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Plantagenet House, New Romney, Kent

9th February 2013
 

Background:

Plantagenet House is a modest stone built house, terraced in a row of later dwellings. Its age was a matter of local conjecture until it was securely dated to have originated within the first decades of the 14th century, It may have been the home of a prosperous merchant or the Masters House of the medieval Hospital of St John the Baptist, which first appears in records by the 1260s.

The house has been subject to visits by various psychics over the years, one previous group of paranormal investigators and even, reportedly, an exorcism. With the exception of the latter all have been witnessed by the present owners and compared with sightings recorded by the occupants. Would Ghost Connections investigation reveal supporting evidence for any of the information previously given or record any unexplained phenomena?

The house consists of a kitchen and living room on the ground floor, a rear hallway containing a bathroom and staircase to the first floor, two bedrooms and a corridor on the first floor leading to a converted attic space on the second floor.

 

 

  The Investigation
  Apparatus:
Camcorders:
Sony DCR HC-62 with night vision and Sony HVL-IRM IR light

Digital Camera:
Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-38

Voice recorder:
Olympus VN-2100PC
HNSAT DVR958

Other:
Tripods, Torches, Video tapes (MiniDV), Data Loggers


Investigators:

Kim
Graham
Paddy
Dave

Guests / Owners:
Janet
Malcolm


Method:

Using visual and scientific methods combined with spiritual theory we were to investigate the alleged paranormal phenomena at this venue. The bulk of reports had occurred in the lounge / kitchen area which has no separation. It made sense for us the begin the investigation in this area. The investigation would then move on to the bedroom areas on the first floor.

Investigation:
Session one – Lounge / Kitchen

We began by seating ourselves around the living room and mixing investigation with general discussion. Dave’s camcorder was positioned within the kitchen due to space but with a reasonable view through into the lounge. Kim, Paddy and Dave kept their voice recorders with them.

Session two – Lounge / Kitchen

Similar to session one although seating positions changed.

Session three – Bedroom 1

Bedroom 1 and corridor were investigated as one due to the size of the bedroom itself. Dave and Malcolm occupied the corridor outside of the bedroom door with the door remaining open. Janet, Kim, Graham and Paddy occupied the bedroom itself.

Session Four – Bedroom 2

Bedroom 2 and corridor were investigated as one due to the size of the bedroom itself. Paddy and Malcolm occupied the corridor outside of the bedroom door with the door remaining open. Janet, Kim, Graham and Dave occupied the bedroom itself.

Results
Session one – Lounge / Kitchen area

It was noted that there were few noises within the house of a general nature other than those within the kitchen due to appliances and pipe work. After some time noises were heard upstairs as if persons moving about.

Noises were heard coming from the kitchen area different to those discounted before. Paddy entered the kitchen area and the noises became less eventually stopping. The noises would start again immediately that Paddy left the kitchen area and subdued again when he returned.

Noises were heard from the door separating the lounge from the rear hallway followed by what sounded like a creak of a floorboard from this area on the opposite side.

Dave reports seeing a football sized black shadow ascending within the fireplace area on the left hand side.

Graham reports feeling cold.

Janet reports seeing a black dot in the air above the television set within the old Tudor fireplace on the opposite side of the fireplace to Dave.

Session two – Lounge.

Given the latter part of the last session we decided to remain in the lounge for the next session.

A thump noise was heard between Kim and Janet followed by another when remarked upon which was followed by a different knock and a creaking type noise.

A shuffling noise was heard by Malcolm.

A sound was then heard within the fireplace.

A smell of baking was smelt by some of the persons present.

Sounds of a rustling movement were heard in the area of Dave.

Session three – Bedroom 1 / Corridor

Several noises were heard on the staircase leading up from the ground floor.

Whilst looking in the general direction of some frames prints of antique maps on the wall Dave saw a shadow move across them within the corridor.

Session Four – Bedroom 2 and corridor

Everyone agreed that it felt heavy in this room.

Conclusions
Session one – Lounge / Kitchen area

Having spent some time getting used to the general noises of this house we felt ready to commence the investigation being able to dismiss a number of noises present and therefore they are no commented upon in this report.

Noises in the area of the door and the creaking floorboard noise on the other side of the door was heard. It could not be established what caused the initial noise however an inspection of the floor of the hallway revealed it to be made of stone and concrete. Whether this area was boarded at some time in the past is unknown to the team although considered unlikely. The source of the floorboard noise could therefore not be readily located and therefore no conclusion can be drawn about the cause of it.

The noises in the kitchen area that were not noted prior to the investigation exhibited an interesting behavior. They did not have any repetitive qualities at any set distance apart although appeared similar in tone on each occasion. What was interesting was that whenever Paddy moved into the kitchen to identify the noise, it quieted down and stopped. On leaving the kitchen area the noises would restart as loud as before and then quieten again when Paddy went back. Consequently we could not identify the source but found it an interesting anomaly that could not be timed or predicted in any way.

Upon investigation the previously unheard noises from the kitchen were identified as being caused by the refrigerator.

The feeling of coldness experienced by Graham was not noted by the rest of the team, in fact the house being warm and fully heated. It is unknown where this localised sensation came from as certainly there were no draughts or moving objects in this area to cause a chill by air movement.

The light anomalies seen by Janet and Dave are interesting. Two people independently saw a dark mass, albeit of differing sizes, both within the fireplace area. Nothing else was reported in these areas to substantiate any explanation. The investigation was conducted with lights on although nothing was seen to move across any light source sufficient to cause and shadows of this type. They remain unexplained.

Neither were caught on video footage however with IR recordings some shadows may not be visible in Infra Red light. They lack of them on the recording does not confirm or deny their existence as a shadow although seems to deny their presence as a solid object.

Session two – Lounge / Kitchen area.

Given the latter part of the last session we decided to remain in the lounge for the next session.

No noises reported during this session were previously experienced and this is why they are mentioned. No source was established for any of them and they remain unexplained.

Ordinarily a baking smell would not be unusual although Janet stated that this had been smelt periodically during the previous week and not when the kitchen was in use. It is remotely possible that the smell may have come from neighboring premises although given the time of night this is unlikely.

Session three – Bedroom 1 and corridor.

Again a few noises were heard during the session that were not accounted for in the general noises of the house. Only these are mentioned. There were additional noises in this session within the corridor and on the staircase from the ground floor. It should be noted that we had used the staircase to access the first floor and used part of the corridor to get to Bedroom One and may have been boards settling although this did not explain a couple of noises from the further end of the corridor past Bedroom Two. Noises were caught on the footage and corroborate that they were heard by the team although do not explain the source of them.

The shadow cast over the maps is of interest as both Dave and Malcolm were seated upon the floor and could not have caused this shadow by their own movement and there were no other objects in the corridor that could have caused this. We are unable to explain it. It was not caught on footage due to the angle of the camera recording inside the bedroom and not the corridor.

Session three – Bedroom 2 and corridor.

Nothing of tangible form was noted during this session and therefore no assessment can be made.

During our time here there was no information forthcoming to the team of a clairvoyant nature. As Ghost Connections conducts scientifically based investigations we would not publish such observations, however, previous information is held on a separate database, which may prove interesting when compared to other peoples experiences. Should you wish to discuss this information please email us.

Thanks
Many thanks Janet and Malcolm for inviting us in the first instance and supplying us copious amounts of tea and biscuits and making us most welcome.
   
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