GHOSTLY LIGHTS CAPTURED INSIDE AN ABANDONED HAUNTED WW2 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER IN LINCOLNSHIRE

Coleby Grange Control Tower

Last night I shot an investigation at an abandoned and notably haunted WW2 Air Traffic Control Tower, or `Watch Room` at the former R.A.F Coleby Grange, in Lincolnshire with the assistance of Alan Carter a paranormal investigator based in that county.

Full details of that investigation will be shared at Halloween on Youtube.  Without giving too much detail away I can say that we interacted with some interesting activity which you will see.

However for now I can share with you all a very interesting paranormal event which occurred as we were leaving the premises close to midnight.

The weather conditions were atrocious, as it was frequently raining hard and blowing a strong gale.
Despite that, Alan and myself took a series of images from the outside to add to the photo album of that investigation to share later.

And here I think is probably the most convincing still images of paranormal activity there.
Historically the site (amongst other anomalies experienced) is noted for phantom lights appearing at the windows, and most notably from the upper floor (according to witnesses), but to date I have until now not seen any evidence of this event to support it.

So you can imagine our surprise when these mysterious lights appeared below the control room from a disused office.

When these were taken, there were no lights seen inside nor outside the building. In fact the possibility of any lights from within is quite impossible as any electrical wires or conduits for electricity were removed after the site was decommissioned in 1963.

But as you can see, there are lights, and importantly they are not in a fixed or static position (as in street lights, etc). As you follow through the sequence of shots you`ll note two points of interest.

1) I used a new method of night photography by setting the camera to shoot two images simultaneously with and without flash. It`s in the non-flash images that the lights appear stronger as they are not neutralised by the camera flash.

2) The lights are actually moving from frame to frame which suggests movement within the building.

Here are the sequence of images to see as we left the site to return to our car.

Rear side view of  building.

First front view of building showing darkened building.

Front view again, but no lights from the inside.

And here, still dark.

And again no lights under flash.

Can you see the light coming in from the left of this image?

A close-up of the light from the left.

The orbs are rain drops being blown by a strong gale - no signs of lights yet.

Note the two lights now in the left facing side window

A close-up from above.

With flash, the light`s brightness is diminished but they are present in the window.

Without flash they grow in intensity and appear to separate.

Another close-up as they start to move apart.

And separate even further but much brighter under flash.

And now the lights move further apart (close-up from above). 

An inside view of the room from where the light came from

And from outside the affected window is left of this image

A close up of the window.

A view from the rear of the building across the fields. Note the large stacks of straw bales obscuring rear view.

I have yet to examine the video from two Sony Hi8 night shot camcorders and perhaps there lies within these tapes further evidence concerning the appearance of these strange light anomalies.
The investigation with a daytime visit will be available from my Youtube Haunted Earth page on Friday 30th October at 10pm GMT.

Please check regularly on my Facebook page for any new updates.

Story: Chris Halton

HALLOWEEN AND `WITCHES` - AN HISTORICAL CELEBRATION OF THE ABUSE OF WOMEN?

How Hopkins was perceived in the
17th century

It was interesting to read in a post on a social media site that in the eyes of this writer, a devoutly religious person,  that Halloween represents a debasement of society, and encourages people to `worship evil`.

Obviously the true meaning of what Halloween actually represents, has certainly evolved from a pagan Celtic harvest festival to a social celebration that is often epitomised with representations of witches and other characterisations of the horror genre, but traditionally in modern folklore, it is witches that take the centre stage.

Trial by water - a favourite of Hopkins.
 If they survived tthey were guilty, and
if they drowned they were innocent.

I certainly do not see Halloween as the slightest celebration of `evil`, but if truth be known it could be argued to be a celebration of the abuse of women in history.

Within this context, we must look back essentially to 17th century Britain, and the works of the likes of Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled, `Witchfinder General`, who persecuted, raped, abused and murdered innocent women whom he and his supporters `outed` as witches.

Mostly these victims were the pilloried excuses of `religious folk`, for all the ill`s and wrongs in their daily lives.  Examples being poor crops for the farmer, or sick cattle for the dairyman who were `hexed` by devil worshippers.

A typical 17th century `witch`

Medical knowledge and general hygiene was still largely trapped in the late Medieval period, and any general understanding of the spread of diseases were still many years distant in the future.

So many odd,,old, or crippled women, (and many of whom were herbalists), were deigned to be in liaison with the Devil and by proxy, were responsible.

The Puritans, who also emigrated to America, were very much caught up in the consummate belief that Satan was responsible for all social ills, and that these women were the `daughters of the devil`, and they sent many to an early grave on the charges trumped up by Hopkins and his acolytes.

A 17th century `help guide`
to identifying a witch

The signs of the witch, he declared, were easy to see.
Many of these victims were poor, unwashed
 people, who developed carbuncles, warts, and facial sores, which were caused by poor health and  low cleanliness. These were the signs of evil, he observed.

 Even today these maladies are depicted in most characterisations of witches at Halloween. And these helped Hopkins and his supporters pick out these women for torture , confessions, and later murder.

Sometimes Hopkins for his own pleasure would identify attractive young women as `witches`, and without anyone to stand against him, he would rape them and have them later disposed of as witches after they `confessed` to these false allegations under torture.

It wasn`t until he was eventually confronted by a brave Yorkshire priest, that his reign of terror was finally broken.

But the damage sadly had been done. Hopkins work was later adopted by the new American colonies, and the same cycle of outing and death was to repeat itself once more.

So one must consider my earlier point. By adopting witches into Halloween, are we de facto,  celebrating the abuse and debasement of women?  To reiterate, I personally do not see this as such, but merely offering an alternative view of a dark chapter of British and American history


Story: Chris Halton

HAUNTED EARTH INVESTIGATE HAUNTED SANTON CHURCH WITH SOME SURPRISING FOOTAGE OF THE PARANORMAL

Chris Halton on location outside the entrance to Santon Church

What can I say about Saturday`s (25th Oct 2014) excursion to Santon Church on the Norfolk/Suffolk border?

A truly delightful experience in the company of Sean Kim and our host, Mr Eddie Mallet of the paranormal group `Whispers in the Dark`.

Santon is a very tiny church cobbled together with stone and flint, and sits almost alone on the edge of a huge forest virtually forgotten in the midst of time.

Everything about it is a surprise that here within its compact structure, is literally a shrine to English Gothic Revivalism, which would have received praise and merit from the likes of art critics such as John Ruskin for it`s adherence in design and fluency to the high altar of Gothic art.

Augustus Pugin - Influenced Santon?

The chancel reflected that ideal with the pervasive influence of no other than the father of Gothic Revivalism, one Augustus Welby Pugin.  This was amply reflected in the star studded ceiling and the beautiful Gothic Revivalist altar table which set perfectly within a frame of some wonderful  wall tiles that would simply have been a precursor for the later `Arts and Crafts` movement which flourished towards the end of the Victorian age.

Indeed Pugin was a friend of the then rector who had commissioned this great work, and it is known that he was staying as a guest at the rectory whilst the rebuilding of the church was taking place.

While there is no written document that ascribes Pugin as the architect, it is no mere coincidence that everything about this church from the interior and exterior screams his name, almost as an atonement for the earlier 17th rebuilding of what is essentially a medieval church by the supporters of Archbishop William Laud.

It is known that much stone was incorporated from nearby medieval West Tofts church, which was a Pugin rebuild commission, and that this mixture of art and material had effectively,  disturbed the spiritual foundation upon which this church was first constructed over 700 years earlier.

After shooting an introduction, we set about recording an EVP session during the late afternoon. Save for the occasional passing of the Norwich to London trains on the railway line in the near distance, the site was perfectly quiet and still, with no modern intrusion by cars or pedestrians.

During this session the chancel felt uncommonly heavy, and left me feeling very uncomfortable, and dare I say, with a hint of nausea but strangely without the unpleasant side-effects. I felt that my presence here was received as an unwarranted intrusion, and having remained a few minutes I was compelled to leave and return back into the main part of the church which had seating for around 50 souls - such was the small congregation it was built for.

Sean Kim who was listening to audio through the radio mic claimed that he heard someone walking briefly behind me, and from a brief initial inspection of the video tape, I can confirm that his suspicions were confirmed - someone or something, was indeed walking in my shadow.

My initial impressions were simply of two people, a man and his wife who I suspected were past incumbents, possibly a rector and his wife, and the feeling of tremendous pride and joy with this church.

I then stood in a lofty pulpit where the earlier feelings of unpleasantness from the chancel had followed me into this narrow box. Again I felt I had to leave, and returned to join Eddie and Sean below.

Eddie Mallett & Sean Kim

With regards to any EVP, I haven`t yet been able to inspect the entire tape of this session but have no doubts that it will supply some interesting recordings of some of the incarnate souls that remain keeping a watchful eye over the church.

Other than the mild smell of age and decay, I did not pick up any unusual odours, and after remaining for some time we left to enjoy the fading sun on a late autumnal October afternoon.
It is worth sharing at this juncture a short clip from my introductory speech at the entrance door to the church. We were all surprised that the heavy oak door decided to open itself possibly as a welcome to this strange yet obsessively beautiful church.



We returned a few hours later in pitch darkness. And the inkiness was perhaps more blacker as the church
and surroundings were bereft of any artificial lighting, and the moon was hidden at the beginning of a new lunar phase.

When opening the church door I stepped into the inky blackness to smell the overpowering odour of alcohol on someone's breath.

The smell permeated throughout the entire church, and was occasionally interspersed with a musty smell of incense and sweat. Not a very pleasant combination of  odours that I was later informed by Eddie to be the presence of the residential ghost, one Richard Kendall MA, who was rector here from 1638 to 1669.

The Demon and Vices - 17th century Puritan woodcut

During the English civil war, Kendall was ejected from the living on a charge of "refusing to contribute to the rebellion, swearing, haunting (frequenting) inns, being distempered (drunk) with liquor, keeping malignant company (prostitutes) ... and saying the puritans were hypocrites". He was later reinstated to his position when the monarchy was restored.

If any of you recall the comedy series, `Father Ted`, the character of `Father Jack`, typified Kendall`s behaviour.

Here my report on the proceedings will remain brief, as I have yet to examine the video of the night`s events which I am happy to report were numerous.

Kendall without any doubt was the most active presence, and throughout the evening it was more than self-evident that he was playing games with us during our stay.

Sean witnessed many large light entities on the nightshot camcorder, and with a curious interest around my physical presence which Kendall seemed pre-possessed to focus upon judging by the orb activity around me.

Sean also saw briefly during the flash of my taking a photograph, a figure of someone sat worshipping in the pews, and shortly after he started to film, the camcorder battery was drained during a spectral event captured to camcorder.

Indeed, my day camcorder was left on a side table to record audio, and that had been surreptitiously turned off by unseen hands within seconds of us starting.

An impressive capture of energy - Was Kendall `looking down`?

I soon realised that this presence wanted to remain unseen at ground level, and the orb activity started to reduce somewhat when I realised that the presence was actually looking down upon us from the rafters. I quickly tilted my digital still upwards and captured this fleeting image.

Eddie then informed me that on an earlier expedition to this church (amidst foul language caught as EVP) a voice said that he `was looking down upon them`.


In no small measure, this image seems to confirm this.

For any doubting sceptics it is worth mentioning at this juncture that I immediately performed a ``breath test` on camera to confirm that the mist was not the product of warm moisture in a cold night environment. And as will be seen in the soon to be released video, the camcorder test confirms this. The church was very warm inside having trapped the heat of a warm sunny day and outside it was quite mild.

The `haunted` boxed pew with close-up of latch (inset)

Another strange incident I recall was being sat in a box pew near to the chancel which Eddie claimed was known as the `haunted pew`.

Sean was invited by me to sit within it, but felt unable to do so, almost to the point that he felt he was being pushed out. To offer further encouragement, I decided to join him within the pew, and as we sat inside Sean locked the gate to the pew by turning a simple latch into place fitted to the outside.

Within a few seconds, the gate started to swing open, as though having had the latch opened by unseen fingers. We again locked it into place and the event replicated once more.

After that it stopped.

Eddie confirmed that this (among other incidents) was one of the reasons that the label `haunted` had been applied justifiably to this pew.

I can confirm that at various points during the night there were sudden rushes of cold breezes around us, and during the entire experiences there I certainly heard a man`s heavy voice in the background.

Whether this appears on the examination and edit of the night investigation video, I cannot as yet confirm. But coupled with the evenings experiences there I am more than confident that we have a rich stream of material to share as our Halloween experience for 2014.

It is hoped that this video can be released and published within a week to 10 days time.

Why not visit Eddie`s team videos here to get a taste of the activity inside this very actively haunted building?
Whispers in the Dark

Story: Chris Halton

HAUNTED HOUSE - THEN AND NOW - A NEW HAUNTED EARTH tv PRESENTATION

Since 2006 I have been sharing video investigations of paranormal activity captured inside my home, and in particular the master bedroom which appears core to many of the activities recorded there.

Presented by Chris Halton

What I discovered over 8 years of filming, is that some `orb` activity is clearly not as many sceptics would describe as dust motes, bugs, linen fibre, water vapour et al.

Before I continue further, I do agree that much of what people believe to be `orbs`, isn`t, and real activity captured on digital still is virtually impossible to prove as spiritual.

However, some events captured on video can be an entirely different story as my research suggests.

In my analysis I was able to share examples where some `orbs`, clearly reacted and interacted with my presence, and having the fortune of having such a protracted study period in one location I was able to furnish some very compelling results from my studies.

In this video presentation I share the results of a very recent study inside that room, and by using comparisons to past events from the rich source of material available from my Youtube page, I can show that the presences we sometimes falsely ascribe as `orbs`, are clearly a sentient intelligence that not only interacts, but also appears time after time in similar form and `modus operandi`.

           From the haunted bedroom. Are these the ghostly paws of an animal captured here on camera?

Of course, I realise that to some unenlightened minds, my analysis will always be `dust`` - despite evidence to the contrary, and within the context of this study, that argument `holds no water` as shown in this footage.

I believe that if we are able to advance our own studies of the paranormal, all research should be inclusive and open to the possibilities that the paranormal embraces many facets of study, and clearly within the context of `orbs`, everything is not always what you may presume it to be.

I hope you enjoy my latest work and feel free to share to your favourite blogs or discussion forums.

Chris Halton