Ghostbusters!
- katietrinder
- Oct 15, 2024
- 4 min read
As my quest to complete my list of 50 Things to Do Before I'm 50 continues, on Friday, I ticked something else off the list, being a ghostbuster.
Technically this is on twice, but that's because I very specifically want to do a Barri Ghai Ghost Hunt, I love him on "Help My House is Haunted" and me and my friend Jen have booked to do an event with him next year. But when my other friend Marie asked if I fancied doing a ghost hunt with her in Matlock, I thought why not? So i added the sub category of "Ghost hunt somewhere I've never been before" - my list, my rules!
The ghost hunt was booked at Matlock Pavillion... a place I;ve never been before and didn't know anything about. We booked it with Haunted Heritage Paranormal Events, who do lots of ghost hunts across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
There was a mini panic earlier in the day when we both realised we didn't have an essential item in a ghostbusters kit.... a torch, but my sister Lucy found one in a kitchen cupboard, so I but it in my special ghostbusters bag (handbag)
We arrived at The Grand Pavilion in Matlock Bath (which is a beautiful building) ready to bust some ghosts! I had deliberately not read anything about the building, so that I couldn't be influenced! I'd done ghost hunts before, but Marie hadn't. As soon as we arrived, we were made to feel really welcome and split into 3 teams.
Our team headecd off to investigate the dome and an upstairs office. me and another lady in our group had dowsing rods, others had EMF meters and flashing cat balls. All I could think was that if my cats had been there, those balls would have been rolling around all over. We set the cat balls down hoping that a naughty spirit would feel the need to push them around the room.
Nothing happened.
Not so much as a boo or the gentle clanking of a chain.
We retreated to the cafe, dowsing rods and EMF monitors in hand, flashing cat balls in pockets.
Time for a tea break. Some of the other groups had, had some activity, banging, flashing lights and names spelt out on a spirit board.
We headed off for our second location, the dressing rooms and ballrooms. I accept that some people will think this is absolute nonsense, so all I can say is that what I'm about to write is true. I have no reason to lie and I am not being to promote any company.
The atmosphere in the dressing room was horrible, it felt really oppressive and sad. Me clutching my dowsing rods, Marie with her EMF monitor in hand, we waited as members of our grouo started to call out. Very quickly I was getting clear answers from my dowsing rods, another member of the group who also had a set was getting the same answers. The cat balls started flashing and if someone knocked, the knocks were repeated.
I just want to add that we tried to debunk anything that could be attributed to the other group, a radiator or a breeze etc.
We then headed to the ballroom and decided to try table tipping. I've seen this done at other events and NOTHING has ever happened, so I was a bit sceptical about it. We quickly established that the spirit in the ballroom was that of Phil Grey, a man who had run the pavilion for many years.
We all lightly placed our fingers on the table, as we started to call out the table started to rock, very gently at first, but then it got quicker, when asked the table would rock from side to side, go up on one leg and the weirdest thing was eventually the table was moving around so quickly that we were all running around it like we were playing "Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush" - this table got some real speed up!
My friend Marie and another guy stepped away, both said afterwards that they wanted to check that no one was manipulating it. They both agreed that there was no way anyone could have made the table move in that way especially when we just had our fingers lightly on top.
Tea break number 2!
We were absolutely buzzing when we sat down for our brew, other groups had also had experiences, with one guy having a mist randomly form in front of him.
For our third and final room, we used a spirit board, you didn't have to take part in this if you didn't want to and protection spells were said at the beginning and end.
Spirit boards are always a weird one for me, because when the planchette starts to move, I immediately go into Wagatha Christie mode to work out who's moving it. Again our fingers were only lightly resting on it as it started to move.
The planchette started to spell out a name.... first it moved to K..... then to an E .... and finally N.
I said my dad's name was Ken, but when asked if the spirit was connected to anyone there, it moved to "no", so it either wasn't my dad or my dad thought he was being funny! I like to think if it had been the spirit of my dad, after 7 years he'd have had a lot to say.
If I'm honest, a lot more stuff happened, probably more than I've ever experienced on any other investigation I've ever been on. Marie had no idea what to expect, but said it definitely exceeded her expectations.
As I'm typing this, I know some people will think I'm making it up, I promise you I'm not, I'm not even exaggerating, I genuinely witnessed all the things I've written about!
My personal belief is that we don't have answers for everything, for some things there are perfectly logical explanations and for others there aren't.
What I also know is that I had a really good night out with a friend and a group of people who made us really welcome and if you're even a bit curious about the paranormal then I highly recommend going along to an investigation.
Have you been on an investigation? If so where did you go and what did you see?
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