Guest writer DARREN SARSFIELD reveals the mysterious results of Manchester Paranormal’s recent investigation of haunted Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales…
Bodelwyddan Castle is a location with a deserved reputation for being very active in terms of the paranormal.
Many paranormal teams have investigated here and the castle has featured on TV programmes such as Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters International.
Situated in the beautiful countryside of North Wales, the Manchester Paranormal team has had some very interesting and thought-provoking nights exploring the many halls and rooms within its walls.
The castle was rebuilt in the 1830s and used as a home but the original castle on the site dates back to the 1460s.
During the first world war, the castle was used as a recuperation hospital for injured soldiers and the grounds for trench warfare training.
Team tests out Victorian paranormal investigation techniques
On our investigation the team decided that it would be interesting to use Victorian methods, such as glass divination, seances etc.
Myself and fellow team members Peter and Dave Sarsfield made our way to the castle’s Victorian snooker room.
The room had a doorway on either side of the table, one to the main hallway and the other to a main room.
The room, once the doors were shut, had a heavy air to it.
It was easy to imagine the gentlemen in their evening finery, smoking cigars with a glass of the finest, discussing business over a game of snooker while their wives retired to the drawing room.
Dave positioned himself on the floor at one end of the table, while myself and Peter stood at the side of the table with the hallway door facing us.
Once the light was turned off, the lack of any possible outside light source meant the room was pitch black and you could not see your own hand in front of you.
I asked if anyone was present with us and if so, could they come forward.
For a long period, the room remained quiet and we received no response.
Peter then said to myself that he was starting to feel apprehensive and that he felt that somebody was standing close to the left-hand side to him.
Haunted Bodelwyddan Castle’s atmosphere ‘heavy’
The atmosphere was certainly feeling heavy and although when investigating you must be careful that the surroundings do not influence your feelings, it did feel that someone had entered the room.
Peter has a good record of being aware of the atmosphere of a location changing before activity occurring.
Suddenly, all three of us heard a heavy, breathless sigh which was followed by the wall to our left being lit up by a bright light.
This lasted for about 20 seconds before the room returned to total darkness.
Unnerved and astonished, we left the room to gather our thoughts.
Nobody were using torches or cameras at this point and there was absolutely no light source being used, so what had lit up the wall? What made the activity even more compelling was that it happened immediately after Peter’s comment.
Myself and Peter met up with castle historian Rachel, who kindly agreed to join us down in the cellar area to conduct a vigil.
This area had a big reputation for paranormal activity and so, we decided that we would try a glass divination experiment.
This method divides the paranormal community; many investigators believe this is a great method for spirit communication. Scientists, however, will argue that the glass can be moved by involuntary muscle movement and sceptics believe that the glass, on occasions, is moved intentionally.
Myself and Peter do not typically use glass divination but as agreed for the investigation, we decided to try it.
We placed a glass on a small round table in the centre of the cellar and together with Rachel we sat down and gently placed our fingers onto the glass.
Despite asking numerous questions for a period of about 40 minutes, there was no activity.
This was about to change.
‘Ghost soldier’ reveals presence at castle
After asking if any soldiers were present, we all heard what sounded like feet shuffling and then the glass moved slightly.
I asked did you or are you serving your country in the First World War, we received no response.
I then asked did you serve in the Second World War, again no response.
Finally, I asked did you or do you serve your country in the Great War.
Suddenly the glass sped round the edge of the table in a circle, almost as if whoever was present was excited that we had used the term
Great War which is what a soldier would have known it as.
Although we asked more questions, we had no more movement from the glass.
Due to the people present, we believe we had communication with a soldier who may have been at the hospital set up at the castle during the Great War.
What makes the Paranormal such a wonderful subject is the many ways teams and investigators use such varied methods, in order to catch activity and the many different views from the true believers to the ardent sceptic.
Our investigation of Bodelwyddan Castle was one we will never forget and we look forward to returning there soon.
DARREN SARSFIELD is from Manchester Paranormal was formed in 2003 with the view to be a non profit paranormal investigation team. Darren says, “The group’s original members are still with the team together with new additions. We concentrate mostly on private investigations for people who need our help, these investigations are done in privacy and respect. The team has also investigated many of the UK’s most well known haunted locations. Paranormal groups have varying methods and approach to the subject which we respect. We like to try different methods depending on the location from using the teams medium to paranormal investigation equipment. Myself together with Peter and Dave Sarsfield formed Manchester Paranormal and I am very proud that the team have been together for this amount of time and still enjoy investigating.”
