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Southern Paranormal - Investigations

Moot Hall Investigation

Saturday 30th April 2011

Attending Investigators - Julie Harwood, Maria Street, Steve Boston, Amanda Horley, Abbie Holding, Rob Butler, Robin Turton, David Baxter & Paul Flexman.

Host - Clive

About Moot Hall

The Moot Hall was originally built to serve Elstow Abbey as a market house but is now a museum. It contains beautiful period furniture and has exhibits illustrating the life and traditions of 17th century England. It was made a permanent museum in 1951. The Green House (Moot Hall's former name) was also designed to serve as courtroom and was built in the late 15th century, possibly by the Elstow Abbey's then carpenter, William Arnold. 

About John Bunyan

John Bunyan was born in 1628 in Elstow, near Bedford. The family had lived in the area for generations. His grandfather was a peddler and his father a tinker, repairing and making pans and kettles, a trade that Bunyan himself followed.

One Sunday, after hearing a sermon on the evil of breaking the Sabbath, Bunyan was playing a game of tip-cat on the Elstow village green when he heard a voice within asking, "Wilt though leave thy sins, and go to heaven? Or have thy sins, and go to hell?" From that moment on, Bunyan's life was changed. He experienced conversion and joined the newly formed Bedford Meeting in 1653, worshipping in St John's Church. In 1672, after Bunyan's release from prison, the congregation bought a barn in an orchard in Mill Street, where the Church remains to this day, eventually taking on the name of Bunyan Meeting. It was also in 1672 that Bunyan began his work as a minister of this Church.

Bunyan, as a Puritan, believed in the right to draw faith directly from reading the Bible without the mediation of the Church. As such he would not conform to the Book of Common Prayer or attend Church of England services. Religion and politics were closely linked in the 17th century. Failure to conform to the Church of England, the national church, was considered a political act, and those who dissented were suspected of plotting to overthrow the monarchy. As a result, Bunyan spent two periods of time in prison, the first of 12 years and the second of a few months.

We are grateful for this time in prison in Bedford, because it gave Bunyan time to write many books, including his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, which was published in 1666. In prison, Bunyan probably began to write his most celebrated work, The Pilgrim's Progress. This great Christian allegory, a first step in the development of the English novel, was published in 1678, became an immediate success, and has since sold millions of copies around the world, both in the original version and in its many translations. The second part of The Pilgrim's Progress, published in 1684, tells the story of Christian's wife Christiana's journey. Bunyan wrote some 60 books and pamphlets in all.

About Elstow Abbey

Elstow Abbey was founded in 1078 by the Countess Judith, niece of William the Conqueror. It became one of the richest of the 106 Benedictine nunneries existing at the time and in its hey-day, in the fourteenth century, the building was twice its present size. The end of the Abbey came in 1539, as part of the dissolution of the monasteries.

By the time of Elizabeth I, the church itself had been reduced to its present dimensions, becoming the parish church of the village. The six Norman arches that still remain from the original building remind us of the Abbey's long history of Christian worship.

John Bunyan was baptised in the abbey font in 1628 and as a child and young man he worshipped regularly in this abbey church.

The Investigation

Teams

Team 1
Julie
Steve
Paul
Abbie

Team 2
Maria
Amanda
Rob
Robin
David

Itinerary

8.45pm Team meet outside Moot Hall
 9.00pm Meet host Clive and settle in team room
 9.15pm Brief tour of location
 9.45pm Equipment set up
10.30pm Vigil 1
11.30pm break
11.45pm Vigil 2
12.45am break
 1.15am Vigil 3
 2.15am pack up
 2.30am De brief with Clive so we can let him know of any results we had. He
can then let us know if any of it ties in with history or previous
experiences.

Personal Reports

TEAM 1

Julie Harwood

I arrived at the hall with Maria & Amanda after the pretty drive from our hotel through the Bedfordshire villages into Elstow. When you see the hall it is hard not to be taken back by how "pretty" it is and also in lovely surroundings. After meeting Clive, who was an especially friendly & welcoming host, we had a quick tour of the building before starting the set up. As the Hall was just 2 rooms down and 1 up it was nice that set up was so quick and we were able to start a little earlier than expected.

I was in a team with Steve, Abbie & Paul and we started our investigation on the upper floor. We settled down around the big table in the centre of the room. I sat one side, Paul stood to my left and Abbie & Steve sat opposite me. The ambient temperature was just over 20 and no abnormal EMF readings were noted. After calling out for a little while Abbie, Steve and Paul all reported the feeling that they were being watched. Abbie is usually sensitive but it was very unusual to hear Steve & Paul report feeling this way. I have to say I felt completely numb in this area. There were lots of noises in this room that we could easily explain as so much of the building is wood however some noises we could not readily explain and on a couple of occasions we were sure we heard noises from the stairs as if someone was coming up to us. We checked each time and were able to confirm that it was not the other team who were downstairs. We also heard someone clearing their throat and when we called to the other team they said it was not them. I have no idea where that came from as it was definitely coming from inside the building. Paul then moved to the far end of the table to the left of Steve. Abbie felt very uneasy where she was and decided to move. Just after she moved the dried flowers next to me on the table shook and in the dark as it was so close to me, this made me jump. Abbie did not think she had touched the table when she moved however when he got home Steve managed to review the dvr footage and the flowers moved at the exact time that Abbie sat down on the other side of Steve. Unfortunately the timing of this means we have to discount it as even if she had not touched the table, just general movement in this building could have jolted the table enough to shake the flowers. Abbie & Steve also reported feeling sick in this room and Abbie reported experiencing something touching her hair on a couple of occasions.

Our second vigil was downstairs and first of all we spent some time in the "A Bunyan Room". Paul & Steve sat on the chairs in front of the fireplace and Abbie and I sat on the bench facing them. This is a small room and there were no abnormal EMF readings recorded in here. We called out but did not seem to be getting any responses. On reviewing of the audio we took from this room we do appear to have caught what could be considered by some as a disembodied voice. The recording is very clear and was recorded just after I pointed out to my team that it was an odd name for a room - A Bunyan Room instead of The Bunyan Room. In my opinion when listening to the audio I hear "I heard".

We all were uneasy in this room and all of us kept looking out into the main exhibition room. It really felt like someone was keeping an eye on us. A couple of times Abbie and I heard a couple of noises from the exhibition hall and so after a short while we decided to move our vigil into there. Once in this room I have to say I was terrified. It sounds so ridiculous as upstairs I had felt very little even when the others in my team felt things but downstairs was a completely different kettle of fish for me. I have no idea was I was wary of as the room was dimly lit and I could see all around me however I spent the rest of the vigil either clinging on to Abbie (who also did not like the area) or standing abnormally close to Steve or Paul (whoever was nearest at the time – Sorry guys). Steve and Paul called out in this room but no responses were noted. I don't think I spoke for the majority of the vigil and just stood still, looking at the floor. It was a very odd experience indeed. I felt I could not look up!

For our third vigil we all pulled forces as there was only 9 of us and we all settled on the ground floor. The women in the team went in to the Bunyan room and the men went in to the main exhibition hall. While in the Bunyan room all we could do was nervously look out in to the corridor so we decided to face our fears and go and sit in the corridor. Amanda sat on the stairs but had to move after a short while as she felt so uneasy and we did hear what sounded like a footstep at the top of the stairs. Abbie also hated this area. Noises were coming from the upstairs of the building and so we asked Paul & Robin to sit up there for a while and the noises stopped when they were up there. Now I don't know much about buildings but I would suspect that if wood is creaking etc then human weight on it may stop it or change this in some way. Paul & Robin came down and Maria and I went up there. When we were up there Maria got a nursery rhyme in her mind and suddenly out of nowhere I imagined the area full of children. From this I guessed that at some time it may have been a school which at the end of the night Clive confirmed. The rest of the group joined us and we all sat together. I have to say from this moment on we all got a fit of the giggles. We just could not be serious. I have no idea whether this was tiredness or we were picking up on the behaviour of children. I think it was up here that we all heard the sound of something metallic being dropped on the floor downstairs but sadly I don't remember if it was then or earlier in the evening, sorry. Oddly enough as we were packing up David was on the hunt for his Dictaphone which had seemingly just disappeared from where he had left it. We all checked our kit and searched the building. While we debriefed with Clive, David continued to search with Paul & Robin I believe and suddenly he found it somewhere they had all looked before and on the floor with the back off (was this the metallic sound we all heard?). This was very strange. On top of that there were now 5 recordings on it instead of the 1 David had done. I will be interested to hear what is on those recordings. David tried to play them back on the night however as he pressed play the dictaphone died!!

Maria, Amanda, Abbie & I waited and chatted with Clive while he checked everything and as he went in to the main exhibition hall he commented that it was odd that the big clock had stopped. Maria & Amanda were amused as on one of their vigils they had asked for that clock to be stopped. Clive (obviously knowledgeable about the clock) opened it up to confirm it had not stopped because it was over wound or under wound. It stopped at 2am. He restarted the clock with us there and confirmed later by email that the clock was still running with no apparent problems.

I had a great night at Moot Hall. Physical evidence was not thrown at us in abundance however I think everyone left that night thinking that not only did it have a lot more to offer but also that they would like to return.

We have our return visit booked and I look forward to it! Thank you again Clive, see you again soon.

Steve Boston

Forward
On arriving in Elstow a little early with Paul and David we had a good walk around the location and the village as well as the nearby church that was once an Abbey. It was clear that this was a very old part of Bedford steeped in history. Moot Hall itself, although one of the smaller locations I have been to, was with no doubt one of the older locations I have visited. Parts of the hall dated back to the 15th Century and thanks to renovations and constant upkeep by the local authority it is still in fantastic condition and sits on the village green just as I would imagine it to have looked a few hundred years ago. On meeting our host I set about setting up two internal cameras covering the Bunyan Room downstairs and the Main Hall area on the 1st floor. Due to the adjacent Abbey and the history of the village green that the hall is situated on I also set up an external camera.
At approximately 2200 hours we split into two groups and began the investigation.

Vigil 1 – 1st Floor (2200 hours – 2300 approx)
We began our investigation on the 1st floor. The ambient temperature was 20.4ºC, a sweep with the K2 Meter proved there to be no natural EMF anywhere near where we were sat.
We began by taking a few photos and calling out. We got no direct responses but Paul, Abbie and I began to feel a little uneasy and we all had that feeling that someone was nearby, watching us. This is not something that I normally suffer with and I have only ever experienced this at a few locations.
On a number of occasions we thought we heard someone on the landing by the stairs and in the opposite side of the room by some furniture exhibits. Abby also felt like someone was touching her hair on more than one occasion.
We had no direct contact but both Abbie and I had a headachy sick feeling at very similar times. This could be down to the fact this is a very old building and the floors are not level. However, we were sat down in the centre of the room and it did not feel too uneven.
After an hour on the 1st floor the vigil drew to a close, we had no unusual temperature fluctuations. I have reviewed the audio and DVR video from this vigil and have picked up no physical evidence to produce.

Vigil 2 – A Bunyan Room & Ground Floor (2330 hours – 0030 hours approx)
We began our investigation of the ground floor in a section of the hall called A Bunyan room. This is a small section of the hall that is sectioned off as an exhibit to the writer John Bunyan who came from Elstow.
The ambient temperature was 23ºC with no natural EMF showing on the K2.
Once again we had no direct physical contact in this room, however again we all had the feeling of someone watching us and I kept feeling like someone was looking at us, not far away in the main hall exhibit area.
During my audio review I have picked up a strange whispering voice right at the start of the vigil, however I can't make out what its saying.
After a short time in this room we went through to the main hall area. The main hall again proved lacking on the physical evidence side but the uneasy feeling continued.
Toward the end of the vigil the strange uneasy feeling seemed to lift and the vigil drew to a close.

Vigil 3 – Group Vigil & 2nd Vigil of the 1st Floor. (0100 hours – 0215 approx)
After a break we began a group vigil, staying on the ground floor. To start, we noticed that the upper level was full of creaking and knocking sounds that we had not picked up on before. However due to the fact this was the first occasion that no one was on the upper level it was most likely to be natural settling sounds. Two team members then made their way to the 1st floor and the sounds stopped. I would put this down to weight displacement on the old flooring joists stopping the natural settling sounds of the building.
We ended the night on the 1st floor all sat around the main table. We had no physical evidence here and once again the atmosphere seemed to be lighter than at the very start of the evening.
At around 2.15 am we drew the investigation to a close and packed up.

Afterthought
Although Moot Hall lacked the physical evidence presented by other locations I think most team members had the feeling that something was there with us that evening. As I mentioned before this is not something I usually get.
I look forward to returning to Moot Hall and I am not alone in thinking this is a location that has a lot more to offer.

Abbie Holding

This location was spectacular and I don't believe I have ever been into a building like it, it was fantastic looking. As I entered the building I felt like my balance had been completely revoked, this may be in part down to the fact the floors where uneven.

Our first vigil was upstairs where I sat at a very large old table in the middle of the room. The room was quite noisy where the beams and the wood were settling, so it took a while for my hearing to adjust to the surroundings. It wasn't long before I started to catch shadows out of the corner of my eye, and as I sat there the name ‘Thomas' came into my head I wasn't sure if this was of any relevance to the building after all it is a very common first name and surname. After about 20 minutes I began to feel my hair being tugged from the top and I kept feeling as though I was being poked in the back. There were several footsteps heard coming from the top of the stair case, I felt that more appeared to happen when the men in the group where calling out. I felt throughout the vigil that I felt as though I was sat in court and there was lots of people gathered in the room.

Our second vigil was on the bottom floor in the museum and the kitchen room. The atmosphere was very different I felt very intimidated on this floor and couldn't really settle. There was a constant feeling of being watched and I felt ready to run at any moment. Whilst we were sat in the Kitchen room, the focus was on the office room behind us there were shuffling noises which made it sound as though there was someone in the hall, when we checked we couldn't find anything that was causing these noises. The name Thomas came into my head again, but it felt like a surname at the time and again I wasn't sure it was of any relevance.

We split up into male and female and did a vigil. We started off in the kitchen area, and I have to say the atmosphere felt different, I definitely felt more on edge. There was a sound like metal dropping to the floor, then distinct footsteps but there was nobody else downstairs. We moved into the office area and I couldn't settle I really didn't feel comfortable, wherever I sat I felt as though there was somebody stood next to me constantly.

For the last vigil we all went upstairs around the table, the atmosphere felt very playful and I kept feeling like I wanted to giggle and it felt as though I kept having my trouser leg tugged.

After the investigation we were briefed by the curator about previous experiences and it came to light that Thomas was a significant name to the building apparently a Thomas Cox had been related to the building in some way. The Building had also at one stage been used as a court and a school upstairs which could explain the playful atmosphere.
It was a fantastic experience and a privilege to investigate this building.

Paul Flexman

Vigil 1 – 1st Floor Main Hall
On entering the room we took baseline readings of temperature and humidity before sitting in near silence for a few minutes before Steve began calling out. All other members of Team 1 were seated on either side of the long table whilst I remained standing, in order to take temperature and humidity readings around the room with the handheld thermo-hygrometer. Within minutes of Steve calling out I felt, what I can only describe as, a child-sized hand holding onto my left wrist. I felt a distinctly cold area around my wrist at the time whereas my left hand and forearm were normal body temperature. I have, since returning home, asked my own children to hold my wrist and the only hand which is of comparable size is that of my 6 year old son.
For almost the entire duration of the vigil, Abbie and I were seeing small, stationary lights of various colours blinking on and off around the large window at the opposite end of the hall from the staircase. Some of the lights we could account for as there were trees outside which were swaying in the wind causing external light sources to be temporarily blocked with a certain degree of regularity. Some others, however, did not display any kind of rhythm and we cannot account for their source.
Julie and Abbie also had headaches coming and going whilst we were on the 1st floor and, on several occasions, they both had the sensation that someone was stood behind them. I was the only team member on my feet on all occasions and can state confidently that there was nobody behind them and that I was a good few feet away each time. I had also been informing them when stood, or passing, behind them. Steve also complained of feeling dizzy towards the end of this vigil.

Vigil 2 – Ground Floor (Bunyan Room, Entrance Lobby/Reception, Staircase & Shops
Our second vigil began in the Bunyan Room with Julie, Abbie & Steve sitting at the table facing the fireplace and I stood in front of the fireplace facing the doorway. I had a clear "line of sight" through the entrance lobby area and into the right hand side of the shops area of the ground floor. Again, baseline temperature and humidity readings were taken for both the room and the fireplace before the team sat in silence for a few moments to tune in to the natural sounds of the ground floor. The ground floor felt like it had a completely different atmosphere and this had all four of us on edge. Most of this particular vigil involved "chasing sounds" around the ground floor. Whilst we were in the shops area Julie & Abbie both became quite unnerved by something which they could not put their finger on. At this particular moment we were at the entrance end of the displays with Steve, Julie and Abbie watching down the left side of the central display cabinet and myself watching the right. Steve felt something touch his head whilst in the left area and I was watching what appeared to be a dark mass forming towards the rear of the right hand side. I cannot rule out the phenomenon of matrixing but, by the same token, the mass was not forming into a recognizable shape.

Vigil 3 – Whole Building
Both vigil teams joined together for this session. It was suggested that the women occupied the Bunyan Room and the men occupied the shops area. I joined the other male members of the group and we spread ourselves around this area and sat on the floor whilst the women called out in the Bunyan Room. After several minutes Julie, or Maria called through to ask if any of us were walking around to which we replied in the negative and confirmed to her that we were all sat on the stone floor. After another period of several more minutes Julie asked Robin and me to go upstairs to the 1st floor hall as the women could hear movement up there. We made our way upstairs and, after taking a few moments to tune in to the natural background sounds we both heard a loud exhalation from our immediate area. Several moments later we heard another. We were sat either side of the table facing each other and confirm that neither of us were the source of either sound. Julie and Maria then came up to swap places with us. We then split back into our teams with Team 1 occupying the 1st floor again. During the rest of this vigil Abbie said that she was being stroked, prodded and poked and she asked that I sit next to her on the bench. On a couple of occasions she asked if I had poked her left shoulder to which I replied that I hadn't as there was a gap of several inches between us. After the first time she had her shoulder prodded I made a point of watching her left shoulder and can confirm that there was no contact between myself, or any other object and Abbie's shoulder when it happened the second time.

Team 2 came up to join us for the rest of the vigil but very little else happened.

Summary of Moot Hall Investigation
All in all, Moot Hall provided an eventful night at a beautiful location that I hope we will return to investigate further. Perhaps we will be able to include the Abbey ruins next time as well.

Team 2

Maria Street

I had no idea what to expect from this investigation. All I knew was that Moot Hall was a picturesque building in Bedford! I travelled up with Amanda and as we were staying at the Travelodge along with Julie and Abbie, we arrived in good time to check in and get something to eat. We all met at the site at 8.30 and met our host, Clive. He very kindly conducted a walk round for us and I heard the names of Margaret and Marshall. I also got a sense of water and drowning from somewhere in the vicinity.

Vigil 1
After setting up our equipment, our vigils began. I was in Team 2 with Robin, Amanda, Rob and David. We started on the ground floor in the exhibition room. We settled down and called out. I could hear an Italian classical song in my head but have no idea what it means. I also had the word "doctor" in my head and a bit later on I had the impression of a small boy in this area. I also had the name of Peter or Peterson. It actually sounded stronger as ‘Peter's son'. Things were a little quiet in this area so Amanda and I decided to sit in the kitchen. Amanda picked up on a man who wanted to intimidate us. I felt he wanted to be called Sir and he was maybe a Country Squire. I had the names of James, Brian and Daisy in this area. Daisy is a diminutive of Margaret, so could this be the same person I had picked up on earlier? I also felt a connection to Spain in this room and felt very strongly that ‘covers had been moved back' (from the cot in the room)? A face appeared at the window at around 10.30 but we are fairly confident this was a dog walker who was probably more spooked than we were! David came to join us and Amanda felt the man had backed off so she went to join the others in the exhibition room. David and I remained and continued to call out but could get no response, so he also went to join the others. I asked him to ask Amanda to come back in to see if the man returned. I had the profession of Farmer in my head, but could get no more and there was no response to calling out.

Vigil 2
For our next vigil we went upstairs and sat round the very long table there. We conducted an EVP experiment with our group asking questions first. When we had finished, Julie called out for Team 1. Whilst she was asking her first question a couple of us heard a man's voice talking at the same time. I called down and asked her if any of the men in the group had been talking alongside her and she replied that she had been the only one speaking. This was definitely not a voice from outside. It was muffled, as if it was coming from downstairs. Unfortunately we couldn't hear what it was saying but I hope it comes up on the Dictaphone. I had the names of Amelia, Michael and, most unusually, Constantine upstairs and I could hear the song, ‘Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen' in my head. Whilst calling out we heard a knock and David and I heard a sigh between us. The KII meter also spiked a couple of times and when we asked for it to spike again we heard a very loud knock. I have to note here that the building was prone to the usual settling noises and cracks, but we are much attuned to these and this was a definite knock. Unfortunately it wasn't repeated.

Vigil 3
We swapped around a bit for our next vigil and Julie and Abbie joined Amanda and I for an all girl vigil in the kitchen whilst the boys stayed in the exhibition room. The kitchen was very quiet but we could all hear rustling coming from the shop just outside the kitchen door. We could all clearly see this area but there was nothing there we could attribute to the noises. We all decided to sit out there and see if they continued whilst we were there. Perversely, they continued above us, upstairs. We sent Paul and Robin up there whilst we remained in the shop. I had a song in my head but only knew the first line. Julie and Amanda recognised it as ‘Upon the roof'. Julie and I swapped places with Paul and Robin, and I had the nursery rhyme, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker' in my head and she had the impression of many children in the room but, despite calling out, all remained quiet upstairs.

Vigil 4
For the first part of vigil 4 our team stayed downstairs whilst Team 1 went upstairs. For the second half we joined them for a whole team vigil. However, all was quiet and the evening concluded with a debriefing, involving Clive, our host. It was extremely fascinating to hear a lot of what we had got had historical meaning and some that had also been experienced by another group. I would like to thank Clive very much for his time with this and for his open-mindedness. I know he is continuing in his research and it's great to get things verified like this.

Robin Turton

Vigil 1
We started the investigation in the display room, after sometime the team split so I stayed in the display room on my own. I sat on the floor at the back of the room facing the entrance door when just behind me by one of the doors I heard a loud noise which I can only described as a squelch. I can say the noise was in the room but what caused it I could find no rational explanation. I then joined some of the others in the kitchen but heard and felt nothing.

Vigil 2
We carried out our second vigil on the 1st floor. During the vigil we heard two loud thumps at the top of the stairs and a noise from the corner but couldn't determine what had caused the noise.

Vigil 3
The team split into two; male and female. The men carried out a vigil in the display room and the women investigated the kitchen and entrance hall so no one was up stairs. Julie asked me and Paul to sit upstairs as noises had been heard. Whilst we sat at the table we heard two loud thumps at the top of the stairs which could be interpreted as footsteps and I heard what I can only describe as an exhalation of breath just behind me, hard to explain when Paul was sitting opposite me at the long table and we were the only investigators upstairs unfortunately that was all that I heard or felt for the rest of the evening.

Moot Hall was a fantastic place that oozed history and it was a privilege to be able to investigate such an old building the only downside was the building was quite noisy with creaks and cracks and on the night of our investigation loud music from outside was intrusive at times, The hall was a place that I felt could give more and be very active so I am looking forward to the teams return visit.

Amanda Horley

This has to be one of the prettiest locations we have investigated, and quite strange in that the building looked much bigger on the outside than it seemed on the inside. We were only a small group, so split into two teams. My team consisted of Maria, Rob, Robin and David.

Our first vigil was on the ground floor and we started in the main exhibition hall. Since we had arrived I felt good about this room. The building felt very safe and protective in here. I was particularly drawn towards the wooden beams, although I don't know why. Although there were knocks and creaks, they seemed to be connected to the building settling after turning out the lights, and didn't feel like they could be put down to anything paranormal. After a time, Maria and I moved into the room set up like a kitchen on the other side of the reception area. This room felt a lot less comfortable, especially with just the two of us in there. It wasn't a nice atmosphere, unsettling and unpleasant. It felt like there was a male presence in there that wasn't happy with Maria and I being there. I got the impression he was from the era of either Charles I or Charles II and the name Edward seemed prominent. He seemed very confident of himself when it was just Maria and I in there, but when we asked David to join us, it felt a lot less intimidating in the kitchen. We did at one point see a face at the window, but it disappeared very quickly when we all looked at it, and was probably just a dog-walker wondering what the torches and camera flashes were all about. I went back into the exhibition hall, and positioned myself by one of the pillars. I felt the presence of a child called Sarah, who was 11 years old. She had shoulder length blonde hair and was hiding in the building. She felt safe there. Whilst I was picking this up, Rob asked where I was sitting, as he had seen someone look out from the left side of a board I was leaning up against. I can confirm that I remained on the right side of the board the whole time I sat there.

Our second vigil saw us upstairs in the upstairs room, and this again had a very different feel to it. It was quiet and calm, and very peaceful. For me, little happened up here, but I did get a strong impression of residual energy of a cobbler called Samuel from the era of mad King George (not sure what the dates are for this). There were a lot of knocks and bangs, but again they seemed to be linked to turning out the lights. There was however a large creak from a cupboard in the corner of the room that did seem odd and we couldn't explain. Also, the EMF meter spiked twice for no apparent reason.

For the third vigil, we mixed the teams up and the four girls went into the kitchen, whilst the men remained in the exhibition hall. It wasn't as unpleasant this time round, and I couldn't "see" the man this time. There seemed to be noises coming from the reception area and we moved out there. Initially I sat on the staircase, but now there seemed to be noises coming from upstairs, and I didn't feel comfortable where I was so moved. Abbie also seemed uncomfortable in this area. Because of the noises from upstairs, we asked Robin and Paul to go up there, and when they did, the noises seemed to cease.

After a time, we re-grouped upstairs and sat around the large central table. This time, I didn't sense anything up here.

We were incredibly lucky as once the investigation finished, Clive (who looked after the building) rejoined us and we went through some of the things we had picked up on, and he was able to tell us what other groups had experienced. This is something that we so rarely get a chance to do immediately after an investigation, and it was fascinating to discover that a lot of what we had experienced and picked up on had also come up on previous investigations. We were also able to leave Clive with some more research to do on the additional names that we had picked up.

This really was a lovely building to investigate, despite the unpleasant kitchen; I would love to go back again. Thanks have to go to Clive for making us feel so welcome, for trusting us enough to leave us with the building, and for rounding off the evening by telling us what the other groups had experienced.

Rob Butler

Fellow team members: Amanda, Robin, Maria.
On arrival at Moot hall I was taken aback by the shear age of it and how preserved it was for all those years old.
We set up all the equipment and trigger objects around the hall and began to investigate around 10pm after a quick tour of the museum.

VIGIL 1 GROUND FLOOR
We were down stairs in the lower floor all baseline tests were normal and all atmospheric and weather conditions were ok. We began calling out and nothing distinguishable could be heard, there was lots of creaking from the wood that was settling round the building as it had been a rather hot day.
There was no KII activation or anything that seemed paranormal.
Amanda and Maria went off to the Bunyan room along the corridor and Robin, David and I continued to call out but unfortunately nothing was heard. Amanda and Maria came back from the Bunyan room and Amanda came and sat behind a pillar just in front of me (10 feet away).
As one of the team was calling out I saw what appeared to be a small shadow peep out from the left hand side of the pillar where Amanda was sat (she was on the other side of pillar).
I checked with Amanda and she said she never moved (was later confirmed by the curator that apparitions of children had been seen, this was a lovely experience that could not be explained. The first vigil came to a close and we had a break.

VIGIL 2 FIRST FLOOR
We then headed up to the first floor to spend some more time calling out and seeing what results we got. For me personally this was a very quiet area that evening although other members had experiences that were quite interesting but nothing distinguishable. We tried glass work but sadly nothing happened. The second vigil came to an end and we stopped for a break.

VIGIL 3 GROUND FLOOR
We again began vigils in the lower ground floor were we started our first vigil although nothing occurred again for me in the main museum area I went off to the Bunyan room with Amanda and Maria. Maria and Amanda were having personal experiences in the room and I could feel the presence of what seemed like a very strict and stern person, Maria wanted to call him Sir and I had the impression he was a teacher.
He seemed to back off when I was in the room and not making the two ladies feel uncomfortable. We carried on calling out and although there were no taps or banging heard we could still sense the presence of a man. We stopped after an hour for last break everything was fine with no problems.

VIGIL 4 FIRST FLOOR GROUP SESSION
On our last vigil of the night we decided to go upstairs as a group and do some calling out and glass work. The glass did seem to flicker but nothing conclusive. We all began to start calling and nothing was picked up on the EVP although a member of another team did pick up a very good EVP recording. We continued our vigil and nothing extraordinary was experienced. We ended the vigil and sadly the night came to an end. It was a very interesting place some personal experiences and it was overall a good night for me. I would like to thank the Clive for letting us investigate the property and also for afterwards when he was able to piece together some of our experiences throughout the night to coincide with events that other people had witnessed thanks again.