Tuesday 9 June 2009

Warwick Castle Report....

This post is in reply to an email enquiry from Dave Drew of Sheffield, who wrote in to us recently expressing an interest in the events surrounding our recent 'What Do You See?' segment.

Thanks very much for the interest Dave! Reproduced below is a brief version of our report from the Warwick Castle investigation of October the 19th 2007.....

Investigation Report: Warwick Castle – Warwickshire.

Duration of visit: Approx. 6 hours.

Attendee’s:

6 W.M.G.C. members. Also, Danny Kelly, Radio WM DJ and three BBC staff.

Investigation:

Three separate sections of the castle - places allegedly associated with numerous reports of paranormal activity - were made available to the group for the sake of the visit: the Barbican, the Dungeon and the Fulke Greville Tower.

The group split into two separate teams for the sake of the first part of our visit.

Team One: Steve, Danny and BBC staff.

Team Two: Kevin, Claire, Julie, John and Nick.

10.20 pm: All visit Bedroom area of Fulke Greville Tower in order to set up equipment.

(Two piece) thermometer – left (a) in centre of four poster bed and (b) on left hand side of bureau / dresser. (Reading 17.4 degrees upon leaving the room).

Mannequin with audio alarm attached – situated in middle of floor between foot of four poster bed and wall directly opposite.

Piece of paper with coins (ringed) on it – situated on right hand edge of bureau / dresser.

Video camera 1 situated at entrance to left hand alcove, just in front of monk figure.

Camera 2 situated on right hand side of four poster bed – next to bureau / dresser – in front of stair well.

10.34 pm: Team One begins vigil in Dungeon, while Team Two begins vigil in Barbican.

During this period:

10.50 pm: Team Two notice a flash of light – akin to a distant camera flash - seemingly coming from the direction of the Barbican room containing the figure of the Knight. (Or possibly from the rooms / corridors beyond). Kev experiments with his own camera flash at different distances along the corridor concerned and the light – although diffused - is capable of being seen even from the farthest end of the corridor. Noted that there were also perspex windows in the walls of the corridor concerned – translucent – so there was some potential for a strong external light being able to pass into the area, etc.

11.09 pm: All enter Fulke Greville tower to retrieve equipment. It is noted that the temperature inside the bedroom has fluctuated between 13 and 21 degrees during this session.

11.39 pm: Team One situated in Fulke Greville Bedroom while Team Two visits Dungeon area. A recording session is set up in the Barbican area, with Camera 1 recording in room containing knight figure and Camera 2 in room off staircase.

Thermometer units are situated on long bench in room off staircase and on a stone ledge in ante-room to corridor. Temp upon leaving area was 15.5 degrees.

During this period:

Just prior to Midnight: Kev is standing in Dungeon, in front of the window. He reports having heard a sound coming from just behind him - far left hand corner of room if standing with back directly to entrance to stairs - which sounded like a brief ‘clump’.

12.26 pm: The combined groups enter the Barbican together - except for Julie and Claire who remain in the Undercroft (base room).

During this period:

A ‘baiting’ session is initiated, but no obvious responses are forthcoming.

Kev and some of the others present witness a split-second flash of light coming from the bottom of one of the wall mounted light fittings. (Which are switched off). Two to three minutes later and a similar flash is seen to come from another fitting on the wall directly opposite the first.

As a (radio) recording session is underway in this period, the attitude of the group is causal, with members leaving / returning to the area sporadically.

John and Nick leave the main group and enter first the Undercroft area and then the bedroom of the Fulke Greville Tower where they remain for some minutes.

Approx. 1 am – Danny Kelly and his companions leave the castle.

Around this time, Steve and Kev investigate a sound (reported by both Kev and Nick earlier in the night) like ‘footsteps’ seemingly coming from a floor above when travelling along the Undercroft corridor to the toilets. They discover that the noise is the result of water falling from an overflow pipe on an upper floor, onto the glass roof above the Undercroft corridor.

Minus the BBC crew, we decide to split into three groups of two people to investigate the three previously mentioned sections of building.

1.40 am: Nick and Kev enter Fulke Greville Tower; Steve and Claire visit the Barbican and John and Julie enter the Dungeon.

After this session ends, we speak with the two castle security men in the courtyard for a while regarding some of the allegedly paranormal / historical aspects of building and it’s history.

2.30 am: Kev and Nick enter the Barbican; John and Julie visit the Fulke Greville Tower; Steve enters the Dungeon, while Claire remains in the Undercroft area.

During this period:

2.51 am: Kev and Nick witness the peculiar flash effect from the wall mounted light next to the stair door. Both happened to be looking in the direction of the light concerned when it happened. Kev theorises that this effect may have been the cause of the flash witnessed by Team Two during their vigil of 10.50 om.

The security guard had previously been questioned by the group regarding this flashing light effect, but, despite some years experience of the site, he admits that he has never experienced this himself, nor heard of any such happenings.

While discussing this effect, Kev mentions that he has gone exceptionally cold indeed. While this subsequent matter is being discussed, both hear a dull, solitary ‘thump’ sound seemingly come from the area above the room they are in. (A locked off area).


The final vigil of the night - ? – All go into the Barbican, except for Nick and claire who remain in the Undercroft area.

Visit to castle ends approx. 4 am and we leave the site.

Regards,

The W.M.G.C.

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