Ghosts Of Gloucestershire


This wonderful photo, taken by Martin, shows the haunted rooms just below the tower of Gloucester Cathedral. Perhaps something can be seen in the left hand window?

We recently had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of Steve Shipp, of Twilight Books, and his partner Sue. They both have a keen interest in the paranormal, and travelled up from Devon, visiting us as part of a vacation. We met up with them at Gloucester's most haunted pub, the 'Dick Whittington' (the fabled 'thrice Lord Mayor of London' was from Gloucester originally). Our evening got off to a good start: they were serving 'Over the Moon' real ale made by the 'Dark Star Brewing Company'. Having just had a book entitled 'Dark Star' published, this struck me as a remarkable and meaningful coincidence - boding well for the ghost-hunt later that evening!

We discussed various paranormal phenomenon during our relaxed chat at the pub, and eventually found out about the strange events that had been afflicting Sue's flat in Axminster. She is clearly sensitive to the realms beyond ours, and had experienced a catalogue of disturbing manifestations, including furniture moving around the flat unaided, various belongings disappearing and then reappearing where they had no business to be, cold spots in the flat, and the presence of an entity that was, well, of a rather negative disposition. The flat is located in an old building (meaning renovations when the flats were converted) and a prior resident of this flat (which was number 13 originally) hung themselves in the attic. So, poor Sue has been plagued by this entity, and is cataloguing the various anomalies and manifestations.

Fortunately, she has some more positive assistance in the spirit world helping her to cope, as well as Steve of course. Here's a thought worth bearing in mind: "Madame Blavatsky, who knew more about the spirit world than anybody else, said you are a fool to take any apparition seriously, because they are often malicious and they are frequently the souls of people who were murdered, were suicides, or were terribly cheated in life one way or another, and they are out for revenge." The writer and artist Kurt Vonnegut, 2005.

Steve Shipp near Mary De Crypt Church

So with Sue and Martin both present, each quite capable of acting as a conduit for paranormal manifestations, I was hoping for a good crop of orbs. Most of our photos were taken in two locations; at Blackfriars, and outside the Cathedral. We began by taking a look at a rather odd piece of artwork in the Mary de Crypt churchyard. The curved stone-bench has some upright stones with graven images of the Green Man and various lower spirits. Quite an incongruous addition to a Christian graveyard. Steve can be seen taking a look, with a moving orb in attendance.

Martin, Sue and I explored the ruins of Blackfriars, where we sensed a presence and located cold spots. We didn't get a lot of orbs that night, but the ones we did get were in the Blackfriars area and were very clear indeed. This indicates to me that the orbs were not a general environment-related phenomenon, but were specific to the location where we picked up something other-worldly present.


	Can you spot the face in the wall?

These images contain some surprises. I didn't spot them at first, I'll admit, but Steve and Sue rang our paranormal hotline after seeing this webpage and told us that figures could be seen. Dark outlines are seen on the walls in this photo, to the right of Sue and Martin respectively. Now, that might just be a trick of the light on the brickwork. But check out the pinkish highlights within the 3rd picture above. A face seems to look across above Sue's head. This looks like an apparition of a woman wearing a cloak, an effect made more convincing by the dark outline around the 'figure'. Of course, there are orbs present as well. Interesting, eh?

Here's another odd photo. Stood just outside Blackfriars, Martin appears to send a shadow through some reflected red light on the pavement. Yet it is not at all clear where the source of the red light is. The red light reflection is not apparent on any of the other photographs taken that night (of which there are over 100). Also, several clear orbs can be seen on the photo (the red one is presumably a distant street light on Brunswick Road). The right-hand photo shows an orb each for Sue and Mart. Spirit guides?

Sue explains: "[Gloster Ghosts] have agreed to help with the paranormal activity in my home, and will hopefully take some readings and photos to see if anything is picked up." One of the occurrences we're interested in is the case of the foreign coin which appeared in the flat one day, origin unknown. "The coin appeared in my home. I know nothing about it at all." Sue has heard voices, seen flashes of light coming from within the walls and going back into the walls, and experienced the phenomenon where items disappear one day then reappear the next.

There have been other reports of weirdness at the Old Bell House, just off Axminster Square. The toilets on the ground floor locked themselves from the inside during Halloween 2005. Footsteps have been heard along a ground floor corridor, and some have experienced a distinct cold-spot. Objects have been known to move around on their own accord. All in all, a superb place to go ghost-hunting, which we will be attempting to do later this year.

Ghost Captured on Store's CCTV?

CCTV images from Poundstretcher, Gloucester One of Gloucester's shops, 'Poundstretcher', has experienced first hand something going bump in the night: Specifically, a stack of pallets was disturbed at around 2.30 a.m. The event, which left a mess all over the floor for surprised staff to discover in the morning, was documented by the store's CCTV camera.

The deputy store manager, who has experienced odd things at 'Poundstretcher' before, looked through the night's camera footage, and believes that a dark figure can be seen standing behind the pallet before it took its nocturnal tumble.

Following the unexplained event, she is sure that she can make out the same dark figure, this time sat upon some cases. The dark figure seemingly captured on film has subsequently been associated with a regular ghost seen in the store, of a woman in a high neck black dress, with hair tied back and very white hands.

A reporter from 'The Citizen' relates some of the supernatural history of the building:

"It is not the first time it has been seen, or its presence felt in the store.

"Legend states that the unhappy spirit of a tragic actress haunts the store, formerly the Theatre Royal where the famous Victorian partnership of Sir Henry Irving and Ellen Terry once performed. Strange manifestations have been seen by many staff over the years, including the ghost of the lady and the mouldy inscription of the letter "E" on a cellar wall.

It is thought that the lady in question is Eliza Johnson, who joined the company in 1880. It is said that after a while things in her life went wrong - perhaps a failed love affair - and she committed suicide while still in her mid-20s. Now her ghost stalks the aisles of the shop where she once performed." (3)

In which case it makes you wonder what the poor ghost makes of her current environment; her theatre turned into a busy shop. One can perhaps understand why she might try and rearrange things every once in a while! Which, indeed, is what appears to happen according to other members of staff interviewed by the regional television news.

Shelves of goods left tidy at the end of a day's trading are regularly found in a dishevelled state the next morning.

A local paranormal investigator, called Steve Pointer, was asked by Central News what he thought of the CCTV footage. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but thought it worthy of further investigation. He said that there were energies at play in the store. The reporter summed things up by saying that the more you look at the second image, the more you start to see something there.

Article © Andy, Martin and Dave May 2006