Ghost Hunting News and Views

This Summer The Darkness will fall!! Are you ready?

2010-06-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Out of the Darkness and into the Light we are now heading into the light Nights of one amazing summer, we are offering the best alternative to the screaming kids and screaming men when it comes to the World Cup!!

Join our teams on some amazing GHOST HUNTS and Guided Tours, this year over the hot summer we will be road tripping to some of England’s most haunted locations and we will be taking you along for the joy ride, so if you fancy something different this summer then join us on a night you will never forget!

What we are doing this summer just for you!!

Bodmin Jail Launch Investigation – 14th August only £49.99
We are proud to now be in the Southwest of England with Heidi Lang as your host and medium
Join the Dark Heart Team on their amazing journey into the darkness of old Bodmin Jail for one night of full on paranormal investigation and mediumship

The Pirates Feast in aid of the RNLI – 14th August from £19.99 per bilge rat
Fancy been swept back in time to a land ravished by Pirates and Wenches?
Now you can. Join our Pirate Team on an amazing Night of Entertainment at The Marsden Grotto with a 3 course feast with plenty of swashbuckling action and fine dose of comedy

Medieval Castle Keep Ghost Hunt and Medieval Feast – 20th August ONLY £19.99 deposit
We return to our Medieval home The Castle Keep; join us in one of England’s most Haunted Castles and most brutal and violent prisons as we feast with fine cold food and spend time in a full investigation into the haunting of this old building, using the latest in ghost hunting technology we will hollow down deep into the bowls of this haunted Castle Keep! Are you brave enough to come along!!

Firefighters Convinced Mischievous Phantom Haunts Station

2010-06-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

At Butte County Fire Station 55 in Bangor, Cal Fire-Butte County Capt. Scott McLean looks inside the "volunteers room," where the ghost's activity tends to centerFirefighters are a pragmatic group who learn to assess a situation objectively and make reasoned decisions based on training and judgment.So discussions of the supernatural aren't usually part of their working world, except at Butte County Fire Station 55 in Bangor, California.Sitting on the northern edge of what was a Gold Rush boomtown, the Bangor Fire Station is an aged, decrepit combination of structures that over the years have been remodeled into a single facility.In the past, the county had to dispatch exterminators to the station to attack a rat population, but it wasn't rats that became a brief topic of conversation at a recent Butte County Board of Supervisors meeting.The Bangor station is No. 1 on the county's priority list for capital improvements. At the meeting, the supervisors were asked to approve $1.6 million to tear down and replace the station.

That's when Chico Supervisor Jane Dolan commented that the old station has floors that sag and other structural problems. She said the condition of the building and the passing wind were behind the tales of the ghost of Station 55.Chico Supervisor Maureen Kirk laughingly asked Rich Hall, county director of general services, if he could arrange an "exorcism" at the station."That is not included in the proposal," responded Hall with a smile.

The ghost appears to become upset when the door to one room in the Bangor fire station is closed. As this photo was being taken with slow shutter speed, the door began to close on its ownIn a later telephone interview, Hall explained, "It seems that the firemen up at the Bangor station have the idea that the residence that they are in now is occupied by the ghost."It was mentioned to me in a rather jovial way after some of the people came back from a meeting with the fire department about what we were going to do up there."Janet Upton is deputy director for communications at Cal Fire headquarters in Sacramento, but before taking that job she worked in Butte County for 22 years, and the Bangor ghost was something she heard about from almost her first day in the county.While the station is owned by the county, it is staffed under a contract with Cal Fire."It is just part of the Butte County Fire Department lore," said Upton."I think that Jane Dolan is on to something. It is an extremely old building that creaks and groans, and things go bump in the night fairly regularly," she continued.

While saying there are at least some entirely mundane explanations for the Bangor "haunting," she noted there are some perfectly "rational people" who are convinced this ghost is absolutely real.One of those is Cal Fire-Butte County Capt. Scott McLean. For nearly 10 years, Station 55 has been his working home. For him there is no debate or discussion: The station is haunted."Yes, there is a ghost. Many of us have dealt with it," said the captain in a matter-of-fact tone.

There isn't a hint of humor in McLean's voice when he makes the statement, and it isn't an "I believe" comment but a simple "I know" reality as far as the veteran firefighter is concerned."All of the people (at the station) have experienced it one time or another. It just happens. You just work with it," continued the captain.In years past, before McLean was assigned to 55 and when the engine stationed there was gasoline-powered, the ghost allegedly liked to pull the engine's ignition wires on a regular basis.The current diesel-powered fire engine hasn't been the target of any spectral pranks, but objects are moved, doors opened, and noises are heard.Even resident animals have had contact with the phantom, according to McLean."There used to be a station dog for a while that was freaked out.

Currently there is a station cat who doesn't care," he said.Except for an occasional fleeting shadow, nobody has actually seen the ghost and nobody knows whether it is male or female, an adult or a child.McLean called the resident specter more mischievous than malevolent, but one of its reported behaviors is disturbing.Firefighter Anthony Brown, who was assigned to Station 55 a year ago, was a mild believer when he arrived."When I first came here I told the ghost, 'I'm here to work. I've got no problems with you. I don't want you to have any with me. I'm only here for three days out of the week.' Yeah, I mean everything was good up until that morning," said Brown."That morning" came at 1:05 a.m. April 10 of this year.Brown recalls he had just rolled over in bed and, "I was pinned down." Brown said it "absolutely" felt like somebody was holding him down.Brown desperately tried to call out to his partner, who was sleeping in an adjacent bedroom, "but it was all pretty much mumbles.""Then I felt this blast of wind for 20 or 30 seconds, and then it passed. I was able to get up.

I sat up for a few minutes, gathered my thoughts and bearings, and turned on every light possible. "Brown said he was absolutely "wide awake" during the encounter. Since that morning Brown has become a devout believer as far as the Bangor ghost is concerned."Definitely! He let me know he does exist."McLean said he has had almost precisely the same experience that Brown described.The captain said there are firefighters who will not work at Station 55 or if they do, they sleep in their cars or don't sleep at all, opting to sit up and watch television all night.Brown has no problem sleeping at the station. He says, "I've come to accept it."The ghost's activity tends to center in a bedroom/storage room called the "volunteers room."The door to that room is never closed. McLean said when the door is closed, the ghost tends to become more aggressive.While he was taking photos in the room, Enterprise-Record head photographer Bill Husa watched as the door slowly and silently closed.

It was a windy day. Husa said he tested the door and found it would swing with the slightest touch.None of the firefighters has any real information on who the ghost might be. McLean said there is a rumor that the entity could have been a local mayor, sheriff or the madame who allegedly killed one of them, but that is nothing more than speculation.Even with the times when somebody gets pinned to the bed, McLean said, "I enjoy it," and he doesn't want the ghost dispossessed.He said when the station is torn down and the replacement erected, "I'm sure somehow I will figure out how to bring the ghost along (to the new facility) so everybody is happy."

Ghost Bus Comes to Newcastle!!

2010-06-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

Alone in the Dark Entertainment are proud to introduce our Newest Tour Dark Spirit Ghostly Bus Tour. We are now not only in Newcastle but Durham, Cornwall, York and most of the Northeast.

Join us on our small but yet haunted Ghost Bus Tour for 13 stops of terror along with a visit to a haunted pub and partake in a paranormal experiment and try and contact the dead, the very bus you will be in is said to have strange things inside and not just your guides!
It was a sad story of how one driver just gave up the “ghost” and died while driving all his passengers. !! Crazy!! She has now came back from the grave just for you!

We knew we had to have this demon bus and now you get the chance to venture out with Newcastle’s only Ghost Bus and D.S.I “Dark Spirit Investigation Team” as your hosts.

12 very unlucky victims will venture to places that not only look haunted but are! There you will stop and partake in Ghostly Terror along with ghostly tales of a dark horrid history. Eventually you will return to the land of the living as you visit one of Newcastle’s most haunted bars THEN your bus will stop at The Black Gate Poltergeist location where you will be led by foot through its dark arches to the sight of mass murder and terror, where you will be met by one of our Ghost hunters and there in the darkness you will try and communicate with the dead....

Find yourself been transported back into a world of the dead, unholy and the paranoid or paranormal...

Join our Dark Spirit Ghostly Bus Tour for some real screams or as we say, the screams on the bus go round and round!

Price: £15 per person, booking essential
Call to BOOK 0191 4400078

Tours last for approximately 2 hours and includes a visit to a Haunted pub for a drink and 1 FREE shot of our special Ghoul Juice!

Max of 12 spaces on this tour, there is a small amount of walking at the end of the bus tour. The tour will also stop where it can but in some cases this is not possible. You are guaranteed to stop at 3 locations on this tour

!!COMING TO DURHAM SOON!!

Ghost Hunting Tools that our customers use!!

2010-06-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

About the Tools you will be using

We pride our self’s on giving you more to do on an overnight ghost hunt than any other company.

This is what you will be able to use on the night and have access to as well as be using in team tasks.

Each member of the public get split into small teams of 4 -7 maximum, we will not have you in a team of 12 or more like most companies.

In your team you will have one member of Ghost Hunter Team UK, a fully trained paranormal investigator with a wealth of scientific and spiritual knowledge. You will also be given a team kit containing.

EMF meter: used in the paranormal field for the detection of electrical sources that can conserved as paranormal. This piece of kit will help you eliminate the man made source. Once this is done if the meter is changing singles and fluctuating as if something is moving around you then this could possibly be paranormal or unexplainable. As manmade electricity won’t get up and move around you, it can NOT do this. Whatever is moving around you may have free will and we will show you how to communicate with spirit using this tool effectively with outstanding results

Night Vision Camera: We use only the best ghost hunting gear on our events. No other company in the UK will allow such an expensive item into the public’s hands. But we do! This hand gun shaped night vision camera can change from day to night mode automatically. It will also take still photos in night vision with an LED screen so you can see everything, something that the human eye won’t! see this will. It can penetrate total darkens up to about 30ft. Any evidence recorded will; be sent to you via email. So make sure you leave you email on the night and see just what was captured on you night with us.

Dictaphone or EVP recorder: Each team will also get an EVP recorder and our lead technical investigator will have many other items that can be used alongside this device like enhanced hearing device, 'Raudive Diode AKA white noise device', or software packages back at our HUB of operations so you can hear what’s been caught. You will also have a list of EVP questions that are guaranteed to get some form of results on you investigation with us.

Infrared Gun Thermometer: This is a gun shaped device that will allow you to see the fluctuation in room temperature and with pin point accuracy it will find out if the temperature in locations is dropping or increasing letting you know if something has came into the location that could possibly be paranormal and crating a hot or cold spot. It’s also grate for eliminating drafts and explaining cold spots.

Angled Torch: This torch is designed by the military and used on missions by army personnel it comes with 3 different settings using high output LED lights that can change top RED for use with the night vision camera, green for a soft light and ideal for reading from the team tasks or writing you notes and blue to identify could liquids, like blood stains, spiritual residue or wet marks. It also has normal setting with bright white light and a safety clip that can be used to clip the torch to your clothing, leaving your hands free.

You will also have a spiritual kit. It’s a kit that is recognised in the use of communicating with the dead. Some items are deemed as witchcraft and some as divination tools.

Ouija Boards: Now this is an item that you do not have to use if you do not want to. You have an Ouija Board in each team that can be taken and used in any room; your team leader will talk you through opening and closing the board correctly. It can be used to gain information and names from the dead.

Pendulum Kit: The pendulums are hand made by Handcraft, for us and our overnight ghost hunts. The kit contains one pendulum and one pendulum board that allows you to determine the angle of which it is swinging and gain you answers along with directions of locations and determining murder sites and loads more.

Black Mirror: Often associated with Witchcraft as a mirror to consort with demons. This is untrue. The mirror is used to gaze into a darkness to ask question and it’s said that person using the mirror will see their face change into that of the dead person you’re communicating with or the ghost who haunts the location its used in, some people see shapes and letters numbers or images.

Dowsing Rods: These can be used to find locations or spots to where people have died. You can ask question and determine the answers by the rods crossing over each other. You team leader will show you how to use this effective tool.

Visit our overnight ghost hunts page to view more http://www.aloneinthedarkentertainment.com/castlekeepovernight.htm

Newcastle Ghost Walks!

2010-05-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well its raining the weather sucks but my guys are out in Newcastel city center tonight from 7pm and 8.30pm hosting one of Englands best Ghost Walks. You can check it out at our site www.aloneinthedarkentertainment.com

If you have any good ghost walk tales to tell then let us know, any ways i am in Newqauy Cornwall as i write this and i am off to the pub as the surf may be a hole lot better in the morning!

Is Your Home Haunted?

2010-05-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Now this is a question that many can ask but not many can answer. Well i have devised a way to help you find out if your home is haunted.

I have put 15 years worth of my knowledge into creating an investigation formatting system to help you with your questions.

I have lived in a home that was haunted but by what?
Why are the past occupants still in my home?
Did they die here?
How could I get them to leave?

These are just some of the question many people ask.
Do you have the answers!
Probably not.

You can search the internet and come across many ghost hunting groups and societies but sadly most are nothing more than imitation TV celebrities and people that have a just a general interest in the paranormal or as I call them hobbyist and house wife groups.

Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with these groups but if I was letting someone in my home that believed in “GHOSTS” then I would be cautious and also want someone with a great deal of knowledge and advice.

Well we can do that for you!
How?
Simple!!

We offer an easy downloadable pack and information so you can help investigate your home. No need to buy expensive books, or hire someone for £15 an hour when you can diagnose your problem yourself and it can be very rewarding and interesting.

Is it expensive? No its not we can email you the pack for only £2.99

It’s easy simple and can be a bit of an adventure! Click here to visit our website and buy our download or sign up for free and have a look at our ghost photos and check out our site at www.aloneinthedarkentertainment.com

Paranormal Events and Ghost Hunting

2010-05-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

The BPE Solution for investigation groups and the public

Alone in the Dark Entertainment want to help:
We are very much aware that the success of our public ghost hunt events is in some way having a detrimental impact on the serious paranormal investigation groups with the hire prices of locations rocketing and some groups who claimed to be research groups and who are selling tickets to the public for cut price events. These cowboy companies are damaging the locations and the reputation of research societies and public ghost hunt companies.

What we are doing to help:
In 2008 we met with the heads of many locations that are hired out to the public and offered them the BPE Solution.

To stop small research teams and societies been out priced so they could not afford to hire a location for research purposes.

To give 2 price’s for the location hire. One for research and one for Public ghost hunts
To help locations with the correct contracts between the clients and stop the groups from booking and not turning up and leaving companies with unwanted cost’s
To stop locations from claiming they are haunted or building a fake history around the location for sale’s.

To make sure each location makes sure the groups it allows to book are real groups and societies or Public entertainment groups with the right insurance, health and safety certificates
We are also looking into a way of making sure any group that is working with the public has the right licences for serving food with a food and hygiene certificate and that it is prepared by a qualified company.

We also want to see public entertainment groups with a full CRB check for their criminal back ground as some companies deal with the public, under 18’s and are trusted with your private details in historic locations.

To make sure each company and location adhere to the data protection act of 1998
To make sure the companies that are selling tickets for events and the people running them have the correct customer service skills.

To make sure that the team leaders for public groups have some form of training in the paranormal research field and can answer questions correctly about the scientific and the spiritual side of the paranormal.

The Board of Paranormal Entertainment and Research is a comity first set up in 2008 to regulate locations and groups. To stop fraudulent people from creating fake companies and selling tickets online or on ebay and disappearing with the public’s money.
Some research groups are also selling tickets to events and are not classing it as entertainment and by the new EU laws these companies must be classed as entertainment. The groups are still real researchers and investigation groups and do the same as a full investigation only difference is the public take part in the investigation.
Click here to read an interview about the BPE and its founder.
More About The BPE

Locations Available at a cut price for Research Groups
There are a number of locations available at a reduced price for research groups with the corect paper work.
Certificate of Insurance and liability
Form of group ID or investigation ID
Some form of reference from a reliable source with contact info
There will also be a contract created between the location and the research team
You must also pay a deposit for the hire of location and the rest of the hire charge on the night.
Call one of our team on 0191 4400078 for more info on locations and pricing or to find our more

What the BPE do and why?
The BPE is a board of members who govern the paranormal entertainment and research field to protect the public from fraud. We require standards in the entertainment field such as health and safety, customer care and satisfaction, value for money and to stop the falls sales of fake events and to make sure the locations used in paranormal entertainment nights are registered as a location with unexplainable activity and have the required insurances along with Heath and Safety. There for stopping fraudulent companies, mediums, fakers and unregistered companies from advertising and clamming to have haunted or paranormal activity accruing in its location for the gain of money.

Any company or research group that wants to sell tickets to the public or its members must be registered with the BPE and have the correct protocol in place and full trained and vetted staff.

These types of company’s must have in place:
Full public liability insurance of a minimum of £5.000.000
2 people appointed first ad
Full health and safety certificate and at least person in the team and at the event must be fully trained in health and safety and carry the correct badges during the event
Any company offering or selling hot or cold food must have a Food and Hygiene certificate; if the food is prepped or purchased from a supplier then they must have the correct health and safety, food and hygiene certificates along with person serving food.
Any team members or staff at an event who is hander ling, transporting, and or serving food should also have a Food and Hygiene certificate.
Any company trading in or giving away alcohol must have the correct licensing from that towns council (see local council site for more info)
Any company trading in or giving away hot or cold food must have the correct licensing from that towns council (see local council site for more info)
All team members and helpers at an event who are dealing with or come in contact with the public should be CRB checked, they should also have proof of this in the form of a certificate
Any team member or person taking the general public into a supposed paranormally active location must have full paranormal training provided by a registered body like the BPE
Any direct company trading in the sale of tickets for an overnight ghost hunt or paranormal event must have in place a customer care support worker with full customer care training
Any company or team that take the public into a suggested haunted location should offer and have in place the correct guidance officer to help with the effects of the event, therefore if you are directly responsible for the public in such paranormal active locations then you are directly responsible for the correction of that persons mind and body and must offer a help line or support service after the event for 14 days there for.

To trade or sell tickets to an event with a spirit medium or physical medium involved in the night must by law be classed as a entertainment company and be fully registered and hold the stamp of the BPE to trade as a paranormal entertainment company.

The location used for a paranormal event must have in place:
There own building and content insurance and be directly responsible for the contents of the building, the location should also have all required public access insurances by law
The location should have the correct fire procedures displayed in the location and all fire exits must be free and unlocked by law at all times.

If the location allows foods to be served in the location, then the location should also have the correct Food and Hygiene certificate.

A full disability access statement made clear at the point of sale or agreement on the hire charge of the location with any company.

Any hidden charges must be declared at the point of hire of the location
Upon the hire of the location the entertainment company or the location, building or key holder for the event must have a contract in place for each event held in the location. To stop companies from booking and not turning up. Any company that is registered with the BPE who have booked a location for an event then have not turned up or given the required cancelation time of 24hrs will then be liable for the costing of the staff used on the night if there is no prior notice given to the location.

If the location key holder does not turn up on the night the same rule applies, but in this case the location registered with the BPE who is hosting the event in there building or location will be liable for all costing for the entire event, there must be a 24 hour notice give to any company or the person responsible for the booking of the event