Thursday 9th November 2006
I was taking a party of about 30 people on a Ghost Tour when several events occurred which ostensibly appear fairly innocuous, but when coupled with reports from other people who were also there begin to appear quite extraordinary. I shall initially relate the facts and no more, and afterwards I shall relate conversations which I had with others after the tour, which collectively have begun to establish serious doubts in my non-belief of ghosts!
My element of the tour began normally at 7.45pm, and the first inkling of anything unusual occurred outside the dungeon at 8pm. When I had finished telling the guests that this was a depiction of what life might have been like for a villain, a lady mentioned that there was someone in the dungeon. I replied that I couldn’t see anyone, and she assured me that there was a spirit there and that he was a man dressed in a soldier’s uniform. I have been fairly sceptical about these things, and so I just said that I couldn’t see anything, and suggested that the party moved on. Of course everyone wanted to ‘see’ the figure in the dungeon after this, but no-one else did.
At about 8.15, I was in the King’s Entrance, and had begun to explain about the King’s visit which gave the room its name, when I heard a lady coughing repeatedly and loudly. After ten or fifteen seconds, I was relieved to see the door to the North Entrance open and the noise subside – she had clearly moved into the other room while she recovered her composure. (I did wonder whether she would be OK on her own, since I thought at that time that she was one of the guests). I then told the stories of the Green Lady, during which time, the person who had left the room had returned.
We then moved on to the North Entrance, the time being 8.20 and I commented on the fact that everyone was stood around the periphery of the room, and there was a large vacant space in the centre of the room. I explained that this has happened on other occasions this season, and speculated why before asking that people filled the space, which they did.
After about 2 minutes, I noticed a commotion by the table beyond the fireplace – a few people were helping someone who was apparently unwell. I stopped speaking whilst Ann (who was a guest that night) and the two torch bearers (Audrey and Kate) helped a lady who had apparently fainted. Someone switched on the lights, and after about a minute, the lady who was unwell had come round, and was being helped out of the room. After a couple of minutes, the lights were switched off once more, and after apologising for any distress anyone may have experienced, I continued the talk, taking the party outside soon afterwards.
On my way back from the East Wing at 8.40, I was surprised to see that the lady who was taken ill, her companion and Ann were looking to rejoin the tour once more, less than 15 minutes after the lady’s fainting episode. (I found this surprising, because, speaking as one who has had experience of fainting, after 15 minutes you usually are still quite unwell, with often a raging headache and feeling of nausea. I certainly wouldn’t want to rejoin a tour party so soon after fainting.)
Arriving in the Banqueting Hall slightly earlier than Jean (the chief guide), I had opportunity to talk to several people about the events of the past hour, and these are related below, accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Kate. Kate explained that she was the person who had been coughing violently in the King’s Entrance but she also reported that the coughing fit had started only after she had had a very strong sensation of being choked by something. Whilst she is asthmatic, she assured me that this was no asthma attack, and that something had constricted her breathing in such a way that when it stopped, she felt the urgent need to cough. Being unable to stop, she walked to the North Entrance to recover, which she did in about 2 minutes.
Audrey. Audrey admits to being able to ‘sense’ some supernatural things, and reported being aware of a shadowy figure in the King’s Entrance which was standing close beside her. She moved her head slightly to look, and noticed the figure move across to Kate who then began to cough uncontrollably. Audrey also helped the lady who fainted to recover consciousness by applying her reiki skills.
Lady who saw the Soldier figure in the dungeon. This lady explained that she was a medium, and can often sense the supernatural and did not appear at all surprised by the events of the evening. She admitted that often the lights flicker when she is around – her family joke about it with her!
This lady reported sensing a spirit in the King’s Entrance, and said that when Kate went out, the spirit slipped through the door with her. I asked whether it was the green lady, and she said she didn’t see a person as such, just sensed a shadowy figure slipping out with Kate. She further reported that the figure did not re-enter the room when Kate returned, and she therefore assumed that whatever it was, remained in the North Entrance until the party made its way in there a few moments later. She appeared sure (and unsurprised) that this spirit was what caused the other lady to faint.
When questioned about her ‘gift’, the lady was nonchalant, explaining that “you learn to keep your feet on the ground and understand that they live in their world and we live in ours.”
Lady who fainted. I understand that this lady had never fainted before, and could find no explanation for it on that night. When she came round she looked rather confused and rather embarrassed with the fuss. It was reported that she was sweating profusely when she left the room and when she was taken into the Smoking Room, she was still feeling very hot. However, within minutes of drinking a glass of water, she had turned very cold, and reported feeling a strange sensation in her hands, rather like pins & needles.
I also heard that she was wearing photo-chromic spectacles which had turned dark after the event. She certainly did appear to have on dark glasses when I first saw her as she regained consciousness, although I cannot verify what the spectacles looked like under ‘normal’ circumstances. After presenting over a dozen ghost tours and probably approaching 100 house tours, I have never felt as uneasy as I did after this evening. At the time, I didn’t really have any concerns, apart from the practical ones of keeping the party safe and giving them an interesting experience, but after hearing the various stories from the people involved my attitude changed. For the remainder of the evening, every time I thought of the events, I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I was very glad that I didn’t have to give another tour the following day.