Are these eerie figures two of the ghosts which haunt Chester's Stanley Palace?

Ghostly goings-on have been captured on camera at what is reputed to be the most haunted building in Chester.

Paranormal investigators and 15 members of the public went on the search for ghouls at Stanley Palace, on Watergate Street.

Eerie hooded figures on a staircase and the ghostly vision of a woman in a mirror were snapped during a five-hour vigil.

Guests also heard strange noises and saw eerie shadows, and claim to have communicated with spectres, including children and a man who worked with the sheriff of Chester.

Stanley Palace was built in 1591 by Peter Warburton and when he died in 1621 his daughter Elizabeth inherited the house with her husband Sir Thomas Stanley, who changed the name of the house to the one we know today.

Visitors to the Grade II listed building claim to have witnessed Lady Elizabeth walking through a wall, a man in Tudor clothing, a Second World War officer, a grey haired woman playing Brahms on the piano as well as three children playing on the staircase.

Paranormal investigators Alius Sanctus, a group headed up by Chris and Kev Wilson-Byrne, arrived in Chester armed with an array of ghosthunting equipment including K2 meters, temperature guns, sound enhancers, energy rods, motion sensors as well as a Ouija board.

Before the vigil eve gets under way, a guest claims to have heard a disembodied voice making a ‘shushing’ sound near the staircase.

Following a protection ritual, guests soon reported feeling ice cold and equipment revealed the temperature dropped from 20.57C to 16.8C which could indicate there was a presence.

Strange goings-on continued upstairs when a table began to rock from side to side – however, this could have been due to the uneven floor – while one woman also reported seeing a shadowy figure at the top of the stairs.

Chris claimed to be given the names ‘Florence’ and ‘Gordon’ and when guests asked if these were correct, they report that the table immediately began to shake and K2 meters flashed.

Downstairs, a Ouija board was set up and the glass began to move on its own and indicated there was a 49-year-old male ghost who claimed to be ‘idle’ and a ‘ladies man’.

When asked his name, the glass repeatedly moved to CV1 – however the meaning of this remains a mystery.

Equipment placed on a piano at the other end of the room was also set off and when the spirit was asked to flash the lights in different sequences for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ it responded while also giving the same answers on the Ouija board.

Loud bangs and what seemed to be the dragging of furniture was also heard, however everyone denied being the cause of the noise.

A ‘human pendulum’ experiment was conducted in the St Anne’s Room, which supposedly enables ghosts to communicate by causing a person to move back and forwards in response to yes or no questions that are asked.

When asked to pick a person the spirits wanted to communicate through, I was chosen and promptly blindfolded.

It was established that there was a 79-year-old religious man in the room, born in 1632, who worked with the 7th Earl of Derby, James Stanley, in the profession of law enforcement.

When the blindfold was removed I discovered that during the questioning I had rotated around in a circle and was facing the opposite direction to where I had started.

Some brave individuals attempted scrying with a mirror, where you look at your reflection and according to paranormal experts can see your face morph into someone else's or even show you events from another time.

Guests did not report seeing anything at the time but when Kelsie Maxwell went through photos on her phone she noticed a disturbing face growing out of her own.

While the team witnessed evidence that could point to paranormal activity, there are potentially logical explanations for some phenomena and some experiences could have been the mind playing tricks.

Although no absolute scientific proof of ghosts was gained, many of the events that took place are difficult to explain logically especially when witnessed by multiple people throughout the evening.

Story and source: Chester Chronical

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Terrifying noises and eerie shadows spook cameraman in abandoned hospital

A bloke, for some reason, decided to take a trip into an abandoned hospital and got the fright of his life.

As the unnamed man stands in one corridor, the doors to a lift begin to open and shut.

Some sort of malfunction prevents the doors opening fully – which creates a spine-tingling noise.

The sound echoes through the dark hallways as the camera pans around the hospital.

At one point, a creepy shadow can be seen in the doorway that could resemble a “ghost” of the patients that died there.

Throughout, the metallic clanging of the doors ring out.

As the clip ends, the cameraman’s heavy breathing can be heard – clearly spooked at the noises.

It is not known where the clip was filmed.

Viewers of the video – which was uploaded to YouTube by Chris Kernaghan last week (August 19) – were left trembling.

One wrote: “Almost gave me a heart attack.”

Story and source: Daily Star

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Mother spooked to capture 'one of clearest' paranormal pics EVER of ghost

Louise Murphy had taken her nine-year-old son Owen for a day out at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, when she began taking photos in the museum's Victorian-themed street.

Despite only Owen being near her when taking the picture, Mrs Murphy was shocked to discover the haunting image of a little girl with long brown hair, waving at the camera and wearing a floral dress.

Most eerily, her entire face is blanked out apart from what appears to be the hollow shape of a black eye looking directly at the camera.

The mother, who lives with boyfriend Ian Stott, claims Owen was also left unsettled by the image since he confirmed he was the only one present when she took the picture.

Mrs Murphy, from Carlisle, Cumbria, said: “It definitely looks like a young girl to me. Some people have said it is a little boy but it appears like it is wearing a dress with flowers on it. It has long brown curly hair too.

“In the pictures I took in the same spot before this one, you can see a mist forming at the bottom of the picture and then she appears. It was like she was forming in the mist, which makes me think it was maybe paranormal.

“I tried to think logically about it a first but couldn't come up with a way to rationalise it.

“Ian couldn't explain it either and he is sceptic. He is not 100 per cent sure what it could be either way but even he says it looks like a genuine apparition.

“You can never be 100 per cent on things like this but it's definitely not been tampered with.

“People have said that it could have been Photoshopped but there will always be people who think that.

“I would happily send the picture off for experts to check it to prove it has not been. I don't even know how to use Photoshop.

“It's one of the clearest pictures I have seen of the paranormal. I have never seen one like this before, not to this extent.“

Mrs Murphy, who worked in catering before taking maternity leave to have five-week-old Finley, captured the image on her Samsung Galaxy S5 phone on February 20 this year.

She said: “The transport museum has this Victorian-themed village and shops that you can walk through and I began taking a few pictures in the pub part of that. We didn't notice anything odd at the time. “I didn't really look at the pictures at all until I got home later and realised they looked quite strange.

“If I had seen [her in the picture] while I was there I would have more pictures to see if I could catch her again on camera. “People have told me it must just be a little girl stood in front of me but I would have seen her. There was definitely no one there.

“The only other person in the area around the bar was my son Owen who was in the two other pictures I took.

“Owen thinks it's a pretty weird photo and was quite shocked as he can verify that no girl was there at all.

“I have caught orbs in pictures before and I am quite into the paranormal but I never expected to catch something like this.

“I have been on ghost hunts but never seen anything like this. It seemed too good to be true.”

A spokesman for Glasgow Life and the museum said: “We're as intrigued as the lady who captured the image to discover more about any ghostly goings-on at Riverside.

“The picture was taken in the Mitre Bar, a well-known Glasgow premises that is more usually associated with a different type of spirit.

“It is located on one of Riverside's three recreated streets, spanning 1895 to 1980, where visitors love to meander along the cobbles.

“Some five million people have done so since it opened in 2011 and we're delighted to welcome this new guest to the museum.

“We're sure her presence is likely to intrigue others and look forward to welcoming them to Riverside soon.”

Story and source: The Express

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China's ghost weddings and why they can be deadly

Police in north-west China have charged a man with murdering two women with mental disabilities, alleging that he wanted to sell their corpses to be used in so-called "ghost weddings".

It has put a spotlight on the ancient shadowy ritual, still practised in certain parts of China, which aims to provide spouses for people who die unmarried.

According to police in Shaanxi province, the murder case dates back to April, when three men were detained after the body of a woman was found in their vehicle by traffic police.

Their investigation led them to uncover a grisly sequence of events in which the man, named only as Ma, allegedly promised the women he would find them grooms but instead killed them so he could sell their corpses.

What is a ghost wedding?

Believers in the custom, practised for some 3,000 years, say it ensures the unmarried dead are not alone in the afterlife.
Originally, the weddings were strictly for the dead - a ritual conducted by the living to wed two single deceased people - but in recent times some have involved one living person being married to a corpse.

In ghost marriages between two dead people, the "bride's" family demands a bride price and there is even a dowry, which includes jewellery, servants and a mansion - but all in the form of paper tributes.

Factors like age and family background are as essential as they are in more traditional weddings, so families hire feng shui masters to work as a match-maker.

The wedding ceremony will typically involve the funeral plaque of the bride and the groom and a banquet. The most important part is digging up the bones of the bride and putting them inside the groom's grave.

Is there a darker side to this tradition?

For years there has been evidence of this ritual mutating in certain parts of China. There have been cases where a living person has been "married" to a corpse in a secret ritual, but more alarmingly reports of grave robbery and even murder have also surfaced.

In 2015, it was reported that 14 female corpses were stolen in one village in Shanxi province. Villagers said tomb-raiders stole the bodies to make money.

According to Huang Jingchun, the head of the Chinese department at Shanghai University who carried out a field study on ghost weddings in Shanxi between 2008 and 2010, the price of a corpse or the bones of a young woman has risen sharply.
At the time of his research such remains would fetch around 30,000 to 50,000 yuan (£3,400 to £5,700; $4,500 to $7.500). He estimates the price these days could be up to 100,000 yuan. The sale of corpses was outlawed in 2006 but that hasn't stopped grave robbers.

A man arrested in Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolia last year told police officers that he murdered a woman so that he could make money by selling her body to a family looking for a ghost bride.
Why is this happening?

The reasons vary from place to place. In some districts of China, such as Shanxi where the latest murders are alleged, there are large numbers of young, unmarried men working in coal mining, where fatalities are high.

The ghost wedding serves as a form of emotional compensation for bereaved relatives, as finding a dead bride is something they can do for a son who died young while working to support the family.

But sex ratios are also significant. The 2014 census results show that about 115.9 boys were born for every 100 girls.
But Dr Huang believes there are also more fundamental cultural reasons.

Many Chinese people believe misfortune will be brought upon them if the dead's wishes have not been fulfilled. Hosting a ghost wedding is a means to pacify the dead.

"The basic ideology behind ghost weddings is that the deceased continue their lives in the afterlife," Dr Huang said. "So if someone didn't get married when they lived, they still need to be wedded after their death."

Does it happen in other places?

Most cases are found in northern and central China, areas such as Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces. But Szeto Fat-ching, a feng shui master in Hong Kong, also confirms the ancient form of the custom still exists among Chinese communities in South East Asia.

In Taiwan, if an unmarried woman passes away, her family may place red packets with cash, paper money, a lock of hair, a fingernail out in the open and wait for a man to pick them up. The first man to pick up the packets is chosen as the groom and it is believed to be bad luck if he refuses to marry the ghost bride.

The wedding rituals are similar, but unlike in mainland China, no bones are dug up. The groom is often allowed to marry a living woman later, but his dead wife should be revered as the primary wife.

Last year a video of a ghost wedding from Taichung in Taiwan, where a man apparently "married" his deceased girlfriend in an elaborate ceremony, went viral.

At the core of these rituals is the universal human dilemma of how to deal with bereavement.

"Such ghost weddings are very touching, showing the perseverance of love," Mr Szeto told the BBC.

Story and source: BBC

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Dad records 'ghost' in deserted playground

A man and his three kids were left shocked after a swing started moving erratically all on its own.
Scotty Denton had been taking his children to a playground in Warwick, Rhode Island last month when they discovered that one of the swings there had taken on a life of its own.

Despite the almost complete lack of wind and with the other swings barely moving at all, the large blue swing in the otherwise deserted playground was rocking erratically back and forth and side to side without any sign of slowing down.

"We're in the playground and the kids don't want to go anymore because look at this," said Denton. "This is real, look at this. There's nobody on it, there's no wind."

The video, which was originally posted on Facebook, has so far accumulated over 4.5 million views.

Could something paranormal be at work or is there a more rational explanation ? You decide.

Story and source: Unexplained Mysteries

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Unsuspecting family is 'photobombed by a ghost girl holding a teddy bear'

A family claim they were photobombed by the ghost of a small girl holding a teddy bear while they posed for a selfie in an empty cinema.

Mother-of-three Emma Johnson, 35, from Liverpool, waited for the room at the Light Cinema in nearby New Brighton to empty before taking a snap with George, six, Ava, eight and first-time cinema-goer seven-month-old Harper.

But when the family, who were watching new Disney Pixar film Finding Dory, looked at the photo after they returned home they discovered they were not alone - a spectral figure appeared to have joined them.

Carer Ms Johnson says she was forced to tell her children that the ghostly apparition was a marketing ploy to promote the new Ghostbusters film to stop them from being scared.

She shared the photograph, which was taken at 12.30pm last Tuesday, online  ad suggested the ghost could have been a girl who drowned near the coastal cinema in the past.

Ms Johnson said: 'I wanted to take a selfie because it was the first time that Harper had been to the cinema but I was really self-conscious so I made sure that the cinema was empty.

'I even bumped into a friend who was on the back row and she assured me that there was no one there when I spoke to her later.

'It was only when we got home and checked the photo that we saw the ghost and I could make out a little girl and a teddy next to her. I didn't even think that it was possible to have a teddy bear ghost.

'My family are normally all quite skeptical, but everyone was a bit shocked when they saw it and I'm quite interested to find out what it could be.

'But we've had to hide it from the kids in case they are scared so we have just told them that it is an advert for Ghostbusters but my eldest is starting to cotton on now.'

Ms Johnson admitted she was a ghost skeptic before she took the photograph but her close encounter with the spectre has prompted her to become intrigued by the paranormal.

But after sharing the photo, the mother-of-three said she was met with accusations that she had used digital software to edit the image.

But Ms Johnson maintains her first meeting with a ghost was the genuine article.

She said: 'As soon as I shared the picture, I got some people accusing me of using Photoshop or apps on my phone but I'm rubbish with technology so I wouldn't even know where to start.

'I just shared it online because I was trying to shed some light on who the ghost could have been.

'Because the cinema is right near the sea, I don't know if it is of a little girl who drowned or something like that, but no one has mentioned any incidents like that just yet.'

A spokesman for the Light Cinema declined to comment on the incident.

Story and source: Daily Mail

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'Poltergeist' baffles hardened Police Scotland officers after they witness paranormal activity including levitating dog

Police investigating reports of disturbances at a house were left stunned when they witnessed paranormal activity.

The officers witnessed clothes flying across a room, lights going off and when they went back on the lampshades were upside down and oven doors opening and closing.

Even a chihuahua dog which was playing in the garden was then discovered sitting on top of a seven-foot hedge.

The family who live at the property had called the police in a panic. They endured two days of the bizarre occurrences before moving out of the property in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire.

The situation has been discussed at high levels within Police Scotland, with senior officers perplexed as to how they best handle the incidents.

A police source said: “These were incidents that were witnessed by our own officers. Incidents that are not easily explained.

“One problem we’ve got is where we go from here as no crime has been established, so what else can we do but deal with any reports of disturbances.

“But officers with more than 20 years’ service are saying they’ve never seen anything like this. It really is something that down-to-earth police officers are having trouble getting their heads round.

“How do you handle what, despite us liking to use the word, has been described as a poltergeist.”

The family at the centre of the drama are devoutly Catholic and police did seek assistance from the church.

A priest has been to the house in Stonelaw Road and performed what has been described as a ‘blessing’ at the property.

The saga unfolded when the family, a woman and her son in his early teens, contacted police on Monday and Tuesday to report ‘disturbing incidents’ in her home.

The woman and the teenager, described as extremely distressed, had been experiencing violent and unexplained circumstances and in desperation contacted police.

A source said: “The officers attended expecting it to be a mental health issue but they witnessed the lights going off, clothes flying across the room and the dog sitting on top of the hedge.

“The officers called their superiors who also attended thinking the cops were perhaps being a bit silly but it’s being taken very seriously.

“The fact it was witnessed by our officers has lent itself to a very different but active inquiry.”

With no reasonable explanation for what they witnessed police, acting with the support of the family, contacted the Catholic Church who sent a priest to bless the house.

No-one has been harmed, though the family were given safety advice by baffled officers and chose to leave the house. They are understood to be living with relatives.

The source added: “The main concern is with the family’s welfare and well-being but with no crime committed and no culprit we are at a loss how to proceed with it. Inquiries are ongoing but it’s difficult to know where to go with it.”

Police are understood to be looking into the family’s background, and working with doctors and social services to provide support.

They are also thought to be checking the history of the property, to see if there been any reports of similar occurrences from previous residents.

Our source said all options were being considered by way of explaining the goings-on: “Is it some form of hoax, or is it real or not real? These are the questions being asked by officers but without coming to any conclusion.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “On 8 and 9 August police attended a house in Rutherglen to reports of a disturbance. No evidence of criminality was found and advice and guidance was given to the family.”

The Catholic Church was approached for comment but failed to respond.

Story and source: Daily Record

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Ghostly Footage Reveals ‘Spirits Of 7 Monks Who Perished In Barn Fire’

Spooky CCTV footage of a swirling mist reveals the awakened spirits of seven dead monks, a paranormal investigator has claimed.

Lee Roberts, 39, was watching the film while a group of ghosthunters held a vigil on Friday night at grade-II listed building The Village in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

The group used a Ouija board, and held hands, calling out for spirits to show themselves, but did not realise they had been enveloped by the mist until Roberts showed them the CCTV.

The father-of-four says he has been leading ghost hunts at the 19th century building for two years and has never seen the mists appear before.

He told the Huffington Post UK: “The Village was built in 1802 as a slaughter house and malt house, the malt house carried on till the 1970s when it was turned into a nightclub and then abandoned in 2001.

“Before this building was here a barn stood on farm land which had a secret tunnel to St. Peter’s church 500 yards away from the location. Monks at the church used the barn to hide in. The barn was eventually burnt to the ground with seven monks inside.”

Roberts, who has been investigating the paranormal for over 20 years, said: “I’m very scientifically minded and I’m usually able to explain nine out of 10 ‘ghost sightings’ or pictures I see through natural means, however I simply can’t explain this one.

“Some people are saying it is smoke or something from outside, however smoking and vaping is banned in the building so I know it wasn’t that and there are no windows down there so there was nothing coming in. Also, smoke doesn’t move like that – it was moving very oddly. Bizarre really.

“What is even stranger is that the vigil team did not see it while they were there, even when it was appearing on the CCTV.

“Some have claimed it could be an air phenomenon that the building has, however I have been investigating that place for two years and have never seen this before or since. It appeared moments after the vigil finished, came in waves for about an hour and then disappeared.

“Others have said it looks like spirits walking around or the first manifestations of something such as a ghost or poltergeist.

“I get sent a lot of footage that turns out to have a simple explanation but this is one of the first we have seen where we can’t explain it.

“It’s right there in front of your eyes, which is fantastic to capture. I was over the moon with the footage.

“To have this story of the seven monks and then this appear on camera, the two things together is really exciting.

“It was very, very eerie down there that night. People commented on it. It did feel like there were things around us watching.”

The group went into the area just through the door visible in the footage around 9.30pm, according to Roberts, and began holding hands and calling out to any spirits present to show themselves.

Roberts, who then saw the mist appear only minutes later, said: “When I showed the group the footage some of them were really freaked out and even refused to go back in there.

“Others thought it was really interesting and went into the room to see if they could see it, but despite it still appearing on the CCTV, there was nothing there.

“We are going to be investigating and watching the venue closely over the coming weeks but I don’t know if we’ll ever see it again.”

The venue is currently used as an activity centre for children and can also be booked for hen parties and stag dos, as well as being used by the Village Paranormal Events group.

Jo Phillips from Asylum666 Paranormal Events was one of those involved in the vigil when the mist was spotted.

The mum-of-two from Coventry said: “Quite a few of the ladies in our group felt very uneasy once inside the room. It was a little bit odd in there.

“I did not know the stories about the monks because I prefer not to know the history before we go into a place, however a few of us did report sensations of fire, including myself.

“We were just in the back of the room when the footage was taken but we did not see anything with the naked eye. We have never seen anything like this before.

“It’s the way the mist comes and then suddenly goes like that, which really makes you wonder what it could be.

“I don’t jump to any paranormal explanations as it is only mist, it’s not like we saw a ghost. However I just can’t think of a logical explanation for it.

“There was no foul play or trickery going on as we would have noticed and no one was smoking or vaping. There was nothing visible to the naked eye, which is very strange.”

Story and source: Huffington Post

Interesting but could this be easily explained?

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‘Ghost’ Of Woman Coal Sorter Pictured In Lady Victoria Pit Mine

A ghost hunter believes he has captured the spirit of a female coal sorter taking a nighttime walk through a former mine.

Jimmy Devlin, 44, says he came across the apparition during a paranormal investigation in April.

He took pictures of the eerie sight at Lady Victoria pit in Newtongrange, Midlothian, which is now home to Scotland’s National Mining Museum.

He said: “I have very rarely shared any of my work, more because of ridicule and cyber abuse from closed minded individuals.

“I do however feel I would like to share this image I captured whilst taking random shots before my investigation began.

“It was taken whilst standing on one of the high walkways that run over the old bogey tracks that surround the pit head.

“It appears to me, to be that of a woman, dressed in a long flowing skirt, blouse and possibly her hair tied up or wearing a headscarf.”

Indeed the museum’s website features recreations of women sorting coal in the mines wearing similar garb to that of the other-worldly spectre.

Devlin continued: “I have been visiting the mining museum for six or seven years for public events.

“But this was one I wanted to do privately. I went along with two or three friends who do this on a regular basis.

“But we split up and I was completely on my own when that happened. We keep in touch with walkie-talkies.

“This was a good capture. With the size of the place we have only really just scratched the surface.”

Devlin is already planning to go back to the site, which he says “never disappoints” when it comes to ghost hunting.

He said: “Some people find it scary, but it’s my kind of thing. I enjoy doing it. When you get stuff like that it actually keeps you going.

“As sometimes it can be quite frustrating, it’s like fishing sometimes.

“Although the mining museum never usually disappoints. Something tends to happen when we are there.

“I will be going back there for Halloween weekend.

“I have conducted many investigations there, but given its size I feel I have only scratched the surface.

“I’ve also held public paranormal events here, where members of the public get the chance to practice investigating with my equipment, and just as importantly using their senses in the dark.

“Two years ago I brought along (TV Psychic) Derek Acorah, he picked up on a washer-woman called Mary.

“She had been seen and heard previously in different parts of the museum, and this photograph further proves that this museum still has its visitors from the past.”

The mining museum’s marketing manager Gillian Rankin said the sighting was not a surprise “at all”, adding: “Quite a lot of our employees here have heard things and felt things.

“We do have ghost events here. For the family, and overnight events for the more experienced paranormal people. Jimmy comes with his full equipment.

“There are definitely ghosts in the museum. We have always heard footsteps and doors opening on their own. It’s quite scary, but very interesting. Well, it’s not scary really. It’s a friendly energy. No sinister feelings at all.

“It’s an old colliery so there is bound to be something there.

“We have two events at Halloween. A family ghost tour in the evening with ghost stories about the museum and the local area. As well as an overnight event.

“I would encourage people to come along.”

Story and source: Huffington Post

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