PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
Totally Haunted believe there are three main types of paranormal activity.
Residual hauntings
A residual haunting is a moment from the past replaying itself. The spirits are unaware of the present and all the time that has passed them by. They are stuck in that moment to be played over and over again, unaware they have passed on. Some residual hauntings can happen on the anniversary of an event, perhaps the moment of death - some dying in such extreme or sudden circumstances that they are trapped. Others can happen randomly with no pattern to them. There are some that are a frequent occurrences and happen all the time.
There are also reports of people seeing spirits which appear to walk through walls. On further research it seemed that the wall may not there at the time of the spirit's life, but they continue on the path that they would have followed whilst still alive. Also there are people that have seen figures floating above floor level. This can sometimes be because the floor level would have changed since the time of the spirit's life.
Our experience of residual haunting came at Borley church in Essex. This was when we heard what sounded like rolling cartwheels coming down the lane. The sound came past us and then continued down the lane. We only heard the noise and there was nothing visible to us to have made the sound.
Poltergeist activity
Poltergeist is a German word made up from the words poltern and geist which means noisy ghost. Poltergeist activity can include objects being moved or thrown, knocking and banging sounds and also the feeling of being touched.
They have the ability to physically move or throw an object, sometimes with great force. Also having the ability to touch you, pull and push you which sometimes can turn into a physical attack. They can close doors and windows, move furniture and even switch lights on and off. Poltergeist activity can also be knocking and banging, making floors shake beneath your feet and walls vibrate.
Totally Haunted have visited several places with poltergeist activity. We have had small objects thrown at Sandhill Park also at Pevensey Castle, Waldour Castle, Cowdray Ruins and Houghton House. We have also felt like we have been touched at Sandhill Park and Racton Ruins. Other poltergeist activity we have experienced is doors and windows opening and closing at such places as West Raynham and Denbigh Asylum.
Intelligent hauntings
An intelligent haunting is where a spirit can interact with you and respond to questions asked. This can be in the form of tapping out responses or may be communicating using their voice to speak, or perhaps whistle. These types of spirits seem to be the ones who are trapped between now and the afterlife. Some knowing they are dead and what has happened to them but others not realising they have passed and are looking for help.
We have seen this kind of activity on a lot of our investigations. We have heard taps and knocking sounds at West Park Asylum, Denbigh Asylum, The Crown Hotel and Graylingwell Asylum. We have also experienced whistling at RAF West Raynham and St Johns Asylum. Voices have been heard at The Crown Hotel and Berry Pomeroy Castle, amongst other places.
Other activity
There are also times when the spirits seem to play with our electrical equipment. We have had instances of battery drain on camera equipment or the cameras refusing to work for a short time. We have had our two way radios go off by themselves, such as when we were at Leybourne Grange and Houghton House.
Whether this is classed as poltergeist activity or an intelligent haunting we still cannot decide. People say that the battery drain is attributed to the spirits using the energy of the batteries to help them communicate. It is also said that the spirit can affect the magnetic field around us, having an effect on our electrical equipment.
