Ghost Hunters

Guardian ^ | 5 May 04 | Daniel Menhinnitt

[CurlyBill]

Ghost hunters

By Daniel Menhinnitt

A team of ghost hunters experienced some spooky activity when they visited a pub in Thornton Heath.

Jack Bryer and the rest of UK Paranormal Investigations spent a night at the Wheatsheaf Inn on Saturday after landlady Maria Seal told them the pub had been the site of some unexplained occurrences, including bottles moving on their own in the bar and a permanently cold boiler room.

According to Mrs Seal the pub was once a court where prisoners were held before being hanged on Thornton Heath pond, then known as Gallows Green.

The team set up recording equipment including tape recorders and camcorders to try and capture evidence of any paranormal activity on film. Mr Bryer said: "We went into the part of the pub that used to be a court room and next door - now a boiler room which used to be where the accused were held. "We set up the camcorder and tape recorder for 45 minutes and when we reviewed it there was a very faint voice which said hello."

The camcorder also recorded several orbs, lights seen on a camera but not with the naked eye which are believed to be the manifestation of a spirit.

Mr Bryer added: "We went down to the basement and we heard a shuffling sound like someone was moving a cardboard box, which the camcorder picked up as well.

"We returned to the boiler room later and all five of us started feeling sick. Using a digital camera we were able to see lots of orbs and I asked the spirit if it would move the orbs round one of the team's head, which it did. I asked the spirit to do it a couple of times and each time the orbs moved.

"This is the first time I've seen orbs move like that. I'm sure the pub is haunted."

Mrs Seal said: "I watched the recordings, and it's just unbelievable. I'm not worried though, I've been here for four years and if something scary was going to happen I think it would have by now."

3:42pm Wednesday 5th May 2004

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Damn. You freaked me out. Never again will I look at pictures of Tom Daschle in the graveyard when I'm alone and after dark...

[Moonmad27]

Oh, those ghost recordings - even thinking about them, after hearing them on Art Bell's show long ago, gives me goosebumps!

[Moonmad27]

Thanks for the ping! Scariest thing to me was the audio of the depths of the ocean liner Queen Mary on Unsolved Mysteries - those clangs and other noises when no one was on board ship were the creepiest!

[Fedora]

This looks like an interesting link on orbs:

Orb Photography

First off, our organization is made up of many members whom have differing belief systems and thoughts on the “orb” phenomena. Included here are my own, as well as our organization’s policies. Para-Researchers Of Ontario asks that due to overwhelming submissions of late ( and we thank all of those who took the time to contact us), before a photographer send us pics of “orbs” that they check to see that it fits the following criteria.- the orb must be partially obscured by an identifiable object in the foreground. . .there must also be an identifiable object depicted in the background in order to determine distance and apparent size of the “orb.” - we prefer photos taken with a 35mm camera, no flash used, and definitely an “orb” sighted with the naked eye prior to taking the photo. . .Personally, I believe there may be “something” to the phenomena. I have seen one, literally out of thousands that does conform to the above criteria. Again one out of thousands! The photo is part of study being conducted in Michigan USA -the findings of which we hope to also publish on our website. Update June 2003: You may view the "Highland Twsp. Library Orb" photo by clicking here. . .For more information on this topic we recommend Dr. Bruce Maccabee’s paper on the subject. Dr Maccabee is a physicist with an interest in paranormal topics.

[Mjaye]

Geez, just when I remember NOT to listen to Coast to Coast, these creepy recordings turn up on FR! (smile)

[lawgirl]

Cool post. I LOVE ghost hunting. I live by a cemetary and I'd love to do some ghost hunting of my own once it warms up. Another great site is www.ghoststudy.com

[Choose Ye This Day]

Sorry!

[dljordan]

I was sleeping in my parents home in Nashville, Tn. one night soon after I had gotten out of the Navy. The house was built in the early 1900's on the site where another had burned, killing a woman. I woke up for some reason and there was a woman standing over me smiling down at me. I was groggy from sleep and looked at her and said "Momma?". She then turned around and walked into the wall! She was wearing a long dress with her hair up in a bun. The strange thing was I felt no fear at all because I felt she was looking out for me for some reason. I turned the light on and left it on the rest of the night.

I was sitting on the porch a few weeks after that when my mom came out shaking and white faced. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the cat came in the bedroom and jumped up on the bed with her. That's not weird in itself except the old cat (who was my Mom's buddy) had died several weeks before. She said she didn't see anything, she just felt him jump on the bed and lay down next to her.

[gawatchman]

Same here. These threads make me want to buy a digital camcorder, and head to the cemetary to bring back my own ghost story. Need some company? No one should go ghost hunting alone. ;)

[Barnacle]

No way I'm listening to that stuff before I go to sleep. They may or may not be real. But, I'm convinced that they can be real and stuff like that creeps me out.

The ghosts I've been visited by have been benign. One was a childhood friend who died in a tragic accident.

He arrived at a wonderful summer's night party many years ago. I couldn't see him but he was there with me after being dead for about three years. It was clear that he wasn't there to enjoy the good time. He was there on a mission. The gravity of his presence zapped my good mood.

A short time later I had an irrational drive to protect a girl there who I worked with, but was not a close friend of. She was with her boyfriend and I was with my girlfriend, and so my behavior was not going over too well with them. I couldn't give a rational reason why I needed to protect the girl that night. It's not not my friend spoke to me. But, I somehow felt directed. And, I just couldn't put the pieces together.

On their way home from the party, she was killed when a car pulled out in front of their motorcycle.

My friend hasn't visited me since then. But, I won't let what people think keep me from protecting someone if he visits me again.

It just dawned on me as I write this that my friend almost certainly had been acquainted with the girl who died that night.

[lawgirl]

Come on down! Are you near Milwaukee?

[gawatchman]

Unfortunately not. I am in Georgia near Atlanta, but I have always been fascinated with the supernatural, and have really wanted to do some investigating of my own so I am willing to travel where the ghosts are. I have vacation coming up this summer in July, and thought recently about going to look for Bigfoot but I don't know about camping by myself in the deep wilderness, and what I would do if I actually found one. But seriously, hunting ghosts sounds more realistic, and just as fascinating.
Maybe I can get some equpiment together in the next couple of months, and hit your locale in my ghost quest this summer. :)

[Barnacle]

I'm not sure. And I'm a major skeptic; I don't actually believe in ghosts...but I'm not ready to say there are NO ghosts either. How's that for a waffle? Firmly perched on the ectoplasmic fence, as it were.

See if my post #50 rattles your ectoplasmic fence any.

[lawgirl]

http://ghosts.meetup.com/members/24

Check that out- there is a site meant for hooking up ghost hunters with other ghost hunters. I don't seem to find them in Milwaukee, but there is an Atlanta chapter- you lucky person!

[gawatchman]

Cool. Thanks for the info. I will have to check them out.

[tiamat]

First,

THANK YOU for your service!

;-)

I'vr heard stories along the lines of your lady with the long dress. A lot of times, if a Mom died in the house, she will appear to sick children, offering comfort the way she did in liffe to her own little ones.

There's usually never a feeling of fear with these kinds of apparitions.

I'm not surprised about Mom's cat. Beloved pets who have been with us for a long like to stay with us.

Usually you hear stories about dogs, but sometimes a cat.

[tiamat]

Oh yeah. I've seen them. Usually in broad day light.

I used to see the farmer with the boots quite often. I'd catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. Looked like a physical person standing there, but when you turn to get another look, he's gone, and all of your hair stands up.

Usually I've had interactin with kid-ghosts. I worked in a home where the little boy had died at about age 4 I had a full-time nanny slot for a family with three boys, So one night after I had put the boys to bed I'm in the kitchen doing the dishes, and I felt a kid-presence behind me, so I grinned, and said, "What are YOU doing out of bed?" and turned. No one there.

So I go down the hall to catch the kid out of bed, and my three are all sleeping soundly, ( And NO they couldn't fake well enough to fool me!LOL!)

I kept noticing inidences of this little boy's presence, usually if I was alone in the house while the kids were at school or outside, Or if I was reading out-loud to one or more of the children, there would be an "extra" child, and during those occasions, i'd sometimes get a periferal glimpse.

I finally asked one of the kids, ( who was a bit odd himself( , and ,"Oh yes, we have a ghost. He likes you."

Turns out my employer knew, too, but had said nothing because she was afriad of scaring me off and I would work for cheap.

I think the little boy did not realize he was dead, but he liked to hang around me because I give off a good "Mom vibe" and he was lonely

[Choose Ye This Day]

Whoa. Now that's the kind of ghost story I'm apt to believe. Maybe it'd be better to call it a spirit story. I believe that we are, as Sting once told us, spirits in a material world. My spirit is now dwelling in this imperfect, mortal body. When I die--it's just my body that dies; my spirit lives on. It's not inconceivable that the spirits of our departed ones can still, in some limited way, have contact with us.

I'd say your story makes sense because your friend's spirit wanted to accomplish something, wanted to help someone. I don't believe the spirits are hanging around just to scare us.

After reading this thread earlier, I just now finished watching "The Sixth Sense" again. Fascinating, entertaining and pretty plausible, especially in light of what you're telling me. Thanks for pointing out your post to me.

[zip]

ping

[Choose Ye This Day]

Wow. I guess the reason I'm still "on the fence" is because it's never happened to me. (I think I'm just jealous.) But what you're saying jives with so many others' accounts--that these spirits (I prefer that term to ghosts) are benign. They just crave human contact for some reason. Pretty cool.