Ballinacarriga Castle 17th June 2023

 

Ballinacarriga background

Ballinacarriga Castle has always been a special place for me. I remember visiting here many years ago with my family and of course, it was where Echo Ghosthunters brought me for my first ghost hunt in 2012. 

It's a place that never disappoints me. It is high on a hill and quite breathtaking as you approach it, as it towers over the landscape.

It is a Hurley Castle having been built by Randall Og Hurley in the late 1500s. There is some doubt about the actual date as some history books mention the 1590s but a carved date on a window ledge states 1585. I believe the Castle was built from the mid 1500s onwards as it must surely have taken a fair few years to build.

Along with the date carving there are several other carvings or perhaps based reliefs of note around the building.

On the ground floor again on a window surround, there are five roses and an angel. These are believed to have been ordered to be placed there by Randall Og and are said to represent his wife Catherine and five of their children. 

I think they had eight children but only five survived and perhaps this is why only five roses were added.

On the window surround on the top floor, the old Chapel, there is a scene of the crucifixion. It has been said that one of the three faces depicted here is Catherine's face.

There are numerous other decorative carvings or bas reliefs around the windows and must have been a beautiful sight many years ago.

There is also a Sile na gig high up on the right side of the building above the main door. These fertility symbols often appear on castles of this period.

The investigation

We had invited a paranormal group from the US to accompany us on our investigation. We have worked with this group before so it was nice to meet some old friends.

As it was still light when we arrived, we spent an hour or so talking and checking out the castle and surrounds.

There are the ruins of an old watchtower just beside the castle and there used to be a mill close by as well.

We began our investigation on the top floor. 

It started to rain a little while we were up there and as this part is open to the elements we had to make sure our equipment was protected.

We did some calling out and some live evps to see if we could communicate with any spirits. 

I stood with my back to the doorway and at times I could hear and sense movement behind me and in the little chamber just outside the main room.

I also noticed some orange sprinkles of light near one of the ladies a few times.

We did not catch anything of note so decided to move downstairs.

As there were eight of us in total we decided to do one more group investigation in the large room on the ground floor before splitting into two groups to investigate the smaller rooms.

We began a calling out session and did a few live evps but again, we did not catch anything. This is the room where an amazing evp wad caught by the team a few years back. 

In that evp a woman seems to be asking where her child is. She sounds distraught and it is quite upsetting to hear.

We set up a laser array before calling out but the many bats in the building caused some minor distortions so we can discount any movements noticed at the time.

We then did a spirit box session but although we did have some responses, they were too vague to be noteworthy.

We split up. I took our visitors to investigate the rooms upstairs while the rest of the team went out to check out the ruins of the watchtower. 

One of my group wanted to do a lone vigil in the garderobe. We left him in there with another lad just outside the room on the stairs.

The remaining two of us went back to the old Chapel at the top of the building.

We both had felt the presence of some energy while we were up there earlier and we wanted to check it out.

We did some calling out but nothing was happening. 

The lad who had been on the stairs came up to join us. He told us that he had been having some strange religious thoughts since he had been up here at the beginning. 

I asked him to explain and he said he felt like he was having some kind of struggle over his religious beliefs. He explained that he himself was not particularly religious but these thought were randomly filling his mind.

As he spoke one of the K11s nearest to him started to spike.

We began to ask religious questions. Are you a priest and are you struggling with your faith etc. The K11 continued to spike seemingly in response to our questions.

Eventually, the activity stopped and the atmosphere seemed considerably clearer or lighter - it's hard to explain, it just felt different

The group member who had being doing the lone vigil had joined us during the activity.

As we were all discussing this, I and the guy who had joined us, clearly heard someone coming up the stairs beside us. 

I said that it was the other group but no one entered the room.The guy beside me went to the top of the stairs and called down to the others but got no response.

We could hear them the mumble of talking somewhere at a distance but on repeatedly asking if they were on the stairs near us, we got no reply. When we went down the stairs we found some of them in the garderobe - two flights below - but they insisted that none of them had come near the last staircase. 

One of their team had made a joke about the puka in the garderobe - known locally as the puka's hole - and had immediately felt he was going to vomit so had left the building to get some air.

This had happened to me several times previously in this area so I was delighted (?!) that someone else has experienced this.

I stayed in the garderobe for a few minutes with the other team but as I have been suffering a strong reaction to some medication lately, I did not relish the idea of risking feeling nauseous or being sick, so I left them there and went back to join my group.

For the last session, we decided to move to the room below the top floor.

I had experienced a lot of energy in there at different times.

Before I followed the others, I decided to brave the garderobe on my own. I switched off my torch and stood in total darkness. My heart was thumping really loud and I was struggling to breathe. I only lasted about five minutes before deciding to join the others.

When I joined them  I found some of the other group in there too, doing a ovulus session, (where words supposedly from spirit are typed on the screen and also spoken by the software).

One of the responses was 'you are so annoying which made us all laugh.

I asked if Randall Og was with us earlier and the response was 'always' and then, not long after, 'come here'.

I asked where but got no response.

I felt the lad standing behind me, tap me on my back to get my attention but when I turned around he was not close enough to touch me.

I asked if he had tapped my back thinking I might not have heard him step back afterwards but he said he had not touched me and his uncle who had been standing beside him the whole time said he definitely did not move.

He reached out towards me and showed me that he could not have touched me from where he was standing.

I had thought he was standing much closer to me the whole time I was in there. In fact, I thought he was standing less than a foot away from me.

Apart from some personal experiences, we did not get anything of note.

We will have to wait for the equipment review to be sure, but to all appearances, we had a fairly quiet but fun evening together. 

Private House Investigation 2022

We were invited to investigate a private house to debunk the haunted reputation of the house.

The building, though abandoned for many years, was in fairly good condition. Vandals haven't yet destroyed it as they have so many fine old buildings.

The house is a large two storey house set back a little from the road with a large garden.

The front door opens into a good sized hallway with a staircase to the left and two reception rooms opening off either side of the hall.

One of the reception rooms leads into a twisting corridor and then into the kitchen area - which can be reached through a separate door further along the hallway.

Upstairs the stairs branch into three areas. The first area was probably the bathroom but is in a poor state of repair. The second branch leads into a small, separate bedroom while the third leads to the bedrooms at the front of the house.

We decided to start our investigation downstairs in one of the reception rooms.

We set up our equipment and immediately my motion sensor light, which I had placed in the doorway of the other room facing away from us, kept switching on.

I asked our team leader to put one of his there instead as I believed mine must have developed a fault.

This motion sensor also kept switching on. 

We tried jumping up and down and walking around our room to see if we were somehow triggering it but we were unable to set it off ourselves. 

Another team member had received some new toys for Christmas. Among these was a K11 meter - used to detect changes in emf. 

He had tried out his new equipment before the investigation and it all seemed to be working perfectly. 

As we were trying to figure our why the motion sensor was going off, this team member suddenly mentioned that his new K11 meter had just registered a reading.

We put this down to one of the team not having switched her phone off as she was trying to set up a separate motion detector over the fireplace. 

She was having trouble with this sensor as it kept going off. We were laughing at her and telling her she was doing it wrong although she has often set this up without any problem on previous investigations. 

We also set up 'cat balls' around the room and on the stairs. These are simply cat toys that flash in different colours when they are touched or rolled. 

We began our investigation, as we always do, by introducing ourselves and explaining the equipment. We always say that the equipment is only there to help any spirit to contact us and will not cause them any harm.

We also say that we are not there to harm or remove any spirit and that we are simply there to make contact. 

All during our calling out the cat ball on the window ledge kept lighting up and the newest K11 - being held - kept showing small but sudden bursts of energy. None of the other K11s in the room went off during this session.

The motion sensor in the other room continued to light up randomly and the cat ball on the stairs also went off.

We switched the cat ball on the window ledge to another ball as it was going off almost continuously and we thought it might be faulty.

The new cat ball immediately started to flash and the original one - now on the fireplace - did not go off again.

I began to feel very sick and at first thought it was due to medication that I'm on. However, this medication usually causes nausea that comes and goes in waves and if I try to speak I normally start retching. This sick feeling usually only lasts a few minutes and passes off quite quickly. 

The sick feeling I had now was very different. I was able to speak to the team without retching but the sick feeling wasn't going away. 

The team asked me if I wanted to go outside for some fresh air but I refused as I didn't feel faint and I didn't feel I needed to vomit.

After half an hour or so, we decided to move to the other reception room. 

While in this room I continued to feel sick and once again, one of the cat balls kept going off. The motion sensor, now facing the room we had vacated, continued to light up randomly and some equipment left in that room also flashed up from time to time.

The K11, still being held by the same team member, kept flashing up consistently. 

Two of us heard a clear sound that we thought may have been a cat or bird. I personally thought it sounded like a child playing. 

We continued to call out here for some time and eventually moved to the kitchen area. 

I began to feel a lot better in this area but put this down to the back door being open with plenty of fresh air here.

We didn't do a lot of calling out in this area. We spent most of the time telling jokes and having a good laugh. We did get quite a few K11 hits while we were laughing and, as we have often noted in previous investigations,  nothing when we stopped to pay attention and start calling out again.

We agreed to move upstairs. As we went up the stairs a different K11 meter - this one with sound - began to go off in a team member's hand. 

We went into the small bedroom at the back of the house first.

In here, as downstairs, one of the cat balls kept going off and the first K11 meter kept giving small but definite readings. We all laughed as we realised that the K11 only seemed to go off as the guy holding it looked away from it. 

He saw the flash each time in his peripheral vision but never saw it directly.

I saw a light anomaly low down near the floor shoot from where our guy was holding the K11 out of the door beside me. It sort of looked like a fast moving smoke ball and I have seen something like this before on an investigation many years ago.

I was standing nearest to the door and began to feel like we were being watched. I also heard what sounded like movement on the landing. 

One of the other investigators mentioned that she kept seeing flashes of blue light in the room. She said she wasn't sure if this was just her eyes reacting to the sensors going off but felt it was worth a mention.

We finally moved to the bedrooms in the front of the house.

Three of us stayed in one room while our team leader went into another room with a spirit box and headphones.

We have been trying an experiment lately where the person with the headphones cannot hear what we are calling out or what questions we are asking. He listens to the spirit box and calls back anything that comes through and we can check if it is relevant to anything we have said.

We have had some possibly interesting results previously but tonight we did not get a thing.

However, we got something we didn't expect.

As we were calling out we heard a few loud bangs. I thought it was the guy in the other room and dismissed it without really thinking about it. 

I suddenly thought I heard voices downstairs and some movement. The guy with us told us to keep quiet. We could just about hear faint sound from the spirit box in the other room. Suddenly, the three of us heard whistling coming from downstairs. 

We kept very still and quiet and clearly heard someone whistling a tune. It seemed to go on for ages but was probably just the verse of a song.

One of the team had been asking if any spirit present would like to hear a song. She said she would play it for them if they could let her know what they wanted to hear.

At the time, we didn't pay much attention to this as we thought people had entered the house without us knowing and we were thinking of our own safety. 

We managed to attract our team leader's attention and gesture for him to come to us. He asked what was wrong and we told him there was someone downstairs.

He thought he saw a light shoot up through a hole in the floorboards and after listening for a few more minutes, the two lads said they would go downstairs and check it out.

They came back up to us after having a good look around and said they didn't find anything to suggest someone had been there.

We decided to wrap up for the night as it was late and we were worried that if someone had been there they were clearly not worried about seeing our gear and also not afraid to advertise their presence with the whistling. 

We didn't want anyone spreading the word that we were investigating and risking them coming back with more people. 

On the way home we discussed the night. We couldn't really believe that someone would enter a house not knowing how many people were there and walk around whistling in the middle of the night. 

On the other hand, the whistling was so clear and went on so long it couldn't possibly be a spirit. Could it?

We were dying to get home and start reviewing the cameras and audio.

Our team leader had not heard the whistling and kept asking us if it could have been the wind or creaking floorboards. We assured him that it was someone whistling. 

We also asked him about the bangs we heard and he said he had heard them and felt the vibrations along the floorboards but assumed we were trying out something in the nearby room.

By 7.30am I got the first message from our team leader. He had spent the rest of the night going through most of the footage.

He had hoped to have captured the whistling on some of the audio recorders throughout the house. 

One of the audio recorders had a corrupted file so none of the recording had been captured. This same recorder was now working perfectly again and all older files were complete and not damaged in any way.

Another of the audio recorders was in the same room as the whistling but this recorder simply hadn't recorded anything.

We have never had problems with either of these devices before this and both were working perfectly again by morning.

The whistling was picked up faintly by the camera but there was a bit of sound pollution as the team leader had this camera with him at the time and had no idea what we were hearing so wasn't keeping particularly silent as he was listening to the spirit box through the headphones.

Our other investigator, the one who seemed to attract all the K11 hits is currently reviewing his equipment.  

He says he caught the whistling and also a possible evp (electronic voice phenomenon).

We are eagerly waiting to see what else he has captured.

The other thing of note is that the motion detector camera downstairs did not pick up anyone entering the house nor were the motion sensors triggered during the time we heard the whistling coming from the same room. 

On reviewing the initial footage, we are not sure if the whistling is a ringtone rather than actual whistling.

We will have to experiment with similar conditions before we can decide if we could have heard a ringtone coming from the road.

Personally, I am positive I heard someone whistling but as I know from long experience, nothing is proven in this field and I will keep an open mind.

We have picked up some evps and also caught a light anomaly on camera in the same room that I saw one.

Reviewing is ongoing and I will update this post with any other findings.

Abandoned Manor House

Four of the team recently investigated an abandoned manor house. The house is set on a hill and overlooks a nearby town. It has extensive grounds, although now, horses roam the once well-tended gardens and the house itself is in a sorry state with most of the roof missing and no doors or unbroken windows.

The downstairs rooms are full of rubble and debris. Here and there, hints of the once splendid house are still to be seen.

The staircase is rapidly becoming dangerous and the first floor is badly water-damaged from the elements. I did not venture further than the landing at the top of the stairs.

Paranormal Background

Paranormal investigations had been carried out here before this one. K11 hits and EVPs had already been noted here and some of the previous investigators felt that this was an active location.

We were all looking forward to this one.

On the night, things were very quiet. We did not get any K11 hits - although we do not rely on these to indicate the possibility of paranormal activity, we use the emf meters along with our other gear to guide us in the right direction.

We carried out a live EVP session and again, we did not get any sign of activity. We also used a spirit box but there were too many radio stations cutting in and this made it almost impossible to hear anything unusual.

Despite the lack of activity on the night, I am aware that sometimes places are simply 'quiet'. We all agreed that the location has potential and we will be carrying out more investigations here.

The house has a long history and as with all old buildings you never know who or what might be lurking in the shadows. Perhaps, on our next visit, we will have something to report!

I haven't yet gone through all the audio from the night but if I find anything of interest, I will publish the results.

Paranormal Musings

Orbs - Paranormal or Not?

Kilcrea Castle and Abbey

Orbs, Paranormal or Not?

Every time I go out on an investigation I come back with lots of pictures with anomalies in them. Most of these anomalies are orbs. So have I made contact with the other side? Are spirits trying to communicate with me?

These lights (above) were photographed at Carriganass Castle in Co Cork. There were no lights coming from this area at the time and I couldn't see anything that would reflect light back to me. However, as it was taken outside in the open air, I am fairly sure that these were insects flying around at the time.

These anomalies are definitely raindrops reflecting my camera flash. The night was extremely wet and it was pouring with rain at the time I took this. (Kilcrea Castle, Co Cork)

We photographed a lot of orbs in this mill. There are a lot of strange things going on here - voices, footsteps, laughing, children appearing in one of the rooms. The orbs seemed to be following us around that night but once again, it was probably just dust.

My mind is open on this one though, as there is a lot of energy here and perhaps not all of the orbs were dust that night ... (Russagh Mill, Co Cork)

This strange picture was taken outside an old graveyard. We did not notice any mist but as it was taken fairly close to the sea, we can not rule out that a sea mist crept up on us unnoticed. We did not have this strange effect in any of the photographs taken either directly before or directly after it but I can not rule out the mist theory.

This graveyard really gives me the creeps and I would never go there on my own! I used to go there every day in the daytime to check on my horses in the field beside it but I always felt uncomfortable there - I never take any notice of any other graveyards either on my own or with others.

So, before we get too excited about orbs and other anomalies, remember that there is usually a simple explanation for them - dust, moisture, insects, reflections.

But occasionally, we might just come across an unexplained one ...

Carrignaphooka Castle

Private House Investigation

Elizabeth Fort

A visit to the Asylum

This abandoned asylum has a long and terrifying history. I recently visited the oldest part of this massive complex, built in the early 1800s. The building is in very bad condition and slowly falling into decay, rotting from the inside out.

There is little left to attest to its horrible history but tales abound and the eeriness of the place adds to the awful atmosphere.

The whole complex is connected by tunnels and it is considered to be the longest building in Ireland.

Some of the procedures carried out here included lobotomies and a circulating chair - designed to rotate up to sixty times a minute to ensure the docility of the patient.

It was said that screams could be heard from the asylum at all hours of the day and night.

The Investigation

We made our way to the top floor and set up the equipment. We decided to split up so myself and another investigator made our way to the floor below.

We both felt the presence of energy here. There were shadows moving just outside in the corridor but despite our best efforts, we were unable to document any evidence.

We were in a small room and I noted that the atmosphere was quite heavy. I noticed that the shadows by the door were growing lighter and darker. The other investigator mentioned the same thing to me.

During our calling-out session, the shadows moved closer to the door but seemed to be hovering just outside.

We attempted a live evp (electronic voice phenomenon) session to see if we could make contact with anyone but this did not produce any results.

We agreed that the energy felt low to the ground and was possibly that of a female child. I also felt that there was an older man with her.

At one point I asked the little girl to go and scare the other investigators on the upper floor.

When we all met to change floors, the other investigators said that they had picked up a child's voice, possibly a girl, through their spirit box.

We also noted a strange light anomaly above our heads. A light seemed to move in a strange sweeping movement and we were unable to account for it. The light zig-zagged back and forth and then disappeared.

When I went to the top floor the atmosphere changed again and I felt absolutely nothing here.

We saved the ground floor for last. As we stood around, setting up gear and getting ready, I felt very uneasy. I took a few pictures and caught a few orbs but assume that they were insects or dust stirred up by ourselves as we moved around the building.

I moved closer to the other team members and fought a feeling of panic. I have no idea why I was so spooked but I really did not feel comfortable there.

On listening back to the audio recordings from this floor, I found that I picked up a couple of voices but I will double check with the rest of the team to rule them out. From listening to the recording, I am almost certain that we are all accounted for but ...

Unexplained symptoms

Earlier that evening, while I was on the top floor I also felt a sudden intense pain in the right side of my head and thought I was going to faint. It passed quickly and I thought nothing of it at the time. Later that night, in bed, I suddenly got an attack of possibly, tinnitus pulsatile. I had a loud drumming in my right ear like an extremely fast heartbeat - I checked my pulse to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. The sound was unbearable and in desperation I googled it. The advice was to cup the offending ear to help reduce the airflow and stop the eardrum vibrating (or something). I did this and it worked but I had to fall asleep holding my ear.

For the next few days, my ear was fine. Putting it down to some unidentified stress or illness, I forgot about it.

Until I began listening to the audio from the Asylum.

My earphones are broken and only the left one was working so I listened with only one ear bud in (the left one). I was almost finished the review when my right ear began to drum really fast again. The noise was unbearable and made me feel sick. The only way I could stop it was to hold my hand over my ear for about twenty minutes.

My rational brain is telling me that it is just a coincidence but it will be a while before I try to listen to the end of the recording!

Have you downloaded Irish Paranormal Haunts Vol 2 yet?

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

Interview with "She Who Wants to Know" - Paranormal Investigator

There are many Paranormal Investigators throughout the world seeking answers to some of our greatest mysteries. "She Who Wants to Know" is one such incredible person.

I recently asked her a few questions about her activities. Read on to find out about her and if you enjoy the interview please visit her fantastic blog "She Who Wants to Know" and listen to some amazing EVPs on her YouTube channel

At the end of the article you can find out how to follow her on Facebook, Twitter, her Blog and her YouTube channel.

How long have you been a paranormal investigator? 6 Years

What is the name of the team you work with? I don’t have a team, I do solo but I go by “She Who Wants To Know”

What country do you work from? Wales, United Kingdom.

How did you become a paranormal investigator? I have always been interested in the paranormal since I was a child, but I set out to actually de-bunk EVP’s. I didn’t believe they existed so in fact I wanted to prove that these TV shows were really for entertainment only, It took me 6 months to get my very first EVP (That of a laughing child) and since then my views have changed, now I travel around my local area looking as to why or what makes a place haunted.

When did you first become aware of the paranormal and why? This is just something I have always had an interest in, even before I really knew the meaning of what a “ghost” was. Can’t really explain why, but it comes deep within myself.

What is the most haunted place you have ever visited? It has to be Caerphilly Castle in South Wales, I was conducting an investigation there and the readings went sky high if I mentioned the castle was being attacked, gathered many EVP’s and had a stone thrown in my direction!

What supposed haunted place would you like to visit? My all time goal is to visit Alcatraz Prison.

Have you had any personal experiences? I’ve had quite a few but if I were to pick my very best one.. It would be the time I went to Dan Yr Ogof Caves in Wales, This was just a regular day out, nothing paranormal intended, Me and a couple of friends went into the first cave and as we approached the middle of the cave near what they called “The Angel Wings” I randomly turned around to look behind me, I saw what appeared to be a man dressed in a dark jumpsuit along with a white helmet with a large torch on the front run with his hands above his head as though the cave as going to collapse, I followed him with my eyes and when I blinked, he vanished.

Is there any place that you feel is too dangerous to be investigated and if so, why? No place is too dangerous as long as you go there protected and be respectful.

What do your friends and family think about your interest in the paranormal? They know I have an interest but they have no idea I actually go out investigating the paranormal, the only one who really knows is my partner and he is a complete skeptic which to me… Emphasises the fact that if I catch an EVP he can confirm it.

What advice would you give to first time investigators? TAKE YOUR TIME! And do your research on the different techniques on how to conduct a paranormal investigation, be aware of your surroundings and always seek permission if you’re going to go into a place that isn’t public.

Don't forget! If you’ve enjoyed reading this interview and would like to know more about the experiences and investigations just click the links below to follow "She Who Wants to Know"

Blog
YouTube 
Facebook
Twitter (@SheWhoWants)

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True Stories from Irish Locations

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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

Do Ghosts Only Haunt at Night?

Most ghost hunting takes place at night for a variety of reasons.

• Most people work during the day and it is more convenient to hunt at night.
• The night time tends to be quieter as there are usually fewer people around to contaminate the scene.
• The ghost hunter's senses may be heightened by the darkness.
• Indoor locations may be open to the public during the day - pubs, shops, offices etc. and it may suit the owners to allow access only at night.

Ask any person who feels they are being haunted and they will tell you that they have the same feelings during the day as they do at night. Perhaps at night, imaginations tend to run away with themselves and every sound and every shadow is seen as sinister. However, many people report paranormal events taking place during the hours of daylight. 

Many years ago I saw a full bodied apparition of a woman suddenly appear beside me, weeping silently as she looked at of the window. It was early afternoon on a bright sunny day.

If ghosts are, as I believe, the energy of dead people, then it follows that they could have the same characteristics and personalities as they had when they were alive. 

• Shy or introverted
• Bold and confident
• Gentle and kind
• Rough and uncaring

There are many other combinations too numerous to mention but they illustrate that each ghost can be very different form the next. 

Perhaps some ghosts prefer the darkness or shadows and only try to interact when they are sure that they will remain hidden. Others perhaps, like to come out of the shadows to announce themselves in a grandiose fashion.

None of these mean that ghosts only appear at night. Even shy, introverted people come out of the shadows if they need help so why not ghosts?

Quite often during the day when I am at home I will hear shuffling and movement in the other room. Sometimes my dog and cat both follow the progress of an unseen energy moving about the house. They sit up side by side and follow something with their eyes. 

In answer to my question, do ghosts only haunt at night? I can emphatically say, No! Ghosts can be seen, heard or felt at any time not just at night.

For further tales of the paranormal things I've sensed and seen please refer to my books Irish Paranormal Haunts and True Stories from the Darkside

A selection of useful books for would be Ghost Hunters:

Hunting Ghosts: A Paranormal Investigator's Guide
Ghost Hunting: A Survivor's Guide
Ghost Hunting Guide

Other articles from this blog
Becoming a Ghost Hunter FAQ

Back to the Hunting Lodge

Ballinacarriga Castle Investigation

Final Magdalene Laundry Investigation