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Investigation Date: 27th October 2006

Investigators present: Drew Bartley, Darren Ritson, Fiona Vipond and Lee Stephenson

Called in to investigate the weird goings on the GHOST investigation team travelled to Rotherham spend time at The Thurcroft community hall. When we arrived we promptly carried out our preliminary baseline readings and prepare the building for the investigation to come. This baseline was rather odd as one or two anomalies were indeed picked up during the tests. Backstage, (a place where everyone agreed it had a certain feel to it) a cold draught was felt by all and upon tying to locate its source we came up with nothing. Then, it simply vanished! We left a flour tray experiment in this area. The Old Library too was of interest as when we had ventured in there earlier to take our readings, we recorded the temperature at a steady 19 degrees. We needed to return a few minutes later we found the room to be a lot colder than previously recorded. The temperature had dropped to 13 degrees. A 6-degree drop in only a minute or two! Trigger objects were left in this room too.

The rest of the baseline tests ran smoothly and nothing else odd was reported. We now had a basic reading of the premises for our records. During the baselines we also placed a trigger object in the projection suite on the second floor along with some motion sensors in the thin corridor that leads to the old office. Other motion sensors were place near the newer main entrance where an apparition of someone had been seen in the past. We split into groups and began the investigation. It was decided, as there were four team members and four guests on the investigation we should split into two groups of four, each containing two team members and two guests.

In group one there was Myself, Lee, Chris Wood, and Cheryl Booth and our first port of call was the area backstage. The temperature measured 17 degrees and no EMF anomalies were recorded. This area was absolutely pitch black and it took some time for our eyes to adjust. Lee, when filming with his night vision video camera caught an amazing show of the strangest light anomalies I have seen to date. The odd thing about these is when I ventured over to have a look through the viewfinder I asked them to stop and they did! When I asked for a sign for any potential spirits to show themselves in some way, the light anomalies began once more!

Cheryl then feels a cold breeze and she tells us she is beginning to feel rather apprehensive. Chris then claims to see an Orange light anomaly with his naked eye and he tells us it is coming up the corridor and is floating around at the top of the room. He starts to become agitated and then becomes all emotional. Chris, who is a big strapping fellow, then began to cry! Uncontrollably! It is something I have never seen before on an investigation. (Well, not with a 16 stone, big burly lad like him).

The thought crossed my mind that there is only three explanations to what was going on and that he was (a) getting carried away with the whole thing and imagined it all as no one else could see this orange orb that he claimed he could see. (b) He was making the whole thing up for whatever reason. Or (c) he was a lot more psychic and in tune with spirit a lot more than he gave himself credit for. I will go with the latter simply because when he told us where to point the video camera lo and behold we catch what looks like an orange light anomaly moving across the ceiling!

Although we could not see it with our naked eyes like Chris could, it verified to me something very odd was definitely going on. Chris goes on to say that his emotions were all to shot and he felt that he was “sad” and felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders and back. Was he sensing some sad, and tormented soul that for whatever reason still walks this area backstage? After all, we all felt this area had an eerie feel to it earlier on. It was an interesting first vigil.

Group two consisted of Drew, Fiona, Elaine and June and they were investigating The Bar room. A relatively quiet vigil was held in here with only one or two possible psychic or ghostly occurrences. The first was June and Elaine felt as though they were being moved, followed by a breeze across the room. No trace for the draught was found and I am told that June and Elaine suspects that this may have been the presence of a former friend who has passed into the next world. The other was a strobe of light being seen in the room followed by an unexplained banging noise. The whole group witnessed this and no explanation was found.

Location two and our group were due to investigate The Projection Suite on the second floor. A cold, dark and dusty environment, which was open to the elements due a broken window or two. We ventured up the flight of stairs, which, if had been any steeper would have been vertical, and entered the projection suite. If anything untoward happened in here getting out quickly would be rather hard indeed so care had to be taken to say the least. The trigger object we had placed here earlier on had not yet been moved and after trying some calling out, and spirit communication nothing much happened at all. However I got a bit of a fright when something prodded me and the lower back region while I was sitting on a chair. What it was for sure I cannot say.

Group two, in the meanwhile were investigating The kitchen area where a human figure had been seen on a number of occasions. An interesting vigil was documented in here with the sound of some unexplained knockings being heard by all. They started off quite faint and built up into a quite loud noise. They knocks also came on demand when the investigators and guests asked for them. However they were not recorded on tape. After a break, our group then investigated the bar area and group two investigated behind the stage. Not long after venturing into this location I hear the sound of what can only be described as a chair being scrapped and dragged across the main hall floor, which was only in the next room. On venturing in to see if anything was out of place we found nothing.

This, to me was quite interesting, as chairs have been known to be moved in this area and although nothing seemed to be out of place I did hear the sound of a chair being moved. I took my seat in the bar and sat in the darkness for a while. I call out to the atmosphere and take some digital still only to no avail. As I am sitting in the darkness the other three members of my group claim to hear a grunt or a moan coming from directly behind me however I hear absolutely nothing. The rest of the vigil was rather quiet.

The other group while backstage sat in silence for about 45 minutes waiting for something to happen. Just as they were about to leave the area The Lavatory (which is located in this area) flushed on it own! Something else which happens here quite a lot but we were not informed of this! Upon walking into the “Gents” it was reported that you could hear the cistern re-filling back up. The flush mechanism is the usual silver handle type, which of course needs to be pushed down hard in order to activate the flush. No one was in the lavatory at the time so it seemed this happening could well have had paranormal origin.

To end the night and the investigations it was decided that a séance should be held backstage in order to try and experience any more paranormal activity. It seemed that our first gut reactions to this area proved right and it was the most active area during the investigations. We took our chairs through, formed a circle and began the séance but not before setting up a host of video cameras on tripods to monitor the proceedings. The séance was lead by Fiona and it lasted about 30 minutes. During the proceedings one or two light anomalies were caught on tape and the usual array of feelings were reported. Feelings of being touched, draughts, coldness being felt but nothing that we could class as good objective evidence. However a sitter did report that she felt odd and said her arm went ice cold. My temperature gun registered a reading of 15 degrees on the cold arm and 27 degrees on the other! A difference of 12 degrees, which is extremely peculiar to say the least. Perhaps there was indeed a presence there with us. It did seem likely.

It was now 05.30am and we packed up our equipment, loaded up the car, and got ready to come home. When chatting in the office Drew asked me if I thought the venue was haunted. Although I was compelled to say yes (as I thought it may well be) I said that conclusions could not be made based upon one nights investigation. The testimony of all those who I had talked to seem credible enough and a lot of the data we accumulated on the investigation does indeed point to the direction of the building being haunted but more work there needs to be carried out. At this point we were invited to return to carry out more research and sometime in the future we will venture back to Rotherham in order to seek out the answers to some desperately asked questions.

Written by Darren W Ritson.

G.H.O.S.T