THE HISTORY OF GHOST HUNT
TEAM
The group did not originally
start as GHOST HUNT TEAM - this name came later - but it did start in a fashion in 2004 on the Isle of Wight with founder
COLIN SMITH, LIZ SMITH and DENISE SMITH. They had one guest with them on this first vigil which was centred on the famous
haunted gateposts at Knighton Gorges. From this the Team was properly formed, gaining the name GHOST HUNT TEAM (ESSEX UK),
which is still its full title, although its more recently referred to now as just GHT (ESSEX UK). Colin soon got ANDY BALL
onboard and the two of them went to another famous site at Borley for the next vigil. With the main team in place, several
vigils were to follow from 2005 up to the present day, covering areas such as PLUCKLEY, RECULVER, HADLEIGH, HELLFIRE CAVES,
SAFFRON WALDEN, ALRESFORD, EPPING FOREST and DUNWICH. The team remit is to mainly stick to the Essex area, but as a glance
at these placenames will tell you, this remit extends to Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent, Bucks, Herts and further. This is not because
of a lack of activity in Essex, far from it... its just that had the team limited vigils to just Essex since 2004, we
would most likely now in 2007 be looking further afield anyway, so a decision was made to add in outside places to investigate.
We still maintain an "Essex only" policy for requested vigils - ie: if someone writes to us to ask for help, we can only consider
such requests for the Essex area. With each investigation come more experience and extra equipment. GHT is keen to promote
ghosthunting as a hobby, one that can be done on a budget - its very easy to fall into the endless moneypit of companies selling
gadgets for finding ghosts which soon finds you paying out alot of cash for items you could get for a fraction of the cost.
The rise of TV programmes like MOST HAUNTED has added to the frenzy to sell expensive goods as seen on the show. Worried many
would fall into this, GHT decided to shop around for its equipment and show people that you can enjoy this hobby without breaking
the bank!!
Over the course of 2006
we added extra Team members, PETE BEALE was first to come onboard after his successful debut at HADSTOCK AND BARTLOW, and
he was quickly followed by EMMA LONTON and DAVE WOOD. Emma has proved to be very adept at research too and has become the
official researcher for the Team. Over the time we have also been helped out by CHRIS WEET, Colin`s best friend, who has done
both research and helped with taking notes on vigils. And we must not forget the work of Medium LYNNE THORPE who help bring
forward the medium skills of both Andy, Denise and will hopefully in future help guide them plus Dave onwards to develop these
skills. GHT has also worked with another team, EKPG (East Kent Paranormal Group) run by Lynne`s friend Manda. The main
collaboration being at Pluckley with a solo vigil for Colin with them at Epping too.
The history of GHT is ongoing...
the team is very strong now, the website is a fantastic hit and we are now starting to get results we could only dream of
previously. We hope you will continue to follow our adventures in the supernatural and that you enjoy them as much as we do...
even when we are standing around in churchyards at 2am, freezing to death!!!
WHAT IS A GHOST????
This will be a question that has
many answers. Of course the one main answer is: We simply do not know!! Of the many theories put forward to explain
ghosts and ghostly activity, the range of ideas are varied and certainly some are controversial. Science has tried to explain
ghosts for many years, but no real proper development of these ideas has ever gone further than giving us the same things,
which normally come down to fakes or unexplainable. The idea that science will someday prove the existence of ghost as a natural
phenomena rather than a supernatural one has long been fought over and will continue to do so.
Paranormal groups will tend to
go with the idea that ghosts are real and that science will have to prove differently. The debate over who is correct and
who is not will only ever be answered once proof to either support or dismiss the existence of ghosts has been gathered. Teams
like GHOST HUNT TEAM aim to to help in the quest to answer these questions once and for all, but there is a long way to go.
Especially since ghosts, or whatever they are, seem to not keep to just one definition but indeed have spawned into various
types of entities. Lets look at a few here. This won`t be an exhaustive list as we are trying to keep things simple here,
but hopefully a list you can keep and make use of. Firstly, two of the most common reasons given for ghosts are:
TIMESLIPS /
REPLAYS: Several known hauntings seem to be depictions of events from long ago. When this occurs it is generally
believed to be some sort of crossover between the spirit world and ours, only lasting a short time, and normally repeated
over and over again.
STONE TAPE
THEORY: A new idea which is getting more wider consideration. This is the belief that the actual buildings
themselves, or the location, hold the power to harness or store fragments from previous events and then replay them, much
like making a recording by tape or CD.
ORB`S
The orb debate has been going on
for a fair while, and while we won`t go so far as to say every orb picture our team collects is really a ghost or
the proof of a ghost, its fair to say we have captured some pictures which defy the regular explanations for what orbs are.
A good example is on our title homepage of this website. On there under the famous Andy "mist-pic" from Pluckley is an impressive
pink orb caught on camera at Wickham Bishops church. The standard orb colours that turn up are normally white. While a good
97% of these can be explained away as dust, flies, reflections etc... there continue to be the few percent of orb pictures
like this pink one which throw the theory out on its head. At Pluckley, Arreton I.O.W. and Athelhampton House we have captured
blue orbs. Generally a blue orb is supposed to represent a spirit wishing to talk and make contact. (Could this be our modern
Blue Lady ghosts???). Ghost hunters will tell you an orb is basically a first-stage manifestation of a ghost, one not quite
experienced or powerful enough to appear in a human or shape form. These orbs are not static either and are simply captured
by cameras now as digital shutter speeds are quicker than cameras of old. The fact that orbs move is nearly always attributed
to moths or other insects and indeed is quite often the case. The learned eye will soon start to be able to tell the obvious
from the strange!!. At both Hellfire Caves and at the Cross Keys in Saffron Walden, the indoor nature of these locations provided
our camcorder with actual moving footage of orbs. Hellfire caves was interesting as there were no moths, flies or
insects in the tunnels, and outside was too cold for them anyway. The orb appeared at ground-level and was almost missed on
the first inspection of the film!! - plus we rulled out dust as floor was hard compacted chalk. Likewise the Cross Keys produced
about 3 definate orbs moving about, with another not so obvious 3 orbs very faint on the film too. Dust could be a factor
inside such an old building so we must bear this in mind, but the orb that passes down along the bedpost certainly looks transparent
and changes shape and direction!! Its with the moving orbs and the general way they move that really interests us...
are they intelligently guided or just random patterns of movement...???
Perhaps the orb debate will never
really be solved, which is proberly a good thing! Certainly, as a group taking pictures at haunted sites, you must remember
to be judgemental regarding a vast majority of the orb pics you will get. We found at Caistor that orb pics which combined
mist-like effects were either the heavy moisture in the air caused by fog which came in that night, or the effects of peoples
breath when taking a picture. The pictures looked great until we realised EVERYONE was getting the same results - then we
quickly reasoned it out.
As a ghosthunting group, we have
certainly got several hundreds of pictures of orbs, and will no doubt get more as we go on... just remember to remain open-minded
about orbs as the really interesting ones are rare...
TYPES OF GHOSTS
INTERMITTANT
GHOSTS: These are ghosts with no apparant timed appearence, their behaviour could occur several times in one
day and then nothing again for months, such is their nature.
CYCLIC &
ANNIVERSARY GHOSTS: Or, ghosts with a purpose - these are the type to appear on a regular basis or the type
to repeat or re-enact an event.
REACTIVE GHOSTS:
Ghosts who create activity only if triggered, such as an item of personal property being moved.
CIRCULATIVE
& WANDERING GHOSTS: When a ghost haunts more than one location, such as Anne Boleyn (eight locations in
total!!) then it is described as circulative. But if a single ghost haunts a wide area with no dercernable pattern, then it
is referred to as wandering. The Borley Nun would fit into this catagory.
OBLIVIOUS GHOSTS:
A spirit which does not seem to be aware of your presense or that of the World in general.
Like we said, not an exhaustive
list, but this will give you the basic guide to types of ghost most commonly appearing. However, even those new to ghosthunting
should be aware that there are some ghosts types you need to be informed about. These are:
POLTERGEISTS:
So called "noisy spirits", their name derives from the German meaning of that term. These spirits seem to manifest or are
created normally within a family comprising of young children around the age of 13 / 14. They have the ability to move objects
and furniture, plus make audibles and vanish objects. They interact with whoever they haunt and can be unpredictable.
ELEMENTALS:
Negative spirits, almost certainly created and normally the result of dark energies or rituals. Elementals have the power
to decieve by transforming their appearence.
PHANTOM HOUNDS:
The most famous being Black Shuck, but he is known by other names. In Devon he is the Whist Hound, in other areas Padfoot,
Scrapefaggot or Gallytrot. He signifies or heralds death normally, with some legends attached to him about the witness dying
within a year of their meeting. Black Dog hauntings are very common in England.
ROMAN SOLDIERS:
The Romans stayed in Britain from 43AD until 410AD so its not surprising that a few died here and never left. Roman ghosts
seem attached to sites of the same date and are normally oblivious to their surroundings. Famous Roman ghost sightings include
the case of Harry Martindale in the cellar of the Treasurers House in York when he witnessed a whole army march past him!
ROAD GHOSTS:
When a death occurs from a traffic accident, then these events sometimes replay on the area. A road ghost will often appear
hiking and thumbing for a lift, or more unnervingly - be run over only to seemingly disappear. BlueBell Hill in Kent has a
famous road ghost, but others are known at Stocksbridge and Devon.
GHOSTLY MONKS:
Monks, priests and nuns seem to be a favourite here in Britain with many places claiming at least one resident within their
walls. We must remember that in Medieval Britain, there were thousands of monastic or religious houses both inside and outside
towns and cities. There are certainly no shortage of these ex-inhabitants returning. Pluckley in Kent has a house called Greystones
with a phantom monk story attached.
GREY LADIES:
Perhaps the most commonly reported ghost we`ve come across. The Grey Lady of the title quite often seems to be the wife of
a family killed or murdered, possibly jilted or spurned for another, and so in death returns to haunt the occupants as a reminder.
Although grey is her preferred colour, GHT have come across Blue Ladies and White Ladies which supposedly haunt sites too.
Pluckley has a Red Lady and we have even heard of a Green Lady too!!.
MEDIUMS
GHT has two confirmed Mediums in
the group but we didn`t start out like that. Initially our first investigations were conducted without any Medium in the group,
although thinking back to then its now hard to see how we did a vigil without a Medium on the team!. The real change happened
at our third visit to Pluckley in Kent when we found out Andy was to be our first Team Medium. He was helped
along with his first steps into mediumship from Lynne Thorpe, an experienced Medium, who has guided Andy to find his spirit-guides
and continues to offer support. Recently we found out that Dave was also very sensitive and now looks likely to follow the
same path as Andy - the two of them will work together on vigils or can operate separately in required. Using Mediums can
often draw negative comments from others regarding the authenticity of information gained on an investigation, the most common
one being that the Medium in question can find most of the names, dates and facts from the Internet or books. While this is
true, most self repecting groups starve their Mediums of any info prior to going - even to the point of not disclosing the
name of the site. Although you can never stop Mediums being targetted by such critics, you can do a certain bit of damage
limitation if you keep the Medium in the dark. Most importantly - you MUST research comprehensively ALL names, dates and details
your Medium gives during a vigil. Quite often totally unrelated facts on the night will start to make sense after extensive
checking into historical notes, databases etc. The census records can prove invaluable. Local historical societies and groups
are also worth consulting, as is your local library. GHT actively uses a RESEARCH UPDATE page on this site just such checks
and we often update this to show information which comes to light after the vigil.
ANDY
AND TAKES HIS FIRST STEPS TOWARDS BECOMING GROUP MEDIUM
Although we are not too sure if he realised himself until
quite recently, but many in GHT felt that Andy was hiding a gift to himself that could be helped, nurtured and guided into
getting him to be the group`s first Medium. The first steps were taken whilst on the PLUCKLEY 3: THE RETURN Vigil on the 8th
July 2006. Taking advice and guidence from Lynne Thorpe, herself a Medium of many years experience, and from other members
of the BEYOND THE MIST Group, Andy has started along a road of self-discovery.
Again, their will be no pressure put on Andy to come
up with names, dates etc.. and he is doing this of his own free will.
GHT would like to thank all of those involved so far with
helping Andy with special mention and thanks to Lynne for her support during these early days...
NB: The groups second Medium is Dave Wood, who like
Andy will now start to get in touch with his skill and practise further to enhance it. Dave has now been on several investigations
and is proving to be an accurate Medium, although still in need of tutoring.
STARTING OUT
RESEARCH: The first steps in any ghosthunting
trip must start with research. You could go blindly into a location with no prior knowledge and start an investigation, but
for more professional results it is best to have some background notes in place to check against the findings of any Medium
in your group, or simply to check with known hauntings onsite to see if anything similiar occurs during your own investigation.
BASELINE TESTS: Its also very important
to carry out some base-line tests in the location. This is done very simply with a thermoneter and an EMF Meter. You need
to take a series of reading from both gauges from several key points at the location so that you can compare later to readings
taken on the investigation. Any difference between these figures will help with your summing up of events and detection of
possible cold-spots etc...
TRIGGER OBJECTS: GHT has used Trigger Objects
in several of our investigations. Although we have yet to have proof conclusively of movement occurring, we still maintain
that the use of a Trigger Object experiment is a useful tool and a fairly simple and inexpensive way to check for ghostly
activity. Do try to use an object relative to the location - eg: use a bible at a religious site, a Roman coin at a Roman
site - and also remember to photograph or film the object before and after the experiment. Even if you cannot see by eye if
the object has moved, comparing the picture afterwards should tell you. GHT prefer the "Draw around object" method, although
you can use Talc and sprinkle it around an object instead. The talc method is not suitable for outdoors nor indoors unless
your prepared to make a mess.
MOTION SENSORS: We have a set of these
in our kit. The sensors are best used indoors in locations when spirits are said to walk along corridors or through doorways.
GHT has also used the sensors to protect a Trigger Object experiment.
RECORD SHEETS: We have had since our
earliest days a recording sheet. Simply, a sheet of A4 paper on which we record Group info, Date, Time, Weather, Equipment
used etc... and then go on to log via time index the events that occur during the investigation. This is a valuable
resource and is helpful in backing up the filmed and photographic evidence. We also use the record sheet to write the reports
on this website, therefore a concisely written and well kept sheet will result in an impressive report packed with accurate
detail.
CONSENT: Its also vital you establish if your
location will require permission for you to be there or that you have the owners consent. The flipside to this is villagers
like those at Borley in Essex who have become very anti-ghosthunter, fitting a security light to the church tower and blocking
off the car park. This stems from years of continued visits by unprofessional groups who have impacted greatly on the life
of the village. Had things been done properly from the outset, perhaps Borley could still offer a suitable place to hold vigils,
but alas this is no longer the case. GHT found similiar problems at Datchworth in Hertfordshire.
CHECK EQUIPMENT: Equipment checks are vital
too. There is no point in turning up on site with a non-working EMF Meter or Walkie-talkies you cannot use. Make sure all
batteries are new ones at the start of each vigil. Rechargable batteries are fine, and most modern Digital Cameras come with
lithium batteries which recharge.
DAYTIME: Always try to visit your site
in daylight too. If an outdoor location is chosen, do a walkabout to make note of any points which could be dangerous or cause
injury, areas that are private land, fenced-off areas etc... it might also help to have a map or to draw a map of the
site.
MOBILE PHONES AND WALKIE-TALKIES: Although
there has been some evidence to suggest mobile phones could possibly cause ghosts not to manifest due to the radio-wave transmission,
it should be noted that even GHT carries one or more phones with them. The main reason is for safety - our walkie-talkies
have a maximum range of about 2 miles in a clear area, but of course, the emergency services do not monitor such bandwidths
as our radios, so its very important to have a mobile phone with you. However.... it should only be switched on
and used in the event of an emergency, otherwise during the vigil it should remain switched off.
DRESSCODE: Also, your team needs to be prepared
for the British weather. GHT has done outdoor investigations in the freezing cold with mist (Caister 2007), heavy or persistant
rain (Hadleigh 2005, Reculver 2005), and warm sunshine (Dunwich 2006) - which is pretty much the full share of weather we
get over here. Always have warm clothes and sensible shoes. Designer clothing does not look trendy when muddy and wet!!.
MEALBREAKS: Finally, food... sounds
like a simple thing, but its very important to take food and drink with you. You should avoid alcohol like wine or beer since
these may impair your judgment during the vigil, and besides... who will believe you if you say you`ve seen a ghost
but you`ve been drinking...?? Tea or Coffee, fruit juices etc for drinks, sandwiches or any other easily made
snacks. If you have the means to provide hot food then this could be welcome on a cold night vigil.
CODE OF CONDUCT
/ EQUIPMENT
GHOST HUNT TEAM has a set Code of Conduct that we adhere to. These
rules and guidelines were set down to help keep the group focused and to make sure all the Core Team members and our guests
know exactly what is expected of them.
Our Team is still in the process of collecting various items of equipment.
We have found ghosthunting equipment can vary greatly in price. So far, we have purchased one EMF Meter, some Motion Detectors,
Walkie-Talkies, Torches and Lamps and a DVD NightVision Camcorder. Also recently added to this was a Laptop PC. We do not
say every group should buy the exact same items, but at least start off with an EMF Meter as this will give you immediate
results and help with your baseline tests. The varying prices of equipment will also be dictated by your Team`s finances.
GHT has an open policy which Team Members can club together to buy items. We use the Internet to purchase our equipment. GHT
will be expanding our range of equipment during 2007.
FOR CODE OF CONDUCT CLICK HERE
FOR GHOST HUNT TEAM EQUIPMENT CLICK HERE
