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.

J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane (The Investigation)

The second half of Saturday night was spent privately investigating J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane .... and insane it was!

After a wonderful supper of pizza, garlic bread and drinks, the Lantern Ghost Tours hosts, Natasha and Richard, informed us that we had free range of the entire facility. Yes, the ENTIRE facility. We could not contain our excitement and were eager to get stuck into our investigating. When I refer to we, I was lucky enough to be investigating with ghost hunting friends, Amanda from ALM Paranormal and Matt from ARK Paranormal.

So after setting up our sleeping bags in the West Wing (Hospital Ward), we returned to the dining room. Within moments we heard banging on the perspex windows which divide the dining room from the main cell block. The three of us looked at each other and said "What was that?" It took us a moment to realise the windows were made of perspex. We tried replicating the sound and then debunking how it may have happened. What we concluded was the sound was definitely the perspex being banged on and we could not debunk was how it may have occurred. There was no one in the cell area and we were the only people in the dining area. Interestingly, another investigator Jenni also caught this sound numerous times on her EVP recorder and while she was sleeping. You see, Jenni had set up her sleeping bag in the dining room and whilst she slept, left an EVP recorder going all night. The sounds of the perspex banging on her EVP at 5.30 am, were exactly the same sounds we heard live at 10.30 pm. Very interesting!

Well, with the night off to a great start, we formally began the night with a live feed in the grounds and then a live feed to the @ParanormalVic Facebook page of the downstairs area in the old kitchen, the stairwell off the kitchen and the Governor's bathroom.

Oh my....what an experience!

This area was the creepiest space I have been in for a long time. A dark underground cavern.....cold and eerie. It was almost impossible to imagine it ever been inhabited. The kitchen with its stone walls and floors, with bars for windows and no real natural light. It was like a dungeon! There were two huge wooden doors, one which lead out to the sunken well and external stone staircase and another which led the the frightfully petrifying stone stairwell.

In this space we had significant K2 hits and a feeling of heaviness, but nothing else worth noting was recorded live.

But when we reviewed the EVP, video and audio footage, we had voices come through, including demonic growls and a deep male voice stating 'Kill' in the kitchen and 'Bash her' in the stairwell. Once in the bathroom, there were other inaudible voices in the bathroom, all of which were not heard live when in the space.

The growl was terrifying, it sounded like a beast who was not happy with us being in its lair, and although I do not believe, or should I say, have not yet experienced, an attack from a demonic beast, I can tell you one thing....if ever it was going to happen, this would be the place!

That growl was horrendous and when listening to it, absolutely scared the living daylights out of me.

What the???

Can't wait to go back!

Well, we were in the downstairs 'dungeon' for well over an hour. Our live video showed the attachment to Matt and the uneasiness with females being in the space. If you look at the picture above, I was standing to the right of this end of the bath, with my back to the open door to the stairwell where we had 'Bash her' said, Matt was in the left back corner and Amanda in the right back corner. Both of them had K2 meters which were getting consistent hits. Matt was touched a number of times and it was obvious the entity had a liking for Matt. Now given this was a male prison with well documented non-consensual homosexual behaviours, was there a connection due to Matt being a male?

In the end we moved out due to Matt's growing uneasiness. Before we left, we had to ensure some white energy to insist the entities stay within the space they were confined.

On reflection, I am so glad we did, because who knows what may have eventuated if we had not.

From here, we moved back upstairs to the dining area where Richard, the lantern ghost tour host, joined us as we moved over to investigate the Turnkey Master's Quarters. According to Richard, this space had not been investigated before and had only been recently refurbished. The space had three rooms, a kitchen and dining area to the right, a storage room and then a bedroom to the left. We went in the bedroom and set up the spirit box. We did a silent box with Richard on the headphones. He became very agitated and uneasy, fidgeting in his seat and appeared very uncomfortable. When this happens, we remove the person from the box. What was apparent was that a male spirit was coming through and every time a female asked a question, he would tell them 'No' or would be very rude and berate the female. What was interesting is, Richard, or the person on the headphones could not hear who was asking the question, or even what the question was - they have noise cancelling headphones on and could only hear the choo choo choo white noise of the spirit box and its underlying communication. The name that came through repeatedly was Jason. There was also a female, Elaine, that came through. This definitely warranted further investigation.

Am I skeptical about the spirit box? Well at the moment, I am open to it. Given that the person could not hear the questions and did not know who was asking the questions, or even know when they were being asked (as they were also blindfolded), you have to have some level of ....could this be true? When you transcribe the questions and responses and many of them are so in sync, it does get you wondering if this is a valid and authentic method of communication. Over time, if historical names, dates and events are validated, then this will definitely increase the credibility of this type of device.

So, to test this theory of hatred towards women, we gave the headphones to Amanda. The session began as normal, but it wasn't long before the voices Amanda heard through the spirit box began swearing at her and telling her 'No, not you", 'Go away' plus a plethora of expletives. What did come through was an overwhelming sense of a strong dominating male who had little if any respect for females. What could this imply - well I do not want to speculate!

From here we moved across to the Warden's Quarters and investigated the downstairs reception room. There was definitely some activity in the space, but was limited to tingles in the legs, K2 hits and catball activity in the room. We did however hear distinct footsteps in the hallway outside the room. In future, it would be interesting to do a deeper investigation here with a video camera and EVP in the hallway, as it definitely sounded like someone was walking up and down.

After this, we returned to the dining room where we then moved into the Hospital West Wing. Matt and Amanda were already in the space when I arrived as I had to visit the bathroom. When I opened the door, their faces were focused down the hallway and their eyes wide opened. "Shhhh, Lib....listen". So I stood....frozen.....not knowing what I was expected to hear.......and then after about a minute, I heard......footsteps, about ten of them, then a sound, which sounded like something on wheels, then a door being rattled. What the? I quickly looked towards the direction of the sounds and the door to where I believed it was generating from. It was at the end of the West Wing corridor to the left, only about five metres from where I stood. The door led into a caged in walkway and out to the shower block. I said....'ok, someone is out there', I quickly moved to the door, opened it and looked down the dark and eerie cage way.....nothing. I walked over to the shower block.....nothing.  I looked through the other door to the right....nothing.

I returned to Matt and Amanda who said that the exact same had been repeated three times prior. Exactly the same at about five minute intervals. So we waited.....and sure enough, a few minutes later......footsteps, trolley sound, door! It was unbelievable! So loud and so distinct!

Unbelievable!

What is even better, we have it on video audio. Our EVP's and most of our cameras malfunctioned that night (another story in itself), but there was one camera which picked it up. It was facing the other end of the corridor, about 15 metres from the door in question and around a small bend in the hall. I have put the link here for you to listen. Given that the microphone was facing the other way and was a good fifteen metres away from where the sound was - you can imagine how loud it was in real life.

This would have to be one of the loudest residual hauntings I have ever heard. It was absolutely mind blowing!

Trolley Noise EVP in the West Wing

By this time it is after one in the morning and some guests had moved off to bed in the cells, whilst the team, along with a few other guests moved up to the second floor cells, past the gallows and to a room at the end of the building. I am unsure what this space may have been back in the day, but it is currently like a conference room. The hosts informed us that many guests become nauseous in this space and females had vomited and felt threatened. So yes, we were going in there!

We set up the spirit box in an attempt to channel any entities. A few investigators had a go, including Natasha, a host, myself, a new guest named Aiden and the other host, Richard. What was clearly apparent was whenever a female was on, they were swore at and berated. If a female asked a question, they were told, no, not you, go way, you heard me....piss off. This investigation was interesting with some information documented for future investigations and follow up.

After about an hour near the gallows, we moved down to do some live ten minute challenges. Four groups went out to do a solo or pair challenge with a live feed back to base. The spaces included the Governor's Bathroom, the Police Lock Up, The Art and Craft Room and the Turn Key's Quarters. All spaces were uneventful. By the time we finished the challenges it was close to four in the morning.

What was noticeable, was the whole facility was uneventful from about three in the morning. No sounds, no banging, no trolleys, no voices.

At about five am we rolled out our sleeping bags on the very clean and super comfy mattresses and nodded off into dream land. We awoke at about seven, did a walk around, packed up and left by about eight.

Given the high amount of activity in the beginning of the night, I would ensure all the cameras and EVP equipment was set up early, I would investigate downstairs, the West Wing and the dining room early. On this visit, we did not investigate the chapel, the yards, the shower block or any of the cells. Given that, I would say J-Ward has at least another two overnight visits from me at the very least!

It was mind-blowing, eerie, creepy, horrific and absolutely fantastic!

I am back in February 2020 to continue the story.

J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane (Ghost Tour)

Saturday night we were hosted by Lantern Ghost Tours at J-Ward Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and let me tell you, it was absolutely awesome.

This night and the blog has been broken into two posts - one for the Ghost Tour and one for the Investigation. Why? Simple. The amount of activity to write would warrant a short story!

So let's start with Part 1: The Ghost Tour

The night began with brief introductions and a walk around the museum style entrance foyer, which housed interesting artefacts from both J-Ward and Aradale Asylums.  Everything from arts and crafts, to syringes and electric shock therapy apparatus.

Our hosts Natasha and Richard gave us a brief run through and then after about fifteen minutes, the group moved into the newest building, the West Wing. The West Wing was where medical patients who were less threatening and more stable were accommodated. There were approximately ten single cells off a long hallway. Here we stopped for about twenty minutes as we attempted to connect with the matron who regularly patrolled this hallway. We had several hits on the K2 meters and I (and other guests) felt tingles through the lower part of my legs.

At the far end of the hallway and off to the left was the shower block. This block lay twenty metres from the West Wing through a caged walkway and to the right of the hallway was the entrance to the main cell block. The cell block was a double story building with approximately twelve cells on each floor. The ground floor had a refurbished chapel and although the stories were interesting, no activity was noted. The cells have images and stories on display regarding notorious inmates and they are well worth the read. We moved upstairs to the gallows, where we were informed that J-Ward was the site for three hangings, before descending back down to the ground level and moving outside to the exercise yard area. Originally there were four separately fenced yards, where as now, one fence stands separating the Pool and Arts and Craft building from the rest of the yard space. The yard is pretty much untouched with original fences, tables, benches and gazebo. The dreariness, the lack of colour, nature or life, is unnervingly apparent.

The guide Natasha, moved us over to one corner of the yard where three plaques were attached to the bluestone walls at approximately waist height. These plaques were dedicated to the men whose bodies stood buried deep into the wall. Notice I use the word 'stood'. These men were not laid to rest. Instead they were buried standing up, never to rest, facing north, so never to see a sunrise or sunset, embalmed in lime and encased between the bluestone layers. It was also at this point, the smoothness of the bluestone was pointed out to us. Patients would come to the yard and to this wall which basked in the suns rays. They would rub their straight jacket buckles against the warm bluestone bricks, heating the metal buckles and in turn, heat their jackets and warming their cold bodies. Over time, the rough exterior of the bluestone had worn down to a surface, smooth as porcelain.

We then moved through a small gate in the wall which connected to a separate yard. A set of external circular stairs led us down to an underground cavern ..... the original kitchen. In this kitchen it was alleged there were up to five spirits haunting the dark and dreary abode. Three children, a German cook and the Governor. The Governor who died on the steps to the bathroom and then fell in the doorway where he took his last breath.

Here we had a number of K2 hits and a few people claimed that their hands were touched or their hair was played with. Off the kitchen was a hallway and a stone staircase .... cold, dark, ominous and heavy. No writing or words could explain this space, so I have included the image. It was one of the most terrifying spaces I have ever seen.

We returned to investigate this space later in the evening and captured video and electronic voice phenomena of potential demonic entities and I have shared those experiencs in Part 2: The Investigation.

From here we moved up the stairs which led back to the museum foyer, where we gathered for a documentary and interview by Mike Willisee in the 1970's. Seeing real patients, pacing, swaying and lying in the yard ..... waiting their lives away, was just so very sad and I was totally overwhelmed with empathy, sorrow, heartache and disgust, all at the same time.

One particular patient George, who believed he was the Queen's brother, spoke candidly about the murders he committed, his life and his 'eye for an eye', where he engaged in self-mutilation and gauged his own eye from its very socket. Due to George being such a threat to others, he was caged in his own private yard for safety. His peering face through the bars was spine-tingling.

To see someone so mentally ill and the life he had ..... I just can't explain it. It was just so very, very  sad.

Criminally insane patients who castrated themselves, amputated every finger and toe from their own bodies, or even those who had autism, were committed to a life in the Asylum. What I find hard to fathom is this type of treatment and facility was active into the 1990's - just thirty years ago. Unbelievable!

After supper of pizza and drinks, we moved onto our individual investigation.....now this is where it gets interesting and leads to Part 2 of the blog.

Would I return to J-Ward for another tour and investigation - well, I have already booked for one in the new year! Need I say more....

Bundoora Park, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

Saturday night we joined the Australian Paranormal Society (APS) to investigate Bundoora Park Farm. The site is set up with a number of different activities, but for the investigation we were focused on the twentieth century heritage village, which comprises of a number of relocatable structures. 

Let's begin the night at the very start. We entered the grounds of Bundoora Park Farm to be immediately confronted with locked gates. It was pitch black with only the headlights from the car illuminating the road which was fully surrounded by bushland. It was eerie and cold.

A four wheel drive pulled over on the other side of the gate and a tall, heavily built man disembarked his vehicle and walked slowly towards our car. He was dressed all in black and was holding a torch which dimly lit his face. I was not sure if this was the right place, so I wound down my window. He questioned "investigation?" I said "yes". He then stated in a monotone deep voice "I'll unlock the gates, pull up over there and I'll lead you in". It was like I was entering a highly secured, secret underground bunker.

We drove through the gates and waited for him to lead us up the dark winding path to the village. That in itself set the scene for the night's investigation. I was excited!

After a very brief five minute introduction and history talk, we began the investigation part of the evening by splitting into two groups. All guests had been on ghost tours or investigations previously, so with no newbies in tow, the guides hustled everyone to their first destination.  My group was led by a member of APS and a medium as we followed them into the villa. This was a cottage style dwelling with a long hallway down the middle. The main part of the dwelling had four main rooms. Lounge and dining rooms to the left and the main bedroom and child's room to the right. The back of the house had an open space and a kitchen off to the right.

We congregated in the dining room, where the guide had previously set up an EMF pump, K2's, spirit box and EVP recorder with speaker. He began by explaining the equipment and then moved onto the EVP. He asked each member to ask a question and then wait about ten seconds in between questions, to give the spirit time to respond. At the end of the questioning, he played the recording back through the speaker to see if we could decipher any audible responses. Nothing.

He then moved onto the spirit box. This swept through a number of frequencies, a number of times. There were no clear responses heard over the white noise.

The medium then alleged to pick up on the spirit of a young boy about 3 or 4 years of age. She claimed he was playing and hiding under the table. This interaction lasted a number of minutes and it appeared the boy was communicating using the K2 meter. The medium and a number of guests claimed to feel a cool breeze. I felt nothing.

It was at this time that I sensed a female spirit with the name Mary, Maree or Maria. The spirit kept telling me she needed to speak with John. I thought this was odd as the original owner of the homestead was John. I thought nothing of it as I believed I had been influenced by the brief history we received on arrival.

As the group interacted with the alleged child spirit and the K2, this nagging in my head was getting stronger. "I need to talk to John. It's Maria, tell him I am here". This was going over and over in my head to the point where I developed a headache. I interrupted the group and said that what I was about to say may be irrelevant, but I am sensing a female spirit (fiftyish) that is nagging me to speak to an older gentleman named John. So I asked the guide if they have had any experiences with what I just said. It was at this point that the older gentleman to my right said that his name was John and his younger sister's name was Maria. I gasped and instantaneously my headache was gone. I said, I don't know what is going on, but she wants to talk to you. He then directed his questioning to the spirit and asked out loud "what are you trying to tell me?".....nothing. This was very odd and rather confronting. The story deepens later...…..

We then did a shout out, where the group yelled "HELLO" three times. The EVP recorded this session and we listened back to the recording to see if Maria had communicated, but nothing.

We then had five minutes to walk around the house to see the other rooms. It wasn't enough time to do any investigative work, it was just enough time to see what was in the other rooms.

Our group then moved over to the school house, where the guide had set up an EMF doll. They also had a K2 meter, EVP recorder, a laser grid and an ovilus. The guide explained each piece of equipment and handed them to guests to hold. The ovilus was given to John and was constantly giving out words, but I do not know what they were and I did not check the log. At one point, the guide asked the spirit his name and it did respond accurately with "Jim".

There was an occasional hit on the EMF doll and no hits on the K2.

This is where the John, Maria situation comes back. The nagging spirit was back in my head asking me to ask them about the migraines and the old lady who died of the heart, breathing issue. I felt like the spirit was saying if you ask them that - they will believe. This is what was going on in my head. It was so frustrating....getting louder and louder to the point where I couldn't think about anything else. So again, I say, look I am just going to say this as it is.

Someone has an issue with really bad migraines - John's wife (who was sitting next to him) says, I have debilitating migraines. Ok.

And there is an older lady who died of a heart issue, but it was more the breathing - John says, my mother.

Now this is getting freaky. I also stated that John was there with his two daughters and a niece.....don't know how I knew that - but it was correct. I guess it was all validation.

I then concluded with, Maria needs to talk to you. End of story......weird huh?

We then participated in an old school technique called the human pendulum. A group of guests stood up and formed a circle holding hands. We welcomed any spirit into the space and asked them to make it known who they wanted to communicate with. One lady then stated she was swaying and had felt cold around her legs.

She then moved into the centre of the circle and relaxed. The group then asked yes no questions of the spirit and the guest would rock forward for a yes and backwards for a no. I know this sounds staged, but when you see it in reality and see the movement that the guest does and how distinct it is, you do find it hard to debunk. Naturally it raised questions of authenticity and I could not help but reflect on the unconscious muscle force theory. I did find myself questioning whether it was genuine.

The responses were related to the young spirit boy whom was alleged to have followed us from the house. He stated he was cold, was an only child, was four years old and was happy living there.

I am rather intrigued with this old school method and will definitely trial this so I can validate genuine non control or influence.

After this, the entire group moved into the chapel where we experimented with a ghost box. This did not produce any results, so we moved the ghost box into the house and set up in the lounge room. There were a number of responses, but nothing that seemed to make sense at the time.

We then closed with a grounding ceremony.

The investigation was different to other public tours I had been on. This one was very well structured and moved through three spaces with about 45 minutes in each space. It felt really short, sharp and directed. It was suited to people who had an understanding of investigations as it exposed them to a new level of equipment that the amateur ghost hunter may not own or have used. Equipment such as an ovilus and a ghost box, given that they are relatively expensive pieces of equipment to purchase. It was not an investigation where you go off and do your own thing or sit around and wait and listen. With about 45 minutes in each space, which includes a talk about the equipment, a shout out, an EVP recording and a listen back, there is not much time left to explore.

Although there was not a lot of activity on this investigation, it was very interesting to learn two new strategies in the shout out and the pendulum. I will definitely try both of these at upcoming investigations and would highly recommend this investigation to others who want to see this equipment in action.

Oh by the way - the image is of the Chapel and those two graves are horse graves......yes horse graves!

All in all ….. a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

Private residential home, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

There are many people who think their home is haunted. They may see, hear or feel things that they themselves could not explain. Other times, their imagination works overtime and many of the so called experiences could be explained or debunked.

The house which I was asked to investigate, has been owned and lived in by the same sceptic owner for near on forty years. Children have been raised there, friends and family have lived there, but one unexplained common phenomena, that has been bantered around over the years, is the sighting of a lady apparition in the front bedroom. Residents and guests have claimed to see her shadow move through the hallway and in and out of the front bedroom. There have been cold chills and unexplained noises.

So Saturday day and evening, I, along with the owner, her daughter and a family friend prepared to investigation the allegations. We sat in the kitchen where I explained what we were going to do for the night. I showed them the equipment I had brought along - it was like a Tupperware party but with paranormal goodies instead (business idea right there). The equipment including dousing rods, K2s, laser grid, spirit box, EVR, ghost meter, parascope, old-school trigger items, a camera and video equipment. For everyone, except me, this was new to them.

In the late afternoon, we walked around the 100 year old home to get a feel for its energy. The front room was definitely at least 5 - 6 degrees colder than every other room in the home. Within moments I felt the denseness of the air and the K2 meter was activated. We set up trigger items which included balls and dolls, along with a video camera. We decided to stay in the room for about 45 minutes and just sit and listen. Interestingly, the daughter felt a cool breeze move from the window to the door numerous times. The owner played with the K2 meter and the daughter and friend began to dabble with the dousing rods. There was definitely some credible crossing of the rods which responded to similar questions in the same way. We did capture a mist like image on one of the cameras.

After a bit of an introduction, we retreated to the kitchen to talk about the experience. The catball was left in the hallway about 10 cm from the door, on the floor boards. After about 10 minutes, and out of the corner of our eyes, we saw that the catball had been activated. It only happened the once. We had a K2 meter on the kitchen table which was heavily active, responding to questions and appeared to be attempting to communicate with us. What was interesting, is the daughter and mother had stated that the spirit had never gone past the hallway, ever. It moved in and out of the room and to the entrance of the next room, but never the whole length of the hallway or into the kitchen. Was this a different spirit who was activating the K2 on the table? I would say yes!

After dinner we moved back down the hallway to find the catball on the carpet runner. Yes it had moved. MOVED.....about 10 cm and up onto the runner.  Realistically, someone may have kicked it when walking out of the room earlier, but it had not activated then and no one recalled kicking it. It only lit up that one time for the whole night, when we were at dinner - had the spirit come out of the room to see what we were doing? Possibly.

We continued with our investigation in the bedroom using the K2 meters and the dousing rods. The responses we received alleged the spirit was a female lady who had lived there and that she enjoyed living there. She liked looking out the large bay window to the busyness of the world. She liked the fire place and felt that the room was too cold now that it was not in use. I personally had numerous tingles and did sense only the one spirit in the room. We attempted to use the spirit box and laser grid, but with no success. The owner validated at the conclusion of the investigation that she had bought the property as a deceased estate from a German lady and that the owner had closed up the fireplace in that bedroom. She was unaware whether she had any children, although we did have numerous hits stating that the spirit did in fact have children.

From here, we moved into the formal reception room which was opposite the bedroom. The feeling was different. Not sure how, just different. The owners said that they have never sensed her in this space, but we thought we would investigate all the same.

About 15 minutes in, we had hits on the K2 and the parascope. The daughter and friend were still using the dousing rods. Then all of a sudden the daughter was overcome with intense emotion and after some questioning and interaction, it was concluded that the spirit was that of her male friend whom had taking his own life late last year. The daughter had been carrying around considerable guilt and I believe he was there to help her heal and for closure. The interactions were very emotional and I believe genuine. He was answering questions which only she would know and they were accurate. At the end of the investigation, the owner told us that he had lived there for a number of years and this room was his bedroom! Was this the spirit that had been attempting to communicate with us in the kitchen?

We have some interesting video footage of the K2 meter in the reception room. In the footage, the green light, which was always on, can be seen going on and off in the video. From where I was sitting, I could see it was green (or orange or red) all the time, but the camera had it going on and off regularly. I believe the spirit was moving between the camera and the meter, with his shadow stopping the light being seen by the camera. It was intense.

Due to the high level of emotion, we retreated to the kitchen to gather ourselves and have some dessert (carrot cake to be exact). We talked about our experience before closing our investigations with a quick good bye in each of the rooms.

The owner who was a very strong sceptic stated that she believed something was captured there that night. She said that due to me not knowing the history or the stories, the equipment responded with accurate answers. She has asked us to return again.

Langhorne Homestead, Altona, Victoria, Australia

The Altona Homestead was built in the 1850's and is situated in Logan Reserve, about 50 metres from the Altona Beach shoreline. Imagine being in the mid 1800's, standing in the bay window staring out to the ocean, watching and waiting for your husband to return, with the sounds of the ocean reminding you of how isolated you are. The flicker of candlelight or moonlight shimmering through the gum trees must have been so eerily peaceful. It is hard to imagine, and even more so, given that the homestead is surrounded by a bustling community, with shops, restaurants, bars and people. But once inside, you blocked the sounds of the outside world and immersed yourself in the artifacts that filled the homestead.

And so the night began …...

We entered the beautiful bluestone and brick homestead into an entrance foyer. To the left was the main bedroom of Sarah Langhorne, to the right, the reception room. Straight ahead is a hallway and a door. Off the hallway were the bathroom, the child's bedroom and a large room (currently used as an office). The door off the foyer, led to the dining room and off this was a small library and through the library was the kitchen, which was the base for the night.

We all met in the kitchen where the two guides gave a five minute introduction and a brief history of the spirits who were alleged to roam the homestead. They went through some equipment they had on offer, which included K2 meters, dousing rods, a spirit box and a set of parabolic earphones. The guides then said we were free to explore the homestead and if we needed their assistance, to just ask.

Great I thought, off to do my own paranormal investigation. I love that!

I teamed up with a friend, who had brought his teenage daughter along for her first extended paranormal investigation, and moved quickly into the main bedroom. This bedroom was alleged to have a number of spirits, including a woman who had died in the bed during childbirth and that of Sarah Langhorne. We set up a video camera, a parascope on the bed, a few K2 meters and a catball on the wash stand. We then invited anyone to come forward. After a few minutes, the parascope lit up and the catball began to respond with what appeared to be intelligent communication. This only lasted about five minutes because the other guests began to talk rather loudly, laughing and moving noisily through the homestead. In reality, we were talking about an entrance foyer with five investigative rooms off it, and 17 people (2 guides and 15 guests) moving through a relatively small area, so noise was always going to be an issue.

We did have a video camera set up in this space, so we are hoping that once that is analysed, there may be some notable evidence from this room.

It would have been beneficial for the guide to talk about investigation etiquette. There were many times throughout the night that you could not investigate due to the noise of some of the guests.

From the bedroom, we moved into the bathroom where it was alleged a man had drowned in the tub. Unfortunately nothing.

From the bathroom, we moved into the child's room next door. They were alleged reports of children playing in this space, so we set up a few trigger items, the camera and the catball. We spent a considerable amount of time in this room, not because of activity, but because there were always people in the reception room and the dining room was a thorough fare through to the base (kitchen) and we had already investigated the bathroom and the main bedroom.

However, we did get some activity in this room. Mostly mild sensations, cool breezes and tinglings and on the second return to this room, my friend felt headachey and the room felt 'different'. We spent over forty-five minutes in this room, in total. One couple had stated that when they were in there, they felt something touch their legs.

By this time we were one and a half hours into the investigation and the house seemed to quieten down. We found out that some of the guests had left the tour. So with a few less people in the house, we moved into the dining room. We set the parascope up on the table and a few triggers elsewhere in the room. We did feel energy in the room, albeit mild, and we did have a few hits on the parascope, but nothing on any of the other devices.

From here, we returned to the main bedroom and tried a few other investigations with the other couple from earlier. We made a circle of energy and invited the spirits to come and communicate with us. The couple commented on cool breezes and being touched in the back whilst the other felt like she was being pulled towards the window. The room felt more charged and there were definite tinglings, but none of the devices were activated.

There was still an hour to go on the tour, and I must admit, we did consider leaving, but we thought, no, let's try somewhere else. So we went down into the office area. This area definitely had a different feel from the rest of the homestead. This may sound funny, but it felt masculine, and we referred to the spirit we encountered as male, whereas everywhere else in the homestead, we had subconsciously referred to the other adult spirits as female. We had some trigger activity on the parascope and the K2 flashed to orange multiple times. There was a dense, heavy feeling. It was probably the most active, besides the experiments in the main bedroom.

With half an hour to go, we finally got the reception room to ourselves. All night, others had set up camp in the reception room, sitting around on the couches, talking or using the spirit box with the volume up quite high. After a while, that white noise does your head in. It was used quite extensively by guests and guides this tour and it echoed through the homestead. I was surprised, because most of the reading I have done on spirit boxes stated that you should always do a protection 'spell' before using one and then only use it for five to ten minutes at a time, with a closing 'spell' at the end, to ensure spirits go back to whence they came. I do get the attraction of this piece of equipment and I do use mine, but we record the session and unless the whole team is in the one room, we use headphones.

We sat in the reception room and listened to the last of the guests say their goodbyes. We realised everyone else had left the tour, except for us.

Nothing notable happened in the reception room, so we packed up and went to find the guides to say goodnight. At the beginning of the night we were concerned that three hours would not be enough time to do an in-depth paranormal investigation, but it was more than enough, given the low level of activity we experienced.

The guides were lovely and most hospitable, but some of the guests were loud, with a few of them doing an investigation for the first or second time and whom did not understand etiquette. This definitely deterred from our experience, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

As for a paranormal investigation, it was a great one for newbies or children. It was not scary or confronting. The rooms were well furnished and there was no need for a torch. There was a toilet and a well lit kitchen to retreat to if need be. The company provided some great equipment for guests to dabble in and there were enough rooms to practice your investigative skills.

Old Gippstown Gippsland Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

This weekend I headed off with a few friends to Old Gippstown Gippsland Heritage Park in Moe, Victoria. The paranormal weekend was organised by Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts and I would have to say, this weekend was one of the best experiences I have had. The park is a collection of over forty buildings from the 1840's to 1930's and features some buildings which were relocated and heritage listed, while others were purpose built for the park.  

We arrived early Friday afternoon and were fortunate enough to have time to walk around the eight acre site and get our bearings. The team were setting up the Mechanics Institute Hall, which would be our base for the weekend. The hall was big enough to set up eight double camper beds, tables, chairs and had a fully equipped kitchen area. There were eleven people in total on this investigation, which was the perfect size for an in-depth investigation.

Not long after nightfall, the team headed out for a high level scope of the space and buildings. Firstly we moved into the old shearer's shed. The air was dense as we walked around the space. My friend, on her first investigation, claimed that when she touched some of the wool on the shearer's table, she was poked rather aggressively in her side, while another investigator stated she was touched on the behind. We were only ten minutes into the night and already some investigators were having experiences. 

From here we moved through a few more buildings, but to ensure the blog is not a thesis, I will only focus on the actual places where significant experiences were had on the Friday and Saturday nights. I will then write up separate blogs for the three big experiences from the Saturday night. When I say big, I mean BIG......HUGE!

Well, getting back to the investigation, at the other end of the park, from the Mechanics Hall, there was 'Bushy Park Homestead', the relocated homestead of Angus McMillan, a well known explorer, farmer and mass murderer, who kept the skulls of those he massacred. On the Friday night we visited his house and within minutes, investigators claimed to have headaches and feelings of uneasiness, which resulted in nearly all of the female investigators leaving the space. There were a number of KII hits and catball activations in the kitchen area of the homestead. There was a lot more to this story, so read the 'Out Kitchen Blog'. 

Friday night, we also explored the Funeral Parlor and 'Loren Iron House', the home of the Sheppard family. Next door to the family home was the workshop. This workshop, although built on site, delivered considerable catball activity around the old phone on the wall. The phone appeared to have significant residual energy attached to it. When we left the space, a few of the investigators claimed to have seen a light in the upstairs loft shine down through the roof cavity. 

The Church was also relatively active on the Friday night. For the first part of the investigation we set up a few devices in the church and on the altar and then sat and waited in the pews. There were a few minor hits on the KIIs, parascope and catball, but when whilst in this space, I was drawn to the priests area through a closed door, just to the left of the altar, the vestry. We opened the door and two of us went into the space where the energy was intense. There was a lectern in the space which had some bibles on it. When we placed our hands on the bibles, the tingles shot through our bodies. The charge was so intense, one of the strongest I have ever felt. It was a really intrusive type feeling. A few of us returned to the space during the day on Saturday, where the vestry was very active with the KIIs and it was then that we decided that we would set up a video, audio, parascope and some trigger objects that night. There was a definitive presence in that space and deep investigation was required. Saturday night did not disappoint and the activity was insane. And by insane...I mean totally insane. I will write that up separately as the 'Holy Trinity Anglican Church Blog'. 

From the Church we moved into the old solicitor's office. The office was located relatively close to the Church. The last known occupant of the office was a solicitor named Bill White from 1946 to 1969, who worked with the troubled youth of Gippsland. We sat in the space trying to connect with any spirits. After about twenty minutes, I was sitting in the office chair and Rod and Alle were sitting on waiting chairs. Ken was standing near the entrance. Both Rod and Alle became slumped in their chairs, both seated rather defensively and both commented on feeling hopeless, defeated, depressed and very sad. They felt they had no where to go and Alle became very emotional. I was overcome with empathy and the feeling that this is so sad and that no one should have to feel like this. We felt like someone was desperately trying to get our help. We decided to think about this throughout Saturday and work on how we might be able to assist what I sensed was a young thirteen or so year old boy. Although we were only in the solicitor's office for about an hour, it does feel like these experiences, the Church, the office and the upcoming theatre, were all related in some way. How? I am unsure, but I definitely feel they were related. 

After some lovely supper, we moved into the old Tynong Theatre. We had been using the ovilus throughout the night and it was projecting a lot of religious terminology, including words such as Bishop, sacred, unholy and recuse. DJ who was operating the ovilus collected over two hundred words that evening. When we were in the theatre, the catball activated a number of times on stage right (our left). I also witnessed a tentacle style blue/purple orb grow out and over the stage. It was like a predator and a rather intimidating feeling. I did not like it, nor did I like the bat which decided to fly around the theatre. Yes, a bat!

By this time it was nearly 4.30 am and the team had decided to call it a night. We had so many areas we wanted to revisit and explore on the Saturday. We had yet to visit the Sunny Creek School, which I will write up separately, as this was my first experience with table tipping, the Shelter Shed, the Out Kitchen, the Miner's Hut, Coach House, Stables, Garages, Police Station and Lock Up, Ashdale Farm House, Yallourn House, Fire Station, the Post Office, the Bank and a number of other buildings. There was so much to investigate that I knew then, that I would have to be back for another weekend soon.

It was interesting to note that there was significant activity during the day on the Saturday. We had significant KII hits in the Church, the garage where an old World War II ambulance was located, the Doctor's House and in the Miner's Hut.

Saturday evening was definitely the highlight. I have never been on an investigation where there was such a variance in activity and experiences - from autoboard writing, to orbs, sounds, voices, growls, table tipping and sensory experiences.....and these were all just with me. Other investigators claimed to have had a myriad of personal experiences as well.

One of the smaller experiences occurred in and around the National Bank. After a small group had finished in the solicitor's office for the second night (to note it was relatively uneventful on the Saturday), we returned the board to base and went looking for the other half of the group.  As we moved over to Main Street, the four of us distinctly heard two male voices talking up and to the right on main street (near the bank). As we moved up to that area, we again heard the two voices, albeit louder and clearer. As we approached the bank....nothing. We then saw a shadow up the top of Main Street outside the inn and realised the group was up there. Once we got there, the males of that group were not even together and had not been talking at all. At this stage, the entire group moved down to the bank where we had heard the voices. In the main area we had significant hits on the Ghost Meter Pro which appeared to respond and answer questions. After about thirty minutes, we called it a night and headed back to camp.

As previously stated we bunked in the Mechanics Hall. Early on Sunday morning, only an hour or so after we had gone to bed, there was significant movement in the Hall. One investigator claimed to have been touched, while sleeping, on the shoulder, resulting in a cold numb feeling; others heard footsteps on and around the stage and lots of them. Me - I slept away!!

Although we investigated for both nights until nearly 5.00 am, next time I think I would investigate in the late afternoon as well. The site is highly active and does not seem to settle at all during the day. 

Would I be back - without a doubt, and the sooner the better! The team of Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunts were amazing. Hospitable, approachable, friendly and they made me feel like I had known them for years. Would I book in with them again - you bet!

Now don't forget to read the other three related blogs. Three amazing personal experiences that blew my mind!

1. 'Out Kitchen' - autoboard writing

2. 'Holy Trinity Anglican Church' - video, audio and sightings

3. 'Sunny Creek School' - table tipping

Just wow!!!

Out Kitchen, Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Moe, Victoria, Australia

The time was approximately 11.00 pm and the group of ten investigators headed up to the 'Bushy Park Homestead' of the Old Gippstown Heritage Park. In this homestead there were a number of buildings, including the home of Angus McMillan, an explorer, farmer and mass murderer of hundreds of aboriginal people, an Out Kitchen and a few buildings and sheds behind the homestead.

The night before we had investigated the homestead with some activity, but on the Saturday, the team used the autoboard in the Out Kitchen. The Out Kitchen is to the left of the homestead you can see above. It is approximately 30 to 50 paces away, door to door. Stories from past mediums had suggested that a single lady named Mary lived in the Out Kitchen with her two children and it was common for Angus to come into that space.

Research showed that the Out Kitchen was built to house single female land owners and had been relocated to Gippstown from Labertouche and was set up in the park to demonstrate where farm hands and servants of the homestead would have eaten their meals. Was Mary a single female land owner, or was she a house maid who prepared meals for Angus McMillan's staff or was she in fact Christina, Angus' wife? More questioning may be required here.

To move on, four of us sat down at the kitchen table and set up the autoboard. We also placed a KII and Ghost Meter Pro on the table and a catball and parascope on the bench and mantel.

One member was videoing, two were watching on and the remainder of the team moved to elsewhere in the park.

After a few moments, the group could smell an overwhelming stench of alcohol, rum to be exact. The park was surrounded by roads and there were no hotels or venues which served alcohol in the near vicinity. Along with the stench, people felt cold breezes or tingling. The Texta moved and it became evident that the spirit would move the Texta to my right for a yes and to the left of the board for a no. The amicable interactions continued for quite a while with accurate responses to questions, including the number of people in the room. Sometimes there were seven, other times there were only five people, but each time, the response was accurate.

After about thirty minutes of solid interaction with the board, the Ghost Meter Pro lit up on the table. From questioning, it appeared that the spirit on the Meter may have been Mary and her children. The Meter responded accurately to questioning about herself and Angus, along with stories which had been collated over previous interactions. We asked this spirit if it was cold and it responded yes, we asked if she would like Matt (one of the investigators) to make tea and she said yes, so we role modelled the making of some tea. The spirit appeared happy to interact with us.

Shortly into this, the team members who were outside moved into Angus McMillan's homestead. Within seconds the autoboard stopped communicating and the stench of alcohol was gone. The room felt empty. Had Angus gone to check on who was poking around his home?

Once the investigators left the homestead, one of the team named Nelly, came into the Out Kitchen where four of us were still on the table and Matt was still on the video. Within moments, the autoboard was responding again. We asked had Angus gone to check on his home ....yes. At this point, Nelly felt an uninvited touch on her behind. She believed it was Angus, so we questioned ….the response was yes, he had touched Nelly. Nelly shared some past experiences with Angus and from her story and the responses on the board, it may be possible that Angus may be obsessed with the young female. Angus stated that he would follow Nelly wherever she went and appeared to become agitated and rather aggressive when questioned about this topic. It was a distinctly different feel to the previous interactions.

We had been told Angus had two sons, so I began to question about his children. Instantaneously the board ceased and the demeanor in the room shifted to one less amicable and inviting to one of tenseness and uneasiness. The team decided to pack up the investigation and move out of the space rather hastily.

We closed the door behind us, due to Mary stating she was cold and moved out of the Bushy Park area. By this time it was after 12.30 am.

Nelly stated that she could still sense Angus, so she underwent a sage cleansing, just in case. Given the history of Angus being a mass murderer of hundreds of aboriginals, who kept their skulls as trophies in a hessian bag, I too would undertake a cleansing.

The next day I did a little research into Angus and his family. Interestingly, his wife Christina was previously married to a man who died at sea. She gave birth to her first son, Ewan, not long after his death, with Angus named as the father on the birth certificate. After the birth of Ewan, she married Angus, who was 51 years of age at the time. During their marriage, Christina gave birth to a second child, named Angus Junior. Angus Senior at this time had been doing several explorations and died whilst on his travels. The children were aged approximately 3 and 6 years of age at the time of Angus' demise. Within a year of Angus' death, Christina married for a third time. I am sensing many hidden secrets here and more exploration is required to delve deep into the life of Angus and Christina.

How deep? Well given his intelligent, philanthropic, yet aggressive personality, a man who learnt the indigenous language to exploit his explorational pursuits and then bludgeoned them to death..... I am not sure!

One thing is for sure, I can not wait to go back there again!

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Old Gippstown Heritage Park, Moe, Australia

Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Moe was opened in 1895 and deconsecrated in 1968. The Church consists of four main spaces, the main body for the congregation and altar, with a small vestry to the left (with external access), another entrance on the right and the main foyer entrance.

On the Friday evening, we were doing a broad investigation of the space, of which there was no significant activity, when I was drawn to the room on the left (the vestry). According to the team who run the investigation, they had not been in that room on any previous tour. On hearing that, myself and a guide, Alle, opened the door and moved into the space. Unless a door is locked, I will open it!

As I had previously stated, the energy was electrifying and we knew that a deeper investigation was required in that space the following day and night.

So here we were on the Saturday night. We moved to the Church and Matt set up a video camera in the vestry, some audio recording equipment and I set up a parascope and a ping pong ball trigger. We then left the space for a while.

When we returned to the space we sat in the main congregation area and waited and listened.

After about ten minutes I began to see flashes of white and green orbs that appeared to be generating from the room. Other investigators also claimed to have seen these flashes. Shortly after this, I saw a purple/blue mist come out from the room and over a balustrade, which had been placed in front of the door, and appeared to stand up. The mist like orb was assertive in statue and presence. It was the size of a very tall man and was physically strong. I could sense that it was there to protect something. At first I thought the Church, but then I sensed it was protecting the vestry, blocking us from entering the space. It was there for a very long time. Alle, one of the Beyond the Veil Ghost Hunt team members, was sitting opposite the vestry and each time I mentioned the mist/orb, she would take photos with her full spectrum camera.

Alle has since shared photos she took which shows the purple mist which I claimed to have seen. The colour is exactly the same as what I saw and appeared to be moving in the same manner that I witnessed. Coincidence or validation?

After about forty-five minutes of uneasiness and the viewing of mist like orbs in the Church, we decided to leave the equipment and move on to another space, returning to collect the equipment a few hours later.

At about 1.00 am, three of us, Matt, Ken and I, returned to the Church. Matt walked in first, I was about two metres behind him and Ken came in last. The air was dense and cold. When Matt was about half way down the aisle, we heard a distinct growl like sound. Matt continued over to the vestry and as soon as he entered, we heard another growl sound. Except this time it was very loud and almost in desperation. It was more of a frustration groan. It was rather unsettling.

We quickly grabbed the equipment and apologised for coming into the Church and thanked the priest.

Of course, Matt forgot the audio and had to go back in and retrieve that.

Matt has the audio and visual and will spend time analysing what was captured. He has already shared that audio was picked up in the Church.

But one thing I know and without the use of any equipment, is what I saw, felt and heard.

I felt depression, control, restraint, protection, aggression and uneasiness. A feeling that we were not welcome in the Church or that we were interrupting something. It was uneasy, uncomfortable and felt predatory in nature. I felt huge electrical energy shoot through my body, tingling me from head to toe. I saw orbs and mists, strong in colour and statue, blocking our entrance. I heard growls and cries of frustration or agitation.

Without even analysing any evidence, I know there IS something in that vestry and that something does NOT want us in there.

Knowing that - I will be back!

Mayday Hills Asylum, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia

Last weekend I thought I would try something different. WSPR, a 'professional' paranormal team from Sydney were doing a weekend at the Beechworth Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum. The weekend was advertised and included two events organised by Asylum Ghost Tours, a ghost tour and a paranormal investigation, with the WSPR team running a paranormal workshop, each night.  Having been to the Asylum a number of times over the past ten years, I was rather looking forward to experiencing the Asylum through a different lens, with possibly new equipment or even learning how others do an extended in-depth investigation.

Learning how to use equipment properly, from paranormal seasoned investigators, was what attracted me to book for the weekend. I have learnt most of my equipment skills through self exploration or from tips I've acquired from guides on tours; so to actually have the opportunity to workshop and develop my skills and knowledge with those who have been doing this for a while, was very appealing. A workshop by definition is "a period of discussion or practical work on a particular subject in which a group of people share their knowledge or experience or a usually a brief intensive educational program for a relatively small group of people that focuses especially on techniques and skills in a particular field". To me, the main key words here are practical work, intensive, techniques and skills. It does not mean, lecture, seminar, sit around or be talked at......but I will discuss that more later.

So both evenings started off with a ghost tour led by one of the Asylum Ghost Tour's guides. Nurse Cait on Friday and Laura on Saturday. Both guides brought their own quirky sense of humour and unique nuances to their presentations and both had different stories to share in each of the buildings, so in no way did it feel repetitive, even though we frequented the same buildings both nights. They both were very personable and knowledgable and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their stories. Both guides dressed in nurse or matron attire to add an atmosphere of theatrics, but there definitely was no theatrical embellishment.

Once we returned to the foyer, we had a lovely supper as we waited for the highly anticipated workshop, but to my utter disappointment, there was no workshop. The team from Sydney, in simple terms, talked at the group and when they weren't talking, we sat around waiting for all the other Asylum tours to finish up and leave the Asylum, so we could go out and investigate. Once everyone else had vacated the Asylum, we moved into the entrance foyer, where the presenter talked about a personal experience he had had in this location about six months prior and that he had returned to the Asylum to hopefully capture what he had experienced that night.

The group (well WSPR) set up some trigger items in the projection room upstairs, including motion sensors, video camera and a few toys, like balls, marbles and a chess set. WSPR asked the group to take as many photos as they could to determine base line data and when we returned after the paranormal investigation, we would revisit the space, collect footage and analyse the evidence. This never happened. Once we returned, a few hours later, we were rather hastily escorted out the door.

So once all the items were placed in the projection room, Adrian, the Asylum Tour Guide, gave a brief history of the spirits, tricksters and poltergeists, they claimed to haunt the foyer, namely Tommy and Ralph.  The lights were turned off and we sat and we listened and we waited.....and waited.....and waited. Nothing happened.

We then divided into two groups. One group moved off with WSPR's Craig and the Asylum Tour Guide, Adrian. The other group was with WSPR's Richie and Mel and the Tour Guide, Will. I was in Craig's group. He stated that he was very keen to try and capture 'slender man', the alleged frequently sighted ghost of Grevilia, the male infirmary.  The group, eager to start exploring, headed off to Grevilia. I walked around the space trying to get a 'feel' for the building, but nothing. We set up a laser grid, some KIIs and a parascope. Adrian shared some very intriguing stories of the building, but it was not long before focus was shifted to an alleged sighting of a full body apparition. Naturally the whole group moved to this space to hopefully see something. We all stood there in complete darkness until Craig says in a very agitated voice, 'get a light on me, get a light on me'. Once the torch was on him, Craig alleged that the zipper of his vest had been pulled down by a spirit. No-one else saw or felt anything and there was no other 'activity'. As a good paranormal investigator you are always trying to debunk and question any activity. Often when you flex and place your arms and chest out, you can force zippers down on your jackets, especially if they are tight fitting. Maybe this is what happened?

From here the groups swapped guides and my group, now with Richie, Mel and Will, moved into the Bull Pit. The Bull Pit is a ward for 10 to 25 year old male inpatients. We moved as a group up into the top hallway, an area reported to be very high in activity, with evidence suggesting that many guests have been scratched or have felt threatened. Will placed a few parascopes down the hall and an ovilus on the window sill. The only two words on the ovilus were rust and water. Any significance? Not that we could work out. Now if you have read any of my previous blogs, this is the space where I saw the orb of what I thought was a young boy move down the hallway and play with the parascopes, so, as you can imagine, I was rather excited to see if I could reconnect with the boy, or maybe place some balls for him to play with or move. Maybe set up a video camera or a full spectrum camera, maybe the parascopes and a motion sensor. But to be honest, I did not feel comfortable to do my own thing, so I just stood and waited, like all the others.

Nothing was really happening until one person on the tour appeared to be a trance in the doorway at the end of the hallway before the toilets. Other guests claimed they tried to move him, but he was rigid and stuck to the floor. Once he was pulled from the doorway, he tried to run, but was held back by a guide. He collapsed to the floor and was struggling to breath. Am I sceptical - very. This guest and a few others then went outside. About four of us were left and we moved through that doorway into the bathrooms. I was trying to sense any denseness or tingling. Nothing. One man, claimed to have a headache, another claimed their zip was undone, but for me, nothing.

By this time, it was 3.00 am and we moved back to the foyer and said our goodbyes. We were reconvening at 7.30 pm that night and I was looking forward to hopefully a more active evening.

So, we came together again on the Saturday evening. Ten guests had been at the Asylum the previous night and were excited to investigate some new areas of the buildings. A team member from WSPR grabbed us as soon as he saw us and stated 'as soon as you get back from the ghost tour, I will grab you guys and we will head off and get right into it'. Fantastic, seven hours of full on investigations.

After the wonderful ghost tour, led by Laura, we returned at around 9.00 pm for supper. At 10.00 pm, WSPR called us into the Bijou Theatre, for what I thought would be the Saturday night workshop, but I was mistaken. It was another hour of being talked at. After about 30 minutes I looked around the room and at least half of the guests were asleep, including staff from WSPR. Personally, I was bored and had to desperately fight from going to sleep myself. The talk finished up about 11.15 pm and we were told 'as soon as the last tour is back, we will get started'.

So to fill in time, I took some dousing rods, a KII meter, went up to the stage with another investigator and just talked to a spirit that is alleged to play on the stage, named Annie. We asked her to come dance on centre stage, nothing. We mentioned that we had lost an orange ball, one of the triggers from the projection room, and maybe if she had taken it to play with, that she might return the ball to us. We sat there talking to Annie, or maybe just to ourselves, for 10 or so minutes.

It was not until about midnight, we moved into the foyer where Will shared a quick story that had just happened in the back administration area, of a possible doppelgänger sighting of Laura. Very interesting indeed!

We then moved on to a repeat of the night before.  This was disappointing as there were so many 'last nighters', and I for one, wanted to experience something different. For another hour we sat and tried to capture evidence of Tommy, Ralph and the projection room. But again, nothing.

Then, just before 1.00 am, an orange ball came down the stairs from the projection room and was thrown across the room and landed on the floor of the foyer. This was rather exciting, did anyone have an explanation, no. Were there CCTV cameras on that stair case, yes. So I guess, the owners of the tour company will get to investigate that activity and try and debunk and see what happened. Was this the same orange ball that had gone missing from the projection room, or the orange ball I had asked Annie to return, possibly.

By this time it was after 1.00 am, five and a half hours after we arrived and we were yet to do anything new. We divided into two groups. The 'newbies' and the 'last nighters'. The newbies headed back to Grevilia, the third time that weekend, to try and capture 'slender man'. The 'last nighters', along with Richie, Mel and Will, headed to the maniacal ward for women. We were upstairs and not a lot was happening, but I was sensing heaviness, a feeling that the spirits felt threatened and that they did not like the men being there. As no one else in the group was talking, I expressed this. As I did, I felt a real sense of empathy and was hearing distressing  'ahhhh, ahhhh' sounds in my head. I felt like females were being restrained and mistreated. I said this to the group and tried to show what I was seeing and hearing. WSPR suggested a role play and as no-one in the group was uncomfortable with that, WSPR proceeded to role play in a very aggressive manner, more like a prison warden, as opposed to a nurse. At that point, I developed an unbearable pain in my stomach. I am usually not one to feel pain, but I was almost doubled over with cramps in my stomach. When I told the group, another investigator said she had felt it too. WSPR did state that sometimes these are the types of investigations they do, where they have to push to get a reaction. It made me really sad to think they may have been treated that way. I did not like the aggression and it was interesting when walking back, that Will, the Asylum Tour Guide, said to me 'we don't normally do investigations like that, we are more passive'. Will might use the word passive, I would say respectful.

From there we moved to the laundry where nothing was really noted. A few hits on a Ghost Meter Pro, but no real active conversation. From there we moved to the downstairs area of the women's maniacal ward. I had not been in there before and was rather intrigued. Although nothing of significance was noted by myself, a guest claimed that a spirit took her earring. Do I believe it, no I don't.

I did get a feeling of some young girl spirits in this area and would not be surprised if we found out that families or young children had lived there with their mothers in the later years.

We returned to the foyer to swap guides. My group was now with Craig and Laura. The group were keen to explore a new area and Laura suggested the upstairs pharmacy. Eager to see another new part of the Asylum, we headed upstairs. Laura placed a KII on the servery and my parascope on the window sill in the kitchen. By this time, many guests were falling asleep and even snoring. No one was really actively engaging, so Laura and I tried to make contact with 'Bobby', a young boy spirit in the kitchen. We had a few minor hits on the KII, but with no real activity, we moved on to, you guessed it, Grevilia.

We were in Grevilia for about 30 minutes and nothing was really noted. There were four of us on the far 'slender man' corridor and we did get a few KII hits and the feeling of cold in one room, but again, nothing major. We would have liked to stay longer and see if there was any depth to these feelings, but the group was keen to go down to the cellar.

By this time it was close on 4.00 am and the entire group moved down into the cellar. We divided into two groups of 10 and moved into the cells. I was in the cell with the tour guide Will. The WSPR team was predominantly out in the open area. This by far was my first real experience of the weekend.

I was standing there in a circle with Will leading conversation. I started to experience real heaviness in my feet and they were absolutely aching in pain. I said this out loud to the group and then the people to my left, right and Will, all stated they were having the same sensation. We welcomed the spirits into our space and at this point, I began to tingle from my feet. The sensations moved through my body and right up to my shoulders. It was intense. Just at that point, the man to my left said that he could see a very tall figure standing over me, right in my face. At that exact moment, I felt a very strong presence and pressure again my chest, it felt exactly like someone had come up and was standing chest to chest with me. It lasted about 30 seconds and then subsided.

We finished up the circle and both groups were moved out into the main area. We were sitting around the perimeter and Craig was pacing the room. He paced for about a minute before he walked off into the cell area, followed by Richie and a tour guest. Richie then came out and told us all to leave the cellar immediately as something had affected Craig and he was not himself. Will packed up and led the group out of the cellar, rather hastily.

When we returned to the foyer, Craig and Richie alleged that Craig had been scratched and punched and that the tour had to be cut short because Craig 'was not himself', implying something had attached themselves to him. The WSPR team then stated that they had tried to leave the cellar, after Craig, and the door slammed shut and they could not open the door and Richie was yelling to let him out and telling the spirit to stay 'down in the cellar with the granite'.

Well, by this time it was 5.00 am and nearly time to leave.

So to sum up the weekend, I loved Cait, Laura, Adrian and Will, the Asylum Tour Guides. They are personal, knowledgeable, engaging and respectful. Would I do future tours with them, absolutely!

As for the WSPR team and the paranormal workshops - let's say I am a little disappointed. I did not learn anything new or get to play with any equipment. We didn't get to analyse the projection room footage, not even time to go back and see if any of the trigger items had moved. To be honest I felt like the WSPR team was ill prepared. Craig did state that he had let his guard down during the weekend and was not in the right head space, which resulted in him being attacked in the cellar. He claimed that by not being 100%, the spirits took advantage of his vulnerability and 'stuff got crazy'. Do I believe that.....I honestly do not know.

To possibly have three 'attachments', two zipper un-dressings, a full body apparition, a doppelgänger sighting, a missing earring, a scratch, a punch, as well as a missing and then reappearing ball, all in just two nights, is difficult for anyone, sceptic or not, to believe. I can only comment on what I saw, felt and heard.

It was obvious that the WSPR team investigate very differently to me, and that is ok and everyone is entitled to do what works for them. Did I enjoy the weekend - without a doubt. Did I enjoy seeing how other investigators explore the paranormal - absolutely!

As for the multitude of experiences that people claimed to have had happen to them last weekend, maybe you will just have to go and book a tour and find out for yourself.