Issue 18

October 2013

Exclusive Two Part Interview

with Old School Investigator

RAY JORDEN

Author & Historian

Rupert Matthews

Interview

Investigation Spotlight

Haunted Southampton at

HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON

Haunted Southampton arranges and hosts paranormal investigations across the South of England.

Join us for the night , all tickets for our event investigations are available at the website

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

Based in Southampton, England. Haunted Southampton is a team of paranormal investigators undertaking

investigations of a variety of locations that have reports of unexplainable occurrences.

Since 2009 we have investigated over 60 locations and still find the experience fascinating , enjoyable and

great fun . The majority of our investigations are available for members of the public to join us , using the

extensive range of equipment we use and experiments we undertake to try and establish if indeed these venues

are as haunted as they claim to be.

You can find out more about our investigations through our website and Facebook group page - with over one

thousand pictures posted of investigations by people who have joined us investigating the paranormal we hope

you too may want to become part of our work.

Haunted Southampton is (left to right)

Juliet Collins, Patrick Collins, Pete Collins, James Lysandrides & Rebecca Lysandrides

Inside This Issue

Paranormal Press

October 2013

Issue 18

EDITORIAL

Content

Peter Collins

_ _ _ _ _

Contributing Articles

Andy Ford

James Lysandrides

Juliet Collins

Penny Legg

Ray Jorden

Rupert Matthews

Jamie Roush Pearce

Regular Features

INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT

A look at our investigation of Michelham Priory

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Medium Andy Ford . An insight to the history of

Halloween

____________

GETTING CONNECTED

Jamie Roush Pearce & Historic Haunts THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE The Sixth Sense device

JULIET WRITES IT DOWN

Thoughts about the world of the paranormal.

——————

THIS MONTHS ARTICLES

Interview Pt 1: Ray Jorden

Interview with author Rupert Matthews

From séances to science.

Features

Paranormal Press

Facebook Page

Contact The Paranormal Press

An interview with:

Ray Jorden.

years, to us with our vivid imaginations it was a fantasyland to play in.

Back then my cousin and I use to have a fascination for spooky things, ghosts and ghoulish monsters, so without even

knowing what we were really doing, we would get an old mirror and although we were not allowed too, we would find a

candle and light it, the stare in to the mirror in a hope of seeing a ghost or something, well…….. We now know this to be

scying of course but back then we didn’t really know, but we knew what to do?? I can’t explain it we just knew what we

were doing.

Another time, I was playing with my sisters and cousin again in my grandfather’s garden, I remember it being a warm

summers day, everyone was down the bottom of the garden and I was a few meters from the back door, I just happened

to look up to the kitchen window which was directly above the back door and I saw my grandmother. She was staring at

me with a serene look on her face, she seemed almost integrated in to the net curtains (why net curtains in a kitchen

window I do not know lol, must be a generation thing) But I knew that she had died, that she had passed away a few

months before and I just could not understand why she was there, I didn’t really have a concept or understanding of what

a ghost or a spirit was, I knew loosely what death was at a young age but again in ways I didn’t really understand.

So after looking at her for a while I looked away to see where if anyone else was near, looked back and she was gone,

even to this day I know I really saw her and have never forgotten her lovely look on her face. I can also remember another

bizarre situation that happened to me when I was young and went on for a few years. Opposite my parent’s house are

some old taller houses which are slightly raised up due to the bank they are on. The house directly opposite the family

home had and still has a small porch extended from the main house, to the right hand side there was a small bit of wall

and the then the front window (hope you get the general picture)

So at night when I was either returning back to the family home or just looking out of the living room window or front

bedroom, on this small piece of wall I mentioned I use to see a face, now it is possible to suggest now as an adult and

experienced investigator that the pattern of the all could have suggested to my mind that it was a face. This face was

gaunt I could see the definition of the eyes nose and mouth, and at times it appeared to me as if the mouth was moving

as if it was saying something or talking to me (I could never make out what was being said) whether I was walking from

the left of right hand side to house, the eyes and face seem to follow me!!!!

I was never frightened by the face in the wall but I was compelled by it and I still remember it well. One day and I can’t

recall when if I am honest the face in the wall just never showed itself to me again!!!!!!!

So these experiences I do believe set a journey on a path within the paranormal, from this I found I have a thirst and

wanting to know and read more about the subject, I use to read books I shouldn’t never telling anyone in case they

thought I had an unhealthy interest in a subject best left alone or that I should not be interested in.

Hi Ray, thank you for taking the time to talk about your work .

Upon your website, you talk about your first experiences of

unexplainable occurrences at your grandfathers house, could

you tell us a bit more about those days?

Hey it’s a pleasure Pete really happy to be here. My journey started

out well over thirty years ago when I was around five years old. In the

summer holidays we use to always go to my grandfather’s house to

play every day as, as a kid it was just so much fun and his garden was

a huge play area for us (my cousin and myself).

Just to set the picture, his house was on three levels, so you had to

go through the cellar basement area to get out in to the back

garden. The cellar was another dark and errie play area for us and

have to admit Pete, we were quite naughty by playing with my

grandfather’s old curios he had collected over sixty maybe more

There are numerous pieces of equipment developed

today for paranormal investigators, with a scientific

theory based to them, are there any items you have

found that have helped you or improved an

investigation you have been part of.

There are so many gadgets for ghost hunting coming out

all the time, I have recently had the pleasure of working two

great tech guys, who not only utilises these items but are

very creative to come up and adapt outside of the box

using other equipment you might not really associate with

ghost hunting, to see this was very inspiring.

Using my old school ways with the odd bit of modern tech

seems to have worked very well for me, but being I have to

admit I prefer being the way I am, but with a major keen

interest in tech world, so have they helped yes and no, it’s

totally hit and miss, you get results or you don’t, you can

never predict what results you will get.

Going back to your roots, I believe you come from the

county of Wiltshire. This county for many years has had

countless reports of various paranormal activity

occurring , do you have any thoughts why this may be ,

after all locations such as Stonehenge and Avebury

Stone circle are in the county and these go back to

Neolithic times?

Yes I was born in Salisbury Wiltshire, and it seems Wiltshire

as a county has a rich ghostly history and very much

spiritual connections, with the county having the mysteries

of Stonehenge and the magical site of Avebury. Wiltshire

has so much folklore and ghost stories, many I should

imagine have been expanded and embellished over the

years, but for any keen ghost hunter its certainly worth

investigating these claims and the what if’s.

What projects have you been working upon recently?

Few weeks ago I came back from filming a new TV series in

Australia with the most amazing cast, the show is called

Haunting: Australia and it was an epic adventure and one I

shall never forget.

You have undertaken investigations in numerous

countries, what country stood out for you and why so?

It was until recently Mexico where I got to explore and

investigate some of the most amazing locations and work

alongside a fantastic Mexican paranormal team, have to say

we got some good results, but Australia took me to a whole

new level of location opportunity. Los Angeles was great

also because I love Hollywood and the old golden era of

the movie stars, so that was a huge bonus to visit and

Investigate some locations connected to a rich history of

movie making and of course all locations come with their

own hauntings and stories.

How do you think those early experiences signposted

you to the work you undertake today , and how did

those early experiences help your journey to develop to

where you are today.?

Those early experiences set a path of interest and

engrained a lifelong passion, thirst and quest for proof also

answers in the paranormal field, so I guess without that

Initial interest this might have just been a general interest

and not turned in to a wonderful journey and career, which

has given me the opportunity not only to meet some

amazing people, but also to work with them as well, and

also to travel to amazing locations around the UK and

around the world.

Throughout the years you have been presenting upon

radio and television, can you remember your first

broadcast, how that came about and how did you feel

about that broadcast today?

Again since I was very young I always wanted to perform,

was always putting on school assembly’s, I can recall telling

my mother I wanted to be a ballet dancer and actor, so to

work in TV and Radio seems to come very natural to me.

My first very first radio appearance was on Radio Gosh,

Great Ormond Street Hospital Radio back in early 90’s

where for a very short time I helped out at the station, I

co presented once or twice. 2001 I appeared in a film, and

everything grew from there really, my media journey in

effect started over 17 years ago!!!!!!

Investigating paranormal reports and occurrences is

often quite challenging as the hours tend to be long ,

how do you prepare yourself prior to an investigation

and what sort of investigation technique do you

undertake. ?

I do believe in a lot of rest the night and day of the

investigation (if time permits and its possible) plenty of

fluids and refreshments on standby (for me its plenty of

coffee) as we know investigations can be very long in to the

early hours and at times the locations can be very chilly and

cold, so always recommend warm clothing, gloves and hat,

if your anything like me I wear thermals lol.

In preparing myself for an investigations, I make sure that

my pieces of equipment are charged and ready, that I have

fresh batteries, that my kit bag is packed and ready and I

tend to go over the brief of the location which I also take

with me, so as have to hand if I need to refer back to any

part of the history at a moment’s notice. As for my

approach, well its very old school and I tend not to use a lot

of modern ghost hunting gadgets, I like to think myself is a

little vintage and retro which I like because it is something I

really enjoy, really enjoy thinking outside of the box, have

been referred recently as a Sherlock Holmes kind of ghost

hunter.

Ray Jorden Interview (Continued)

If anyone was due to undertake a paranormal investigation, drawing upon your vast experience, what tips and

advice would you offer to people to maximise their investigation results and findings.

Always go in to the location and investigation with an open mind, never want or will things to happen because half the

time they won’t, things happen when you least suspect them too, just let things happen naturally try not to have any

expectations.

Also make sure you take a pen and paper with you, anything info that might come to light for me is always important, just

as how people are feeling, take note and write it down, everything is important….RECORD EVERYTHING.

Make sure that the best piece of equipment you can ever use its yourself, go with your gut feeling as you know yourself

better than anyone else, we all have senses so use them again take note and listen to yourself as to what you think or

believe might be happening at that point, in that moment on investigation.

What are the future plans for Ray Jorden ?

Well I would love to switch on the 2013 Christmas Lights (no

really that’s been a dream of mine for years) but who knows,

seriously though I have some radio show guest appearances

coming up, these will be announced on my social media sites.

Haunting: Australia hits the TV screen in 2014, and a few other

little projects which are in the works which I cannot mention at

the moment.

I am open to offers and suggestions lol

If people wish to make contact with you for bookings, how

do they go about that?

If anyone would like to get in contact with me there are vari-

ous ways, you can email directly rayjorden909@msn.com

You can follow me on Twitter @rayjorden (I always follow

back) or you can find me on Facebook Ray Jorden, where

you will also have my little “Like” page, this page comes

with all updates as they come in or happen.

I also have my personal website on www.rayjorden.com

Thank you Ray, we really enjoyed chatting and getting to

know more about your work and some of the exciting

projects you have been working on.

We are looking forward to finding out more in the interview part two, hopefully authorisation can be allowed to talk

about your recent investigations within Australia , I’m sure it will be fascinating reading for everyone.

You can find out more about the work of Ray Jorden at his official website or interact through Facebook and Twitter

through the links within the above paragraph.

Ray Jorden on location with Ian Lawman

The Appliance of Science Equipment used for Paranormal Investigations

By Pete CollinsBy Pete Collins

The Sixth Sense . A one stop shop for paranormal investigators. The sixth sense has been developed by Steve

Ranger and is regularly used by myself and the Haunted Southampton team . Each time we have set up the

machine the results have been of real interest. So, what is this portable device , how can be of use and what are the

benefits of using the device for paranormal detection.?

The basic concept , rather than carrying

around in your pockets numerous devices ,

what the sixth sense offers is a one stop shop

with six environmental monitors within one

small aluminium carry case.

Best practice to use the sixth sense is within a

locked off room or a specific area where

reports or accounts of unusual activity has

been reported or witnessed. Setting up night

vision filming equipment and infra red

illuminators—the sixth sense will monitor

away for several hours , fully alarmed to let

you know when any form of environmental

changes our occurring . Can be used in conjunction with trigger objects , digital voice recorders to enhance the op-

portunity to capture any form of unusual activity.

Components for the sixth sense include the following

Geophone & Infrasound monitor for the detection of

vibrations , EMF Field analyser , digital temperature

monitor , a motion sensor that will alarm if movement is

detected close to the device. A static meter to monitor the

amount of discharged electricity , a shadow detector that

will signal if any movement across the device is noticed

and finally an Radio Frequency monitor that will detect any

interference within a local vicinity.

This also enables us to analyse man made signals interrupt-

ing the monitoring , like mobile phone or WiFi signals , that

could in turn effect the EMF readings.

Above: Myself and Steve Ranger setting up the

sixth sense device on location at a venue just

over 900 years old . This particular vigil returned

some great results and an EVP that is still for us

quite unexplainable .

The whole system is fully alarmed , so when any activation is sensed we can also hear this from a distance and

time document this for future filming analysis. Each sense can be adjusted to different levels of sensitivity so

can be adjusted depending upon your location.

So far the device has been used by Haunted Southampton at five different locations since the final develop-

ment was completed and we have found the sixth sense a valuable asset . It offers a full monitoring system

that can be easily filmed either by tripod mounted cameras or using our CCTV night vision system to fully

cover an area that has reported activity. We will update more as we use the system on a more regular basis.

Hauntings with History There are some venues that have their own unique ghost

stories and accounts of ghostly sightings. However, when a

venue has an historic event happening within its premises,

this can only add to the mystery and enjoyment of it’s

paranormal happenings.

One such venue lies upon Southampton High Street. The

historic Red Lion , some say , dates back to 1148.. The Red

Lion has a place in history during the times of King Henry V.

It is said the infamous Southampton Plot trials took place

here . Three men who plotted to assassinate Henry V in 1415

whilst he was amassing his troops to leave for Agincourt

from the port of Southampton.

This notable Inn is reported to be haunted by twenty one

ghosts , having investigated this property twice I would say

that indeed some things that happen within it’s even older

cellars are hard to easily explain away.

So the Southampton Plot , the three men who plotted

against the king were The Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope of

Masham and Sir Thomas Grey , they planned to install a rival

claimant to the throne, Edmund, Earl of March.

It is said that these three plotters are seen within the Red

Lion , in full dress as they are led away to the town gallows

for the ultimate punishment for treason, to be hung , drawn

and quartered.

One of the stories within The Southampton Ghost walks goes

into more detail about the sightings , one of the most talked

about stories is an account from some American tourists

who took bed and breakfast at the inn.

The Southampton Ghost Walks

Dates

Thursday October 31st

Monday November 11th

Monday November 25th

Monday December 2nd

Please note that booking spaces for the

Ghost Walks can be obtained from

http://hauntedsouthampton.com/ghostwalks.html

—————

An option to book your own private

ghost walk with friends or for

entertaining guests is now available.

For full information about booking a

private Ghost Walk please contact

petercollins@hauntedsouthampton.com

—————————-

The Southampton Ghost Walks

Haunted Southampton and Derek Callaghan offer you an opportunity to explore

the darker side of Southampton, with factual experiences of paranormal

investigations within the city and Derek's knowledge of all ghostly sightings;

you may not want to walk the streets alone again.

The Southampton Ghost Walk takes a ninety minute journey through the most

haunted locations of the city - joining Derek is Peter Collins, paranormal

investigator with Haunted Southampton.

Travel through the city and find out about the hauntings and ghost stories: who

are the ghostly figures seen leaving the historic Red Lion? Why does Lizzie

Loader come back to haunt the Bargate area and what made a young bride scream

out in terror at her wedding reception? As the walk takes us into The Undercroft

Vault - can we pick up any signs of its resident ghosts using some paranormal

detection equipment supplied by paranormal investigation company Haunted

Southampton? Maybe you can capture an image of the ghosts using the latest

thermal imaging and full spectrum cameras.

http://hauntedsouthampton.com/ghostwalks.html

Bring your cameras and experience the Ghost Stories of Old Sout

Halloween: Thoughts from Andy Ford

Halloween is fast approaching and is the time of celebration and

trick or treating. Halloween is the Celtic festival of 'Samhain'

which is pronounced as 'Sah-win' or 'Sow-in' and is the first and

most important of the quarter days in the medieval Gaelic

calendar. The quarter days were the four dates within the year

where the servants were hired and rents became due.

These dates fell on the religious festivals and close to the sol-

stices and equinoxes.

It was the time of year when people were preparing for the

coming winter months, as the harvests had been completed and

the food stored. Any animal that was unlikely to make it through

the winter was killed and eaten as part of the celebration. It was

believed that this was the time of year when the veil between the earthly world and the spirit world were at their

thinnest. So places were set at the tables so that the departed family could join them for the celebration.

Candles were placed in the windows to guide the dead loved ones to them but also to protect them from an evil

spirits. People believed that fairies and harmful spirits were also venturing through the veil and bonfires were lit

to add to their protection from such forces.

The holiday on the 31st October is also known as 'All Hallows Eve', as the 1st November was adopted by that

Christian faith as 'All Hallows Day' and the 2nd November as 'All Souls Day'. The three days of celebration was

known as Hallowmas and was a celebration time to honour the saints and to pray for souls of the dead that had

not yet reached Heaven. In the year 609 'All Saints' was created to be celebrated on the 13th May but it was

switched in the year 835 to the 1st November by Pope Gregory IV. It became tradition to ring the church bells for

any soul in purgatory and became known as 'souling'. At this time groups of poor people, who were often

children, would go door to door collection soul cakes. These were baked as a way of praying for the souls in

purgatory and it was suggested that this was origin for our custom of treat or treating.

Mischief night is often celebrated on the 4th November but in some parts of the country it was moved to the

night before Halloween. Mischief night was also known as the Devils night, Hell night and is traditionally a time

where young people played pranks or get up to mischief. Some believe that this also played a part in the creation

of trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-treating or guising became a Halloween tradition where children dressed up in costumes and travelled

from house to house asking if the home owner wanted a trick or a treat. The treats were often sweets but the

threat, which was often idle, was to perform the trick or mischief on the person or their home. In North America

the trick-or-treating became a tradition since the early 1950's where those willing to take part decorated the front

of their houses and some would leave bowls of candy out for the children. Guising has been recorded in Scotland

as early as 1895 (pre-dating trick-or-treating) where people were out in disguise, carrying lanterns made out of

turnips, visiting homes where they would be given cakes, fruit or money.

The custom of creating Jack-0-lanterns can be linked to several folklore stories. One of these stories comes from

an old Irish folk story about Jack who was very miserly farmer. Jack trapped the Devil and would not let him go

until he agreed to not take his soul when he passed. Jack finally died and could not get into heaven due to his evil

ways and could not get into Hell due to his agreement with the Devil. He then asked the Devil how he could see

where to go so the Devil threw him an ember from Hell that would never go out.

Andy Ford

Psychic Medium

1 - 1 Mediumistic Sittings

Tarot Readings

Past Life Regression

Group Sessions / Workshops

Skype readings available

Contact me through my website or directly for

further details about bookings.

Andy Ford Website

07983 356894

So Jack carved out a turnip and put the ember inside and then wandered the earth endlessly trying to find a

resting place. Another folklore story states that it comes from the strange phenomena of dancing lights above

places like the bogs or marshes which looked like a flickering lamp. These became known as will-o-the-wisp or

jack-o-lantern. was to use the pumpkin and faces on them were carved to represent spirits or goblins.

The flickering lights would try and draw the traveller off the safe paths that they were following across the dan-

gerous ground. In England and Ireland turnips or beats were hollowed out to represent these lights but the

tradition in America was to use the pumpkin and faces on them were

carved to represent spirits or goblins.

So on this night will you be setting a place at your table for your loved

ones from the spirit world, enabling them to join you in your celebra-

tions. Or perhaps you will pealing the skin (in one piece) from an apple

and throwing it across your shoulder to see the initial of the loved one

that you will marry!

Whatever you are doing always remember that its not just on

Halloween that your departed loved ones and friends are close to you.

Andy Ford has been involved in Spiritualism for several years and is a

Spiritualist Medium, Reiki Master, Trance Healer, Teacher and Tarot

Reader.

Andy is a natural medium and has trained at the SNU Arthur Findlay

College, College of Psychic Studies (London) and the Spiritualist

Association of Great Britain.

A traditional Irish Jack-o'-Lantern in

The Museum of Country Life, Ireland

Jamie Roush Pearce & Historic Haunts Paranormal investigator, author and genealogist Jamie Roush Peace chats to the

Paranormal Press about her work. Based in Florida and owner of Historic Haunts

investigation team , here is what she had to say.

Hello Jamie, thank you for your time. Upon your website you explain that you have

been involved within the paranormal for 16 years, can you tell us how this journey

started for you ? Thank you for this opportunity, Pete. My journey in the paranormal

actually started when I was about 5 years old. My mom used to flip houses when I was

growing up so we moved a lot. She had just bought this one house in St. Petersburg

(where I was born) and it was our first night there. My mom had tucked me in like she

always did and turned out the lights. I fell asleep but was awoken a short time later.

There was an older lady standing next to my bed. She looked down at me smiling, pulled

the covers up as if tucking me in, leaned over, kissed me on the forehead, stood up, and

disappeared. Ever since then I was curious about what was out there. My mom was open to the ghost things so it wasn't

anything weird. I wasn't taught to fear it. As I got older I started reading more and more about the paranormal and started

visiting haunted locations. I have always been post cognitive, which means I can see things from the past. It doesn't always

work but most often does. We would visit different locations I had never been and I would tell my mom about something

that happened or something I saw and I had no way of knowing it. I joined Michigan Ghost Watchers when I was about

18 (I am almost 35 now) then started my own group Historic Haunts Investigations in 2004.

I'm sure over the years you have investigated numerous accounts and reports of paranormal occurrences , in your

opinion which one has been of the most interest ? Wow, that is tough. I have had several interesting experiences. My

favourite would have to be the ghost ship we saw. It was funny, about 10 years ago my mom and I went to Jekyll Island for

the weekend to see what was there. Never been there before and it started storming. Down pour, thunder, lightning, wind,

you name it. We thought, well this stinks we can't really explore so we decided to go eat at a restaurant on the beach. We

finished lunch and the storm went through so jokingly I said let's see if any treasure washed up on the beach. We started

walking the beach and I looked out on the water and saw off in the distance a 3 massed old wooden ship. Beautiful!!

I have been around a lot of old ships and it had that amazing historic feel, but was different. It wasn't solid, it was misty/

foggy looking....transparent! I turned to my mom to ask her if she saw it and she was fixated on it as well. I said, "Do you

see it!!!????" She was like, "Yea, do you?" We turned to see if anyone else was there to validate it and we saw no one.

Turned back around and it was gone. We ran back in the car to drive around the island to see if it maybe hauled butt out

of site and found it no where!!

We were very puzzled by it and decided to go into a gift shop near the beach (the shops aren't there any more since they

have done a ton of construction on the island). We went into this one shop and they had a lot of nautical merchandise and

started looking around. In shock, there was a photo for sail of the ghost ship! The same one I saw!! I said out loud, "That's

it!!!" The clerk came over, "Oh, did you see it?" I was like, "YES!" He nonchalantly explained, "A lot of people have see it

after a bad storm like we just had." Apparently everyone explains it in the same detail as the photo that someone took

capturing the ghost ship. He told us that a ship sunk over a hundred years ago in a storm and many believe that is the

ghost ship seen today.

There are many ways to investigate , do you have a particular approach , I noticed that you are also a genealogist,

how do you find that helps for investigating the paranormal.? Genealogy helps in my research. I learned how to

By Pete Collins

Getting Connected With...

research through genealogy and that helps me learn how to do

other research whether it be historical or otherwise.

As for equipment and approach. I totally believe in using your

senses. You can not ignore them. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and

just that gut feeling all come in to play. You might smell someone's

perfume or pipe smoke on an investigation, you might get

touched, you might hear voices or footsteps, you might even taste

something but gut feeling is a big one! Most of the time I get a

"vibe" off of a location or even a person. You have to be aware of

all these things.

I also have EMF (electromagnetic field) meters. Spirits often make

this field fluctuate when they are present. Temperature meters are

great because the spirits often will cause the temperature to drop

when they are present, it pulls energy out of the air and this is why

the temps drop. I use a flash light.....yeah I know that might sound

like a duh item to have in the dark but it comes in handing with

trying to communicate with the spirits. You get a MAG Light

flashlight and set it to where if you barely touch

it and it will turn on. I always use at least two,

one for yes and one for no. I tell the spirit to

touch one for yes and the other for no and have

had amazing success in this. Yes, the light can

get warm enough and turn it self on on it's own

but that is why you ask questions multiple times

to validate the answers and it isn't a

malfunction. I also use a full spectrum camera

and a digital recorder to try and capture EVP

(electronic voice phenomenon).

Your featured column within The Florida

Times is about various ghost stories, are

these stories people send to you or do

research them for your self , also can this be

read on line ? The column is in the Shorelines

edition of The Florida Times Union and is called

Ghostly Shores. It can be viewed online and peo-

ple do email me stories but I do all the research

to back them up and validate them. I have also

investigated many of the locations. The link

is http://jacksonville.com/community/shorelines

It seems you have quite a passion for writing

books about the paranormal, what books do

you have due out soon? Where is the best

place for people to purchase your

books ? Historic Haunts Florida came out in

2011 and Historic Haunts of the South came out

last month. Historic Haunts of the South 2 is due

out in the spring and I am working on a couple

other titles as well. I tried to investigate many of

the locations for the books so I can write about

personal experiences as much as possible. The

best place to purchase the book is directly from

me http://www.historic-haunts.net/ I also sign

my books when people order from me.

Do you use any specific equipment during

your investigations , if so do you have any

favourites? My favourites are the Mag light

flashlight, a digital recorder...I do have the RTEVP

and it is real time so you can hear it while you

are recording. I do like the K2 EMF Meter and

have had success with that and as I mentioned

earlier a full spectrum camera is great to have.

Is there any location , that you would like to

investigate ? Oh goodness, there are a few. I

don't know how haunted it is but I have always

wanting to go to Sleepy Hollow. Cont ˃˃

I have been obsessed with that story since I was little!!

One of my favourite rides at Disney was Ichabod and

Mr. Toad. Ha Ha Ha

One place I would love to investigate is the

Knickerbocker in Los Angeles. My favourite actress is

Marilyn Monroe and she supposedly haunts there and

would love to run into her. I would love to investigate

Chillingham Castle in Chillingham England.

My ancestors lived there and some supposedly haunt

there. It would be really cool to investigate there. I have

a very LONG haunted bucket list. :o)

How is the best way for people to contact you about

your events , talks and to gain further information

about the work you do ? The best way for people to

contact me is through my website or anyone can E Mail

me at historichaunts@yahoo.com

My website address is http://www.historic-haunts.net/

It was grate chatting to Jamie and getting her

perspective about the paranormal and her

investigations. A wealth of information about

different locations and venues that have an historic

haunted past. We could have talked all day , so, I

have asked if Jamie can provide another article or

in-depth piece about some of the venues she

knows all about . Thanks Jamie and hope to hear

more soon.

Haunted Southampton :

The next venue to be investigated

The Groundlings Theatre

The Groundlings theatre is located within the city of

Portsmouth. The theatre offers many different

services , events and shows throughout the year.

Coming up soon ;

10/10/2013....

1920’S MURDER MYSTERY

11/10/2013....

Beer Festival

17/10/2013....

Dr Who Dunnit Murder Mystery.

19/10/2013....

“Both Sides The Solent”

24/10/2013....

Jekyll and Hyde

27/10/2013....

Story Box

29/10/2013....

Stella

31/10/2013....

Halloween Ghost Tours

For Theatre, Film and Television...

Groundlings Costume has provided a vast selection of Pe-

riod and Contemporary costumes and accessories for hire

to the theatre, film and television industry with over 10,000

items in stock.

The Collection has been built up with costumes either made

for, or bought from, BBC, Royal Opera House, National

Theatre, West End shows and various other sources. De-

signers can come and choose costumes or we will put

shows together for you. Staff here have an extensive knowl-

edge of the history of costume as well as specific plays.

For film and television we can send costumes anywhere in

the country by overnight Courier.

For Events, Parties and Fancy Dress...

If you’re looking for something a little simpler, Groundlings

also offers a range of Fancy Dress costumes for all occa-

sions. Whether it be Peasants or Princes, Pirates or

Penguin-suits, we’ll be sure to have something for you.

Penny Legg. Books

Haunted Southampton Explore the darkest secrets of Southampton's past

with this collection of stories telling of the inexplicable occurrences and

ghostly apparitions that have haunted residents of the city for centuries.

From the Roman soldiers who pervade Bitterne Manor to the Grey Lady

at the Royal Victoria Country Park, the site of a former military hospital,

the city is host to spirits not yet departed who send a shiver down the

spines of the living. No matter where you are in the city, incidents of un-

explained phenomena have taken place nearby. The Tudor House Mu-

seum is frequently visited by poltergeists, while numerous mysterious

figures have spooked the staff at the City College. Southampton is 'alive'

with ghosts and, for those who dare, their stories can be discovered in

this chilling book.

Under the Queen’s Colours, which is

a book of the reminiscences of service

men and women who have served un-

der the Queen’s colours in the sixty

years of Her Majesty’s reign.

You can find out more about the work of Penny Legg by visiting her

website, where also signed copies of her books can be purchased ..

http://pennylegg.com/

The book raises money for three service charities. Promoting the book has led to

my making appearances at the War and Peace Show, several veterans events

around the country and at Australia House in London. I have been privileged to

meet some super people and it is great to know that the book will, in a small

way, go towards helping those who have served their country in both Britain’s

and the Commonwealth’s armed forces.

INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT WITH HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON.

Michelham Priory

night in 2011, we spent twelve and a

half hours at the location to establish if

indeed this venue stands up to it’s

claim of one the most haunted venues

within the United Kingdom.

Our research into this venue was quite

standard . With many historical records

on-line plus our discussions with the

some of the present owners about the

activity that has been witnessed or

experienced , we looked forward to our

night at The Priory. We had visited the

priory a couple of times during the day

to meet the staff and to plan our

night’s investigation, some thing we

feel is so important as when the

darkness of night descends knowing

where you are is crucial .

The team arrived at just after 4pm

upon the investigation night , which

gave us a little time to prepare

ourselves , setting up our hub area

within the main gatehouse also

enabled us to leave the priory a sterile

area so people could spend time

investigating alone or in twos if they

preferred. The priory is a beautiful

setting during the day , but when night

time comes along due to its extremely

isolated location , it has an eerie

feeling when you realise all is empty,

Founded as an Augustinian priory in 1229. At the dissolution of the

monasteries the church was demolished. Transformed into a Tudor

gentleman's residence and later a farmhouse, the building was restored in

the early part of the 20th century. Set on a moated island, entrance to the

property is gained through the imposing 14th century gatehouse.

This infamous priory has many reports of paranormal activity occurring and

it’s reported hauntings are legendary. So, upon a cold night in September

Michelham Priory

Investigation Date. Sept. 2011

Time 16:30 - 05:00

Haunted Southampton Team

&

18 Guests

Psychic Team

Andy Ford

Michelham Priory. East Sussex England

the visitors have left and the staff have left us to explore the venue

alone. So after a few cups of tea , we decided to undertake a few

vigils within the main building prior to the main group of guests

joining us at 20.30.

We were quite surprised upon entering the main building, after a few

moments of setting up quietly within the now empty building , sitting

upon the main staircase we could hear what sounded like some form

of chanting., very quietly , we all thought it was unusual to start

getting a response so quickly , but the chanting was clearly heard by

us all and this indeed set out the night for what was to become one

of our most fascinating investigations.

The second occurrence was a clear voice recorded upon one of our

digital recorders , James had strolled into one of the side rooms and

could hear some form of noise , he called out hello and to our

amazement , there it was, a gravelly hello response .

After exploring the house and taking a few

breaks it was time for our main group of

guests to arrive , how the time alone in the

main building passed so quickly .

Michelham Priory has a reputation no doubt,

mainly due to the two televised

investigations , so everyone felt on edge

and excited to actually be within a location

with such media exposure about its ghosts

and alleged hauntings.

Listen to the Evp Recording of Hello

The recording is set to play twice , you can

hear Juliet and James talking then James

says “hello “ you can hear the amplified

version on the second play. The recording

last about thirty seconds .

One particular area notable at Michelham is

the secret passageway behind the main stair

case. The passageway is accessible via a

panel and is a network of levels from top to

bottom of the main house. It is within this

passageway that several people experienced

being touched , could hear footsteps very

close to them and EMF Meters indicating a

build up of electromagnetic fields , upon our

visit several months prior to the

investigation night , we checked for such

EMF fluctuations but noting of note was recorded. The most inter-

esting experience for me personally was the soud of what seemed a

gruffed voice in my ear. Myself and one of the guests were under-

taking a vigil within the upper floors and we both heard this voice .

Looking at each other we both just seem to freeze on the spot

and just stood in wonder for a moment or two, thinking did we

both really hear that?

It was one of those moments you had to be there to fully

understand the experience.

Other unusual occurrences upon the night were the sounds of

footsteps , mainly when we were in the main building upon our

own , they were quite heavy distinct sounds , but when we went to

look into the corridors , no one seemed to be there.

Michelham Priory was indeed a night of intrigue for the team and it

is one of those venues that should be upon the bucket list of the

majority of paranormal investigators.

The venue holds many stories , one theory being that because it is

totally surrounded by water this may actually increase it’s

paranormal occurrences.

What ever the reasons , Michelham does provide a good test , once

you get over the dramatisation of the media interest and settle

down for the night , with patience I’m sure that you will experience

some thing that can’t easily be explained .

The venue is open during the day and it is worth a visit just to

experience it’s history .

The Gatehouse Entrance

Our base for the night

The staircase at Michelham where we heard

the sounds of chanting

An Interview with

Rupert Matthews

Rupert Mathews author,

speaker and historian

takes time out to have a

chat with the

Paranormal Press

Hello Rupert : I read upon your Amazon page that you have written over 170 books ranging

in many subjects from history, military and ghosts. What made you interested in writing

about the paranormal and what was the first book you published about this subject .?

I am a historian first and foremost, my interest in the paranormal came later. More years ago than

I care to remember, I was up in York for a couple of weeks doing research for a history book. As is

the way of research trips I spent all day in the archives, but after they shut at 5pm I had nothing to

do, and all the museums and such were also closed.

Being away from the family is no fun and evenings were restricted to watching tv, reading a book or going down the pub. After

a few days I got bored - I had been away on several of these trips and there is only so much tv you can watch, books you can

read and pubs you can visit.

The tourist info people had made a big fuss about York being very haunted, so I thought I would find out. I got a list of haunted

places and buildings and spent a few evenings going to visit them, taking photos and talking to locals. It was all great fun. So

after that whenever I was away on a research trip that is what I did. It was really just for my own amusement. But then I visited

one of the publishing companies I freelance for on a history related matter. Quite by chance the editor told me that they had

been asked to put together a project about ghosts but did not know any writers who handled that sort of topic. He asked if I

knew anyone who had an interest in ghosts, so I said that I did! The first book I did was on Haunted Chester, but I think it must

be long out of print.

Once I got one or two paranormal books under my belt I found publishers coming to me. It is certainly a popular subject.

Within your work writing about the paranormal and haunted counties, you

have covered many different accounts , what would you say has been the most

unusual story you encountered.?

Oh gosh, there are so many to choose from. I think the one that made the biggest

impression was when I was interviewing the landlord of the Black Horse in Boldon,

Co Durham. The ghost in the pub is of a man who stands by the front door looking

sad. There is nothing very special about him at all. But the landlord's description of

his encounter with the ghost sent shivers up my spine. It had occurred just two days

after he took over the pub and he had no idea the place was haunted.

I

t was about 11.30am and the landlord was in the bar getting ready to open at 12. It

was a sunny day so he had the door propped open even though the pub was not yet

open. As he was pottering about he was suddenly aware that a man had come in the

front door. He looked up at the newcomer, who was wearing a thick brown overcoat

despite the hot weather. The landlord gave a very clear description of the man, say-

ing that he looked just like a real customer "so real and solid I felt I could reach out

and touch the coarse, thick fabric of his coat".

The landlord called out "Hello. We're not open yet, but have a seat and I'll be right with you." The newcomer did not move, nor

did he say anything. He just stood there. Thinking there might be something wrong the landlord stepped forward toward the

man - who promptly vanished into thin air. The landlord was so shocked he did not know what to do. He sat down. Then he fled.

He came back a few minutes later and slowly got on with his work. It was not until two weeks later that a barmaid told him

about the ghost - which was exactly as he had encountered it. There was just something about how he told the story that made

me shiver.

When you have been writing books related to a specific county such as Haunted Hampshire where do you start for your

research ?

Well, these days I start with a websearch. That gives me some places to start. Next comes a visit to the county library to look for

folklore books and local history books - you can get a lot of leads there. Then the local newspaper - their archives and

cataloguing can be very varied so they are sometimes not much good, but can be useful.

The History Man

Rupert Matthews

After that it is a matter of getting on the ground. For a place I have located it is a matter of calling ahead to check it is OK to

visit and that someone will be there to talk to me. I often pick up another lead while doing an interview - "Have you heard

about the white lady down in Nether Wallop?", that sort of thing. But just calling at newsagents or pubs or village shops can

often turn up a haunted location or a person to talk to.

Do you find that people send you their stories about personal ghost experiences ?

Not very often no. I will sometimes get sent an eyewitness account of a ghost I have mentioned in a book or magazine article,

but simple cold calls are rare.

English counties are a wealth of history and ghost stories and you have covered quite few , have you ever

considered writing about hauntings outside of the United Kingdom – if this was a train of thought what

country do you feel may spark your interest.?

I have not no. My experience is that to do justice to research you absolutely need to visit the place and spend time there. This

is OK in the UK, but going abroad is another kettle of fish. Not only would it be more expensive, but I would not know where to

start. I can roll into an English village and drop into a pub or newsagent to chat to locals quite happily. But in France or

Germany I would not know where to go to chat to strangers, and my language skills are not really up to it either.

After writing about many ghost stories , what are your thoughts about the

paranormal ?

I find the whole subject fascinating. I try to keep an open mind about what is going on.

Sometimes it becomes pretty clear that a person I am talking to is either just passing on

hearsay and there is no real evidence, or that they are shooting me a line in order to get

their pub or hotel into my book. And I have come across a few people who i would not

trust to tell me the time of day. But they are a minority. The vast majority of people I have

spoken to who have witnessed a paranormal event (UFOs, ghosts, precognition etc)

appear to me to be perfectly genuine and serious about what they experienced.

I don't think that there can be much doubt that people really do experience events and

phenomena that cannot be easily explained, though quite what is really going on is a to-

tal mystery to me. I'm going to guess that many paranormal events are, in fact, quite expli-

cable in ordinary terms but that nobody has yet come up with the explanation.

Many accounts of ghost stories are often related to a particular building – are there any particular outside

area ghost stories that you have covered that you have written about , if so are there any particular

accounts that may be classed as a favourite?

I think many ghosts are located inside buildings because that is where people spend a lot of time, and so are more likely to see

a ghost. There are several outside locations that are said to be haunted: streets, roads, footpaths, fields and so forth. I guess a

favourite has to be West Kennet Long Barrow in Wiltshire. The ghost is that of a tall man in a long cloak, some say he has a dog

with him. It is not the ghost that is so attractive to me, but the location. It is out of the way and lonely if you go there in winter -

though quite a lot of tourists in the summer - and I found it incredibly atmospheric when I visited on a cold, still and frosty

morning in February.

Do you have more haunted / paranormal books due to be published?

Not yet, my hands are full with a couple of history projects right now but I would imag-

ine something will be along soon.

I am aware that you have your own Amazon page , is this the best place for people

to purchase your books ?

Yep, I would say so. As a long time toiler in the publishing world I always like to encour-

age people to use local bookshops - they can be magical places to go and browse - but

the reality of the modern world is that on line retailing is taking over.

So yes, go to Amazon.

Rupert Matthews - The History Man.

Rupert has written over 170 books, appearing on television and radio as a presenter and consultant. These have mostly

been on history or military subjects, though in recent years he has been writing about ghosts, cryptozoology, UFOs and

other paranormal subjects.

Rupert twitters under the name of "rupertmatthews" and has a page on FaceBook as "Rupert Matthews".

Rupert blogs about history at http://thehistorymanatlarge.blogspot.com/ and about ghosts, UFOs, unknown animals

and other aspects of the unexplained at http://ghosthunteratlarge.blogspot.com/

Rupert was born in Dorking, England, in 1961 and was educated at his local Church of England junior school, then at

his local grammar school. He later took up a career in publishing as an editor and writer. He went freelance in 1988

and since then has worked mostly as a writer, columnist and tv presenter. Rupert has established himself as a leading

speaker to lunches and dinners, speaking on subjects as varied as RAF Bomber Command at War; Your Local Ghosts;

How Medieval women led society; How the publishing industry works; The Arrowstorm; The Yeti is real!; The real

King Arthur; and the biography of Father Christmas.

Rupert Matthews is a writer of non-fiction books, magazine articles and newspaper columns. Rupert has been working

in publishing for over 20 years and has built up a wealth of experience and expertise that can be brought to bear on any

writing or editing task you care to mention. He specialises in history, but has written on a range of subjects.

It was really interesting finding out about the work of Rupert , his collection of ghost stories and paranormal subject

books are available through his Amazon site and throughout the UK at various book stores . I appreciate his time taken

for an interview with The Paranormal Press and with so many accounts of personal stories , reports of different ghostly

accounts I’m sure there is a story near you that may be of interest.

Website : http://rupertmatthews.com

Amazon Page : Amazon Rupert Matthews

Today’s paranormal investigator has come a long way from

the original days of The Ghost Club, now in it’s 151st year of

investigating the paranormal.

Some may say that the search or explanation of unusual

unexplainable ghostly occurrences can go back as far as

50 BC , when in ancient Athens , the philosopher

Athenodorus investigated claims of a chain rattling ghost.

But with the onset of Spiritualism , many séances took place

throughout the US , making contact with restless spirits and

loved ones . Joining the circles around tables became a

fashionable Victorian pastime. Claims of rapping and

knocking , ghostly images being photographed and

ectoplasm generating from the bodies of the mediums of the

day. But who was to say that these happenings were not

real, after all many people packed the halls to witness the

new phenomenal , maybe some more evidence was required

to substantiate that life after death really did exist.

Armed with pencils and notepads , many of the newly

founded Ghost Club members took it upon themselves to

look at the haunted venues and those who can make direct

contact with our dearly departed . Rather that excepting that

true mediumship is providing the answers to the questions , a

different approach developed.

No gizmos or gadgets, the likes of Harry Price and other

eminent scientists of the day conducted what we know as

today as a paranormal investigation. So, what does this

actually mean , well, the English Oxford dictionary gives this

meaning ;

“he act or process of investigating; a careful search or

examination in order to discover facts, and the truth”

So, with that objective in mind , what this saying is in order to

investigate you have to look at all of the facts - not relying

upon the word of an individual telling you that it is indeed a

haunted house .

Throughout the 1960’s more prominent people such as Hans

Holzer took on longer periods of venue assessment and were

able to offer rational explanations to alleged paranormal

occurrences , technology was starting to creep in to put the

theories offered by many to the test , not to deride a belief

system but to ask some serious questions and not accept the

word of an individual - who was claiming to indeed be in

contact with our spirit world.

The concept of seeing is believing is fine if

indeed you are able to inform people of a

contact, inquiring minds I believe wanted to

take a step forward , hence today with the onset

of popular television programmes and people

willing to put the theories to the test for

themselves , today’s paranormal investigator

can be for all and not a selected few.

After all , seeing and hearing is believing …..

So today’s 21st paranormal investigator has

developed technology to test the theories of

energy movement , to be able to hear voices

and most importantly … to see in the dark.

I wonder what the reactions would have been in

the Victorian halls , during performances if we

were able to have full night vision within the

darkened blacked out rooms .

Moving further onwards , thermo imagery can

tell us if indeed cold spots occur, full spectrum

cameras that can photograph beyond our own

eyesight - searching and putting the many

many theories to the test , because that is what

investigating is , putting together a balanced ,

well documented set of mini iexperiments into

formulating a possible answer.

Some may never sway to science or look at

alternatives, a belief system is that , you have to

believe it in order to make sense of it,

Psychologists call it "belief perseverance," but

we should be rational about claims and not

except that one persons word is all that counts

especially when the arguments are there, after

all science has proven and debunked so many

oddities for example that we used to believe the

world was just 6000 years old …..

The 21st century paranormal investigator has

long moved away from the Victorian halls and

from tweed suits with a note pad and pen - but

our own instincts are still there , combining

them with some measurable data can only put

the argument forward for future debates .

The truth is out there , but we all need a little

help from science to offer an informed opinion

from our own minds to what is happening in an

alleged haunted location.

From Séances to Science The 21st Century Ghost Hunter Pete Collins

Juliet Writes It Down

Things that go bump in the night!

“Poltergeist. Noun. A ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances

such as throwing objects around. Synonym: Ghost.”

A very brief, simple explanation for something that seems to terrify hundreds of dizzy blondes who never put the

lights on in films. For me it is one of best and most hoped for phenomena on an investigation. So – are all 'ghosts'

poltergeists? Or are all poltergeists ghosts? Are symmetrical book stacking events and doors that slam in your face

natural or supernatural in origin?

In some circles, modern thinkers believe that poltergeist activity may not be spiritual at all – that it may be the

product of the own individuals mind, under stressful conditions, manifesting their own internal disturbance exter-

nally through the unwitting use of psychokinetic energy. Other explanations include spirits that are focused on an

individual rather than a location, a mischievous ghost that is attracted to children, ball lightning, demons, an

elemental spirit that has never spent time as a living individual, seismic events, water courses under properties,

unusual air currents, delusional individuals misinterpreting normal events, human pranksters – the list it seems goes

on and on. Many of these explanations rationalise the occurrences as poorly understood natural phenomena, where

others autocratically inform us that these events are absolutely definitely Spiritual in origin and anything else is

poppycock and we are sad, closed minded individuals for not believing this. So where does that leave us?

In my humble opinion it leaves us with a job to do. Each venue we investigate we hope for proof – for irrefutable

evidence of spiritual activity. If it were up to me I would love to have doors slamming, things chucked at me – hell I

would take claw marks down my back if someone filmed it happening and there were witnesses. But even filming

the movement of an object without a visible source causing the movement would nowadays not be considered

absolute hard evidence – just check out You-Tube. The amount of videos of chairs sliding (all in the same direction),

lights flashing on and off (but they neglected to video the switch at the same time) and objects hurling themselves

out of cupboards and off shelves (at a far enough distance so you could not see the thin fishing line) goes to show

that almost anyone can be an amateur Tobe Hooper (The director of the 1982 film Poltergeist for the uninitiated.).

If anything we were to capture on film, camera or voice recorder is to be taken seriously we must make sure that we

check out every possible reasonable explanation first. The initial assessments that we undertake help us build up a

picture of the building – its EMF hotspots, gaps in windows, shops across the street that reflect a passing cars head-

lights into the rooms – we have a responsibility to our guests and hosts to make sure that anything we can come up

with on the night is, as far as we can ensure, genuine activity. The pre investigation visits are essential for this and

absolutely necessary in order to make sure we have covered as many eventualities as we can. It is why we insist on a

member of staff that knows the building being present for the investigation – as they will know the building's

character and behaviour. This is also why we use old fashioned video tape recorders, not digital ones, because a

tape will show evidence of tampering where as it is possible to manipulate digital footage without leaving a trace.

And the most important detail is this – every venue has to be treated as a blank slate – on an individual basis. Even

if we have been there before. Anyone who has been to the same place twice or more will tell you that it is never the

same experience. If we don't take this seriously - who else will?

Now where did I put my Crucifix and holy water....

Hope to see you soon on an investigation. Juliet Collins