Secret Location (2006)

Located in South West London, this location has been serving the local community since 1893. A grade II listed building its' usage has changed several times over the past century. With such a varied past the building houses a number of clearly defined areas which all have specific reported activity in.

With our first investigative visit our hosts requested that we focus our attention on the front section of the building. This included the grand staircase, balcony area and front studio. Apparitions, footsteps and presences have all been reported in these areas and with this information we set our equipment up specifically to capture these activities.

For this investigation the team consisted of Dave Willey, David Witchell, Steve, Jill and Dave (all NSPG), Martin, Edel and Neil (Hosts).

We took the opportunity to put Jill's psychic skills to the test on this investigation and managed to keep the location a complete secret until the point at which she arrived. Although as a team we have always tried to stay clear of using any psychic research, Jill's recent appointment to NSPG has proved to be popular with clients and adds another, separate dimension to our reports. She didn't disappoint any of us on this investigation, in fact the most skeptical amongst us couldn't help but be impressed with the information she came up with. This started before Jill had even entered the premises where by a drawing of the front of the building was produced following a dream a week or so before investigation.

                        

The DVR system was set up in the hub with a single IR camera monitoring the Grand Staircase, a second IR Camera on the balcony monitoring the door to the front studio and an EMF meter placed in front of the door, The main laptop was setup in the front studio and set up to record sound and a voice activated dictaphone placed at the rear of the front studio. A set of motion sensors were also set up in the front studio and set to chime if triggered.

        

In addition a new pan and tilt camera was tested in the lower front studio with a motion sensor.

After a short coffee break and discussion as to what was planned for the evening, the team spread out and started taking in the atmosphere, seeing if they could pick up anything. During this period a couple of areas were highlighted as having a presence. In the area outside the puppet workshop was highlighted as being particularly strong with a rather oppressive feel. This was picked up by the majority of sensitive's although no physical evidence was obtained.

It was during this period that Steve captured a strange light anomaly with his digital camera that appeared on two separate photos taken at 40 second intervals.

           
These pictures are discussed further on the evidence page for this case.

With everything set up and an initial walkabout in the main area of investigation completed, it was decided to ensure a sterile environment was maintained during those hours where reported activity is said to occur. This would eliminate dust and debris being kicked up by people walking around and eliminate any interference with the evp recordings.

After a coffee break in our favorite coffee room to date (the locations cafe/bar), we headed down into the lower areas of the building, working our way to the rear.

                                        

We had conducted research prior to attending the site and working with our hosts had a good understanding as to which areas have been used for what purposes and identified the locations that activity had been reported. None of this information had been shared with Jill and as a result we focused our attention on what information Jill could come up with.

Our first location was the paint shop in lower section of the building. Jill had a strong sense of what the room had been used for and was supported by our research. It was while we were in this room that we were reminded of one of the key rules of investigating (Stay together). One of our hosts had gone on to the next room and was stood patiently in the dark waiting for the rest of us. After a few minutes of the main party investigating the paint room, one of the 'more experienced' members of the team moved towards the door that led to the next area. Upon taking a brief look through the window in the door saw a figure stood there, initially assuming it was a mannequin, upon looking closer however the mannequin suddenly grinned back at our 'experienced investigator' resulting in said investigator jumping out of their skin. much to the amusement of the rest of the party.

                   

One of the studios that's historical usage had been identified during our research didn't reveal anything of note. The attic area was another location that our hosts were keen for the NSPG to investigate. A number of people have experienced phenomena in this location. We were not disappointed with both Jill and other sensitive's able to pick up on an energy moving around the room. So active was this room that it prompted a return at the end of the evening and will hopefully be a focal point in future investigations.

The rear section of the building housed the larger areas, with two large halls that have had a number of uses during their life. Our first location was the lower hall and although on paper we expected to find plenty of evidence, on this occasion nothing was captured. Adjacent to this hall was a mysterious cupboard that appears to have been a staircase leading down, that had long been bricked up. With a strange metal door, we once again used this as an opportunity to see if Jill was able to pick up anything to support the limited research material we had managed to gather on this particular room.

                          

The cellar was our next port of call. Seen as a long shot at first, Jill picked up on a number things here. Including the beating of a young man with a vivid description of his clothing, a horse just outside the main cellar doors and the sense that people were brought to the cellar for periods of time before being released soon after. The later two items are backed up with research documentation and photos.

                                    

The Grand Hall is a spectacular room, flanked by two long corridors, a reception area, ticket office, bar, gallery and stage. Initially we rested for a while in the gallery area taking in our surroundings. Once again we had carried out extensive research for this area and were expecting big things. Jill once again came into her own here with 3 of the main reported haunting being identified. During a preliminary visit one area in particular had been identified as being active. However, following our investigation on this evening the symptoms experienced could at least partially be explained by a sloping floor causing disorientation.

                  

It was decided that we would call it a night for this investigation and we made our way back to the front of the building and the hub. While two of the team started packing up the equipment a smaller group took the opportunity to return to the attic. Once again they were able to pick up on an energy moving around and this time it corresponded with a cold spot also observed.

During the packing up process, a series of bangs were heard but couldn't be pinpointed. It appeared to be coming from the upper section of the building and resembled doors being slammed.

At the end of the night we all agreed we had had a rewarding experience. Jill had certainly come up with some very accurate information which as previously stated, made even the most skeptical of us sit up and take note.

Upon reviewing the data captured from the cameras and evp equipment we had captured a number of noises as well as a voice in the front studio, but nothing on the cameras of any note. All evidence is discussed on the evidence page.