Memoirs of Ghost Hunters

It has been quite some time since this (K)nights-of-Fear site was last added to and some of you may have thought that we were no longer operational, however this is not the case. With our heavy workload of both paranormal guides and development of new communication devices we have had little time to support this log which of course means that we have also missed the opportunity to gather our guest’s feedback. As you will be aware from the previous posts, the majority of our work has taken place at Derby Gaol, but since we have been investigation the gaol with both the public and our own investigation team for several years there have been a lot of strange occurrences that have never been properly documented. That is of course until now: We have recently completed a book entitled Memoirs of Ghost Hunters – Derby Gaol.’, which not only documents some of the incredible happenings but also gives a condensed history of the location.

GHOST STORIES

As part of our continuing interest into the paranormal our parent group PICOUK (www.paranormalinvestigators.co.uk) have created a new forum specifically for ghost stories. It is our opinion that over the years many tales of ghosts and hauntings may have been past down from one generation to the next and although, during their travels they may have suffered from Chinese whispers and sensationalism there may be an element of truth buried within. Also, with the amount of paranormal programmes which have been aired so far during this millennium more people are aware of their surroundings and possible paranormal activity which may lead to more modern accounts of ghosts and hauntings. It is of course, also an opportunity for people to exercise their creative abilities and make up a completely fabricated story which I guess the more experienced among us should be able to identify without too many problems.

So why not let us know your story whether it be factual or fictional on our new forum at http://ghoststories.17.forumer.com/index.php or just visit the forum to read other peoples stories.

Derby Gaol 17-03-06

It has been quite some time since we last published anything on the (K)nights of Fear weblog as we have been working under our own names but, on thinking about it, should that mean that there is no longer a record of what has been happening? Of course not!

On Friday 17 March 2006 we were hosts to a group of 17 people from Nottingham and even during the ghost walk it was apparent that the majority were in fact sceptics. We knew that we were in for a tough night! Even Patricia, the gaol’s resident medium, found the going tough and for the first time in the many years she had been working there opted hot to use her dowsing rods or pendulums as she believed it would be a waste of time. During one of her early séances though one of the guests was forced to leave the cell as they felt sick and dizzy which of course is something we have come to expect at this location.

Once Patricia had left we decided to let the party have goes at both table tipping and glass divination. Now we would have expected with such a sceptical crowd that nothing would move but how wrong we were. Even though the group placed their hands on the table palms up the table insisted on moving to answer our basic yes and no questions. As this particular group were quite capable of asking the questions themselves Eleanor and I retired to the bar area where we could monitor the proceedings on the gaols CCTV system. Sadly though, the cameras were not connected to any recording equipment because we became aware of voices answering some of the questions and at one point specifying how many people should be at the table and giving the odd name. We relayed the information to the group who made the appropriate adjustments.

It became apparent that one of the ‘sitters’ father was coming through and shortly afterwards, filled with emotion, this poor person left the table. It would appear however, that they left the cell at just the wrong time as once again the CCTV system boomed out a single solitary word. SORRY! Now I would be the first to admit that in a lot of instances the word sorry would mean something to a lot of people but in this particular incidence that particular incidence, for reasons I’m afraid we cannot go into in the public domain the word was particularly poignant.

In the past we have had a lot of success with our EMF meter in one particular cell which for some inexplicable reason seems to trigger when a female walks past the door. On this night however, two of the young ladies present decided to go in and talk to whatever is there and although the EMF meter was placed on a wooden bed frame well away from the two girls it responded to their questions. Although sceptics would argue that moving a table or glass by placing fingers or hands on them could be down to human rather than divine intervention, it is difficult to see how a meter, which measures electromagnetic fields, could be influenced so dramatically.

To close the night we held one of our own séances. During this session not only did the majority of people see shapes moving around in the middle of the circle, but several of them were also poked or pinched. One of the circle was being attacked to such an extent that we were finally forced to close the session. I suspect that during the night the views of some of our guests had now changed.

Tutbury Castle 18-11-05




This Friday saw the (K)nights of Fear assisting at a charity ghost hunt in aid of Children in Need at Tutbury Castle. For the 28 participants, the night started with a meal at a local restaurant which was attended by Karl and Stuart from Most Haunted, before the whole group assembled at Tutbury Castle at about 11:00pm.

Before commencement the participants were split into 7 groups of 4 so that various areas of the castle grounds could be covered almost continually throughout the night whilst the (K)nights of Fear were left to monitor the more active areas throughout the night, giving advice and assistance when required. As there are certain limitations on what we are allowed to do at Tutbury we focused our attentions on the Kings Bedroom, Great Hall and Torture Chamber. The former being reputedly the most psychically dangerous area, where in the past visitors have received scratches or have been taken ill and the latter being the darkest part of the castle grounds where sensory deprivation could lead to the guests compensating with their other senses.

Other areas that required to be kept an eye on were the South Tower and Undercrofts where 2 further vigils were taking place, although not many of the groups went the full distance in these 2 areas with the overnight temperatures dropping to -6ºC.

Although with these temperatures it would be almost humanly impossible to detect any cold spots it was noticed an the commencement of one vigil in the Torture Chamber that the temperature dropped for a 5 minute period from 5ºC to 2ºC before mysteriously rising back to 5ºC. In this location, several of the guests were aware that they weren’t possibly alone and at one point noises were heard emanating from one side of the room where stairs would have once led to the dungeon below. Several of the guests were also conscious of breathing on their faces and one person reported what they could only explain as something or someone blowing up their nose.

In the Kings Bedroom an overpowering scent was at one point noted which for one of the guests started an asthma attack. Another of the guests felt really hot whilst those around were feeling cold. Whilst sat in a corner one of the guests became aware of a little girl sitting along side her and many of the guests were aware of various types of activity on the stairs. There were also reports of twinkling lights and cold spots in what was by far the warmest section of the castle and grounds.

During their stay in the Great Hall, one of the guests was aware of a freezing cold patch on either knee which was thought to be caused by 2 small children sitting upon her knees. Strangely, this was the only point where any Electromagnetic Fields were detected all night. After the guest moved the EMF reading dissipated and was never traced again all night.

We hope that all the participants enjoyed their night and would like to thank them for raising money for such a worthy cause in such a way on an extremely bitter night.

Derby Gaol 12-11-05

On this occasion the (K)nights of Fear were hosts to a party of 23 who were in the main employed in law enforcement. Would the spirits of people who were once incarcerated and in some cases be put to death for what we would not even be considered a crime, wish to try and communicate with those who now uphold the law? Would a group of law enforcement officers who are perhaps trained to be a little more analytical than most be able to find a rational explanation to what if anything was happening to them? We awaited our night with bated breath.

In this report we have taken every care to protect the identities of the people involved and will not report on one particular event as it is too distressing for one of the guests. The evening proper started with the dowsing session which has been referred to in detail in previous reports. An initial scan of the data collected appears to show a variety of answers from the five locations but these of course need to be compared with the results from previous weeks to see if there is a pattern is forming.

Our guests then tried their hand at table tipping in the Museum. As there were once again a large number of guests present the exercise was spread over several sessions. We were particularly surprised during the first session to find that we were in contact with a 26 year old male who was looking for his sister. Further enquiries seemed to show that we were in fact communicating with the brother of the young lady we had been talking to during the sessions in the same location the previous week. When asked if he had found her, he said that he had not. We look forward to trying table tipping in future weeks in the same location to see if there are any further developments. Part way through the first session one of the participants was forced to leave as they had started to feel sick and dizzy. Sadly, after the conclusion of the first session and a change of people we were unable to make any further contact.

We then conducted a séance in the Debtors cell but even before it commenced one of the party was forced to leave they were feeling nauseous. About 15 minutes into the séance a further two people left as one of them felt another hand on top of their own and as with previous guests were unable to come to terms with the situation. In a further 10 minutes the guest who had to leave the table tipping session had to be escorted from the cell and into the fresh air. This guest reported that they were having breathing difficulties and felt as though they had something around their neck whilst something seemed to be pressing down on their shoulders. At this point, the 2 people that had left the séance at the last break rejoined the group. Coincidently, all the people that had been forced to leave the séance at this stage had all ended up standing in the same location.

During our séances we tend to set human trigger objects as it has come to our attention that certain genders and certain types of people appear to be specifically targeted during séances. The next person who was forced to leave was in fact one of our ‘trigger objects’. This person described having hands pushed at their abdomen several times which was making him feel nauseous. Eventually a black mass which seemed to have formed in front of them jumped into the space where they were stood causing their legs to buckle underneath them. This person described an icy cold feeling which seemed to emanate from within them. The séance was closed approximately 10 minutes after this incident.

During the séance other people also experienced the poltergeist activity that has been occurring on an almost weekly basis. During the poltergeist activity the person standing opposite the people that were being affected could see what appeared to be a mass of small twinkling lights. Several of the participants were aware of what appeared to be human forms in the centre of the circle which were either black or white in colour. Others were aware of something or someone breathing on their faces.

After a short break we conducted a glass divination session, once again in the Debtor’s cell. After a few minutes the glass started to move and headed towards the edge of the board and refused to move back to the centre so that further questions could be asked. Eventually the glass was moved back to the centre manually but almost immediately headed back to the same point. Again the glass had to be moved back manually so that we could continue. For a third time the glass headed to the same point on this occasion however we insisted that if the glass was not moved back on its own the session would have to be closed. At this point something very strange happened. The glass started to rotate in a clockwise direction meaning that the 6 participants were forced to walk backwards around the table. Strangely, this resulted in some of the participants left in some of our human ‘trigger object’ positions. We asked the question if there was someone at the table that it particularly liked and the glass moved straight over to the person that had originally been standing in the position where the glass had moved to on the first 3 occasions. We then asked if there was anyone in the room it didn’t like and the glass moved to their partner. Following this almost all the questions were answered by the glass once again rotating meaning that the guests were forced to move around the table by walking either forwards or backwards. The only exception to this was when we asked the glass to point out all the law enforcement people who were around the table. The glass successfully picked out 4 of the 6 people at the table. Eventually the session was closed when the glass completely left the table.

Although our guests had travelled a long way to be with us and many had settled down for some sleep there were still many willing participants for a second séance which was once again conducted in the Debtor’s cell. Once again most of the participants were aware of human forms in the circle. People were aware of having their hands touched although on this occasion there was no poltergeist activity. Our human ‘trigger object’ was forced to leave the circle on 3 occasions once again feeling nauseous and dizzy after experiencing something directly in front of them. After the third attack they decided not to rejoin us and surprisingly, another person who would have made an ideal ‘trigger object’ started to experience some of the sensations.

At about 6:45am our guests gathered their possessions together and set off for the long journey back home.

Derby Gaol 05-11-05

On what is Guy Fawkes night in the United Kingdom the (K)nights of Fear played host to a group of 30 at Derby Gaol. On this occasion the group were carrying out a charity event in aid of breast cancer screening at Derby City General Hospital.

Following the mini ghost walk and sustenance the group participated in a pendulum dowsing session and although they were only working in groups of 3 or 4 the majority of the guests had almost identical answers by the replica of the executions block. As we intend to use the same set of questions at future events we will not publish any of the results but should any of the guests wish to be kept up to date with future findings we will only be too pleased to email you the results.

The group then tried their hand at table tipping in the Museum, which over recent weeks has proved to be disappointing. However, on this occasion the results were overwhelming even with differing combinations of guests. These various sessions continued for close on 2 hours and although we managed to contact on of the gaolers the strongest connection was made with a young girl who died in the 1970’s. We have come across this poor soul on several occasions but since her death is well within living memory refuse to discuss any details in the public domain.

With such a large party present we decided to hold a double séance in both the condemned and debtors cells. The participants in the condemned cell experienced the poltergeist activity which has been affecting people since mid May and at one point saw a figure emerge through the wall from the adjoining debtors cell where the second séance was taking place. Meanwhile, in the debtors cell, one young man was convinced that there was trickery afoot as he distinctly felt something being placed around his ankle. However, since all the participants were holding hands we suspect that something was trying to chain him to the wall. Another participant was also disturbed when they witnessed one of our spirit helpers stood in a corner but he was reassured that there was nothing to fear. Many of the participants were also aware that what little light there was in the cell would on occasions be completely obliterated by what one can only describe as something standing in front of them. After about an hour the séances came to a natural conclusion.

Our guests then tried their hands on 2 of our spirit boards which were placed very close together in the main corridor. On one of the boards there was a little movement but this was mainly an attempt to make the planchette stand up on end although all the participants were barely touching it. Sadly, there was no movement whatsoever on the second board which to us was hardly surprising, as in every attempt in the past it has failed to budge. Of course, our guests had no knowledge of this.

We finished the night with a séance in the condemned cell for those who wished to participate whilst others tried table tipping in the debtors cell. As most of the participants had held their first séance in the debtors cell they were a little bemused when the poltergeist activity struck once again. Again the participants were very aware of being breathed on and conscious of having human like forms stood in front of them.

At about 6:30am we closed the session and had a debrief before releasing our guests from the gaol. We hope that they enjoyed their night and raised plenty of money for their charity.

Scared Senseless 31-10-05

As this night was spread over two separate locations it will take us a little time to compile a complete report. However, in the meantime here are the brief details of the night’s events.

The group assembled at 10:00 pm and were taken on a mini ghost walk, conducted by Eleanor and Vicky, to the Bell Inn in Sadlergate. The group visited one of the most haunted locations within the pub (Room 29) where they participated in glass divination sessions and a séance.

At 12:30 am the group had a further mini ghost walk back to the Gaol where they would spend the rest of their night.

After the group had explored the premises table tipping sessions were held in the condemned cell where there was very little activity in either the two sessions. This was followed by glass divination in the same location where the spirit of a young lady made herself known. She apparently frequented the place during its time as a night club.

A séance was then conducted in the debtors cell which had to be closed shortly after commencement as one of the guests felt as though they had been hit in the stomach. The séance was restarted but again had to be cut short when one of the guests felt very sick. Once again the séance was restarted and this time but once again had to be stopped when one of the participants collapsed. As there was now extra space in the cell the (K)nights of Fear were able to increase the protection in the cell by introducing another medium into the circle. With the added protection the séance was now able to come to a natural conclusion however, as one of the participants was about to leave the cell she joked about not having her sea legs as she felt she was on a boat. On exiting the cell she burst into tears and had to be helped outside.

A spirit board session was held but sadly the planchette refused to move so was replaced with the Rocking Spirit Board. Although none of the guests knew any of their hosts the board came through with amazingly accurate information about the father of two of the members of the (K)nights of Fear.

Shortly after this session a reporter from RAM FM arrived and after brief interviews agreed to join a selected few of us for a short séance in the condemned cell. On this occasion the séance went off without a hitch with several of the participants experiencing things including the reporter himself.

After a short debrief the night was brought to a close. We would like to thank the participants for their help and courage in raising money for the RNIB in this manner and the management of both locations for allowing us access to their properties. We would also like to thank Sue, Vicky and PJ for assisting the (K)nights of Fear at this event.

Derby Gaol 30-10-05

The (K)nights of Fear once again returned to Derby Gaol to play host two just two people which meant that for once we were having to actively participate in all of the nights events. Although we do not object to this as we all love the opportunity to get into the thick of things we do of course have to consider that we could be accused of giving the spirits a little bit of a helping hand. However, if you have read any of our previous reports where it has been left entirely to our guests to obtain the answers you will perhaps have realised that we have no need to ‘encourage’ answers from the spirit world.

The evening began with a glass divination session in the Condemned Cell where we appeared to be communicating with one of the gaolers who would not allow anyone else to come through, insisting he was in charge. Although the glass was moving there was an apparent refusal to answer some of the questions whilst others seemed to be answered untruthfully. This of course is particularly interesting when you consider that the (K)nights of Fear, who know most of the answers, were actively participating in the session.

We then moved into the Museum where we conducted a table tipping session. Over the past weeks these haven’t been particularly successful with other groups, but on this occasion we were able to obtain some fairly dramatic movement. Whether this can be put down to our own influence at the table we do not know but once again we didn’t expect the answers we got. We seemed to be in contact with a religious man who had been put to death because of his beliefs. Further questioning showed this man to be Robert Ludlum one of three Roman Catholic priests hung drawn and quartered in 1588 long before Derby Gaol even existed. At the end of the session one of our guests explained that during their schooldays during sports days the houses were named after the 3 priests, Nicolas Garlick, Robert Ludlum and Richard Sympson. Our guest had been a part of the Robert Ludlum house.

Our guests then had the opportunity to dowse in 5 specific locations around the gaol, asking 5 pre-prepared questions in each place. We are compiling a list of the answers received with those from other parties to see if we receive common answers.

We next held a séance during which time our guests were visually confronted with various spirits from the gaol. The session however came to a premature end when entities, who were very much of the living variety, tried to access the gaol by forcing a window.

To close the night we tried out a couple of new ‘toys’ that we are in the process of developing, in both cases the results proved inconclusive. As our guests had to be at work the next morning we brought the night to a close.

The Salutation Inn 28-10-2005

When the (K)nights of Fear were given their first opportunity to work away from the gaol we jumped at the chance. We were invited by a group we had had the pleasure to have served at Derby Gaol on 16 September 2005.

Although the Salutation Inn is a public house its greatest attraction is the caves which lie below and it was down there that we spent the night. At the start of our night the Salutation was still in full swing with music blaring out, but in the caves below it was absolutely silent. The first hour was spent getting used to our surroundings with the lights on and also a short talk on paranormal aspects by the (K)nights of Fear. By this time the public house had cleared and it was time to bring in the equipment.

The night started with an unusual dowsing session where our guests used their pendulums for an ESP type experiment where the dowsers had to ascertain if a card drawn from a pack showed either clockwise, anticlockwise, left to right, forwards and backwards or no movement at all. The initial results proved quite interesting but as the session continued the accuracy diminished.

The group then moved into the lowest chamber where a glass divination session was conducted. Unlike the session we had held at the gaol with this party however, on this occasion the glass actually moved. It was during this session that the whole party noticed a phenomenon that would haunt us for the rest of the night. Some of the questions asked were being answered by audible knocks which on later investigation appeared to be emanating from solid rock.

As we were experiencing these strange sounds we decided to conduct a séance in the same location in complete darkness. During this session, the group were aware of several spirits which seemed to be surrounding the circle. Some members were also aware of something stood directly in front of them and questions were still being answered by the audible raps. At the close of the session the group noticed that we had all moved several feet.

After a short break we split into three smaller groups to cover separate areas to help us try and pinpoint where the rapping’s were coming from during vigil conditions. Strangely, the quietest area proved to be by the stairs which would have been the only place where one would anticipate the sound could have echoed from naturally. The loudest place was the main chamber in which we had been working for most of the night although the third group could hear the rapping’s in an adjacent area.

After an attempt at table tipping which proved fruitless we tried the rocking spirit board during which we were introduced to three separate spirits. A young girl who is known to the Salutation Inn as Rosie and regularly seen at the location, a young boy and a man who were both associated with the caves.

As we were commencing a second séance the landlord came down and pointed out the time so we closed the session and collected the equipment together. It was during this time that the landlord, who had spent the whole night in the pub above pointed out that not only had he heard the rapping noises which seemed to emanate from the caves but on several occasions, had heard what sounded like someone with a large bunch of keys walking up the stairs from the cellar.

Derby Gaol 08-10-2005

This was the smallest group we have worked with consisting of just five people. Three young ladies from Liverpool and a young couple from Stoke. As on the previous night, Derby Gaol’s resident Spiritualist Medium Pat, was once again on hand to provide the second part of the evenings entertainment (The first of course being the mini ghost walk around the local area).

After Pat had concluded her session the (K)nights of Fear began to guide the group through the remainder of the night. As there was only a small party present we decided to start the evening with an attempt at table tipping in what would have once been a third cell but is now classed as part of the day room, but sadly we were unable to obtain any results. Next we used a series of pre-prepared questions with dowsing pendulums to allow the guests to dowse in five separate areas of the prison. As we are intending to use the same questions with future groups to compare results we are unwilling to publish them on this website. However, if you have attended one of our nights of fear we will only be too pleased to keep you up to date with future results should you email us and requst us to do so.

A glass divination session was then conducted in the Condemned Cell. At first things were a little slow to start but then the father of one of the guests started to communicate with the group via the glass. The guest in question found it difficult to believe that their father had come through as they had been trying for many years through Mediums without any success. We do have our own thoughts on why the father took this opportunity to communicate and should the person involved like to contact us we will be only too happy to discuss it further as we do not believe in leaving any loose ends. Another of the guests started feeling a little sick and the session was closed. As she exited the cell she collapsed and had to be helped to a chair. On numerous occasions during séance conditions visitors report feeling sick bringing the session to an early closure. On this occasion however, on coming round this visitor was physically sick and was taken outside for some fresh air. We shoud point out that after a few minutes break the guest was perfectly fine and able to continue the rest of the night without any ill effect. Also, during the session she appeared perfectly clam and had show no signs of stress.

As there was a possibility that some of our guests may have been a little stressed by the events so far we settled them down fo a while before carrying out a séance in the Debtors Cell. Even before the session started another of the guests complained of feeling very cold and was shaking uncontrolably. The séance started and the guest slowly regained their composure. For the guests things were relativly quiet and remained so for about thirty minutes. Yet another guest then felt a face directly in front of them and absolutly terrified requested the séance to be closed. Although the séance was closed within seconds the guest was extreamly distressed and in an attempt to eliviate their fears they were taken back into the cell to carry out a short vigil with two of the (K)nights of Fear in an attempt to make peace. During this session everything felt calm within the cell. As we had only a small group with us however, we had taken the opportunity to place CCTV in the cell which showed an amazing amount of activity. Sadly we are unable to use video clips on this site but once we have some clips available will advise you of where they are available on the web.

We then moved into the Museum where a spirit board session was conducted. This time the forth member of the group had their own personnal experience as their grandfather started to communicate via the board. What was even more interesting though was that during the glass divination session (K)nights of Fear member Paul was inspired to try some automatic drawing which after the closure of the sessions in the Museum was shown to the group. Paul was told that what he had drawn earlier had a strong resemblance to the guest’s grandfather.

After a break where a couple of minor ESP experiments were tried, a final séance was conducted in the Condemned Cell. Every attempt was made to protect the guests from any psychic attacks but at one point were were forced to move the circle around the cell slightly. Sadly this left the guest who had experienced the face in front of them directly by one of the cell doors and they almost immedietly experienced exactly the same thing again, once again forcing the closure of the séance.

We all returned to the dayroom for a short debrief before heading for home. We should of course point out that no guests were physically harmed during the night, but we will be only to happy to talk to any of them in private should they wish to do so.

Derby Gaol 07-10-2005

For the (K)nights of Fear this was a particularly strange night as it was the first time we would have the opportunity to have the Gaols resident Medium on duty as well as ourselves. Patricia (The Medium) gave the group, who mainly hailed from Nottinghamshire an introduction to dowsing using both pendulums and dowsing rods before conducting a séance in each of the two cells.

Pat of course was a tough act to follow and as the group had already participated in a couple of séances we decided to continue the night’s events with a bit of glass divination. After a little bit of coaxing we managed to attract a little bit movement from the glass but all in all it seemed quite sedate. However we did seem to contact one of the guest’s grandfathers who came through to say hello and that he was watching over his grandmother. We followed with an attempt at table tipping in the museum with no success and then a spirit board which seemed to confuse the spirits trying to make contact as although the planchette moved it was only slightly and very slowly. Then we held a séance of our own in the Debtors Cell, and although there was a little activity once again the spirits seemed rather subdued, however there was a lot of hilarity from the guests for unknown reasons.

After the séance we introduced the Rocking Spirit Board, firstly in the museum and then in the main corridor between the bar and the dayroom. In the former location the answers sometimes made sense whilst at others seemed a little confused. However, when the board was moved to the second location three different sets of names and initials were spelt out which something specific to one of the attendees. On this occasion though, it was a message for one of the (K)nights of Fear who happened to be supervising the session whilst not taking an active part.

Before the night’s event was drawn to a close a further séance was held in the Condemned Cell and as in the previous session thinks were remarkably quiet. It seems strange that this night was probably the total opposite of other nights where the best results obtained have been during the séances.

Derby Gaol 30-09-2005.

Our guests at Derby Gaol this week were a party of 25 from Yorkshire. Normally with larger groups we split them up and hold two separate seances in the cells whilst the other group try their hands at dowsing in the grounds. Unfortunatly as the party had set out on their ghost walk the heavens had opened and the party had to complete their walk in the rain.

Because of this we deceided to hold a séance in the corridor outside the cells with all the visitors participating. As this was the first time we had ever tried this we were unsure what if anything would happen and although the poltergeist activity was hardly noticable, many of the guests were well aware of activity within the circle. There was a multitude of both foul and floral smells of which the latter reminded one of the guests of her grandmother and at the time she was also aware of someone touching her face.

Although the group experienced a little movement of tables, glasses and planchettes during the relevant sessions, we were unable to obtain any tangiable answers to questions, but there may be an explanation for this. During our seances in the past, we have noticed an increase in activity whilst the participants were relaxed and conversing normally. It would appear that with a large group, where only a handfull are activly participating at any one time means the most relaxed area with people conversing normally is the dayroom. Perhaps the spirits are as interested in listening to what we are we doing as we are interested in learning about them. This is an issue we will address with future groups as after all, do we really want to hear from the spirits all the gossip about the previous visitors?

Derby Gaol 24-09-2005

This Orb was photographed by Lee Buchanan at Derby Gaol on Saturday 24th September

On Saturday 24th September we were looking after another fairly local group who came from Ilkeston and were holding a joint hen and stag party. Sadly, due to a double booking their night at the gaol had to be brought forward by several weeks but hopefully they had a night that they will not only remember not only on their wedding night but for the rest of their lives.

Every now and then we like to try something a little bit different so we decided to test our guests psychic abilities with a little bit of psychometery. An artefact was passed around the group giving them the opportunity to sense its history and then a set of ten questions were asked to which they had to write down the answer of either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. We used an artefact that we had only purchased ourselves a few hours earlier at an antiques fair and we ourselves were only sure of two of the answers we were asking. We had however used our own skills earlier in the day to try and resolve the answers to the ten questions we would be asking. This of course means that there were in most cases no provable right or wrong answers. One of the participants however agreed with us on 8 out of 10 of the answers. As yet we have not had chance to analyse the rest of the data but will let you know in due course.

We seem to be developing yet another pattern during séances, having had the same occurrence during the first session of the night on all three occasions we have worked at the gaol as the (K)nights of Fear, which has led to the séance having to be closed briefly after a very short period. Sadly, as this would lead to auto suggestion we are unwilling to divulge further details at this early stage. Once again though, during the second séance the poltergeist activity struck again.

Sometimes, we find ourselves wondering what to do next as divination sessions using spirit boards, glasses and tables as communication devices can be very short lived but on this occasion some sessions were lasting well over an hour an friends and loved ones of the participants appeared to come through with messages. Once again however, the (K)nights of Fear only supervised the sessions and took no active part and by the end of the night we had only used a small portion of our repertoire.

Derby Gaol 16-09-2005

Friday 16th September saw a group of nine from Nottingham attending the overnight stay at Derby Gaol. Apart from the poltergeist activity in the séances which resulted in this occasion with some of the participants being pinned to the floor the rest of the night’s results were the exact opposite of the previous week’s group. All attempts to move glasses, tables or planchettes yielded little or no result but the rocking spirit board answered a few questions that had arisen during an overnight stay several weeks back.

During this earlier visit we were using the board in the same location (the museum) when we were interrupted by a cry for help from the other side of the wall. Although this would have been a part of the gaol unfortunately, it is not leased by the Derby Heritage Centre and therefore we have no access to investigate exactly where the female voice emanated from. As we try to vary our routine from week to week this was the first time since then that the rocking spirit board had been used in that location again.

Sadly, we were unable to establish a name for this person and as it was during the time when the two sections of the gaol were used as a nightclub it would probably not be ethical for us to do so anyway as it would easily have been within living memory. We did establish however that it was a female aged 21, the initials C. L. and that she died by her own hand, although it was an accident. The whole session was carried out in total darkness with one of the guests using his own night vision camera to relay the results back to the rest of the group. We will of course be following this up using the rocking spirit board in the museum at the first available opportunity.