Staff Raise £1700 in Sponsored Ghost Hunt in Support of Tia Greyhound Trust...

At 9.30pm on 21^st April, the staff of Balanced Being gathered at York Dungeon to begin their long awaited ghost hunt. It was fair to say that most of the staff were reluctant to enter this dark building but knowing it was all for a good cause seemed to boost moral.

The night began with an introduction to White Rose Paranormal – the paranormal investigation group who accompanied us through the night. The group consists of eight members including a Psychic Medium and professionally trained Paranormal Investigators. After the introduction and a demonstration of paranormal equipment used by the group, we were given a guided tour of York Dungeons by Grant, the Manager. At this stage, all the exhibits and sound effects were left on so that we could take in the atmosphere.

After the tour, it was time to begin our vigils. With a nod from Grant, the lights and sound effects were turned off and we were plunged into darkness. Armed with torches and various pieces of paranormal equipment, groups of 3-5 people were dropped off in various rooms to sit for 40 minutes or so and try to spot any ghosts who came to visit. One group sat in the room that shows a display of Dick Turpin’s hanging!

The group – consisting of Lisa and husband Chris, Clare, Kev a Medium and Jane an Investigator – sat in the dark and asked for any ghosts to come forward. Kev said he felt the presence of a male spirit he believed was a resident of the Dungeon. Kev felt very hot and asked one of us to feel the space around him. Lisa felt the area and confirmed that it was hot where he stood.

This was also confirmed by the laser thermometer. No other activity was experienced in this room so we had a quick break in our base room which houses the Guy Fawkes display.

The group then headed off to a different room known as the Ghosts of York. Here, we found Becca and boyfriend John sat alone in the darkness scared out of their wits! Their relief was evident when the group came to keep them company! In this room we were also joined by Sara, Phil and Neil, members of White Rose Paranormal. It was decided that the group should all stand in a circle and call out for any spirits. Kev began to sense the presence of a female spirit and that of a small boy. He asked the spirits to gently affect one of the people who stood in the circle by pushing them forward or backwards. At this point, Becca’s legs began to shake and she felt as though someone was trying to push her forward. After a couple of minutes the sensation faded and then began to affect Neil. He became overcome by one of the spirits and ended up leaving the circle and feeling unwell. The group left the room and headed back for a swift cuppa before joining up with the rest of the team.

Meanwhile in the far side of the Dungeon, Sue and husband Rick, Amanda, Caroline, Sharon and Chris from the Paranormal group were also holding a circle. The spirit of a man came through and began to affect Caroline. The spirit pushed Caroline, forward for Yes and backwards for No, and through this, we deducted that the spirit was called Frank. He was not a resident spirit but a spirit who knew one of the party who also began to feel hot during the circle. Other sensations were felt by the group such as cold spots and at one point footsteps could be heard walking down an adjacent corridor when nobody appeared to be there! Once the circle had finished all of the staff met up for a chat about the events so far.

Throughout the remainder of the night, everyone was given the option of sitting where they wished. The Ouija board was taken by one group comprising of Sharon, Lisa, Chris, Sara and Phil into the Hall of Mirrors display. Unfortunately no spirits came through but the footsteps were heard again and hot spots were felt.

A further séance was conducted in the Guy Fawkes room by Sue, Rick, Caroline, Clare, Jane and Chris and but no activity was felt there. 

The group then moved to the Dick Turpin room. A circle was conducted again and the group asked for any spirits to come through. Two spirits came to join us who had also been with us on a previous vigil. Rick felt the sensation of being pushed when asking out. A temperature drop was also felt. After the circle, the groups all gathered back into the Guy Fawkes room. The night began to draw to a close as everyone was beginning to feel tired. A debrief was given by the paranormal group to summarise everything that had occurred during the night and everybody discussed what they had felt.

The night had been a success and many members of the Balanced Being team had experienced the unexplained or what could well be the resident ghosts of York Dungeon. It was a shame that neither Dick Turpin nor Guy Fawkes turned up to share our experience but on the whole, many of the Balanced Being team were relieved!

The team at Balanced Being extends a big thank you to our wonderful \sponsors and the staff of York Dungeons, with a special thanks to Grant. At the last count, almost £1700 will have been raised to help the Tia Greyhound Trust.  If you would like to know more about the work of the trust click the following link: http://www.tiagreyhounds.org.uk/