A big thank you to all our ghost hunting customers who attended the incredible Castle Keep event in Newcastle for their input into a fantastic night. The creepy 900-year-old castle truly is the stuff of fairy tales and you almost expect to come face-to-face with a Rapunzal like character as you tread the many stone steps and the labyrinth of endless spooky corridors and chambers leading here and there.

As we sat in the Museum area chatting to the group at the start of the night one gentleman stated that he was open-minded to the possibility of the existence of ghosts but had never actually experienced anything for himself. A few minutes later he looked more than a little perplexed as he admitted seeing the figure of a woman walking through the area which no-one else seemed to spot. We were able to establish that there was nobody (of an earthly source) to account for the figure. Those of us who have witnessed similar phenomena during paranormal investigations could not resist a wry smile as the gentleman sat with a bewildered expression and struggled to find a rational explanation for what he had just observed.

During the vigils in the same area one group had clear rapping noises in response to questions directed to any spirit presences which was separate to the somewhat distracting loosely fitted window pane which rattled noisily in the wind. In the same area another group had fantastic results with the human pendulum and glass divination experiments and appeared to make contact with a Scottish warrior who claimed to have been captured on his return from an attack on York and imprisoned and murdered on the Castle site. The spirit revealed that he was hiding near the glass cabinet where he asserted the remains of his crossbow was on display. A few people were fascinated by what they maintained was a face visible in the adjacent cabinet.

During our ghost hunt we had been joined by two journalists from the north-east’s Sunday Sun who will writing up a feature on our event. Whilst in the museum and after appearing to make contact with a spirit named Elizabeth one of the journalists exclaimed that his hearing aid had been switched off without the usual warning beep. He replaced the batteries but it still refused to work and it was only when the team leader challenged the spirit and asked her to switch it back on that its operation was returned to normal. Was it nothing more than mere coincidence or one of the many fascinating examples whereby equipment is interfered with by spirits in supposedly haunted places?

In the creepy Mezzanine Chamber where many visitors report strong feelings of nausea and oppression one group experienced the unmistakable odour of fresh flowers which seemed totally at odds with the dark and dank surroundings. Our medium detected the spirit of a guard standing on the stairs and protecting the area from intruders. In one group three people separately claimed to feel the influence of spirit personalities affecting them - a phenomenon that mediums refer to as channelling.

The grim and foreboding Garrison room where huge numbers of people would once have been incarcerated proved a huge success for unexplained activity as the various groups experienced clear and powerful raps on the table in response to questions in addition to vigorous table movement itself. Movement and clicking noises were heard and many reported seeing shadows crossing the room. The nearby chapel also produced strong table movement in table tipping experiments and again people complained of being affected by unseen presences.

The Great Hall felt the least gloomy of all the areas of the castle although its construction appears almost identical to all the other parts of the building. Could it be that the one room which is known to have been used for banquets and parties in happier times during the castle’s menacing past is actually reflected in the detectable atmosphere hundreds of years later. In this area and the adjoining King’s Chamber torches were constantly switched on and off and for one group appeared to flicker on request. Another set had fantastic results with table tipping and one of the journalists became quite emotional which we were told was completely out of character for him.

Throughout the night people captured dozens of orbs on their digital cameras and one photograph in particular has totally dumbfounded us all after the image of what at first appears to be one of our ghost hunters was captured following the group up the stairs. On careful and lengthy reflection however we have no alternative but to conclude that we are completely at a loss as to the identity of this individual as it did not match the appearance in clothing or hair of any of our ghost hunters or the Ghost Night Events team. Seems its just one of the many amazing and strange mysteries which constantly appear to be thrown our way and which astonishingly seem to be increasing with each paranormal investigation we undertake. Fantastic!!