Haunted Britain
Every month, comedian Barry Dodds spends a night in a different haunted location, on a mission to discover the UK’S paranormal hotspots!
Dodds’ Paranormal Investigation Report:
8pm: I’m stood outside that dimly-lit hall with my photographer Judi, ghost-hunting gear in hand.
Μ$SSDUHQWO\ ZH PLJKW ¿QG VWUDQJH puddles in this house,’ Judi says sceptically.
‘That happens in your house but it isn’t a ghost,’ I grin. ‘Maybe more to do with your age?’
8.30pm: $IWHU D ¿UP WLFNLQJ R from Judi, we’re led to a huge map of the area around the hall. Sue, the owner of the house, shows me where WKH KDOO LV ± RU WR EH PRUH VSHFL¿F where it should be.
‘I had the map on this very table one night,’ she explains to us, ‘and a huge blob of water fell from the timber beams above us and washed WKH LQN DZD\ ¶
$K VKH¶V WDONLQJ DERXW WKH ‘crying’. Will for ourselves?we actually see this Do I even really want to..?
Settling in
9:10pm: We’ve been left on our RZQ QRZ DQG ZH WDNH WKLV FKDQFH to settle in a bit and get a feel for our surroundings. The house feels warm, homely and comfortable. I can feel the history all around us but I don’t feel threatened or scared at all. We decide to begin by spending some time upstairs.
9.30pm: We’re in one of the larger bedrooms, supposedly one of the most active in the house. It’s considerably colder in here than downstairs, and we set up our equipment with our coats on. We place several K2 meters on the ÀRRU WR PHDVXUH FKDQJHV LQ WKH electromagnetic frequencies in the air, a sign that there is a spirit
present. We sit and wait. Nothing happens. We call out several times.
Nothing. I look at Judi and she shrugs her shoulders.
Is it just going to be one of those quiet nights?
10pm: We move downstairs to the dining room. It feels a lot warmer here and I’m kind of relaxing into the night. Again, we set up our equipment and turn out the lights. We chat casually when I notice that Judi can’t take her eyes R WKH WDEOH
‘Look, Barry!’ she says excitedly. ‘It’s starting!’
Bright lights
All the lights on the meter are lighting up. The temperature has noticeably dropped too. There is nothing around us that could be causing it. However, as soon as it started, it stops. We try calling out and wait for a response but nothing. We start chatting again, the lights come on again and then there is a very loud thump from the corner of the room.
‘Things seem to happen when we just chat and don’t put any pressure on them,’ I say.
We sit a while longer and this pattern seems to stay the same. Maybe the spirits here don’t like being asked to perform tricks and to make noises on demand – we are guests in their home after all. We decide to take a break before heading to our last destination, the cellars beneath the hall.
11:45pm: We make our way down the cold, grey spiral steps and it’s impossible not to notice the change in atmosphere. Of course, it’s more dark and claustrophobic, but it feels like there is someone watching us down here. We walk along the corridors, our footsteps echoing on the boards placed on the KDUG ÀRRU WR SURWHFW RXU VKRHV IURP the water pooling beneath, before ¿QGLQJ RXUVHOYHV LQ WKH PDLQ chamber under the house.
‘If there is anyone here?’ I begin, TXLHWHU DQG ZLWK OHVV FRQ¿GHQFH than before. ‘Can you please make a noise so – ’
We hear a faint cry from the dark corridor we’ve just walked down.
‘Did you hear that?’ I gasp to -XGL DQG VKH FRQ¿UPV WKDW VKH GLG
Then a similar whimpering comes from behind her.
We’re both scared and nervous – but after this, there’s silence.
12:30pm: We call it a night and head home. We turn on our torches and begin walking back to the
XSSHU ÀRRU , DVN -XGL WR FOLPE WKH stone stairs and get a photo of me for this article. As she takes a few pictures and I pose in my usual style, we hear a footstep right on WKH SURWHFWLYH ÀRRU ERDUG QH[W WR me. It’s loud, clear, close - and I jump out my skin, letting out a big swear word before bolting up the stairs, hitting my arm hard on the handrail in the process.
‘I’m done!’ I say before heading for the door.
The cellars feel sinister