Monday 1 August 2011

Edited Version of Main Website Update for June 2009.

Media Watch: As sometimes occurs, W.M.G.C. activities and investigations have attracted the attention of media related sources over recent months.....

On April 10th (09), the Newport Advertiser ran an article concerning our interest in ghost stories hailing from that particular region of Shropshire. On April 14th, the Shropshire Star picked up on the aforementioned article and ran a similar piece. On the same day, a group member was interviewed by BBC Radio Shropshire on the very same topic.

One of our most productive newspaper appeals to date began on April the 2nd, when the Walsall Advertiser ran an article seeking ghost stories associated with Barr Beacon in Great Barr. Our interest in the site concerned had, at that point, recently been aroused by a story concerning supposed 'phantom highwaymen' in the area.

Following the initial article, the Sutton Observer ran a piece on April the 7th, while the Advertiser featured a follow-up letter on the same date. Both newspapers subsequently carried further articles on the subject on the 15th and 17th of April, respectively.

Guest Investigation And Site Visit: On May the 4th, group members were invited to take part in an evenings investigation by our friends, the Black Country Paranormal Society. The focus of the visit was a particular area of the Black Country which has been the focus of many B.C.P.S. enquiries over a number of years.

In centuries gone by an infamous murder took place at the site, which - somewhat strangely - led to tales of the region being haunted not by the murder victim concerned, but by the murderer himself. Whatever the truth behind this part of the regions folklore, the locality involved would appear to be 'littered' with seemingly unconnected, potentially paranormal, lore...... Our thanks to Wayne and Heidi - and the B.C.P.S. members - for inviting us along on their investigation!!

Birmingham Investigation.

On Friday, May the 1st, W.M.G.C. members conducted an investigation at the premises of a major, financial company in Birmingham city centre.

Our attention was first drawn to this site by an email from a manager at the company, who told us that she had experienced a number of strange happenings there. Events seemed to begin in September 2008, when she apparently saw the figure of a man - peering at her from behind a concrete post - in the car par / sub-basement level of the building. Immediate investigation had revealed that there had been no one else in the area at the time and all 4 people present in the property - the manager, her grandson and 2 security officers - were accounted for.

Other members of staff have also reported a host of peculiar incidents. One entire section of the building in question is said to play host to virulent, poltergeist-like activity, while, in a ground floor rest room a woman reports having had a cup of coffee seemingly 'slapped out of her hand' by an invisible force. Not far from the site of this latter mentioned incident, a shadowy figure has regularly been seen walking the length of a reception area.

In other parts of the building, disembodied voices and a womans footsteps - the clear impression of high-heels on concrete - have been heard. In the sub-basement, the sound of classical music has been reported (seemingly tying in with an aspect of site history) and a decidedly 'nasty' feeling in a shower room detected by many....

Our most sincere thanks go out to 'Janet' for bringing this matter to our attention and kindly inviting us to take part in an investigation of this fabulous site......

Some Perplexing Footage.....?

During mid-May, the group received an interesting phonecall from staff at an educational centre in Walsall, telling of a peculiar happening from two days earlier.....

At approximately 7.40 am, two staff members had been standing in their main office area - looking at two clients on a security monitor - when they'd apparently witnessed a peculiar, 'smoke-like' effect pass a camera in another part of the building. As they watched, the effect concerned was repeated.... and one of the staff members ran up to the room involved to check no one was inside the room smoking. At the time of doing this, however, it was already known that - because of the time of the morning involved - the area concerned was locked and empty. Upon investigation, this was indeed found to be the case.

On the staff member returning to the office, the effect was seen to occur again... this time by more staff members who had now been alerted to what was happening. What is of considerable interest throughout this episode is the fact that the digital time counter on the bottom of the screen is allegedly seen to 'slow down' and, for a brief period at least, actually 'stop'......?

Within a day of the call, a W.M.G.C. member visited the property to interview witnesses and actually view a copy of the footage concerned. During this period, it was ascertained that, some 2 years earlier, a staff member had reported seeing a dark, shadowy figure in a ground floor corridor of the property. The figure was seen to be holding it's arms aloft - as in an act of surrender - prior to vanishing. Of interest to group members is the fact that the building in question appears to be situated in an area which seems particularly 'rife' with allegedly haunted properties.... many of which appear to contain stories of similar sightings, including 'shadowy', or 'insubstantial' figures.

Unfortunately, our visit itself turned out to be something of an anti-climax when it was discovered that the recorded footage could not be made to work for some reason. s

Midlands Investigation.

May the 15th saw W.M.G.C. members conducting an investigation at a 400 year old, three star hotel in the Midlands area. Our visit was organised by group associates, Debbie Green and Marianne Barker.

Both staff and guests at this popular, city centre hotel have reported a plethora of alleged, 'ghostly' happenings. The manager of the site concerned carries a considerable degree of 'healthy scepticism' when it comes to such matters. He has worked at the hotel for 10 years now, but has never experienced anything 'untoward' himself; however, the stories still persist.....

Some while ago, a former housekeeper at the site reported having seen the figure of a little girl - possibly 5 to 7 years old - on the back stairs of the building. When she was challenged by the staff member, the child is said to have cheekily put her finger to her lips - as in a 'shushing' motion - and then scuttled away, out of sight....

At another point, a cleaner, working in a bedroom in the oldest part of the building, claims to have seen the torso of a black (Afro / Carribbean) man floating towards her!! She is said to have left the hotel that day and never returned. In the same area, vacuum cleaners have been regularly switched off while in use and shoes have been witnessed flying through walls....

On the same floor as the above incidents, a guest is said to have found the contents of his suitcase mysteriously emptied onto the bedroom floor. A number of other guests using the same room - No. 104 - have all found themselves being locked out of the room (frequently naked!) during the night. Apparently, there was a death in this particular room around 6 years ago and, having spoken with people who knew him, the unfortunate gentleman concerned was said to have been 'something of a joker' in life!!

In recent times, a gentleman was said to have been involved in a paranormal related event being held in the city and stayed at the hotel. On taking a look around the property, he proclaimed that there was some form of spiritual 'vortex' in one of the cellar rooms. Strangely, many members of staff are said to be rather reticent to venture down there and a chef recently found the lights being switched off and something brushing past him in this area....

Group members would like to thank the hotel manager and staff for granting us permission to visit their lovely hotel....

School Investigation.

On Friday the 12th of June, group members conducted a follow-up investigation of a secondary school site - situated in the heart of the Midlands - which was first visited in March 2008. The event was organised by Steve 'Cuddly-Boy' Chew.

The site concerned is said to have a long-standing ghostly history, with such reported incidents as windows seemingly 'opening by themselves' at night; staff members being physically 'touched' by unseen forces and a pair of double doors on the buildings main corridor recorded on security footage as opening of their own volition, with - some have said - a 'female-shaped shadow' appearing on the corridor floor in the same sequence..... More recent events include footsteps being heard in unoccupied rooms above the school Library and a shadowy figure seen crossing a corridor near a stock cupboard.

Staff at the school have mounted an investigation of the premises themselves, but only report having heard 'noises' throughout the vigil.

During our recent visit, group members witnessed, at first hand, instances of the corridor, 'double-doors' opening slightly and audibly... seemingly of their own volition. However, on the instances concerned, all movement seemed quite naturally occurring, being a combination of drafts inside the building and the way in which the doors themselves are hung / balanced. Having said this - in comparison to the past, staff experiences - the movement of the doors on the night of the investigation was naturally occurring a maximum of 5 to 6 inches..... As a result, we cannot objectively draw accurate comparisons with the 'complete' opening of the doors, as reported at other times....

Towards the end of the visit, 4 group members experienced 'peculiar noises' simultaneously, in the same corridor. Two members were collecting trigger objects when they heard a muffled, high-pitched 'Woooo' type sound. At the same time, two other members were some 20 yards away, when they heard 'shush-type' noises. One heard the noise twice, while the other reports having caught the tail-end of a solitary sound...

As always, W.M.G.C. thanks go out to the school authorities for allowing us access to their property and to caretaker Brian for looking after us so well!!

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