a.m. and everyone was becoming really tired. The other groups all met up in the base room, but they had nothing further to report; any apparent phenomena witnessed was put down to sheer tiredness. It is known on investigations for the investigators to become so tired they begin to encounter auditory, and quite often visual, hallucinations; not good for an objective investigation. Due to this factor, we all decided that now was the time to wrap it up.
All in all, this second investigation proved to be great for some, and not so great for others, but that’s the way ghost hunting goes. The thumps and bumps that were heard in the Ouija room (from upstairs) during our vigil there were quite impressive, especially as they made the lights rattle in the room below. The fact the Ouija room door opened for the second time while Ralph and I were there to see it again is rather interesting too. In regards to what happened to me on the upper level of the building, well … who can say for sure. In retrospect it really does give me thechills thinking about what happened, but was it really a spirit that walked through me? Or was it something else, something psychological? Maybe only time will tell. Further investigations inside this rambling old building in Sunderland have subsequently been carried out. Results of these investigations will hopefully be published soon.
The fact remains that the first two investigations to be held at Doxford House yielded some really extraordinary results to say the least and one can not help but wonder, was it really due to being so close to the festive season? One just before and one just after Yuletide. Who can say? I will leave that for you to decide.
C HRISTMAS I NVESTIGATION 2009: S HOP 44, AND S HOP 22, THE S HAMBLES IN Y ORK
On the night of 4 December 2009 GHOST arrived in the city of York to conduct a double Christmas investigation at numbers 22 and 44 The Shambles. We arrived at the top of the famous Shambles at 9 p.m. and were met by shop owner, Simon Cox, who took us down to his wonderful gift shops. As we entered the first shop, we were shown to the café section of the premises at the rear; this was to be used as our base room.
The building of number 44 is around 400 years old and has three floors. On each floor there is a passage leading to two rooms, one at the front and one overlooking the market square at the rear. The rooms on the upper level are used as storage, while the downstairs rooms are used for the gift shop and small café. The building also houses an ancient wooden stairwell, which links all these old rooms and landings together.
Number 22 The Shambles is entirely different. It is a much smaller shop by far, but this property has a hidden gem, well, two to be precise. Under the floor in the shop were two trapdoors. Trapdoor one led down into an old, foreboding cellar and tall stepladders were needed to get down into it. It is a large roomy area and, by all accounts, well worth investigating. Trapdoor two was the pièce de résistance . After negotiating your way down some old stone steps, you are led into another cellar area. This cellar leads you under the cobbled road that is The Shambles and under the neighbouring church which stands at the foot of The Shambles.
We unpacked our equipment and prepared for the investigation to come. Before we set about conducting the usual baseline tests prior to our investigation, I needed to speak to the individuals who worked in the shop. Of course, team member Fiona Vipond had already gleaned some information regarding the ghosts from Simon on her pre-investigation visit, and it was – it must be said – thanks to Fiona that we were here in the first place; but, formy notes and for my personal files, I needed to interview those people who had had first-hand experiences with the alleged denizens.
I first spoke to Simon Cox and he informed me that his sister-in-law, Chantelle, had heard something rather strange while alone in the
All in all, this second investigation proved to be great for some, and not so great for others, but that’s the way ghost hunting goes. The thumps and bumps that were heard in the Ouija room (from upstairs) during our vigil there were quite impressive, especially as they made the lights rattle in the room below. The fact the Ouija room door opened for the second time while Ralph and I were there to see it again is rather interesting too. In regards to what happened to me on the upper level of the building, well … who can say for sure. In retrospect it really does give me thechills thinking about what happened, but was it really a spirit that walked through me? Or was it something else, something psychological? Maybe only time will tell. Further investigations inside this rambling old building in Sunderland have subsequently been carried out. Results of these investigations will hopefully be published soon.
The fact remains that the first two investigations to be held at Doxford House yielded some really extraordinary results to say the least and one can not help but wonder, was it really due to being so close to the festive season? One just before and one just after Yuletide. Who can say? I will leave that for you to decide.
C HRISTMAS I NVESTIGATION 2009: S HOP 44, AND S HOP 22, THE S HAMBLES IN Y ORK
On the night of 4 December 2009 GHOST arrived in the city of York to conduct a double Christmas investigation at numbers 22 and 44 The Shambles. We arrived at the top of the famous Shambles at 9 p.m. and were met by shop owner, Simon Cox, who took us down to his wonderful gift shops. As we entered the first shop, we were shown to the café section of the premises at the rear; this was to be used as our base room.
The building of number 44 is around 400 years old and has three floors. On each floor there is a passage leading to two rooms, one at the front and one overlooking the market square at the rear. The rooms on the upper level are used as storage, while the downstairs rooms are used for the gift shop and small café. The building also houses an ancient wooden stairwell, which links all these old rooms and landings together.
Number 22 The Shambles is entirely different. It is a much smaller shop by far, but this property has a hidden gem, well, two to be precise. Under the floor in the shop were two trapdoors. Trapdoor one led down into an old, foreboding cellar and tall stepladders were needed to get down into it. It is a large roomy area and, by all accounts, well worth investigating. Trapdoor two was the pièce de résistance . After negotiating your way down some old stone steps, you are led into another cellar area. This cellar leads you under the cobbled road that is The Shambles and under the neighbouring church which stands at the foot of The Shambles.
We unpacked our equipment and prepared for the investigation to come. Before we set about conducting the usual baseline tests prior to our investigation, I needed to speak to the individuals who worked in the shop. Of course, team member Fiona Vipond had already gleaned some information regarding the ghosts from Simon on her pre-investigation visit, and it was – it must be said – thanks to Fiona that we were here in the first place; but, formy notes and for my personal files, I needed to interview those people who had had first-hand experiences with the alleged denizens.
I first spoke to Simon Cox and he informed me that his sister-in-law, Chantelle, had heard something rather strange while alone in the
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