spend time there. This is OK in the UK, but going abroad is another kettle of fish. Not only would it be more expensive, but I would not know where to start. I can roll into an English village and drop into a pub or newsagent to chat to locals quite happily. But in France or Germany I would not know where to go to chat to strangers, and my language skills are not really up to it either.

After writing about many ghost stories , what are your thoughts about the paranormal ?

I find the whole subject fascinating. I try to keep an open mind about what is going on.

Sometimes it becomes pretty clear that a person I am talking to is either just passing on hearsay and there is no real evidence, or that they are shooting me a line in order to get their pub or hotel into my book. And I have come across a few people who i would not trust to tell me the time of day. But they are a minority. The vast majority of people I have spoken to who have witnessed a paranormal event (UFOs, ghosts, precognition etc) appear to me to be perfectly genuine and serious about what they experienced.

I don't think that there can be much doubt that people really do experience events and phenomena that cannot be easily explained, though quite what is really going on is a total mystery to me. I'm going to guess that many paranormal events are, in fact, quite explicable in ordinary terms but that nobody has yet come up with the explanation.

Many accounts of ghost stories are often related to a particular building – are there any particular outside area ghost stories that you have covered that you have written about , if so are there any particular accounts that may be classed as a favourite?

I think many ghosts are located inside buildings because that is where people spend a lot of time, and so are more likely to see a ghost. There are several outside locations that are said to be haunted: streets, roads, footpaths, fields and so forth. I guess a favourite has to be West Kennet Long Barrow in Wiltshire. The ghost is that of a tall man in a long cloak, some say he has a dog with him. It is not the ghost that is so attractive to me, but the location. It is out of the way and lonely if you go there in winter though quite a lot of tourists in the summer - and I found it incredibly atmospheric when I visited on a cold, still and frosty morning in February.

Do you have more haunted / paranormal books due to be published?

Not yet, my hands are full with a couple of history projects right now but I would imagine something will be along soon.

I am aware that you have your own Amazon page , is this the best place for people to purchase your books ?

Yep, I would say so. As a long time toiler in the publishing world I always like to encourage people to use local bookshops - they can be magical places to go and browse - but the reality of the modern world is that on line retailing is taking over.

So yes, go to Amazon.

Rupert Matthews - The History Man. Rupert has written over 170 books, appearing on television and radio as a presenter and consultant. These have mostly been on history or military subjects, though in recent years he has been writing about ghosts, cryptozoology, UFOs and other paranormal subjects.

Rupert twitters under the name of "rupertmatthews" and has a page on FaceBook as "Rupert Matthews".

Rupert blogs about history at http://thehistorymanatlarge.blogspot.com/ and about ghosts, UFOs, unknown animals and other aspects of the unexplained at http://ghosthunteratlarge.blogspot.com/ Rupert was born in Dorking, England, in 1961 and was educated at his local Church of England junior school, then at his local grammar school. He later took up a career in publishing as an editor and writer. He went freelance in 1988 and since then has worked mostly as a writer, columnist and tv presenter. Rupert has established himself as a leading speaker to lunches and dinners, speaking on subjects as varied as RAF Bomber Command at War; Your Local Ghosts; How Medieval women led society; How the publishing industry works; The Arrowstorm; The Yeti is real!; The real King Arthur; and the biography of Father Christmas.

Rupert Matthews is a writer of non-fiction books, magazine articles and newspaper columns. Rupert has been working in publishing for over 20 years and has built up a wealth of experience and expertise that can be brought to bear on any writing or editing task you care to mention. He specialises in history, but has written on a range of subjects.

It was really interesting finding out about the work of Rupert , his collection of ghost stories and paranormal subject books are available through his Amazon site and throughout the UK at various book stores . I appreciate his time taken for an interview with The Paranormal Press and with so many accounts of personal stories , reports of different ghostly accounts I’m sure there is a story near you that may be of interest.

Website : http://rupertmatthews.com Amazon Page : Amazon Rupert Matthews

From Séances to Science The 21st Century Ghost Hunter

Pete Collins

Today’s paranormal investigator has come a long way from the original days of The Ghost Club, now in it’s 151st year of investigating the paranormal.

Some may say that the search or explanation of unusual

The concept of seeing is believing is fine if indeed you are able to inform people of a contact, inquiring minds I believe wanted to take a step forward , hence today with the onset of popular television programmes and people willing to put the theories to the test for themselves , today’s paranormal investigator

unexplainable ghostly occurrences can go back as far as

can be for all and not a selected few.

50 BC , when in ancient Athens , the philosopher

After all , seeing and hearing is believing …..

Athenodorus investigated claims of a chain rattling ghost.

But with the onset of Spiritualism , many séances took place throughout the US , making contact with restless spirits and loved ones . Joining the circles around tables became a fashionable Victorian pastime. Claims of rapping and knocking , ghostly images being photographed and ectoplasm generating from the bodies of the mediums of the day. But who was to say that these happenings were not real, after all many people packed the halls to witness the new phenomenal , maybe some more evidence was required to substantiate that life after death really did exist.

Armed with pencils and notepads , many of the newly founded Ghost Club members took it upon themselves to look at the haunted venues and those who can make direct contact with our dearly departed . Rather that excepting that true mediumship is providing the answers to the questions , a

So today’s 21st paranormal investigator has developed technology to test the theories of energy movement , to be able to hear voices and most importantly … to see in the dark.

I wonder what the reactions would have been in the Victorian halls , during performances if we were able to have full night vision within the darkened blacked out rooms .

Moving further onwards , thermo imagery can tell us if indeed cold spots occur, full spectrum cameras that can photograph beyond our own eyesight - searching and putting the many many theories to the test , because that is what investigating is , putting together a balanced , well documented set of mini iexperiments into

different approach developed.

formulating a possible answer.

No gizmos or gadgets, the likes of Harry Price and other

Some may never sway to science or look at

eminent scientists of the day conducted what we know as today as a paranormal investigation. So, what does this actually mean , well, the English Oxford dictionary gives this

alternatives, a belief system is that , you have to believe it in order to make sense of it, Psychologists call it "belief perseverance," but

meaning ;

we should be rational about claims and not

“he act or process of investigating; a careful search or

especially when the arguments are there, after

examination in order to discover facts, and the truth” So, with that objective in mind , what this saying is in order to

except that one persons word is all that counts all science has proven and debunked so many oddities for example that we used to believe the

investigate you have to look at all of the facts - not relying

world was just 6000 years old …..

upon the word of an individual telling you that it is indeed a

The 21st century paranormal investigator has

haunted house .

long moved away from the Victorian halls and

Throughout the 1960’s more prominent people such as Hans

from tweed suits with a note pad and pen - but

Holzer took on longer periods of venue assessment and were able to offer rational explanations to alleged paranormal occurrences , technology was starting to creep in to put the

our own instincts are still there , combining them with some measurable data can only put

theories offered by many to the test , not to deride a belief system but to ask some serious questions and not accept the word of an individual - who was claiming to indeed be in contact with our spirit world.

The truth is out there , but we all need a little

the argument forward for future debates .

help from science to offer an informed opinion from our own minds to what is happening in an alleged haunted location.

JulietWrites It Down Things that go bump in the night!

“Poltergeist. Noun. A ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as throwing objects around. Synonym: Ghost.”

A very brief, simple explanation for something that seems to terrify hundreds of dizzy blondes who never put the lights on in films. For me it is one of best and most hoped for phenomena on an investigation. So – are all 'ghosts' poltergeists? Or are all poltergeists ghosts? Are symmetrical book stacking events and doors that slam in your face natural or supernatural in origin?

In some circles, modern thinkers believe that poltergeist activity may not be spiritual at all – that it may be the product of the own individuals mind, under stressful conditions, manifesting their own internal disturbance externally through the unwitting use of psychokinetic energy. Other explanations include spirits that are focused on an individual rather than a location, a mischievous ghost that is attracted to children, ball lightning, demons, an elemental spirit that has never spent time as a living individual, seismic events, water courses under properties, unusual air currents, delusional individuals misinterpreting normal events, human pranksters – the list it seems goes on and on. Many of these explanations rationalise the occurrences as poorly understood natural phenomena, where others autocratically inform us that these events are absolutely definitely Spiritual in origin and anything else is poppycock and we are sad, closed minded individuals for not believing this. So where does that leave us?

In my humble opinion it leaves us with a job to do. Each venue we investigate we hope for proof – for irrefutable evidence of spiritual activity. If it were up to me I would love to have doors slamming, things chucked at me – hell I would take claw marks down my back if someone filmed it happening and there were witnesses. But even filming the movement of an object without a visible source causing the movement would nowadays not be considered absolute hard evidence – just check out You-Tube. The amount of videos of chairs sliding (all in the same direction), lights flashing on and off (but they neglected to video the switch at the same time) and objects hurling themselves out of cupboards and off shelves (at a far enough distance so you could not see the thin fishing line) goes to show that almost anyone can be an amateur Tobe Hooper (The director of the 1982 film Poltergeist for the uninitiated.).

If anything we were to capture on film, camera or voice recorder is to be taken seriously we must make sure that we check out every possible reasonable explanation first. The initial assessments that we undertake help us build up a picture of the building – its EMF hotspots, gaps in windows, shops across the street that reflect a passing cars headlights into the rooms – we have a responsibility to our guests and hosts to make sure that anything we can come up with on the night is, as far as we can ensure, genuine activity. The pre investigation visits are essential for this and absolutely necessary in order to make sure we have covered as many eventualities as we can. It is why we insist on a member of staff that knows the building being present for the investigation – as they will know the building's character and behaviour. This is also why we use old fashioned video tape recorders, not digital ones, because a tape will show evidence of tampering where as it is possible to manipulate digital footage without leaving a trace.

And the most important detail is this – every venue has to be treated as a blank slate – on an individual basis. Even if we have been there before. Anyone who has been to the same place twice or more will tell you that it is never the same experience. If we don't take this seriously - who else will?

Now where did I put my Crucifix and holy water....

Hope to see you soon on an investigation.

Juliet Collins