Dublin Paranormal Convention 2009

I attended the first Dublin Paranormal Convention which was held last year in the very atmospheric Clontarf Castle. The Convention was marvellous, with stalls covering everything from ghosts to UFOs and guest speakers such as Steve Parsons. This year is set to be another cracker. As well as having returing speakers such as Steve Parsons, Richard Jones, Blather (Dave and Damien), Paul O’Connor (Remote Viewing), there will also be Most Haunted’s Ciaran O’Keeffe and Barry FitzGerald of Sci-Fi channel’s Ghost Hunters International (GHI).

The 2nd Dublin Paranormal Convention will take place on Saturday the 7th November 2009 in Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Dublin near St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Do go check it out!

Tickets cost €15 and can be purchased here: http://www.dublinparacon.com/

Follow the ParaCon on Twitter and Facebook:

Ouija Boards

Ouija boards as we know them came into existence as a game in the mid-1800’s, when spiritualism and channeling were fashionable. Previous to this the first historical mention of something similar to a Ouija board is found in China at around 1100 B.C.^[The word “Ouija” is a mix of the French and German words for “yes.” Adolphus Theodore Wagner first patented Ouija boards, or “talking boards,” in England in1854. In the patent, Wagner called his invention a “psychograph” and it was supposed to read people’s minds. By 1861, Frenchman, Allan Kardac, was describing the Ouija board as a tool with which to open communications with the spirit world.

Modern Ouija boards were then developed by inventor William Fuld, who sold his patent to Parker Brothers in 1966.  The Ouija boards sold by Parker Brothers consist of a rectangular game board that is covered with a woodcut-style alphabet, the words yes, no, and good-bye, and the numbers 0-9. Also included is a heart-shaped plastic planchette. The planchette is the ‘pointer’ that glides over the board under the direction of supernatural forces and form comments and questions by pointing them out.

Although marketted as a toy, there are people who believe they can be harmful. Some people believe that “evil demons” pretend to be cooperative ghosts in order to trick players into becoming spiritually possessed. Some Ouija board users claim to have had bad experiences related to their by being haunted by “demons,” seeing apparitions of spirits or hearing voices after using them. Some paranormal researchers claim that the majority of the worst cases of demon  harassment and possession are caused by the use of Ouija boards.

How does a Ouija Board work? Believers claim that humans are a channel through which the spirit can alter the world. Sceptics believe that it is all down to small and subconscious movements of the hand. This is known as the ’ideomotor effect’. Some would also argue that mediums communicate on a deep near unconscious level so it is also likely that a spirit could direct the users of a Ouija Board in a similar manner.

Although I have never used a Ouija Board myself, my mother dabbled with them as a teenager. I would probably try using one once, but having been strongly warned off them by my mother, I would not want to make a habit of it. Here is an experience my mother once had with a Ouija Board:

“Many years ago when I was about 13, I used to go out with a lad from a local town. One evening we were in his bedroom with four other friends, and we decided to play with the Ouija Board. One of the other lads was against it and refused to take part, so he sat on a chair by the wardrobe and as we asked the spirits questions he took the mickey, saying we were pushing the glass etc.
We contacted a spirit whose name was Jack and he had been a sailor. The lad by the wardobe laughed and took the mickey again, saying he knew what sailors were like and making bad comments. My boyfriend and I were amazed by the contact and asked lots of questions of this Jack, but it became difficult because of my boyfriend’s mate taking the mickey. We began to lose track of what we had said and started to ask silly things. I think the spirit became annoyed because a moment later there was a loud bang and the lad by the wardrobe had blood trickling from the side of his mouth. Well, we got out of the room and ran downstairs like hell. Once we had calmed down in the kitchen the lad told us what had happened: the bang we had heard was his head going back and hitting the wardrobe. He said that something or someone had hit him in the face, hence the blood and the cut lip. Well it was not any of us that did it! To this day I will never forget it and the look on the lad’s face. We never played with the Ouija Board again in that house and my boyfriend burnt all the letters and the board. Very strange indeed.”

 

Ouija – By Sylvia Plath
It is a chilly god, a god of shades,
Rises to the glass from his black fathoms.
At the window, those unborn, those undone
Assemble with the frail paleness of moths,
An envious phosphorescence in their wings.
Vermillions, bronzes, colors of the sun
In the coal fire will not wholly console them.
Imagine their deep hunger, deep as the dark
For the blood-heat that would ruddlr or reclaim.
The glass mouth sucks blooh-heat from my forefinger.
The old god dribbles, in return, his words.

The old god, too, write aureate poetry
In tarnished modes, maundering among the wastes,
Fair chronicler of every foul declension.
Age, and ages of prose, have uncoiled
His talking whirlwind, abated his excessive temper
When words, like locusts, drummed the darkening air
And left the cobs to rattle, bitten clean.
Skies once wearing a blue, divine hauteur
Ravel above us, mistily descend,
Thickening with motes, to a marriage with the mire.

He hymns the rotten queen with saffron hair
Who has saltier aphrodisiacs
Than virgins’ tears. That bawdy queen of death,
Her wormy couriers aer at his bones.
Still he hymns juice of her, hot nectarine.
I see him, horny-skinned and tough, construe
What flinty pebbles and ploughable upturns
As ponderable tokens of her love.
He, godly, doddering, spells
No succinct Gabriel from the letters here
But floridly, his amorous nostalgias.

Guardian Angels

A guardian angel is an angel appointed to protect and guide a particular person. Whether there is one angel for each person, one angel for several people or several angels for one person is open to question. The belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout history and can be found in many cultures and religions; from the ancient Greeks, to Islam, to Judaism, to Christianity.  Belief in both the East and the West is that guardian angels protect the person to whom they are assigned and present prayers to God on that person’s behalf. The Catholic Church’s calendar of saints includes a memorial for the guardian angels on October 2 every year.

According to “Encounters of the Angelic Kind” at Future365 (now defunct), “they intercept at many junctures in our lives and help wherever they can to make our lives run smoothly. Sometimes this is by inspiring a thought to spur us into action, at others it is to lend us super-human strength, such as in the case of a woman being able to lift a car long enough to free her trapped child. Or we hear of a runaway truck, with an unconscious driver at the wheel, inexplicably swerving sharply at the last moment to avoid a bus stop queue of people. In fact, there are many instances, which are often put down to luck, coincidence or even a miracle, but which have the touch of a hand of light behind it.”

The only “evidence” we have for the existence of guardian angels is the long religious tradition such as stories from the Bible and the many personal anecdotes from people who believe these protectors have affected their lives. Fundamentally, angels are most often a matter of faith.

This is the traditional Catholic prayer to one’s guardian angel.

Angel of God, my guardian dear

to whom God’s love commits me here.

Ever this day/night be at my side

to light, to guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

Guardian angels are rarely known to make a physical appearance, however there are ways that they may make their presence known. “Some people say that they hear angelic sounds totally beyond human description,” according to the article “Angels” at Future365. “Others have a feeling of sudden warmth or comfort, or, in times of sadness or grief, a gentle cloak of feathered wings wrapping softly around them. Sometimes angel energy may feel entirely different – like a sudden rush of air created by the passing by of an ‘angel on a mission’ at the speed of light. This is often noticed at times of impending disaster. At other times, simply an inexplicable presence is felt.”

Some individuals also believe that guardian angels may be the spirits of close family members or of people who were close to you while in life. I first heard this theory after recounting an event that happened to me in 2008.

I was living in my parent’s house in Ballydehob, Cork. The house is a farm house of between 100-200 years of age, which has ’sheds’ attached to it which are in fact the remains of the much older original farmhouse. The house feels generally comfortable, but I had often felt ‘watched’ by an unseen presence at night and felt uncomfortable in the room designated as my bedroom.

One night I was asleep in bed when I woke briefly to see a very tall, thin man with white hair standing beside my bed. He was wearing an old fashioned grey suit, perhaps in the style of the 1940s/ 1950s. Next to him was a small boy in even older style dress. I then calmly just slipped back to sleep. I woke the next day not knowing if this was a dream or an actual waking event.

A few months later I had the exact same experience, except all I saw was the tall elderly man beside my bed. I once again felt calm and slipped back to sleep. I woke and once again was unsure as to if this had all been a dream, although I found it unusual that the man should look exactly the same in both dreams. I put it down to being either a dream or perhaps a spirit, as I had felt uneasy while alone in some parts of the house previous to this.

My great great grandparents, Laurence and Kathleen

However, since then I have told only a handful of people about the experience and several of those who I did tell mentioned that these could have been visits from my guardian angel. I was asked if I had any close family members who had died  who it could have been and, luckily, I have very few. This did get me to thinking about the appearance of the man beside the bed and it does remind me very much of my great great grandfather. However, I did not know him in life as he died well before I was born and he would have had no link with this location in Cork, having been born in Kilkenny and dying in the north of England.

There have been times in my life where I believe a guardian angel could have been smiling down on me and protecting me, so I wonder if this was in fact my great great grandfather? Perhaps it was he who was visiting me, maybe with the spirit of a child inhabiting the house, and keeping watch over me?  I will never know unless I see this while fully conscious. Until then it is all a matter of faith.

Ross Castle with Bumpz, Co.Meath, October 2009

So once again I found myself at Ross Castle, this time helping to guide a paranormal investigation with BumpzInTheNite. It was a small investigation of only 6 people in total including myself. However, three of the individuals attending considered themselves ’sensitives’.

We started off in the top tower room where I had previously experienced a lot of activity in the form of knocks, bangs and growls. However, on this night it was very quiet. We did hear a sound like talking from outside the door, but upon inspection we put this down to the water tank gurgling and filling up. Temperature fluctuations were experienced near the bed and two individuals saw what they thought was a shadow passing across the window nearest the bed, crossing in front of the bed post.

Next was the lower tower bed room. Here one of the attendees began to feel very unwell with a headache. I experienced something tickling me on my back and there was nobody sitting close to me. Another female attendee experiences something tickling her arm. The three sensitives, including myself, sensed a menacing male presence in the room. Upon asking the presence if it wanted us to leave the fellow who was experiencing a headache was slapped on the back of his neck by unseen hands, as if to communicate that he was no longer welcome.

We moved down to the tower sitting room. The two females sat together and began to feel a female presence near them, one of them believing she was being tickled on the arm. The room was generally very cold, but there was a cold spot in front of the two females, which seemed to move when males moved near. The sensitives in the room felt the spirit of a small woman and a child in the room. There was also still the ominous presence of the male energy on the stairs, as if he had followed us from the room above and was watching us with keen interest. In this room a chair was seen to move very slightly and there were a few tapping on the stairs.

The unpleasant presence on the stairs slowly began to grow stronger and it was then that I had a very unusual and frightening experience. I am not sure if it was due to some hidden psychic abilities on my part or just my mind playing tricks due to the atmosphere of tension, but all I know is that I found it very unpleasant. I began to feel an overwhelming sadness and tears began to well up in my eyes. I felt that this was the emotion of one of the female spirits in the room being transferred to me, possibly that of the little girl. Shortly after this I began to shake uncontrollably as if afraid, although I myself didn’t feel afraid. It was as if I was experiencing the emotions of another person. I called out to the little girl in the room and asked her if she had been hurt in someway in life by the man on the stairs and received a tap in confirmation. I asked her if she was trying to tell me she was afraid of him and received another tap in confirmation.

We had spent a fair amount of time in this room so it was decided to take a break. However, I was still shaking and the shaking became worse when I left this room. All three of the sensitives felt that we should return to the room as we felt the spirit was seeking our protection. We felt guilt for abandoning it. We spent another few minutes in the sitting room where we made it known to the presence on the stairs that we would not be intimidated and that was would protect the child.

It was then decided that we should take a break as everyone felt drained. Following the break we began to investigate the ground floor rooms. We started off in the Green Room. Here we heard tapping and shuffling in the corridor and sensed a presence outside the door. I asked the presence outside the door if it wanted us to leave the room so it could enter and heard a tap. We left there and decided to investigate the corridor. But then we sensed that whatever had been in the corridor had in fact left and gone into the Green Room as it requested!

We next investigated the Yellow Room. Here one of our party felt very unwelcome and threatened and believed he sensed a man watching angrily from the corner of the room. Another person felt that the presence was a ‘grumpy old man’. All of us agreed that the atmosphere in the room felt unpleasant, so we left and moved on to the en-suit room. Upon entering the corridor on the way to the en-suit room, one of us felt a tap on the arm. In the en- room people felt very uncomfortable near the window, as they felt as if something was in the corner of the room near the curtain. It was not a negative energy, but just unpleasant as if a trickster was there waiting to pull a trick. Three of us even did not want to hang our feet over the edge of the bed as it felt like someone would pull our feet from underneath it!

Following another break we decided to return to the lower tower bedroom and the sitting room. In the lower tower bedroom the atmosphere felt more threatening than before. Three of us began to experience headaches and I even began to get an earache. At around the same time one of our party, the one who had felt unwell in this room previously, experienced a slap to the side of his head. It was as if the male presence was showing off his power. This was his place and we were not welcome. We all agreed that whatever was in this room did not want us there and it was unsafe to linger, so we moved back to the sitting room.

Back in the sitting room it at first felt very calm. But after a while one of our party sensed a powerful energy at the top of the stairs. He felt that it was watching us, but he did not know its intention. He felt that it may have been building up its energy to do something. We believed this spirit to be ’scraggy’. We also once again felt the presence of the child, but it was calm.

I believe that ’scraggy’ was in fact at the top of the stairs protecting us and the child spirit from the threatening presence in the lower tower room. However, the story is that ’scraggy’ likes to play unpleasant trick for its own enjoyment, so we did all feel on edge. The room itself felt calm and we did feel that ’scraggy’ was in charge and keeping the malevolent male presence at bay. So much so we even thank ’scraggy’ before we left the room.

We wrapped up the investigation here at around 3am, all of us feeling drained of energy and somewhat afraid of the place!

For my part I can’t explain what happened to me when I felt sad, threatened and was shaking, but it was very powerful. The thing that interested me most about this investigation is that we had decided to hold back telling the guests any of the stories attached to the location in order to limit suggestion. But they still picked up on things, such as the unpleasant man on the stairs and the woman and child, which I had experienced with other mediums in this location. I had also previously experienced scraggy’s protective influence and clash with the ‘man on the stairs’ with another medium. I also spoke to the family who run the castle and they told us many people had picked up on the presence on the stairs. Even their youngest son had recently told a guest to be careful of ‘the man on the stairs’ because he ‘tries to push you’. It is all anecdotal evidence, but surely too much of a coincidence?

Ross Castle: http://www.ross-castle.com/

BumpzInTheNite: http://www.bumpzinthenite.com/

Wicklow Gaol, ‘The Gates of Hell’, September 2009

Proclaimed as one of the most haunted places in Ireland, Wicklow Gaol has a history of cruelty and shame. Built in 1702 and finally closed in 1924, it was locally known as ‘The Gates of Hell’. Within its walls were penned in thousands of prisoners during the Great Famine, the 1798 Rebellion and the War of Independence. Conditions inside the gaol were harsh and inhospitable meaning that many inmates died from maltreatment, starvation and disease. It is currently once again open and now functioning as a tourist spot offering the ‘Wicklow Gaol Experience’. Meanwhile the lost souls who breathed their last within its walls still walk its corridors.

The investigation began around 10pm with a talk about equipment and the history of the place. We then did a walk around, spending 10-15 minutes in each location, such as the solitary confinement cell. In the hall near the geneology office there was some activity. I myself felt as if there was a male presence in the geneology room, looking in through the window in the door with interest. The presence didn’t feel menacing, it felt more as if curious. Other members saw shadows moving across this window as if someone was walking behind the door. One female also believed she heard breathing close to her face Another interesting area was in the room decorated to look like the deck of a transportation ship. Inside the cabin several individuals began to feel ill, including myself. I began to feel nauseous and headachey, the headache only dissipating upon leaving this area for a break.

After the walk around we split off into two groups. We started off in the cells. The first cell we entered was due to my choice as I had felt a presence in it earlier in the walk around. Shortly after sitting down on the bed I experienced what felt like someone tugging my trouser leg and not long after it felt as if someone was stroking my arm and shoulder. I couldn’t feel a breeze at the time, which may have caused the sensation, although unfortunately we did not have time to return to this cell to double check.

We investigated another couple of cells following this, but there was no activity noticed. We then went up to the rooms made to look like a transportation ship. In the cabin area I once again began to feel sick and headachey, so much so I had to sit outside the cabin. I called out here and there were a few low thuds in response. I also sensed a male presence. I very much felt that it was the same presence as I felt in the hall. It was as if he was following and watching us with interest. Another thing of interest about this area was that several people complain about the batteries of their equipment running low. My camera batteries were fully charged prior to entering this area, and while inside they were reduced to only one quatre capacity. It seemed as if something here, either a presence or something to do with the atmosphere, was sucking out energy; including the energy of the investigators as people were complaining of feeling sick here.

Finally we went down to the bottom of the gaol to the old laundry room, now decorated to look like a school house. Here I called out and during this a growl was heard. This was at around 1:15am. We also heard a short sound of what could have been a female child’s voice humming. Here an EVP session was done with questions. A couple of us saw the light underneath the kitchen door block out several times as if someone was walking in front of it. We opened up this door to see if there was anyone there, but the kitchen was empty.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to return to some of the places we wanted to investigate further. It was, however, a very interesting investigation.

The night following the investigation I also had a very unusual dream. In the dream I saw a young teenage girl wearing a sack like garment being held by two people as they chopped off her lovely long wavy brunette hair. I don’t know if the dream was the result of suggestion or perhaps due to a psychic link with the location. But as I was refered to casually as ‘the psychic girl’ on this investigation, perhaps these visions are less to do with suggestion than I thought.

I enjoyed this investigation very much as the building was of great historical interest to me and I experiences a little paranormal activity. I would very much like to explore this location again, but perhaps with more time allowed.

Visit Wicklow Gaol: http://www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com/

Ross Castle Investigation, 29th August 2009

Following the last investigation here where we appeared to have a lot of activity, a new investigation was set up in a rush. This investigation was to include a medium, a sound expert and historian.

However, the investigation yielded few results. The most we found was a bathroom door handle moving while someone was in there and everyone else was in the living room and an eerie feeling in the hallway and en-suite room.

Although there was little activity, this was interesting in itself. It seems to show how if ghosts exist, they do not perform for us upon demand.

The most interesting thing yielded from this investigation was a set a photos taken in the eerie hallway, which showed a blue-green light anomaly which appeared to move positions in the photos.

Some people believe such light anomalies, or ‘orbs’, are the first instances of energy building up by a spirit attempting to appear.

These pictured were shown to experts who advised me of the natural causes:

“it is likely to be a little lens flare, which is probably caused by the bounced flash in the mirror at the end of the hall and as a result of the angle of your shooting.”

See below for the photos:

 

Spirit Animals

I was recently on an on-line forum where a member was questioning the existence of animal ghosts. This got me to thinking about the subject of animal spirits.

I agree with the possibility that the spirits of animals may linger on. We humans are also animals after all, so why should there not be the possibility of animal ghosts too?

My childhood pet was a cat called Sooty. She lived a until a very good age, dying when I was around 15 years old. When she was alive she had a preference for sitting on the back of the sofa near my head. Kind of like a fluffy feline head-warmer. After she passed away I often got a sense that she was sitting in her regular position on the back of the chair, keeping me company. And then I remembered that she was in fact dead! I had this feeling on numerous occasions. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling though. It was quite a peaceful and comforting feeling to have her there.

My other childhood pet was a cat called Dingle. He was half Persian and half regular moggy. He had a dish face and extra long claws, which used to pick along the carpet noisely as he walked. When Dingle was alive he could be heard picking his way up the stairs and he would often yowl outside my parent’s room or sometimes my room when he wanted a midnight snack or to go outside.  Dingle also lived to a grand old age and died when I was around 18 years old. After Dingle passed away, he could often be heard doing this same routine at night. I certainly heard him picking his way up the stairs with his long claws many times in the dead of night, and both my mother and father heard the same, plus on one occasion his yowl. Even my father who is a total skeptic remarked that it often seemed like Dingle and Sooty were still with us.

Our family have moved away from there now, but I still wonder if Dingle and Sooty are keeping a new family company in the house they loved so much while alive.

Ross Castle Mayhem, Co.Meath, August 2009

Following my vow never to return to Ross Castle after my first visit, here I am again for a paranormal investigation!

This time I brought with me a little amulet containing religious symbols I bought in Jerusalem and I wore a crucifix around my neck. It is amazing how religious an atheist becomes when they are afraid. Anyway, these little protection devices helped me to feel braver in this spooky location.

Before the investigation proper began we had some activity, such as a loud bang from the corridor near the green room. Three of us checked for open windows that could have allowed a breeze to slam a door, but the breeze we felt did not quite seem strong enough to make the heavy doors in this corridor slam. We also heard the doorbell ring twice and upon inspection it was clear that the bell was in fact broken.

After nightfall the investigation began in the tower, starting in the sitting-room there. Two of the group called out and a presence was sensed in the room. It was also agreed that movement had been seen on the stairs. The room also noticeably fluctuated in temperature.

We moved on from this room and continued the investigation in the next bedroom. Here one of us got the impression of a man pacing up and down near the bed, holding his head in his hands in his anxiety. The presence of a female was also felt near the entrance to the bathroom, and several of us believed that we could see a thin white mist or light in that doorway. When I and another person on the bed called out to evoke a response, we felt a chill pass near the bed. Interestingly some of us also saw a form of a cat walking beside the bed.

Next was the top tower room. I sat on the bed and as soon as I sat down I felt something gently stroke my arm. I asked the person nearest to me if they had touched me and they responded in the negative. This unnerved me slightly, but it hardened my resolve to do some calling out in here. Several of us took turns calling out to the spirits, but it seemed that whatever wanted to communicate had taken a bit of a fancy to my voice and was responding well to me. We heard loud knocks on the radiator, when asked to knock on the radiator, banging on the roof and knocks from outside the door. At one point it appeared that a presence had entered the room and was forming a white mist or light near the wardrobe. I felt it was a female presence. I asked this presence to knock on the wardrobe or do something to make itself known and the girl sitting nearest to the wardrobe was then poked in the arm. Not long after this it was decided we should leave the room as several members were becoming fearful.

After a break we proceeded to the green room and set up a recorder for EVPs. Here we were all laughing and in high spirits, and not much happened. Either because there was nothing present or we simply were not paying good enough attention. However, one of the group did remark that they heard music, like that of a harpsichord. I also sensed that something was watching us with interest from the window.

Following this a few of us went to the large en-suite room. Earlier in the day there had been possible poltergeist activity, as shoes had been moved. However, the session in this room yielded no activity.

Finally it was decided to work in the top tower room again. This time a recorder was set up for EVPs. I was requested to do most of the calling out as whatever wanted to communicate with me had been responding well to my voice. Upon request it seemed there were fast rappings and bangings on the roof and on the radiator. There were also rappings from outside the door. One of the team asked questions for the EVP recording and whatever was present seemed to answer these questions with rhythmic tappings.

 For example, it was asked “Did you live in this castle?”

Response: several short raps in fast succession.

“Did you like living in this castle?”

Response: several loud, almost excited, rappings in fast succession

“Would you like us to leave?”

Response: silence

As I was getting a good response I continued asking whatever was there to communicate audibly. At one point there was a growl that we all heard. I, however, thought it was somebody’s stomach rumbling and carried on unaware to be told later that it was not actually anybodies stomach. If I had known it as a growl, I think I would not have been able to carry on due to fear.

We ended the paranormal investigation at around 4am and the rest of the night was used for socialising. During the night, when people were trying to sleep, one of the group heard something tapping on the window and another saw a chair in the living-room move on its own. For my part I felt temperature drops in the green room.

The following day it was discovered that the person who slept in the tower room had an unusual bruise on his chest and had no recollection of how it got there. Also, a photo taken of the same person in the tower room showed two interesting bright blue orbs to his chest area (see photo.)

All in all this was a very enjoyable investigation, with lots of activity. I also felt much braver than I had during earlier investigations, so I must be building up my constitution. However, I was slightly bemused as to why spirits took a fancy to my voice in particular. It seemed both in Duncannon Fort and here in Ross I got direct responses to my voice. I would like to do more investigations in future, playing a more active role, so I can see if I am in fact sensitive to spirits or able to attract them into communication.

Creepy Convent, Co. Cavan, August 2009

In daylight hours we visited an ominous looking abandoned convent in Co. Cavan. This was not so much of an investigation, rather more a walk around to take photos and gain an impression of the place.

We headed to the basement first, which was pitch black. The majority of the basement level felt fine, but one particular corridor and the large room it led to felt particularly unpleasant.  Orbs were to be seen in the corridor, but these could have been due to dust or flying insects. The large room felt very creepy and one of the group remarked that it felt like people had been punished here.

We moved on to the upper levels which included the cells of the nuns and a possible boarding school area. Throughout the walk around here we heard loud banging of doors, which was most probably due to the wind. However while descending one particular staircase two of the group believed that they had heard whispering voices. I did not hear anything myself, but I do know I got goosebumps while descending those stairs.

This location was very interesting and it seems shameful that it is standing there disused. It also appears to be a place which could do with further investigation, particularly on that staircase and in the basement.

Paranormal Experience, Wroxham, Norfolk, UK

I have been interested in the paranormal since I was a young teenager, but have not had any experiences myself until recently. However, I began to become more open to the possibility of ghosts after seeing my mother the morning after she had an experience. She came back from work the day after a sleepover and looked a wreck. She also wouldn’t talk about her experience for several weeks. Here is her story:
 
It was just an ordinary day at work, I worked as an assistant manager in a small care home for the elderly. I used to start work at 2 pm, sleep in the building in a small flat at night and resume work the next day at 7.30 am.There were 22 elderly residents in the care home and at night two night staff who stayed awake.
 
One night several years ago I went to bed as usual, in the small flat which had been converted from the old stable block. The building was over 100 years old. It had been a private  house, and then a hotel, but had been a care home for at least 50 years.

The bedroom had two single beds, a dressing table and a wardrobe. The window on the right looked over the driveway to the building which was surrounded by trees.

I lay in bed reading a magazine. It was about 1 am. All was quiet. There was no wind and the door to the bedroom was locked, I became aware of a movement in the room and looking over the top of my magazine I saw a grey misty sort of thing in the middle of the room. Well my heart stopped, I am sure! I lowered my mag and watched as the misty grey stuff took on a shape. I was actually paralysed with fear. I am sure my mouth was hanging open, and I felt as if i could not move.

My brain was trying to rationalise the shape. I never smoked in tht room so it was not smoke. ‘Maybe it was car headlights in the drive way, or a reflection from the wardrobe mirror’, I told myself, continually watching as the grey mist took on the shape of a person. I was still staring at it trying to make out what it was when it seemed to take a step forward, or move forward anyway.

Well suddenly nature took over and it as flight or fright and I was out of that bed and fumbling for the key in the lock. As soon as the door opened I was down the stairs two at a time, without looking back and I ran through the downstairs door,  ran along the corridor and into ther kitchen where I found a very surprised nightstaff !

The rest of the night Islept in another room and only went back with the nightstaff to get my clothes in the morning.  There was no sign of anything unusual in the room.

Later discussing the incident with my collegues, the other assistant said that she had often heard banging and felt odd in that room, and one of the staff said there was presumed to be the ghost of a young german stablehand in the flat, as he had hung himself in the stable sometime doing the war. Apparently he was a prisoner of war and did not want to go home, but whether this was true or not I do not know.

Many strange things had been seen and felt in the old building. I had other experiences there: the sound of children crying and things being rearranged while I slept. One of the staff had often felt someone brush past her in the hall and one of the staff would never go up to the flat for any money; she said it was creepy. I took the advice of the local vicar and left a bible by the bed and a glass of water and I was never bothered again, just the occasional odd noise thereafter.