The Mitchel Memorial Theater

‘The Mitch’ is a funny looking building and is reminiscent of the old Pontins days with its porthole style windows and Formica tables. This little theatre was built on the foundations of the previouse building 'The Whitehouse' and was built as a fitting memorial to Reginald J Mitchell designer of the "Supermarine Spitfire, " fighter plane who sadly would never see his plane fly in combat, as he died of cancer in 1937 at the age of 42. It is the principle venue for amateur and youth theatre locally and was official opened in 1957 by Group-Captain Douglas Bader a Royal Air Force fighter ace who flew Spitfires in the Battle of Britain. The area was dominated from the early 17c by the pottery industry. The Mitch has had a history of paranormal phenomena, Employees have experienced many strange occurrences over the years.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Theater Auditorium;

• A man has been seen sitting in the middle section of the seats and standing by the safety curtain mechanism side of stage then vanishing as if walking through wall.
• A Little boy in shorts and clogs walking along the gantry above the stage, whistling.
• An employee felt as if she was being hurried through the tunnel at the back of the stage, almost pushed.
• Vanilla smells on stage.
• Children in casts have experienced brushing past someone that wasn’t there and having their hair touched whilst in the wings waiting to go on stage.

In other areas of the theatre there have been;

• Sour milk smells in Dressing Room 1.
• Several people have experienced different sensations in Dressing Room 4, i.e. being watched, hearing children singing, icy sensations even though heating was on, feeling they must leave as they were intruding, a horrible rotting smell.
• Pens and keys being moved on the desk in the office. The kettle turning itself on.
• a small lady wearing a black cloak with a cowl shaped hood was seen standing at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer.

Outside of the theatre a male was seen wearing a top hat and tails standing on the corner of the driveway by the lean-to. Oh and the famous photograph of the ghost!!!

CASE REPORT

Areas investigated

• Main Auditorium and Stage
• Dressing Rooms 1 and 4
• Theatre Office
• Workshop

Trigger objects:

• DR1 - magnetic letters,
• Dr4 - Old pennies
• Stage tunnel- toy car
  
  
  
  

Experiments:

• Suspended pendulum enclosed in a perspex box.

Evidence Collected

• Evp's

Team Experiences

• The Spirit of a little girl was sensed, Squeaking sounds emanated from the seated area, Mary Blackeman's seat had come down in the main Auditorium.
• 
  
• A Shadow was seen moving along on the gantry in the workshop, and tapping sound from the piping along the wall (this was not connected to any water/electrical supply)

CONCLUSION

All in all it was a very quiet (but a typical one)nights investigation. The staff and players of the theatre obviously feel there is something unusual happening in the theater. Activity is more prevalent when productions are in full flow. It was very strange that Mary's seat came down, and when investigated our team found that when we moved one of the seats downwards it made the 'squeaking' sound we heard earlier in the evening? DR4 which is one of the rooms that most people reported feeling 'frightened' in, had NO activity or experiences from our team. The room had been checked for EMF and hidden cables so there were no concealed wiring (except the plugs of course).

We recorded 2 EVPs, 1- feint whispers in the auditorium, 2 - a response to a question recorded in the corridor adjacent to DR4.

In conclusion at this point in time there was nothing that could not have been explained by natural means.

AND FINALLY there is the 'Ghost photograph' seen here on the right. Yes on first observation itDOES look like there is a face in the background, but on very close inspection it is just the patterns made from the background and doorway.

The theatre is undergoing major renovations over the next 2 years, so we shall be asking the staff to note down any further phenomena with a view to another investigation.

Dane Mill

Its been a difficult task uncovering the history of Dane Mill. Very little information exists. As you are aware Congleton itself was ‘Silk Mill Central’, having a large number of Mills in and around the town, so this may account for the lack of information available, there may have been just too many to document. The Mill dates from the early 19thc but two other mills were known as Dane Mill in this area, these were Slates Dane Mill, Dane Bridge Mill. These mills are thought to have been demolished between 1830 and 1845. Weirs were originaly installed to feed the water wheel for the mills textile production, but today, there remains no evidence of this. During WW2, Dutch troupes converted the mill to barracks for the American influx of troupes for their training.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

• A mans suicide, but where? There are two different versions of this story that exist of a male worker who hung himself around 50 years ago (early 1960’s). It has been reported that he took his own life: (i) By throwing himself into the lift shaft. (ii) In the Boiler house located in the central courtyard at the rear of the mill.(This was next to the chimney stack, now demolished).
  
• Children - A small shadow has been seen under a chair in the Dragoon office (Area 1 on plan). It is thought to be a small boy.
  
• The ghost of a young girl has been seen staring out of a window on the top floor of the corner edge of the building over looking the courtyard at the rear of the building.
  
• The ghost of a small boy has also been seen in the same area.
  
• A Ghostly Woman – A full body apparition has been seen sitting on a chair in the Dragoon office. She is dressed in a shawl and long skirt, and has also been seen walking down the top floor corridor.
  
• A Torso - The upper torso of a person has been seen descending the stairs at the rear of the building, but know one could tell if this was male or female.
  
• Dirty Harry? -Women (in particular) have felt the presence of a man following them whilst climbing the staircase leading from the entrance to the building. He not only follows them, but is quite partial to pinching their derière.

CASE REPORT: START 9PM FINISH 3.30AM

Reported activity

• A mans suicide
• The Ghost of a small boy
• Shadows
• A Ghostly Woman
• A Torso
• Dirty Harry?

Areas Investigated

1. Dragoon offices
2. Top floor lift area
3. Third floor corridore and lift area
4. Second floor stair case
5. Ground floor entrance and stair case

Evidence Collected

EVP,s
Anomolie on IR video camera

Personal Experiences

1: Beeping was heard from the voice recorder in office, a strong tingling sensation when stood in doorway connecting main office, buzzing/beeping 3 times but the source could not be located.

2: Music could be heard (although unrecognisable), cold spots, humming, a light banging, a shadow in the corridor, the movement sensor was triggered at the same time.

3: A glowing blue light on/by the stair case, music could be heard, feelings of unease, depression, heaviness, and a tightness around the throat, shortness of breath, A voice called out ‘Help Me’ and cold spots. (Photo 2)

4: Again yet more music could be heard, cold spots, two team members had a feeling of being followed up the stair case and could hear footsteps behind them.

5: More music, a clicking noise and a bump on the door could be clearly heard emanating from the
engineering room. (photo 3)

Conclusion

Having gone through all the evidence our team think that there is certainly a strong possibility that Dane Mill has paranormal activity. We had a great night’s investigation in a wonderful building and thanks to the inactivity of ’Harry’, all the ladies went home with their dignity left intact. On the night the sun had a sunspot emmerging form its surface, this could have had an effect on the earths geo-magnetic field. The space weather for that eve was quite active too.
A more extensive report has been issued to the team. We have suggested they keep a diary of any further experiences they have in the view to evaluating the paranormal phenomena further and performing a second vigil at a later date.

UPDATE 6TH JANUARY 2009
Dragoon staff have reported that 'Dirty Harry' is still up to his old trick following people up and down the staircase.

One team member went to open the door to the main office and felt something pass through her legs. All of teh Dragoon team were present when it happened, but none of them actually saw anything!

Morecambe Winter Gardens

The Winter Gardens has a wonderful history. Many famous Actors, Comedians (Laurel and Hardy) graced it stage. The theater fell into decline and finally closed its doors in 1977. Since the MOST HAUNTED visit the theatre has become very popular for Ghost Hunts and is bringing a regular revenue for the theatre restoration fund.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

• Phantom footsteps


• Knocks and bangs.
  
• Physical contact - people touched and pushed.
  
• Haunted staircase - the spirit of a woman who fell to her death after a row with her partner. Was she pushed?


• Poltergeist activity
  


• Singing ghost - woman's voice heard singing.
  
• Dog - heard growling.
  
• Apparitions - a male on the stage who does not like anyone else there.
• The office is haunted by the two men who designed the winter gardens .


• A young boy named Thomas who drowned.


• Two ladies, Mary and Elizabeth.

CASE REPORT: START 9AM-FINISH 4.30AM

Areas Investigated:

• The main auditorium


• The Circle.
  
• The Gods.


• Gents and Ladies Bar.


• The Stage and Access balconies.


• Dressing rooms.


• The Cellar.

Evidence Collected:

2 x EVP's
Orb

Personal Experinces:

At one point late into the morning I was last to descend the staircase leading from the Gods down to the Circle balcony. Half way down, there was a very loud bang. I actually thought something had fell out of my rucksack and turned to look, but all was clear. The whole of the stairs was checked and there we found nothing. The bang sounded like a very heavy object had dropped. All the group present tried in vane to re-create the sound but to no avail.

The group were all present when individual seats in the Gods came down of their own accord (I did check how easy this was to do manually and the seats were quite stiff to pull down). All the seats were checked before hand. This happened 3 times. Jacqui (please view her detailed report on her experience) had a very alarming experience in the cellar area. Before I give you an overview of this I would like to state that I have know Jacqui for 8 years now and can say that she is a very honest down to earth person, and I believe what happened to her to be genuine.

NOW down to details. Our group plus the medium were in the cellar (part of this is flooded). The story goes that it is believed that a previous TV programme who ventured into this area opened a portal which allowed all and sundry to enter into the space. An Entity was said to live in the cellar and trap unfortunate souls who pass through the portal.

A circle was formed which included Jacqui and the Medium, John. Those left stood close to them. People reported cold draughts (I have to say I thought they were coming form the open drains), swirling blue mists in the centre of the circle (I could not see this) and some felt they were aware of the Entity and of a spirit of a small child.

Jacqui started to shake uncontrollably and gripped the hands of her companions to such a degree that she was hurting them, she stared to sob. John came in and held Jaquie hands. He came to the conclusion that a spirit was seeking refuge in the circle and wanted to be released through Jacquie... which was done. At which point Jacqui collapsed, sobbing. She was then helped out of the cellar to recover.

The Circle reformed on John's request, where the said Entity spoke through him briefly and said "Get the fxxxk out" nothing else transpired and as the team was leaving the cellar, Gill took a little paddle through to the other flooded rooms much to some peoples dismay.... of course, nothing happened to her.

During the start of the session I could clearly hear what sounded like the tinkling of metal, this was recorded on the Digital Recorded. This sound stopped when Jacqui had supposedly released the spirit. There was also a strange sound of what sounded like a man wretching in the background.

Conclusions

A great place that I want the team to return to at some point. The night was extremely quiet for such a reportedly haunted location, and apart from the seats, the loud bang and Jack's ordeal nothing else happened.

Did Jacqui channel the spirit of a trapped boy? I can only say that I feel Jacquie may have! We can only go by our own experiences, and I trust her to be genuine.

The Star, Acton by Nantwich

The Star has a very colourful history attached to it. This Inn dates back to either the late 16th century or early 17th century. Its earlier name was The Stirrup Cup or House. I do have a list of some of the old landlords of The Star but not from its earlier name. This old coaching inn still has the mounting block outside and although it has been extended and altered over the years, it’s still true to a very fine country inn. It was reported that Lord Byron's head of command gathered here the evening before the legendary Battle of Nantwich.

REPORTED ACTIVITY: 2007

• Lady in white who walks through the original part of the bar.
• A sinister presence on the 2nd floor, dark shadows, doors opening on their own.
• a man died in the bar area.
• Male presence in the bar area (it is thought it is an old landlord).

2008

• Present landlord Jim, cellar light turned on when he was in the cellar, the door from the bar was locked and know one else was with him.
  
• Liz (Landlady) experienced 'something' pass
  behind her which blocked the bar light off.
  
• Gill (SA team member) took the following photo in the dining room when interviewing Jim. This was also very close to where Liz had her experience.


• June 1st - Jim reported that one of the pumps in the cellar had been turned off. He commented that he NEVER turns the pumps off at any time. On inspection by us the switch was not loose and could not have been accidentally knocked off.

CASE REPORT: START 1AM - FINISH 9.00AM

Areas Investigated::

The main bar area and the second floor accomodation.

Evidence collected:

• EVP's x 4
• Dark shadow which was experienced by all present.
• Partial manifestation of man leaning against the bar. He had a flat cap and white shirt on.
• Loud bang at bar area.
• Red streek of light which was witnessed by 2 people present.
• Knocks on request.
• Dowsing- Layline passes through the corner if the property, and possible portal/vortex.
• Cold spots (althought there was a skylight above us that could rule of this.
• Extensive 'spirit light' activity.

Conclusion:
Upper floor accommodation - During the early evening walk round, Steve and Jacquie reported that as soon as they turned into the corridor, there was a strong feeling of something/one in the corridor. When they dowsed the area, that feeling remained so we were certain we would see or hear something during our vigils.

Also on dowsing the upper floor, it revealed a lay line cutting across the corner of the property emitting from the far right room (front of property). And a high energy field was located close to the bathroom. When we moved upstairs for the later vigil, the corridor that had originally felt foreboding, now felt calm, and noting was recorded here.

Ground floor bar areas - The main bar felt peaceful and quiet. It was all together different when we moved to the adjacent front bar and rear room. Immediately, the room felt busy, like a party atmosphere, or as you would expect a busy bustling pub.

EVP’s were also recorded in here and all people reported a moving dark shadow that seamed to circle the table. Kath witnessed a partial apparition at the bar mainly head and shoulders of a man standing, leaning against the bar with a flat cap. moustache and white shirt.

Cold blasts were felt at the rear bar vigil but on inspection a skylight was located and so this could rule out the feeling of cold air.

We are certain the Star DOES have paranormal activity, and think a second visit would be worth while.

The Ye Olde Vaults, Nantwich

The SA team investigated The Ye Olde Vaults, Nantwich.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Main Bar

• a shadow in the window alcove (street side)

The Cellar

• electrical disturbances
• footsteps, banging and knocking
• tinckling of glasses
• physical experiences (touching, pushing)
• audibles
• switches being tuned off
• scratching and tapping.
  
  CASE REPORT: START 10.30PM - FINISH 3.00AM
  
  Areas Investigated
  

The cellar and the main bar.

Evidence collected:

• One good orb photo (see left)
  
• EVP


• Loud sounds of creaking in the main bar.

Conclusion
Is the Old Vaults haunted? The people who work there
think so, but the majority of the SA team did not find anything conclusive to support the eye witness accounts.

Crewe Heritage Centre

The museum is located at the rear of a the Tesco superstore, in the old LMS railway yard for Crewe Railway Station.

It was originally named 'The Railway Age' and on its initial opening was a great success for the town. Unfortunately the centre fell into decline until new management was installed in late November 2007.

The museum is now undergoing extensive renovations.

It has three signal boxes. The largest being the North Signal Box (see photo right).

The main exhibit of the museum is the BR Class 370 APT now undergoing restoration and upgrading. The main exhibition hall features many trains, carriages and exhibits, including the exhibition of a LNWR Travelling post office (TPO) coach and assorted Royal Mail Exhibits . The investigation was an initial recce for a possible future charity event.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Most activity was reported in the North Signal Box.

CASE REPORT: START 9PM - FINISH- 4PM

Areas investigated

The North Signal Box

• BR Class 370 APT train
• LNWR Travelling post office.
• Main exhibition area

Evidence collected

Activity in the lower section of the North signal box. The EMF meter was responding to questions.

• Spirit lights were reported.
• IR Video of Orbs in the Traveling Post Office.
• Feeling of the carriage moving from side to side.
• Footsteps and voices in the main exhibition hall.

Conclusion
Our team felt that there maybe 2 areas of paranormal interest. We agreed that another recce vigil should performed in order to substantiate a definite paranormal activity is present before giving the thumbs up for a charity event. All the incidents experienced could be rationalised.

The Leopard, Burslem

This was once known as The Savoy of the midlands. It is over 300 years old. The building started life about 1640 when some cottages were knocked together. Helen Wedgewood took the building over in 1740. She turned it into a hotel and public house. The pub was bought in 1872 by James Norris when the building was in decline. He renovated the building and an extension was added in the early `1900’s. Another 57 bedrooms were added, so that made 102 rooms over 6 floors.This ex Grand Hotel now has derelict rooms, 58 bedrooms have just been reopened after being sealed up between 1931 and the 1950’s. Tunnels have been found in the cellar.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

• Leigh is said to walk the cellars. She was the local witch.
• Mary, an owner from the mid 1800’s
• A mudered woman who had her throat cut by the tall gentleman.
• A sinister tall man with a goatie beard
• Drunken, ugly old woman in the cellars.
• A man named James walkes the building
• Children in the cellar.
• Poltergeist activity e..g. Bricks and glasses thrown at customers.
• Physical attack e.g. People have been held by their throats against walls.
• A pack with the devil.

CASE REPORT: START 9PM - FINISH 6AM

Areas investigated

• Main bar areas
• Outer extension now derelict.

Evidence collected

• Polterguise activity in dissused area.
• Audubles "I have done nothing"
• Orbs

Conclusion

This was an organised event. We deffinately felt that the location warranted another visit and that the location had paranormal activity.