Undisclosed 14th Century Manor House – Kent

Investigation 9

Aim:
To continue our study of this site and investigate reports of paranormal phenomena as well as follow up on occurrences we have so far encountered.

Background:
As you will well know by now we cannot disclose the location of this venue. We had previously heard footsteps in a room above and a variety of strange noises were recorded by a solitary locked of camcorder. This was the area we were to look at later. To see our previous investigation report and those before please use the following links.

To see our previous investigation report and those before please use the following link.

Apparatus:

Camcorders:

Samsung VP-D351 with night vision
Sony DCR HC-24E with night vision and Sony HVL-IRM IR light
Sony DCR-HC19 with night vision and Sony HVL- IRM IR light
Sony DCR-DVD110E with night vision and Sony HVL- IRM IR light

Digital Camera:
Canon 400D
Fuji Fine Pix S5000
Fuji Fine Pix S5500
Fuji Fine Pix S5500
Pentax K-100D Digital SLR
Sony Erickson C905 camera phone

Voice recorder:
Olympus VN-2100PC
Olympus DM20
HNSAT DVR958

Other:
Tripods
Torches
Video tapes (MiniDV)
DVD-RW's

Investigators:
Ian, Kim, Paddy and Dave.

Method:

Our previous visits have proved fascinating and apart from spending time in some areas of the house we had not spent time in as yet, we were to follow up on noises we had heard the last two times in the rear hallway. This time we thought we should spend our time in the two areas we have not explored before as well as the kitchen area where the footsteps were heard and recorded last time. As has become our preferred practice we were to split into two pairs and swap locations and compare notes, before regrouping for a joint vigil in the rear hallway. Camcorder with night vision, digital voice recorders and cameras were to be used as is our normal practice. This is to be our last chance to investigate this venue for a while due to other commitments the team have so we were hoping to at least get to the bottom of some of the noises we had been hearing previously.

The Investigation

First vigils – Victorian Kitchen and Box Room
Dave and Kim went to the Box Room and Paddy and Ian went to the kitchen in the Victorian wing.

Paddy and Ian sat in the kitchen and adjusted themselves to the surroundings and natural noises that could be heard. Paddy's camcorder was on its tripod in the adjacent room, and he had is voice recorder running by him in the kitchen, Ian had his camcorder in his hands. Despite some lengthy introductions and explanations of equipment to anyone that may be present there was not a lot happening, until Ian started calling out for anyone present to make themselves known. Both of them suddenly noticed a temperature drop, although there was not a drop, they both felt decidedly colder than when they first entered. Paddy thought he had seen some movement in the adjacent room, Ian was also conscious of a very dark mass in the corner of the room, but shining a light into that corner showed nothing. They even tried putting out a third chair and asking anyone present to take a seat and join them. There were the occasional knocks that were not consistent with the lack of natural noises of the surroundings, and Paddy jumped at one point when he thought he heard such a noise from outside in the garden (he was by the window). From this point Paddy's curiosity got the better of him and he had to get up to check what was around inside and look out of the window, but nothing could be found.

Ian continued calling on the assumption that someone was with them and Paddy joined in also in the hope that there may be a response but nothing was forthcoming. At one point Ian thought he saw some movement move across the doorway into the adjacent room, Paddy also felt that there was something in that area but nothing more was to come of it.

Meanwhile Kim and Dave were upstairs in the Box Room, they both had their voice recorders running and Dave was using his camcorder. Sadly apart from complaining of the cold (it is in the roof and not insulated) they had nothing of note from either that room or the landing outside, other than that it was very very quiet, there was no noise whatsoever so if there was to be anything vaguely like a response it would be difficult to miss.

We had a break and as Dave and Kim stepped out for some air by the back door (the area that interests us the most) Dave felt a poke in the back and turned to Kim to ask what she wanted and what she was whispering.... Kim was not there! Despite them leaving together Kim had stopped to look at something and was a good few meters behind him. Dave described it as a gentle poke in his left rear back and the whispering of a female voice.

After the break we swapped locations. It was Ian and Paddy's turn for a quiet time up in the box room. Paddy set his camcorder facing down the short flight of stairs down to the landing and again had his voice recorder on; Ian kept his camcorder in his hand. Despite trying the normal approach nothing occurred, but they too commented on the silence in that part of the house, and the cold!

Dave and Kim were now in the Victorian kitchen and had the same equipment as before, Dave's camcorder was on its tripod in the doorway to the adjacent room and faced into them in the kitchen. They too heard the occasional tap that could not be identified but nothing that was repeated on request, it is thought that this could have been the chair Kim had been sitting in settling after she had got out of it. Nothing else of note was to occur in either location after the swap so we decided to break and have a think about the rest of the nights plan.

After the mid investigation break and the now obligatory soup and roll we decided that, given Dave's moment in the rear hallway we should alter our plan and head for the rear hallway and stairs area. If you refer to our previous reports you will see that we have been recording repeated knocks and odd noised that move around and come from different locations in that area of the building, which so far we had been unable to identify what had caused them. We decided to split up into four different parts of that location and wait for the noise to happen, and then we may have a better chance of identifying where it came from. Paddy sat in the rear kitchen, Kim in the room opposite, Dave was on the service stairs more open to the hallway and Ian was sitting at the bottom of these stairs in the corridor immediately opposite. We waited.

Various taps and noises were heard about the whole area but despite Dave calling out nothing was responsive to our demands. Then there it was, the loud crack we had been hearing over the last few visits only this time Ian and Dave happened to be sitting in the right places to judge where it came from, the area near the electricity meters, it must be mechanical or an electrical switch of sorts. Kim and Ian investigated by standing near the meters and waiting for another but there wasn't one. This time Paddy was standing in the kitchen doorway and was startled when a very similar crack came from the table area in the kitchen. We knew there was a refrigerator in the room but it did not make that sort of noise.

Further noises were heard about the place, Ian was standing by a window in the hallway when a similar crack came from the window ledge area, this was immediately checked and no reason for the noise could be found.

Ian was also startled at one point as he felt a poke in his back, and immediately remembered Dave had felt something similar earlier in the evening in the same area.

After a quiet spell lasted longer than we would have liked we decided to have a break.

Refreshed, or so we thought, we moved upstairs to the Victorian Bedroom we had spent some time in on the previous visit and had some interesting results. Sadly the expectation was not matched by the results this time and nothing occurred at all. Feeling a little tired we all decided to call it a night, collected our equipment and left for home.

Dave's experience by the back door cannot be explained, it is clear that someone whispered to him and he felt a touch and we know it was not Kim, the only person who had been with him at the time. This cannot be explained and unfortunately because it was on a break it was not an incident that was recorded.

At least we seemed to have explained the reoccurring noise we have heard over the last few investigations, that was coming from the rear hallway and service stairs. Our method of spreading out to cover the area and wait for the noise to occur had been sound, and we were able to pinpoint it to the area behind where Ian was seated, being the cupboard containing electrical meters and other fuse boxes and equipment. Although the actual piece of equipment that produced the noise could not be identified it s fair to assume that this noise has a natural cause, probably some kind of electrical switch or relay. This is confirmed but the video recording at the time.

The other noises heard at the time, however, could not be explained, the noise in the kitchen that startled Paddy, the crack by Ian as he stood near the window in the rear hallway.

The Camcorder that was locked off in the rear hallway for night did not produce any unusual recordings. Most of our camcorder footage, still photographs and voice recordings have been examined and items of interest have become apparent.

A certain amount of other information was forthcoming to the team of a clairvoyant nature. As Ghost Connections conducts scientifically based investigations we do not publish such observations, however, this information is held on a separate database. Should you wish to discuss this information please email us.