My interest in the paranormal began like many as a young child, fascinated by all the mysteries of life. I would spend my nights lying in bed with books about haunted Britain, fascinated by photographs such as that of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall or the image of what appeared to be Lord Combermere sat in his favourite chair at Combermere Abbey. As the years passed I always harboured a desire to visit these places, and one day witness something that would forever change my life. Many years later in 2004 that day finally came, when I attended my very first organised paranormal investigation with a ‘then’ fledgling group known as Paranormal Tours. An overnight stay at Farnham Castle was my introduction to such events, and from that day forward I was obsessed. And unlike many who take this journey, my passion for the investigation was not born out of any kind of paranormal experience. For me it was quite the opposite – I had found within me an interest not only to discover that elusive proof of a supernatural world, but also a desire to cut through what I believed was a veil of suggestion, psychological manipulation and simple coincidence.

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall captured in 1936


I attended a further three investigations that year, and after each I submitted informal reports to one of the founders of Paranormal Tours Andrew Marsay, for his consideration. Each time I expressed that although the events were every bit as enjoyable as I had hoped, that I still had remained undecided as to the validity of many of the supposed experiences that were going on around me during the investigations. I began to find myself questioning my own beliefs in the paranormal, born out of a frustration of not having experienced anything for myself. Much of this could probably be laid at the door of the many television shows which had started to champion the world of the supernatural and by doing so dilute the magical thrill of the elusive search for proof. Although I choose not to name these shows, the most notable and certainly most popular exponent had in the early days successfully pioneered a subject long since left to the occasional documentary on the Discovery Channel, and brought it to the attention of a mainstream audience. At first I was thrilled that there was finally a conduit for one of my most cherished interests, and I must admit it helped me rediscover my passion for the paranormal. But having re-kindled my desire to follow this path for myself, these shows had wrongly raised my expectations, leaving me to believe that at every turn and upon every request an experience of a supernatural nature would await me. And that is when I became more fascinated with the subtleties and blurred reality of hauntings and spiritual activity, suddenly awake to the reality that such experiences are at best fleeting ones, savoured only by the lucky few.

After my first year of investigating came to an end I was astonished to receive a proposal from Andrew to come along to some more events as a member of the Paranormal Tours team. I had wrongly assumed that my ever-growing scepticism had dampened his enthusiasm for welcoming me into the fold – in fact it was quite the opposite. As a company Paranormal Tours were growing in popularity, with the help of the frenzied interest in the paranormal being generated by a growing television spotlight on the subject. Andrew said that he respected my candid honesty and felt my approach would be a welcome addition to the team. Rather than discarding my post investigation rants, he had embraced my sincerity and passion for the investigations and was ready to throw me into the fold as a Paranormal Tours investigator. I never quite appreciated at the time the opportunity I was being given, but to this day I look back with fond appreciation of Andrew’s kind gesture to ask me into such a privileged circle of individuals.

I was aware that my opinions might clash with the more spiritually minded team members, but I had always been brought up to believe that opinions are not excuses to remain ignorant about the subjects you study and the people who share these experiences. I was also determined that my opinions would never act as an excuse not to examine my own beliefs and prejudices. This would be a experience of discovery, for me to learn more about a subject I had great passion for and impart my ideas on the team, but also to gain knowledge from them. I had always preferred to think less about opinions and beliefs, but more about the formulation of “ideas”. I wanted to embrace new “ideas”, for these, if nurtured properly, can grow and broaden my understanding of the world. For me an objective but open mind would be my route to enlightenment.

After having attended investigations as a customer of paranormal tours at Farnham Castle, Hellfire Caves, Woodchester Mansion and Wymering Manor, it was now time for me to embark on my first year as a paranormal investigator with the company. For the most part I worked alongside fellow crew members as a team leader, running vigils with the groups and observing the event from something of a distance. Andrew had already asked whether I would be interested in running events, but in these early days I wanted to retain my impartiality and gain more experience with the format of the investigation – this would be my opportunity to observe where I felt I could provide some added value to the events. For the most part these early investigations were uneventful as far as paranormal activity, but that only served to fuel my interest in the subject. I had become fascinated with the psychological effects of the investigation, captivated by the reactions of the groups and their impressions of supposed activity occurring a round them. In all honesty I was finding that effects such as auto-suggestion, unconscious response and other such psychological phenomena were most likely playing a significant role in the belief that supernatural or spiritual activity had taken place. I am in no doubt that this was certainly a significant factor, but I by no means suggest that there were no genuine experiences taking place. I have always felt that there is no greater danger than offering up nothing but delusional self-important statements of unknowing, inexperienced opinion. For that part I always attempt to offer experienced and reasoned judgements, while accommodating the possibility that there may also be authenticity to claims of activity.

During my time as a team leader I was also given the responsibility of conducting an equipment workshop, where I would introduce the teams to the various devices and tools of our trade. This was a welcome opportunity, as I could also use these workshops to encourage the groups to consider a more objective approach to the investigation, by embracing the technological and scientific elements as a way to help them verify some of the more subjective phenomena. I would also use this time to discuss the dangers of auto-suggestion, and to help educate the teams on some of the psychological effects of an investigation. One of the more common words I would use was ‘objective’, and for each and every person to remain so, even in the face of seemingly genuine phenomena. Fear, as well as blind conviction, can be infectious during a vigil, and I wanted the teams to consider ‘all’ possibilities for any strange occurrences. It was key for everyone to be aware of their surroundings, and any natural phenomena such as drafts, extraneous noises from outside, sounds of buildings settling and electrical or mechanical devices belonging to the location. There were many occasion when knocks or taps were interpreted as paranormal before discovering such things as a radiator cooling down, or a refrigerator powering up – all things which we experience in our own homes, but never regard in the same light as when they occur in a location believed to be a ‘hive of paranormal activity’. In that very statement is the greatest auto-suggestion of them all – we are investigating locations which are supposedly haunted, and as a result the entire approach and mindset of the customers is altered. My job therefore was to try and help maintain an objective and logical approach without upsetting the fascination and mystery of a paranormal investigation.

My ‘mantra’ for these investigations remained simple – once you have eliminated all possible logical explanations, whatever is left, however implausible, must be the truth. It was simple a matter of deduction – well, at least that is what I imagined. After eight further investigations I attended the first Paranormal Tours weekend event in August 2005 which took place in Burton Upon Trent. Here we would investigate 2 locations across 2 nights - The Burton Constitutional Club and The Grail Court Hotel, which was also our base for the event. After the first night, which again had left me frustrated and wondering if I would ever experience anything paranormal, I retired to bed with a decision to make. My enthusiasm had waned, and I had virtually decided that unless more conclusive paranormal phenomena took place soon, my frustrations would only mount to where I would become completely disillusioned with a subject I was once so fascinated with. I had spent almost 2 years desperate for some form of proof, even if only for myself, to at least encourage me to go further. After 13 investigations I was yet to even come close to this, and the following night my entire approach became very different.



Rather than harbouring these desires and expectations for some kind of activity, I was content to simply benefit from the company of our guests and enjoy the rest of the weekend. This was however another turning point and it was during a vigil in the Camelot Room that I was literally jolted back into the paranormal fold. I had decided to spend the most part of the vigil sat in a circle at the end of the room sharing stories and generally relaxing. I had never really believed that sitting and desperately concentrating in the dark and willing activity to occur was in any way proved to be an aid to encouraging phenomena – it is probably quite the opposite. After a few laughs and having built up some positive energy in the group I decided to bring over a square table to attempt some glass divination. As always I would not participate as I was keen for our guests to think that as a member of staff I could in no way directly influence the experiment. I had also felt that any activity which required the individuals to touch the very object we were encouraging spirit to move was by its very definition flawed. Nevertheless it always made for an interesting time, and this was more interesting than I had bargained for.

The Grail Court Hotel in Burton where I had my first unexplained experience in the Camelot Function Room


It was not long until the group got some responses to our questions as the glass began to move purposely around the table. At one point when asking for the glass to move it surprisingly shot directly outwards and travelled around the very edge of the square table as opposed to going in a circle as typically experienced. We had established that if there was any such spirit energy in the room, it was more than likely agitated with our presence. At this point, still reserving a large amount of doubt concerning the movements, I chose to antagonise a response by asking for something more impressive than simply moving a glass around the table. At this point the glass began to spin in the centre of the table at speed, so much so that eventually none of the team could keep their fingers in place. Then it suddenly appeared that there was an invisible explosion of energy, as both myself and the two team members stood slightly in front of me jumped backwards as if being affected by a massive discharge from some unseen force. I can only describe the sensation as being very similar to experiencing an electric shock, with a sudden jolt to my chest followed by a feeling of extreme nausea and shaking, as if I were in shock. This lasted only briefly, but I asked the others to describe what they had felt. They portrayed sensations which exactly mirrored my own even to the extent that one of the girls was clearly shaken and very tearful. I still cannot easily understand the phenomena we encountered, be it spiritual or some kind of discharge of group psycho kinetic energy, however I can only say that it is the first encounter that I was unable to comprehensively explain. And with that night behind me, I was reinvigorated in the search for proof. I started to realise that 14 investigations with only a single experience of any note was probably about par for the course – and that would help me deal with any unrealistic expectations for investigations to come.

As my first year came to end working as a team leader I had decided to accept Andrew’s previous offer to begin running investigations by myself. I felt that after nearly 2 years attending the events I was confident that I could add value to the format and impress my views and ideas about the paranormal while embracing a balanced agenda and accommodating the elements for which I was still somewhat sceptical. It was almost fitting that my first event as a crew lead brought about my second unexplainable event while investigating Wymering Manor for the second time. The night started literally with a bang as I took a team to investigate Room 7, a location notorious at the manor for housing the spirit of a Catholic Priest or Monk. It appeared that we were having a clear and concise conversation with this religious figure, who responded on cue to every question with what I can only describe as clear and concise taps or knocks, the sound of which we were unable to replicate. I had always remained sceptical about these kinds of communication, as it was virtually impossible to pinpoint and thus discount natural causes. We had attempted asking for knocks and taps as forms of communication on almost every event without success, and the belief that supposed spirits would choose this kind of simplistic method as a means to communicate with the living always gave me cause for concern. Why knock and bang in such a crude manor when so many accounts of more fundamental contact have been recorded. We naturally have certain sensationalist television shows to thank for much of this as they seek to portray the ‘knock twice for yes’ method as the accepted and most successful form of contact. In all my experience this had never been the case, but on this one and only occasion I was more than a little bewildered.

As a group we were asking for intelligent response using single knocks as the answer ‘No’ and two knocks for ‘Yes’. I can only describe that with perfect regularity we received these exact responses to our questions, and rather than the noises appearing to be natural (such as banging on the floor and tapping on a wooden table), these sounds seemingly appearing to emanate not from the physical room, but from within the atmosphere. My initial thoughts were that such responses were too intelligent to be coincidental, as we broke out the timing of the questions so as to discount any regular or repeated noises within the building (such as clocks, timer systems or other such mechanical devices). I also asked the team to try knocking on walls and floors to attempt to replicate these sounds, but without success. I asked everyone to move away from furniture and walls so as to discount foul play and continued the experiment, which resulted in continued responses. Almost by chance as I was moving around the room in an attempt to pinpoint the source I sat on a section of the floor (which was carpeted) only to feel vibrations from underneath me when the next few replies came through. I appeared to have identified the location of the sounds, but not the source. From moving to other areas of the floor the vibrations could not be felt, and it was only in this area that we could actually feel the knocks as they took place. As previously mentioned the noises were emanating from the floor, but sounded like knocks on wood as opposed to carpet, as if it was coming from within the floorboards. I was also aware that all other team members were accounted for and no people were in the room below us. Even my fellow helper Paul Grove, who like me is equally sceptical when it comes to this sort of phenomena, was forced to admit that it was shockingly genuine.

As 2005 drew to an end I had clocked up 20 paranormal investigations and nearly 100 hours of vigils, with just the two experiences to question. On the other hand many of my fellow team leaders and crew had witnessed as much in a single night, and this was to be my biggest hurdle for the coming years. Why should it be that an individual who takes a wholly objective approach to the investigation receive so little evidence of the paranormal, while others who are for the most part devout believers would seem to have so much success. To consider this I think it is important to understand the dynamics of the individual. If you are a self confessed believer in all things supernatural then your process of deduction is to attribute some paranormal significance to most events which appear a little out of the ordinary while on an investigation. It has also been suggested that such people are more in tune with the spirit world, and are therefore more able to sense and understand such things. The latter is of course a convenient argument by suggesting that as a sceptic your own objectivity is in some way blocking the ability to experience any true phenomena. By that theory then I should have experienced nothing at all during my first few years, so why had I been exposed to at least two unexplainable events?

For me the experience of supernatural phenomena is very much like playing a slot machine – if you play religiously then every so often you will no doubt win the jackpot. For the most part you will lose, although the occasional small victory will keep you playing. In my opinion it is more about luck than judgement. Paranormal sightings and experiences are extremely rare, even in locations reputed as being among some of the most haunted in the country. I have spent many hours speaking with residents and staff in these places, who speak only of the occasional strange occurrence over a few years, but naturally enough to evoke some interest. So why then do we simply turn up for single night, spend many hours in vigils, and expect the Holy Grail? This would be me opening salvo during my introductions as an event leader going forward. I felt it important to manage the expectations of the customers. It was essential that they came without any misinformed preconceptions about paranormal investigations. If they witnessed something out of the ordinary, even if only on a subjective level, then they would be the fortunate ones. In the most part they should treat the investigation as a learning experience, and enjoy all the mystery and fascination of spending a night in an allegedly haunted location. Looking back when I was a customer, the privilege of simply spending the night in some of these wonderful and historical buildings was satisfaction enough, supported by that small chance of maybe having an experience I would never forget.



In the last two years of leading events for paranormal tours I have yet to encounter any revolutionary paranormal experiences, and this may be because I have set the bar that much higher than everybody else. Some of my most trusted friends and companions within the team, who share a degree of my scepticism, have been more fortunate, but I am sure it is just a matter of time for me. I have also been fortunate to work with the likes of Ian Lawman and Phil Wyman on a number of occasions, and whatever my personal opinions on the approach television shows have taken with this subject I have to say that both were genuine and likeable people. I had always reserved a level of scepticism for psychic mediums, but in particular my short time working with Ian and getting to know the person behind the spiritual façade revealed an equally down-to-earth and objective approach as my own. It is all too easy to make uninformed judgements about those things and people who you know little about, and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by the candour and honesty of both Ian and Phil, who equally appeared to embrace the rational approach to studying the paranormal.

The Paranormal Tours team with Ian Lawman at an investigation at Farnham Castle in March 2006


After almost 4 years and 36 investigations I am no less a believer than I am a sceptic. For those who sit at home and watch ‘supposed’ investigations from the comfort of a living room with blind faith and the conviction of a true believer, I can only implore you to witness this for yourselves and make more reasoned judgements. And those who prefer to stand back and ridicule the work of those of us passionate and dedicated enough to pursue our ideas and our imagination, I suggest that there can be no better way to judge than to grasp the experience first hand. To be open-minded about the paranormal is not simply the responsibility of those who do not believe – although I encourage us all to expand our little piece of the universe and try a capture a glimpse of the possibilities. It is also the responsibility of those, like me, who do believe, to be open-minded enough to accept that most experiences and phenomena can be supported by logical and objective explanations. And when you are able to eliminate all rational causes beyond any doubt, only then are you left with something, however improbable, which will make the journey all the more worthwhile.

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This website is copyright. © Martin Gregory (The Paranormal Experience) 2007