Ghost Hunting with Derek Acorah. Derek Acorah

       CHAPTER 2 Ghostly Varieties

      When researching their chosen location, the paranormal investigator can expect to find reports of different types of ‘sighting’. Noises may be heard; people may see ghosts only at certain times of the year or on certain dates; people may record seeing ‘just a pair of legs’ or a ‘headless woman’. I will describe the more common forms of paranormal event likely to be found on a ghost-hunting expedition.

      Residual Energy

      The more emotional or tragic the events which have taken place in a property, the stronger the energies that are absorbed by the fabric of the building. This is not to say that the normal daily life of the past is not detectable by a sensitive, but merely to explain that the more intense the emotional situation, the greater the depth of the energy. For instance, in buildings where vicious acts of murder have taken place, I have been immediately hit by the horror of the situation and at times have been forced to retreat to gather my spiritual protection around me. I have also entered buildings where nothing of any particular importance has taken place. Nevertheless, I have still been able to psychically detect the daily lives of the former occupants. I have been into old cotton mills where I was able to hear the tremendous noise of the looms and have been clairvoyantly shown the women and children at their work.

      Residual energy also applies to objects. A sensitive can touch an item—maybe a piece of jewellery, a book or a piece of furniture, in fact anything which has been in contact with a person of this world or the next—and give information relating to the current or previous owner.

      Anniversary Ghosts

      These are the apparitions that appear at a given time on a given date each year.

      The Tower of London has two famous anniversary ghosts—the phantom of Lady Jane Grey is said to reappear as a white shape every 12 February, the anniversary of her execution, and the harrowing slaughter of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, is said to be re-enacted every 27 May.

      On 19 May a coach drawn by headless horses is said to drive towards Blickling Hall in Norfolk. The figure of Anne Boleyn, cradling her bloodied head on her lap, can be seen inside. She was beheaded at the Tower of London on 19 May and was reputedly born in a house where the present Blickling Hall stands.

      Another of Henry VIII’s wives also appears as an anniversary ghost. On the 4 November 1541 Catherine Howard ran sobbing along what is now known as the Haunted Gallery at Hampton Court Palace, intent on pleading with the king to spare her life. Each year on this date it is said that her distraught phantom can be seen re-enacting this tragic scene.

      Ghostly monks are said to walk at Glastonbury on Christmas Eve each year, while even though part of what is known as the Nun’s Walk at Borley Rectory in Essex has been built upon, there are still occasional sightings of a nun on 28 July each year.

      Hallowe’en (31 October) inevitably has a long tradition of anniversary ghosts, which range from First World War soldiers drinking at Bournemouth town hall to the ghostly monks who walk near the ruins of a chapel near Hitchin in Hertfordshire.

      In fact there are literally hundreds of ghosts which are alleged to reappear each year on the same date. As yet I have not visited the location of an anniversary ghost on the anniversary. I have, however, been to such sites at other times and have immediately been made aware of the residual energy of some of the spirit people reputed to ‘walk’ the premises. One has to remember, though, that many stories of anniversary ghosts are just that—stories. They have no real truth behind them and their roots have been lost in the mists of time.

      Crisis Ghosts

      The theory behind crisis ghosts is that at the emotionally charged moment of death the spirit projects itself into the consciousness of those nearest to it in life. There have been numerous accounts of people having ‘visions’ of loved ones who have either been dying or been going through moments of intense fear or danger.

      A well-known crisis ghost was that of Norman Leslie, a member of the famous Leslie family. During the First World War he appeared on the banks of the lake at his home, Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, Ireland. Staff at the castle thought that he had arrived home on leave and rushed to prepare his room for him, but then he was nowhere to be found. A week later his mother received a telegram informing her that he had been killed in action in France.

      Ghosts who Walk through Walls

      This type of ghost is usually experienced in older properties, often dating back centuries, which have been altered structurally over the years. Floors may have been raised, resulting in an apparition which appears only from the knees upwards, or maybe a doorway will have been blocked up and relocated, which means that the ghost, continuing to use the original doorway, appears to walk through the wall.

      I can recall investigating an old manor house in Cheshire that had been drastically altered. I was amazed to view clairvoyantly horse-drawn wagons parading backwards and forwards through the living quarters of the old house. Even more bizarre was the fact that I could only see the horses from the belly upwards, the legs being invisible.

      When I related my findings to the historian present, he was able to tell me that the house had been radically altered and extended. What I was viewing was the route that carters used to take along a road which ran under the footings of the present building, hence only the upper portion of the horses and carts being visible.

      Spirit People

      As well as all these types of ghosts, of course there is the group of ‘people’ I feel particularly at home with—the spirits of people who have lived in or had a strong connection with a building and who make return visits. These are the people I can communicate with either directly or through my spirit guide Sam, who acts as an intermediary, passing on information from the people in spirit to me and enabling me in turn to pass it on to people still living in this world.

      These spirit people are as alive as you and I. My truth is that there is no death—we live on in the world of spirit once we have shed the physical garb of this earthly incarnation.

      Spirit people can be anywhere they wish to be. They can visit a home they used to inhabit or they can visit the homes of family members and friends. They can call in to a previous workplace to visit former colleagues or just to see how ‘the old place’ is being run in the present day. They turn up at theatres where mediums are demonstrating in order to communicate with loved ones in the audience. There are no restrictions on the people in the spirit world—they can go wherever they please.