This is one place that I had been very much looking forward to investigating and was rather excited about spending six hours exploring the many buildings that are on the property. As we entered the grounds, we drove up a narrow dirt driveway with thick gardens and wooden fences on either side. It was very dark, cold, overcast and with a light mist. The absolute perfect setting for a paranormal investigation. Through the darkness you can see the outline of the buildings perched assertively on top of the hill. We made our way up past the overgrown fountain, that I am sure would have been majestic in its day, and stopped at the large iron gates which led into the asylum. Although this is (or was) an institution for 'lunatics', the gates feel very prison like.
We entered through the gates and walked around the covered walkways to an administration style building towards the back of the property. This room was to be our base for the evening. The grounds are huge and the buildings soar up into the grey night sky. It is rather overwhelming and quite intimidating.
Our first investigation was in the hexagonal building. This room was used as a day space for lunatics of simple mind or those that demonstrated child like behaviours. We were told that this building would be similar to what we see now as a child care centre with simple tasks and activities. The asylum closed in 1995 but there were remnants of Christmas decorations in some of the office spaces. Can not confirm whether they were from the asylum or from activities since. To the right of the building was the exercise yard for promiscuous women and to the left, that of diseased patients. There were windows all around with wooden seating along the walls. In this area I sensed a young boy aged about 12 - 15 years of age. We were able to communicate with him through the EMF device, where he was able to answer some questions. A boy, 12 years of age, he liked parties, but did not have any parties for his birthday and he liked Santa. We tried a music box, but the boy said he did not like that music. I had tingling sensations and the attachment was quite strong.
From here we moved into the Chapel area and set up a number of devices, including EMFs, K2s, touch pad and and EMF generator. We were able to get readings on one of the K2s and several communications on the EMF which included asking the spirit to come forward and use the touch pad to light it up and make sounds, which it did.
After the Chapel, we moved into the Matron's quarters. This was a grand building with ornate velvet wallpaper, chandeliers and many rooms. In the main office area on the ground floor, where history states that one matron had hung herself, we set up our devices. This room was directly under female wards and we could hear movements and sounds coming from upstairs. I felt very strong energy in two opposite corners of the room, so we set up laser grids near the two doors into the room. I sat in a different corner and our guide sat in the other. We had readings on the K2 and EMF devices, of which appeared to be coherent responses of a female head nurse, who was moved into the role quite suddenly. Could she have been the one who replaced the suicidal matron? She was not the last person to occupy the office. I could easily have spent more time in here because I very much sensed conflict. One investigator claimed to have seen a break in the laser grid moments before the EMF detector activated.
We then moved through some uneventful wards and into the grounds. Whilst moving around the yards, we would often see glimpses of lights (orbs) in windows and would feel that sense of someone was watching us.
From here, we moved into the three storey staff quarters building. We walked up to second floor and into a lounge area where a monitor had been set up with cameras on the first and third floor corridors. I collected some devices and a walkie talkie and made my way down, solo, to the first floor. Yes, solo, in complete darkness (I had a torch). I set up the devices along the hallway and then sat down, torch off, in silence, at one end. The camera (being monitored upstairs) was at the other end. Within seconds of being there, we heard a huge bang which sounded like the fire door being slammed shut. The guide was straight onto the walkie talkie asking if I had heard it (of which I clearly had). She checked the cameras and said that there was no movement of the fire doors. We had three distinct communications through our EMF and K2 devices and three distinct door slams. Sitting in silence, I could hear footsteps and movement. It was rather confronting because there was definitely no one on the floor with me and the other two investigators were a floor above me watching the cameras which covered all the corridors.
We packed up and moved over to the morgue. Now this is where the investigation turned nasty and the more I reflect on the night, the more questions I have.
In the morgue which was a two roomed building, we placed a touch pad on the slide table in the Coolroom, a K2 on the autopsy table and an EMF on the examination trolley. The investigator attempted to make contact with a doctor that she believed she had communicated with previously. It was at this point the touchpad in the Coolroom sounded and the EMF device responded. I felt a strong presence and a slight pressure on my thigh as if someone had accidentally leaned up against me. It was uncomfortable and did not feel like the normal tingling lactic acid feeling I usually have when investigating. I then swapped positions with the investigator and the spirit energy then moved across to me again. I must have pulled a weird face, because the investigator quickly said that it would be best for us to move on. We retrieved the devices and left quite abruptly. On discussion as we moved to our next location, the guide said that they had detected a 'not so nice' male in there who used the area for inappropriate relations with women. Not sure, but what I felt was a definite pressure on my thigh and an invasion of personal space.
From there we moved into the male wards. We went up to the second floor and into a lounge area. The feeling in here was very different to the rest of the asylum. Our guide investigator had told us that she really didn't like being in this building nor the feelings she has encountered in here. We moved down a corridor to a bathroom area which linked the two wings of the mens wards. We were in the bathroom and talking about the renovation of the bathroom when there was an almighty bang. It was so loud the room vibrated. To give you context, we are talking about a concrete and stone 150 year old building. There is no one in this building, but us. It is a still night with no wind. Directly above the guide there is a fluorescent light, which fell from the roof. It was as if someone had pushed over a huge concrete slab or smashed a sledge hammer into concrete. I was standing opposite the guide and her face went white and her jaw dropped. "WHAT WAS THAT!!?", she gasped. I have never seen an experienced paranormal investigator have such a reaction. She pulled out her mobile phone and began texting. She looked totally rattled. I quickly went through the bathroom into the other common area, shining my torch down corridors and into wards, looking for anything that had fallen or doors which could have made that sound. Within five minutes, the Head Investigator of the asylum was in our building (obviously that is who she had texted). She explained to him what we had experienced. You could tell by her tone and her language that she was rattled. A few moments later, another two guys were there. I am still trying to work out what we had experienced. You can not believe the deafening sound that it was.
While the guys went off to see if they could locate the cause, we moved down to the ECT room at the other end of the building. It was pretty obvious our guide was concerned, she was pacing around the room staring out each window, east side, west side, north side, constantly looking and pacing. I am not sure, but I think she may have been concerned there were others in the asylum with us. Whilst looking out one of the windows, she stated that there was a truck driving out of the asylum. The other investigator ran over to the window and together they watched this truck drive away. What was that truck, why was it there and where was it going? Did this truck have something to do with the noise we had heard? Very odd, very, very odd. After ten or so minutes, one of the guys returned and said that there had been some shifting of the slate tiles on the roof. A slate tile did not make that sound...I can promise you that. The guide then spoke about the sighting of the truck, which also seemed to baffle him, and asked if he could stay contactable for the rest of the tour. Something had definitely spooked her!
Nothing substantial happened in the ECT room, so we moved across the cage which connected the men's wards with the administration and women's wards.
Once in the women's ward, the guide did not stop with her slightly paranoid behaviour. She closed big sliding doors and stated that this is our block 1 (barrier) and then we walked the whole length of the ward past communal areas, isolation rooms, lounge areas and bathrooms, where she slid another big door closed and said this is our block 2. Blocks from what?
Two of us undertook some uneventful investigation in one end before we moved to a central communal area. We set up a number of devices in the room and sat there in complete silence. A little while after the EMF device activated. We were able to engage with a few questions of which a female entity identified that she lived in the ward rooms to the left of the communal area. She said that she was in her own room and had an iron bed. This seemed interesting, because to the left were rooms that did house iron beds. We asked her if she could identify her room for us by flashing once when we reached her room. We walked down past a number of rooms and when we were between the third and fourth rooms the light flashed. We walked back to the third room and asked if that was her room, no. The fourth room, is this your room, yes. Again, is this your room, yes.
We set up the EMF, K2 and the touch pad. It was very interesting that we would get communication for about 3 minutes and then it would disappear for about 2 minutes and then return. It was the same time intervals for the next forty or so minutes. Two of the investigators said that they sensed a young female. Answers were precise and repetitive. We ascertained that she was female, aged 19 when committed by her husband, Had been there for between 10 and 20 years and passed at the asylum. we asked were you here in the 1900s, yes, 1800s, yes, 1890's, yes, 1880s, yes, 1870s, no, were you here at the turn of the century, 1900, yes, 1910s, no. She told us that she was in an isolation room because she was considered aggressive and that she did not get along with other patients. We were able to determine her name started with a C, and when we asked Claire, no, Clara, no, Catherine, yes. We asked again, Clara, no, Catherine, yes. When we asked the same questions, though slightly different, we were given the same answer time and time again. We sensed that she was not physically there on our plane, but had come to communicate with us directly, as she had a story to tell. I am sure the guide is going to go back and build more around this story. It was very strong, very precise and I felt, very genuine. Nothing was random. Answers of yes and no never wavered, no matter how many times you asked the question or if they were asked in varying contexts.
The guide stated the women's ward is traditionally very active, but I only felt this one spirit. It was almost as if she had waited for us, waited for all the other energies to be exhausted by the earlier ghost tours, as if she had waited to tell us her story.
I will return, and when I do, I would like to say hi to the boy in the hexagonal room, revisit the Matron's quarters, the men's bathroom, men's wards, some new spaces and then lastly back to talk with Catherine.
Great night, but you do need to spend hours there. Hours and hours!
