Paranormal
Spooks in the city - breaking a taboo
Author, photographer and local historian Dave Cable is hoping to break through a “taboo” subject to complete a book about the paranormal in the city of Bristol.
Dave has been commissioned by the History Press to write Paranormal Bristol for publication in 2010, focusing not just on hauntings, but also UFO and mystery beast sightings, myths and other strange phenomena, and wants people to tell him about their other-worldly encounters.
“The paranormal has always been considered a taboo subject in Bristol,“ said Dave, “And through the book I want to help raise awareness for the area and also locations in and around the city.
“The taboo thing comes from being active in the paranormal for the last five years through lack of opportunities to investigate here - I have found Bristol to be generally closed to the subject in that time. As a result, my investigations have led me all round the UK instead but never in my own city. I'm glad now at last to be able to give some focus to the area and I will admit that, most recently, I have seen a slight change, even though some people have said to me it is a subject that is not generally talked about.
Dave has been commissioned by the History Press to write Paranormal Bristol for publication in 2010, focusing not just on hauntings, but also UFO and mystery beast sightings, myths and other strange phenomena, and wants people to tell him about their other-worldly encounters.
“The paranormal has always been considered a taboo subject in Bristol,“ said Dave, “And through the book I want to help raise awareness for the area and also locations in and around the city.
“The taboo thing comes from being active in the paranormal for the last five years through lack of opportunities to investigate here - I have found Bristol to be generally closed to the subject in that time. As a result, my investigations have led me all round the UK instead but never in my own city. I'm glad now at last to be able to give some focus to the area and I will admit that, most recently, I have seen a slight change, even though some people have said to me it is a subject that is not generally talked about. “I get the feeling that Bristol is not as open as, say, more recognised paranormal cities such as Derby or York, which is a shame. I would, of course, love to be proved wrong in my thoughts and to finally get Bristol on the paranormal map.”
All paranormal stories will be credited in the book. Dave can be contacted at arcadiaphotographic@yahoo.co.uk or on 07913 707312.
Pictured: The Llandoger Trow pub in Bristol city centre - its upper floors are said to be haunted by the ghost of a young boy.
UK5 team go underground
One of the major phenomena of paranormal investigation in the country is the UK5 Paranormal team, pictured, based in Wiltshire and who featured in the 2008 ITV West series, The Paranormal 5.
Stepping out of the "stereotypical box", the team have launched Project Underground to investigate offbeat and unique locations including an armoury, a pirates' cemetery, a mine and a former lunatic asylum.
Each investigation is documented within a mini report, photos and brief history of the location, and being presented on the UK5 website.
"We are just trying to be different," said the team's Ray Jorden. "We've been researching Project Underground since 2008."
"We are just trying to be different," said the team's Ray Jorden. "We've been researching Project Underground since 2008."
Ray also has a solo project - a TV series called Screamers aided by Fred Batt, the historian and demonologist from Most Haunted Live. "It's a light entertainment paranormal programme," said Ray, "Where we take a group of people to a haunted location and try to give them the experience of the paranormal - no mediums, no equipment, just a torch in a haunted place."
Ray and Wayne Punter, fellow UK5 team member, host a weekly paranormal chat and entertainment show on Haunted 911, the internet radio station. "We have a good following and the shows are very successful," said Ray.
The other members of UK5 are Andy Carter and Samantha Rees, with the team being supplemented by guest mediums.
The other members of UK5 are Andy Carter and Samantha Rees, with the team being supplemented by guest mediums.
Chilling secrets of hidden well
Spooky things started to happen after landlord Alan Lindsay discovered a hidden well in the bar of his pub in North Devon, . For decades, the Farmers Arms, in the village of Woolfardisworthy, had a reputation for being haunted – not too surprising as parts of the building date back to the 13th century.
All was quiet when Alan and his family first moved in – but matters took a dramatic turn when the well was opened up.
After removing wooden and metal covers, as well as heavy stone slabs, the top of the well was revealed, about four feet below the floor. It was 21ft deep and had clear water in it. "There was a distinct atmosphere in the pub after the well was opened," said Alan. "You could really sense there was something strange happening in the building."
Strange indeed. Alan's wife Jenny was thrown off a chair by an invisible force, and found herself stroked by an unseen hand when alone in bed. Their daughter Clarissa, 10, was scared by the apparition of an old tramp walking past the well and disappearing, as well as a ghostly face in an upstairs room.
Doors kept opening and closing inexplicably, there were phantom footsteps, and a member of staff, Nyah Boundy, was hit on the head by a glass bowl which flew off a table in the kitchen, where poltergeist activity seems to be concentrated.
On two occasions, the kitchen clock flew off the wall, while Jenny and another member of staff, Emily Lawrence-Edwards, looked on in disbelief.
Mediums who have visited the pub say that, centuries ago, there was a murder or brutal assault by the well – which could be more than 1,000 years old – and that the property is haunted by the ghost of a previous landlord, Roy Chappell, who was there in the 1960s and 1970s and was "a bit of a joker".
Alan had thought of calling in a paranormal investigation team, but added: "I don't feel intimidated, or frightened. It's quite interesting. I don't believe that paranormal activity doesn't take place, and in this case it has."