Spooked - Issue 1 by Spooked

Hello, Welcome to this month’s edition of Spooked magazine. In this issue we have an exclusive from Aberdeen’s biggest magicians as they prepare to launch their new American T.V. show. We also investigate the story of the haunting of His Majesty’s Theatre with inside information helping us trace it back to its origins. Further afield we have a feature looking at the world’s most haunted island, and up-to-date reviews of ghost walks and films. Another highlight for photographers out there is our photo piece focusing on abandoned hospitals and asylums on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Regards, Spooked Team

-ContentsThe Missing Stagehand - p3 Top 10 Horror Films - p7 The Curse of The Cocket Hat - p9 Allans Encounter - p11 Poveglia - p13 Unoccupied - p15 Edinburgh Ghost Tours - p23 The Bennachie Psychic - p25 Barry and Stuart - p27 Nightmare Fuel - p31 James Warrender - p35

The Missing Stagehand By Niall Smith & Jordan Higgins

The Missing Stagehand 3

The ghost of His Majesty’s Theatre has not been active in recent years but a stalwart of the theatre reminisces about his experiences with “Jake”. In December 1943, a 69-year-old stage hand was decapitated at Aberdeen’s His Majesty’s Theatre after a gruesome accident while working the stage winch. Today one of the theatre’s current stage hands has told of his supernatural experiences with the ghost of the man who lost his life that day. Many media outlets reported on the event with The Press & Journal saying John “Jake” Murray died “instantaneously” when he was lowering a hoist from the stage level to the basement. On that day 71 years ago, the circus was in Aberdeen. The horses used in the show were placed on the stage with equipment that was operated by hand. John Murray attempted to lift two horses with the winch but the load became too heavy. The stagehand let go and the swinging handle caused him fatal head injuries. In the 1950’s, “Jake the Ghost” came to light. And the “harmless” ethereal being has come to visit a number of HMT’s employees over the years. Jake was blamed for any mishap with former stage manager Edi Swan once saying “If a screwdriver went missing you'd just say 'ach, that's just Jake, it'll be back tomorrow' and right enough the next day it was back.” Current stagehand at HMT, Steve Young confirms there have been a large number of unusual and spooky occurrences during the latter of his 25 years at the theatre, “Things have moved and things have fallen over with no explanation why," he explains.

“The first of my experiences was in

2002 or 2003.

A couple of us were up in the paint frame above the stage and I was painting a cloth for a student show. It was around 9PM. We heard footsteps but there was no one else in. It was just us. And I was like ‘Fit’s gan on?’ We kept hearing the footsteps, so we looked along the catwalk and saw nothing, yet still heard footsteps. Then we thought ‘right it’s time to leave’ and just legged it.” “Sometimes you’re just sitting there staring into or watching the show and something will just your eye just across the other side of the stage. er times you think somebody’s there but they’re

space catch Othnot.”

During the ghost’s initial period of activity the theatres used much of its original equipment which would have played a part in creating the vast number of creaks and groans that alarmed staff working behind the scenes. Things quietened down in the 1980s when modern equipment was brought in. But Steve is sure Jake is to blame for these strange experiences but agrees with the consensus that there is no malice in the ghost’s actions. However, since the 2006 renovation to the theatre Steve says he has felt little to no activity from Jake, despite a BBC report suggesting Jake became more prominent after the revamp. During Jake’s busier years of activity, his favourite area of the theatre was Lambeth walk. Without doubt one of the eeriest sections of HMT, the corridor is chilly and old with the bare granite giving an ominous effect.

Steve says many people have heard Jake in this walkway but the most sobering fact about Lambeth Walk is that animals have refused to walk down it. Steve has been told of a guard dog that refused to go down the walk. “A night watchman was hired to guard the theatre’s valuable equipment. He had a dog called Savage who did a good job of patrolling the building until he got to Lambeth walk. Apparently he sat on his haunches and refused to go through the corridor.” There is also a cold spot within the walk, which is in direct line to where the tragedy occurred, although the whole corridor is fairly cold, and this is is down to the fact there is a lack of heating in the area. Despite this it’s a nice addition to the premise of Jake. Other stage hands have also complained about experiencing Jake’s presence. The current stage manager, Graham Shepherd, felt one of the strongest connections with the Ghost while working as a stage hand. “I was in the cellar one night and I had finished what I was doing. I tried to walk towards the door but I couldn’t get anywhere. I just couldn’t physically move. It felt like somebody was holding me back. I just went cold. I eventually got to the cellar door, I can’t explain why it happened." Steve explains that Jake has also shown his playful nature by playing tricks on the actors. "He's done things like knocking over 18ft maskers that are weighed down to scare them. He’s also hid their make-up.” Nevertheless, it has been a while since anyone has complained about Jake.

Lambeteh Walk Steve is keeping an open mind about why this might be. “Ever since the renovation I’ve never felt anything. Nobody's said anything, so whether that’s him moved on or not; I don’t know. Or maybe he’s just kept himself quiet.”

His Majesty’s Theatre

Founded in 2010 - Hidden Aberdeen started life as a photographic group encouraging people to submit images of the distinctly non-tourist side of Aberdeen. Now we offer regular themed walking tours, which highlight Aberdeen's forgotten and hidden history. CASTLEGATE: MEDIEVAL ABERDEEN 8 MAY - FRIDAY 8 MAY Start time: 7.30pm Start point: Mercat Cross, Castlegate End point: Gordon Highlanders’ Statue Duration: 2 hours HIDDEN ABERDON: TALES OF THE RIVER – FRIDAY 16 MAY Start time: 7.30pm Start point: Sir Duncan Rice Library, Bedford Road, University of Aberdeen End point: Brig O’ Balgownie Duration: Approx. 2hours LOST CINEMAS OF UNION STREET - THURSDAY 22 MAY Start time: 7.30pm Start point: Nuffield Health Club, Justice Mill Lane (aka old Odeon) End point: Belmont Picture house Cinema, Belmont St. Duration: 2 hours MEDIEVAL & PREHISTORIC ORIGINS TOUR - THURSDAY 29 MAY Start time: 7.30pm Start point: Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Shiprow End point: Hill Street, Rosemount Duration: 2 hours Tickets for the tours can now be purchased online, just visit http://hiddenaberdeentours.ticketsource.co.uk/ More tours will be added as the season continues… including new tours on Union Street and two new graveyard tours at St Clements & St Machar’s. Check http://www.hiddenaberdeen.co.uk/ for updates and information on more tours throughout the year.

Top 5 Horror Films 5

Psycho (1960)

Everything about this film is memorable, from the title design to the indelible score by Bernard Herrmann. Creepiest scene: Norman Bates having a nervous conversation with Marion Crane in the company of all those stuffed birds.

The Omen (1976) A switch at birth places the

boy (born of a jackal) in the home of the American ambassador to Great Britain (Gregory Peck), and therefore in a position to assume future world power. The boy himself, although capable of some unnerving leers, is rather harmless, but the people and forces at work to protect him will stop at nothing. Creepiest scene: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Damienâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday party, and his nanny decides to prove her loyalty to him... by hanging herself from the roof.

The Sixth Sense (1999) Nine-year-old Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) always seems disturbed, frightened and his mother cannot figure out why. He finally confesses to psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) that it's because he sees dead people everywhere. The film is cleverly constructed and provides a truly surprising twist at the end. Creepiest scene: Cole has built his own protective tent in his room, but as he approaches it, he knows there might be the ghost of a young girl in there. 3

The Exorcist (1973) - Director William Friedkin had the formidable task of translating William Peter Blatty's novel to the screen, and succeeded with flying colors. Creepiest scene: Walking down the upstairs h allway toward the bedroom where the demon waits. 2

The Shining (1980) - The defin-

itive horror film from Stephen King's novel has its share of shocks, scares and memorably creepy images. On first viewing, Jack Nicholson might be accused of overacting, but a few viewings and it's clear that his performance gets under your skin. There's something about this movie that makes you want to watch it time and again. Creepiest scene: The ghosts of those twin girls in the hallway.

The Curse of

“No I don’t suppose I had ever believed in ghosts before it happened. But when I went through there he was. And there was no other explanation for it. So I believe it must have been.” At first glance, the Cocket Hat Pub on North Anderson Drive seems like your average family pub; the young bartender struggling after a night (now regretfully) on the town, cowking every time he takes a step too close to the Sambuca bottle. The interior layout friendly and warm, packed with familiar frayed furniture of all different tapestry designs. The welcoming smell of turkey or roast beef greeting you as you enter, quietly persuading you you’re hungry at three in the afternoon. Everything looks A-OK. Bizarre then, that this building is listed as a haunted one in Aberdeen. Since his death in 1959, ex-pub landlord John Walker has seemingly made several appearances and has been rumoured to have moved objects and made strange noises around the bar. One of the staff members claims to have seen a whisky glass skid across the bar and smash on the floor for no apparent reason. Another is afraid to be left on the premises by herself after closing hours and one of the cleaners swears to have seen shadowy movement around the building whilst alone in the mornings. However, there seems to have been only one direct sighting of John Walker’s ghost by ex-employee Agnes McInnes, now 64 years old.

Back in 1973 whilst finishing the end-of-night clean up, Agnes said she “felt a presence” in the lounge behind her. Assuming it was her manager, Alex, she began to shout through that she was almost finished and could soon go home. As no reply came she sighed, stood up and went through to repeat herself when she saw a man standing at the bar as if waiting to be served.

“His face was a pasty shade of grey, like he was ill… I noticed

his trench coat and hat straight away. And I thought something was odd because outside it was pouring but this man was bone dry. And I couldn’t help but stare because there was another thing odd about him but I couldn’t place it. I remember he turned to look at me and suddenly I was stiffening up; my muscles tensing all the way up me, even into my throat. And panic started to make me shake. I don’t know what made me think it because he looked almost normal. But I stood there and knew that man was a spirit. I finally got the courage to turn and run behind the bar, thank goodness. And when I looked back he was gone. But I hadn’t heard any footsteps or opening of doors. It was a very eerie experience. Of course I ran and told Alex who laughed at me and asked if I’d been syphoning of some of the drink from the bar. I was terrified more than anything that he would think I was loopy and sack me. But when I described the man in the coat and upturned hat he turned to chalk. And he told me that he’d met a man called John, the landlord of the bar before he had died 14 years ago who dressed just like that. And that’s when I turned cold. Before I had maybe thought it was my mind playing a horrid trick on me. But then I was terrified. How on earth could I describe a man who had been dead since I was nine?”

Although there has been no clear sighting of John Walker since that day, The Cocket Hat’s reputation for being haunted by its late landlord is still going strong, with minor incidents keeping the chilling rumour alive. What’s more, with the whisper of ghosts lurking and the idea of being watched the staff may tread more carefully at their posts. The bartender certainly seems more alert.

The Follow-up to the bestseller “Hidden Aberdeen”. Out 04/06/13. Discover Hidden Aberdeenshire. £8.99

Unearth Aberdeen’s lesser-known past. Out now. £9.99

Both publications available at

Allan’s Encounter That sent shivers down the Library Assistants spine

“It was back in 2001. I was the only person there, locking up the building at the back of eight at night. That day had been a long day. I’d been tired; I’d had hardly anything to eat and I was just thinking about getting out the place as quick as I could.” After hearing stories about Aberdeen Central Library being haunted, I did some investigating and was eventually put in contact with Allan Grant. Allan, 49, has been a general assistant at the library for almost two decades. He was more than happy to speak to me about his paranormal encounters and had taken me down to the loading bay to give me the interview. “I was down in the media basement and all of a sudden I seen this ball of light, bright light, coming towards me. I kind of got a scare and tried to jump out of the way. It hit me, kind of went through me and I felt incredibly energised. It was an amazing feeling and I could have actually gone on and run a marathon it felt like. “Initially it was scary ‘cause I wondered what was coming towards me. But once the light went through me, it was an amazing experience. I was just totally energised.” As Allan spoke I stared at him, trying to gage what sort of a man he was. He didn’t seem like your stereotypical, not quite all there, ghost enthusiast. I asked him if he’d ever encountered anything else like that in the library. “The ball of light is the only thing I’ve actually seen. There’s been a few things like the lift working on its own. I’ve been the last guy in the building and you normally need keys to work the lift but it tends to shoot off and go from floor to floor. But in recent times, since the paranormal investigators came, there’s been very little activity, and even the lift has stopped playing up as well.” ESP Paranormal Investigations spent a night in the library in 2008. They didn’t find any balls of light and, other than a few faint sounds caught on film, did not detect anything of note. Allan believes they may have scared off whatever was there. “There’s been things like orbs in the children’s library. A few of the guys saw these. I don’t know if it was just light reflecting but it looked like little balls of light travelling round the children’s department. And the other thing we saw was the front doors opening on their own, which was very strange because the doors should have been locked.“ I asked Allan why he thought these things were happening in the library and if there was any history of the building being haunted.

He said: “If you look where the Noose and Monkey is, I think there was a church there. And, if I remember right, there was a graveyard towards that end of the building. So I don’t know if that’s got anything to do with it or not.” The ball of light in the library was not Allan’s first paranormal encounter. He told me about two other unexplained incidents. “The first thing that really happened was when my wife’s grandmother died. That was the first time we’d really had any sort of paranormal activity. “My wife’s grandmother, who shared the same birthday as my wife, 13th November, died on November 5th 20 years ago. She used to call my wife the day before their birthdays. That night the phone rang and it was her other granny from Perth, but they spoke for about 45 minutes about the granny that died and the funeral and so on. “My wife put the phone down and it rang again instantly. She picked it up and started shaking. She threw it down onto the settee. I’m thinking ‘what’s going on here?’ I pick the phone up and there was a sort of charge. Every hair on the back of my neck was standing up, I felt like my body was being sort of charged up. “There was an old woman on the line, it sounded like a satellite link-up, there was a gurgling sound and some radio static. There was music that sounded like Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygen; it sounded like funeral-type music. ‘ H e l l o ? ’ An old woman’s voice. “I put the phone down. I was absolutely petrified. It was the first time anything like that had happened to me. Every hair on my body was standing on its end. We were in that room, unable to move, for an hour. Eventually I had the courage to go through and go to the toilet. “Later on we went to our bed. The thing about the bedroom in that flat we stayed in was the doors were so stiff you could hardly get in. You had to push the lever down and use your shoulder and sort of kick the door to get in. It was quite a damp room as well but when we went in the covers were off the bed and they were lying on the floor and there was not a crease on them. “We were both looking at one another and thinking ‘how on earth did this happen?’ So that was about a couple of hours after the incident with the phonecall. We would never have done that because of the damp, and the fact there wasn’t a crease on them as well. “I had a dream a day or two later where her grandmother came to me and said: ‘don’t worry about me, I’m fine.’”

Poveglia

The World’s Most Haunted Island At first glance of Poveglia seems like your average exotic paradise island. But the land, located within Northern Italy’s Venetian Lagoons, is also known as the Island of Madness; Italy’s most haunted island and one of the most evil places on the planet.

ied or burned. As the plague worsened, any locals showing the slightest sign of sickness were dragged kicking and screaming to the island. Men, women and children were thrown into piles of rotting corpses and set alight.

Poveglia has no inhabitants and is only ever visited briefly for the vineyards to be harvested. Even local fisherman give the island a wide berth when out on their boats.

As many as 160,000 bodies are said to have been taken to Paveglia.

The island’s dark history dates back to Roman times when it was used to quarantine plague victims, isolating them from the rest of the population. It was used for the same purpose again hundreds of years later when the Black Death hit Europe. The dead or dying were cast into deep pits and bur-

The soil is combined with charred human remains, leaving a thick layer of sticky ash coating the island. This combination is enough to keep visitors away but, chillingly, seems to be very good for the vineyard there. As if that wasn’t bad enough, in the 1920s Paveglia became home to a psychiatric hospital. Patients at the hos-

pital often complained about being kept awake at night by cries of the ghosts of plague victims. However, with it being a psychiatric hospital the patients were already considered insane and their complaints not taken seriously. One of the doctors at the hospital took it upon himself to secretly experiment on the patients in an attempt to find a cure for insanity. He would take the unfortunate patients to the hospital’s bell tower where he performed improvised lobotomies on them using tools such as hand drills, chisels and hammers. The legend says that, after years of doing this, the doctor eventually began to see the spirits of the plague victims himself. They supposedly led him to the top of the bell tower from where he fell. The fall itself did not kill him. A nurse witnessed the incident and says that as he lay writhing in pain, a mist rose up from the earth and suffocated him. Supposedly the doctor’s spirit still haunts the bell tower and the bell can sometimes be heard ringing across the water.

The hospital has since closed down. The Italian government then owned Poveglia before it was sold on to a new owner. That owner abandoned the island in the 1960s and it has been left deserted since then. According to the story, a family recently looked into purchasing the island with the intention of building a holiday home there. They were apparently scared off after their first visit and refused to talk about what had happened, however, we do know while visiting their daughter’s face was ripped open, requiring 14 stitches. These days Poveglia lies uninhabited and off limits to the public. A number of psychics and paranormal enthusiasts have visited the island to investigate the haunting, but all have been left petrified at what they experienced. Some young daredevils occasionally sneak onto the island but swear never to go back, insisting there is an overwhelming sense of evil and that tortured screams can still be heard echoing over the “paradise.”

Unoccupied

Abandoned buildings are places of ambiguous wonder: despite being mere buildings, they trigger the darkest parts of our imagination. Fuelled by Hollywood, Fiction and our fear of the unknown, we have come to see abandoned places as fortresses of horror. The decaying architecture haunts us for reasons we cannot put our finger on. Horror Films like Rose Red, Asylum and Session 9 have portrayed mental illnesses as the catalyst of irrational fears we have about the human condition. The assumption that mental illness leads an individual to inhumane insanity is something Hollywood has imbedded in our social conscience when the reality is more upsetting than terrifying. 1 in 4 adults in the UK will suffer from a mental illness at least once in their life. Our fears most likely come from the fact we cannot see the illness and, as a result, we assume the worst possible scenario. It is the fear of ambiguity: when everything appears average on the outside when inside it is a very different story. Mental Asylums and Hospitals have this irrational stigma attached to them for being places of unimaginable horror when they are created to simply heal human aliments. However, walking down the corridors of any abandoned hospital or asylum begs one to wonder what tragedies happened within its walls. Orphanages have also been subject to Hollywoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frivolous vision: films like The Orphan and The Offspring have shown orphans to be rejects of society that are somehow dangerous to the overall population. Again, the reality is more saddening as many children who are put into care for reasons out with their control. Fiction has tainted our views of these places and played on our fears: a building full of dark corridors, cracked paint work and boarded windows make us feel uneasy: what is truly within these places? Was that a person at the end of the corridor? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that noise?

Aberdeen Sanatorium

Date Established: 1900 Purpose: To house Tuberculosis patients Date Closed: 1998

Proctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orphanage Date established: 1891 Purpose: Orphanage Date Closed: 1990

Old Royal Cornhill Hospital Date Established: 1800 Purpose: Lunatic Asylum Date Closed: 1995

Edinburgh Ghost Tours

As I sit outside writing this on one of the warmest, sunniest days of the year so far, the thought of being scared of ghosts seems ludicrous. Am I stupid? Childish even? Or worse, a wimp? I admit that scary movies have never been my thing, but inside everyone, including me, there seems a deep rooted fascination with the paranormal. Ghosts, evil spirits, the devil and countless others. We scoff and laugh at ghost hunters, psychics and mediums – even at our friends and family who claim to have had contact with the supernatural. It appears to be in human nature to mock what we don’t understand, and these unexplained phenomenons are a prime example.

Ghosts and paranormal activity have been a part of Scottish history for as long as we can remember. Gruesome tales of execution and disease are dotted throughout our past, but during the majority of our day to day lives, these stories remain just that – the past. A few spooky happenings in any building are enough for us to declare it “haunted”, a perhaps overused label. As you would imagine, there are now less and less discoveries of “new” haunted or abandoned places. However one of the most prolific in recent years, is Edinburgh’s Vaults. These vaults are a series of chambers and rooms, which are formed in the 19 arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh’s city centre. For around 30 years, the vaults were used to house pubs, cobblers and other tradesmen, and as storage space for illicit activities, the area became Edinburgh’s chief red light district and reportedly also a storage place and hunting ground for the serial killers Burke and Hare.

When they were built in 1788, the vaults were never waterproofed. They were mainly made of limestone which meant they soon became flooded and full of damp. In less than five years they were abandoned by reputable businesses and new inhabitants moved in. By this time the industrial revolution had taken hold of Britain, and the area became a slum with appalling living conditions. The rooms were cramped and dark, there was no sunlight, no running water and no sanitation. Ten or more people would live in one room and soon the vaults became notorious for crimes including robbery and murder. It is still not clear why the vaults were ever sealed up. The most logical idea seems to be that Edinburgh city council simply wanted to get rid of the infamous place. All that is known for certain is that at some point, tons and tons of rubble were dumped into the main entrances of the vaults, making them inaccessible. The story of their rediscovery is an unusual one. In 1985, almost exactly 200 years from the day they had opened, a set of students were living in a flat in South Bridge. Ever since they had moved in they had heard noises coming from behind the walls; scratching, screaming and occasionally crying and banging. They had questioned their landlord many times about the noises, which would leave them shaking in fear during the night. He simply said that all they were hearing were noises from pubs and bars up the street. But the sounds continued – even when they bars were closed and the streets deserted. One night after being kept awake, they decided to investigate and managed to tear down a wall in one of the bedrooms. Who knew what they were expecting to find, but it almost certainly wasn’t the labyrinth of vaults they had unwittingly reopened. Nowadays the majority of the 120 vaults are disused. A few are used for storage for the pubs above, one has been converted into a pub itself and the rest have either been demolished to make way for new housing, or just left to rot. They are also now home to one of Edinburgh’s most popular tourist activities – ghost tours. Departing at 10pm on the Royal Mile, the “Terror Tour” was over 18s only. Our guide was a man of about 30, who wore a long black coat with silver buttons and carried a cane. He set the scene; pointing out the landmarks of 18th century. Namely, the Nor’ Loch which was essentially used as a dumping ground for sewage. It also had another function – to test for witches. “If it was suspected a woman was a witch, they dragged her to Nor’ Loch, they put her into a chair called the ‘dooking stool’, then they dropped her into the water. “If she drowned in the loch, she was innocent and free to go. “If she survived, she was guilty. The devil had clearly saved her and she was a witch. These poor women were then taken up to the castle, tied to a wooden stake and burned alive. Either way, you were going to die. There was no way out.

“Over three hundred people were burned at the stake in Edinburgh... and we’ve no idea how many actually drowned in the loch itself...

Now, I think it’s about time we paid the vaults a visit, follow me.” There is no longer any street access to the vaults, they can only be entered through the buildings they are beneath. Descending the stairs, the air becomes thick and stagnant, water drips from the ceiling and echoes into the puddles on the stone floor. Our guide reminds us we are lucky that it is only water, a few hundred years before – it would have also been animal and human waste trickling onto our heads. We are told of the squalor and disease which plagued the vaults, that cholera and tuberculosis killed thousands within these walls. The area became known as “Little Ireland” when the famine hit and thousands of Irish travelled to Edinburgh in search of a job and a place to live. In reality, they found neither. It is estimated that there were up to 2,500 people living in the vaults at any one time, they were desperate. “A common phenomenon in this particular vault, is the ghost of a little boy. He apparently goes around and grabs people’s hands. I’ve had a lot of tours where people think something touched their hand, and really it’s a drop of water. “But for some, it is a cold and eerie sensation, something unexplained. It’s usually women. Usually women who they themselves have had children. And they say that it’s not a scary thing when it happens. Most of them just stand still and it’s no problem, he’s looking for reassurance... “It’s

getting

stuffy

this

room.

Let’s

move

on.”

We exit that particular room and move down the pitch-black corridor. We are told of more unexplained happenings, Pagans who have tried for years to cleanse the vaults with no success, and spiritual mediums – of which some are “obviously fake” says our guide. But then again, “some come up with just too much detail to be faked, it makes you wonder.” We are standing outside our last room of the evening. Two couples have already been escorted off of the tour, everyone looks nervous and there is little chatter amongst the group. “Before we enter this room I want to explain that there is very much a legend surrounding it. Back in 1824, there was a very large fire which broke out in Edinburgh. That church I met you at today, The Tron, was completely gutted and had to be rebuilt. As did most of the buildings on that side of the high street. “The fire ran for three days and so many people were homeless – especially woman and children, that the council basically commandeered this vault behind us and used it as a fire shelter.

“About 50 woman and children were placed in here and the door was locked behind them. It was locked to keep out the undesirables. The council knew there were huge numbers of drinking dens, brothels and gambling establishments in the vaults, and they wanted to keep these people locked inside safe. “They were locked inside for less than 24 hours, and finally the rain came and the fire was put out. People were sent down to open the vault, but the keys wouldn’t open it. Eventually they took an axe to the door and when it finally opened, a huge amount of heat escaped – and the smell of cooked meat. “In the middle of the room was a pile of dead bodies, as far away from the walls as possible. There was no fire in this room. But the heat from the fire on the streets above had been conducted by the stone around them, and essentially it became an oven. They were cooked alive.” There was a pause as this information was processed by the group. “Let’s get in then,” and we followed the guide into the pitch black. We arranged ourselves into a semi-circle around the guide, who shushed us all and lit a candle. The light flickered eerily around the cave-like room and we were then told our final tale of the night. The room we were standing in used to be a cellar for a bar above. One night at around 4am, a man was carrying out maintenance work in the room – making sure it wasn’t flooding as it had been previously known to. He heard a noise and turned around to see a girl with wild red hair in a white nightgown. There were no eyeballs in her sockets but she was crying red tears – blood. As soon as he looked at her she began a piercing scream. He turned away in horror and when he looked back she had moved. She was now screaming in his face, her blood tears millimetres from his skin. He pushed past her and sprinted up the stairs and out of the pub. It is said he never returned to the bar, but did tell everyone what he had experienced. There was a general consensus that what he had seen was a banshee, a messenger of the underworld and an omen of death. “And two days later,” said the guide, “the man received a phone call, his father was dead.” The room was silent. The candle went out suddenly and a piercing scream echoed around the room.

On a very tight rural road in the middle of nowhere, I double check my notepad. “The Haven, Meikle Wartle.” The obscure address was obtained while on the phone to hairdresser turned psychic, Audrey Harper. Known for her readings through various techniques, Audrey has etched out a career in foretelling "client's" futures, talking them through their past experiences and offering comfort. The ability to heal herself and others is also another notable power she claims to possess. We pull into the small village of Meikle Wartle, made up of around seven or eight houses. We touch down and head for a wooden sign headed "The Haven”. This leads us to a fairly standard looking bungalow with a well-tended garden and a shiny Audi outside.

Over 13 years ago Audrey had a heart attack that led to an out of body experience. It was this which motivated her to pursue a career involving her psychic abilities. Her explanation for this controversial ability is "energy”. Audrey claims she can channel our energy that allows her to see into their future or even heal them of ailments. Audrey’s Romany cup that the psychic uses to tell the future

Audrey bustles to the door, welcoming us; her tiny dog follows, yapping at our heels. Our psychic isn't wearing a bejewelled turban or even a mystic cloak. Instead Audrey has a motherly look about her, wearing a chunky knit jumper and sporting a short blonde hairstyle.

"Mother Mary can stand at my table and heal with me which is extraordinary," Audrey states profoundly. "I have seen God in the most dire of situations.” At the tender age of nineteen Audrey tells us she had a part to play in her cousin’s recovery from a car crash after praying the angels were with her. Despite all this, she makes a point in letting us know she's not a Christian - she's a spiritualist.

The house is immaculate. Family photos are hung without a single slant and the sofas unused. We're ushered into a computer room decked in crystals, divine photos and unfamiliar technical equipment.

We begin to delve deeper and deeper into Audrey’s experiences. "When I owned the guesthouse, my granny came to me in a dream and told me to check on the kids downstairs. When I did there was a man outside in his boxers."

Audrey demonstrating one of her techniques

Audrey then swiftly moves on.

"Oh, this room is only about a quarter of the size I usually use. We're still adjusting to the move," Audrey assures me with her permanent smile. She wanted to move further afield for peace and tranquillity and to write a self-help book based on her experiences. The medium also plans to build a "cabin" at the back of her house for readings as it looks onto Benachie which she claims “provides lots of good energy".

We're taken through the various techniques she uses to perform psychic reading. There are many methods available to her but we are shown two of her favourites; numerology, which is based on birth dates to decipher predictions and her crystal pendant which can be held aloft and asked questions.

As she dashes out the room to grab a chair I'm drawn to three decks of cards on the table. They’d clearly been well used, with some looking fit for the bin.

place scissors and styling gel for tarot cards and Ouija Boards. "Even as a child I could see things, but I thought everybody did. I was a bit of workaholic as I got older and later went on to run a guesthouse. So I’d never really ventured into it. I’d never even owned a book. After my out of body experience this changed.”

On Audrey's return, I'm eager to learn what possessed her to re-

As she sits down I ask about her clientele. "I have all sorts of people in but I can't please everyone. I have a lot of people that you can tell are on drugs or depressed. Someone once said they would go home and kill themselves if their reading wasn't good." An important side of Audrey's job suddenly became clear. She was a good port of call for many during a dark period in their lives.

BARRY AND STUART A Tale of Two Magicians

Los Angeles, California, is certainly a far cry away from playing with a magic set in your bedroom in Portlethen or reading up on magic tricks in Peterhead, but this is just the size of the journey that master magicians Barry and Stuart have undertaken. Barry Jones was born in 1982 and grew up in Portlethen and quickly found his love for magic when he was given a magic set from his Norwegian relatives when he was five years old. “The instructions were all in Norwegian so I had to try and figure out what the strange plastic props actually did myself and come up with my own tricks” said Barry. His career partner Stuart Macleod originally hailed from Peterhead and says that stumbling across a book in his Grandmas house first opened his eyes to magic again at the tender age of five years old. Stuart reminisced about his childhood and his discovery of magic: “I found an old dusty book with a section on magic tricks. “It described ways of changing water into wine with some seriously questionable chemicals, which I really shouldn’t have been messing around with as a five year old.” 20 years have passed since they met in Aberdeen in 1994 where they started making videos of themselves performing magic. Now they lead a jet-set lifestyle flying between London and the United States to further their television career. Describing their magic as funny, dark, and a bit strange, the duo now performs as ‘Barry and Stuart’, or as ‘the 2 Magicians’. They have gone on to host and perform on television in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. They appear, still, to have a fondness of Aberdeenshire and a degree of gratitude to the area that helped to inspire Barry and Stuart on the road to success. Speaking about the beginning of the career Stuart talked about the magic scene in Aberdeen and the surrounding areas.

He said: “There weren’t many magicians in the North-east of Scotland but, as a teenager I discovered the Aberdeen Magical Society and made contact with these incredible performers who generously shared everything they knew. “As well as magic I was captivated by the paranormal and by ‘unexplained’ mysteries, UFO’s, folklore, ghosts, exorcisms and spontaneous human combustion - all the stuff that kids should be into. Almost all of the duo’s early gigs were in or around Aberdeen. Barry talks of one particular summer where he and Stuart made their breakthrough and discovered their own style of magic. He said: “One summer we actually filmed some videos of us doing street magic with a surreal twist. We did some strange things on Union Street and Belmont Street then edited it together into a short film. It was one of our videos that ended up in the office of a production company.” Consequently their first television series ‘Magick’ was aired in Australia in 2003 and was described as “comedy magic featuring surreal characters in bizarre and uncomfortable situations. Stuart considered this to be the defining moment of their career, he said: “It was a really memorable moment was making our first TV pilot for ‘Magick’. “We had spent our teenage years developing and inventing new ways of performing magic and in that show we were given license to do anything we wanted.” In 2005 Barry and Stuart hosted the Channel 4 studio magic show ‘Dirty Tricks’. The series included special episodes entitled ‘The Magic of Jesus’ and ‘Tricks from the Bible’ in which they took inspiration from the stories of the miracles of Moses among other Old Testament events and performed illusions based on these accounts . The show also had regular spots from Pete Firman, Ali Cook and Jonathan’s Escapes as well as guest appearances from international variety acts and celebrities including Penn & Teller and Kevin James.

make us have to rethink our plan in the towns hourly. “It was surreal at times sitting in the edit and seeing the footage back for the first time because sometimes you would see something and have no idea that you even did it, it was like watching somebody else.” January 2011 saw the first season of ‘The Magicians’ which was aired on BBC One at a primetime slot. Barry and Stuart presented on the show alongside fellow magicians Luis de Matos and Chris Korn. The show returned for its second series the following year, featuring two new magicians alongside Barry and Stuart; American and world champion Jason Latimer and English magician Pete Firman. The second series was broadcast live and was the first magic series to do so in the UK in 30 years. “Being asked to present on both seasons of The Magicians was probably the best feeling I have had in our career as magicians” said Barry. “The second season was live and there’s not much more memorable in life that those few minutes right before seven million people are staring expectantly at our faces. It was utterly terrifying but also hugely exciting.” Currently the Scottish magicians are working between London and Los Angeles creating new ideas for the second season of their television show ‘The Happenings’. ‘The Happenings’ involves the magicians performing elaborate pranks undercover When asked about what viewers could expect from the new series, the duo were giving little away other than perhaps visiting new locations. Stuart said: “We may have to take more of a back seat so that people don’t twig that it is us straight away.” hostseries.

Meanwhile Barry added: “We’re also thinking of visiting more places around the world where we’ll be less likely to get recognised... We may have to learn some new languages!”

He added: “We were regularly working 18 hour days with little to no breaks or food. We literally had to think on our feet as events were happening that would

Whatever Barry and Stuart have in store, viewers can rest assured that it will contain some dark magic that will truly make the mind wander and make you want to watch more.

“Tiring!” was ing their

how Barry described own television

Nightmare Fuel 32

The term ‘nightmare fuel’ is used to describe images, videos or stories that cause nightmares or other physical reactions for the person divulging in this material. ‘Creepiness’ is a term used to describe images, videos or stories that cause the person viewing such material to feel disturbed or even scared. Why do such things cause the viewer to be scared or disturbed if there is no real threat present? What causes our minds to react in such a manner when the material is just a picture on a screen or words on a page? Fear is a primary human emotion: it keeps us away from potential dangers and has ensured our survival as a species. Having a fear of dangerous animals, heights and guns (to name a few) is justified as either of them could kill if a wrong choice is made. So why do ‘creepy’ things cause the same impulses? Terror is often associated with the ‘creeps’. Authors like Stephen King play upon this theme to cause unsettling feelings in his readers. It is hard to pinpoint the exact cause of the ‘creeps’ but there is some suggestion that this feeling is liked to vagueness and ambiguity. For example, some people have a fear of masks and, psychologically, the face is associated with social interaction. By covering up their face: the person ‘hides’ their true feelings and intentions

so ambiguity is created as to whether the person is a threat or not and thus the ‘creeps’ occur. The human mind struggles with such images: our brain is unable to make a clear distinguishable interpretation of whether it’s a threat or not due to the ambiguous nature of the image. This is why some people can be afraid of some things yet others may not be. Negative experiences as a child can also have an effect on fears as an adult. This is called cognitive dissonance: where the brain cannot make a clear analysis of a situation. For example, being on a cliff edge, our survival instincts kick in but our brain does not understand this impulse so we have that feeling of ‘being pushed’ over the edge. Vagueness in the human form is often a source of the ‘creeps’: when something looks entirely human but isn’t due to some physical anomalies. Mannequins and other humanoid representations have a somewhat creepy demeanour about them: they look very human … but just aren’t. So the creeps is very much a vague feeling; the unsettling flip of the stomach when a doll stares at you from the corner of the room, the uneasiness of being alone in a house at night or the feeling of someone watching you as your reading this magazine …

James Warrender: Paranormal Investigator

How did your fascination develop after finishing school? “My interest continued for a number of years but I began to get tired of just reading about ghosts. I wanted to get out there and experience something for myself. A brief look around online and I discovered that a Scottish group were to be spending the evening at an Aberdeenshire Castle. I booked a place and soon after I was experiencing my first paranormal investigation. I can’t say that much happened that night but it had given me an insight into what “ghost hunters” did. I spent the following three years picking up investigations where I could, reading every book I could and watching any TV show with the word “ghost” or “haunted” in the title. In 2008 I briefly joined an Aberdeen based team for an investigation at the Tolbooth Museum where I met with a lot of people in the field based in the local area and got to spend the evening in a building that had always spooked me.”

What has been ing or exciting

James Warrender is a 23 year old paranormal investigator from Aberdeen who works with locally based, East of Scotland Paranormal (ESP) Investigations. He began studying the paranormal in 2003 and moved into investigations in 2005. He has appeared in television, radio and print discussing the subject and has recently released his own book, ‘Angels of the Odd, The Definitive Guide to the Paranormal.’

When did your general interest in the paranormal begin?

“I have always had an interest in the paranormal, even from a young age. I do recall my parents believing that my interest in the subject would be a passing phase and I would spend pocket money on books about ghosts and psychics. The only thing was, I was terrified of the idea of ghosts. I would read about the hauntings and I would find myself not wanting to sleep afterwards. Soon after this the topic “Life After Death” was covered in School during a Religious Education class. I was able to participate in many debates about ghosts and mediums and many other areas of the subject that I had read into myself. The school’s library had almost trebled their section on Life After Death as I kept asking for so many books to be taken in on the subject.”

your place

most interestto investigate?

“I have been very lucky to investigate so many fantastic places. The RRS Discovery is one of my favorite locations to hold an investigation. It has a rich history and has established itself as an incredibly haunted location. While investigating there in early 2013, my group and I had split up to visit different areas of the ship. Our medium, Neil and I were due to visit the cabin quarters of the ship, while we were on our way there we stopped as we had heard a strange noise. As we were listening out and trying to logically discuss what we had heard we were interrupted by a light bulb smashing just feet from us. Getting a shock, we both quickly left the area and regrouped with everyone else. The night watchman checked all the bulbs in the ship for us and not a single one was missing.”

Do you use specific techniques to try gain the best results whilst on investigations? “During my investigations with ESP Investigations, we have recently had a lot of success with a technique called Table Tipping. This is where the group places their finger tips on a table and invite any spirits around to use our energy to move it. We had been investigating together for nearly two years when we first tried this experiment and we were totally amazed with the results. At some points in the experiment we were chasing the table around the room. We attempt this experiment at least once when we visit a location and we are never disappointed. We try our hardest to show that the table is moving independently of the group by removing our hands from it one at a time and sometimes leaving just one finger on the table top.”

Have you ever been scared? “There have been investigations that I have been on that have frightened me so much that they almost caused me to leave paranormal investigation. One was at Tutbury Castle during my first visit there in January 2011. The first odd thing that happened was the sound of footsteps in the Great Hall, which was just outside the room I was in. The first time I heard them I put it down to the building settling but the second and third times I knew they were definitely there. I found my bravery and walked out into the Great Hall to have a look around. All seemed quiet. I went back into the office and sat back down. It didn’t take long before I heard a woman crying from somewhere in the building. I couldn’t tell you where it came from. All I can tell you is that it was in the building somewhere. The crying frightened me more than it really should have. But I will admit I was scared. I left the office door open so I could look out to the Great Hall when I needed to. There was definite movement out there. A black shape kept catching my eye. Like a scene from a horror the lights began to flicker. I didn’t get long to react to the lights because a very, very loud bang filled the room from the area of the fireplace and caused the stairway to shake. Unsure what to do, I decided to just stay calm and have a seat downstairs for a while. I had been sitting downstairs for a while when I realised that I had left my phone in the Great Hall so I ran up to get it. While I was up there I was about to walk out the door, back downstairs when a large dish on a table by the door slid about three feet along the table towards me. I decided that I had had enough and got my cup of tea and shut myself in the office.”

Why do you think Aberdeen has so much paranormal activity?

“I think it has to do with the history and the type of locations that the city and shire have to offer. We have locations such as The Tolbooth which has a dark history of crime and punishment. It will come as no surprise that the long since executed prisoners are still seen, chained up in the claustrophobic cells. Other places such as the castles of Aberdeenshire have a mixture of history such as life, death, loves, sorrow and tragedy. Aberdeen is noted as being the second top haunted city in Scotland, losing out to Edinburgh. Other sites reported to be haunted in Aberdeen include Provost Skene’s House where an Edwardian lady in Gray is seen walking the hall ways, the Maritime Museum where animal sounds have been heard and various other figures have been reported. The former Council Headquarters, St. Nicolas House even had a resident ghost that would use the lifts. A ghostly child that would grab people’s ankles has even been seen on Union Street. We also have a resident theatre ghost at His Majesty’s Theatre - a stage hand named Jake who was decapitated when part of a lift collapsed. He watches out for staff and performers alike to make sure they stay safe. A popular Scottish actress once missed her mark on stage, only to feel two hands grab her and push her to the right place. Seconds later a pyrotechnic went off exactly where she was standing. If those ghostly hands hadn’t moved her, she would have been badly injured, if not killed. Personally I do believe that we have the right mix of locations to merit so many ghosts. The old prisons, castles and homes all have their own stories. Another theory is “The Stone Tape Theory”. It suggests that the moments before death or a traumatic event can be recorded in stone and when the atmosphere is right, these memories are played back, almost like watching a DVD. Granite is said to be very strong stone tape material.”

Angels of the Odd is an in depth guide to the paranormal. In four parts, the book will attempt to examine as many aspects of the paranormal as possible. It is a must have for everyone from ghost hunters to those with a mild interest in life after death. Out now at Amazon. ÂŁ10.00

THE HAPPENINGS An extraordinary show from the award-winning makers of Derren Brown. The Happenings makes the unbelievable, believable, following a series of unexplained phenomena and mysterious events created by the master magicians, Barry and Stuart.

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