Southern Paranormal - About Us
Southern Paranormal UK was formed in January 2005 by Julie Harwood.
January 2006 saw the launch of our sister team in London & Essex . For 2 years the 2 teams operated separately however in July 2008 the teams decided to pull forces to expand Southern Paranormal UK across the whole of the South of England.
Our members come from various different professions and backgrounds. We have Sales Managers, Account Managers, Administrators, Policemen, Librarians, Museum curators, Students, Charity workers, Emergency Services workers, Civil Servants, Retail Managers etc. Our ages range from our youngest member who is 19 to members in there 40's, 50's and 60's. Every member has been security checked to give our hosts ultimate pease of mind. The one thing we do all have in common is the open-minded way we conduct our investigations. We do not sensationalise or dramatize anything and we always look for a possible explaination for events rather than simply deciding they must be paranormal.
As a group we hold an Annual Public Liability Insurance Policy for £1 million, however we do have the capability to raise this liability to £10 million if required.
We have been very lucky to investigate some of not only the South's most beautiful and historic sites, but other historic locations across England & Wales, some of which are mentioned below. To see the full list of places we have visited please see investigations section on our main page.
Halloween & Haunted Events
Over the years Southern Paranormal UK has run many events for locations across the country whether it be for the staff of a location or for the general public. Southern Paranormal UK make no money out of these events and in many cases the locations donate to charity any money they have made.
In 2005 we spent Halloween at the Grosvenor Hotel in Shaftesbury. We investigated this beautiful coaching house in June 2005 and they asked us to return to host their Halloween event, and of course we were delighted to accept. The night was a great success and comments can be seen from the hotel and the guests on our feedback page.
In November 2005 Southern Paranormal UK were invited by the National Trust and staff at Eastbury Manor House in Essex to help them run their "Haunted Eastbury Event". This was a great success and again comments from guests can be seen on our feedback page.
We first investigated Marwell Zoo's Great Hall in May 2005. Halloween 2006 was also spent at the Hall. We have investigated there many times since including a night held for the staff and have built up a special bond and trust with the management of Marwell. Halloween night 2010 will be spent back at the Zoo hosting their Haunted Marwell event for members of staff. It is somewhere we will never bore of visiting and members often refer to it as their second home!
Famous, Notorious and just plain scary Locations
November 2005 saw the team investigating the famous Jamaica Inn in Cornwall and on the following night we investigated Pengersick Castle. Ian Addicoat renowned paranormal author (who runs events at Pengersick) has kindly acted as a referee for the group and you can see his comments on our feedback page.
Wymering Manor believed to be the oldest and most haunted house in Portsmouth has played host to the team on 5 occasions now and we never leave disappointed. Alan Wymerings owner and also owner of Buckingham house in Portsmouth has been a friend to the team for years now and we thank him for always welcoming the team to his properties.
The Opera House now a trendy Boscombe nightclub but formerly a theatre played host to the team in 2006. The results we obtained from this investigation were so interesting that they have since been used by various local newspapers and radio stations.
Early in 2006 the Dorset & Hampshire team were contacted by The Daily Echo office staff in Blandford, Dorset. Having all had experiences of strange goings on at work, they invited us to visit and a small team investigated the offices and came away with some great experiences and results.
Belgrave Hall famous for capturing the CCTV footage of a "ghost" invited members from both teams to investigate this wonderful building. We may not have captured any footage as good as theirs but everyone had a wonderful night.
Coalhouse Fort is known throughout the country and to date is the only place to make vigil team leaders Julie & Kerry scream! After a fantastic visit in 2006 the team (glutton for punishment) have returned several times since and have built up an excellent working relationship with the Fort's team.
The Museum of Optometrists invited London & Essex members to take part in a unique and interesting daylight investigation of their premises in central London in October 2006. This was a special one off visit and we were very honoured to have been asked.
The Ram Inn a place known to everyone interested in the paranormal and somewhere the group has wanted to visit since its conception. In 2007 John Humphries welcomed members into his home and a great night was had by all.
In 2008 the management of Thorpe Park in Surrey and Blackgang Chine Theme park on the Isle of Wight invited to investigate. We are truly honoured to have been allowed access to these two wonderful theme parks and we realise how privileged we have been.
In Feb 2009 we re visited the Kings theatre in Southsea and obtained probably what is our most amazing footage to date of a man sat in the stalls. Later that year we were granted access to the Regents Centre in Christchurch where we spent a very interesting night providing (we think) unexpected surprises for 3 ladies that volunteered there. In 2010 we were very lucky to investigate the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth and had such a good night we returned in Jan 2011 (joined by some of the staff) to re investigate. We came away with some more interesting results and a new member!
In Feb 2011 the team celebrated their 6th birthday.
The team has some amazing locations lined up for the rest of 2011 and also 2012 so please keep an eye on us!
In the past 6 years Southern Paranormal UK has grown and developed more than we could have wished for, but just as we hoped it would. We have grown not only in numbers but in knowledge too. Even though some members have had experiences that have made them question their beliefs we still retain our open mindedness and questioning nature.
We have worked very hard to get where we are today. We have a very dedicated group of investigators but it is because of the support of the locations we have visited and the people that we have met along the way that we have been able to grow as much as we have and their support will always be appreciated.
Julie Harwood
SP UK Founder & Group Manager
March 2011