Investigating Scotland Logically
Private Location
Private Location Scotland.
16th/23rd October 2009.
Personal feedback by.
Mary Cunningham SP Co-owner / Investigator.
Scottish Paranormal team in attendance:
- Mary Cunningham
- Jim Cunningham
- Mark Smallman
Equipment used:
- DVR System
- 7 IR Cameras
- 1 Digital Temp Gauge
- Target experiments: wind-chimes, doll, pram, toy truck, pencils, soft toys, cutlery.
- 2 Digital Cameras
- 2 Sony Night Vision Camcorders (tape/disc)
- 2 Olympus digital Voice recorders
- Note-pads/pens
- 2 Desktop Computers
- 3 Laptops (Windows/Mac)
- 1 EMF meter.
- 1 Data Logger.
- 1 Sound mixer
- 2 External microphones.
- 1 iPod (used to store a back-up of all audio recorded)
Weather conditions:
- Damp & Cold
- 16.00 Degrees F
- Constant throughout.
Duration of investigation:
7 days/nights.During which the entire family was on holiday.
Reported activity:
- Apparition of little girl seen on upstairs landing.(Witness, adult female family relation)
- Apparition of a man seen in hallway at front door and in kitchen.(Witnesses, all 3 children of the house on different days-ages- boy 3yrs,girl 6yrs,boy 9yrs)
- Apparition of a lady seen on bottom stairs landing.(Witness, female child 6yrs)
- Apparition of a lady seen in pink bedroom. (female child (6yrs) also, oldest boy child now 9yrs)
- Apparition of a little girl seen in blue bedroom and also shadows.(witness, oldest boy child 9yrs)
- Apparition of a man seen in plum bedroom,(witness, relation to family-cousin- boy child 5yrs)
- Poltergeist activity in plum bedroom (suitcase came off top of wardrobe and landed on floor at door 9 feet away) (witnesses,2 adult females of the family)
- Poltergeist activity in kitchen (witness, lady of the household)
- Figure of a man that allegedly walked through the kitchen table (Witness- female child 5yrs old
The house:
A full pre-investigation in depth interview with the client was conducted by Mary and Jim. The house itself was found to be over 100yrs old and previously owned by a family within the mining community which for this area of Scotland was very typical of that time, a very strong stone building with bay windows to the front. The house originally consisted of 3 bedrooms but was later re-furbished in 2004 when the clients purchased the flat downstairs and decided to join the 2 houses together making 1 big single family home. Extensive modernisation work had been in progress over a long period of time to make this possible.
First reports of alleged activity was reported to me regarding this property was late 2004 when the first born male child was 2yrs old.I have been in constant touch with the family in question over the years and have performed at least 3 previous investigations in this home. With continuing reports of activity we decided that 3 hour investigations were not long enough to research this case. We arranged with the client to come back into their home and continue our research more deeply over a 7 day/night period of time. This way we could spend more time focusing our attention on certain other areas of reported sightings and alleged poltergeist activity. Due to the sensitive nature of this case we will only allow a chosen amount information to become public ”with the kind permission of our client”.
Friday 16th October Scottish Paranormal arrived on location at 2pm to start setting up our equipment. The IR cameras were set up in the appropriate positions according to our reports and target experiments consisting of a child`s toy pushchair with a doll was put in place along with a toy truck and we also set up wind chimes inside a glass dome. Once everything was in place we attempted to go online but there was a slight hitch as we had internet problems to deal with, this was only a slight hiccup at the start of the investigation and we overcame the problem early next day.
Saturday 17th Oct at 2pm we arrived to proceed with the live streaming of the investigation.
Although Scottish Paranormal performed this investigation over 7 days/nights using up to date equipment I personally have not witnessed anything strange or untoward going on in the home and, I personally feel that the family are in no physical danger. Nothing of any significance was captured on our equipment as yet but in saying that, we are still reviewing the very last of our footage. I feel confident that this family will go on to live a normal life without the fears and worries they had before Scottish Paranormal was called in to help them out. We try to reassure the clients and also try to give them a logical explanation of what may be occurring in their home to the best of our knowledge and experience and, we also have no pre-judgement of any individuals in this case or any other case we take on.
Using our DVR cameras we were able to put this investigation online -with the kind permission from our clients- and recruit paranormal investigators from all over the world to help Scottish Paranormal with this online live investigation. During one of our investigation in particular we were lucky enough to have a Canadian team founder of PEIGHS paranormal group join us live via skype where we had audio and visual contact with her throughout.This meant that she could relay to us live what she was seeing on our live cams as we investigated the location in real time. On one occasion Rushell from PEIGHS and another team member from SP – Mark, did actually witness at the same time what they both thought was a figure of a little girl aged about 8 or 9 years old dressed in Victorian clothing and described as having ringlets in her blondish coloured hair, this apparently took place on the upper floor landing just outside the blue room and also the plum room. On reviewing the cam footage of this episode it was decided that this sighting was merely due to heavy pixilation of the images coming through the cams which made it very difficult to see anything else that may have been there. I myself have reviewed this footage and I will agree that it`s inconclusive due to pixilation. Never the less it was an exciting time for us as we went over the footage together as a team and put our opinions forward with a lot of logical thinking behind it.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) Review:
So far Scottish Paranormal team member and Co-founder Jim Cunningham has spent a long time reviewing audio from our digital recorders that were used in this case for the duration of the investigation for any EVP`s that may have been captured. His findings were that of strange unfamiliar whispers that were picked up in the blue room and also on the upper floor landing.These will be put together and presented to our client along with a DVD of the investigation at no charge to the client.
My personal notes and opinions:
The 6yr old girl child of the family in question will not go upstairs on her own because she is too scared. I feel that if she is seeing things in the house it will undoubtedly make her feel this way, it`s understandable.
The oldest boy child feels scared in his room at night sometimes. I personally think that at some point all children feel this way which I consider to be normal.
The youngest boy child (3yrs old) doesn’t seem too scared by anything he sees and, he does tell his Mum about it at the time then runs and plays quite happily.
I realise that kids can be cruel to each other sometimes by telling ghostly stories and the like but, I do not think this is the case here. For a start, the children who are telling the stories are genuinely afraid at the time and not pretending in any way as far as I can see, plus!…. the male parent has witnessed the distress of the girl child first hand and he was concerned, for normal he dosen`t believe in ghosts or anything such thing like that really, a pretty level headed man in my opinion. The mother has also witnessed her daughter in a very distressed state when the child ran to her telling her that there was a man in the kitchen and he walked through the kitchen table as the girl was sitting drawing with her crayons, the Mother was upstairs at the time. I`m not surprised this child is the most distressed one of all the children as she is the one who also claims to have seen an apparition of a lady on the first stair landing too.
I intend to continue giving this family our full support and help in the future.
Mary Kings Close
Mary Kings Close
Scottish Paranormal Charity Event
13th March 2010
Personal Feedback by,
Mary Cunningham, SP Co-founder/Investigator.
Investigators in Attendance:
- Mary Cunningham SP Co-founder/Case Manager/Investigator
- Jim Cunningham SP Co-founder/Investigator
- Mark Smallman Investigator/Technical/Webmaster
- Claire Doherty Investigator/first aider
- Andy Kirkham SP Technical support.
Equipment used:
- DVR system
- 7 IR cameras
- 3 laptops (Windows/Mac)
- 1 Windows desktop computer.
- 4 Temperature probes
- 1 EMF meter
- 3 Sony night vision camcorders
- 10 Clip boards for constant note taking.
- 2 Data loggers
- 2 Target experiments, one using wind-chimes with the data logger inside plastic dome, digital recorder plus old coins, the other one with miniatures of alcohol and data logger plus digital recorder.
- 1 Digital thermal laser gun
- Various torches
- 3 Digital recorders.
- Sound mixer/microphone.
Mary Kings Close:
Hidden beneath the Royal Mile lies Edinburgh’s deepest secret: a warren of hidden ‘closes’ where real people lived, worked and died. For centuries they have lain forgotten and abandoned… http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/experience/video.htm
Scottish Paranormal arrived at Mary Kings Close at around 9:30pm Saturday 13th March and introduced ourselves to MKC staff and placed our equipment in a safe room until set-up time. During this time the group that we were assisting for the night were already down inside the close being given an informative tour before we started our investigation.
Once everyone came back from the tour Scottish Paranormal introduced themselves to the group and gave a brief talk about SP protocols to ensure their safety in the close and to also give a them a guideline on what to expect on this investigation, with that completed we made our way down into the close itself.
Base Room
Walking into our base room which was the central point to the location and the best area to set up our control center, I handed out clip-boards and pens to everyone to make sure they took note of any experiences they may have. Everyone in the group was given a chance to use SP equipment if they wished under the guidance of either myself (Mary) or Jim Cunningham, one of our SP team members.
The Laiche Room.
Everyone was excited as we entered the Laiche room which is situated at the top of the close and is said to be one of the more desirable accommodations in the close, usually inhabited by the people who were of a higher status and better off money-wise. As this room was at the top it was almost free from the constant running stench of human faeces and urine amongst other nasty stuff thrown out of windows onto the street below by less fortunate residents, this was performed on a daily basis using an old wooden bucket. It does not surprise me in the least that there was so much disease lurking around here in the close, the plague being the major disease that unfortunately killed all the men women and children who were living in Mary Kings Close at that particular time and of whom died in total despair and pain.
With all the previous discussions of disease and dying during the previous tour remaining in everyone’s mind, the group tried to settled down by making themselves comfortable before beginning to call out and asking for some response to their questions. Calling out didn`t come easy to some members of the group as they had never done anything like this before and felt awkward about it but, with some guidance from myself this was soon overcome and then we were off. Not long after calling out some of the group reported the temperature dropping by about 2 degrees or more and also some footsteps were heard outside in the close which I myself heard, I was standing with my back to the door entrance and the close. I did go checkout to see if anyone was there making these footsteps but found nobody there. I thought this was strange as at least one other person heard this too and also saw a figure at the same time, we both turned around at the same time (although I didn’t see anything) we were actually expecting someone to walk into our room….strange indeed!
The Murder Room:
As soon as we went in here we were confronted with models recreating a murder scene, something of which has an interesting story behind it. Alexander Cant a prominent merchant was murdered by his wife and Mother in law in his townhouse (Blackhall) said to be the finest in Edinburgh in Craig`s Close.
In this room, Rob-a group member- told us he was feeling quite sick which seemed to be coming and going so I asked if he would rather leave to get some fresh air and have a break…he declined and wanted to continue on regardless. Other members of the group including myself felt quite at ease in here with nothing much to report.I asked for one of the sceptics in the group to try some calling out which one of them did,he wanted to find out for himself if there really was anything here with us and to prove to him that someone apart from all of us in this room was present. Nothing of any significance happened except that when Jim asked for a response to him knocking on the floor, I heard something behind me. I was sitting with my back to the opposite end of where the models were and heard distinctly a loud knocking noise come back. Only one other member of the group heard this along with me as she was sitting right beside me at the time. I went into the corridor where the base room was to ask who may have made the noise in response to Jim’s question but nobody had made a sound like the one we heard, it wasn’t the floorboards as someone suggested, it was a more distinct knocking on wood sound… another strange one.
The Cattle Shed:
This to me is one of the more interesting places in the close. As soon as we walk into the cowshed we can still, after all these years, smell a very pungent smell and the plague room isn`t much better being that it`s right next to it where we can look in because it has no door. A resin sculptured model of a mother sits on a hard filthy bed with a dying child in her arms while a young boy lays dying on another bed opposite from open sores caused by the plague. The dark cloaked figure of a doctor stands over him wearing a grotesque mask with a long beak where he would put a scented substance inside to mar the smell of the seeping rotting flesh. Not a very nice scene to say the least but it brings to us a small insight of what it must have been like for those poor souls.
I spent most of the time we had in the plague room with a few members of the group that were keen to experience this room for themselves while Jim stood in the cow shed with a few who didn`t want to come into the plague room with us, they didn`t like it.We got ourselves settled down after demonstrating the effects on the EMF meter and why the needle was going off scale.The overhead pipes and cables was causing this because they were running right along the center of the ceiling, this was only to be expected, a natural occurrence and therefore makes me aware that it may possibly have an affect on some of the group who might develop feelings of nausea ,the ceiling in the plague room is pretty low.
Although most members of the group found the smell horrible it didn’t stop them from continuing with the investigation and were willing to give it their best shot.Not long after we entered the plague room 2 members heard what they described as a loud breath right beside them,one person was perched on the edge of the bed where the model of the little boy was laying and the other member of the group were standing beside her.The breath seemed to come in between them both. I had previously placed a digital voice recorder on top of the bed frame (in between the two group members) so I’m hoping this will be picked up on it. Another incident happened as Jim was talking, three of us, myself being one of them, heard what we thought was a child’s voice. Rob suggested that it was someone’s mobile phone but no mobile phones were turned on for the duration of the investigation. I’m sure this voice has been captured on the camcorder that Claire was using when she also heard the voice. At the moment I am keeping an open mind until we can rule out all other possibilities for this voice. Sounds of footsteps from outside in the close were heard by Claire and a few others so I decided to leave the plague room and have a look around then stand quietly in the close by myself for a while…later I was joined by Claire using the camcorder but nothing further happened that we could see or hear.
Annie`s Room:
As Annies room was so small we decided that it would be best if the group were to be split up. Jim took some of the group members to test out placing their hand in the hole in the wall where it`s said a young boy was bricked up and left to die to see if they could feel anything.It`s alleged that the little boy will touch your hand. All who tried this felt nothing and having tried this on numerous occasions myself I have never felt anything…maybe I didn`t feel anything because personally I`m not sure if the boy was really bricked up here in the first place. The remainder of the group sat quietly in Annie`s room taking notes of any temperature changes and anything they might experience. Some drops in temperature were recorded with the temp probe but nothing to get excited about and it could be explained away by the presence of open fireplace close by in the room. A strange light on a small grey teddy bear which was sitting on top of the many toys that visitors leave behind was witnessed by Claire, although nobody else sitting in the room saw this. I have looked over the camcorder footage and I cannot see what Claire describes actually happening.
Mr Chesney`s House:
This house on the close belonged to a Mr Andrew Chesney who apparently was the very last resident to leave Mary Kings Close.He didn`t want to go but with the dire situation regarding the plague he was forced to.He took with him his front door knocker and handle I`m told by Mary Kings Close manager Nigel, it was kind of sad I thought, no wonder Mr Chesney is said to be a mean bad tempered man, he did not think much of women either so I`m told. So it was with this in mind I wanted some of the group to perform solo vigils in here but, none of the women in the group were brave enough to do it alone so they went in with others. With three women performing a vigil downstairs in Chesney`s house you would probably expect Andrew Chesney not to be too pleased about that.
The vigil begins by one of the women asking out if he was here with them, a long period of silence then two knocks can be faintly heard. Another long period of silence again but the women keep trying by asking again for a sign of somekind ,they then hear something like someone dropping something upstairs where Mark was sitting at the top of the stairs but after asking Mark if it was him he said no.This was picked on the camcorder which I will place on the forum for opinions.We are still looking at footage to try and come up with a logical explanation for this noise but at the moment we haven`t found one… yet.
Scottish Paranormal would like to thank Amanda Irvine for inviting us along and also staff at Mary Kings Close for their kind help in making this investigation possible, it was for a very good cause and helped to raise money for DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Haiti.
The target of £1,000 was surpassed which we are very pleased about and also thank everyone who donated to this worthy cause.
Scottish Paranormal do not claim that these audio clips are paranormal but, we do like to post anything unusual for opinions only.
Audio 4.
Mr Chesney`s House,
Mary Kings Close March 2010
This clip has not been put through any software for enhancement.
While monitoring the target experiment of the miniture alcohol bottles,three women including me (Mary) stand waiting for a response to the question “Do you like gin?” no reply was heard at the time and no men were present.
Covenanters Prison, Edinburgh
Covenanters Prison, Edinburgh 17th September 2010
Personal feedback by.
Mary Cunningham SP Co-founder/Investigator.
Investigators in attendance:
- Mary
- Jim
- Mark
Equipment used:
- 2 Sony Camcorders (one using tri-pod)
- 3 Digital Voice Recorders (Olympus)
- 1 Fugi Digital Camera (for location shots only)
- 1 Nikon Camera (for location shots only)
- Notebooks and pens.
The Black Mausoleum
The Covenanters were a powerful political force in Scotland in the 17th century, who signed a “National Covenant” in Greyfriars Kirkyard pledging to keep Scotland a Presbyterian country. However, 50 years later, they had been outlawed and had been heavily defeated by King Charles II’s forces. 1,200 of the Covenanters who survived the battle were imprisoned in the Covenanters Prison by Judge and Lord Advocate Sir George Mackenzie, known as Bluidy Mackenzie. Some of the Covenanters were executed by Mackenzie, their heads displayed around the prison walls. The rest were corralled in the yard and left without food or water, and hundreds died.
When Bluidy MacKensie died, he was buried in Greyfriars, not far from the Covanters Prison. His mausoleum was avoided, and carried a reputation of being haunted. One cold rainy night, a homeless man entered into the cemetery and was looking for a place to sleep. MacKensie’s tomb has a roof, and is very enclosed, but also has locked gates. Looking through the window in the gate, he could see something that looked like an entry in the back. He climbed over the fence, and found a way in. It was much more pleasant inside, but it was still cold. There is a grate in the floor of the mausoleum, and the man lifted it up to find stairs that went down. He descended into the bowels, and found large coffins. Hoping for a shroud or something similar for warmth, he started banging against the coffin trying to break it. When the 400-year-old corpse fell onto him, and he away screaming.
Source: http://www.eden-designs.com/travel/edinburgh/covenanter.php
We arrived at Greyfriars about 2:30pm and were greeted by Alison,Alison is one of the staff members who made arrangements for Scottish Paranormal to come to the Covenanters Prison for about 2 hours which was outwith their normal hours. Scottish Paranormal were privileged to be left to roam around the Covenanters Prison by ourselves with the kind permission of our guide who is another part of the staff who works there voluntarily. If we needed any facts about the history of the place or we needed to ask any other questions, Bill our tour guide was right there.
Since this investigation would last only two hours at the most and it was outside, we didn’t need a full set-up of our equipment. Digital cameras, Sony camcorders and two digital recorders were sufficient plus a notebook and pen for quickly jotting down anything should we experience something unusual. I personally didn’t experience anything unusual while performing my solo vigil. I did however hear a noise in the corner of the room to my right but with so much natural sounds around like dry wilted leaves being blown along the ground right outside and bagpipe music playing in the background, children`s voices being carried from a nearby school I thought no more about this, it could have been anything really.
Nothing had changed here since Scottish Paranormal`s last visit in 2007. With the history of the place it was still as interesting as ever it was.This time though we had more control of what we wanted to do here and we were also glad to have the place to ourselves for a change, not like back in 2007 when we were being followed around by the film crew for a “Tough Gig” TV show about the funny side of the paranormal with Arabella Weir.
Although this location was mostly outside, we did manage to find a spot to place two digital recorders… inside one of the small tombs with thick walls and an iron gate,this is the very place where in the past people have reported being attacked by some strange force which left them with scratches on their bodies, scratches that were not there before they went in. Myself,Jim and Mark arranged to each perform a solo vigil for about ten minutes. When it was my turn I had a few questions I really wanted to ask. I don`t hold up much hope for a definite reply. The digital recorders will get a thorough check for any strange audio that may be picked up.
I think the Covenanters Prison is fascinating and would recommend a visit here, if only for the history of it. I enjoyed my time here (pardon the pun) and would love to go back at a later time when it’s more peaceful and quiet.
Private Residence Investigation
14th Janurary 2011
Personal Feedback by,
Mary Cunningham
Scottish Paranormal Co-Founder/Investigator.
Investigators in attendance:
Mary Cunningham- SP Co-Founder/Team Leader
Jim Cunningham- SP Co-Founder/Investigator
Mark Smallman- SP Investigator.
Eqipment used:
1 Windows Vista Laptop
1 Laser Thermometer
3 Digital Voice Recorders
3 Sony Camcorders
1 Fugifilm Digital Camera
2 Data Loggers.
1 Room Teperature Gague
1 Target Experiment (Marbles)
Weather Conditions: Cold & Damp,around 4 Degrees constant.
Reported Activity:
1. Candle in a glass holder flew off the fireplace and smashed on floor.
2. TV turned on by itself.
3. Bathroom door allegedly locked itself.
4.Items thrown all over bathroom floor apparently when nobody was in the house.
5. Client claims that after using the Ouija Board strange things started to happen and feelings of a presence.
Scottish Paranormal arrived on location at around 7:30pm .After having a chat with our client for about 30 minutes to find out how he was and to complete the signing of our SP protocol forms,he then gave the SP team a tour around his home enabling us to decide where the best positions were to place our equipment.Once this was decided the team got to work quickly and we were all set up ready to start the investigation in almost no time at all.
Taking everything into considertion that I had been told by our client, I asked him to start off this investigation, I asked him to call out using a few appropriate questions relevant to this case which he was quite willing to do for us,unfortunately we did not receive any noticeable reponses because of the impossible situation of loud party noises coming from upstairs,loud music and shouting does not help with any audio work we were trying to achieve so I am very doubtful of any evidence.
1. We have not found, as yet, a logical explanation why the candle supposedly came flying off the fireplace and smashed on the floor, we did try setting up a target experiment to try and recreate this phenomena without success so this will remain open to further investigation.
2. On our initial pre-investigation phonecall with the client we were told about the TV set allegedly turning on by itself even although it was unplugged.We have since learned from the client he was mistaken and that the tv was infact “plugged in” therefore we could come up with a possible logical explanation as to why the tv may have been turned on,the possibility of accidentally pressing the button on the remote control as it was laying on the sofa and the client not being aware of it when he sat down or moved onto it is very possible..This is quite common and I have accidentally done this many times myself as I`m sure many many others have too.
3. Even although the noise levels from upstairs was loud, we decided to continue anyway to help our client and try to give him some logical answers and, to put his mind at rest about some things that were allegedly going on,one of which being the report of the bathroom door apparently locking on its own.We discovered that on close examination and actually testing the door lock and handle, we noticed that it was quite stiff and the lock would sometimes stick at the “out position” which meant that the lock would catch in the door frame when trying to open it giving the impression the door was locked. We informed the client immediately about these findings and he was pleased that we explained and demonstated it to him, he was satisfied with our explanation.
4. Regarding the items that were said to be strewn all over the bathroom floor when nobody was in the house was a strange one.We looked at all possible logical reasons for this and came up with the explanation that, could the large framed mirror which was “not attached to anything” and perched at a slight angle on the window sill have somehow slipped off scattering some items around it? This may not be the case but it`s our best logical guess.Any vibration due to a door being closed or banged shut on occassions or even walking across the floor could cause the mirror to slide off the window sill over a period of time.. it`s possible.
5. Its very common when you start to dabble in things that you know very little about and your curiosity takes hold, like the use of a Ouja Board for instance, you can start imagining all sorts of things happening because of the boards reputation alone.To me,the board is just a piece of wood or cardboard after all but, the mindset when using these things plays a big part in it and that`s what can cause trouble later in my opinion,there is also a risk of “power of suggestion” to others where someone may say they heard or saw something and immediately others think they have too when in fact it is a case of hysteria.Scottish Paranormal do not in any way condone the use of Ouija boards.Reports of “feelings of being watched” can be caused by EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) If you have a lot of electrical items in your home they can raise to some degree a higher level of EMF.In some extreme cases this can cause feelings of nausia and paranoia.A couple of cases I had investigated a few years ago now I had felt this effect for myself to the level where I had to leave the room because of it, standing literly inches away from an electrical power box and some overhead cables for long periods of time is not recommended while trying to investigate.Something as simple as an electric alarm clock and mobile phone beside your bed can have similar effects on some people.
Findings & Notes:
After carefully going over all audio,data logger information and film footage that the SP team collected on the night, we did not find anything of significance to report.Due to constant noise contamination,which we had no control over, any serious audio work was impossible.Asking out loud for any signs of a presence received no responses which was somewhat disappointing but, these things do happen a lot during paranormal investigations and we can only try our best.I`d like to thank our client for giving Scottish Paranormal the opportunity to investigate all these claims and wish him the very best for the future.
The Osnaburg Bar
The Osnaburg Bar
Friday 15th April 2009
Personal feedback by,
Mary Cunningham SP Co-founder/Investigator.
Investigators in Attendance:
Scottish Paranormal had returned to the Osnaburg Bar in Forfar after performing an investigation there last year February 2008. We decided that another visit was in order since Scottish Paranormal have taken the step forward in using only our equipment and logical thinking on investigations. We had received a good deal of information from our last visit so we wanted to go back and try again and maybe come up with something else.
We arrived at The Osnaburg Bar around 11:40pm so we needed to wait until the bar staff ushered the last customers out the door before we could go in. I was hoping it would be a good night as I remembered last time we were there we had some activity happen regarding a door opening and closing allegedly on its own. On further investigation it was decided that a former member of the team may have opened the door but could not remember doing it, this event we have since thrown out because of this. When we came back for this investigation we checked the doors in question again and pinpointed that it was in fact one of the toilet doors that made the very same sound that we picked up on the camcorder. The camcorder however, had not been in a position to see if anyone had come out of the toilet at the time, as we tested the door I am convinced the noise from it is the exact same spring type noise, the kind that keeps the door in the closed position for fire safety regulations.
Main Bar Area.
We started off in the main bar area of the pub and Mark was informing us that his camera batteries were acting up which he found strange because the batteries were fully charged before he left his house, we took a note of this. About 5 or 10 minutes after start off we all heard a loud noise coming from the lounge area, as we went through to find out what it was we discovered it was only the coffee machine so Pam turned it off completely. We went back through to the main bar where Ryan continued to call out and waited for any responses back to his questions. Using the name “Harry” …although I didn`t hear anything myself, Ryan, Pam and Derek heard a couple of knocks from around the back of the bar. Ryan then moved closer with an analogue voice recorder and asked a few more questions but again, I heard no response. I was quite happy to record the investigation with my camcorder but unfortunately, I didn`t manage to pick up the earlier two knocking noises, I think I was too far away being at the opposite end of the bar from where Ryan was. I then gave Ryan my camcorder in order that I could continue to call out while standing closer to the middle of the bar using the analogue voice recorder. I asked out loud if Harry was here in the bar and also let it be known to him that the bottle of Whiskey sitting on the bar was for him, we were informed earlier by Pam that this was his favourite tipple.I had placed the Whiskey -which Derek had kindly loaned to us- on the bar earlier where apparently Harry was known to sit beside on his favourite stool when he was alive and frequented to pub. Mark was monitoring the bottle of Glenmorangie Whiskey with the thermal laser gun as I asked the questions, we got some natural changes but no major fluctuations of temperature were detected on the Whiskey bottle or, on the other target experiments I set up in the other side of the room….. we decided to move on to the next room.
The Lounge Area.
The lounge area we used as our base room like we did last time and I chose to sit beside the laptop in the corner while using my camcorder. Jim sat over by the bar to my right on a stool taking any notes, Mark was sitting in the mid section of the lounge and he was using his camcorder, pointing it straight in front of him to monitor any movement that might occur in the small corridor where it was reported that a dark shadow had been seen passing by the lounge doors. Pam had also seen part of a dark shadowy figure on a different occasion heading towards the double lounge doors. Ryan started to call out and he was using an analogue voice recorder again. Pam sat quietly across from me as we listened for any responses to Ryan`s questions. We could hear people passing by outside at one point but they quickly went away leaving us in silence once again. After spending about 10 to 15 minutes in the lounge we decided to move on.
The Cellar.
I didn’t hold up much hope on capturing anything in the cellar as it was just far too noisy because of the machinery in there gurgling away loudly and continuously, this was the major reason why we didn`t place any audio devices down in this particular area, there simply wouldn`t be any point in it but we did set up an IR camera to monitor the area for any movement. However!…at the opposite end of the cellar it was a little quieter so we tried some calling out while using the analogue recorder for about 10 minutes. Nothing much to note down except Ryan kept thinking he could see something at the far end of the cellar where we had just come from, I think he put it down to his eyes trying to adjust and playing tricks on him. I myself didn`t feel much happening in this area at all but, with me standing so close to electric machinery that was giving off relatively high EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) readings I could feel a slight headache and nausea coming on which is only natural. I don`t recall any of others in the group complaining of feeling unwell while in the cellar.
Notes:
I’m not sure if this is connected or not but thought it worth mentioning. Last year while I was sorting through the film footage with Bryan Boyle in it, I came across what I thought was an English woman`s voice saying something (can`t make it out though) after Bryan says “ Something is trying to come through me and it`s “gutteral” he then says “it`s like…it`s like….hang on!” then we hear the womans voice come in. During this time last year after we all got home I asked Emma, who had been using the camcorder at the time, what this voice could have been, was it hers? and she thought it was coming from outside, if this was the case then why didn’t any the rest of us hear this? nobody in the room responds to it or comments on it for the sake of the digital recorders which we normally do to aid us when listening back for any evp’s.
I thought how funny it was to capture a voice this time around too that sounds like an English woman’s voice again, in the exact same area as before. Now I’m not saying this is paranormal but, it does seem strange to me. When you watch the complimentary video of Bryan I put together for you, look out for that part and decide for yourselves, it`s not far into the video when it happens.
I think this is a fantastic location and will remember it for a long time to come as being one of the best investigations we have been on. I`d like to thank Derek and Pam for making us so welcome…cheers guys!
St Bridget’s Kirk
St Bridgets Kirk
St Bridget`s Kirk, Dalgety Bay, Fife.
18th September 2009
Personal feedback by Mary Cunningham SP Co-founder/Investigator.
Scottish Paranormal team in attendance:
Mary Cunningham
Jim Cunningham
Mark Smallman
The extensive remains of St Bridget’s Church stand just above the shoreline at the head of Dalgety Bay, an inlet in the north shore of the Firth of Forth. They also stand at the very eastern edge of the settlement of Dalgety Bay.
The origins of St Bridget’s Church date back the better part of 850 years. “The Church at Dalgetty with its appurtenances” was first mentioned in a Papal document dated 11 March 1178. The church (possibly a rebuild of the church mentioned in 1178) was consecrated in 1244 by David de Bernham, the Bishop of St. Andrews and dedicated to St Bridget. This was presumably the Saint Brigit or Brigid of Kildare in Ireland, who lived from 451 to 525.
When originally built, St Bridget’s would have been at the heart of the small community of Dalgety. The church continued in use through the Reformation, and there are signs of the galleries that would once have helped the church accommodate the local population during the typically Presbyterian services of the day.
By 1830 the village of Dalgety had disappeared and the main coast road had moved inland to the line of today’s A921. By this time St Bridget’s was structurally unsound, and no longer in the right place to serve the needs of a population pulled north by the coal mining industry. The church was therefore unroofed, and a replacement built half a mile north. St Bridget’s was simply allowed to become overgrown and ruinous, until eventually passing into the care of Historic Scotland, who have restored it to the fascinating building you can see today.
Scottish Paranormal arrived around 4pm give or take a few minutes and had to park the car way back up the road because of no parking facilities near St Bridgets, we took a leisurely long walk along the country lane that led us to the Kirk itself. Although it wasn`t a warm sunny day it was still a refreshing walk and I enjoyed it greatly but, I`m so glad we didn`t have to carry heavy equipment with us. Sony camcorders and digital cameras were all we needed for this one really, trying for any evp was too difficult as the location was contaminated with natural sounds of animals and birds etc etc…We did however find a little enclosed area right inside the ruined Kirk itself that we could use but, after only 15 minutes recording time we were disturbed by a young couple out for a stroll and a bit of a chitchat. I abandoned my attempt at any EVP as it was useless and just not the right conditions to work in regarding any audio work. As soon as I retrieved my digital recorder and turned it off the couple left…typical ha! ha!… I didn’t bother to reset it again.
Myself, Jim and Mark continued to explore the ruins and grounds of St Bridget`s Church and soaked up the atmosphere a little, standing right on the edge of the cemetery grounds we could look across the River Forth and brace ourselves against the strong breeze blowing against us, a bit chilly but I didn`t really care much as I have been at a lot colder places in the past. We all went ahead and gathered as much photos and film footage as we could before we finished this daytime recce. I found this place to be very interesting and a great location to visit if only for the history of it, a truly beautiful tranquil place. I would expect it to take on a very different atmosphere if it were visited late at night though. Imagination and the movies are to blame for that and I think therefore we become apprehensive and nervous even before we set foot in the place.
The Ragged School Edinburgh
The Ragged School Edinburgh…21st April 2007
Personal Feedback by,
Mary Cunningham SP Investigator.
THE RAGGED SCHOOL
Orignally sited next to the Camera Obscura Outlook Tower in Ramsay Lane.
Established in 1847 by Dr. Thomas Guthrie, a preacher and reformer, this boarding school housed 45 of the old town’s most destitute children.They were educated, fed and lived here.
The boys were also taught how to make shoes and clothes whilst the girls were trained to be ‘thrifty wives for working men’
Scottish Paranormal Team in attendance:
Ryan O`Neill
Mary Cunningham
Jim Cunningham
Ewan Irvine
Andrea Byrne
Scott Drinkel
Emma Clark
Heather
Fiona Williamson.
Equipment used: Full set-up.
Arriving at the old school in early afternoon we were ushered inside by one of the staff members there. My expectations were high and I wasn`t disappointed.The school was fantastic and had that certain feel to it. Steeped in history and, if only walls could talk I`m sure they could tell me a thing or two of what went on there. Not being a Sensitive or Medium myself I relied on what Fiona and Heather would pick up, if anything, again I wasn’t disappointed.
Throughout my whole time spent there at the school I can honestly say that my mind did wander sometimes when hearing about the things that may have went on there, punishments using a cane and getting put in cupboards were picked up on by our Team Mediums. I did at one point find myself having trouble taking down the Mediums notes for our records. I could so relate to some of the children that had been in that school as I myself had been in a similar situation a long long time ago, not an orphan but, experienced first hand what it was like to be in a place like that with other kids in the same circumstances as me.
Seeing that little old battered pram that belonged to a child at one time sitting in the middle of the room almost made me cry and, it did bring some memories flooding back to me, some happy and some not so happy.
I really did enjoy the day there at the school and setting up our equipment but, I felt we didn’t have enough time in the place to really get into it deeper. I hope that sometime in the not so distant future Scottish Paranormal will revisit this place when we can stay longer and maybe have some “quiet” to continue our research and bring a little piece of History to all our Forum members.
A big thank you to the staff at the school for letting us come in, see you again soon.
