Spooks R Us

[loveapple]

This account of our haunted house was last edited in July but is way out of date as activity happens all the time. It gives you a flavour of what happens here. Sorry it is rather long! When moving to a new house you do not expect to employ an expert in the paranormal in addition to the surveyor and the solicitor. Maybe that is what we should have done before we moved into Penyffordd Farm, our haunted North Wales farmhouse in February 1997! We had barely been in residence for two weeks when a reporter from our local weekly newspaper told us that an Irish couple had seen visions of the Virgin Mary in our field, and had subsequently experienced miracles of healing. Not being Catholics we were highly sceptical. The field is at the bottom of a quiet country lane and has nothing much to recommend it as it is steep and rugged. It is not much use for grazing, but we allow our neighbour to keep a few pet sheep there. In spite of my scepticism, when I was suffering with a frozen shoulder, that had defied medical aid, I stood at the field gate, and within five minutes my pain had eased; by the next day I was cured! I have a theory that if one has something like our field to focus the mind on, it acts like a catalyst in helping the body’s own healing mechanisms to kick in. By June of 1997 our lane was becoming like a mini Lourdes with folk visiting the field in hope of a vision or a miracle. Nine years later, we still get a ‘pilgrim’ or two, and there are occasional reports of miracles. Two people have actually contacted me over the Internet from America, saying that they had been healed when they visited the field. According to a newspaper report, its tranquil vibes prevented a man from committing suicide in 1999. While all this was going outside, we became aware of a presence in the house. Our youngest daughter, then 21, was on a visit home and woke up to find a monk sitting on the end of the bed. She found it a pleasant experience, until her brain kicked in, and then she wondered what on earth he was doing there! We thought it was a dream until I saw an apparition of a monk in broad daylight a couple of days later. From then on Brother Doli (Adolphus) became part of the family. Our son, who has Down’s Syndrome saw him frequently, and accepted the fact as normal. I have seen the monk on about five occasions, each time I thought I was seeing a flesh and blood person for the second or two that I was aware of the presence. In January 1999 the first stain of a Welsh religious word appeared on the wall in the lounge, TANGNEFEDD, meaning peace as in ‘peace be with you’. Soon the wall erupted in religious words, all in Welsh. We also noticed crosses and little monks appearing all over the place, inside and out. Carvings in the form of words, crosses and monks also materialised. This is a continuing phenomenon. Sometimes the words and images will remain for a year or two, other times they will come and go quite quickly. I am a very amateur photographer, but I have taken a lot of photographs over the last seven years. From time to time I will get an inexplicable image on a photo that was not visible when I took the shot. One particularly memorable one was taken in 1997. I happened to shoot some photos of the barn in our field, a really spooky image of a grotesque face appeared on one of the photographs. If I had seen it in reality, I think I would have been a few miles down the road! Footsteps are frequently heard going up and down our staircase and along the landing. We also hear bumps and bangs of unknown origin. They can be so loud that one could be forgiven for thinking that the house was about to fall down! This phenomenon can occur at anytime of the day or night. Before long we had another ghostly houseguest, Jane. We have a tombstone, which was dug up from under our lawn about 20 years ago. The workman, whom we met a few months ago, refused to dig any deeper for fear of disinterring any bones! The inscription on the stone reads, Jane Jones Aged 15 1778. In March 2001 I saw a girl standing on the back patio, stroking the cat. She was young and heavily pregnant, dressed in a long smock like dress and blue cloak. In the ten seconds it took me to get to the backdoor, she had disappeared. There was absolutely nowhere she could have gone without me seeing her go. A workman in the lane said that he had not seen her. We began to discover the name ‘Jane’ in the form of a stain or carving on the walls. Putting two and two together, we assumed that this was the girl I had seen. Not long afterwards a teenage boy called ‘Tom’ took up residence! Our ghostly houseguests seem fascinated by the computer! E-mails, of which we have no knowledge, have been sent out at times when we have been in, out or asleep. These have been Welsh words, similar to those on our walls, the recipients are folks listed in our address book. Sometimes Welsh words have appeared in documents that my husband has been typing, this can be quite annoying if the document is sent out and the word has gone unnoticed! We often hear voices in the house at different times of day and night. The words are just beyond our level of hearing; we cannot pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from. Occasionally these have sounded like the voices of children, a crowd of people, or just a couple having a conversation, we even heard a baby crying in our kitchen! An impressive piece of spooky mischief is the transportation of heavy objects around our home. We have a large wooden owl carved out of a single piece of teak. It weighs approximately 182lbs and it was with difficulty that two strong men lifted it into position on our 16-inch high hearth in August 2002. A few months later it transported itself across the room, and continues to go walkabout periodically. The tombstone used to lean against the front wall of the house, for some unaccountable reason it fell over three times in one day in 2002. It was getting damaged so we decided to bring it into the lounge and tuck it away in a corner where the casual observer was unlikely to notice it. It seemed quite happy for a number of months until that too went walkies! On the last occasion it was missing for a period of five days. We searched every single place we could think of in the house and garden. It is quite heavy and nobody could get very far carrying it. I have an Internet pal, a psychic who lives on the south coast of England. More in fun, than any hope of finding the stone, I asked her to use her psychic ability to locate it. She e-mailed me to say that she had the impression it was under my husband’s side of the bed! We had looked there so it seemed unlikely. However, sure enough, there it was, soaking wet, yet the carpet beneath it was bone dry! We put it back in its place in the lounge and water drained out of it for the next four days. This was weird; stones do not normally act like sponges! In the end I got fed up and asked my husband to put it outside. Within an hour it had hopped over to the flowerbed opposite the house. It was decided to put it in the exact spot it had been in when we moved into our home in 1997. Growing beside it was a passiflora, which had given us great delight, fruiting and flowering. The passiflora had been planted after the tombstone had been moved away from its original position. A few days later I was working in my upstairs study, on the other side of the house, when I became aware of a woman’s perfume wafting in through the open window. Fascinated, I went into the garden to try to trace the source of it. It took me a while before I discovered it was emanating from the tombstone! Soon after that an unseen animal seemed to be attacking the plant. We discovered bite and scratch marks on the stem. Try as we might to protect it, the stem was bitten through! We were upset and my husband blamed the odour coming from the tombstone for attracting the phantom animal! In temper, he threw the stone onto the lawn, threatening to smash it up! It remained face down for about thirty-six hours. I suggested we should put it behind a tree in the herb garden at the back. On lifting it up, we discovered black scorch marks all the way down the front of the stone, just as if it had been in a fire, yet the lawn beneath was not damaged! The stone is now in the back garden and apart from emitting a faint perfume seems to be at peace, if a tombstone can be said to be at peace! Just before Easter 2004 an image, which looked like the face of the Crucified Christ appeared on the fireplace. Within days a couple of Latin words showed up beside it. IUDAEUS meaning Jew and CHRISTUS meaning Christ! The Welsh word NEFOEDD meaning heaven materialised on the other side of the fireplace. At the time of writing, the face of Christ and the Latin words have disappeared, but NEFOEDD is still there. One surprising, and welcome spin off of all this ghostly activity is my newfound artistic talent! I had never been artistic in the whole of my life; I detested art at school. For my 50th birthday, in January 2000, I was given an ink jet printer with a freebie digital art package. I was persuaded to give this art form a try. In the early days it felt as if a presence was standing at my right shoulder guiding my right hand. Until that time I had controlled the computer mouse with my left hand, as I am left handed! Much to my surprise, I had an art exhibition three months later, and people actually want to buy my work! Poetry has also started bubbling out of my head, I had never written a poem before, now I have a few hundred to my name. I frequently have my poems published, in the UK and abroad. I firmly believe that the atmosphere in our house has released something in me, enabling these talents to thrive. Our eldest grandson seems to spark off activity whenever he visits our house. The owl frequently goes walkabout when he is here. He has actually witnessed the owl moving on two occasions, and was so excited, telling everyone that the owl had moved all by itself! The last occasion was in May 2006. Two years ago, we had a visit from an Anglican priest, a friend of our eldest daughter. This lady has a healing and deliverance ministry and is familiar with houses like ours. She sensed a presence in the lounge as soon as she walked into the room. When taken to our field she smelt a very fragrant woman’s perfume. There was nothing around that could account for this scent. The lady explained to me that when one is in the presence of something with healing vibes like our field, occasionally there is a perfume, which is known as the ‘odour of sanctity’. Our guest told us that in her opinion our house was probably the most haunted in the whole of the UK! During 2005 we spent a few months living in Eastbourne on the south coast of England returning home every second weekend. The spooks were obviously missing us and we would often be greeted by evidence of their activity! On two occasions a large stone was discovered on the floor of the lounge in front of the fireplace. A few days after the new Pope was installed, we arrived home to discover Benedict VXI written on the stonework of the fireplace! Sadly, in October 2005 my elderly father died in Guernsey, the island of my birth. The walls of our lounge were covered with words relating to the event! In November 2005, my husband, was teasing the spooks and said it was a pity that they couldn’t do something useful like giving us the lottery numbers. Within hours a set of six numbers appeared on the wall of the lounge. We were as sick as parrots with bird flu when we discovered that they were indeed the jackpot numbers, but it was too late to buy a ticket!! Our spooks like to share in any family event so it was no surprise to find the walls decorated with the Welsh words, ‘Babi’ (baby), ‘Cariad’ (love) and Gorfoledd (joy) in six inch high letters when our youngest grandson entered this world on February 17th 2006. At lunchtime on March 23rd 2006 my husband was sitting in the lounge reading a book, on looking up he discovered that a 3ft high brownish stain, in the shape of a monk, had appeared on the wall opposite him. On turning round he saw another monk like stain, this time 2ft high, on the wall behind him! Since then more monks have appeared on the walls and the lounge is beginning to resemble a monastery! At the beginning of April 2006, coinciding with a legacy I received from my late father’s estate, we discovered Welsh words ‘Afal’ (apple) and ‘Cariad’ (love) on the lounge wall. My father was a successful Guernsey businessman, a horticulturist who grew tomatoes. When I was young tomatoes were sometimes referred to as ‘love apples’ in the island of my birth! In May 2006 I was giving a ghost tour to six members of our local police force, suddenly an image of a monk materialised as a stain on the wall behind them. They said that they would rather face the worst of criminals than live in our haunted house! My two-year-old grandson and I decided to grow some cress seeds, which we scattered evenly all over a damp paper towel. We were surprised that the seeds that germinated did so in the shape of a cross! We have obviously considered the possibility of our activity being a hoax. However, if that were to be the case it would be one of the most remarkable. The phenomena have continued almost without a break for over seven years. There are a number of independent witnesses who have had strange experiences in our home. We think that if all this amazing activity is genuine, it is probably of natural origin and science will catch up in time. After all, things that we take for granted today, would have seemed paranormal 200 years ago! Our house has a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, there is never a dull moment, and we don’t lack after dinner conversation, so our ‘ghostly’ houseguests are welcome to remain! RJG July 2006[i]

[Burns]

Wow, loveapple! Was an amazing account of what goes on at your house! I'd love to see some of the photographs you've taken that show any ghostly images in them. I was actually searching online for pictures of ghosts last night, but couldn't find any that I thought looked real and not Photoshopped. I'd also like to see some of your artwork - you should post some of it in the Artist's Corner. You should keep adding to this thread as other things happen! I'm a science/reality-minded person, but I very much believe in this type of paranormal activity. I've got American Indian heritage on my mother's side, and her side of the family have a few true psychic members (though I hate using the word 'psychic' because it always invokes the image of a flighty gypsey with a crystal ball to some people). As a child, my mother has has seen things happen in her grandmother's house that couldn't be explained with modern science, and I know my mom wouldn't lie about stuff like that. I myself have never lived in a haunted house, or experienced any paranormal activity first-hand, but it interests me very much and I love hearing other people's experiences. Actually, a woman I work with lives in a house in Detroit in which weird things happen all the time - for instance, one day she noticed that someone had carved a name in one of the wooden windowsill of her house. Her husband and two older kids swore they had nothing to do with it. The name was there for a few months, then one day it was gone. Disappeared. And no one in that house would've taken the initiative to sand down the windowsill and repaint it to remove the carving. Anyway, thanks for sharing - I'm looking forward to hearing more from you, and hopefully seeing some of those photos, too!

[NeAvO]

When my mum was pregnant (with me) she used to look after this psychic's child as a small job. The psychic said to my mum that her dead grandad (my great Grandad) was following her around and looking after her. She described him perfectly to my mum and said he had his favourite gardening clothes on ect. Seems pretty strange. I guess it shows you that there could be more to this world then science.

[loveapple]

Wow, loveapple! Was an amazing account of what goes on at your house! I'd love to see some of the photographs you've taken that show any ghostly images in them. I was actually searching online for pictures of ghosts last night, but couldn't find any that I thought looked real and not Photoshopped. I'd also like to see some of your artwork - you should post some of it in the Artist's Corner. You should keep adding to this thread as other things happen! I'm a science/reality-minded person, but I very much believe in this type of paranormal activity. I've got American Indian heritage on my mother's side, and her side of the family have a few true psychic members (though I hate using the word 'psychic' because it always invokes the image of a flighty gypsey with a crystal ball to some people). As a child, my mother has has seen things happen in her grandmother's house that couldn't be explained with modern science, and I know my mom wouldn't lie about stuff like that. I myself have never lived in a haunted house, or experienced any paranormal activity first-hand, but it interests me very much and I love hearing other people's experiences. Actually, a woman I work with lives in a house in Detroit in which weird things happen all the time - for instance, one day she noticed that someone had carved a name in one of the wooden windowsill of her house. Her husband and two older kids swore they had nothing to do with it. The name was there for a few months, then one day it was gone. Disappeared. And no one in that house would've taken the initiative to sand down the windowsill and repaint it to remove the carving. Anyway, thanks for sharing - I'm looking forward to hearing more from you, and hopefully seeing some of those photos, too! [/b] Burns please send me a pm with your e-mail address and I will send you photos. I have put a piece of my artwork on the artwork board. It is called 'Perfection of the Soul', I created it for my DS son.

[Bonsay]

Wow, that's all I can say. I am also a skeptic kind and mostly I don't believe in haunted houses. It's strange that I believe everything you typed ! I certanly believe that there is more to life than science, I mean what should one think, when you see the worlds best theoretical phisicysts, say that explaning the world the way we did untill now is no longer possible. Thanks for sharing that with us. You certanly made me want to go and see a haunted house .

[loveapple]

Wow, that's all I can say. I am also a skeptic kind and mostly I don't believe in haunted houses. It's strange that I believe everything you typed ! I certanly believe that there is more to life than science, I mean what should one think, when you see the worlds best theoretical phisicysts, say that explaning the world the way we did untill now is no longer possible. Thanks for sharing that with us. You certanly made me want to go and see a haunted house . [/b] Although we have manifestations all the time, there has been quite a lot today, it isn't spooky like the things you see on TV, which are hyped! I think it is humans that cause the activity, albeit unconsciously. We find the activity is at its height if we are stressed or excited. I think science will explain all given time!

[Bonsay]

Although we have manifestations all the time, there has been quite a lot today, it isn't spooky like the things you see on TV, which are hyped! I think it is humans that cause the activity, albeit unconsciously. We find the activity is at its height if we are stressed or excited. I think science will explain all given time! [/b] Do you mean that these manifestations are some kind of "an illusion of the mind", as a reaction to certain places on the world, when you say that humans cause the activity? ...Hmmm but how could it be an illusion or a mind trick if everybody experiences the same thing. I guess it's pointless to guess .

[Casualtie]

wow! although at first i didn't really wanna read the entire thing, once i started i couldn't stop. the stuff that goes on here sounds so surreal and i know what if i lived here i would be scared (like those police officers). i am really interested in seeing a few photographs you have taken and some artwork you have down. honestly, i wouldn't mind spending a week or two in your home just to experience it for myself. sounds like a great place to live and have family "hang-outs."

[QwinsepiaSquared]

I'd also like to spend a week in your house too! I used to be really scared of spirits when I was little but I got used to the idea and now I don't mind them. Although I still hate haunted house rides. Ugh, those make me shudder. I think pretty much everyone has spirits following them around. I know my grandpa does, or used to, and I'm pretty sure one of my friends does.

[Universal Mind]

Loveapple, if you can just get those spooks to do their thing one more time with the right guests, you can be very rich.... http://skepdic.com/randi.html Be the first person ever to claim the prize.

[loveapple]

Loveapple, if you can just get those spooks to do their thing one more time with the right guests, you can be very rich.... http://skepdic.com/randi.html Be the first person ever to claim the prize. [/b] I don't think there is anything in our home that would impress Randi, he would just say we had faked it! Our home doesn't have spooky atmosphere, it is very welcoming. Stuff happens all the time, there is plenty more since I last logged on. People might be surprised to realise that it isn't a major topic of conversation in our family, we are so used to it that the activity is almost like wallpaper, a background to our lives!

[Universal Mind]

I don't think there is anything in our home that would impress Randi, he would just say we had faked it! [/b] He is a better scientist than a mere speculator. You should try it. We are talking about A MILLION DOLLARS, you know. Isn't it worth at least trying? The web site I posted a link to has a list of other such offers. Are you going to try any of them? You could pay off all of your debts and never have to work again. You could go on awesome vacations all the time. You could have lots of fun boats and stuff. Or, you could donate the money to a charity, or a bunch of charities. Are you going to go for it?

[Symbiotic Entity]

Unless, of course, you ARE faking it! Just kidding. I've seen some pretty weird stuff in my life, and I've just decided to accept that I can't understand all things that happen.

[TheNocturnalGent]

First off. Spook is a derogatory word for Africans in this country. Im really glad thats not what this topic is about. Anyway. Yea thats pretty awsome

[loveapple]

First off. Spook is a derogatory word for Africans in this country. Im really glad thats not what this topic is about. Anyway. Yea thats pretty awsome [/b] I had no idea, 'spook' is not a derogatory expression in the UK! Having our house invaded by Randi and his investigators is not my idea of fun. We can pass on $1,000,000. money is not everything to us as we are reasonably comfortable financially. We had an American film company contact us a few years ago, they wanted to make a film about our house. We could name our price, but when we saw how they were going to handle our story, we said, "Thanks, but no thanks! We are very particular about the people we allow to film in our home, often we take no fee at all if the reporting is factual and not hyped!

[Burns]

First off. Spook is a derogatory word for Africans in this country. Im really glad thats not what this topic is about.[/b] Um, maybe back in the 50s, but not anymore. At least not in civilized society, that is. Hopefully you'll keep us updated on any Halloween happenings around your house, loveapple!

[loveapple]

Um, maybe back in the 50s, but not anymore. At least not in civilized society, that is. Hopefully you'll keep us updated on any Halloween happenings around your house, loveapple! [/b] We don't bother with Halloween in our household. It still isn't as big an event in the UK as it is in the US.

[Burns]

We don't bother with Halloween in our household. It still isn't as big an event in the UK as it is in the US.[/b] They say All Hallow's Eve is the time of year that the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest...

[NeAvO]

They say All Hallow's Eve is the time of year that the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest... [/b] This is where you play the Twilight Zone music.

[loveapple]

They say All Hallow's Eve is the time of year that the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest... [/b] Sounds like superstition to me!

[Universal Mind]

Having our house invaded by Randi and his investigators is not my idea of fun. We can pass on $1,000,000. [/b] 1 million dollars is not fun? That is not what I hear. Would you get any satisfaction out of giving 1 million dollars to charity? Remember, there were links to several other such offers. You could really help people in need. You could donate tons of money to AIDS research, fighting world hunger, and other charities. Would you like to do that?

[loveapple]

1 million dollars is not fun? That is not what I hear. Would you get any satisfaction out of giving 1 million dollars to charity? Remember, there were links to several other such offers. You could really help people in need. You could donate tons of money to AIDS research, fighting world hunger, and other charities. Would you like to do that? [/b] No! I give my own money to charity, I do not want James Randi invading my space, thanks!

[Umbrasquall]

It's a big world. As far as we know Randi could be offering this prize so he could be the first to come to anyone with real psychic abilities and magical powers and dispose of them before they beome too powerful, powerful enough to challenge him! Hahaha... j/k. Anyway, I'm have to say I'm a skeptic in regards to subjects like this. But it interests me so that's what drew me to this topic (besides the catchy title). I would have to not only see it, but examine all alternative possibilities before I believe it. Sorry I'm not ready to believe this one. However, if it's possible to help many others with what you have you should do it. A field that heals the sick, omniscent presense(s) with some aspect of omnipotency, if it's true, use it to help humanity.

[loveapple]

It's a big world. As far as we know Randi could be offering this prize so he could be the first to come to anyone with real psychic abilities and magical powers and dispose of them before they beome too powerful, powerful enough to challenge him! Hahaha... j/k. Anyway, I'm have to say I'm a skeptic in regards to subjects like this. But it interests me so that's what drew me to this topic (besides the catchy title). I would have to not only see it, but examine all alternative possibilities before I believe it. Sorry I'm not ready to believe this one. However, if it's possible to help many others with what you have you should do it. A field that heals the sick, omniscent presense(s) with some aspect of omnipotency, if it's true, use it to help humanity. [/b] My husband and I are sceptics and certainly don't believe in earthbound spirits. We have considered that we could be the victims of a hoax, but as some of the activity in the house takes place before our eyes, we are at a loss to know how it would be achieved. Lots of other people have had experiences in our home too. As for our field, people are welcome to stand at the field gate and take in the vibes if they think it will do them good. We think any healing comes from within rather than without. We are not interested in our field becoming another Lourdes, which from what I have heard is a commercial nightmare. We make no money from our field, thinking that would be wrong. We let out neighbour run his sheep on it for free.

[Umbrasquall]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I mean have scientists and researchers come investigate your field and house to see exactly what is going on. If I was living in a house like that and don't believe in earthbound spirits I would have gotten it checked immediately. I understand that you eventually can get used to anything but it's still difficult to believe you guys haven't done anything yet...