Monday 30th November 2020
While we realise that this is a matter that has briefly been mentioned on this blog at least a couple of times in the past, a recently discovered, 'fuller' write-up of the overall affair has recently been discovered on an old, back-up disk.... so we thought it might be worth sharing, just as a matter of interest, perhaps?
And so: In the earlier months of 2009, the W.M.G.C. received an entirely random, terribly brief email - as many correspondence frequently begin - from a woman inquiring about 'help' with a proposed 'vigil', to be held at her place of work. In response to our prompt reply, we received a little information about the situation concerned:
"In September 2008 I parked my car in the basement of the building I work in. My grandson and I went to the theatre and on our return (about 11.00pm) we were escorted down to the basement by our security guard. As we were about to go up the ramp, I happened to look down the bottom end of the basement. I know I saw a man peeping out from behind a pillar. In the seconds I saw him, I can only describe him as a young man, with very fine hair, or could have been bald. The security guard and my grandson were now half way up the ramp.
On my return to work, I questioned how many people were on site that evening (i.e. contractors, etc) and was informed that only two guards were on duty: the one that took us down to the basement and the one that stayed on reception.
Having always been interested in the supernatural, I started to dig and found out the history of the place. As my interest grew, I decided that it was well worth an investigation. XXX, who own the building, agreed for me to organise it.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, quite a few things happened: i.e. trains were heard, ladies foot steps, coldness, some thing nasty in one of the shower rooms (when our group tried to get in, with the same key, we couldn't) classical music was heard by people in the two groups. It was a interesting night. Since then, things have been heard, rather than seen, by myself and the security guards, although sceptical, report noises as if things were been thrown around...."
Needless to say, we have had to omit the name of the company that owned the multi-storey, office building from this write-up, for quite obvious reasons. Suffice it to mention that the concern was a major, financial firm, associated with Birmingham area, in the West Midlands.
As a result of the above note, two members from the W.M.G.C. traveled to the location involved to interview Jane (we shall call her) - and her grandson - and receive a tour of the locations that featured in the stories associated with the overall site:
Apparently, on a staircase near the roof of the building - during their previous investigation - a 'guttural, breathy noise' was picked up on a digital voice recorder. There is a shower room near to this location where many report having felt 'something nasty'!? One of the company cleaners flatly refused to enter this room. In another shower room - this time located in the basement area - one group of people claim to have experienced some inexplicable sounds, during their investigation. A second group had, subsequently, gone to check out the matter concerned, but, when they tried to enter the room with the same key used by the first group, earlier, they discovered that the lock refused to open!? In the end, they tried a number of keys in the lock concerned, but couldn't gain entry!?
On touring the basement portion of the site, we asked about the 'peeping man' episode mentioned earlier. Jane said that they had exited a lift and were in the process of walking up a ramp, when she happened to look back behind them and spotted the male figure..... She didn't know why, but she had said nothing at all to her companions at that time(?) However, in questioning the security guard on a later occasion (about how many people were present in the building that night), he had blatantly asked her: "You've seen one of our ghosts, haven't you!?"
She replied that she didn't know, but - if there were indeed only 4 people in the building that night - she must have seen something strange!
Jane had subsequently questioned a gentleman who used to be head of facilities at the company concerned and blatantly said to him: "I am going to ask you a question and I don't want any crap! Is this building haunted?"
In response, he had simply said 'Yes!', without any pause......
At this point in our visit, we are informed that there have actually been a number of deaths reported in the building, with more than one member of office staff simply being 'discovered dead at their desks' over time!?
On Friday, Jane had to travel up to the 8th floor of the building in one of the lifts. (Usage of the lifts being a daily, multiple times a day, thing). On this occasion, she heard a noise.... something akin to a 'slowly released breath' noise.....!? This wasn't a sound she'd heard previously, so she exited the empty lift and just stood, looking back into the entirely glass car... and the noise continued? Intriguingly, Jane actually suffers with hearing issues - making her slightly deaf. On occasions, she has also parked in the basement / car park sub-levels and heard a voice say: 'It's her!'
On the night of their investigation, the attendees had purposefully not been told of the history of the location, which Jane reports as significant in relation to the fact that some had reportedly heard classical music and trains in the basement area: something which has previously been reported by people, allegedly? (*It should be mentioned, however, that a number of subterranean train lines run throughout parts of the city and the property is only around 400 yards from one of the cities train stations? On the other hand, it is known that a subterranean mail train used to run close to the location of the company decades earlier). On the classical music front, however, it was discovered that - during the 1930's - a classical concert was, apparently, held in tunnels running under the city centre!?
During the staff investigation, they had - because the location had previously been a hospital and a bank - used coins and bandages as trigger objects. Because of the presence of the little girl too, they had also utilised such items as a toy doll. Apparently, none of the items used had moved, during their stay, though group members reported more standard activity, such as battery drain on cam-corders and the locating of 'cold spots', etc. Some of the trigger items had been left in place after their investigation ended, however, and it was discovered that money - left where the 'peeping man' had been seen - had indeed moved from its mark? (Only a very slight movement, though).
At a point during the investigation, one group member had been taking a break in the coffee room area - off the main foyer of the site - when 'something' had apparently 'slapped the cup of coffee from her hand'!
At one particular door in the basement, 'noises' had been detected. It is claimed that these noises got louder when actually asked to do so by people investigating? The sound of female footsteps were also reported by team members, who noticed such noises coming from the car park level above, during a vigil. Unknown to them, both Jane and a security guard had previously heard these same sounds. It seems that they happened a lot.
While this tour / interview was being recorded (on tape) by one of the W.M.G.C. members, a 'glitch' was detected on the footage, obscuring the conversation between Jane and other group member. While it is hard to distinguish precisely what this is, it was noted that it may well have been 'other voices' somehow superimposed over the conversation?
Within a month of initial contact, a group of W.M.G.C. members visited the property, with a group of staff, including an alleged 'psychic' (also from company staff). As the bulk of our investigations go, the night went rather quietly.
At one point, however - just prior to 12 midnight - the staff group were conducting a 'psychic oriented' sitting in the coffee room, on the ground floor, off the main reception area. At approx. 12.20 am, a W.M.G.C. member - situated on a 5th floor balcony, conducting a vigil - heard voices from the reception area below and believe that their vigil must have come to an end? In checking, Jane was found to be situated at the security desk with security staff. We are told that she had decided to leave the seance-like session nearby, as it had been suggested she might well be 'inhibiting' matters, perhaps? In explanation, she says that the psychic, at one point, said that she'd received a message pertaining to 'Morris Dancers' and - for whatever reason - another staff member present had suggested that 'Jane wasn't liked' by whatever was there!? (It wasn't suggested just how they came to this strange conclusion, though, but Jane excused herself from proceedings, just in case?) Just prior to this exit, both Jane and the psychic had believed they were picking up the sound of muffled voices, but it couldn't be ascertained what - if anything - was being said? Jane also said she had personally been detecting 'faint breezes' around the same time......
At this point, where the above was being explained, the security officer at the desk says that they've noticed a distortion on one of the cam feeds, associated with a nearby fire exit. The area is instantly checked, but nothing can be found.......
Following our investigation of the site - during which, nothing of a potential paranormal nature was noted - further visits to the location were discussed / offered. However, it was clear from this brief dalliance alone that the location had clearly become (what we term) a highly charged, 'paranormal community' in itself, which is hardly a condition conducive to objective ghost research. Mainly because of this latter-mentioned, it was decided not to pursue any more investigations at the site and the matter was greatly left untouched afterwards.....
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