Magdalene Laundry Building Destroyed by Fire 13th Nov 2012

Very sad to hear the news that the Magdalene Laundry in Cork has been destroyed by fire. I investigated this sad, desolate place three times with the team and felt a real connection to the spirits of some of the girls who it seems were unable to escape even in death.

I can not begin to describe the emotions I feel as I look at the pictures of the burning building. The women and children who lived and died here still have many stories left unheard and they need to be heard.

I hope that the spirits who felt unable to leave will continue to try to communicate with the living even though they no longer have even a roof over them.

I will never forget the time I spent in this rotting and rotten building and even though I know justice will never be done, I hope that these women will somehow find peace.

My last investigation in the Laundry

Strange Pics!

I took some photographs on a recent investigation and got some strange results! Check these out... and don't forget to like our page!
Strange Lights
Strange Mist

Both of these pictures were taken with a digital camera and despite numerous experiments, we were unable to recreate them.

Ballinacarriga Castle, Co Cork Friday 13th July 2012

Back again to one of my favourite places – Ballinacarriga Castle. I’m sure that this castle is haunted but more investigations are always welcome as there is so much in the paranormal world that we simply do not understand.

This visit was with a production company from France who wanted to film the investigation.

We set up the equipment and went up the stairs to the top floor. On the way up I stumbled and something grabbed my elbow and steadied me. I thought I had brushed against the wall but when I swung my torch around I realised that the wall was not near enough to me and the only way I could touch it with my elbow was to lean sideways and stick my elbow right out. 

Almost immediately one of the other investigators, a few steps above me, called out that he was getting K11 hits. 

The upper floor is open to the elements and the evening was damp. We huddled together in the old fireplace and waited for the drizzle to ease up. Finally, I moved out into the room and stood with my back to a window which looked into a smaller room to the side. 

One of the investigators called out that she had seen something run across the floor while filming but despite there still being a little daylight left, none of the rest of us saw anything.  

At almost the same time I heard shuffling movements in the room behind me and called out that we had a visitor. 

All three of our K11 meters showed activity throughout this part of the investigation. The change in EMF seemed to be going around the room as each meter lit up at different times. 

We moved to a lower floor and immediately got K11 hits. I was photographed in a corridor but did not appear in the first picture despite being in plain view. A second picture taken seconds later showed me standing against the wall. Later, when the first picture was enhanced, I appeared once again in the corridor. 

The French camera man saw a shadow or shape and thought he caught it on film. Unfortunately, we are still awaiting confirmation of this. 

A friend of mine had asked me to pass on a message to his ancestors the next time I came to the castle. I called out his name and said he just wanted to say hello. I felt a cool breeze on one hand and had a strong feeling that someone was standing beside me.  My K11 meter showed activity so I chatted away for a few minutes about my friend and asked if anyone would like to send him a message back. I didn’t get a reply but my K11 meter continued to light up for quite some time. 

We moved out onto the stairs and immediately could hear footsteps or movements around us. All the K11s were active. 

Eventually we moved to the ground floor but although I had a strong feeling that we were being watched apart from a couple of further K11 hits we did not have any further activity.

Videos and photographs of our visits to Ballinacarriga Castle can be found here

My Strangest Paranormal Moments

I have seen many strange things but these are some of the ones that stand out the most!

My Strangest Paranormal Moments

Ghost Hunting Natural Phenomena or Paranormal

Ghost Hunting Natural Phenomena or Paranormal

Hunting for Ghosts

For background and info check out this link

Hunting for Ghosts

Timoleague Friary 23rd June 2012

After a long day of non stop rain the evening dried up and we headed out to this mostly open air investigation. 

We got a photograph with a weird mist on it but even though the pictures taken a few seconds before and a few seconds after did not have this, we thought it was probably just a reflection from the flash.

We decided to start calling out in the centre of the building - near where we had taken the strange photograph. As soon as we started we got a lot of drips falling on us from time to time even though the rain had cleared and there was nothing overhead but open sky. 

I saw some tiny sparks of light on a wall and soem of the other investigators saw them as well. We tried to recreate them but were unable to debunk them. They were a feature of the evening and we kept seeing them wherever we went. 

One of the investigators was holding an ultraviolet torch and asked if any spirits present found this annoying. She suddenly dropped the torch, gasping that had become very cold. We all touched it and to my surprise it was actually sticky to the touch as if it had been in a freezer.

We did not take a temperature reading so can not verify this.

We moved to another area of the building and although I felt there was someone near we did not get anything definite. The investigator with the camera moved into another room beside us  and suddenly we heard a sound like a chime. There were safety railings over the windows and it sounded like a stone had hit these. 

We checked outside but there was no one around. We then tried to recreate the sound and found the only thing close to it was the noise made when we hit the railings with a stone.

Photographs and video from this investigation, including footage containing the chime sound, can be found here

Magdalene Laundry, Cork 2nd June 2012

My third and final visit to this poignant place. The building had deteriorated badly in the last few weeks probably because of the amount of rain that had fallen in the past few months. A lot of the interior had collapsed and it was no longer safe to climb the stairs or walk on the upper floors.

Our team collaborated with teams from other areas in this last investigation here.

The night was very wet and quite windy. I got a strange feeling as soon as I entered the building. I really did not want to be there but I didn't know why.

It was eerie with the rain dripping outside. It sounded like footsteps all around us but we knew it was just nature playing tricks on us.

We began our investigation on the upper floor. Three of us decided to go into a side room while the other three stayed in the main room. As I entered behind one of the guys I stepped to the side to allow the girl behind me to come in too. She went past me and into the centre of the room. I turned back to the door and she was only just entering the room. I looked behind me but there was no one there and I asked the other guy with me where the other girl had gone. He asked what other girl and said that there were only the three of us here.

A few minutes later both he and I heard rustling which seemed to be coming from a derelict staricase beside us. We shone our torches down the rotting stairs but could not see anything. We decided that the noise was probably pigeons nesting in the roof above us but I have to admit it sounded to me more like the swish of a nun's habit as she moved quickly down the stairs. My sense of direction and also my hearing were probably affected by the noise of the bad weather outside.

The three team members in the other room said they could hear footsteps or bangs in with them at this time.

We moved to the next floor down and got a few K11 hits. I felt someone put their hand around my waist but there was no one near me. Then, I felt it again only this time it was like a hand either side of my waist. Soon after this I felt someone gently rubbing my belly and this continued almost the whole time we were on this floor. It did not feel threatening but it was certainly strange.

We moved to the lower floor for a break and one of the guys with the camera got a bad fright as he thought he saw a face in one of the interior windows of an office like room. There was no one in the room.

We poured the coffee and while drinking it a few of us saw sparks on a wall near a doorway.

I felt extremely sad and felt tears were close but I had no idea why. We investigated a room just beside us where it is said that people often feel sad but we did not get any evidence here.

We briefly entered the nuns' quarters but the ceilings and floors did not look safe so we quickly left.
We discovered a few previously unnoticed rooms but did not get anything worth reporting in these. I and two other ladies waited in the corridor while the others checked out these rooms and we got K11 hits and a strong feeling that we were being watched.

All in all, though I was sorry that we would be unable to return here, I was really glad to leave this sad and lonely place that wet and windy night.

Pictures from the investigation can be found here

Duckett's Grove, Co Carlow 19th May 2012

We were invited to this location with two other paranormal teams as it is a big site with plenty to investigate.

We arrived and set up the DVR System in preparation for a long night. We had four cameras connected to this system, a trigger cam and a hand held full spectrum as well as the usual digital cameras, K11 meters, thermal imager, digital thermomenter, touch pad and dictaphone.

We split into three groups and agreed to work three areas simultaneously so that we would know where everyone was at any given time throughout the night.

We started our investigation in the kitchen area of the ruined castle. We could hear lots of movement all around us and one of the team felt something blow into his ear. Soon after this, he and another member of the team felt something touch the back of their heads and we were able to see a cold spot on the back of both of their heads through the thermal imager.

We also clearly heard footsteps around us on the stone floor.

The next part of the investigation was carried out in a little room where the housekeeper, Mrs O'Grady, used to live.

Four of us sat down around the table while the other team member sat on the floor. We began the investigation. Several of the team commented that the energy was changing and the team member on the floor fell asleep. This was highly unusual but I did feel a very heavy feeling descend on the room.

One of the team was asking if the woman of the house wanted to make contact. She then asked if Mrs O'Grady had brought a man into the house. As soon as she said this I felt a rush of energy and the table jumped violently. Most of our equipment slid onto the floor. I kept on filming even though I was shaking.

We decided to continue the investigation and settled back down around the table.  Suddenly one of the team had her chair pulled from behind. To me it seemed like someone wanted to sit at the table and had pulled out the chair.

One of the other team members said he felt like he was being strangled. The back of his neck was bright red. He decided to leave the area and after a brief discussion we all decided to take a break.

The next part of the investigation took part in the woods and walled garden areas. As we were walking through the garden, I and one of the others were in the rear chatting when suddenly we both turned around at the same time and shone our torches behind us, asking who was walking so close to us. There was no one there.

We continued throught the garden and out through a door into the woods. We all heard the sounds of footsteps on gravel all around us but there was no gravel in that area. Two of the investigators saw a grey shadow move quickly in a crouch from tree to tree.

We searched with our torches and with the thermal imager but could not find a trace of anyone else in the woods.

Eventually we went back into the walled garden. Here we saw shadows and heard footsteps but were unable to catch anything on camera.

For the final part of the night we decided to hold a joint investigation with the other two  teams in Mrs O'Grady's quarters.

As we began one of the investigators mentioned he could feel a cold spot on one of his knees. Digital thermometers revealed a two degree difference between that knee and the other. He asked if the temperature could be lowered further and the reading started to drop immediately.

Just then one of the team heard a noise outside and said she would go and have a look. We thought some kids might have broken into the site. She took off at a run down the courtyard shouting something. Most of the men left the room and ran after her and we could see them through the window as they split up and started searching.

She had taken the thermal imager with her and told us afterwards that she could see someone ahead of her and thought it was a kid so gave chase. She and another member of the team entered the walled garden and she took a thermal picture of the unknown person.

Extensive searching failed to find any trace of a person in the walled garden.

Video footage and photographs of the night including the strange figure can be seen here

Pic courtesy of Echo Ghost Hunters

Magdalene Laundry, Cork 12th May 2012

Back to the Laundry with a new team member. Unfortunately, there was a party going on near the site and the noise was quite disruptive. We also had a visit from the Gardai just as we got started. Luckily they believed our story that we were ghost hunting!

We got a few K11 hits but the site itself was very quiet and we decided to move on to another location.

We were unable to gain entry to the alternate location so decided to call it a night and go home.

Photographs from this investigation can be found here

Magdalene Laundry, Cork 5th May 2012

My first visit to the laundry with two other investigators proved to be enlightening. We were able to see first hand the difference between the living quarters of the girls locked up here and of the nuns who were supposed to care for these girls. The nursery was a bleak place without access to daylight. Faded pictures of the Muppets could still be seen on the wall but that was probably the only concession to normality that these unfortunate babies had while in this dreary place.

We didn't see many heating pipes around the walls in the girls' living quarters while in the nuns' quarters large heating pipes were everywhere.

The building is slowly falling into a dangerous state of disrepair but at the time we were able to get into quite a lot of the building.

Climbing over piles of rubble and creeping up old, rotting staircases while hugging the wall, we moved to the top floor. Nothing exciting to report here, so we moved down a floor.

Straightaway the energy felt really different. We started getting K11 hits and at one point an old soft drinks can rolled away from my foot even though I did not touch it.

As we moved down the staircase to the ground floor the three of us were holding K11 meters, the lights on these suddenly went to the top of the scale and stayed like that for quite a few seconds. I had the sensation of someone following me down the stairs. It reminded me of when I was at school and we were all pushing and shoving as we ran down the stairs.

We entered the derelict corridor and got a few more K11 hits before moving on into the nuns' quarters at the other side of the building.

The energy was different here but we didn't catch anything on any of the equipment and I didn't sense anything strange.

Pictures of both previous and subsequent investigations at this location can be found here

Laundry Investigation no. 2
Laundry Investigation no. 3

Russagh Mill, Skibbereen 21st April 2012

As a now seasoned paranormal investigator with one whole investigation under my belt it was time to investigate our local mill which has been renovated and is now the local hostel.

We had heard stories of bolted doors opening on their own, hearing voices when there was no one there and bed clothes being tugged in the dead of night.

We arrived early and set up our equipment. Base readings were taken from all the rooms we planned to investigate and equipment checked.

We got a thermal image or heat source from a couch that no one had sat on that day. We tried to debunk it but it was bigger than any of the people in the building. It clearly showed the heat from a persons lower body and back.

Later in the evening we clearly heard footsteps coming up the stairs but there was no one there. Another investigator and I both saw a dark shape enter the room. Later we also got an EVP from this part of the investigation.

We moved to another room and got a few K11 hits. THis was the room where we had photographed the heat source.

On reviewing our sound recordings next day, we heard the sound of running water and cups and saucers being moved as if someone was making or drinking tea but the room where this was captured is a small office and does not have a water source, also, there was no one in the building at the time.

Photographs and video from this investigation can be found here

Ballinacarriga Castle, Co Cork 14th April 2012

My first time out with the team -Echo Ghosthunters
I remember being nervous but very excited. I didn't know what to expect or how I would react.

The first thing I noticed was that the place was full of bats. I have never been a big fan of bats but these didn't bother me at all. They were flying around in the main hall downstairs but kept close to the ceiling.

We started the investigation on the top floor which was open to the elements. It was a fine but cool night and sounds from the local area were carried on the light breeze. Dogs barking, donkeys braying, car engines and the sound of the river all had to be somehow filtered out.

We asked anyone who wished to speak with us to come forward and show us a sign of their presence. The touch sensor alarm went off during this but we all agreed that it could have been caused by dampness.

I sensed an energy with us and the name Stephen came to me but as I had no scientific basis for this I simply used it to help guide the investigation without accepting it as proof of a presence.

We moved down to the next level and entered a small room with a low ceiling. Once again we called out for anyone to come forward. I felt a huge explosion of energy enter the room very quickly. The K11 meters did not react, so once again this was simply a personal experience.

We did get some K11 hits throughout the investigation but the energy seemed to be residual rather than intelligent.

We got some K11 hits in a narrow corridor and then moved downstairs to the main hall. The only strange thing down here was a scratching noise that seemed to be coming from inside the stone walls. Perhaps it was rats or other vermin.

All in all it was a great night and we had a lot of fun debunking various noises and anomalies.

Pictures and video from the night can be viewed here