The Most Haunted team dives into the spine-chilling mysteries of Fitz Manor in Shropshire and discovers apparitions, mysterious noises and psychic insights, writes JOANNA HAGUE
Episode Title: Fitz Manor
Location: Montford Bridge, Shropshire
Series: 3 Episode Number: 7
Originally broadcast: 18 November 2003
Fitz Manor, Most Haunted Review
Yvette Fielding opens up the episode by introducing the beautiful Fitz Manor in Shropshire. The manor is originally a Saxon-built house, and it is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. The manor has its own church on the land, where it is believed that a priest was tortured and crucified in the manor itself. Dark figures can be seen, along with noises, and there are even hidden tunnels believed to go from the manor to a church and local manor house. The family that now owns the property has seen apparitions, heard noises, and believed they had seen the apparition of a priest.
Walking through the house, Yvette talks about the noises that can be heard, including sobs. The families’ dogs refuse to enter certain rooms and have been known to bark intensely while staring into the corners of the rooms. A Victorian lady has been seen in one of the rooms and has been witnessed 14 times in the last four years. The family has found a photo in the attic that resembles the woman. Cigar smoke can be smelled in one of the bedrooms when no one in the house smokes, but the family reports smelling it on a regular basis.
Phil Wyman explains that he has conducted the baseline tests while walking around, taken temperature readings in the rooms, and set up trigger objects and motion detectors in the more active rooms.
The crew began the investigation accompanied by psychic medium Derek Acorah. They begin on the stairs, where Derek picks up on the smell of smoke. He states that the spirit enjoyed smoking when he was alive, and he continues now, not caring who knows it or smells it in this case. Yvette leads him out of the room into the passageway.
Derek says that someone walks between the rooms, and the footsteps will be heard by people in the house. He picks up on a lady who is active in both the bedroom and the passageway and who is linked with the family that currently owns Fitz Manor. Derek gives a name, but as always, without a surname, it is very difficult to trace the person.
Down in the drawing room, Derek immediately picks up on the energy of a priest. He discusses that the priest was being hurt and that the people who took his life were very judgmental of him. Derek calls on his spirit guide Sam to find out further information about the priest. Sam tells Derek that the priest was crucified for his sexual orientation. He does clarify that the priest has moved on but has still come back for visitation.
Feeling brave, the team decided to venture out to the grounds and head to the graveyard on the property. Armed with night vision cameras, head off to where a Victorian lady has been seen walking. In true Most Haunted fashion, Yvette spooks herself out when she sees a tree looming in the distance.
Derek is drawn to an area where he says that there is the spirit of a little boy who wants him to go to an archway in the basement. Derek says that is where the hidden tunnels are, and that is where the boy lost his life in an accident. While in the graveyard, they all search for the name that Derek came up with in the room, but they do not find any with her name on it.
Down in the basement, Derek leads Yvette to the archway; he believes that the tunnels are behind. Yvette makes a note to ask the owners, if they do look behind, if they will let them know what they find. While explaining about the tunnels, Rick, one of the crew members, says that he is feeling sick while standing in the doorway for the tunnel.
When it is time for the crew to split off, we see groups in the drawing room where the priest died, down in the cellar, and off to one of the bedrooms. In the drawing room, everything is calm; no one feels any presence, and even the dogs are relaxed, sprawled on the floor, sleeping. The only interesting thing that happens in this room is that the owner sees a couple of fleeting flashing lights, but unfortunately, they are not captured on camera.
Rick and Yvette go back down to the cellar. Both of them start describing a funny smell; however, due to their being in a cellar, this might be nothing more than damp. They decide to venture further and sit on a bench. Yvette feels a vibration on the bench.
Just as she is talking to Rick, he says that the smell seems to be disappearing, but he feels pins and needles in his neck and back. Just as they are leaving the cellar, Rick catches something with his foot, and poor Yvette nearly hits the ceiling. They are both in fits of laughter as they leave until Rick sees something dart in front of them, and they both leave screaming.
Karl and Stuart head down into the cellar to see if they can experience anything. Dragging and shuffling noises can be heard, and then something that sounds like glass falls from somewhere. They both decide to sit in separate rooms to see if they can pick up on anything, but there doesn’t seem to be much happening until a possible orb goes across Stuart’s camera.
Yvette recaps other activities that the crew has experienced: Kath, the makeup lady, kept feeling like she was being watched, and Phil Wyman was having a problem with a door that kept moving and then got pulled out of his hand.
It was a great episode, with lots of things happening throughout the programme. Fitz Manor is a stunning location with beautiful gardens and lots of history.
Tell us your views of this Most Haunted episode, Fitz Manor, in the comments section below!
JOANNA HAGUE says: “I write fiction stories and in my spare time love ghost hunting: I have dabbled in the paranormal since I was a little girl. I currently live in Yorkshire. My latest book is on Amazon: Ashfield Asylum and Other Haunted Memories.”
