‘I ended up in a coffin’ at one of Hull’s most haunted buildings
SPOOKY NIGHT OUT WITH SIMPLY GHOST NIGHTS AS THEY EXPLORED THE OLD ANNISON BUILDING
THE Old Annison Building on Witham is said to be the most haunted building in Hull.
Formerly used as the base for the city’s mounted cavalry, the building was most recently used as a funeral parlour, which closed 30 years ago.
The ground floor is now occupied by a late night pharmacy, with staff claiming that they are too afraid to go upstairs alone.
A number of ghostly sightings and unexplained activity has been reported from the Old Annison Building, only serving to fuel its reputation as Hull’s paranormal hotspot.
Simply Ghost Nights are paranormal investigators who operate at sites up and down the country, including the Old Annison Building, performing vigils in some of the old funeral parlour’s most haunted rooms.
I went down to join them on their latest investigation to see if we really could commune with the other side. What on earth was I getting myself into?
The evening started with a welcome from the Simply Ghost Nights team, headed by Rosey and Stuart
Dawson. The team were all lovely and highly enthusiastic, showcasing the equipment that we would be using that evening to detect paranormal activity.
There were a whole range of tools, including devices that measure electromagnetic fields and the temperature around a specific area.
Some of these devices were even fitted into dolls to attract the attention of younger spirits.
We were then split into groups and taken to the first vigil of the night, starting in the old stables from when the building had been home to the mounted police.
We were told that a horse had gone berserk and killed itself by running headfirst into the wall, leaving bloodstains everywhere.
I went into this with a fairly open mind, not expecting much to happen, while still being open to the experience.
We sat down in a circle around a Ouija board and placed our hands on it, inviting the spirits to make themselves known to us.
After a brief opening period where we all sat in silence, to my great disbelief, things started happening.
We established that the ghost of a six-year-old girl named Sarah had “taken a liking” to me, meaning that she would only seem to respond when I was the one asking the questions.
We rubbed our hands together as a group (a paranormal top tip to increase your energy), then placed them back on the table, and suddenly the wood started thrumming.
We could all feel a great deal of vibration coming from the table, followed by a large amount of tapping and scraping noises - bearing in mind that we were all placing very little pressure on the wood.
We asked if the spirit of Sarah could move the table for us, and I kid you not, after some more creaking, the edges of the table began to move.
It sounds utterly nonsensical, especially if you’re a hard sceptic, but it genuinely happened - the hosts even told us that this kind of encounter was “nothing compared to other things that they’ve seen.”
In the moment, I wasn’t afraid, more just in awe that something that seemed so unlikely actually seemed to be happening before my eyes.
The group had a good laugh at my expense after the vigil had finished, telling me “you’ve pulled”, which is just so wrong on so many levels.
We then headed to the other rooms around the Old Annison Building, but none provided a paranormal encounter quite like the one in the stables.
We did, however, come across an open coffin in one of the rooms, which was just begging to be laid in, so in I went.
When the evening finished at 2am, I was thoroughly satisfied with my experience.
While it was not as scary as I had anticipated, it was a hell of a lot funnier than I ever expected it to be.
Our group had such a laugh as we conducted our vigils, even managing to somehow coin the phrase: “I would rather sit in the garden and eat worms.” Don’t ask.
These were offset by some genuinely eerie and awe-inspiring moments, such as when the table started moving in the stable.
Whether you’re a sceptic or otherwise, I can thoroughly recommend an evening with Simply Ghost Nights.
I met some great people, learnt about a spookier side of local history, and had a great laugh along the way.
I even ended up leaving the Old Annison Building with a greater belief in the paranormal.
And Sarah, if you’re reading this, please don’t follow me home.
■■You can find out more about Simply Ghost Nights and find out where they are investigating next by visiting, www.simplyghost nights.co.uk