Weather Forecast: Sunny intervals and clear overnight
Temperature:
Maximum: 23°c
Minimum: 14°c
Wind Speed and Direction: 14mph South Easterly
Visibility: Moderate to good
Pressure: 1005 - 1009 Mb
Humidity: 66 - 96 %
20.15hrs: Arriving at Woodchester
We arrived at Woodchester Mansion where 2 members of the Gloucester Paranormal Research Group (GPRG) - Chris and Colin met us at the gates. They were to be present in order to supervise the evening. We parked at the rear of the Mansion and were led to the allocated base room by the GPRG members. Darkness had already engulfed the mansion and its grounds.
There were 6 persons present:
1.Tina
2.Theresa
3.Amanda
4.Wiccandelight
5.Deborah
6.Gloria
20.45pm: Becoming acquainted with Woodchester Mansion
The members of GPRG took us on a guided tour around the Mansion in order for us to become acquainted with the rooms, as much of the Mansion was under construction and some rooms were lacking in flooring, we needed to be aware of health and safety issues. During this initial walk around, various members of the group began to have experiences e.g. hair being played with (tactile), voices and laughter being heard (auditory), a torch flickered off and on (visual) and a floral and cigar scent (olfactory). None of the experiences could be explained. On completion of the guided tour of the Mansion, we returned to the base room in order to prepare for the nights investigation. It was decided at this point, that we were to remain together throughout the night and not split up for health and safety reasons.
22.21pm: Vigil 1
The first room investigated was the ornamental bathroom on the first floor where we set trigger object 1 (see appendix 3). Whilst setting up the trigger object, the group could hear children’s voices in the corridor outside the bathroom, as though they were giggling and laughing - we were unable to explain what had caused the sounds despite investigation. A young man of 24 - 27 years of age wearing a white, crumpled shirt with his sleeves rolled up was seen by Natalie as he ran from the right of the staircase leading up on to the upper level of the first floor, to the left, and then he disappeared. On inspection, we did not find any persons present, leaving this experience unexplained.
We then moved on to the upper first floor corridor, but could not see this man. Amanda then began to feel pins and needles, and a rustling could be heard in the end room on the right. Using torchlight to light the room in order to investigate the room from the doorway (due to unstable flooring we could not enter this room), Natalie found that her torch went off momentarily and then came back on, no explanation can be found for this. Trigger object 2 (see appendix 3) was then set up on the first floor, end of corridor windowsill; there was very little to no draught felt from cracks in the windows, and due to the weight of the coins on the paper it would not affect the experiment.
We continued up on to the second floor of Woodchester Mansion, after being there only a few moments, everyone felt uneasy. Theresa acknowledged the presence of a gentleman; at the same time, Amanda felt she had been touched on the back by the top of the stairs. Both Amanda and Gloria began to have problems with their digital cameras, which had previously been working fine. We congregated by the stairs near the window at the end of the corridor, a loud breath was heard at the other end of the corridor. We stood quietly and asked out for this spirit to make the sound again, another breath was heard and the temperature felt as though it was dropping. A 1°c difference was noted between one end of the corridor and the other (NB/ the higher temperature was nearer the open window). Theresa continued to sense the presence of this individual and asked to open a circle. Amanda sensed he was tall, dark and to be around 53 years of age. Natalie was touched on the hand at this point. A set of observations were taken in the corridor showing the humidity to be 68% and the temperature to be 25.7°c at the end of the corridor where we were stood; then at the other end of the corridor, the temperature was 25.4°c and humidity was 69%. No EMF fluctuations were noted. More loud breaths could be heard so Tina asked if the spirit in the corridor owned the building - or if the building was his; Natalie then identified a man whispering “yeah”. Another breath was heard, and a light anomaly was seen by the naked eye. Natalie walked down to the end of the corridor where the breaths appeared to be emanating from. She stated that there was no one in the corridor, as she turned she heard a noise which made her go back, it was at this point she felt the man breathe in her ear and could feel the breath on her face. Several more harsh breaths were heard, but the energy seemed to be going flat, so we decided to go back to the base room and set up for another vigil elsewhere in the mansion.
On the way back to the base room footsteps were heard following us down the stairs from the second floor, yet there was no one there on investigation. We checked both sets of trigger objects and found that movement had occurred with the trigger object 2, so we left it set up, but no movement had occurred with the pentagram, and so the pentagram was dismantled and removed. While standing near the door, Tina, Amanda and Natalie heard the sound of horses coming down the drive; they could hear the hooves clearly. Amanda also heard men talking out in the corridor and Natalie had someone whisper in her ear “witch”. The jangling of keys was noted on the way down the stairs by the bathroom and the presence of someone sitting on the large windowsill with their legs crossed. We returned to the base room to prepare for our next vigil. During the break, Amanda witnessed a white, human sized figure cross the lawn and then disappear.
00.05am: Vigil 2
The second vigil took place in the cellar, Gloria had not felt easy in the cellar on the walk around and so she chose to remain in the base room. Baseline observations were taken in the cellar (see Appendix 2). The atmosphere in the cellar felt quite flat, with no apparent activity. Natalie was tapped on the shoulder and Amanda was pushed in the centre cavern of the cellar, movement was then heard in the next cavern. The temperature was noted to be 11.1°c; the humidity 66% and the EMF read 0. We all felt cold, and found that the temperature had begun to drop. Theresa felt as though her head was heavy, like she had a headache. The humidity appeared to be rising as it was now recorded to be 74%. We moved in to the small room at the end of the cellar and Natalie felt someone poke her in the back, and as she turned around to see what was behind her, the EMF meter went off (unable to record reading), this occurred twice with no obvious explanation for the EMF to rise so suddenly in that area. Tina felt as though there were cobwebs on her face, and Natalie felt as though she had palpitations. Amanda received the name Josephine. Natalie felt as though she was touched again and a rush of air passed her. Tina suggested sitting on the stairs as she felt we might be invading the spirits space and we might have more chance of communication if we sat on the stairs. Tina and Amanda sat on the top steps, Deborah half way down and then Theresa and Natalie sat at the bottom. As Tina called out to the spirits within the cellar, a lamp began to flash next to Deborah and continued to flash (sometimes in relation to the questions being asked) throughout the vigil. There was no reason for this, and GPRG later stated that it should not have done that as the lamp had been turned off much earlier. A clicking noise could be heard coming from the cellar; we had mostly auditory phenomena to start with. Theresa began to sense a well-dressed gentleman about 5ft 6inches of a slim build, proud man and well dressed. Natalie sensed him also and felt that he had a moustache, Theresa confirmed this. Amanda felt his name might have been Geoffrey. Both Tina and Amanda felt as though they had cobwebs all over them, they heard a distinct cry, some tapping and movement of cooking pans. Theresa felt that this man would have been between 40 and 50 years of age - the image of his father, also that his name might have been Francis. Natalie got the name Robert, but didn’t feel it was a first name. The temperature began to drop further; Theresa’s face was cold. The temperature was recorded to be 13.13°c. Both Theresa and Natalie felt that this man had brown hair, wavy and swept to the side. Natalie could see the male’s dark shadow standing at the foot of the stairs, every now and then he would put his hand on the banister, which caused part of the banister to disappear. Theresa felt that he was beginning to leave and with that the temperature began to climb. Natalie felt a tingling on her left hand and tapping/footsteps were heard behind Amanda and Tina who felt that someone had walked past. The energy of this man had left us, and so we made our way back to the base room to collect Gloria.
It was then decided to set up a Dictaphone in the chapel area and leave it to record; Tina, Natalie and Gloria set it up. Walking along that corridor they felt as though there were many eyes watching them. They took photos of the corridor where the tool room is situated, yet no anomalies were caught. Natalie sensed movement at the end of the corridor and went to investigate, yet found nothing. The group, which had congregated at the backdoor, stated that the door had been moving on its own, and that there had been a rustling in the bushes just outside the backdoor. It was decided to go through the kitchen area and past the tearooms on the way back to the base room, as we had not been down that area as yet. Natalie was at the rear of the group with Deborah, as they stepped out of the kitchen in to the corridor a shuffling was heard behind them. On inspection - there appeared to be no one there, and no anomalies were captured on camera. We entered the tearooms and Amanda felt as though she had seen the place before, she described what appeared to be a breakfast room for the family, she described the walls, the flooring and the fireplace. As a result of this we decided to carry out our third vigil in the tearooms. The thunder and lightening began at around 01.40am despite it not being forecasted, there was an obvious shift in the energies at the mansion, and an air of expectancy began to accumulate.
02.00am: Vigil 3
We left the base room and made our way around to the tearooms, we began our third vigil at 02.00am approximately. We aimed to attempt glass divination, automatic writing using a planchette and Scrying using a large mirror we had brought with us. Tina, Natalie, Amanda and Gloria were involved in the glass divination experiment, Deborah filmed the vigil and Theresa concentrated on communicating with any sprits present. Tina called out for any spirits present to communicate with us, and initially it did not appear that the glass was moving at all. Then it began to twist slightly and move towards yes. Natalie felt she saw a male face in the window behind Theresa, he had sandy blonde hair, very pale with rosy cheeks, she felt he was around 30 years of age. Theresa began to sense a young female named Charlotte, she was around 18 - 22 years of age, Natalie sensed the girl standing behind Amanda, she had a pale dress on which was plain looking, she hung her head low and had dark coloured hair. The young girl was quite a weak energy and so communication was quite difficult using the glass, so it was decided to use the planchette and see if that would help. Natalie used the planchette first, the planchette did not look or feel like it was moving, but small movements had occurred. Theresa felt she had been a nurse, but had problems with her hand. Natalie felt that the young girl had the last 2 fingers on her right hand missing, and that she had been an auxiliary nurse, cleaning the bedpans etc. Theresa said the young girl was sad and Amanda noticed that Natalie’s eyes were full ready to cry. Natalie kept hearing the young girl crying or laughing. Gloria took over the planchette, then Amanda and then Tina. A small silhouette figure of what appears to be a ladies outline was drawn, despite persons feeling as though the planchette wasn’t moving. At around 02.30am, it was decided to return to the base room and refresh ourselves as the whole group felt that there was something going to happen. But thankfully the lightening seemed to be moving away. During the break, Natalie felt she could still hear the young girl (Charlotte) crying or laughing outside in the corridor, on investigation; there was no one there.
03.15am: Vigil 4
For this vigil, Tina felt we needed to investigate the main staircase area. We positioned ourselves along the stairs, Deborah at the top with Gloria, Amanda and Tina half way down, and Natalie and Theresa at the bottom of the stairs. We sat in silence, as Tina called out; Natalie and Theresa felt that there was someone standing at the foot of the staircase, a soldier. Natalie also felt that there were many people stood there, waiting to go up the stairs, so it was decided to move to the edges of the steps so that there was area to walk between us. Lightening sparked outside and lit the stairway up, and Tina felt she had seen someone standing outside the window, with that the thunder pounded and a door slammed shut upstairs, all persons were accounted for at this point. Natalie and Theresa went to the bottom of the stairs to see if they could communicate with the soldier who remained in the corridor, Natalie described his uniform to be a red jacket with brass buttons, with white straps forming a cross over his chest, she felt that he wore black riding style boots, and that his trousers may have been white; she felt that his hat was an unusual shape. Natalie asked the man to come closer to her and communicate and she heard footsteps on the bottom step beside her. Both Theresa and Natalie stepped out in to the corridor and they heard footsteps walking towards them, Amanda sensed that the man would have been a Colonel Geoffrey. Amanda then began to pick up on a lady standing at the top of the stairs, her name was Rebecca Ducie, and Amanda felt that the lady was afraid and quietly spoken. Theresa and Tina went up to the top of the stairs to stand with Amanda, while Natalie and Gloria sat on the window ledge at the bottom of the stairs. Amanda continued to communicate with the lady at the top of the stairs. Gloria had a feeling of nausea, and felt she could hear the soldier in the room adjacent to the stairs, footsteps could be heard walking in that room, and then walking towards us. Natalie felt that the soldier was shouting orders in her face, but she could not understand what he was saying.
04.10am: Vigil 5 (The finale)
For our 5th vigil, Gloria chose to remain in the base room (as she felt nauseated still), while Tina took us towards the tearooms; Natalie saw Amanda being superimposed as a dark robed monk with a pure white face in the large mirror, which was positioned against the wall near the front door. Theresa, Deborah and Tina had gone in to the area of the porch, while Natalie looked down the corridor towards the tearooms. She saw a bright blue female apparition standing by the stairs, the apparition flew forward towards her and she jumped in to the porch taking Amanda with her. Amanda had seen a white apparition standing just past the base room, and alerted Natalie and Tina to it, and then she looked past Natalie and saw the blue apparition also. 2 people saw the blue apparition and 3 saw the white apparition. Natalie also saw the shadow of a large monk about 5 feet 10 inches tall or more standing alongside the white apparition at the other end of the corridor. We later found out, that at that exact moment, the buildings clock tower had been struck by lightening even though the storm had passed the area. Quite shaken by the experience, we returned to the base room to share the experience of what we had just seen with Gloria. We then decided to pack up and get ready to leave. We collected trigger object 2 and found that the coins had moved again. Then we collected the equipment we had left earlier in the tearooms. At 04.30am we left Woodchester.
Conclusion
Many of the auditory, visual, tactile and olfactory experiences cannot be explained, nor accounted for - they remain a mystery to us. Due to the dust being kicked up off the floor, most light anomalies were easily explained, though there remain a few we cannot discount. The heavy breathing we encountered up on the second floor remains a mystery as all persons were accounted for. The light flickering on and off in the cellar is unexplainable, as the lamplight had been earlier turned off by GPRG. On reviewing the video recordings, there are some anomalies during our vigil in the cellar that we believe to have no explanation, also on the Dictaphone recording from the chapel area. The lightening striking the building was natural phenomena, but the blue apparition, white apparition and the shadow of a hooded, dark robed monk remain a mystery and purely unexplainable. It would be good to return to Woodchester, to reflect on the night’s vigils and investigate the phenomena we encountered further. Spirit Realm would like to take this opportunity to thank GPRG members Chris and Colin for their presence that night, and to Woodchester Mansion, its staff and above all its spirits for a phenomenal night that none of us are ever going to forget.
Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Equipment List
1.EMF x 2
2.Gauss Cell x 3
3.Laser Thermometer x 2
4.Humidity/Thermometer x 2
5.In/Out Thermometer x 1
6.Dictaphone x 3
7.Night Vision Digital Video Camera x 3
8.Motion Sensors x 1
9.Beam Alarm x 2
10.Negative Ion Detector x 1
11.Digital Camera x 4
12.Compass x 1
13.Walkie Talkies x 1
14.Dowsing Rods x 4 sets
15.Sonic Super Ear x 2
NB/ All equipment was in full working order prior to arrival at the mansion
Appendix 2
Baseline Observations
22.11pm Ornamental Bathroom on first floor
EMF: 0
Surface temperature: 16 - 17°c
Ambient temperature: 20.6°c
Humidity: 71%
Abnormalities: There were no draughts, noises, EMF or temperature fluctuations, natural light anomalies, or unusual scents noted that would affect consequent result.
22.31pm First Floor Corridor
EMF: 0
Surface temperature: 17.4°c
Ambient temperature: 20.3°c
Humidity: 67%
Abnormalities: There was a slight draught and lots of dust that could be kicked up from the floor. Therefore pictures that appear to have �orbs� in them are less reliable. No other factors identified
22.36pm Second Floor corridor
EMF: 0
Surface temperature: 16.6°c
Ambient temperature: 20.9°c
Humidity: 65%
Abnormalities: There was a slight draught and lots of dust that could be kicked up from the floor. Therefore pictures that appear to have �orbs� in them are less reliable. No other factors identified.
00.05am Cellar
EMF: 0
Surface temperature: 14.3°c
Ambient temperature: 14.8°c
Humidity: 58%
Abnormalities: There were no draughts, noises, EMF or temperature fluctuations, natural light anomalies, or unusual scents noted that would affect consequent result.
Appendix 3
Lock off’s and trigger objects
Trigger 1: A pentagram made of pebbles on a black board was set up with a light dusting of flour and a beam alarm positioned over the top to notify us of anything crossing through the beam. A night vision video camera was set up to capture any anomalies. This was set up at 22.21pm and left until around 3am.
Trigger 2: A piece of paper with 2 coins drawn around was set up; photos were taken at the start of the experiment. This was set up at 22.30pm and collected at 04.30am.
Lock off 1: A Dictaphone was set up and left to record in the chapel area on the lectern, it was set up at 01.06am and left to run for 2hrs33mins undisturbed.
