Lockdown Blues

2020 proved to be a very challenging year for us all. At the beginning of the year the team and I had looked forward to a year full of investigations, evidence reviews and late nights. Although we did manage to get a few investigations done between the lockdowns, it was still a disappointing year.

One of the investigations we managed was in this abandoned asylum. It was a calm, dry night outside. We checked out the perimeter before we entered the building to make sure there was no one around to disturb us or contaminate the investigation.

We entered the building and immediately set up a camera and motion sensor covering the entrance so that we would know if anyone else entered the building. 

We carefully made our way along the corridor as the floor was not in very good repair and we didn't want to risk a fall into the basement. 

We set up our equipment not too far into the building - in a small side room - and began our investigation. 

On this particular floor, we have had a lot of reports of stones being thrown so we called out asking if there was anyone around us who wished to communicate by throwing pebbles up the corridor. 

As usual on these investigations, we spent a lot of our time laughing and joking amongst ourselves as we get on well as a team and, this time in particular, we hadn't seen each other for some time.

As we settled down to begin calling out again we were shocked to hear an incredibly loud bang coming from the direction shown in the picture below. 

We thought someone had entered the building without tripping our motion sensor so we all went to have a look. 

On reviewing the footage from the entrance, we could clearly see that no one had been near the entrance when the stone was thrown and the stone had not come from outside. I had been standing looking up the corridor when we heard the bang and there was no one to be seen.

We also had a look around to see what could have made a bang like it but although there was a lot of rubbish around we were unable to find anything big enough to re-create the sound.

You can see the video at the link below.

Stone thrown at us

Later on as I was standing with my back to  the corridor I clearly felt someone come and stand beside me. I mentioned this and Matt swung his camera towards me. He caught a weird light anomaly just beside me. We tried to re-create this but were not able to do so.

You can see the video here

As you can see from the pictures the place is massive and quite eerie. During the investigation we heard another sound which we thought was a broken window frame being moved. We made our way back to where we had seen the frame on the ground near the entrance but once again our motion sensor had not been tripped and we caught nothing on camera. 

Two members of the team returned the following night to try to capture some more footage but, as is so often the case, they had an extremely quiet night.

All in all, the first night was a great night which left us with plenty to think and talk about.

Thanks must go to Matt from Cork Supernatural Society for his excellent camera work. Follow the link to check us out on Facebook and while you're there don't forget to give us a like so that you don't miss any of our investigation reports.

Muckross Abbey Investigation, Killarney

I was very excited when I got the call to go and investigate this beautiful abbey. Now in ruins, the abbey is still well worth a visit - it's free and if you love buildings with a lot of history, then this is the place for you.

Muckross Abbey

Before we entered the abbey, we paid a visit to a little known graveyard on a hill overlooking the abbey and its grounds. The ruined Killegy chapel is a mortuary chapel and stands in the midst of crumbling crypts and modern graves. Even though it was daylight, the eeriness of this pretty site soon became apparent.

Herbert Memorial Cross

The graveyard is dominated by the Herbert Memorial Cross dedicated to a former owner of Muckross House. The last private owner of Muckross House, Arthur Rose Vincent, gave the property to the state to become Ireland's first National Park. He was buried here and various tales are whispered about his burial. Some say he was buried sitting upright on a chair waiting for judgement day. Other stories suggest that he was buried standing up so that he could look out over his former house and grounds, but my favourite story is the one I heard from some fellow paranormal investigators. It is said that he was buried upside down!

Rabbits have been hard at work burrowing all over the graveyard and some of the crypts have broken open revealing their long-dead occupants.

       Mortuary Chapel

Muckross Abbey

At last it was time to enter the abbey. We walked eagerly down the long driveway carrying our gear. The abbey came into view and we knew that we had a big investigation on our hands. The building is impressive both in its size and architecture - but that was not what we had come for!

                                                                                                                                                                                        

We walked all over the building deciding where we would focus our efforts. As darkness fell, we split into two groups. The three of us in my group started our investigation in the area pictured to the left.

We did not observe anything of note in this area. As with all investigations, we recorded a lot of data and that will have to be reviewed before we can sum up the whole night.

We moved into the courtyard area and chose the first of the two dark rooms accessible from here. Although the roof in this area was intact, the upper floors have long since disappeared. We were on the ground floor of what had apparently been the sleeping area.

During the investigation in this area I felt a presence in the room. Something hit my leg but as there were bats flying around, we assumed that this was all it was. The sensor light near the doorway came on a couple of times but as we had not asked for it to happen we could not rule out that it was simply a bat that had triggered it.

While I was out in the courtyard area (pictured above), I got some unexplained K11 hits. I continued to get them in the same area for a few minutes with the K11 going all the way up to red (maximum).

We moved into the dining area but apart from the sensor light coming on again, we didn't have anything of particular note here.

We went back to the sleeping area and tried the spirit box. We got a clear 'Hello' and some other possible mutterings but we could not decipher these and felt we could probably rule them out.

While we were on the ground floor, the other group had been investigating the upper floors. When we radioed them, they said they had just started to get some K11 hits so we made our way up to join them. Unfortunately, the K11 hits seemed to be random so we were not able to document anything of an intelligent nature.


As it was getting late, we decided to call it a night - most of us didn't get home until 4 a.m. - so reluctantly, we packed up our gear.




Despite the relative quietness of the night, I would welcome the chance to carry out another investigation of this beautiful site as I feel that there is a lot more going on there than we have as yet discovered.

If, after going through all the recordings from the night, anything of interest is captured, I will update you with the latest news.

Private House Investigation - Cork

On Friday 13th May we went to investigate a private house in the city. There were five of us present from Cork Supernatural Society and four occupants in the house including the owners.

Some of the problems reported were as follows:

• Feelings of unease in the dining area
• Feelings of a presence around doorways - as if someone wanted to enter the room but was unable or afraid to do so
• Unexplained noises - especially upstairs
• Feeling of a presence in the upstairs bathroom
• Strange unexplained behaviour of the owners' cat

We did a walk through while the owners showed us the problem areas and told us what phenomena they had encountered in each place.

We set up our equipment and when we switched on, found that the emf in the house was off the charts.

We requested that the owners switch off the Wi-Fi but this did not make any difference. After careful investigations we discovered that the emf seemed to be emitting from old light switches used throughout most of the house.

We asked that the electricity be switched off and this made the emf levels to falls immediately.

Paul - one of our investigators - advised the owners to contact an electrician to ensure that the old switches were properly earthed and the electricity supply shielded to reduce the emf in the house.

High emf levels are reported to produce various side effects although there is no scientific evidence to back this up, we as a team feel that it is our duty to inform occupants of the possible dangers.

Some of the purported side effects include:

• Nausea
• Feelings of being watched
• Headaches
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Tiredness
• Cancer clusters
• Leukemia in children

After some discussion, we decided to continue with the investigation (with the electricity switched off)

We got some K11 hits in the upper back bedroom but the emf readings were not continuous as they had been when the electricity was switched on. The emf spikes seemed to be in response to our calling out but this was difficult to verify as they may have ben caused by passing mobile phone signal in the street outside.

Our sensor lights kept switching on but this was simply caused by the owners' very curious cat!

We split up into two groups and I was part of the group that investigated the dining area. There were four of us present seated around the dining room  table. A few minutes into the calling out session, a battery rolled off the table, falling to t he floor with a loud nose. We thought that this could easily have been knocked by one of us at the table so discounted this as paranormal.

Suddenly, a loud bang occurred under the table just beside me. I had been watching the cat as she was trying to switch on a sensor light in the sitting room area adjoining the dining area, so I knew that the noise was not caused by the cat.

We looked under the table and found a screen in a wooden frame lying on the floor. The owner stated that the screen had been leaning against the wall for a few months undisturbed.

We stood the screen up against the wall again and tried to get it to fall. We found that it would not move on its own, however, if something knocked against it, it would easily fall.

I was able to state categorically, that the cat had been nowhere near the screen and none of the rest of us were within reach of the screen.

I felt that this may have been paranormal as the atmosphere in the room had changed considerably in the few minutes before this happened but as a team we had to put it down to being an unexplained event with a  possible logical explanation as the room was not in regular use and perhaps someone had unknowingly brushed against the screen earlier.

Update

• The owners contacted us after the investigation to inform us that they had called in an electrician and he had been successful in reducing the emf emissions.
• I picked up a couple of possible evps

Conclusions

• I personally think that there may have been some paranormal activity in the house. I did feel some form of energy at times and the K11s seemed to support this. The possible evps were interesting but too faint and too indistinct to be anything other than interesting.
• I observed the cat listening and seeming to watch something on the top landing just as I was feeling that someone was on the stairs.
• My personal thoughts are that the high emf may have attracted some form of energy into the house. The house had a lovely peaceful feeling at all times and the overall energy in the house felt positive.

Living with Spirits

Private House Investigation - Hunting Lodge

Private House Investigation

How do you find locations to investigate?

Finding Locations

People always ask me how do I know where to investigate. The answer is simple. I don't.
I like to explore new places and am always on the lookout for possible locations. This does not mean that I do not like going back to a place. I do. This can be a source of great information. The first time I go, I know I am only taking base reading and getting the feel for the place. If I am lucky enough to be able to return, I can use that prior knowledge to delve deeper into a location's atmosphere.

What types of locations are suitable for investigating?

Any place that is safe, accessible and for which you have the necessary permissions, can make a great location. I do not shy away from a location simply because it is too new or too exposed. Even new built homes can be fascinating. A background check of the area often turns up some fascinating information.

• What is the history of the immediate area? Could the house have been built on a graveyard, ancient cairn or other symbolic, yet long destroyed site?
• Is there an old church, graveyard or abandoned institution nearby?
• What stories are told about strange or unusual events in the area?
• Was a battle fought close by?
• Did a tragedy happen near to the site?

These are only some of the questions I ask as I build up a picture of the history of the location.

The Hell Fire Club, Dublin

So, I've found a possible location, what happens next?

The next things to consider are, can the location be reached easily? Is it accessible by road? Is it fenced off? Will I need permission to enter the location? Is it safe to enter the location? What type of equipment will work best here?

As soon as I have answered these questions satisfactorily, I can then plan the investigation.

I don't know where to start looking for locations

Some good places to start include:

• Old abandoned buildings - houses, churches, institutions (seek permission)
• Old graveyards (be respectful at all times and do not investigate if the graveyard is still in current use)
• Mass rocks, stone circles, fairy rings and other places like these with a lot of stories or folklore attached to them (seek permission if necessary)
• Private houses if the occupants request you to help them
• Former battlefields
• Ancient forests

There are many more, suitable places. I tend to treat everywhere as a possible location - even the local pub or butcher shop!

Abandoned farmhouse

Word of mouth

A lot of the investigations that I have attended have come about from a chance remark or a direct request from the owner or occupant of the property. On these types of investigations, the onus is on the investigator to try to debunk the claims made by the occupants.

• Cold spots - could be just that. A current of cold air, which can easily be tracked, can often be caused by something as simple as a window not properly latched.
• Dark shadows and feeling of being watched - can be caused by high levels of emf in the house.
• Nausea, being ill at ease and even feelings of dread - can all be symptoms of the emf being too high.
• Noises - even the sound of footsteps can be caused by water pipes, central heating or just the normal noises houses make at different times

Even if nothing of a paranormal nature is found at the location, it can still be a learning experience.

Look around at your local area. There are probably lots of possible locations. Why not try investigating a few of them? And if you don't feel like doing that...

Give me a call!

The former home of Edmond Shuldham

FAQ
More questions

Why Paranormal Investigating?

When I tell people that I am a paranormal investigator there are a number of questions I am always asked.
I can sum up these questions as follows;
Who What Why When and Where

Who do you go ghost hunting with?
There are a lot of people like me, who enjoy trying to find answers to what seems like unanswerable questions. I am happy to go with anyone so long as they are respectful, sober, interested (either as believers or non believers,  it doesn't matter to me) and can work as a team (in the event of an emergency it is important to know that you can trust the people around you)

Myself with some of the members of Cork Supernatural Society

What is the scariest thing you have ever seen?
It's not all about seeing things. All the senses come into play.

Sight I think the scariest thing I have seen was on my first ever investigation. I saw a black explosion of energy. It didn't feel evil or anything like that. it just gave me a fright. It was as big as an average person and just exploded into the doorway beside me. Nobody else saw or felt a thing even though we were all standing together.

Hearing I have heard footsteps echoing on the stone flags in an abandoned castle from an unseen pair of boots as the energy moved around the whole team. We had all heard movement in the corridor and asked if anyone wanted to come and join us in the room. The footsteps were loud and clear as if an actual person was striding among us.

Smell Sometimes, on entering a room - even in an old ruin, I have caught a quick aroma of cigarettes, cigars or perfume. Other team members have smelt sulphur like smells or rotting smells where, in each case, the smell disappears quickly and we were unable to trace the source.

Taste Occasionally, just before the emf meters react, I have noticed a coppery taste in my mouth.

Touch I have felt touches quite a lot of times. I slipped going up a stone staircase and an unseen hand caught my elbow and steadied me. I have felt an unseen arm go around my waist to give me a quick cuddle. Children seem to love making contact. I have often felt small hands pushing at my back if I am sitting down and I once felt a small child climb onto my lap and wriggle around.

Feelings I have been overcome with sadness for absolutely no reason in a particular part of my parent's home and later found out that a young woman from the early 1900s used to be seen (in her own lifetime) crying at the same window.

The beautiful Redwood Castle

Why do you only go out at night?
Ghost do not only haunt at night but as I, and most of the teams I investigate with, work during the day it is not possible to get everyone together during the day. Also, at night there is less risk of contamination from everyday events - mobile phones ringing or affecting the emf meters, traffic, people making a nuisance of themselves etc.

When is the best time to see ghosts?
There is no "best" time to see a ghost. If this was the case, there would be no paranormal investigators as we could all just go and visit a ghost whenever we wanted!
During our own investigations, I have noticed that the most active times are when the atmosphere is calm, relaxed and happy. Perhaps our positive energy is simply drawing other positive energy from around us? I don't know. This is what compels me to keep investigating.

Where do you go?
Anywhere - within reason. I prefer old abandoned buildings but I also enjoy investigating private houses. I love hearing stories about different places and then, when I get the chance to go and investigate for myself. I can't resist!

Elizabeth Fort

Further Reading

Elizabeth Fort Investigation
Private House Investigation
Ballinacarriga Castle

Elizabeth Fort, Cork 9th October 2015

My first visit to this historic fort in the heart of Cork city was as exciting as I expected. The setting is beautiful with the wooden gates leading into a courtyard surrounded by the old Garda station and the walls.
As darkness fell we climbed to the walls from where we had a view of the city lights.

Section of the Old Garda Station

View of the Entrance Gate

We began our investigation in the reception room near the cells. There was nothing of any interest to report here so we moved to the upper floor. I had a feeling that someone was lurking in the corridor outside the room we were working in but our equipment did not pick up anything.

We moved to a conference room at the opposite end of the building and found an old pound note stapled to a letter. The pound note appeared to be a payment for a fine. One of the team members mentioned taking it as a souvenir. As she spoke K11s around the room lit up.

This was the first interesting thing that had happened.

We continued calling out and asking questions and seemed to be getting an intelligent response from the K11s. We concluded that it may have been a former garda who was trying to make contact.

After a while we moved to the air raid shelter set out in the courtyard near the front gate. One of the team brought the pound note and letter with her.

View from inside the Air Raid Shelter

We thought we heard movement just outside the room we were in but again, our equipment did not pick up anything unusual.

The old pound note and letter had been placed on a table in the middle of the room and two of the team suddenly reported that they thought they saw it move - the pound note seemed to lift up on one side. This may have been caused by a sudden air current although there did not seem to be any particular movement of air in the room.

View of part of the Inner Courtyard

We then made our way to the outer walls. These are accessed by stone steps leading up to a wooden walkway. From the walkway you have magnificent views of the city as well as access to where soldiers would have patrolled many years ago.

We tried calling out from one section but there was so much noise going on in the city we decided to simply have a break and enjoy the beautiful night.

I did feel that there was someone up on the walls with us but our equipment did not support this.

One of the many exhibits around the grounds

The steps leading to the walls

We returned to the conference room and placed the pound note and letter back where we had found them. The other team members decided to explore the attic but I did not feel I could climb up there so opted to remain in the conference room on my own.

I started calling out and asking if there was anyone with me. I had switched on my audio recorder and began to ask various questions. Later when I played back the audio, I found that my questions were being answered and that I had not been alone at all.

EVP 1

EVP 2

EVP 3

The rest of the team returned and we began to call out again. One of the team suggested getting out the pound note again and we did this, using it as a focus for our calling out.

Once again, at the mention of taking the money away and also at the mention of removing files (non existent files), the K11s all lit up. We were able to carry on a seemingly intelligent conversation using the K11s.

My conclusions: I think there is some energy around the fort. In the building itself I feel that this is not a particularly old energy but up on the walls there is a much older feeling.

To date I still have not gone through all of the audio from that night but if I come across anything else unusual I will post it here.

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Living With Spirits

Do you ever wonder if there are spirits around you? Do you ever shiver and think "someone's walked over my grave"? How would you know if you were sharing your life with unseen visitors?

There are a few telltale signs that there might suggest that there is some paranormal energy around you:

• Hearing unexplained noises
• Finding that things are not in their usual place
• Your pets seem to follow someone or something unseen around the room
• Feelings of being touched

Noises

Always remember that houses can creak and groan due to natural events such as wind, temperature and pressure changes. Also, if you are alone especially at night, noises always sound louder and creepier leading to the assumption that they are paranormal. 

However, noises that can not be attributed to natural sources can be assumed to be paranormal. For example, I often hear someone shuffling through papers in the dining room but when I go to investigate there is nothing out of place and both my dog and cat are asleep in the sitting room.

I once heard a very loud bang beside my chair as if a heavy object like a piece of furniture had fallen over but there was nothing to fall over. Both my dog and cat jumped and I had to calm them down as they were very unsettled by it. 

Misplaced Items

We can all make mistakes and sometimes we do. There are times however, when we know that we are not imagining that the item in question had indeed moved. Even at these times we can doubt ourselves and pass it off as imagination but if it happens often enough we see a pattern and recognize that something strange is actually going on. 

For weeks I kept finding the back door key in the lock even though I am very careful to remove it and place it in a safe place every time I use it. This happened so often that I began to think I was losing my mind. I finally realized that something strange was going on when I accidentally grazed my finger as I put the key back in its hiding place. A few minutes later the key was back in the lock but my grazed finger proved that I had removed it.

I used to keep a bucket for food waste on the floor beside the cooker in the kitchen. Several times I almost tripped over it as it was moved out of its place and into the middle of the floor. I thought my cat was somehow moving it and just kept replacing it to its normal spot. Then, one evening I left the kitchen, the bucket was in its proper place. I closed and bolted the kitchen door so that my cat couldn't get into the kitchen and then remembered that I had left my coffee on the kitchen counter. I opened the door and found my way blocked by the bucket.

Pets

A lot of people believe that pets can sense paranormal presences. We have to remind ourselves that pets have much better defined senses than most humans. My dog often wakes up and barks at a spider running up a wall. Did he hear it? Or did he just wake up and see it? I have no idea but I do know that my cat hears mice underground and can see a bird high up in a tree even when it is half hidden by leaves. 

There are times however when there is little doubt that they are seeing something that I can't see. 

Often they will both sit up and follow something unseen moving about the room. Sometimes my dog wags his tail and quite often my cat gets up and follows something - I can see that her eyes are focused on whatever it is she is following. 

At other times she goes and sits beside my unlit stove on her own in the other room. I didn't take much notice until I realized that years ago when I bought the house the furniture had been left behind by the previous owner who was a cat lover and there had been an armchair right beside where my cat now sits. When the stove is not lit it is not the warmest part of the room and my cat loves heat so I can only assume that something draws her to that spot. 

Touches

People sometimes feel a creeping feeling on their skin or even a feeling that someone has touched them even though they may be on their own at the time. Our skin is a remarkable organ and is very sensitive. An unseen current of cold air can produce feelings of creeping and a slight muscle spasm can feel like a light touch. 

Most of the paranormal activity in my home takes place in the kitchen which is surprising as this used to be the site of an old shed rather than the house itself. 

Quite often I stand looking out of my kitchen window and feel a light slap on the back of my head. I assume that I am standing in the way of the long gone entrance to the shed so I simply move. 

Other Signs

There are other things that indicate that you may be sharing your home with spirits these are just some of the ways that I have noticed over the years. 

Feel free to comment any interactions that you may have had as the more we share, the more we can learn from one another.

Related Articles

A Private House

Mediums - Real or Fake?

Becoming a Ghost Hunter FAQ

Evps from Private House Investigation October 30th

After our eventful investigation at the Hunting Lodge I reviewed the equipment to see if we had captured anything interesting. I have never come across a place with so much activity and can state conclusively that there is a lot of paranormal activity in this house.

If someone asks me the question, then I would have to say, Yes, I believe that this house is haunted.

Click here to listen to some of the many evps I recorded that night. Some of these are quite disturbing and very thought provoking.

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(Edmond Shuldham - former occupier of the Hunting Lodge)

Could Edmond be unable to rest in peace?

Click here to listen to the evps and you decide!

Mediums - Real or Fake?

Do Ghosts really exist? Are Spirits around us? Can Demons possess humans?

If you are interested in the Paranormal then like me, you will find questions like these fascinating and need answers to the unknown.

How do we go about looking for these answers?

Ghost Hunters or Paranormal Investigators use tools to help uncover anomalies and to provide some evidence of phenomena experienced by both themselves and others.

Mediums or sensitives claim to have a gift. Some of them are very convincing and do indeed, seem to be able to perceive things outside the scope of most people. Unfortunately, as there is no way they can directly prove that what they see or feel is true, most mediums are treated with disbelief or skepticism.

This is where the tools come in.

Mediums can guide investigators so that the tools can be used to corroborate their findings. For example, people often complain that they suddenly feel cold. Temperature checks can be carried out and if there is a large unexplained difference in temperature around that person then it can be documented.

Similarly, voices or other sounds unheard by most of the team, can sometimes be heard on recording devices thus backing up a personal experience.

It is very important when on an investigation, to always mention out loud, any feelings, sounds, touches or any other abnormal experiences, as they occur. This way, when the evidence is downloaded and checked, it is easy to cross reference any paranormal incidents.

As with all aspects of Paranormal Investigation, it is impossible to say for sure whether mediums are real or fake. The most important thing is to keep an open mind. Just because you don't hear or see something yourself, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Until we have the answers, I guess we'll just have to keep on using the tools, documenting the evidence and having fun!

Sitting Room of Deserted Farmhouse

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