Thursday May 3rd 2018 

I found myself recently 'tagged' in a picture on social media by a friend and asked what I made of the image....?  Not having been aware of the photograph previously, it was interesting to learn that a second, similar picture - obtained by a different person, not all that far from the first - had later been taken!

The first shot (above) was taken by a fisherman - Clive Lloyd - on the River Trent, in late July 2017.  The site in question was near Branston Golf Course, at Burton On Trent, Staffordshire. 

Clive was taking some pics for an angling site when he obtained two images.... the second of which seemed to contain what appeared to be a misty figure standing on the opposite bank?  His first shot - albeit a little 'fuzzy' - contained nothing of interest, it seems.....

Comments left on a media related site pertaining to the picture suggests that the 'figure' could perhaps be little more than the effect of rain falling past the camera lens..... an interesting theory, given the fact that a smaller, slim, light-coloured 'blob' can be seen directly above the 'figure' in the picture?

However - adding further intrigue to this matter - it transpires that a local man, John Anderson, was boating with his son some months later, when they spotted a 'white figure' again on the bank of the Trent near Burton!?  While Mr. Anderson maintained that he didn't believe in ghosts, he did seem perplexed by their sighting, saying:  " I don't really know what it looked like. It did look a bit like a person but it seemed to stand out more than a person would. It seemed as though it stood out a lot more in reality. It was all very bizarre..... Whatever it was seemed to appear and disappear too quickly to be a person, so I don't really know what it could have been.  I guess there are just some things out there that cannot be explained....."

Thursday May 3rd 2018

As regular visitors will know, we have - over the past few years - mentioned a number of ghost-related, regional publications on this page.... and this update brings yet another gem to add to any serious library on the paranormal!

'The Haunted History of Huntingdonshire' - written by Mark George Egerton - was released in October 2017 and, as far as we can ascertain, is the only publication to ever cover the fascinating ghostlore of this most historic county! 

The author himself is a very experienced paranormal investigator in his own right, with literally decades of extensive, first-hand research under his belt.  Having become interested in the subject of ghosts and haunting as a youth - following a strange encounter of his own - Marks early interest in the field was greatly encouraged and nurtured by his uncle, Trevor Kenward, who was a long standing member of 'The Ghost Club' (of Great Britain), which was established in 1862. 

Released in A4 size format, the book runs to a whopping 332 pages in length and contains over 300 illustrations!!  This impressive 108 thousand word volume has already received considerable praise from a number of sources, including the likes of Robert Snow, the former General Secretary of the aforementioned Ghost Club! 

For anyone wishing to learn more about the volume - including details on how to obtain a copy - please visit this page:  https://thhoh.weebly.com/

Thursday May 3rd 2018

As frequently occurs at any given point in time, I have recently been involved in looking into a number of different cases of haunting and generally 'strange' experiences from across the region.  So, in this most recent update, I thought I might briefly share 4 of the more interesting / intriguing cases from 2 separate sections of the West Midlands with visitors. 

Some years ago now, 4 teenagers were making their way home across the grounds of a certain, Midlands sports facility, situated next to a fairly ancient - and supposedly haunted - location.  It was a dark, icy-cold night and the complex was closed for the evening and - apart from the lads - completely empty.

As the group picked their way across the running track, they all saw - around 50 yards away - the figure of what appeared to be a man in the process of jogging around the circuit.....  All were taken aback, as there shouldn't have been anyone on the premises at that time... but, as they watched the solitary figure, they suddenly realised that what they were witnessing was totally 'unnatural'.......!!

Unfortunately, I've only been privy to the testimony of two of the lads present that night, but - both assure me - when they all happened to meet up again, some 20 years later, all agreed to what they had witnessed that night.....  One man described to me a running form that clearly appeared as if "the upper portion of the figure was some 6 or so feet 'in front of' the legs"..... while the other added:  "the legs of the figure concerned were moving at a 'much slower pace' than the figure was actually travelling..."!?!

As you may well imagine, considering 4 teenage lads were involved in the sighting.... all instantly took to their heels and fled the scene!!  As frequently happens in this kind of scenario, none said anything about their bizarre encounter again, until - as mentioned - they all met again!!  One of the witnesses said:  "Of course anyone else telling me that they have seen a ghost would be met with total scepticism!  However, I think that, if you're a logical person.... you just have to see one for yourself?  In our case, when 4 teenagers see the same thing, meet up years later and recount the same tale to the finest detail.... well, it certainly changes your view!!"

Another incident from the same town couldn't exactly be described as 'haunting activity', by any stretch of the imagination..... but the matter does entail the kind of 'encounter' that appears to constitute a considerable portion of random incidents that we'd probably regard as possibly 'paranormal' in nature? 

The experience concerned occurred only 2 or 3 years ago.....

The witness involved used to drink at a particular pub and he would habitually walk through a local graveyard as part of his journey home. On occasion, he says that - while there - he would visit the graves of loved ones that lay in the cemetery.

On the night of his experience - around midnight - he again followed this customary ritual.... but, unusually for him, found himself feeling somewhat uncomfortable this time. He readily admits that - on this occasion - he felt as if he could 'sense some sort of presence'......?! 

He then walked out of the churchyard and, as normal, made his way along a stretch of pavement bordered on one side by the metal fencing of a school.

There was no one around - the street was utterly deserted - but, as he walked along, 'something' began 'banging' on the railings at his side!? He stresses that he did not imagine this; it was loud, as if the railings were being physically struck with something!! He stopped and looked around but there was no-one there....   When he carried on again, the railings began 'banging' once more!!

Perplexed by his experience, he says that he later carried out a little research and found several websites that cautioned about visiting churchyards with strong thoughts of contacting the spirits of those you love, because this was potentially leaving you open to the attentions of 'malevolent forces'!? While a devout sceptic, the man could find no logical explanation for what happened..... and couldn't help but wonder whether some form of 'mischievous' poltergeist-like entity had possibly 'latched onto him' that night!? 

'Do ghosts exist?' the man had said to me in his parting comment,  'I simply do not know but now, because of my experience, I do not preclude the possibility......'

Our second case involving teenagers hails from a rural part of the Wolverhampton area and concerns two young men in the process of trudging along a quiet lane, back into the City, after missing the last bus home for the night....  It was a hot, Summer evening in the mid-70's - around 11.30pm to Midnight - and the lads involved were returning from a 'date'. 

As they reached the fairly isolate point in question, they noticed, some distance in front of them, what appeared to be a 'couple'.... walking along, arm-in-arm.... and heading in their direction.  Because of a lack of adequate lighting in the lane they said that only the 'female' of the couple really stood out... being what they took to be a young woman dressed in some form of white or light coloured costume.  Of her partner, all they could really see was a vague, dark outline?

Initially, they had thought nothing at all about the approaching figures; the lads were reasonably well known in the region concerned, so the only thing going through their minds at that point was the query as to whether they actually 'knew' the couple or not? 

The pairs drew nearer and nearer, and - just prior to the point where they were to meet - the lads 'parted' and 'made a gap between them', so that the approaching couple could pass through the middle.  As they did so, however, the approaching pair - at only around 10 feet distant - they completely vanished from sight!?!  All the lads could do in response was stare at each other in a dumbfounded, 'What the...!?!?' style manner!

Intriguingly - only some 4 years or so earlier - one of the young men concerned had been passing the exact, same spot - in a vehicle being driven by a work colleague - when the driver suddenly slammed the brakes on and shouted: 'Did you see that!?' The passenger admitted he hadn't seen a thing, as he'd been standing up in the cab of the vehicle, with his back against the windscreen at the time!  Thoroughly ruffled, he had asked what had been seen.... and his companion replying that what looked like a large, white dog had seemingly 'leaped out of the hedge' bordering the lane!?

They stayed and looked for the animal for a time, but nothing could be found!?

Both the above and this second - Wolverhampton-based - matter was recently reported to me as a consequence of my initially looking into an unrelated topic a couple or weeks ago.  In making an inquiry on behalf of another party, I ended up unearthing a small handful of seemingly unrelated sightings pertaining to roughly the same area....  As you can imagine, while this glut of 'fresh' cases wasn't what I was actually looking for in launching my primary query, it was - non-the-less - the sort of result that is absolute 'gold' to any ghost researcher in any given area!     

This case again involves a fairly-rural location and concerns a young lady who was in the process of driving along the trackway to a farm that was (at that point in time) being rented by her boyfriend and his brother.

It was a dark - but clear - Autumn evening in the late 1980's and, as the woman progressed along the driveway, she suddenly spotted a smallish, white bearded and black clad, elderly man in front of her vehicle.  The figure appeared to be around 60 years of age, slightly stooping from the waist, and was holding an old-fashioned lantern in front of him!  Despite the dark night, visibility was good in the car headlights and - besides that - the figure appeared to have a peculiar, white 'aura' around it..... very much like (*her description) "it had one of those soft, computer-graphics 'star-burst-filter' effects around him!?"  

She had slowed down upon seeing the form, getting to within 6 to 8 feet of the man.  Despite the secluded, unnatural, situation she admits that she didn't feel scared.  She had a distinct 'farmer-like' feeling about the form and feels as if he were somehow attempting to 'guide her' in some way?

As with many such incidents, she averted her gaze momentarily and, when she looked back, the man had gone!?  The edges of the car-wide trackway were approximately 2 to 3 ft in height and over grown with grass and weeds.  She looked as far as she could across the surrounding fields - and drove even slower - but there was no sign of him anywhere!?

Around 100 yards distant, in more recent years, a young couple were driving along in their car when what they described as a tall, white, blurred form shot across the road in front of the vehicle!!

Thursday May 3rd 2018

RIP Guy Lyon Playfair, who passed away on 8th April 2018, at the age of 83.