A Boldre Ghost Story. In the 17th century the Duke of Monmouth was challenging James 2nd to the throne of England. In around 1684, the Duke was trying to mass together an army from his native Holland, and sent a young despatch rider to Lymington with secret documents to be smuggled out of the country to this aim. It is said the young despatch rider originally sought over night refuge at a Boldre Inn, and whilst taking refreshments met a young lady who persuaded him that the Inn was not safe and that he would be safer spending the night at her remote cottage. Little did he know that Boldre was a favourite haunt of smugglers and vagabonds, due to its easy access to the sea via the Boldre river, and that the young lady was in fact the daughter of a local smuggler and had taken a shine to the rich clothing and jewellery he wore as an envoy of the Duke. She and her lover made a plan to murder the hapless young man once they had isolated him. On arrival at the cottage the girl’s lover killed the unfortunate lad, and his finery shared between her murderous family. Their victim was buried in a shallow grave in the grounds of the cottage, and, due to the secret nature of the despatch riders mission, no hue and cry was ever made at his disappearance. Many years later, the cottage was purchased and extended and at the beginning of the 20th century became the property of Mrs Gordon-Hamilton, who renamed the cottage Bywater House, which is about one and a half miles from the Red Lion Inn. Mrs Hamilton often spoke of stealthy footsteps heard during the night and the sound of raised voice, and although she was aware of the houses murky past dealings with smuggling she was never unduly worried. Until, that is, one day in 1920 when she had her photograph taken in the garden, when she was taken aback to discover the ghostly image of a young man with cavalier curls and what appeared to be fine clothing in the picture behind her. She showed this picture to a friend, who that night had a dream about the young man in the picture, who seemed to indicate that she should dig in a specific spot in the garden. The next day digging commenced and very soon a secret shallow burial chamber built of brick and dating from the 17th century was found. The chamber however was empty, so a medium was summoned and the sad tale of the young despatch riders end was retold. It is said that even to this day, the young man’s spirit may be seen in the last place he was happy – at the Inn at Boldre.
A Haunted Evening at the Red Lion Inn
Hosted by Peter and Juliet Collins By Kind Permission of Amanda, Manageress Guest Medium Andy Ford Catering by Patrick Collins
Report on the Night’s Events On Saturday 30th May 2009, ghost investigation group Haunted Southampton put on its first overnight vigil, with kind permission of Amanda, the manageress of the Red Lion Inn, in Boldre, Hampshire. Together with the guidance of Andy Ford, a local Psychic Medium, a group of 20 intrepid investigators spent the entire night, mostly in the dark, attempting to make contact with the Other Side.
The evening commenced with introductions and plans for the night by Peter Collins, founder of the group. Andy Ford introduced himself, explaining how he was going to work and letting us all know that he was there to help us understand a little more about how mediums worked and how he himself would be helping us.
During the course of the night, those attending would also be able to use a variety of equipment, under the guidance of the Medium, which included Dowsing Rods, EMF Metres, EVP recording equipment, compasses, digital thermometers, Glass divination,
Planchettes, a remote, locked off night vision camera and of course our own psychic abilities in order to ascertain whether or not the Red Lion Inn can claim to be haunted. The night’s event was to finish with the opening of an envelope containing, amongst other information, some names pertinent to the history of the pub.
The Walk Round The evening commenced with a walk around the property with the lights on (for now), Andy Ford explaining as he went what he was sensing and asking others to let everyone know how they were feeling. We started in the Stables, a part of the pub that is mainly original to the purpose for which it was built – as a stable to house the horses used by travellers in bygone days. After a few quiet moments Andy stated he felt a little nauseous, also felt a little woozy and clammy, He sensed a lady in the room, perhaps dressed in grey, the material
being coarse and of working class – perhaps a serving girl? He also sensed a fair amount of movement and wondered if those employed might find that things had moved around overnight. He then sensed that perhaps a bad event had occurred in the room, though unsure
of the nature of said event, but that it may even have been a murder. (It must be noted that whilst no record has ever been found of such an event, there is an old story in existence of the murder of a young despatch rider in the Boldre area.) Other members of the group also felt clammy, some being hot whilst another felt quite cold, despite the temperature being reasonable. One person felt shoulder pain, whilst Andy had an impression of chest pain. Andy also felt that the lady was unhappy about the fact the access to the pub had changed – that she wanted it changed back. (On a previous walk round it was noted that the original
entrance to the pub had been blocked from the inside and a new porch entrance was now being used, something only noticeable from the outside.) At this point a few other people in the group felt that they might have heard a whispering sound coming from the area of the old ladder that used to go into what was an old hayloft. Andy also mentioned that he felt a nautical link to the room. It is a known fact that the Boldre area has many strong links to the navy, most notable being that Rev Comyns, who performed a detailed survey of Boldre and the surrounding area in 1817, had an older brother who was curate to Lord Nelson. There is also in the area a property called Tweed House, named so by Retired Admiral Thomas Edwards for his love of the ship HMS Tweed that he used to
command. It is also noted that Admiral Lancelot Holland, who was commanding HMS Hood in 1941 when it was shelled and sunk by the Bismarck, came from the Boldre area and used to worship regularly in Boldre church with his family. We then moved onto the next area, where there used to be a bread oven next to the fireplace. Andy felt that there was a lot less activity in this room, and the group generally felt less clammy and more
relaxed. It was agreed that the energy levels seemed ‘lighter’ in this area, and we moved onto the Snug. In this small area Andy felt again less energy, and also felt compelled, or pulled across to the Bar next to the entrance from the car park. He did remark that he felt that there was an area where there was a way through that should not be there – that a doorway had been made where there was once a wall. It should be noted that the Pub was once made up of two small cottages and a much smaller
bar area, and possibly there was no way through originally. Again the group felt relaxed and unaffected by any lingering impressions. The Bar area felt to all, Andy included, a lot colder. He felt that a lot of activity might also occur here; that other spirits might well be drawn here as it’s flavour as a public house and a gathering place
was well established. Again Andy felt that the conformation of the building had changed – that there was a wall missing and that the passage of Spirit in the room may want to adhere to the geography of a past environment. He also felt uneasiness in relation to the room above the Bar entrance area, so without further ado we headed upstairs. The Upstairs kitchen was the first stop – fully modernised, Andy felt that the area was too new to hold any recent memories and so we moved onto the room above the bar– the Bedroom. Straight away Andy felt nauseated – a feeling that he seemed to
experience when there was activity in the room. Heading directly for the far corner he felt there was a ‘cold spot’, and then being drawn to the window felt that people on looking up or as going past might see someone looking out of it. He also was aware of having a tight chest, indeed of chest pain, a racing heart and faintness, concluding that someone, a male presence, had passed in this room of heart problems, within the last sixty years.
Andy felt that the energy in this room might well be disruptive because the spirit wants to make himself known – not in a sinister
way, just to let people know he is here. He said that the spirit might sometimes be seen or heard. Others alternately described the room as causing uneasiness, adrenaline rushes and sensations of a tight chest. As this was being described the lights flickered – not
constantly – indeed there was a moment when Andy described the presence as being male and I myself observed them flicker as did other members of the group – and they continued to do so as we talked – usually when the spirit was being discussed. Amanda said that the electricity wiring had been checked on several occasions and no cause for the flickering had been found. Other members of the
group – myself included - felt an occasional wind or breeze in their face – without a door or window being opened and as it was a calm evening sudden gusts of wind outside could be discounted. Moving to the bathroom, there was not enough room for all of us to fit in! Andy sat for a minute or two and then decided that there was not really anything exciting that happened in there and felt really quite calm and relaxed, so we moved onto the last main room – the Living room. Without fail, all gathered immediately said they felt cold. After his usual few minutes contemplation Andy said that he felt a lot of energy here, indeed he was bouncing on his heels! Others commented that they also felt energised, that there was a sensation of movement and almost as one several people suddenly said “Children!” Andy agreed – he felt that there was the energy of several children – young – no more than nine or ten, and that they would definitely have made their presence felt – either by tickling, hair tugging, touching people on the arm or a gentle pull on their clothes. It was at this moment that one of the attendees felt her arm being stroked. As Andy was enquiring about this, the light in the room started
swinging, not constantly but every now and then it would swing four or five times then stop. Andy was saying that he felt that one or more of the children had possibly passed in the room, and that he
felt their energy originated from much further back – several centuries perhaps, and as he said this the light flickered. People in the room as the discussion went on became more
animated and chatty – many were smiling and the feel of the room was one of general excitement – very different from the previous areas. Some said that their hands felt hot, while others said that they felt as if they were having a hot flush. So it was decided whilst everyone felt relaxed and happy that we
would have a break, set up the equipment for people to experiment with, and then turn out the lights and see what happened!
The Investigations Upon discussion during the break Andy recommended that we set up the trigger object in the Bedroom upstairs. On a dresser we placed a wooden crucifix upon a sheet of paper and drew around it in case minute movements were missed. We also placed a Newton’s Cradle alongside, and set up a remote night vision camera in front of the
trigger objects to watch for movements. The signal was relayed to a TV in the Hunt Room, which we used for discussions and refreshments, and left on so people could spend time watching for movement or any other ghostly goings on. The trigger object was also filmed for most of the night. Then we put a selection of equipment around the room – Dowsing rods, compasses, Dictaphones for EVP recordings, cards for glass divination, video cameras, digital cameras and a hygrometer (for recording humidity).
Upstairs Living Room Pete Collins attended one of the first séances conducted upstairs in the Living room. We initially started off with an EVP experiment, which lasted for five minutes. . It was noted during the EVP
experiment that a compass was swinging left and right from magnetic north. We then went on to set up a glass divination Ouija
board experiment, which produced some interesting initials of names and established that three young girls came through in spirit. Similar results were also produced using the dowsing rods for yes
and no answers. During the EVP and séance experiment it was noted that the humidity was rising steadily – an indicator of paranormal activity. During the same séance it was established that a spirit by the name of Victoria Pall or Pale was trying to make contact. Amanda, the manageress of the Red Lion who was watching, recognised this name and was able to validate it from the Pub’s past. The initial M was given when asked what month the child passed away in. It was then asked if there was a male present in the room – a positive response was given. The letters F and M were given as name initials and a positive answer was given when asked if he died of natural
causes. However when asked what year he died the glass gave no response. During a further séance overseen by Andy Ford, contact was made with spirits who had a very close family connection with two of the attendees. It was decided that these personal experiences would not be documented as part of this report, as information disclosed was of a sensitive and private nature. However, it was noted that responses to questions were entirely accurate. Later in the night at about 4 am Andy conducted a table tipping experiment in the Living room with several of the attendees, hoping
to elicit physical responses from any spirits present. For half an hour we valiantly tried, calling out to spirits in the room, but whilst the table occasionally twitched and trembled, all trying felt as if the energy levels suddenly dropped and the room was suddenly empty. Andy explained that after a busy night like this, spiritual energy levels would fall just as ours do after being up all night and though
he felt that they tried really hard, they just didn’t have anything left and had given up.
The Cellar Due to the size of the cellar prohibiting the accommodation of more than three or four people, it was agreed that it would not be a part of the initial walk around. However as part of the investigation Andy agreed to take people down into the cellar and conduct séances with small groups. Also several of the attendees decided to carry out their own vigils, without Andy present, throughout the night.
During Andy’s initial vigil, some attendees felt that they were touched and witnessed what seemed to be moving shadows, though those present remained still. Others who conducted vigils within the cellar also reported similar occurrences. In another vigil attended by Pete Collins and two others, taps on the beer barrels were heard in
response to questions being asked regarding the names of previous landlords. (Though unrecorded in the Cellar, these taps on the barrels can be heard on the EVP recording attempt made in the bar above the cellar.) The clear image of someone’s arm was seen placed on Pete’s shoulder, when all present were stood apart from each other.
On another occasion during a separate vigil, whilst attempting to elicit a response, those involved experienced a sudden increased feeling of cold, and one individual experienced a physical pressure on their back, which made them take a step forward as it began to
feel very uncomfortable. A presence was also perceived, causing the person involved to put out their hand in order to prevent a collision – only to find nothing in front of them but empty space.
The Stairs Pete Collins was asked to come to the bottom of the stairs in order to see some unexplained activity. When he got there one attendee was stood at the top of the stairs indicating that the ceiling light was flickering whilst the switch was turned off. This event lasted for
about five minutes and was recorded on night vision camera. Upon speaking to Amanda, she said that nothing like this had ever
occurred in the past. This phenomenon carried on with out power for about five minutes, and then ceased and was not repeated throughout the night. We still have no explanation!
The Stables Initially one daring investigator decided to spend some time in the Stables area on his own, calling out to see if he could experience anything. After a few minutes he experienced an aching in his shoulder blade, which then moved to his arm, and continued until about 25 minutes later when he left the area. However he felt that was the only response he had to calling out, apart from feeling quite uneasy the entire time. Later in the night (about 2.30 am) glass divination was attempted by a group of four, using a rechargeable torch for illumination that had been on charge the entire day, and was also charged in the Pub throughout the night. Initially there were indications that a lady was present in the room, that she had worked at the Red Lion in the past and that her initials may have been C D, or N D – then the glass
continually moved between C M for most of the rest of the séance, before ceasing to move at all. About ten minutes into the séance the torch that was being used suddenly dimmed to about half strength, and about five minutes later completely went out, despite being fully charged. Another battery-powered torch borrowed for the last
moments of the séance also quickly went out after the glass had stopped moving. Despite trying, we are unable to find any connection between the initials C M and the Red Lion Inn, or indeed the Boldre area.
Upstairs Bedroom Due to the general feeling of uneasiness caused by this room, and because the Medium had said that he felt that the presence he sensed in this room liked to make his presence known, we decided that this room would be used as a locked off area and set up the trigger
objects, a wooden cross and a Newton’s Cradle, on a chest of drawers and set up the remote camera on them. The room was then left unopened for most of the rest of the night, with a late séance and vigil towards morning. The receiving television downstairs then recorded the area.
Bar Areas The bar areas were not easily utilised for séances, calling out etc due to the fact that they were quite open to the rest of the premises and noise easily carried from other areas of the pub to interfere with and distract those attending from their activities. However the two EVP experiments performed in the area did have some strange noises on and did pick up several bangs on the beer barrels that occurred in the cellar as others held a vigil down there. One séance also came up with the letters D I G and when asked if the letters meant Digger a positive response was given. The glass the moved to the letter Q, but then was not forthcoming with any other real information.
Photos and Videos Photos of activities in and around the pub were done, some with night vision and some with flash. Interestingly only photos with the flash showed up any anomalies. We are hoping that none of these are reflections or spots on the lens! The camera lens was cleaned
thoroughly beforehand, as was the video and only new tapes were used in the camcorder. One of the most interesting photos was of two investigators using dowsing rods. There appears to be an orb in front of the wall to the lady with the rods, and two very faint ones above the young man, though both are smaller.
Another appeared to show the faint impression of the head of a dog, though this may just have been marks on the wall!
There are other minor anomalies on other shots taken, but all are very small. These are available for viewing on Facebook or the Haunted Southampton website, or upon request.
Trigger Object Recording On going through the videotape of the trigger objects (for many eye watering hours), several anomalies were noticeable. Initially, there was an awful lot of dust flying around the room, prompting exclamations of surprise from several observers at the time. Unfortunately it is a fact that dust particles tend to reflect the light from the infrared camera, so appearing as a moving bright circle of light, which can lead to many false positive sightings of supposed
spiritual energy. Incidentally the dust appeared to be drifting in an air current that moved gently from right to left, that had not been previously detected. However once the dust had settled, there were several unusual occurrences that were noted at different times. 6 mins, 20 - there is a movement of several out of focus light shapes
at the same time in the same direction from mid screen to the right hand side of the screen, as if a form that reflected light moved into focus and went past the camera. Dust particles tend to appear as single circular spots of light that move swiftly across the camera. Make of this what you will! 7mins and 24 - there is what can only be described as a movement
across the top of the second drawer of the chest of drawers. Having watched this many times, I can only describe it as that because there is no object, no flash of light or shape – nothing to indicate what draws the eye but simply an impression of something passing over that spot. 9 minutes - there is a sudden large movement of dust across the camera, indicating that something has disturbed it. The same occurs at about 11minutes, together with a slight change in the light level in the room, which is odd in itself because the only source of light is of course the infra red light provided by the night vision camera.
32.30 - there is a very quickly moving nebulous light anomaly that ravels across the screen from right to left in two movements, as if slowing or pausing half way across. This differs from other dust forms in that their travel is usually consistent and steady. It is then very quiet for half an hour or so, and then at a period between 1hour 2 and four minutes there are several orb like lights moving across the screen, singly and slowly. As there have been no
events for a while, even if these are still only dust particles, what has stirred them up when no one has been in the room? 1 hour 25minutes - though there is an awful lot of interference (source unknown), the camera moves as if bumped gently. Twice. It was difficult to spot, as the white noise and picture fuzz was quite bad (a lesson to learn for the future I feel), but after replaying the
time again and again, it is definitely a gentle bump. Anyone wishing to see just contact us. 1 hour 42 and 44 minutes - there appears to be a few knocking noises – however there was a séance going on in the next room and
again the interference was quite horrendous at times so I am unable to say that these noises are not caused by external factors. 1 hour 49 minutes - the light goes on and a séance is conducted with Andy and several others using glass divination. At this point I am unable to say that any phenomena during this are due to
paranormal or ordinary causes. The séance ends at 2 hour 9 mins, and for a while there is a lot of dust flying around again. At 2 29 however a noise similar to a breath is heard, again I am unable to attribute this to paranormal origin. 2 hr 28 minutes - there is a large white circle that moves past the camera, emerging from mid screen top an travels to the right,
possible dust but clearer than any other seen so far. For the rest of this tape there are no other definitive events worth reporting.
The second tape was started a while later, during the course of a second séance, at about four am. The best event on this tape occurs only 5 minutes 35 in where an unusual shaped light anomaly moves across from right to left, changing shape as it does, and
disappearing behind Andy’s shoulder. Between myself and Pete we are undecided if it is a dust particle or not, but it does seem quite large and seems to change direction across the table in the respect that it heads at first across then backwards towards the mediums left shoulder. Again if you wish to see for yourself then please let us know.
Living Room Recording Video of the séance in the living room upstairs proved very exciting. Though there were no time references for what was recorded, it was done during the earliest hours not long after the walk around. When focused on a young man at the left wall of the room as you walk in, with his wife using dowsing rods to attempt communication,
there are two quite spectacular clear bright orbs that appear to come out of his abdomen and swing first right then left in a smooth circular movement before disappearing. They move synchronously, but not in exactly the same way, and are not as far as we can discern the result of a reflection (there is nothing in the vicinity to reflect off of), or dust, as dust particles do not synchronise! During the séance, when focused on the glass divination experiment, it is obvious to see that the glass moves back and then gives a quick twist backwards and to the right, causing everyone to have to move quickly in order to keep up with the glass. Saving the best till last, during the séance where the name Victoria Pall comes up, there is a moment that the question “ How old are
you” is asked. After a few seconds, whilst everyone else is quietly talking, a small female voice can be hesitantly heard to say “Six”. We invited one of the attendees around to listen and observe the
footage, and he is flummoxed, as most of the females in the group are relatives of his, and the voice is unknown to him. No one in the group appeared to hear this voice, including the medium and the manageress.
Conclusion to the Night As the dawn approached and the skies outside lightened, it was decided that as all involved were getting very tired, Andy would perform a few psychic exercises with everyone so that our
flagging interest would hold until the end of the investigation. In the living room upstairs we paired off and underwent some energy sensing activities and the attendees seemed to benefit from the experience, all now at least ready to have one final meeting to conclude the night. Moving to the Hunt Room, we then opened the envelope that held names and dates pertaining to the Pub’s history. The name of Victoria Pall was mentioned by Amanda, as having come up in the séance held in the living room earlier in the night. One person also mentioned the name of Christopher Fry, who it turned out to be an old Inn Keeper in 1784.
The nautical connections that the area had were discussed, as was the local areas history, including the fact that a blacksmith’s was once on the site of the Pub, and that a local school and post office
were once nearby. Amanda also told us of unexplained events that had occurred in the Pub, such as the sound of footsteps running up and down a wooden staircase. The stairs in the present are carpeted
and in a different place to where they once were, and they also happened to once have been wooden. People staying at the Pub in the flat had told of coming down stairs in the mornings to find the candles lit, not having been burnt down as they would have been
having been left to burn overnight but freshly ignited. She also told of the sound of a barking dog heard in the Pub, though none lived there, which is interesting in the light of the strange image captured at one point in the bar area before the stables. All agreed that the night had proved fascinating and the general conclusion was that yes, the Pub was indeed haunted and that there was still an awful lot more secrets that the Pub would keep – at least until we can do another investigation!!
We would like to sincerely thank Amanda for letting us use the Red Lion as the location for our first Ghost Hunt. Her friendliness and openness made this all possible. Also we would like to thank Andy Ford for making the evening so much more entertaining and intriguing than would have been possible otherwise. Thanks also go to Patrick Collins for providing enough food to feed the Five
Thousand! Finally thanks go to Chris Collins, even though he was unable to attend, for helping us with the preparation and providing resources for the night.
Watch this space for the next investigation!!
Pete and Juliet Collins. www.hauntedsouthampton.freewebspace.com