The Witches of Essex (2018) - full transcript

Spooky music.

Spooky music, nature sounds

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

welcome to my latest
para documentary

which actually starts
in the village of

kanuda in Essex why
kanuda I'm hoping to

focus upon the ghostly legends

associated with this
church the Church

of San Nicolas and
also its neveress

reputation for
witchcraft and to examine



more closely in
detail the background

and origins of
some of the legends

attached to the
church which if to be

believed would make
canoed n' one of the

most actively witchcraft
infested areas

in the entire world
but of course as one

knows through life
that quite often

once you've separated
truth from fiction

the true reality
of these places is

nothing more different
than perhaps to

other locations
within the county of

Essex and elsewhere
and of course I'm

hoping to examine
them in much more

detail but firstly
let's look at the



church here of San
Nicolas it is of late

medieval origin and
this magnificent

tower which stands on the hill

promontory rises
123 feet above sea

level and gives
unparalleled views

across a valley and
certainly perhaps

through history it
may have been used as

a possible defensive
position and more

certainly as a lookout
and the tower was

constructed as
celebration for the

English victory over the French

following the Battle
of Agincourt in the

year 1415 and certainly
today the tale

can be seen from many
locations at great

distances as you
approach this area and

in sir she was safe
quite a landmark

which most people
and particularly so

boats using the
nearby river have used

as a navigable
feature the actual

origins of lean canoe
Dhin dates back to

sex and times and
means basically hill

of cannas people
certainly King Canute

on his campaigns
across England had a

base camp nearby and

we'll have used this
promontory as it

afforded such a
good view across the

neighboring valleys
and hills but

firstly that's deal
with why I'm here

I'm hoping to
after I visited the

village of kanuda
to travel over to

Felton and Essex
which has a personal

association with
me perhaps with a

possible witch and
witchcraft and to the

village of monetary
and miss lis in

Essex which was the
home base of Matthew

Hopkins self-styled
which find a general

in the 17th century
who during his time

dispensed or should we say Cyril

murdered where his
assistant mr. stern

over three hundred
innocent women but

this firstly look at the alleged

reputation for
witchcraft associated

with this church and the village

if we examine the
court records and

testimonials of actual
witchcraft trials

here in the village
of kanuda we have to

look firstly in the
year 15 85 when a

local spinster by
the name of rose pie

appeared before the
court here accused

of bewitching to
death a 12 month old

baby with a name of
Jonas snow who lived

at nearby scald
hearse farm on this

occasion the corpse
showed leniency

because the evidence
to convict was

insufficient but by
cruel twist of fate

although she was
acquitted she actually

died in prison because
she wasn't able

to pay her release
fee and sadly five

years later a lady
by the name of Cicely

making or good wife
making appeared

before the court
here charged with

practicing witchcraft
here of course on

this occasion they
showed a degree of

leniency they gave
her five years to

mend her ways and to
return back to the

teachings of Christ
suffice to say that

five years following
she was back again

before the same Court
where instead of

being executed or
being imprisoned or

tortured on this
occasion by modern

standards they
showed a degree of

leniency because she
was excommunicated

from the church but
by the standards of

medieval England that
meant her soul was

going to be consigned
to hell as Cicely

Macon was obviously
a practicing Wiccan

that wasn't much of
a threat and as far

as where we're from
that period onwards

she was able to
live her life out

peaceably after
these two trials in

canoed and there
appears to be no

further records
indicating that any

other citizens of
this village were

brought to trial
accused of witchcraft

which of course cannot
be said for other

parts of England
and particularly in

this county of Essex
and Suffolk where

witchcraft was
considered to be quite a

prevalent and common
offense but what

canoed in' is
particularly known for or

its legends associated
with witchcraft

and the rituals of
witchcraft that are

connected to this village

of course to this
church one of the most

interesting characters
that could be

connected to the
village of kanuda was a

man by the name of
George P king Gill

who was born in
1813 and died in the

village in the
year 1909 and it's

believed that he's
buried somewhere in

the churchyard but
without the headstone

George was known
as a cunning man

cunning in this case
meant that he was a

witch and had practiced
he's worshipped

to a horned God
allegedly and during his

lifetime

although employed as
a farm worker many

people used to go
to him for cures for

many ailments and
walks and also to

improve crops and
so on and so forth

which he could give
some kind of potion

or make some kind
of spell it is said

that he walked
along a hedgerow and

touched it with a
stick all the animals

in the hedgerow would
run out and they

could easily be
captured and caught

again it was also
said that if anyone

crossed swords with
George their life

and indeed their
prosperity in life

could be severely
hampered by what

George could do in
the manner of witches

and spells

the problem with
the legend of Jaws

picking Gil is that
despite all his

grand claims that
are added to his

reputation most of
those were actually

discovered as it
were some fifty years

after his death
might a writer Eric

maple who went
around many old age

people's homes
interviewing some of the

elderly residents to
get their take upon

the legend of Jaws
peeking Gil and of

course as one gets
older one's memory

tends to fade and
certainly in this case

his reputation was she would say

somewhat elaborated
by those who he

spoke to

it was said that
if you went to his

cottage just on the
outskirts in the

village I looked for
the window during

the evening time
you could see his

familiars in the
form of mice suckling

at his nipples and a
manner of weird and

wonderful tales
associated with this man

were researched
by this writer of

folklore Eric maple
and of course going

further into I
believe the 1970s an

American by the name
of the thurb also

added more to the
reputation of George

picking gel and so
as a witch and as a

cunning man he somehow
tion out from all

of the other witches
there recorded and

known who were
operating within the

county of Essex but
George picking go

was no fault and he
was also a person

that went to rewrite
the rituals of his

worship to witchcraft
the Horned God and

was also a man who
was known to make

some fairly grand
statements for example

he claimed that
he had nine covens

across the county
of Essex and also

believed in neighboring
counties such as

Hart this year and
that on one occasion

he had to showdown
with another witch

where he struck
this witch down dead

and of course all
this added to his

reputation as a man
to be feared and

certainly the villagers
and indeed the

church did fear him

regardless he claimed
that he could sit

quietly smoking the
pine why he would

employ imps to bring
in the crops from

the farmer's field
and that farmers

would pay him extra
money to be able to

perform his miracles
on their behalf

another reputation
added to the legend

of Aleister Crowley
for example was that

he was at one time
a disciple of George

picking Gill and that
he was eventually

thrown out from the sect for his

behavior which was
considered to be

outside their
teachings and practices

however further
research in later years

by other researchers can find no

evidence of any
connection between

Aleister Crowley
and George P Burdell

and yet we can prove
here that in later

years people have
added more to the

legend of George
picking Gill which

today has given rise
to the fact that

kanuda is regarded
as the focal point of

witchcraft in the
county of Essex and

indeed if one needs
further proof that

the reputation of
witchcraft in Canada

was a concoction
of the 19th century

there's a local
rhyme which says that

there are always be
six which is in the

village three of
cotton and three of

silk

well if that had
been something which

was claimed to be a
medieval saying then

surely it would not
have been cotton it

would have been war cotton was a

discovery of the
19th century and

certainly during
the era of George

picking Gil without
going into more

detail about his
national claims and

what he could do
what he cannot do in

his victims it was
quite clear that he

had a grudge against
the church and that

many times had
run-ins with the local

priest it is claimed
that when he died

he was walking through
the churchyard at

kanuda when at night

daylight suddenly
appeared from behind

across a stone cross
in the cemetery

which reflected upon
him and struck him

dead nothing could
be further than the

truth he actually
felt ill at home and

he was taken to a
hospice but eventually

he died of old age
and was subsequently

buried in the churchyard

certainly there are
many many legends

and attachments
between the church and

its association with witchcraft

it is alleged that
should a stone fall

from the tower of
the church it would

indicate that one
of the six witches

inside the village
had died and that

another was due to
take their place

still adding to the
legend of the tower

and the witch is
that so long as the

church tower stands
there will always be

which is in the verge
apparently anyone

who walks around the
tower at midnight

could be forced to
dance with witches

and apparently at
Halloween if you go

around the tower
seven times you will

see a witch thirteen
times you will

become invisible if
you run around the

tower anti-clockwise
on Halloween the

devil will apparently
appear before you

and more interestingly
if you run around

the tower backwards
three times a portal

will appear before
you and you will be

able to travel back
through time now of

course I have yet to
find any reference

to any person has
a claim to have

experienced any of
these experiences

inside the church
errotica Newton and

again it's something
that people have

welded to the legend
of George picking

Gill and to which is
inside the village

which has made it
such a fascinating

place for study and
particularly for

folklore and local
anecdotes I certainly

don't feel that
canoodle is perhaps any

more haunted with
witches or infested

with which is whichever
way you want to

look at it and
anywhere else in the

country but why I
find particularly

intriguing about the
whole deal is that

if we go back to
the 17th century we

have the Witchfinder
general Matthew

Hopkins persecuting
innocent people

accusing them of
being witches and in

the 19th century we
have George picking

girl doing exactly
the reverse but this

time on church
members of a local

congregation a certain
irony perhaps and

one which of course
has stuck quite

firmly in my mind
since I started to

research this particular

ah q mentoree I find
these legends and

local anecdotes to
be fascinating but by

and large I regard
them as just that

anecdotes and stories
nothing more but

they do add a rich
character to the

fabric of what the
village of kanuda is

to this day and sadly
because of it it

attracts a lot of
people there at night

and the church have
been forced to add

security gates to
prevent people from

entering at night and
it is also fair to

say that some people
have gone into the

churchyard and have
seriously damaged

headstone because on
one portion of the

churchyard the cemetery

it is absolutely devoid of any

headstones which have
been ripped up and

smashed up in the
past which perhaps is

a tragedy to the
history of the village

and our knowledge of the past

apart from the church
and the villages

association with witchcraft

the church has two
notable ghostly

legends attached to it

the most notorious
has been seen on a

number of occasions
a lady wearing a

pope on it hat who
has no face who's

been seen to pass
through the West Gate

into car park at the
front of the church

and disappeared down
before the river

and on one night
a lady was parked

outside who had no
knowledge of his

ghostly reputations
when she saw this

apparition she saw
that it had no facial

features she was
petrified and she fled

in flight from this
sighting and never

to return again to
the church no doubt

today probably to
recall that situation

with horror and fear
of what happened to

her on that particular
night but apart

from that there's
also been an alleged

headless ghost seen inside the

churchyard who's
been known to deposit

his victims in
neighboring ditches quite

how true any of
these legends are one

can only conjecture
eyes but I would

have thought that
the occasion of the

lady who saw the
figure with a pope

boniface is probably
one of the more

truthful elements
attached to any of the

ghostly sightings
here but what is more

particularly worrying
and frightening

for any visitors to
this churchyard are

its associations
with witches and some

of the rituals which
have been seen and

performed inside
this very active

churchyard

I'm actually
standing outside this

rather delightful
timber-frame building

in the village of
Felsted on Essex which

as you can see was
built by George boot

in the year 50 96
certainly today it

stands out as an
interesting feature and

particularly so when
its opposite the

guild hall and the
beautiful church here

and of course Felsted
is noted for its

public score but
coming back to this

building it also has
an addition which

you don't find on any
other buildings in

this area and that
is known locally as

the felch did hang
and allegedly depicts

according to the
Builder a carving of

his wife she being
a rather plain and

ugly woman he decided
to display that

more as a joke rather than with

reference to anything
else but if you

look more closely
at this figure which

is actually a support
bracket you'll

notice that she has
cloven feet and she

also has exposed
breasts and appears to

be restrained or held
back and contained

on the side of the
building I think the

truth here is that
the figure was carved

as a grotesque to
ward off evil we have

only got to go back
three years earlier

in the year 1593
when a local spinster

at the age of 59
years a woman by the

name of Alice Albert
was declared to be

a witch according to
a local farmer she

had hexed a number
of his animals which

fell ill and diet and
she apparently had

bewitched them and
in order to gain

retribution against
her he complained to

the local magistrate
here who issued a

warrant for her arrest
and she was taken

to Chun soo decisis
where along with a

number of other innocent women

she was judged guilty
of which car and

she was Punk one can
also imagine that

she was probably
tortured a great length

where under torture
under pressure she

may have admitted to
anything at all but

there the story
doesn't quite end and

this is where I come
into the picture a

few years ago I came
to this village to

shoot a piece on
George boot house and

some of the other
buildings and the

church and as I was
carrying my camera

across the road to
get a better view of

George boot house
I was standing in a

central position
as you can see from

this short clip here
when I recorded the

most unusual EVP

if you listen closely
the background

audios completely
wiped out and its

substituted by this
very evil sounding

voice a number of
voice analysts have

listened to this
at live and have

declared that they
can find no logical

reasonable explanation
for that voice to

be there and so I
think it's fair to say

a most certain to
say that that is EVP

or electronic voice
phenomena which was

inadvertently
recorded by me as I

carried the camera
across the road could

there be an association
between that EVP

the legend of George
boot house and the

poor spinster Alice
Albert and of course

today I can't answer
that question I can

only surmise that
there may be a tenuous

connection perhaps
many centuries ago

when George boot
built this beautiful

house that Alice
Albert had lived very

local to where the
restaurant is today

and pants Alice
Albert spirit still

reigns supreme in
this part of the

village of Felsted
as I said I'm only

speculating it's
just idle speculation

that only from
what I recovered on

camera certainly
a strange place to

recall evey

in the middle of
the busy road but it

happened and so did
of course the legend

of Alice Albert and
the self dead hag

which today still intrigues and

fascinates many
tourists that come to

this area and so
now we move on to

another area much
notably witchcraft but

in later years in
fact in the 17th

century

the final part of my
documentary on the

Essex witches actually
brings me to the

villages of mists
near Manningtree in

fact I'm standing
within the grounds of

mystery towers

Manningtree miss lis
will always be connected
with

one man the Nemesis
of all witches in

the 17th century a
man by the name of

Matthew Hopkins the
son of a Puritan

priest who was born
in great venom in

Suffolk in the year
1620 and following

the death of his
father who was quite a

wealthy man

owning tenements at
framlingham Castle

in Suffolk he came
to this area with a

hundred marks as
part of his father's

will where he
purchased the mystery

forum Hotel today
there is still a

mystery for hotel but
unfortunately it's

not the original
building that Hopkins

purchased it was torn
down much earlier

and a later version
was built in the

year 1735 whilst here
he came across an

alleged witchcraft
trial that was being

prosecuted at the
behest of villagers by

a man of the name
of John Stone he

actually appeared
at the trial and

listened to how
stone presented his

evidence and obviously
at that point

decided to throw his
bottom with Stern

to carry out their
own investigations

into witchcraft
because it was paint ly

obvious that people
were willing to pay

for the death of other
people and before

long they had actually
formed a company

which involved three
professional which

identify as these
were women who knew

the signs of the witch and stone

employers of which
pricker they were

certainly psychopaths

they had no feelings
or remorse for

their victims and
they were handsomely

rewarded not only to
dispose of alleged

witches by identifying
them but also

innocence that other people were

prepared to pay good
sums of cash for to

be rid of them in
fact by the end of his

reign he had accrued

the princely sum of
a thousand pounds

which by modern
standards were placing

within a level close to being a

millionaire so it
was certainly a very

very profitable
exercise and the sad

part about all of
this was the fact that

this occurred during
the English Civil

War so there was
no proper lawful

jurisdiction by
authorities because some

could be under the
controlled Royalists

others could be under
the control of the

parliamentarians and
so Hopkins was able

to work within this
grey area and he

even had a letter
of Good Conduct to

allowing through two
different areas in

order to carry out his alleged

persecutions of witches

it is believed by
the end of his reign

that he had murdered
over 300 women and

also some men too
and on one occasion

had persecuted an
elderly priest who he

accused of being a
witch quite clearly

Hopkins had gone
beyond his dream it is

a Witchfinder general and was a

psychopath completely
out of control

now why would
people want somebody

persecuted as a witch
well most of his

victims were poor
painless elderly

widows easy victims
to torture and to

confess to alleged
crimes and as a

result of their
prosecution they would

receive a financial
settlement from the

grateful villages and
the reasons behind

all of this mostly
were the fact that

the great play
existed during that

period of history
and of course there

were a number of
ailments and diseases

affecting livestock
which all could be

attributed to the
work of a witch nobody

really understood
the mechanics of

science at that period
of history it was

still very much
in its infancy and

particularly with
medicine and so if

somebody fell sick
or if their animals

fell ill it had to
be the work of a

witch

of course there is no testimony

following any of these
persecutions that

any of these animals
or people recovered

from their alleged
ailments as a result

of a witch being
persecuted and wired

and certainly during
their early days

here in Miss Lear
Manningtree they

prosecuted and had
hung 19 women from

this area who were
completely innocent

of any crime of
witchcraft in fact

during the early
days in the year 1645

most of their early
victims were tried

by water at the
infamous hopping bridge

which can still be
seen today along the

walls at miss Li and
here victims were

tied to chairs and
thrown over the side

into the pond below
if they died they

were clearly
innocent but if they

floated back to the
surface they were

obviously guilty
as a witch and they

were later taken
to Colchester where

they were tried
and hung and indeed

today in the castle
basement are the

remains of the cells
in which a number

of his poor women
were incarcerated but

it can be considered
that they would

have been cold they
would been damp and

the victims would
have been stripped

naked and beaten other
methods to detect

witches could be
signs of a witch

particularly if
people have walks or

moles these are
normally the signs of

witches apparently
or if people have an

extra nipple which
is definitely the

mark of the devil and
so on and so forth

I in fact have a
birthmark on my back

which quite clearly
could indicate that

I'm a witch because
if you look at this

birthmark it actually
resembles a witch

on the broom stick
so had I lived in the

17th century and was wrongly

unfortunately accused
of being a witch

I would not legally
have been able to

defend myself such
was this savagery and

the bigotry of that
period of history

Methos they employ to extract

confessions and to
prove their guilt

that was simply by
using a blunt knife

placed against their
arms and of course

a blunt knife would
not cut their skin

and with not draw
blood which was a sure

sign of witchcraft
or by using a knife

with a retractable
blade so that the

knife will appear
to pass through the

victims arm and be
retracted with no

trace of any blood or indeed any

customers skin which
was also a sure

sign of witchcraft
it's believed that

Hopkins drew his
inspiration from the

works of King James
the first who wrote

the book on
demonology it is also

suggested that for
a period he was

employed as a clock
in Holland where he

learnt much of the
continental methods

of detecting which
is all bar one of his

victims were hung
only one was burnt at

the stake whereas
that practice of

burning at the
state of witches was

fairly commonplace
throughout Europe one

of the questions
that arises is why

didn't Hopkins visit
Keynesian and Essex

and the suggestion
is that he was too

terrified after which
he's there well as

I've shown in the
earlier part of my

documentary the
alleged witchcraft in

the village was more
a confection of the

19th century and he
had no reasonable

call to go there and
I'm very sure that

someone like Hopkins
would not easily be

dissuaded from attending
a village which

was noted to be
haunted with witches it

is interesting to
note that Hopkins

produced in the year
16 47 the discovery

of witches which he
used in his defense

against the priests
John gall at Great

Staunton in Huntingdon Sher who

denounced him as a
witch Huntingdon was

perhaps his last final
battle and he was

forced to retreat
and suffering from an

illness of a chest
infection he went

back to his home in Manningtree

in south street which
in fact today is

an empty lot next to
the red line public

house

where he died of
his illness within

hours Hopkins have
been buried in the

grounds of miss
lis church not this

churchyard but
another church which

sadly no longer
exists today and so we

are unable to
place exactly where

Hopkins is interred
but suffice to say

that he legacy lives
on for eternity the

discovery of witches
was taken across to

America by the early
settlers to the

town of Salem in
Massachusetts where it

was put to good
employment in another

reign of terror which
is known today as

a Salem witch trials
today the legacy of

Matthew Hopkins
still lives on in the

form of his ghosts
apparently he has

been seen at hopping
bridge walking

along the walls area
facing the river

store also ghostly
and mysterious

screams have been
heard coming across

from the salt marsh
which is believed to

be the spirits surface
on his victims he

apparently has been
heard inside the

mystery horn hotel
on the upper floor

walking up and down
as a restless spirit

perhaps and lastly
at the White Hart

Hotel a Manningtree

where his spirit is
allegedly said to

haunt quite how
true any of these

stories are I cannot
attest but I can

say that for a long
long time thereafter

the legacy of Matthew
Hopkins will live

on in this area
perhaps as a vessel to

sell tourism more
perhaps for people to

come and reminisce
over the terrible

deeds carried out by
two men in the 17th
century

[Spooky Music] Horse gallops

[Spooky Music]

well I've arrived to
a church which for

me has many fond
memories having been

here on numerous
occasions in the past

I'm actually asked
some evans church on

the island of mercy
and essex and this

is actually the
eastern side of the

island

there is another
church at the western

end this particular
church has an

interesting history
it took over 200

years to construct
and dates from the

12th 13th 14th
and 15th centuries

respectively so
there's been an ongoing

development here
over the centuries

which has brought us
today to this fine

church that stands
here as testament to

the craftsmanship
of the medieval past

and very light and
airy has a wonderful

ambiance and it's
certainly something

that I'd love to come
back to whenever I

have the occasion
and it's great to be

back here today and
usually perhaps it's

sunny outside and
there is very little

wind which gives me
great opportunity to

share with you
one of the legends

outside associated
with this church

let's have a wander
around this church

has probably got the
most unusual pulpit

which I've seen
anywhere the notice of

the pulpit and it's
hourglass shape is

actually created on
top of a column and

the reason for that
simply was up until

1920 this church
was filled with box

pews so the height
of the pews would

have touched just
below the actual

paneling here from
which the priest

would stand

please are a rare
sight in churches

mostly ones we find
are made from wood

but this is a casting
brass and probably

dates to the 19th
stroke early 20th

century it's a
particularly fine piece

and obviously well
looked after and well

cleaned one can just imagine the

prohibitive cost even
for that period of

history but
nevertheless it's quite

beautiful with no

[Music]

there are are two
interesting exhibits I

want to share with
you now part of the

church furniture
isn't work one is this

wooden frame plaque
to the memory of the

tenor Colonel Edward
Bellamy citizen and

fishmonger late
of this parish who

deceased the 28th of
August in the year

at the age of 59 and
considering its age

and how far actually
goes back and the

fact that it's still
here and it's so

well perfectly
preserved this is indeed

an enjoyable rarity
to actually see

inside a church today
and next to it we

have a staircase a
medieval staircase in

stone which goes up
but comes out at the

top there which was
originally access to

the rude loft and
the Rood screen used

to literally run
across here separating

the chancel from the
nave and of course

the Rood screen has long since

disappeared but there are still

references to the
fact that it actually

existed and to see
it as a curiosity is

quite fun really a
detail which I always

appreciate particularly
so in medieval

churches and it are
these large archways

which separate this
part of the Church

of the nave from
the adjoining chapel

from the detail
that I can see these

would probably date
to the late 14th

early 15th century
and even to this day

the preservation
of the detail the

carving is is
still there there's

virtually no damage
and it seems to have

survived history fairly well and

certainly accredit
to the Churchill

authorities here
which maintained this

building in such a high state of

renovation and repair

[Music]

just over here we have a rather

attractive late
14:30 15th century

medieval font with
ecclesiastical

carvings around the
tunnel sides which

is particularly
interesting this has

much closer look

certainly just
looking at this piece

listen fine carving
here of arches and

here is an empty space
I can only assume

at some point this
may have contained an

image of a now
prescribed Saint which

may have been taken away there's

certainly other panels
which attests to

the fact that
there may have been

something else
there originally but

having said all
that the detail was

still very strong

it's albeit slightly
chipped and damaged

and after centuries
have used them

bearing some signs
of graffiti it's

still very much here
today and very much

used and enjoyed
by the people that

celebrate at this
church there are two

historical characters
attached to this

church which I wish
to go into some

detail with one I
will need to travel

outside to two grave
of a 15 year old

girl and the other
perhaps to a famous

author and was also
the priest here in

the nineteenth century
but let's wander

outside first and
let's look at the

legend of Sarah wrench

[Music]

one of the most
unusual and perhaps one

of the saddest
burials here in the

church art at some
edmonds Church in

East mercy and Essex
is an iron cage

grave burying the
legend of Sarah wrench

who died May the 6th
1848 aged 15 years

and five months but
she is buried alone

in unconsecrated
ground nobody actually

knows who sarah wrench
was and certainly

there's no record of
her birth which in

those days wasn't
particularly unusual

unfortunately but
for a burial to take

place here in East
mercy from somebody

from Feldon and there's
no record of her

death or birth then
it seems rather odd

to say the very
least but anyway I

digress a lot of
people believe that

this grave had this
iron cage or more

safe placed over it
to prevent a group

of people known as
resurrectionists or

burkas from removing
her body and

selling it for medical research

first of all let's
examine the fact that

the Resurrectionist
as they were known

may have been intent
on removing her

body to be sold to
a medical school

either in London
or Cambridge which

would have been
the nearest medical

schools for that
period of history where

obviously they would
have received a

bountiful price for
her corpse that to

me is a rather
fanciful explanation so

now we must look at
the facts in more

detail

Sarah was a native
of children village

which in those days
would have taken by

a horse a cart
probably around 40

minutes only terribly
unmade roads which

existed in those
days and say just for

example if it was
a grave robber he

would have to know
that she had recently

died

he would also have
to know that she has

been buried here for
him to even dream

of removing the corpse
and taking it by

cart to the nearest
railway station of

that period which
was cultures there

which would have
taken probably two or

three hours on the
roads that existed

and then the long
journey into London

but then having to
explain to people why

they're carrying a
cadaver of a young

girl and then of
course if you're a

resident here on
Murray Island you would

have to know
somebody in a medical

school in London who
would be prepared

to break the law on
by this corpse and

I'm coming back again
to what the locals

believed that she was
at the time of her

death it was
suggested that she was

which and that was
the reason she was

buried with an iron
cage to prevent her

from rising again
and tormenting the

locals by modern science and

understanding of
the world this is a

completely ridiculous notion but

understandable when
you look at the

mindset as I've
explained of the people

from that period I
find the whole event

surrounding her death
and also the the

grave robbers evolved
highly repellant

really and quite
sad when you look at

things and examine
them under a modern

light we have to
remember for example

between 1506 and
1750 to such was the

interest in the human
anatomy by medical

schools that the
supply human bodies

cadavers had completely
dried up and so

they decided to
introduce a piece of

legislation which
was known as the

murder Act which
allowed convicted

felons who were
executed as part of

their punishment for
their bodies to be

taken away for free
by medical schools

for their medical
classes and of course

as the interest in
medical science grew

and blossomed and
particularly so in

Edinburgh and in
London where medical

schools they were
receiving students

from all over the
world such was the

interest the supply
of convicted bodies

grew less and less
because also at the

same time it reflected
a social change

insist

no longer were
people going to be

executed for the most
minor of offenses

and so that ready
supply of bodies

completely dried up
there so the only

course for further
action to enable them

to continue their
business was to employ

or to do business
with these people that

were known as
resurrectionists or burkas

burka comes from
Messrs Birkin hare who

were Irish immigrants living in

Edinburgh or I believe
between 1827 and

1828 murdered I
believe up to 16 people

and solved their bodies to an

unscrupulous doctor
at an Edinburgh

Medical School and
that these supply of

bodies were taken
without question by

the said medical
school and when they

were eventually caught
and convicted and

executed no punishment
was dealt out to

the doctors involved
that the medical

practices and in
fact in the case of

Burke his skeleton
was placed on public

display his body
was deceptive book

covers were made from
his skin and also

appointment card
folders were also

created from his skin
the end result was

that after Burke and
Hare were arrested

and convicted there
was a huge landslide

in change with
regard to the care of

bodies after death
because up until then

nobody had really
given it a second

thought after they brought in

legislation they
decided that in future

all deaths should be
properly registered

with certificates
that accompany each

corpse to ensure
that those who had

control over a corpse
had the correct

paperwork giving
them authorization to

do so which obviously
cuts out the

middleman the tomb
robber who would

remove these bodies
for sale so in 1848

here in East merci
I can give you a

rough idea of what
life was like here

which it was fairly
harsh there was

mostly farmers and
people who made their

living from the sea they weren't

particularly wealthy
of course there

there were landowners
but importantly

this she was a
forgotten corner of

United Kingdom wine
earth would anybody

want to place a mock
safe over a young

girl's grave my
view whichever the

legend is with regard
to Sarah wrench is

that she was not
a witch she was a

victim of a narrowed
social mentality

which pervaded in
England at that time I

think that an
according to the facts

that she was indeed
pregnant I think

that in her village
she was confronted

over her pregnancy
and she obviously

didn't wish to name
the father of the

child and so she
lied and she may have

said something to
the effect that she

had been raped by
demon or or something

like that what you
have to understand is

that in the year
1848 and despite the

Witchcraft Trials
of the 17th century

people still here and
particularly so in

Essex and in Suffolk had these

deep-rooted fears
of the devil and

almost peasant virus
as it were which

completely possessed
the minds of most

god-fearing Christians
who lived in

these remote rural
districts and if

proof be needed the
last witch trial

occurred in Essex
actually in the 1860s

in the village of
still heading them

where the villagers
decided that a deaf

and dumb mute who
was believed to be

French a man by the
name of dummy was a

witch and he was
tried by being doused

into water as a
result this poor man

caught pneumonia
and died but best

beside the point

it shows though
that this mentality

surrounding the paranormal and

surrounding the works
of the devil still

held very strongly
in people's minds and

regardless of whatever
people would say

to this day it's a
very very sad story

but one which I'm
sure you will find

interesting if not
a little sympathetic

to this poor young
lady and thank you

Sarah

and I hope that you
can spend the rest

of your time

in peace and away
from all those people

who perhaps misjudge
you so badly and

now we return back
inside to the church

[Music]

that was indeed an
interesting tale

albeit rather sad and
perhaps sadder for

the fact that nobody
knows very little

about this young
lady but at least by

being buried here
in this beautiful

quiet country church
or at least give

her centuries of
peace from a torment

that she must have
suffered as a child

and that brings me
on to another famous

incumbent of this
church a man by the

name of Sabine
baring-gould who was the

rector here between
1871 and 1882 and

what can I say about this man

he was probably one of the most

prodigious rioters
of the period in fact

the British Library
can record at one

period that the
majority of submissions

for registration
by a library were

actually works written
by Baron Gord he

came here as he
believed as a form of

punishment

and nobody knows what
the punishment was

for it was certainly
known that he was a

very open-minded free-thinking

individual and probably may have

travelled on some
toes somewhere in the

church hierarchy but
he certainly wasn't

happy about being
posted to this church

he found the Islanders
very difficult

people to get along
with he found them

to be very suspicious
and wary of

outsiders for which of course

baring-gould

was certainly a
very interesting man

while he was here as part of his

presumed punishment
he was able to write

a very famous hymn
but the name of

onward Christian
soldiers which to

anybody associated
with the Christian

faith may have
heard over the years

being played literally
anywhere in the

world a very very
popular tune he also

wrote a book on the island and

characterized the
people on the island

as part of this
thriller which he wrote

and certainly even
to this day people

can attest to some
of the descriptions

of the characters
in this novel to

people that actually
existed during

ferrying God's time
and perhaps that was

his form of revenge
against them I

personally feel that
the church rather

than in punishing
him by sitting here

they realized that
this man was a

literary genius and
thought that perhaps

by sending him to a
very quite post such

as here it would
enable him to get on

with his work I
don't think that they

particularly prescribed
against him he

was certainly a very
interesting man he

was entirely self
educated and traveled

freely across the
continent on his many

travels where he acquired great

knowledge

picked up some
interesting items which I

believe some of which
are still here in

this church today
during his period here

he actually renovated
the church for his

own personal expense
he was certainly a

man of certain means
and if you look in

a number of the
windows you will see

some sixteenth and
seventeenth-century

round doors which I
believed to be of a

continental origin and perhaps

baring-gould

acquired these on
his travels and had

been put into the
windows here because

often there there
is no sign of any

medieval glass and
the chancel window as

beautiful as it is
is certainly a late

Victorian masterpiece
but let's carry on

with the tour inside
you'll have to

excuse the rather
strong light that's

coming for the church
windows but here

is an interesting
exhibit which is a

reconstructed niche
and you can see that

there are cracks in
the stonework where

it's been completely
rebuilt this

unfortunately is not an uncommon

phenomenon in many
churches of this

period as I've
already explained on

earlier videos when
the church went

through a period
of Reformation many

things that were
regarded as idolatry or

to Catholic were
destroyed by the

Protestants and it
would appear that in

the early days at least this was

actually removed
and broken up but

fortunately it's been
recovered and it's

been put back into
place but here of

course would have stood a statue

probably of one
of the Saints and

fortunately only
the other day I was

able to travel over
to fingering her

Church which has
such a statue of some

Margaret which had
been removed a head

was partially broken
and she was buried

into the rubble at
the back of the niche

and filled in and it
was only during the

period of renovation
inside the church

that she was
rediscovered and put back

onto display which
is such a terrible

shame these beautiful
objects of artwork

these

handcrafted by people
these were painted

by artists and yet they were so

unceremoniously disregarded and

discarded as refuse
but here at least

the lesions that exist
in this hope that

perhaps one day
the snatcher which

originally filled
this dad made me

rediscovered and put
back on to display

there's a story I
want to share with you

an anecdote about baring-gould

and he had apparently
15 children in

fact he had so many
children that on one

occasion he had a
party at the vicarage

and he picked up a
little girl he went

oh you're pretty
whose little girl are

you and she burst into tears and

exclaimed but I'm yours daddy

he was so wrapped up
in his work and his

life they'd actually
forgotten the

identities of his
own children this

shows you the
eccentricity of that man

but a really nice story

[Music]

below through here
this wave of energy

all the time might
be cold in here it

certainly feels warm in some way

beautiful

on a spiritual
level I'm actually

feeling and I can
actually see on the

altar area an impression
in my mind of a

man and priest and
a boy and the boy

wearing a white
surplice as though he

may have been in a
choir whether this

was a vicar and his
son or some other

relation I don't know
but they feel very

warm nothing negative
here at all well

unfortunately time
is drawing to a close

here it's starting
to get dark and this

beautiful light
naturally illuminated

Church is slowly
drawing into darkness I

hope you've enjoyed
the towels that I've

shared with you today
and particularly

appertaining to Sabine
Barry gold and of

course poor Sara
wrench and had been

able to enjoy the beauty of this

building which for
me is crucially
important

[Music]

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Hadley was first
constructed by hubert

de burgh in 1215 and
the site chosen was

in the high natural
ridge constructed

from London clay de
Berg realized the

site afforded good
views across the

Thames Estuary

and the castle would
help to protect

London from raids by
French warships the

Kentish rag stone
used was brought by

raft across the
Thames from Kent from

where it was quarried
and a ramp was

constructed to haul
the stone from the

foreshore which
was until the 18th

century at the base
of the hill land

Reclamation's
pushed the sea much

further back which
exists to this day as

cultivated farmland
Hubert was a trusted

follower of King
John and custodian of

two important role
castles at Windsor

and over a Dover he
was soon to prove

his great military
skill by successfully

defending the castle
during a fierce

siege in 1216 de Burgh
was later given a

license to Crenna
late in 1230 under

Henry the 3rd but by 12:39 his

relationship with the King had

deteriorated to such
an extent that the

Berg was arrested and had his

possessions including
Hadley stripped

from him the castle
by the 1250s had

fallen into neglect
and despite some

investment after it
was given to Queen

Elinor in 1273 it
remained in relatively

poor condition a new hall and an

adjacent solar complex
were built at the

castle around 1290
but collapsed due to

subsidence shortly
afterwards in 1299

the castle was given
to Queen Margaret

and Edward the third
acquired the castle

in 1330 and between
1361 and 1363 the

internal buildings
were renovated which

was completed by 1365
after 1540 for the

estate began to be
broken up first the

parks were sold
and then the castle

itself bought by Lord
Richard rich from

Edward VIII 6-4 700

in 1551 rich dismantled
the castle for

the value of its stone
primarily between

1551 and 1575 and the castle now

thoroughly ruined
passed through Rich's

descendants the
English painter John

Constable visited
Hadley in 1814 and

made a drawing of the castle as

preparation for ten
old sketches and a

single painting the
old painting Hadley

Castle was produced in 1829 and

exhibited of the
Royal Academy in the

same year William
Booth Purchase Hadley

Castle and its
surrounding site in 1891

for the use of the
Salvation Army which

established a farm
to Train the English

poor prior to them
being sent overseas

to the British colonies
considerable so

science and slippage
on the ridge

occurred between 1898
and 1923 causing a

collapse of the
southern curtain wall

The Salvation Army
gave the castle to

the Ministry of Works
in 1948 and it is

now owned by
English heritage and

classed as a scheduled
monument and a

great one initiative
building subsidence

and land slips have
continued the north

east tower largely
collapsed in the

1950s and further
major slippage ease

occurred in 1969 1970
and 2002 today I'm

fortunate to be able
to visit the ruins

of Hadley Castle and
Essex very recently

I featured a para
documentary on Essex

witches the center
of which was based

upon the village
of kanuda which of

course was central
to that particular

documentary and also
featuring the arch

nemesis of all
which is self-styled

Witchfinder general
Matthew Hopkins

and of course it
wasn't long before

comments were raised
as to why I never

featured perhaps
Essex is most famous

cunning man a man
by the name of James

Merle and the reason
simply for that was

that the para documentary was

essentially rooted
in kanuda and also

miss Lee Manning
Terry because the two

fitted quite nicely
within the sense of

one group of people
that were alleged to

persecute church-going
people and then

an alleged churchgoer
persecuting

alleged witches and
so it featured quite

well but of course
within the remit of

that there was not
enough time to talk

about James Merle
and his life and his

claims James Merrill was born at

Rochford in Essex
in around the year

1780 won and in 1785
he was baptized and

grew up to become a
fairly well-adjusted

normal young man
except for his material

gifts accorded to him

according to legend
but a fact that he

was the seventh son
of a seventh son and

these gifts were
pivotal for what James

Merrill became in later life a

well-known cunning
man a man who was

alleged to have gifts
which included in

the empowers herbal
remedies divining

for lost objects astrology and

clairvoyance to name but a few

in around 1812 James
decided to become a

cobbler and set
himself up with a shop

at Hadley in Essex
as his client base

grew his knowledge
grew and more more

people including
the wealthy were

travelling from
much further afield

traveling down from
London Suffolk half

Fisher and even
further abroad to seek

him out because of his acclaimed

reputation as a seer
and cunning pair he

possessed a tremendous
knowledge of

herbal remedies
medicine and astrology

and owned an
expensive library of

magical books and
papers although none

of these have survived
his library is

said to have
contained the works of

Henry Cornelius Agrippa

nichelle Nostradamus
and William Lily

for his consultation
room he allegedly

used the front room
of his cottage which

was festooned with
all types of curves

tied to the beams
and slowly drying out

for future remedies
and clients in the

corner of that room
he had an extremely

large wooden chest
which contains

various texts and
books relating to his

craft as a cunning
man he also had a

magical knife a
human skull and a

writing desk but
what was interesting

amongst his collection
was a large brass

telescope now one
can assume that the

telescope was used
for looking at the

sky and that the
Stars but as I believe

part of his reputation
as a cunning man

relied extensively
on local intelligence

information that
he could pick up or

quire locally either
directly from the

individual themselves quite mean

obviously or by a
third party or in this

case by observing
people through his

telescope seeing what
people were up to

in a day to day basis
so that when they

came to him he may
have had copious

details of notes
pertaining to that

individual which he
could then reveal

which would obviously
amaze and surprise

the person concerned
and reinforced his

belief in him

as a cunning man
or mount witch on a

day-to-day basis
morale would often be

seen wandering around
the town of Hadley

as it became or
wandering to the ruins

of the old castle
where Deeping thought

he was seeing

muttering or whispering
to himself as he

walked along no
doubt thinking about

particular clients
or causing his thirty

was occupied with
at that particular

time but one thing
about Merrill people

didn't fear him
people adored him

because if he's
wiseness his wisdom and

his ability and
creativity in the way

that he could help
or assist people now

bearing in mind as
i've always mentioned

in all of my paradox
men thérèse people

were deeply superstitious
and of course

talking of the black
magic and the black

arts with frightened
people particularly

devout church-going
folk and of course

Merle was a man
who had deeply held

religious beliefs
he was a devout

Christian he was
perhaps so well-versed

on the Bible New
Testament that he could

quote word-for-word
a particular psalm

much better than
the local priest

it would have to
research anything that

Merle had told him
as quotes from the

Bible such was his
ability and his

memory and his memory
is certainly key

to his ability as
a cunning man he

challenged me services
usually Halfpenny

for curing warts and
other simple herbal

remedies half a crown
to break a spell

cast by another witch
and the same one

for his famous which
was all spells but

if he was asked to
call upon the aid of

high spirits he were
charged even more

though that magical
cure was required

then he was set about
by raising spirits

or good angels as
he described them

certainly most
cunning men of that

period were eccentrics
and James Morel

was second to none and his own

eccentricities how
would people describe

him there are certainly
no photographs

they exist to this day there are

drawings based upon
his description but

nothing more and
this is how he was

described he was a
small man in stature

but had an aura of
great authority with

piercing blue eyes

the ruddy complexion
went out and about

in the village she
wore bobtail coat and

a fashionable hard
hat and always

carried an umbrella
he was a married man

and then also
allegedly had up to 20

children although
no records can be

verified to actually
establish that as a

fact he also had
what he called a

magical mirror which
is something that

he used to stare
into as a seer to be

able to draw more closely into a

particular problem
brought to him by a

client and the mirror
also served as a

lost property finder
allegedly because

of his divinations
he was able to see

and locate the
missing item and had a

great thought and
the claim for that

particular reputation
as an astrologer

he was incredibly
accurate and many of

his predictions did
come true maybe not

in the immediate
future but certainly

many years hence with
regard to anything

spiritual there was
nothing that James

Merrill could not
do and nothing of

course he he would
refuse to do to help

other people certainly
a far cry from

the reputation of
George picking Gill

who came later here
we have a man that

was very deeply
associated with the

local village and
with the church people

held him in great
respect people didn't

fear him people came
to him for help and

for assistance and
in return he gave

their systems he
never claimed to call

upon imps or demons to fight a

particular enemy or
evil instead he used

what we would call
today as white magic

perhaps a predecessor
of the modern

Wiccan movement
perhaps one of his

claims was that he had a magical

telescope now whether
it was the brass

telescope that I
mentioned earlier or

some other telescope
this telescope was

able to see through
walls now remember

as I came back to earlier

about James Morel
taking notes and

observing people I
think that was the

purpose it was one
of the same items

which he used to
observe people from a

distance from the
telescope because if

he looks at people
from a great distance

they would never
have seen him and so

anything that he could
attest to a later

date was obviously
a magic a divination

which has come to
him through the white

forces that surround
him he was never a

man who was regarded
as being Woolley

and his predictions
or his conduct he

was somebody that
people very deeply

admired of local
Fisher perhaps he also

had a talismanic
copper bracelet with

which he was able to
detect evil online

people I think in
truth that James Morel

was a uniquely
gifted psychologist I

think that the people
he came across he

could get vibes off
them he very quickly

was able to work
out whether somebody

was good or bad and
obviously there was

a level of success
attached to that

because certainly
for here the copper

bracelet that he
wore was one of the

popular gimmicks
that he employed and

his trade as a seer
and I certainly

think that people
that had a guilty

secret were no
longer to hold that

secret if they were
in the presence of

James Morel he had
that cunning ability

to find and seek the truth an

interesting story
which I think is

largely apocryphal
but relates to James

Morel and that concerns
one of his which

is bottled now his
witches bottles were

made out of metal
they were cast by

local blacksmith they weren't

particularly easy to
make as many could

break in the firing
process but they use

an effectiveness
particularly on a

psychological basis
around the town of

Hadley was particularly
effective one

particular famous
case was a young girl

who was barking like a dog

maril diagnose that
she was suffering

from witchcraft
and so using one of

these

Oh spirit bottles
will which his bottles

he heated it up in
the fire intending to

give the sense that
burning back to the

person that was hex
in this young girl

legend has it that
the bottle exploded

in the half of the fire and the

following day the
which the center of

this evil upon this
young girl was found

dead half burnt by
fire but there was no

trace on a Caesar
fire so people were

scribed her death to
the actions of the

spirit bottle of
the witch's bottle

which James Morrel
had placed earlier in

the half of his fire
whether this was

true or not

it certainly aided
his reputation and

increased the number
of people who would

come to him on a
regular basis seeking

help another story
was that he killed a

witch using the
powers of magic white

magic against this
evil force which

allegedly came
from the village of

kanuda now as you
recall in later years

George picking Gil
allegedly struck a

witch down dead
could this story be

lifted from the
reputation of morale and

transferred by
somebody else to George

speaking Gil and I
think certainly there

are a number of claims
ascribed to pagan

girl which in fact
could be ascribed to

James moral in
December of 1864 'el

became quite seriously
ill and foreseen

his death which he
said will occur on

the 16th of December
of 1860 and he's

fine Wales the
village Vicar tried to

minister the last
rites but when Morel

could stand it no
longer he fixed his

piercing eyes upon
him and roared I am

the devil master

at which point the Vicker gossip

terrified and ran
for his life he was

later given a proper
funeral in the

churchyard at the
church in Hadley

unfortunately there
is no market to this

day as to where he
is buried and of

course later he was
joined by his family

who two were also
buried in unmarked

graves and allegedly
on his death

certificate of time
of death was written

his occupation as a
quack doctor perhaps

rather insulting for
the reputation and

the enjoyment that
his presence gave to

the people of Hadley
but unfortunately

there's always been
this psychological

battle between the
church and people

like James Merle and
George pecan girl

although I hasten
to add and I will

underscore that
James Merle did not

worship any horn gods
as pick and go did

he was a deeply
devout Christian this

was an extension
in his mind of his

teachings and
understanding of the Bible

after his death
the landlord of his

rented cottage where
he lived placed all

of his books in the
chest and buried it

in the garden

they were later dug
out by his son but

Merle and certainly
they were believed

to have survived
until a roughly the

year 1956 when they
were largely taken

out and burnt since
his death stories

have proliferated
about James Merle as

indeed with draw
picking Gayle as indeed

with any of the
other more notarized

witches that were
extant in essex over

that period of
history and of course

it's people like
Eric maple and a few

others that have
stepped into the bridge

picking up secondhand
stories from other

folk which

were rightly or
wrongly attributed to

Eva George picking
girl of James Merle

I'm inclined to believe
that much of the

legends associated
with James Merle were

later adopted by
others to include

installation of
Jaws peaking girl I

absolutely no proof
to prove or disprove

this but it is a
theory which I think

hold reasonably well in the

circumstances one
of the most enduring

legends that's held
to this day about

James Merle is a fact that he

prophesized that
there will be which is

in Lee for over 100
years I think that

would probably be
quite a safe bet

particularly today
with people's more

wider interests in
esoteric arts and

beliefs and perhaps
in me today there

are still those witches

of old who knows it
is a story in the

legend of the story which I find

fascinating and
certainly one could say

that with regard to
James Merle he was

certainly a wired
and cunning man and

certainly a person
whose reputation and

good name will
probably live on for
centuries to come

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

Spooky music.

This is the front room
of the cottage. just generally
where you know where
we spend most of our time

I'm not sure in
relation what this what

this room had to be
on which is present

but it is certainly
part of it I don't

think the witches
were actually kept in

here well that's in
the next room there

but in this room
certainly it was 70

parts not prison I'm
saying in this room

London I'm fitting
anything but of

course as the night
comes in things

changed and they and
the rooms next door

here is it Rwanda
fruit so what room are

we actually in now
this is the room what

the ladies I know men that many

prisoners were kept
in in the holidays

especially cage and
shove it up to these

walls here so they
have literally have

been hung like this
and in those days a

very small area you
can imagine how that

by 10:30 in cramped
Scranton all packed

in this small
space but they were

shuttled up to the
islands and all the

waters the interesting
observation here

when poverty sometimes become

troublesome and
indicate it can be a

number of factors
but the one that

striking me very
strongly at the moment

is all of this is
being rebuilt wasn't

it what happened was because the

building was so so
old these bricks and

new bricks it was
exactly the same

dimensions but it's
funny I know Levi's

they would have a
reason money to do but

sometimes when you
rebuild something if

there's a spiritual
presence in a

property that sometimes
I'm happy with

what you've done or
what was done was

this done before
you arrived or after

before I arrived
and out of interest

you've lived here in
total 150 for three

years seven

general activity
would be the tap some

way so only one enough
so me up and down

the stairs all the
time the door latches

actually as consequently
going you know

night yeah you'd see
figures all at the

time or just bright
flashy lights that

German sit sit on race swing

TVs going on and off
things moving about

I mean just just
constant all the time

things would disappear
and then turn up

in a placement when
I swear I put it

quite classic from
what I understand

about these things
but all the time very

upset constantly
and if they frighten

you to the degree
that you thought it

was too many singing
for you yeah I mean

I basis five three
years the first year

I was with my family
Cole and then John

moved in as I have
boyfriends and then I

was living with
Nicole and John and to

be honest it was
very active there but

it's kind of okay
when you're living

with somebody in the
house it it's not

as scary then they
moved out and I was

on my home it didn't
take long before I

you know because
it's kind of when it

happens if there's
somebody there then

not not so much about
you wait a bit mmm

but you can it's
not as scary when on

your own I was
terrified I succumbed

every single night
from work straight up

the stairs not
myself in a bedroom I

never came downstairs
and so I literally

had a cup of tea
upstairs and I mean she

lived upstairs for
every year you clear

all things like
temperature yes no

absolutely my god you could feel

straight harsh you
sit and then also wow

that's freezer and
you could actually

feel it go past the
inside areas and you

can see as well dark
dark I mean I've

seen three ghosts in
here which had four

as if I can see you
know absolutely oh

yeah I've seen that
too and when you see

it you know you're
looking at something

which is paranormal
and one time you're

right this ain't
real that have a side

your brain is saying
this cannot be

right and you have that kind of

confusion in between

the middle ground to
be honest I was new

I saw it because it
was always during

the day it wasn't
sort of an evening

class someone with
friends or anything I

always in you because
it wasn't for two

seconds I could see
them for quiet you

know for a good half
a minute or maybe

longer and your
brain has the time

amazing this yes
I am and then you

actually look at the
features and then

you say that you kind
of you know frozen

it was always
trained the day to be

honest what roughly
during the day it

was a permission
time one was 2:00 in

the afternoon late
afternoon around half

past five and the
other one was about

1:00 today and you've
been pushed more

yeah one day I was
brushing my teeth

bending over the
bathroom to get ready

for work in the morning
by 8 o'clock the

one washing my teeth
and I got hit so

hard and it was like
a full brain was

smack a really really
hard whack and I

was completely on
my own I've been

pushed as well many
people in here many

people are these
have been pushed or

slack for have the
hair ruffled and

things scratched
even there's this

actual footage of
actually you know to

scratch this there's
roots laying on

with this house you
see one fitting in

this room at the
moment it there is a

negativity that I
can feel it's not

overwhelmingly
impressive negativity but

it's here but what stands more

strikingly in the
middle of that is a

man and a figure

now I'm thinking as
I'm standing here

could this place
also be haunted by

retain presence of a jailer

somebody who has
techniques people

practice I have had
many parallel groups

here and it seems
like he controls the

spirits are here
here's something he's a

nasty one he's the
aggressive one when

people do investigations
and they shout

in when they ask him
or they say to him

maybe he gets very
angry and that's

where things fly
about he really really

does hit he holds it

it is like being
challenged from what I

understand is on
tasting a child here

the other step back
22 there's lots of

children here as well
maybe we've caught

on using our voices
EVP and floats

across which is you
look fantastic but

they're very very
simulated way and it's

kind of like popping
pop out and they're

very and when he makes
an appearance the, they are scared
they sucrry away.

I think he def...from what
I understand about this
type of thing he controls
what goes on here, still, even now.
500 years later

There is really really heavy
atmopshere, here
I know. As soon as I stepped
on this step. as soon as I
got off the starecase I could
feel it very very much stronger

and I am being drawn into this
bedroom. Is this your bedroom or
the kids bedroom? This was my
old bedroom.

You can feel, can't you?
It's horrible, That's what I mena
you can feel it. It's very bad
in here. it makes

People feel sick. I am feeling
quiet sick. Yeah, exactly that is
what happens, yeah. let me just.
it's actually brining up wind,
it's so powerful

yes it is constant, the door
is always like. making the
cubbard doors fly open.
I was here one night

can of coke on
he bed side table. flew
straight on

the cup flew. this this is a
core this is the core

area of the property
this is the each

house has its core
point it's here in

this room and I
can fill this male

presence I know I'm
aware I mean the

stuff you put here
is for the church

child spirits but
I'm not fitting them

at the moment and it could well

obviously be his own
children he might

be a say

he might be a killer
but this mainline

I'm fitting him very
very strongly in

here and when I
walked in here when I

got to the landing
that almost gnaws his

fearless withdraws
from the ins my body

only pain I haven't
felt any female

strong female
presence is other than

downstairs

his presence seems to surmount

everything it seems
to be encapsulate

everything that's
here I know you're

picking up on but
there's also another

male presence I
probably will find ya

but how can I say one
thing this month I

will probably from
across there and this

another room here
is dead we have huge

this room is awful. we have massive, huge
black energies in here children

see what your fireplace
I would imagine

I don't know maybe
the Jamis up here in

the old days this
was his kind of place

the prison was
downstairs but this room

is hybridizes Victorian
yes yeah there

would have been some
form of Ypres via

some kind of a fire
downstairs pushing

the heat through
the building I'm not

sure but this room
is you know you're

talking about children
now I can feel

very vaguely at this
moment I think the

two children but I'm
not hitting him but

I'm feeling this
terrible sadness of

fear of what is
in that room

coming into this
room the matrons have

seems to be there's
someone ruling all

those presences that
terrified the rest

and is word oppressive
it's very very

sad and there was
a lots and lots of

fear in this house
and I know that you

know this reason I
left left Lots up the

house and left left
it for years and

didn't stay in it
anymore there's really

lots of things are
under this house but

that's interested
in the there is a

connector between
the third on what

we're going to do
tonight just basically

sit through positive
rooms measuring and

evaluating waiting
to receive hopefully

capturing something
interesting to

camera

I feel confident
things are going to

change this this room this whole

building has a
certain own business

about it but the
interesting thing about

it is that it's
very distinctive in

certain parts of the
building it's not

like you walk into
the house and the

whole building feels
just the same some

rooms as with the sitting room

downstairs those are
quite pleasant and

in that room and
this room and to a

lesser degree the
cage really on the key

areas but the the
core area of activity

the route is in that room

okay it's n o'clock
now I return back to

the haunted house
the cage and some O's

if and already just
wandering around the

property the
atmosphere is certainly

starting to change
so very shortly it's

lights off and we
are going to commence

what could be one of the most

interesting paranormal
investigations

that I perhaps ever
been able to carry

out just do not go
up there oh my god

it's getting closer

that sounds very heavy

it's the door the
doors opening look

jeez oh my god this
is incredible this

is fantastic thank
you can you do

something can you
come through please

it's starting to get a lot more

interesting we just
heard steps coming

footsteps coming up
the staircase and

onto the landing a
very short landing

door is opened
there's nobody there

nothing has come
through I thought it

might be Vanessa

the owner of the
property coming back

for some reason
but she would have

shouted out and
said something but

nothing has been said
and instead we've

had this incredible
event of the door

actually opening
and actually hearing

the footsteps on
the staircase it is

absolutely fantastic. there
is something i can still feel
the energy, it's still here,
still in this area. let me
take a couple of stills

nothing oh my god
there's a weird light

anomaly coming
through make sure it's

not a reflection I'll
take that one and

it's still there
but it's got smaller

there's a strong
energy reading and it's

gone completely that's
the first one to

show on camera you
can see this you can

see that yellow light
anomaly as you can

see clearly here
it it looks like it

looks like a hockey
stick and it light

appears to be
coming down with the

energy weaker at the
top very very odd

indeed nothing at all
I'm gonna sit here for
a while. it feels completly
dead in here. yeah
nothing at all

do you think we
should just round up I

think we've done
enough up here she

would just round
up with the page we

haven't actually done
that yeah well no

that's a problem we
do the cage and then

we reconsider where
we go from there the

only active area
and this building so

far tonight has been
on the staircase

and that bedroom
but there's been no

real activity anywhere
else is it but

it's just kind of
weird to say the least

any friendly spirits
any persons trapped

in spirit here could
she make yourself

known to us please
I picked up a man

called Joshua Josh are you here

I'm just seeing a
light flick across the

beams and going to
the opening what the

beep. what the hell was
that oh yeah that was over
I can see it here

that was over there
why is it widget board.
what the hell is it
doing down...

OK. I'm getting the
impression whoever

whoever is here at
this moment wants to

make a contact point
with us however I'm

not prepared to double
with Ouija board

I think they're very
dangerous things to

use I think that
they can draw through

even more trouble
activity in an already

troubled property and there is

absolutely no way
I'm going to use a

Ouija board and I
recommend anyone not

to are now saying
the experts can use

them and I might
be an expert but I

still don't trust them

but this is profound this is an

indicator they're
twine say something

this is a signal
let's see where we go

from here what is
Paul back well it

would comfort well I
think it was behind

that old table in
the corner yeah I

think well I've read
those things though

it gets around there
wow this is a very

interesting property very very

interesting there's
a lot going on here

she's said man you John

I think overall
tonight it's been good

we've been investigating
for over three

hours and we've
certainly got some very

good activity to
share and that is not

including the
possibility of course of

any electronic voice
phenomena and I'm

hope I can return
there late today