Possession at Werribee Farm

Werribee Park provided a surreal, yet eerie backdrop for what eventuated as the most entertaining, yet most terrifying ordeal for a first time ghost hunter. What started out as an enjoyable evening of new experiences, concluded with a scene that would challenge the most affrighted scripts of the horror genre. 

So here we were, three females embarking on the Werribee Farm 3-hour tour. Myself, one who has investigated the paranormal for a number of decades, accompanied by two first time ghost tour enthusiasts. On entering the park, we drove down a long and dark dirt track. At the end of the track, we made our way along a path to a small bluestone building, where we were met by the hosts for the night. The soft orange moonlight outlined some of the buildings in the distance. Were those the buildings we were exploring? The Park felt like a million miles away, secluded, almost desolate. 

We began our investigation in the blacksmiths shed; it was rather uneventful, nothing out of the ordinary. A little bit of history, a few noises, cold spots and the occasional "did you see that?"

After a little while, we moved onto the stables. It was in here that our, should I call her the "possessed one" first began to share stories and thoughts from the other side. It was in here that she said that she needed to remove her wedding and engagement rings as they were burning her hands. She took them off and passed them rather mindlessly to the other ghost newbie. Was this her mistake? Was it this action that removed her protection, making her vulnerable, allowing her soul to be taken hostage?

So now the story gets interesting. Possessed one, let's call her "Anne" starts sharing thoughts with the group. There is a small girl in here, called Lizzie. She is in a prairie style dress, boots, skipping between here and the blacksmith. She likes "John", who is the blacksmith. She goes on to share many random thoughts which had the hosts googling for validation. From an experienced paranormal investigator's perspective, Anne was showing signs of mediumship, or at the very least, a high level of intuition. It was interesting and appeared quite genuine, but nothing I had not seen hundreds of times before and did not see any cause for alarm. 

We moved from the stables to the caretaker's cottage. It was in here that Anne became quite loud. She stated that John thought we were not safe in the house and that he had to stay in there with us. Anne said that no one should be in the back room on their own. After ensuring to Anne that we were safe and this was a normal type of activity on ghost hunts, we started a silent portal experiment. We were receiving profanities and statements, like "I will punch you in the face" and "chin up".  The hosts had left us and the guests in the cottage on our own, for about thirty minutes. Once we had finished the portal session, Anne went on to give history of the cottage and stated, rather factually, that Sarah lived in the house and she lived with a man, Robert, who had an aggressive temper. Just as Anne said this, the hosts walked in and asked Anne to repeat her statements, to which the hosts validated the stories. 

Interested, but also a little surprised, sceptical and bewildered, we left the cottage to explore the carriage house. Anne found it difficult to enter the carriage house and kept repeating "bad shit happened in there" and that she couldn't go in. Eventually, Anne entered the shed and was immediately drawn to the far left corner. She walked over and stood next to me and said again how much she didn't like this building and she had to leave. It was at this exact time that my camera became activated, taking random shots of a bright yellow-white light. The male host was watching this over my shoulder, confused and intrigued. The female host stated that she was cold and could feel a negative energy. Anne, visibly rattled by her feelings, stormed out of the building while telling everyone rather abruptly, "a gust of cold air just come in front of me" - this is the exact moment that I believe the possession took hold of Anne, albeit unbeknownst to her, to me and to others. 

We began our walk down to the mansion, Anne talked all the way there, commenting on people working in the fields, sitting on the lawns, dancing at a party and playing with the dogs. She talked of children, of workers and of trees. Talking with her, you could easily believe that she was there, living it, seeing it. It seemed so real! At the mansion, she sat alone on the lawns, as if she was watching an event. She looked content sitting on the grass by a tree in the moonlight, happy, yet ever so distant.  

Anne then slowly walked over to us in the laundry, tears swelled in her eyes. Her emotions pouring out as she shared a story of a maid who gave birth to an illegitimate daughter and then proceeded to drown the baby in the trough. Her precise detail of two women washing a white sheet and asking if it was clean enough (that all the blood was out) was fascinating, yet disturbing. To Anne, this was happening in front of her. You could see that she believed it, as if she was watching it, there, now. Guests sat on the edge of the "drowning trough" only to jump up, one by one, due to being touched on the back of the head or because their hair was pulled. They appeared nerved, uncomfortable, and not one of the guests returned to sit once more. Was this the child calling for help?

It was here in the laundry that the owner of the mansion shot himself - was he the one pulling on them? Making them feel uncomfortable? Was he the father of the drowned baby girl? 

We slowly made our way back to the farm homestead. By the time I arrived with Anne and the ghost newbie, the other guests were already in the homestead playing a music box to entice activity. Slowly Anne's demeanour began to rage, she paced, she stomped and eventually yelled out "Why do they keep playing that music ..... just to annoy me!" Anne then placed her hand on her hip and stormed into the homestead. I watched her, she looked over at me and said "What am I doing? I don't even walk like this!", but on she continued, pushed open the door and began yelling at the guests about the music. 

Anne came out and blasted "I told them!" It was now that I really looked at Anne, her body language, her stance, her eyes! It was not Anne! I began to approach her, only for her to say "you need to stay away from me!" She began to twitch and now it was blatantly obvious we were dealing with an attachment of some sort. I knew it was time to go, to cleanse her of whatever ghost, demon or entity was channelling through her, or worse, possessing her. The longer we waited, the more control this beast would have. 

Without causing concern or raising demon alarm bells, I enticed Anne to walk with us back to base, deviating past a toilet. Eventually, we made it back to base, where Anne kept talking, switching personalities between Anne and whatever had taken possession of her. By this stage the hosts had finished the tour and were ready to leave. Knowing the sage and cleansing kits were in my car, we had to move outside the property before we could commence the cleanse. 

Fortunately we made it to the entrance of the park and began the cleansing ritual. Anne hissed, growled and swore at us, telling us to f.. off numerous times. Her body language was threatening and aggressive. She moved irrationally, staring us down as she kept her distance. She squatted and grunted, yelled and twitched. Eventually after forty-five minutes of cleansing, Anne sighed, exhausted from the dissonance which lay within. It was then that I knew, he was gone. Although he was gone from Anne's body, he didn't go far. Anne let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not happy with me. That he was just over there, just inside the gate, watching, waiting ..... waiting for Anne to walk back inside, so her could devour her being. 

Anne's recollection of the night is exact, at all times she had an awareness of what she was doing, but without control or reason. 

Who would have thought that an innocent ghost tour with new enthusiasts could have such an improbable and unbelievable turn of events. We were able to capture some of the night on video and on watching the event, it is my belief that we came very close to (if not had) a demon possession. Was I scared - no, but I am very mindful of how easy this event happened and how fortunate Anne was to have us there to assist and intervene. Ghost hunting is a serious hobby and is not to be taken lightly. This night has reminded me of that. 

Ghosts of the Town Hall, Coburg, Victoria, Australia

Wonderful memories of dancing at our Primary School Ball at the Coburg Town Hall, was what inspired me to book and investigate this amazing building. I could vividly remember dressing in ball gowns, whilst Mrs Wong's band played on the stage. We did about four public tours here before Covid hit, so I will combine all the experiences into the one blog. Who knows, I may again book this venue when the tourism industry opens up once more. 

On entering the building, flashbacks to when I was 8 or so years old started to conjure in my mind, but I was not here this time to dance, but to hopefully experience those that danced before me. There were three of us in our team and we had about 15 guests book the tour. Although parts of the building were strangely familiar, the apparent stillness, desolation and emptiness was apparent and at times melancholic. 

The most significant paranormal event occurred when the group were sitting in the foyer. One experiment I like to do is an EVP introduction, where all the guests sit in reticent silence as we move around the room, introducing themselves before waiting three or so seconds before the next person speaks and so on. This experiment allows us to potentially identify any spirits who may wish to come through, or if any spirits connect with one person in particular. 

As I started the EVP session "Hi, my name is Libby, and we are going to introduce ourselves. We mean you no harm and just want to see if you would like to talk to anyone", darkness descended on the room, the temperature dropped, and an uneasiness was felt.  

We reviewed the EVP recording with no avail until we reached a girl named "Ashley". After she introduced herself, you can hear a very distinct creepy laugh (from 8.40 on the video). It was loud, audible and a distinct EVP capture, as we did not hear it with our naked ear. After we replayed this a number of times, we investigated where Ashley was sitting, which was at the bottom of the stairs which led to the balcony. Besides some K2 hits and some temperature changes, nothing else remarkable happened. 

DARK HAUNTING'S OF COBURG TOWN HALL! - YouTube

The video is courtesy of Yvette and is publicly available on her YouTube Channel. Although she did not capture the whole evening, you get a clear sense that the venue is haunted and well worth investigating. 

There was a fair bit of movement on the stage, where guests claimed to see shadow figures darting through the laser grid; we could hear footsteps .... footsteps, yet no one was there. Some loud, some shuffling, some distant. Sitting high in the balcony watching an empty stage, you could see and hear the movement, the REM Pod activating, motion sensors being triggered and shadows darting in and out of view. 

For those that were game enough to climb the ladder to the roof of the stage, they felt like they were being watched, were cold and felt nauseous. With nearly all of the guests experiencing the same phenomena, we set up a Ouija Session on the stage - with some responses. 

Another unexplained event was a lady captured what she believed was a full body apparition of a young girl near the orchestra pit. 

Although, this cannot be confirmed, it was apparent that the Coburg Town Hall is haunted with those that continue to roam the stage and dance amongst the living. 

Until next time .....

Ghost Doors of Kilmore

Having investigated Old Kilmore Gaol for quite a while now, one rule that the team have established is, you always close the doors. Why? Well it stems back to one of our early investigations, where we were certain we had closed a door and when we returned it was open. 

So the theory is, if you (and everyone) always close doors, then if you return and the door is open, then you can ask why or how?

The Kilmore spirits are obsessed with doors. Not a night goes by where they have mischievously opened at least three doors. Why the obsession? My theory is, it is a gaol and in gaols, doors are always locked. Prisoners are locked in their cells, in the wards, in the gaol. Many locked doors block them from the outside world. So, if an opportunity arises to open a door and escape - then why not?

I am going to share with you four of our most haunted doors and stories which have been witnessed by at least four people and up to seven. We have been fortunate to capture some on camera and others with the eyes of multiple witnesses. 

Door 1 - The Hospital

There are two doors to the hospital. One which is at the front and one at the side. The side door originally was the entrance to the men's ward and opened to the yard just in front of the cell block. Often we would hear noises near the door, but last month, we were leading an investigation with a group of seven people. We were sitting in the dark and heard a noise and bang from that corner of the hospital. We shone a torch to see the door was open. We then proceeded to close the door, secure latch it and test it. It was locked! We sat down and continued with the nurse experiment. We called for nurses to assist our trigger item (a guest lying on the floor). Within seconds of us calling for assistance, we heard banging in the direction of the door and heard the latch. We clickly shone the torch to see the door swing fully open to be followed by our K2 metres spiking near our "patient". 

This is not the first time the door has opened, many guests claim that the door opens or they hear the latch. 

Is this a nurse spirit coming to the aid of ill and sick prisoners? I think so!

Door 2 - The Wash House 

This door is in the corner of the gaol. It leads from the main courtyard into the original wash house or laundry. It is in this area that I believe the gaol's demonic spirit resides. When you enter the door you are almost always confronted with a wall of dense air. You are overcome with the stench of sulphur and it is in this area that many artefacts are stored. 

One night at the end of a public investigation, the team of four returned to the wash house to do a lock up. We walked in the room to find the chairs overturned. Not surprised by this phenomenon, as this room often has poltergeist activity, the four of us turned the chairs upright and took a seat to debrief on the night's activities. We talked casually amongst ourselves, only to be interrupted by the sound of the door latch. Thinking, who would be coming in as we were all in here, we thought maybe a guest was coming back as they had forgotten something. We looked over at the door which then opened, to reveal ..... noone! Shocked, we got up and looked out to the courtyard, shone the torch up and down and into the yard. NOONE!

Who had come in, or who had left?

The following month, I was sharing the story with a group of guests. I demonstrated how the door latch moved and the door opened. I then went to shut the door to have it jam. The jam you feel when someone puts their foot in the door to stop you from closing it. A guest standing less than a metre away who had been watching me the entire time said "Did someone just stick their foot in the door?". I replied "It sure did feel that way!" 

A spirit definitely didn't want me shutting the door!

Door 3 - The Store Room

Our most infamous door, this door has been caught on video and poltergeist activity has been witnessed by over twenty guests. It is so active, that we now have a slide bolt, as well as the latch on the door. This door has unbolted and opened at least a dozen times that I have witnessed and countless times with guests investigating the kitchen and store room. It was in this room that a prisoner escaped from the cell through the store and out the kitchen. It is also the door which leads to the store that holds many of the gaol artefacts. 

I am looking forward to next month where I will place a door alarm and a camera on the door for the entirety of the night!

Door 4 - The Back Door

Now this door has us stumped. We will be placing a camera on the door to see if we can capture what is happening. 

Let me provide you with context. This door is the back door which leads out of the gaol to the church. Above this door was the original sentry tower. When packing up at the end of the night, we bolt closed the door. Now this door is an original maximum security door - MAXIMUM SECURITY!

We go into the gaol, bolt the door shut and then proceed through the gaol and exit through a different door. It was after this, that the owner contacted us to ask if we had left the door opened. Definitely not!

The following month - we bolted the door closed once again, only to be contacted by the owner on the Sunday, the door was open once again! We had been locking this door for years, YEARS! Stumped by the door opening, the following month, we bolted the door shut and placed a huge piece of stone up against the door. The door remained closed. 

First investigation back this year, we bolted the door shut, but did not place the stone up against the door. You guessed it! The owner contacted us on Sunday at 8.00 am, the door was open! We had only left there at 7.30 am. 

Are these spirits attempting to escape the gaol? Is this a guard exiting out through the men's yard?

Who knows, but we will be placing a camera on the door to record from when we leave to see who, what or how this door continues to open. 

Night of the Dead at Old Kilmore Gaol, Kilmore

Old Kilmore Gaol is active, very active! Many of my experiences from the Gaol are noteworthy and exciting, but they are usually similar to those that I have already experienced and hence I am rather familiar with them and do not tend to recount them as often as I would like. But last night was different. The energy was different, the feel was different and subsequently some of the activity was different. 

Let's start with the Ouija activity. Ouija, yes that contentious topic of Ouija. For me, I have engaged in many a thousand sessions, and fortunately I can only recall one seriously negative experience. Most sessions are interesting, inspiring and emotionally, but relatively uneventful. But last night's session requires some serious research and investigation. Let me share with you some background information, which is totally related to the events of this recount and may in fact be a key piece of evidence moving forward. You see, Old Kilmore Gaol has a significant number of Pentridge artifacts, including prison doors, cell doors, shanks, razors, documentation of prison records and duty rolls. This particular night, last night, I had spent a considerable amount of time touching, reading the information and flicking through the documentation related to Pentridge, more so than I normally do. Why? No idea! I just did. But on review, was there actually a reason? A force that wanted to connect with me? Who knows?

So let's recount one of last night's Ouija Board Sessions. I will try to be as detailed as possible.

Ouija with Gavin Edwards

Three of us, and two onlookers began a Ouija Session just after 2 am in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which is at the back of the Gaol. It wasn't long before our spirit made himself known as Gavin. Gavin went onto share that his father worked in Kilmore and that he (Gavin) had actually been in Gaol. Not the Kilmore Gaol, but Pentridge Gaol! You can see why the information above may in fact be relevant. He went on to say a few things, including that he was 29 years of age when he passed. 

Now this is where the story gets interesting. 

Gavin went on to say that his name was Gavin Edwards and that he had a friend at Pentridge named Eddie. Eddie was 24 years old when he died and that Eddie died at the Gaol, Pentridge Gaol. We asked who Eddie was and he replied "killer". Yes, KILLER!

We asked did Gavin kill Eddie "No".

Did Eddie kill Gavin "No". 

Did Eddie kill other people "Yes". So now we were on to something!

How many people did Eddie kill "3 or 4". 

At this point we still had no idea where this was heading, until one of our onlookers, not on the Ouija, said that he believed he knew who the Eddie was that Gavin was referring to. This was exciting ..... had we actually made contact with a real inmate, one in which we could validate responses. At this point, another guest, a guest on the Ouija, recalled the stories told by tour guides on an investigation of Pentridge. 

Realising that we may be talking with a spirit to whom we can validate responses, I quickly asked a guest to record the Ouija Session as we continued the questioning and our investigation. 

Did Eddie kill women "Yes".

Can you spell out how he killed them. Do you know how he killed the women? "AIR". Air?? We were confused, what an odd response! But was it? The person we believed we were communicating with was a mate of Eddie's and did he know that Eddie killed his victims by strangling them to death and sucking from them their last breath of .... you guessed it AIR! 

So we asked Gavin, is it Eddie Leonski, was his surname Leonski, do you know? "Yes".

Was it related to singing or voices "Yes".

We asked Gavin if he knew how old Eddie Leonski was when he passed away and after a bit of a think on the board, Gavin told us 2 and then moved to the 8 and then back to the 4 "24". We quickly googled, and Eddie was in fact 24 years of age! We went on to confirm the age of Eddie was 24. 

We asked Gavin to spell out the name of the Gaol that Eddie was in .... he went on the spell out P E N .... we confirmed it was Pentridge. We asked Gavin if he was in Pentridge Gaol with Eddie "Yes".

It was at this time I made a question blunder and asked Eddie for his second name (I thought I had asked for Gavin's second name), the board went on to spell DEVIL IS HE. I thought I had asked Gavin's surname, but on listening to the video, I had asked for Eddie's name!!

The guest then asked "Does Eddie go by any other name, or did Eddie have a nickname?

Our spirit began to spell out "Brown  ....", it then was clear, he was referring to Eddie Leonski, the Brownout Strangler who was convicted and sentenced to death on July 17, 1942. He went on to be incarcerated at Pentridge Gaol and executed by hanging for murdering the three woman on November 9, the same year. 

Then my phone died ..... we continued the investigation without recording and asked Gavin if he and Eddie shared a cell "No".

Were you friends "Yes".

But then Gavin would call Eddie the "Devil" and "Dog".

I went on to to ask Gavin why he was friends with Eddie if he was the devil and such a dog and he replied "Life".

I asked Gavin did he fear for his life if he was not friends with Eddie "Yes".

Our spirit was polite and cooperative and he expressed interest in talking with us again at a later date. Here's hoping we can pick this conversation up in a month when we are next in Kilmore. 

As an investigator you are always questioning and for me, I am asking ...... have we made contact with Gavin, a gaol inmate and friend of the serial killer, Eddie Leonski, or, and I believe this is a very strong and very valid or ..... did we make contact with the actual Eddie, who has masqueraded as Gavin EDWARDS? Coincidental - maybe, maybe not?

We will never know, but maybe, just maybe, our gaol inmate will pay us a visit again and elaborate more on the stories he shared with us last night. You can watch the small snippet we were able to capture before my phone died. 

Malevolent Storeroom Ghost

We also had a memorable experience in the Old Kitchen where, when trying to communicate with what we believe is a malevolent spirit, one of our investigators, Alle, had her necklace yanked from around her neck which broke the chain and sent the charms to the floor. 

To set the scene, the room is about 4 metres square. Left top wall has a door to the laundry / wash room. The laundry then leads to outside. Alle was standing about a metre in from this doorway. Then opposite mid way on the right wall is a door to the store room. Previous investigations have seen this door open when closed and considerable noises and movements can be heard and seen from within the room. The room has many guests feeling uneasy and threatened. So with that knowledge, we have a heavy slide bolt and we bolt the room locked and only allow guests to investigate in there on our long tours. The store room had been bolted twice already due to being unlocked twice. 

Seven of us came into the space to see the storeroom door unlocked and open once again. Alle went up to the door and bolted it, once again. She pushed, banged and tested the door. We all watched her do this. She then retreated across the room to her space near the door on the opposite side of the room. 

About five minutes after Alle had bolted the door closed is when she had her necklace pulled from her neck. It was forceful and aggressive. We all heard her gasp and saw her neck and face pull forward. Everyone was asking if she was ok and Alle responded with "someone just grabbed my necklace and pulled it, like they yanked it down hard. It's broken". She was visibly in shock with the 'what the hell just happened face".  This was shortly followed by a cold breeze, a gust of air that moved across in front of her and others from the left hand side to the right hand side of the room. This coincided with a distinct urine, sulphur and rotten egg odour which filled the room and then a demonic loud growl could be heard emanating near the store room door. We all turned to the door on the right side of the room, which was bolted shut to the store, to see it unbolt and open half way. This happened before seven witnesses, all of which, smelt the stench, heard the growl and saw the door open! Amazing! We all just sat there speechless. What had we just witnessed? It was obvious he was not happy with Alle bolting the door shut once again!

Interestingly, this is the room that has the Pentridge artefacts and cell doors and also includes an original, authentic executioner's jacket and pants (which are placed on a mannequin in the bottom left corner). Could this jacket actually be the jacket worn by the warden responsible for hanging Eddie Leonski? 

Now that just blew my mind! 

Not so Pleasant, Pleasant Creek Hospital, Stawell, Victoria, Australia

The most terrifying experience of my entire paranormal life happened here at Pleasant Creek Hospital, a privately owned, yet mostly derelict building that had only be partly restored. Located just outside of Stawell, it opened in 1861, but with the development of a new hospital in the main town of Stawell, the site was converted to a Special School and by the end of 1937 had 98 children living at Pleasant Creek and focused on those with intellectual disabilities. By 1986, Pleasant Creek housed children and adults with disabilities ranging from mild to profound. The facility eventually closed in 1999, with allegations of sexual abuse which triggered an inquiry in the early 1990's. 

We (as in me and three of my paranormal buddies, Matt, Alle & Jacqui) booked the hospital for an entire weekend so we could explore it for two full nights and days. We arrived at about 3.00 pm on a Friday and were in awe of the majestic, yet rather intimidating frontage of the building. Eager to look around and get our bearings, we began exploring the empty and huge site. 

We entered through the front foyer, to the section that had been restored with the beginning of what resembled a museum style set up with interesting artefacts and displays, a coffin, medical tools and equipment, books and images. To the left was the infant ward (most probably set up in the 1940's), toilets and some offices. To the right were the medical rooms and most of the male accommodation. Walking down a long hallway past the male accommodation rooms, led us to common room and then into a breezeway where there were toilets which stunk of urine, even though they had been out of action for over 20 years. 

On the other side of the breezeway was a door leading to the operating theatre and at the very back, a morgue with external access. We undertook a number of experiments on the old morgue tables, but with little response. 

Across from the morgue (and hidden from sight from the front view of the hospital), was a two-story building which housed the dining room and the most derelict section of the property, the kitchen. Stairs on the outside led up to the women's ward. These were once internal stairs but had been relocated to external metal stairs, I am assuming sometime in the late 1980's. Outside this building was a gated courtyard with direct access to the main building, where we assumed kitchen staff would wheel meals in for the children. 

Adjacent to this building and across from the gated courtyard was the theatre with stage and then a third building which was the infirmary - a partly renovated building. It was here that we set up base as it had working toilets and running water. This would also allow a space for anyone who wanted to have a nap inside and not in their car (which is sometimes the only option). 

I now want the share the part of the weekend, which for me, was the most terrifying, harrowing and unnerving experience of my investigative career. We found an area that was open and carpeted, so we decided to do an experiment where we all laid on the ground and requested any spirits to come into our thoughts. Almost like meditative scrying. As we laid there, you felt a heaviness come over you. Your body began to feel like it was being pulled into the ground. We could feel our cheeks being pulled and our mouths being contorted. You could feel it, like hands were all over your face. We were getting tired and began to feel paralysed. I continued to talk to all the guests and check-in. When I felt the energy was too strong (even for me, which is very unusual), I asked everyone to sit up. All but one person sat up. I called to my teammate, Jacqui, who lay there still. We called her name, still nothing. We moved over to her, still nothing. She was un-responsive. We shook her, called her name - nothing .... NOTHING! By this time her sister Alle was beginning to panic. My heart began to beat rapidly. Her pulse rate was weak, her body limp and it was at this very moment I questioned if we had pushed the boundary too far. What had happened, was this because of the paranormal, or was this a medical emergency .... did we need to do CPR? I remained calm, whilst very, VERY concerned. 

Just then, Jacqui slowly opened her eyes. Delirious, confused, lethargic and disoriented. 

We asked where she thought she was, and she replied "PANCH" which was the Preston and Northcote Community Hospital. It was founded in 1958 and closed in 1998 when it was relocated to the Northern Hospital. Had Jacqui ever been to the PANCH as a child? Did she even know what that was? 

She was smacking her lips and acting like she had just woken from an anaesthetic. She was hebetudinous and languid. She slowly began to speak and said her mouth was dry and sore. We sat her up and she was dizzy and mumbling incoherently. 

After about 20 minutes, she was finally conscious enough to move back to base. Once settled, I went to investigate further, to see if I could isolate, or understand, or at least get some idea of what had happened, only to find that the space we were in was the recovery wing of the dental section of the hospital. Had she been operated on? Was she in recovery? Is that why her mouth was so sore - had she been anaesthetised? What the hell had we just witnessed? Were we all patients of Dr Patterson? 

What was also interesting was Jacqui always, and I mean ALWAYS wore crystals when investigating and for whatever reason, she did not have them with her this night. Did this make her vulnerable?

So, by now, it was reaching 2 am and Matt and I went to investigate the ladies wing alone. He had a camera, and I was walking through the eerily silent rooms. It was dark and abandoned. The stench of death was prevalent and there were decaying rodents scattered amongst the derelict building. We moved to the upstairs wing which housed the women and were immediately overwhelmed with grief. The heaviness and the despair, a similar familiar emotion you feel when visiting the women's wing of asylums .... was this a hospital or in fact a modern-day asylum? 

Another terrifying experiment was our investigation in the left wing, past what we believed to be the infant or child rooms. There was a back common room where we set up the Structured Light Sensor Camera (SLS) which uses infrared technology to detect objects in complete darkness. It uses pattern recognition and enables us to see objects that are not visible to the naked eye. We sat on a chair and asked any spirits to come and connect with us. What we saw was undeniable. A spirit approached the chair, kicking and acting quite violently, which was felt by the person in the chair. They felt cold, threatened and scared. Interestingly though, this phenomenon only occurred when females sat in the chair. Was this an abusive spirit, one who preyed and attacked women or was this a spirit with a lack of intellectual understanding, or were they, themselves abused? 

There was so much activity - such sadness, such unhappiness. But for us, this investigation was a stark reminder of the importance of self-protection when investigating. To investigate with people you know and trust and to always respect that you are dealing with things we can not see and do not understand. 

Until next time ..... 

Kurunjang Homestead Part Two, Kurunjang, Victoria, Australia

Four months ago, we were contacted by owners who had been experiencing unexplained activity and seeing shadows in their hallways. On the night we investigated, we too witnessed high levels of activity with our devices and were able to validate many of the experiences the owners had claimed. We also ran a myriad of tests to check for environmental pollution which may have contributed to the extremely high levels of EMF which were detected. 

Since then, the health of the owners has continued to deteriorate and the activity has increased. They contacted us and have requested that we return to do a deeper, more thorough investigation, as they are now contemplating selling due to the uneasiness of the activity. 

I suggested to the owner the idea of placing a salt water cure in their home. A Feng Shui method which claims to help remove negative energies and sickness from a place. The owner, willing to try anything, placed the cure in her hallway, as directed, about one month ago. 

In the past month, there has been an increasing number of reports of witnessed activity, not only by the owners, but from guests who have visited them. 

Coincidence - I think not!

I asked for the names and numbers of the guests and have since interviewed them and the owners for recounts of what they had experienced. 

All I can say is ... how soon can I get back there?

So after the last investigation, according to the owners, the dense feeling of someone being present continued. The shadows continued to flash up and down the hallways and the sensation of someone sitting on the bed was still prevalent, but the alleged increased activity since placing the salt water cure in the house, has been somewhat a little more rattling!

On three separate occasions and at approximately 1.00am in the morning, the doorbell has been rung, but when the video was checked, no one was present.  On another occasion, the wire security door has been vigorously rattled, as if someone is trying to get in the house. Again, nothing on the video. 

There has been banging on windows from the outside and banging of furniture and doors from inside the house. This is alleged to be happening almost on a daily basis. 

You may recall from the last blog that my son was sleeping in a spare bedroom and he rose to ask "Why I had got out of bed in a hurry", well ..... it is in this room that the owner alleges the light has been turning on by itself. Just last week, he was in bed in the room at one end of the hallway and at the other end is the spare room. Whilst lying in bed at about 2.00am, the light in the spare room turned on. He rose from the bed and went in to check if someone was in there - the room was empty, so he turned the light off and returned to bed to only have it turn itself back on within minutes. Again he rose ..... feeling a little bit unsure and uneasy ..... he turned it off, closed the door and returned to his room and closed his door. The owner admits to feeling rather 'spooked' by this occurrence. 

Another recount, is that from their eleven year old grand daughter. At least three times, she has been sitting in the lounge room (opposite the salt water cure) and told her grandparents she has seen a black cat scoot down the hallway and when she follows it, it just disappears. She has also told them she has seen shadows and felt the bed move when she has slept over. 

The owner of the house has a number of macrame pieces and dreamcatchers in her home. There is a black one which has been hanging on her bedroom wall just outside the ensuite bathroom. It has hung in that location for at least twelve months. After the latest doorbell incident, which was less than a week ago, she woke the following morning to find the macrame piece on the floor. The owner picked it up and rehung it on the wall. She then proceeded out of her room and began to walk down the hallway (the hallway where the cat has been seen, the shadows, the orbs and the one where I felt the gust of air thrust past me) only to find two other pieces lying on the floor. The two pieces were either side of the salt water cure. She chose not to rehang these two. 

The following morning, the black macrame piece was on the floor once again. The owner rehung it and checked the hook. She checked on the hanging a number of times throughout the day and into the evening - there was no movement. She retreated to bed about midnight and watched the hanging until she fell asleep, which she states was about 1.30am. That means the wall hanging had remained in tact for over 18 hours. She awoke at 6.00am to find the hanging on the floor once more. Unusual - definitely!

When sitting in the kitchen, an adult male visitor has claimed to hear voices and footsteps down the hallway. The owner has also claimed that on at least two occasions, she has heard voices coming from the hallway and in her bedroom. Today she said that when she entered her room she distinctly heard two, what she thought were children, talking. This stopped just after she entered the room. 

Another visitor to the home claims that when sitting in the kitchen, the television has turned on and the volume has been adjusted, yet the remote was on the couch. The male owner has also validated this claim. 

So did this salt water cure cause increased activity?

Is this a poltergeist?

Are they trying to get the owners' attention?

Why are they here and why are they doing this?

We need to find out!!

Part 3 coming soon ........

Undisclosed location, Central Victoria, Australia "Do actions speak louder than words?"

On the weekend of the 8th and 9th of November, the team headed off to a private location in central country Victoria. An intriguing location, deep within the goldfields and one that we had investigated before. The team were looking forward to a well-deserved and much needed weekend away, as we had just completed back-to-back ghost investigations the weekend prior and the team were emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausted. A private investigation on Halloween followed by a two night, off the charts experience at Moe meant that we were in desperate need of some quality rest and relaxation. 

Well, even the best intentions can go astray. 

As it turned out, two of the team couldn’t make the weekend, so with myself and Alle not there, Matt Amanda and Jacquie had the entire location to themselves…..this blog is a personal recount of their experience and as they rated this investigation in their top ten of all time, it is one very intriguing read. Yes, you read correctly, top ten!! 

Friday night was always going to be a wind down night, it had been a busy couple of weeks and we just wanted to debrief and unwind. We had all experienced personal struggles during the hunt the weekend prior, which for some, left us tired and emotionally drained for days after. So a quiet, relaxing drink with good friends, was what we all were looking forward to. We arrived at 9.30 pm, about two hours after our anticipated arrival time due to all three of us getting lost. Our GPS had taken us off the beaten track and led us on a wild goose chase, so a drink (or two) was definitely on the cards.

As the night turned into morning, we spent many hours laughing, singing and there were even a couple of dances. Two of the team there that weekend had been there before and were rather familiar with the location, the sounds and the layout. This was my first time at this location and I found the place to be warm and comfortable. 

Although we were not officially investigating that Friday night, we did have some devices set up around the room. We did get a few hits on the K2 meter, but we decided not to pursue them any further, as we had planned to just relax and do a thorough in-depth investigation on the Saturday night. It was the perfect night...…with perfect company and a perfect location.

Did our music, singing and dancing rekindle memories and remind the spirits of what this old hotel was like in its hey day? Did our laughing and singing, with not a care in the world, provide the foundations and set the scene for the perfect storm?

The weekend was absolutely freezing and with no modern luxuries like ducted heating, we tended to stay in the front room where we had the wood fire burning, providing us with warmth and comfort. Saturday was just a lazy day; a day where we sat by the fire and just talked. We were so excited to be investigating that night, that we found ourselves talking repeatedly about what we were planning to do. 

It’s funny though, as the day turned into night, the place changed. It was not a bad or dangerous feel, just different. Our senses were definitely alerted and there was a feeling of being watched or followed. Just off the main hallway was the ladies parlour and when Matt and Amanda walked through the space, they both became dizzy in exactly the same place and at exactly the same time. I wasn’t with them when this happened, so they called me in and asked me do a walk through of the space to see if I felt anything.  At exactly the same place in the room where they felt dizzy, I felt cobwebs and the hair on my body stood up. There was definitely something in this room and it definitely was trying to get our attention. 

As is normal practice when we do investigations, we like to introduce ourselves to any potential spirits, with the aim of making the investigation more personable and relaxed. We follow up with a generic question of "if anyone is here that would like to communicate with us, please come forward and make yourself known".  

WELL ...... the floodgates opened and we were taken on the most magical investigation. 

We found we only needed to use basic equipment for this investigation. The spirits appeared to understand how to communicate quite effectively using the K2, Ovilus and the EDI meters. Was this because these were the devices we used with them on our previous encounter, or were they just intelligent spirits who knew how to communicate?

We turned the Ovilus on and to be honest, it did not shut up for the entire investigation, When we downloaded the log for the night, there were 3060 words said through the device.  The Ovilus works through monitoring changes in the electro-magnetic field (EMF). Theories suggest that spirits are able to manipulate these fields to communicate. To reduce any anomalies in the use of this device, we used the Ovilus concurrently with K2 metres and the EDI metre. We were able to validate the interactions by requesting that all metres go off simultaneously, or by asking the spirit to light up just one. All of our requests were met with precision and in a timely manner. 

At times the Ovilus would respond in words which made sense or validated a question that we had asked. For example, we would ask if they were happy and the response would be "am not" or "you are wrong". We were totally blown away!

The Ovilus would give words describing that the spirits were feeling sad or lonely and based on the decades of investigations that we have done, both individually and collectively, we do believe we made intelligent contact with a spirit. 

Our line of questioning led us to believe that we may have made contact with someone that was possibly a slave to a European family. Naturally, we will need to do a bit more digging and research to validate that interaction. 

The other notable and rather interesting observation was that Mrs A from Moe may have possibly joined us that weekend. Her name came through on the Ovilus multiple times and the word "van" was listed at least six times either just before or just after her name. Knowing the history from Moe, we assured her she was safe and that we were happy for her to remain with us until we figure out how to help her. So that story will be continued.......

We all felt like we were seeing shadows moving around the hotel. We kept seeing things in our peripheral vision, but it was not until we all simultaneously gasped on the sight of seeing a shadow move into the front bar area. What are the changes of three separate people imagining the same shadow, in the same location at exactly the same time......very unlikely I would imagine. Our minds were blown!

As the night progressed, the spirits seemed content to answer questions by moving the K2 meter to red and the EDI meter to blue. In conjunction with other device activation, vibrations were picked up on the EDI meter and we experienced 5° temperature drops. The ladies lounge, where we had previously felt dizzy, was now a haven for spirit communication.  

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Amanda was becoming more and more concerned about a shadow man that she had seen. He was making her feel rather unsettled and a little uneasy. Was this the same shadow person that we had all seen earlier that evening?

We decided to have a break and regenerate. We were chatting casually about Amanda’s concerns when all of a sudden the Ovilus says "Alone soon bed". What the? As you can imagine, this did not sit well with Amanda who was becoming increasingly tired and was a little nervous about retreating alone to the bedrooms and the back of the property. With her emotions on high alert, she decided to sleep in the lounge room on the couch whilst we continued our investigations.

To be honest, I was feeling really excited, but also a little bit scared (and at times a little bit more than a little). The property has a long central corridor or hallway with a myriad of rooms leading off to the right and to the left. I kept getting disoriented and naturally, the toilets were miles away from where we were investigating. So it was a long walk to the other end of the property each time I needed to visit the ladies room.

Matt and I continued to investigate in the ladies lounge with varying energy levels and interactions from the spirits. We  set up the MelMetre, which is one of my favourites due to the authenticity of the device. The alleged spirits were making the MelMetre spike to 6.5 on call, which left us rather impressed. 

So just to give you a bit of an understanding of where we are in the property. There is the front, with a large central corridor. Starting at the front, there is the front bar to the right which leads into a ballroom. To the left is the lounge and dining rooms, where Amanda is asleep on the couch. You walk down the hall about five metres and there is a heavy wooden door. Through the door is a hallway off to the left and a doorway on the right which leads to the ladies lounge. Off the ladies lounge, further right is the Cobb and Co quarters, a hallway and the coolroom. 

So, Matt and I were sitting at the table in the ladies room doing our investigation, when all of a sudden the door that was closed (due to Amanda being asleep) starts to open ….. of course the door is creaking as it opens. We are talking movie worthy creaking noises! This damn door just starts to creep open .... and ever so slowly.

Matt quickly shone his torch onto the door as we totally expected to see Amanda walking through,, but no ..... no Amanda! The door just opened about a meter on its own! Yes, on its own! Needless to say my heart jumped out of my chest and Matt was on toilet duty for the rest of the night as I was too unnerved to walk the long corridor on my own. So what had come through the door? Was it the shadow man once more?

So feeling a bit creeped out, we chose to regroup and set up the SLS Kinnect (stickman) camera and see what came through on this device. We moved into the bar area and immediately picked up a small figure sitting on the bar. We instantly thought it was a child which the Ovilus immediately confirmed by saying “little”, followed by the name David. 

Intrigued, we decided to investigate this further. We continued to scan the room and it was not long before the child took off and a huge spirit appeared on the device. He was so tall. He just stood there, leaning casually against the mantle over the fireplace. I can only assume he was looking at us. He moved between the mantle and the bar, just leaning or at times, tapping his foot.  I have attached a picture below so you can see how big he was. We did a quick scan of the ballroom and the ladies lounge, but the device only indicated that spirits were socialising in the front bar area. The Ovilus continued to generate words and in the early hours of the morning, my name started coming through this Ovilus, which was rather amusing. Saying Matt or Matthew proved too hard though and made a joke that the word “saint" was close enough. 

So after investigating the front bar, I had an overwhelming sensation to point stickman out through a front window towards the main street. It's the early hours of the morning, in an abandoned old hotel, in pretty much a ghost town. I do not know what I expected to see in the darkness, but low and behold, there were two characters out the front,  that we can only describe as possibly drunk . It was rather hilarious as they were on the ground and looked like they were trying to get up..... rather unsuccessfully I might add. 

As our batteries drained we once again found ourselves in the lounge where the fire was still roaring and Amanda was sleeping peacefully.

Our basic devices were still on and we were still having conversations through the MelMetre, K2 and the Ovilus. We then noticed the word "monument" had come up a number of times on the Ovilus, so with a quick google search of the local area, we found that a monument had been erected only 750 metres from the hotel. We asked the spirits if they needed us to go and see the monument. Instantly they responded with strong red K2 hits. So being good paranormal investigators who love a bit of mystery, off we went (on foot and at 2.00 am in the morning) to find this monument.

The monument was to recognise soldiers that served in the wars from the local town. We thought best to wake Amanda and tell her of our plans, of which she looked at us with crazy eyes and went back to sleep. 

So, off we went, walking up the main street at two am, on this cold, windy and drizzly night. A few hundred metres up the road I did question why the hell we didn't drive? We had a good laugh and an even bigger laugh when the Ovilus said the word "puddle", to be shortly followed by Matt stepping in a large puddle.... he really must learn to heed warnings from the spiritual world. 

We arrived at the monument, took a quick photo or two and walked back to defrost our frozen bodies by the warm fire. 

Looking at the photo we searched for any matched names that had come through the Ovilus. Given that the monument only had initials plus surnames we were anticipating any success. But then we see the name Bright on the monument. Bright had come through the Ovilus ten times prior to us taking that walk. We then asked if the spirit Bright was with us. The K2 went to red and the MelMeter spiked, we knew we were on the right track.

On investigations, time can slip away and before you know it, the sun is dawning. It was 5.30 am and time for us to retire to our beds. It had been one huge night and our adrenalin was flowing and our minds racing. 

Were the spirits finally happy to tell someone their story? What had we unearthed? Who was this shadow man? So many questions still to be answered....so many stories still to be told. 

As my mind began to settle and sleep started to take over, I heard a thump in the distance, what was that sound, was it a door? The floorboards in the hallway began to creak and I could hear little ticking noises. I got up and turned on my light and looked around.....but nothing. I politely said that we will talk again soon but they were not welcome in my room as it was time to sleep…. and for the first time in my life, this investigator slept with her light on!

With all that happened that weekend, with all that we saw, heard and felt, we are ready and will be armed for our next investigation in this amazing hotel. 

Amazing, right?

All I can say is, I can not wait to go back to this phenomenal location and learn more about who or what roams there. Is the shadow man the same one my son saw on our first visit there. Who are these spirits....so many questions that need to be explored. 

Oh and by the way, the monument of Adam and Mary Gleisner which was desecrated and then removed, has been repaired and returned to the cemetery - another mystery right there!

Holy Trinity Church, Moe, Victoria, Australia

On at least four separate occasions, we have investigated the Holy Trinity Church at the Old Gippstown Heritage Park in Moe, Victoria. Why, you might ask? Because the activity and evidence has been extraordinary, the story riveting and the intrinsic push to help those who cry for our help, undeniable.

It all started when reviewing evidence from the church on a public investigation. The priests quarters, just off the main altar section of the church, included everything from noises, growls, screams, knocking, orbs, heaviness and electronic device activation. Over a number of weeks, our investigation, including, but not limited to, the ovilus, gave us names repeatedly, including Mr D and Mrs A.  Research into the church indicated that these names were significant in the history of the church. We made connections with a young boy Mst R who claimed he, and another boy, were trapped in the church.

So armed with months of research and evidence, we went into the church numerous times to build the story, make connections, join the dots and validate our investigations. We questioned the entities on their actions and confirmed that there were two boys locked up in the church who wanted our help. We told the boys that we would do everything we could to free them, but with that..... other entities were not happy and they did not shy away from making their feelings known!

It was during the thinning of the veil that we continued our investigation of the church. We anticipated the night would be a thorough exploration into the depths of the unknown.

Well.....you would not believe what we encountered when we entered the vestry that night!

We do not know if this was by accident, deliberate, or an oversight, but there were three mirrors placed in the room to form an energy vortex or portal. For some, you may think this is a load of rubbish, but for others, there is a strong belief that mirrors may provide a portal or region where the physical and etheric planes merge. It is alleged that a spirit portal allows free access between the physical world and the spirit world. Now that can be really scary for someone who is totally into this theory, but for me, it presented a great mystery and a challenge. What I can say though, that if it was set up deliberately for that purpose - I am astonished and totally dismayed that it was left open the way it was.

For this blog, I can only tell you what I experienced personally and give you my interpretations, insights and opinions of the occurrences. I will provide any evidence or theory to support or debunk what happened, but the thought of a possible portal left open on Halloween and in the vestry, where there had already been an abundance of activity, was something I was going to take rather seriously, whether I believed in or not - just in case!

So first of all, we blocked the portal and exit points. I had seen my mother do this a number of times when I was younger, so I used the same approach. It was only a hold and short solution, but essentially we tried to maintain any spirits within the vestry until we had time to figure out how to close the portal. It can be rather technical to close a portal once it has been activated and we were unsure of how long it had been opened and what entities may have passed through and hence may be roaming about the church and the park.

After we blocked the exits from the vestry, we did a quick scout of the park to collect baseline data. We simply wanted to assess the energy levels and to identify any activity hot spots. One thing that I noticed, and given that I have visited the park a multitude of times, was the lack of energy in the bottom half of the park. It was still....eerily still. It was like an energy wall was drawn between the church and the solicitor's office, essentially dividing the park into two halves. The bottom half - quiet, still and empty. The top half, blanketed in total darkness, blacker than I have ever seen with the air dense and heavy. Was the wall's intention to keep something in or something out? Who knows?

As I, along with two others, walked up the main street to the right of the solicitor's office, you could not see one metre in front of you. Never, EVER, had it been this dark in the park. You could not distinguish the outlines of the buildings or trees, it was disorientating and rather intense. It was still, eerie, heavy - almost like a blanket of blackness had fallen upon the park. I felt like I was being watched from every angle. I am not usually one to feel fear, but I was shooting my torch over at the buildings, totally expecting to see a figure standing there, staring intensely at me....but of course, there was nothing. Now that is not to say there wasn't something or someone there, just I did not see it.

I have drawn a map below to try and make sense of what I am explaining.

What was even more interesting, was that one of the empaths investigating could not walk up the path towards the church, which I will refer to from here within as the 'wall'. When she reached it (unaware that I had identified this as an energy wall), she began to feel nauseous, nauseous to the point of vomiting, she experienced heart palpitations and could not push through the wall. This experience did not happen just the once, but three times!

I myself, very rarely feel sick or nauseous on investigations, but I must admit, walking through this approximately two metre wide energy wall, made my hair stand on end, you could feel the charge in the air and my stomach had a little queezy momentary lapse.

Given my theory on this wall, I asked a fellow investigator to grab some dowsing rods and walk with me. Without telling him what was going on, as we hit the wall, he said "can you feel that?" I asked him for more details. He stopped and said "I feel static on my arms and tingles through my body". He stopped dead in his tracks. His dowsing rods then moved parallel with the direction of the energy wall, mirroring my dowsing rods and similar to what you would experience with dowsing rods on a ley line or water source, like a stream. As we pushed through the wall, the rods returned to straight ahead and he stated that the tingling was now gone.

With my mind on overdrive, I tried to develop explanations as to what had occurred. I tested, retested, took readings and used EMF devices to detect the strength and source of the energy wall. I came to my own conclusion which I will elaborate on a little later.

We left the church and the temporary block and investigated the Bushy Park Homestead area with the auto board and a few devices. It was during this time that one of the investigators, who had been with the empath at the other end of the park, came and retrieved me due to the empath not being in a good way. It was at this time, the investigator called on myself and a practising witch, who was also investigating that night, to cleanse and protect those present there tonight. That was the last bit of investigating the empath did, as she fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the night. Was she affected....or.....did she just have a bug? Who knows? But given the extremity of the evening - there was definitely something going on.

We returned to the others to collect them so we could move onto the church. Matt, one of the investigators who specialises in video production, had entered the church first and quickly retreated to tell me that when he approached the vestry he observed a mist whirlpool moving up towards the ceiling. Now, I have only ever read about this phenomena and actually have never seen one with my own eyes, but I knew exactly what he was talking about. Some believe that the white whirlpool is the spirit vortex to the fifth dimension. As I had done an exit block, the energy in that space would have been electrifying!

When I finally arrived at the vestry, I did not see the whirlpool, but I did sense the strong energy emanating from the small room.

We set up the Ouija Board at the entrance to the room. Now for many, they do not like the Ouija, but for me, I don't mind it and to be honest, I have had validating experiences with it. Whether it is subconscious muscle force or actual interaction, I am yet to know or make a decision on, but for now, I am happy to use it in my investigations as another tool.

Myself and a number of guests began with the board. The energy, knocking and shadows were intense. We made contact with a spirit of whom we asked them to spell their name....A....M....A.....

We generically questioned whether they resided there and eventually were taken down the path regarding the two boys that we believe to be trapped in the church. The responses were definitive and matched all our research from the past few months.

Exhausted, a fellow investigator took over the board. Again, we asked the entity to spell their name...A....M....A.....within seconds it dawned on us, it was the spirit of Mrs A that we had made contact with on many prior investigations. The woman was seeking our immediate help - her responses were urgent and with purpose. She stated that she had the two boys with her and wanted to move them to safety, but did not have much time. We asked her the boys' names, and they matched what we had when we made contact with one of them through the youth counsellor in the solicitor's office.

It was all beginning to make sense.

We set up a crystal and asked Mrs A could she take the boys to the light of the crystal, she said no, but explained that she could show the boys how to get there themselves. After a moment and without prompting, the planchette moved about the board, went behind the crystal and pushed the crystal to goodbye. We asked were the boys safe - yes was her response .... their energies captured within the crystal. We asked her if she was safe - she said no, but it was not time for her to go. She asked us to hurry, with such desperation and then said goodbye.

I collected the crystal from the board. It began to pulsate in my palm, almost like it had a heartbeat. We took the crystal to the other end of the park to the Shearer's Shed. It is here, with the help of the team, that we held a ceremony and released the crystal to the white light. Now this may sound weird, but as we were doing this ceremony, we could hear lots of voices surrounding us, murmuring and whispering ....we could feel their energy, we could feel something or someone watching us. Even as I am typing this, I have goosebumps all through my body! Was this a farewell, had these spirits come to see these boys off, to ensure their safety to the other side? Were these the same spirits who had watched me walk up the main street? The same spirits who made a wall of protection?

All of a sudden I had this vision in my mind, had Mrs A brought all the spirits with her? Had she asked for help from the other side? Had spirits crossed through the portal to help her, the boys, us? Was the energy wall made up of spirits to block a predator's path and protect others whilst certain spirits were not there - maybe they were trapped on the other side of the park or in the vortex, or had they been blocked momentarily by me? Whatever the case, we did not have much time. As I released the boys' energy, you could feel it move about you, watching you, thanking you - it was intense, like nothing I have ever experienced!

We then returned to move about the park - the energy wall was gone!

We knew though, that if we had succeeded in what we set out to achieve, there may be one or more very angry people!

Now I was not there on the Saturday night, but the team has told me, angry, was an understatement!

The team has regularly made contact with a spirit named "Mary" and when the team were up investigating the Out Kitchen in Bushy Park on the Saturday night, Mary clearly communicated to them via the Ouija "close the portal". The team quickly responded to this and moved to the church to close the portal and do everything they could to protect themselves and others. They used all their energy, knowledge and skills - but they do believe they were successful in their aim.

But, only time will tell!

Now to add a new dimension to the story. Mrs A had communicated through the Ouija that she was not safe and was threatened and abused, but it was not her time to go. We knew there was a possibility that an entity or two would be furious, and I am sure Mrs A knew this too.

The following weekend the team were doing a private investigation many a mile away from Moe. When at the private, one of the team members, coincidentally the same one who was doing the board at Moe, could sense a female spirit very close to her. Not quite an attachment, but close. During that investigation, the ovilus repeatedly said the words "van" and Mrs A's name. Had Mrs A escaped in the van with our investigators and sought refuge with us? Very probable given what may have occurred at Moe. Such a frightening experience, but if this is true, what a courageous and strong woman Mrs A was and is!

You may read this and think what a load of BS. I totally get that! I would too if I was reading this, but all I can tell you is what I experienced, felt and heard on that night. It was insane, intense and something that I will put down as an experience that I can not yet explain.

Using psychometry readings in your investigations

Being able to discover facts or information about a building, an old photo, a toy, or any other inanimate object would be a great asset when undertaking paranormal investigations, don't you think?

Knowing any facts about the history of a location or information about an object, can often validate evidence collected from paranormal investigations, including apparitions or voices. Spiritual theorists believe psychometry may provide the means to find the facts or answers to these questions.

Psychometry is the most common term given to the alleged ability, or the extrasensory perception of, being able to discover information or facts about an event, person or inanimate object, simply by making physical contact with the associated objects. The theory is, people are made up entirely of energy and this energy leaves an energetic or psychic imprint on the objects touched. For humans still living, we refer to this as their aura, and for those that have passed, these psychic imprints may manifest, present as residual hauntings, or simply stay imprinted in the inanimate object. The knowledge embedded in the energetic or psychic imprint is then transferred to the person holding or touching the object. People who can perform this skill are often referred to as 'empaths'.

Have you ever picked up an item, touched a person or object and experienced a Deja Vu moment, an overwhelming emotion, seen an image or even had a thought which seemed random and not related to your current line of thought? If so, you may be in fact experiencing this extrasensory perception ability of psychometry.

So how do you know if you have this skill? Can you learn it?

Well, the answer is yes, with practice.

There are some identifying features or situations that will help distinguish whether you may be inclined to perform psychometry, or at least identify that, with practice, you may be able to develop the skill of psychometric reading.

The most common ways to identify if there is a predisposition to reading an object's energy or a possession of psychometric ability are:

• you avoid touching old metal objects, especially items like chains, gates, shields and swords as metal objects tend to hold more energy and hence, you feel 'different' when you pick up older metal objects
• antique stores make you feel uneasy or give off a weird vibe or feeling. You may find yourself getting fidgety, uncomfortable and you do not want to touch any of the items or furniture that is on display
• you find it difficult to own used furniture and feel uncomfortable around it or sitting in it
• you feel uncomfortable in a room or space with too many objects, or a space that is cluttered, especially if the room is full of older vintage or antique style items
• you feel the urge to sage cluttered spaces or rooms in older homes
• you can not wear or buy used or second-hand clothing and hated the 'hand-me-downs'
• you do not like looking at old pictures or you feel overwhelmed and emotional when you look at them
• you can not wear pre-owned jewellery or feel the urge to cleanse any used jewellery that you have or wear  
• second hand or opportunity shops make you feel overwhelmed and uneasy and you do not usually buy items of a second-hand nature
• you feel the need to wash your hands after you have touched or picked up a second hand item 

Don't feel disillusioned if you are comfortable with some or all of the above, you can still develop the ability of psychometry through determined practice. With the right amount of concentration, empathy and focus, you can learn how to, and improve your ability in performing a psychometric reading.

So, to improve the skill in psychometry, I strongly suggest working through a regular routine. It may take months before validated and accurate readings occur, but once skills are honed, this will be a valuable asset to use when investigating. Even the most experienced readers have inaccuracies, but what is imortant, is to keep trying and improving the number of accurate readings to that of 

• Set up an EVP recorder, or have someone scribe responses
• Wash and dry your hands thoroughly. You want to ensure that no energy is left on your hands that may interfere with your reading. 
• Rub your hands together to create friction, warm them up and create static energy (this can be tested by placing your palms parallel, about a centimetre apart and sensing whether you feel a sensation, like a denseness or energy between your palms)
• Centre yourself by taking deep breaths and relax
• Close your eyes and focus on your senses. What can you hear, see, smell and taste?
• Move the focus down to your hands and the energy within your hands. 
• Pick up the item you are wishing to read.
• Imagine the object is an extension of your hand. Shift your awareness to the object and the object only. 
• Open yourself up and allow emotions, memories, images and thoughts to enter your mind
• Ask yourself questions in your mind or out loud
• who was/is the owner of the object?
• show me the emotions, memories and experiences the owner had while using/wearing this object.
• is the owner still alive or have they passed?
• Say out loud any impressions and thoughts that come to your mind. Say anything you see, hear, feel, smell or taste.

If you are reading a piece of jewellery or photo, the owner may be able to validate your responses for accuracy. With time, emotions, memories, thoughts and impressions will become stronger and more detailed. 

Best items to start working on psychometric ability are:

• Jewellery (preferably someone you are not close to, so that you can test your reading without bias)
• Metal objects like swords, platters, shields, chains, family heirlooms
• Photos
• Diaries, books
• Homes, especially the walls in old buildings
• Furniture, armchairs, desks
• Toys, dolls, blankets - toys can contain information about emotional and mental states, especially if the child has a favourite toy that they kept with them all the time

Remember, psychometry is meant to be fun and with practice, can be an effective, interesting and no cost tool in your paranormal investigating repertoire of methodologies. 

Using a plasma dome for paranormal investigating

Paranormal Theory suggests that spirits need energy in order to manifest or communicate with the living. In many investigations, attempts to raise energy levels result in investigators, myself included, opening themselves up by giving permission for spirits to use their personal energy. Now this may be convenient at the time, but it is not ideal, as by opening yourself up and giving permission for spirits to take from you, you may find yourself with an outcome that you would rather not wish for.

To avoid any unwanted attachments, it is possible to raise energy levels using a scientific approach. The first is by using an EMF pump, but another way, is to use a plasma dome or ball.

So, could a child's novelty toy be used to investigate the paranormal? Well, the answer is yes ..... definitely.

The plasma dome is a clear glass sphere that is filled with a mixture of various noble gases, but mainly neon, and with a high-voltage electrode at the centre of the sphere. When the voltage is applied (power plugged in or from batteries), a plasma is formed within the sphere. The plasma filaments extend from the electrode to the outer glass sphere, which is an insulator, giving the appearance of beams of coloured light. When this occurs, a radio frequency is emitted which may interfere with other devices, resulting in readings, or in the paranormal world, false positives.

I would suggest doing a few simple experiments to understand the capacity and strength of your plasma ball before you start using it for investigations.

Working out the dome's radius of effect

• Place your plasma dome in the middle of a table or room. Turn you plasma ball on. 
• Place a K2 meter next to the plasma dome, you should be receiving orange to red hits on your K2, depending on the strength of the ball. 
• Slowly slide the K2 away from the plasma dome until you have a solid green hit. Measure this distance (this is your radius of effect)
• Trial your radius of effect by moving the K2 meter around the circumference of an imaginary circle (where the dome is the centre of the circle), to ensure you are accurate with your radius of effect. 
• Randomly move your K2 meter in and out of the circle to validate the level of emission. In other words, move it closer to the dome until you get orange and red hits and then back away from the dome until the meter is green. Once you have validated the radius of effect, use this as a reference when investigating and do not place any other devices within that radius, as you need to ensure that the radio frequency emitted does not interfere with any of your other devices. 

Also, a good understanding of how conduction works is vital in getting the best out of your plasma dome. If you place your right hand on the plasma dome and then your left hand on the K2 meter, you should be able to conduct the electricity through your body, which will be shown by a reading on the K2 meter. This is important to note, just in case you touch the dome and then move close to or pick up your K2 meter.

How to use the dome in an investigation

There are a number of ways to use a plasma dome in an investigation. The one that I find most valuable is to use the dome in conjunction with an Electronic Voice Phenomena Recorder (EVP). By placing the EVP near the dome, entities may use the dome's energy and the emitted radio frequencies to manipulate the frequency to communicate with us. The EVP can register a wider pitch range, from 7 Hz to 50,000 Hz, whereas average human hearing will only register sounds from approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. This range obviously changes based on age, exposure and ear damage. What this means is, the EVP may pick up sounds and voices that the human ear can not. 

A second method is asking any spirit entities to come and touch the plasma dome. As when a human touches the dome's outer shell, the coloured beam would form an arc from the centre electrode to the point of contact. In theory, this should work if a spirit entity touches the dome or pulls energy from it. 

If an arc is visible and you have your dome situated within the validated radius of effect, then you can begin to eliminate or debunk possible causes of the arc. In this circumstance, the arc may be related to paranormal phenomenon and as an investigator you would begin to request that any entities touch the dome on the left, and then on the right or on one side for a yes, and another for a no. If the dome responds positively, then you may have a possible spirit communicating with you. 

Whenever you are investigating with a new piece of equipment, ensure you practice with the device before you take it out with you. Learn how it works, how it responds and how it interacts with you and any other devices or equipment you may use. 

Use the dome in conjunction with an EVP, K2s (or any EMF meter), an ovilus and a video camera for best results. 

From my experience the dome works best when young spirits are present or in one where voices or growls are often heard. 

Good luck with this fun, cheap addition to your investigation kit.