RICHARD MOODY tells how buying a haunted pub released childhood memories of the paranormal and inspired him to start The Tamworth Ghost Hunters
It all started from when I was about 11 years old. I lived just outside the town centre and there was a short cut, into the town, that was called Church Walk. Church Walk was through the middle of a graveyard. During the day it was a pleasant walk but during the night there was no lighting.
It was during a walk through Church Walk at night where I first saw an unexplained figure standing by a grave. I couldn’t make out whether it was male or female but it was in the shape of a human and just seemed to float away and vanish.
Just outside the town, there was a castle on the hill called Gwrych Castle. One of my friends lived at the castle and we used to play a game called chicken. We would stand in the middle of the staircase, halfway up by a door, and make as much noise as we possibly could. Then a voice from inside the room would say “somebody shut those kids up” then we would see who was brave enough to go into the room as we knew there was nobody in there. We also saw a dog there on numerous occasions.
When I reached the age of about 15, it all seemed to stop. I would see bits and hear things but not a lot and I just carried on doing what 15 year old boys did.
In about 2004, myself and my partner decided to lease a pub. The first time I went into the pub, the feelings of when I was 11 came rushing back to me. The feeling of being watched, seeing shadows, things happening in the pub that I just could not explain. The jukebox would come on when it had been switched off, dirty glasses would be left on the bar at night, however, the next morning they would be washed and put put away, a little girl would call out my name and I would see the back of her just going into a room, doors would slam shut when there was no breeze, kitchen cupboards would be open, bed linen being pulled off staying guests.
One night, there was four of us watching the film “Evil Dead” and as one of our friends breathed out you could see their breath. She moved to another seat and we could all see her breath as she did so. I sat down where she was and you could not see mine. I was like a child in a candy shop living there.
Then, about four years ago, I decided to do it properly. My first piece of equipment I bought was a compass and a camera. Now I have numerous pieces of equipment, my favourite being the “ghost box/Franks box”. In 2011 i went to some woods, not far from where I live now, got halfway into the woods and realised I could not get a phone signal.
For safety reasons, I came out of the woods and decided to form “TTGH” – The Tamworth Ghost Hunters and enlisted James Lovett. We can call on 10 investigators at any time but we tend to just have three on any one investigation, however, we do invite people along free of charge.
