Asylum 6 - A Supernatural Convention - Part Three

Sunday 15^th May

Waking up at 6.30am I couldn’t sleep so grabbed a shower and chilled out a little bit, my excitement yet again building for the J2 photo op this morning.  Going for breakfast once again I couldn’t eat anything as I was way too excited.

After breakfast Jo and I queued up for our photo and Caz/Maria came to stand with us in the line.  I was feeling fine, after all I had met both boys the day before, it was only when someone said they were standing and giving hugs that I began to get a little nervous.  The queue seemed to take forever to go down and we kept getting moved backwards to make more room for Ruby/diamond package people to go first ‘Come on’ I kept thinking as my nerves began to get worse.

I was reached the door I could see the boys and OH MY GOD Jensen looked amazing, he was wearing a black leather jacket eekkkk my fav kind.  He was really stubbly too and I was just thinking this is a moment I will remember forever.  Caz said she would meet us when we came out and left me and Jo.  Most people were having photo ops on their own but we were having a j2 double, double lol

Watching the guys they were putting their arms around people, woohoo finally I would get a hug or something.  As we got closer my legs were like jelly ‘hold it together Gem, they are just people’ I kept telling myself.  The girl before us was about Jo’s height and I laughed as both boys crouched right down to get in the photo with her, Jared joked they needed a box, now it was our turn.  Jo walked ahead and said to them “You’ve got another kneeler” Jared said something and Jensen smiled and said “It’s Okay” they both then turned inwards for the photo not noticing me stood behind....Great!!! I was shaking like a nervous wreck now as I tapped Jensen on his leather jacketed shoulder, he turned round eyes connected mine and said “Oh I’m sorry” and literally pulled me into the photo, I have never been so nervous in my life as I put my arm around him, I couldn’t control my shaking body and I thought my legs were going to give way for sure.  Jensen was a sweetheart and must have felt my nerves as he proceeded to rub my lower back and pat it in a very sweet, comforting way J I was in heaven thinking ‘Jensen Ackles is rubbing my back WTF’ after the photo was snapped I said “Thank you so much” he still had his hand on my back and was still rubbing it, he patted me again and said “Thank you” whilst really looking into my eyes DROOL I needed to move or I was going to drop.  He told me to have a good day and I turned around to see Jared looking at me, in my hysteria I had forgotten Jared haha I smiled and said thanks and he smiled “No problem sweetie, for sure” I was buzzing like I don’t know what.  Walking out the door Jo and Caz couldn’t believe how much I was shaking, we went outside and I had to sit on the curb for 10 minutes to calm down, best experience ever.

I will post the rest tomorrow......

Asylum 6 - A Supernatural Convention - Part Two

Saturday 14^th May

Waking up at 8am I was starting to feel it, the mixture of nerves and excitement running through my body was making ever so slightly crazy.  We went down for breakfast with Maria and for once in my life I couldn’t eat, I love my food but I felt sick with nerves, breakfast was not a good idea for me today.

We meet up with Caz & Sal again and found a seat in the Palace Suite waiting for the opening ceremony to begin and the Jensen panel talk at 9.30-10.15.

Cameras at the ready I was on the edge of my seat, as Doug the MC came onstage and a video was played on the big screen of all the cast that were there I was ready for this to happen.  After what seemed like ages they all began to filter onto the stage. Jason Manns, Cindy Sampson, Richard Speight Jr, Brock Kelly, Mark Sheppard, Fredric Lehne, Jared Padalecki and then the moment I had been waiting for all my life “Ladies and gentlemen Mr Jensen Ackles” AAHHHHH I couldn’t contain myself any longer and let out a big cheer, Woohoo there he was on stage and he looked just amazing.

The Jensen panel began and I can’t even remember now what was said, I just remember starring at him and thinking how amazing he was, I was also very aware that I couldn’t stop smiling like a giddy teenager even though I am almost 30.

Jensen’s panel went on for about 45 minutes and he was funny, sweet, polite, bashful, gentle and just a completely lovely man.  He struck me as being a little nervous, I wasn’t sure if this was due to the fact that he genuinely got nervous or because of what happened at A3 when a fan attacked him and almost knocked him unconscious, I just prayed that everyone would behave this time around and put him at ease, then hopefully he would come back sooner.

The talk was over within what felt like minutes and then those who were having a Jensen photo made their way to queue up.  One of the perks of being in group A was that we would be almost first for everything, not like last year when we were numbers 900+.  Standing in the line with Jo, Caz, Sal and their friend Emma I tried to remain calm, it appeared to be working until I reached the door and could see him sat on the chair.  He is without a shadow of doubt a very gorgeous man but seeing him up close I wondered did he have anything wrong with him, he just looked perfect, completely and utterly perfect.

Getting closer my hands began to shake a little and before I knew it I was at the front of the queue being literally shoved into his direction, what the hell did I say “Hi” was all I could muster up but unfortunately someone else was talking to him from across the room so he didn’t hear my little squeak, a couple of seconds later he turned and looked at me “Hi” I almost died, he was lovely “Hello” I replied as I stood next to him and placed my arm around his shoulder EEKKKK I kept thinking this isn’t happening LOL the photographer snapped and gave the nod it was Okay, I glanced at him and whispered thanks, he smiled and said thank you, I pretty much ran away with a big cheesy grin on my face HAPPY, HAPPY GEMMA J

The next few hours passed in a blur or walking around the Hilton stalking haha ringing everyone I know to tell them about meeting Jensen, grabbing a snack, spazzing with friends and looking around the merchandise room.

After lunch it was time for Jared's photo op that I had brought the previous day.  I wasn't as nervous about meeting Jared, at least I didn't think I was until again I reached the door and saw him.  We were laughing with Jo about her photo op as she is 4ft 11 and Jared is 6ft 4 haha she was pretty nervous about it but he was lovely to her. 

As I was pushed again towards him he opened his arms up "Hey Sweetie" he smiled, I instantly calmed down "Hey Jared, how are you?" I asked "I'm great, are you having a good weekend?" he asked me, he was so handsome I replied that I was having a great time and he went to put his arm around me, as he was doing so his hand got caught in my sleeve "Oh I'm sorry" he laughed "It's not a problem" I joked, I wasn't gonna care if Jared Padalecki wanted to put his hand up my top haha.  We had a nice hug and the phtographer took the photo "Thank you Jared" he smiled his big trademark smile "Thank you sweetie, have a great day" my Jared op was over and once again I couldn't stop smiling.

I must admit, I did feel a little upset that Jensen wasn't as approachable as Jared was but I understood that he was just being cautious, I just wanted a hug off him, that would make my day....week....year....life haha but I had to respect what he wanted and just hope that we could prove to him that we are a huggable bunch.

Next up came Richard Speight Jr's panel, he is lovely and Caz has the biggest crush on him and by crush I mean she loves him :-) his panel was great, he brought his old bandmate Sam on to stage and they sang a few songs for us all after some technical difficulties.  They were really good and the song 'I only love you when I'm drunk' is still stuck in my head now.  I can see what Caz sees in him, he is a really great guy and I had to laugh at all the photo's that she was taking of him.  Jo said look at the concentration on his face when he was playing the guitar, Caz said look at the concentration on my face haha she was like a smitten kitten.

Richard's photo op was next and I went with Caz for this one as none of the others were having one.  She was shaking in the line and so excited, it was funny to see it from the other side of the table, seeing as I was the one a mess that morning.  Richard was being funny with each person he had a photo with and seemed very approachable.  Caz pretty much ran over to him wearing her 'I love Dick' badge, he found it very amusing and insisted on having it in the photo with them by holding it towards the camera.  I walked over to him and he hugged me, he is a sweetie and he asked me how my weekend was going.  What a great day this was turning out to be.

We then ran in as Jared's stage talk had already started and listened to stories of how Jared and Jensen play tricks on Misha.  It sounded so funny, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when they are filming.  It was great to hear what Jared had to say and so nice that they all get on so well on set.  Some young kid asked Jared a question and was really sharp with him haha Jared was acting scared of the kid and everyone found it hilarious.  He comes across as such a fun, lovable, sweet guy.  You can't ask for a better pairing with Jensen/Jared.

Saturday talks had ended and so myself, Jo and Maria headed for some food again and ended up in Frankie and Benny's.  I had several strawberry daquiri's mmmmm so was good to go for the night.

At about 10ish we headed back for the disco that was just starting, we found Caz and then ended up once again walking around the Hilton seeing what or more to the point who we could spot, we even did some ghost hunting of our own inside and outside the hotel. 

At around about 1am we went to bed, I had got my J2 photo op in the morning with Jo so needed to look half awake for it.

It had been an amazing day and I was so looking forward to what Sunday would bring even though it was the last day and I was also a little sad.

TBC...

p.s I will keep adding if I forget anything so keep checking back :)



Asylum 6 - A Supernatural Convention - Part One

A6 began for me back in May last year (2010) when we booked the tickets.  We were told it was ‘the final chapter’ and Jo said 'let’s do it the boys are almost definitely going to be there', so that’s what we did. 

At the end of last year one of my biggest dreams came true and Jensen Ackles was announced as the first guest for A6, being excited was an understatement, I’m not afraid to say I shed a little tear or two, after all I had loved this man for 14 years and finally I would get to meet him.

In January we were told by Rogue that only so many Jensen photo op tickets would go on sale and it was whoever got online and was the quickest that would get one, that Saturday morning I was so stressed out, if I didn’t get a photo I would be so pissed.  At one stage the computer froze on me and I freaked out but after a quick refresh it came up, I clicked buy and the rest was history.  I was ecstatic. 

As more time passed by and more guests were announced my excitement grew and when Jared was announced as a sponsored guest well I was over the moon, A6 couldn’t come quick enough.

Friday arrived and I was bouncing off the walls with excitement.  I and my best buddy Jo got ourselves prepared and headed to the Hilton in Birmingham for what would be a ‘Super’ weekend, we were both so excited to be going.

We arrived at around 1pm after a bus journey and 2 train journeys, I was so apprehensive to get there and get settled; at this point we didn’t even know the schedule for the weekend.

I was also really excited to see Carol a friend that me and Jo had made and had met only a few weeks prior to the convention, she was brilliant and I just knew that it would be an awesome weekend.  I was also going to meet Carol’s mate Sally for the first time, I had been speaking to her online for several months and she seemed lovely, as we approached the Hilton I was like a kid who had, had too much sugar.

After checking in and getting big squishy hugs from our sista from another Mr Carol, we met Sal and she was just lovely.  She gave me the warmest hug and calmed me down saying that we could stick with her as she was a pro at the convention scene, we were all in group A so after a short while of chatting, spazzing and saying hi to our old friends Lisa and Sarah, we headed to registration.

Registration seemed to take forever but because we were in group A it was better.  Our friend Maria who we met at A4 was in group E and wanted me to try and get her a Jensen photo op from the vender’s room so after we registered I ran down and managed to get her one, she was so happy with it.

That night seemed to pass in a blur, me and Jo went with Maria to Wetherspoons for a few drinks and a meal.

Coming back for the steampunk party we got dressed up and met back up with Caz. 

Sal was drunk & dancing her cares away so we all decided to have a wander around and see if we could spot any celebs.  Two of the cast members were hanging out in the bar and we kept passing them by, eventually Jo, Maria & myself tried to make conversation with Mark Sheppard who plays Crowley but he was really rude and arrogant, guess that didn’t go how we had thought.

After a few more drinks we went to bed around about 12.30pm, tomorrow morning was when things would heat up and at 10.30am I would be meeting Jensen for the very first time & having my photo taken with him.  Excited didn’t even cover it.

TBC....

A few months later the same thing happened with the Jensen/Jared double photo, you had to email your interest and only 150 tickets were available, it was a long, long wait but finally my email came through, I had been chosen.  Again I was just so happy.

Friday 13th May

Scarborough Castle - A Close Encounter

Myself and my best friend Jo on a recent trip to Scarborough, went to the castle and the first day we went it was closed so we just walked around the castle walls. We both picked up on sword fighting and caveliars and felt we were being watched.

The following day we went and it was open so we went inside. It is a spectacular castle that dates back many years and is absolutely huge.

We went into the bathroom and as Jo followed me in it didnt sound like her, it sounded like a man with big boots on. Jo said she felt that she was walking with someone and described a man to me who I could pick up in my mental eye.

As we started to walk this man introduced himself as Phillip then went on to say Pier, I thought I was picking up on 2 spirits but turns out it was the same guy. He was French and he kept following us around and acting as a 'tour guide' everytime we stopped he'd say this is where this happened and this is where that happened. He said he loved to watch people over the years and show them around but not many people heard him, he continued to follow us because we could hear him and he wanted to talk to us.

He said that he had a wife and daughter and that he couldn't 'go home' to them (when I asked why he was wandering the spirit plane) he said that he felt ashamed but he wouldn't go into it anymore so I didn't push.

He kept mentioning the 1300's.

We went to a jail part of the castle called the bailey and Jo said that it must have been awful, Pier said it really was.

He followed us until the very end and even sat with us whilst we had a cup of tea. I asked Archangel Michael and Raphael to help him move over and they said they would try but it would be up to him.

Later we walked through the gift shop and found a book with the history of the castle. Opening it up I was amazed to find a Pier Gaveston had been to the castle in 1312, he often went by the name Phillip and was french. It turns out he was killed because of prejudice as he and King Edward II were having a homosexual relationship. Pier had a wife and daughter Judith at home and was beheaded before he had chance to go back to them.

I was amazed at what we had found out and furthermore Archangel Michael told us that he helped Pier to finally cross over, I hope he can now have some peace.

The reports on further investigation about ghosts at Scarborough Castle dictate Pier as being an evil, angry spirit who runs at people and tries to knock them off the cliff edge. I feel that he was merely wanting to be heard, as the man we met was kind, gentle and misunderstood.

I sure hope that wherever he is now that he is finally at peace.

I have found a book on his life that I am going to buy so I will keep you updated if I find anything else out.

Woodchester Mansion - A weekend of terror

Woodchester Mansion is world renowed as being an extremely haunted location.  Built originally as Spring Park the mansion was eventually knocked down and restored as Woodchester mansion in the late 1800's.  The most intriging thing about the mansion is the way that it looks today.  With doors that lead nowhere, rooms with no floors and stairs that end in mid air you may wonder how it came to be this way.
In the midst of restoring the mansion 7 workmen died, 6 of them accidently and 1 murdered.  One day in the late 1870's all workmen left the building abandoned and fled the gothic revival mansion with no reason and never returned.  Today the mansion still stands, from the outside looking complete but from the inside it takes you through a time warp back over 130 years.  What made the workmen leave that day, no-one will ever know but whatever it was has left a lasting inpression on the mansion and all those that visit it.

Woodchester Mansion, England May 06

On the approach to Woodchester Mansion I didn't really know what to expect, I had not researched into the location as I like to work on my senses rather than know all the history beforehand.  Turning off the main road we followed a long stretch that seemed to go on for miles, turning a corner my breath caught in my mouth as the building came into view.  It was spectacular but it didn't seem too eerie (in the evenings that is a different story altogether).

After a short walk around we decided to start the Investigation, I couldn't get over the size of the place and the energies that came from the walls was overpowering.  The tools from the workmen were still present and left in the same spot that they had been dropped all them years ago, something evil was lurking within and by this time my excitement and anxiety about what the night would bring filled me with a mixture of emotions.
One of the first areas we started the night vigil had a big stone bath rub, getting into the tub I had a weird sensation of feeling like I could taste blood and a lot of it, after a few moments I actually felt like I was going to choke on my own blood, I got out of the tub to be told that someone had died in that exact spot, something I perhaps would have liked to have known before I climbed in, but then at least I knew my senses were working properly.

There were 6 girls all stood in the bathroom and we decided to do a seance (you should always protect yourself before doing anything like and protect your circle, something we didn't do this time around and we suffered the consequences). 

We were holding hands, it was dark but not pitch black that we couldn't see each other. We were asking out as one of the mediums was picking up on a man and a young girl in the room. The man didn't like women and wasn't happy at us being there and the girl was scared of him.

Well I thought 6 girls against this one guy we would be Okay so I suggested that the young spirit girl come into the circle and we will protect her, as soon as the words had left my lips Dee a girl in the circle who I knew flew backwards (it was lucky someone was holding her hand either side or she would have fallen over) she said something had hit her and was holding onto her eye.

Taking a look with the torch we were all shocked to see she had a huge gash across her eye and it was bleeding, for me this is one of the scariest things that I have ever witnessed (another scary thing happened later) she was very shaken up as we all were and by the morning (the event in question took place around 1am) she had a huge black eye and was very scared and upset.

Later on we all went into a long dark corridor on the bottom floor near the cellar, and it was a very narrow corridor and I decided to stand opposite Martin the medium with us because I felt safe near him wrong decision on my half.

He (Martin) was talking to what appeared to be a demon, he was saying that whatever was here had been here longer than anything else. Martin started to make strange noises and he had warned us on past events that he may go into trance (when your body get taken over by an entity, spirit or demon to communicate) but we had never witnessed it before.

He began to talk in a different voice, no human could make the sounds that were coming out of his mouth.  It was almost as if they were coming directly from his voice box at certain times.  I had never heard anything quite like this before in my life and the whole experience left me pretty shaken up.  The demon told us that we should all leave, he kept laughing and saying we would regret it if we didn't.  Another medium was confronting him and asking why he was here, he replied that he predated anything that had ever stood here before.

Throughout the night we heard lots of strange noises and caught a fair few orbs.  That was all on the first night, we went back and did it all again the second night but nothing much happened, maybe it had taken the spirits and demons of Woodchester mansion so much energy to get through to us the first night that they decided to give us a break the next day.

I would definately revisit WoodChester as I felt it to be extremely active and there was an energy there that I feel is still with me to this day.

Overall scare factor: Night One 10/10 Night Two 4/10

The Fortune Theatre - Paranormal Investigation

Ghost Hunt October 31st 2008
Fortune Theatre, London

The night began at 7.30pm where Simon Deacon and his colleague Chris took me along with them to the Fortune Theatre in London for an all night ghost hunt. Arriving in London at around 10.00pm we headed inside to meet the group that were accomping us on our hunt. There were around 11 people all from around the local area that either worked in the fortune theatre or in the surrounding theatres in London.

After the meet and greet where Simon introduced me to everyone as a medium and I was asked several questions. We headed around as a group to have a little history tour and get a feel of the place with the lights on.

After a short while we were sent off, myself and a lady called Ruth who is also sensitive headed around by ourselves and picked up on a strange feeling on the stairway almost like you feel rooted to the spot and your whole body becomes heavy, a man's presence was felt here.

Since I had arrived at the theatre I kept getting the name Maurice in my head, I kept that in mind and it came in handy a little later on.

Stephen Griffiths, Richard O'Connor and his sister Helen arrived shortly afterwards and now the night could begin.

Again going off into small groups with some paranormal devices my group that consisted of Ruth again, Collin and Geri who worked for this particular theatre all headed to the stairwell and got settled. I kept getting the name Maurice again and felt that he was on the stairs watching us but our conversation was not to his liking so he wouldn't come forward. I then heard what sounded like a rifle clicking twice almost like someone was reloading, after telling the others Geri informed me that during the war they used to use the theatre as a lock out point and that could explain the sound I heard.

Talking about the war I felt Maurice come closer almost so he was right behind me, he was obviously interested in this topic and particularly took a liking to Geri who in his own words I heard him say "I like her she is very well educated and knows what she is talking about".

In my minds eye I could almost see a very well dressed, well spoken man I tried to sure for the word and in my head I heard him saying "I think you mean daper young lady" in reference to how he looked. This made everyone laugh.

After sometime talking with Maurice I was also getting the name George Brown, Geri said that Maurice could be a stage name and George his real name, I tried to pick up on a surname but nothing came to mind.

Going up to the top floor and the small bar area we took a seat and Ruth felt she was being hugged. I could sense a lady in a dress kind of like Jack the Ripper era but she was moving about busy and it was like she was lower than the floor which makes sense as when she was around the building would have been something else and designed differently. I felt she was a prostitue or a madam and myself, Ruth and Geri felt protected in this room like we were 'her girls' whereas Collin felt uncomfortable. The name Amanda came to mind.

Everyone else joined us and we did some glass divination in the bar room. We picked up on someone for Ruth who claimed to be a relative with a message but after sometime we all began to feel on edge, this was not a relative so we all stopped. Ruth was a little frightened by this.

Break time came and went and we were all taken around and dropped off one by one to do a quick 10 minute vigil alone. I opted for the stairway again as I wanted to contact Maurice somemore, almost as soon as I sat down I had the surname Bovell or Brovell in my head so my man was Mr Maurice Bovell.

The lone vigils ended and we all joined downstairs to do some more glass divanation, everything had gone silent it was like the ghosts and spirits were on a break now.

Simon decided that now would be a good time to use the rods to see if we could pick up on any hot spots, so in turn people walked around the theatre to see what they could find. Myself and several others found a potential hotspot, also there was a chain with a hook on that holds the doors back that was moving for about 5-10 minutes almost like it was being pulled then held before letting go.

It was now around 530 in the morning so we decided to go back to the bar upstairs and proceed to do the glass divination again. The boys went first but were getting nothing so the girls tried and although Ruth was nervous she joined in. We found out that it was a child that Ruth had spoken to before who was playing around with us, I asked if his name was Nathaniel and it was, I asked was his mother Amanda the lady I had picked up on before and there was a loud bang across the room and a very strong yes on the glass.

Back downstairs we talked about our night, Geri had found a book she had on some of the history of the place and there was a little boy called Nathaniel who had died here along with his mother. Unfortunately she wasn't called Amanda and as yet we have no information on Mr Bovell but I feel for my first investigation I came up with some good facts and that this is the start of a very interesting jouney.

George and Pilgrim Hotel - A Paranormal Investigation

George and Pilgrim Pub, England Feb 11th 2005

The investigation at the George and Pilgrim hotel began at 10.00pm on Friday the 11th of February; the evening began with a brief history of the location and the surrounding areas and a walk around the grounds to get acquainted with the areas. Martin Jeffery’s took our group around the 14th century hotel and took us into each of the eight bedrooms in this two storey hotel telling us about each room in turn and what had happened in these rooms on previous ghost hunts. We also learnt what guests who had been staying at the hotel had seen and heard in these rooms.

One of the bedrooms called the Monk’s Abbey has had it’s fair share of activity on previous investigations, people were hearing the sound of water running in the bathroom when their had been no-one around but them, the only way into the bathroom would have been to go past them, once they entered the bathroom to check where the water was coming from they all saw a blue face floating which had caused the whole group to scream and many people did not want to go back in to this room again after that. Activity was being picked up in this room again on our ghost hunt and it had a very dark oppressive feel to it, although like all the other rooms it had a window in it with a street light on outside it was unbelievable dark and it did not feel right. After the walk around we were split up into two groups and went to do a vigil in one of the bedrooms, one group went with Martin and the others went with another Martin who was the psychic medium for the evening.

Group one, our group went into the Monk’s abbey first and heard lots of knocking on request, we asked three times if there was anyone there and every time a bang was heard from above us. The creepy thing is that there is nothing above that room but the roof as the Monk’s abbey is on the second floor.

We later conducted a séance in the same room and heard water running in the bathroom quite rapidly and after about a minute it stopped as quick as it had started, when someone went and checked the bathroom there was no sign that any water had been in there and everywhere was dry.

Our group later in the same room again took it in turns for someone to either sit or stand by the doorway of the bathroom many people did not feel anything but one girl felt very uneasy and she felt like she was being pushed and pulled by someone, at one point she almost fell over.

Both Martin the group organiser and Martin the medium picked up on a man they referred to as ‘The Judge’ who haunted the building, he was thought to be a very powerful, evil man who in his day used to burn witches at the stake and torture people.

 

Myself and another girl in the other group later on in the King Arthur bedroom contacted a spirit called James (who the medium had picked up on earlier) using a upturned tea cup, we asked questions and found out that there was an evil presence in the room we were in (that they had picked up on earlier) who had killed himself in that bedroom after murdering a woman and her sister in a revenge killing, apparently this man had a business partner who ended up conning him out of lots of money so he killed his wife and her sister out of revenge.

Martin Jeffery’s confirmed this was true and both Martin and the rest of the group including myself were astounded that we had found this information out.

A door was heard banging from the inside as if someone was kicking it, the door was locked at the time but upon investigation there was nothing in the room but the banging’s had been witnessed by several people (myself and my friend included) and caught on tape, on a later attempt to contact spirits a group contacted the spirit of a lady called Emily who said that she was the one who had been banging on the door in the room ‘the confessional’ and that she wanted to be let out, the group were beginning to feel uncomfortable with this entity and believed it to be something that it was not.

The evening ending and both our two groups got back together in the great hall to discuss the events of the evening and to tell of our findings.

Both groups had had very interesting and active nights both picking up on noises and catching Orbs on their cameras/camcorders, the experiments each group did were equally successful, group one had contacted the spirit of a man and found out lots of information from him, they also contacted the spirit of a man through the use of Pendulum Dowsing which is where you have a crystal on a chain you hold in mid air and ask questions, the Pendulum will move accordingly to whichever is the way for yes and the way for no.

Group two had contacted a number of spirits using the technique of table tipping which is where you stand or sit around a table and place your fingers on the edge and ask questions, the table in response to these questions should move and it did.

Experiments had been set up during the evening in a locked bedroom but unfortunately nothing was recorded or picked up on the camera except for a few sound changes when the banging had been heard earlier on in the evening coming from ‘the confessional’.

Overall Scare factor 7/10

History 6/10

Beauty 5/10

Tutbury Castle - A ghost hunt

Tutbury Castle, England Febuary 18th 2005

The investigation at Tutbury Castle took place on Friday the 18th of February at 7.00pm.

The hunt started with a tour of the castle and the grounds, we had a brief history lesson of the castle which was built in 1066 and were told what ghosts are roam the castle and its grounds.

Mary Queen of Scots is the main ghost of this castle and has been reportedly sited there on many occasions.

We all then went to The Grand Hall for a sit down meal and conversation with like-minded ghost hunters and sceptics. After the meal we went back downstairs and into the castle grounds where we headed to the dungeon which was a fairly creepy place. Once in the dungeon we were told about the things that had gone on in there over the castle’s 1000 years and we were also told about the things people still witness to this day when they go in there. Pretty freaky stuff.

People began feeling uneasy in the dungeon but it is not surprising really after everything that has happened in there over the years. One lady took some photographs with her digital camera one after the other of the same spot and in the first picture there appears to be an arm on the left hand side of the photograph and there was no one there when she took it.

Our group was then taken back into the castle and headed upstairs to The Grand Hall again and we were told some more stories about the ghosts that made themselves present in the castle.

Leslie the owner of the castle performs re-enactments of Mary Queen of Scots for the public and it is said that when she puts on her outfit and starts her speech that the real Mary Queen of Scots presence can be seen or felt because Leslie is so accurate in portraying. Mary Queen of Scots comes back to watch her and to scare any unsuspecting people when she does.

A smaller group of people were then put into The King’s bedroom, which is a room off The Grand Hall that is said to have a lot of paranormal activity. The story goes that a young girl is often felt, seen and heard in this room, she is a very happy young girl who likes to play games with people but she is apparently unaware that she died a very violent death, there is also a man who is seen and felt in this room, this man makes people feel uneasy and ill especially the men and people have been known to pass out before in the room because they felt so uneasy.

This man is supposed to be the little girls protector, apparently when this little girl was murdered this man had seen it all happen but was unable to do anything to save her as the man that murdered her was far more superior to him, he was just a servant, so people believe that he is trying to protect her in the afterlife like he could not do when they were both alive.

A lady collapsed in the King’s Bedroom but this could all be down to the fact that people knew the stories about what had gone on in this room and that people are prone to fainting and the room was very hot at the time.

Neither of our groups experiences many strange goings on in the King’s Bedroom or The Grand Hall but this could be due to the fact that it was not an all night ghost hunt and it finished at 11.00pm so people did not have enough time in each room to pick up on anything peculiar.

Our groups finally headed downstairs for a coffee before we all left and had a brief discussion on the events of the evening, all in all the evening was not very eventful.

Overall Scare factor 2/10

History 5/10

Beauty 5/10

Tamworth Castle - Ghost Hunt

My first official Paranormal Investigation. Tamworth Castle, England March 5th 2004

Ghosthunting Supper 8pm-1am

When we first arrived at the castle we were seated and Martin our tour guide and the genesis behind the whole venture introduced himself and the staff at the castle to us. They then talked about there experiences and how they got into ghost hunting in the first place.Feeling nervous as this was my first proper Ghost Hunt it was nice when we all got to know one another and had a bit of something to eat and drink before starting our first tour of the evening.

Going around in a big group we were told the history of the rooms and experiences that had hapened to people, by this time I was feeling Okay until I got to one of the bedrooms and I suddenly feel a complete change and shift in the atmosphere. I felt as though I was being pushed and pulled by unseen hands it wasn't a nice feeling especially as it was a small room and there were lots of people in it.We later split up into four groups and made our way to seperate rooms, two groups were one side of the castle and the other two groups the other side.Three out of the four groups had someone with them (medium or tour guide) but one group would be alone, we were in the first gruoup to be left alone (gulp) It was quite scary to begin with as we didn't know what to expect.I was sat by the door which was wide open and freaking me out as it was pitch black but luckily nothing happened in that room just some temperature changes. We then joined some of the other team members in another room which was also pitch black so we didn't notice a woman (member of staff) sat in the corner on a chair, it's safe to say when I did spot her I almost had a heart attack lol.After a while we began hearing footsteps outside and within the room and Martin had picked up some strange noises on his voice recorder.A short while later a lot of people moved to the room we were previously in, the remainder of us were shown how to contact spirits in a safe way using a crystal called a pendulum (see Glossary for more) and asking questions (no questions about the future are allowed to be asked though). You have to start with a question such as "is my name Gemma?" to find which way it swings for your yes then say "is my name Simon" to find your no.

My yes was that the crystal would swing round clockwise and no was side to side (this has never changed over the years but you still have to start with the yes/no question to begin with just to make sure because sometimes it is different for people each time).I made contact with a gentleman who was over 50, bald with a moustache who said he lived at Tamworth Castle, we asked if there was a picture of him in the room we were in and the pendulum said yes. We looked at the pictures and asked him to pinpoint it down and sure enough we found a picture matching this man's description.It was strange at one point because I felt like someone was holding my hand and the crystal was really responding, Martin told me I had a gift and was a sensitive.We asked the gentleman I was in contact with if he could maybe turn on a light to scare the other groups and prove that he really was there, within moments the emergency lights came on all through the castle which was pretty cool.Also when we were doing the crystals we heard a rather loud and distinct sound of furniture being moved right above us in the unused nursery, it was very creepy especially as that part of the castle was closed off because it was unstable to walk on.In the next room we did a visual and contacted a boy called Samuel who was 8 years of age. We kept hearing little footsteps around us in the room, the medium with us said that he took a shine to me and it made me feel happy and peaceful.The next room was the room we had been in previously on the walk round at the start, the room that I hadn't liked but I felt nothing in there now although I did catch some orbs (Check Glossary for defination) on my digital camera which I found to be pretty fascinating.

We then went into a few other rooms and caught more orbs and heard more furniture moving again the EMF kept reading danger but we couldn't find the source of it.At 1.00am we all went back down to the grand hall and sat in a big circle to talk about what had happened, the door behind me kept opening by itself which was freaking me out and I felt I was being watched, one of the mediums said that there was an executioner in the room by the door behind me so that made me feel even more freaked, just as we were all talking amongst ourselves about our experiences that evening we heard a massive bang from the hallway but couldn't pinpoint where specifically it had come from.All in all it was an interesting experience for my first ghost hunt, scary in places but good and I would definately recommend Tamworth Castle to anyone who is interested in Ghosts, History or just seeing a beautiful Castle.

Overall scare factor 4/10

History 7/10

Ghosts, Horses, Conventions and erm Food

So this weekend I got to meet Cazzy a fellow Supernatural buddy, Asylum atendee, Stalker buddy and all round lovely friend for the very first time and I was as nervous as hell.
We had arranged it earlier in the week and as the days went down I was more excited, on the day when I received a text saying 'I'm setting out' my stomach was in knots, it's weird but the older I get the worse I get, to meet new friends in life is a scary but exciting prospect for me and although we got on so well online I was so nervous that in reality we wouldn't, I had nothing to worry about though.
When Caz turned up just before 12 I ran out to meet her, after parking up she got out and gave me a hug and the chat began from then on, it felt like I had known her all my life.
We went to the catchems, mine and Jo's local and ordered drinks and food, we talked, chatted, laughed and spazzed over the upcoming Supernatural convention in 17days that we will all be attending.  It was a lovely day, sun shining, good company, I could get used to this.
The thing that struck me most about Caz was her energy, it was so warm, friendly and kind, she was so easy to talk to and the conversation never felt awkaward.
In recent months I have had some problems with friends and have lost quite a few good friends, this has knocked my confidence and I was thinking perhaps I was boring etc etc but with Caz it was really nice and easy.  Jo and me have been best friends for ages now and it was nice to meet someone on the same wavelength.  Good friends these days for me are hard to come by so to meet someone who I instantly felt I had found a great friend in was a treat :-)
We also made some friends with horses who of course are now called Dean and Sam heehee and my goldfish Dean kept freaking Caz out by starring at her lol
In the evening we went ghost hunting one of my fav things to do (yes I am strange haha) and was really excited that Caz picked up on things, she was a little freaked out at times but underneath it you could see the adrenaline kicking in and she was like "Hey check this" on the EMF and really getting into it.
Walking to show Caz a hidden bunker that me and Jo had found was hilarious as we made our way in the pitch black through tall grass on another hunt, turns out it has now been padlocked down so we couldn't look inside haha we kept telling Caz about our experience with the wendigo looking thing, I'm not sure if she was freaked out or intrigued but I know like me she hates gnomes haha
That night we watched Supernatural new episode with Sheriff Dean DROOL my god that man is sexy as fudge I am now offically in love with the Sheriff haha we then got snacks and watched some more Super with Richard in as Caz is in love with him haha and is gonna get an I love Dick t-shirt for her photo op (yes you are Caz lol).
We fell asleep with the sound of Dean, Sam and Daddy Winchester and all was well in the world.
The next morning we went for a daytime ghost hunt and then came back to watch a movie (that sucked) and spaz more over A6.
I want to thank both Jo and Caz for being so amazing, you have both made my weekend one to remember and I love you both very much.
Caz you are brill, your sweet, smart, hilarious and I know that one day you will meet a wonderful man who will love you for you and see what we see, that you are a lovely person with a heart of gold and a glorious energy.  You deserve all the happiness in the world, here's to A6 guys and to a long friendship.

Internet friends (Idea stolen from Caz)

In the past about 7 years that I have been online I have met some really nice people, some I haven't met and some I have.

Back in 2004 I met my now best friend Joanne, we met on a Smallville forum (yes I was a smallville geek) and chatted for a few months, one day I asked if anyone lived in the UK and if so did they want to meet up, Jo was on the only local one there and lived in Manchester (only hour and half on the train). We arranged to meet up and hey presto been best friends since.  I was so nervous meeting her but we hit it off straight away and now we are close as sisters and I love her like she was one.

We have been to Canada for almost a year together and been through some really tough times but she is always there for me and vice versa, just goes to show that trusting your intuition does work and I'm glad I did that day.

She has been for me through some of the hardest times in my life and I know that I can trust her with my life and she will be in my life forever. Love you Jo.

I have a good friend called Mendi who I also met through Smallville forum, she lives in North Carolina and I have yet to meet her, I've known her for 7 years now and would love one day to go and see her.  Even though we don't speak all the time, I know she is there at the other end of the computer for me if I need her and vice versa.

I met Mary on mine and Jo's website Spiritual Horizons when I gave her an Angel Reading, that was over a year ago and we are still in regular contact, she is like another mother, she is really kind, sweet and is always there for me. I plan on meeting her before the year is out.

More recently I have been talking with Carol (Caz) online and I will be meeting her this weekend, I am so excited.  She is a lovely person, very sweet, kind, funny as hell and my stalking/twitter/taking over the world buddy.  I am nervous about meeting her but I know that we will hit it off straight away as we have done online.  I am really excited that I get to spend the weekend with both Caz and Jo it's going to be really nice and I just know that we will all become firm friends. Love ya Caz. Roll on Asylum 6 in 23 days woot

So it goes to show that not all people online are nutters, I have had some very good experiences and I am hapy and blessed to have some really amazing people in my world.

I am looking forward even more to Supernatural convention as I will also get to meet more lovely people who I have been chatting to on the internet like Sal. Bring on A6

Must be just women though as the men I have met online have been complete tosspots. Plenty of Fish has a lot to answer for, more like plenty of dicks haha

Canada Part Two - The Rocky Mountaineer and beyond

From Banff we waited patiently for The Rocky Mountaineer to arrive and we were all excited by the train journey ahead.  We would be on the train for 2 days with one stop at Kamaloops.

We saw some truly beautiful sights on the RM, the first day we were on the train for a total of 12 hours and our onboard tour guide was called Michael.  He was lovely, really informative and knew so many interesting facts, we sat, took photos, ate loads, drank, had a laugh and admired the wonderful sights that were before us.  Without sounding cliche some of the sights really did take my breath away, makes you feel good to be alive.

The food was yummy and for those who know me, they will know that the food is always a big deal to me.  I bloody love my food hahaha

After what felt like the longest day ever (but really brilliant) our first day was over, we stopped at a hotel in Kamaloops and were all so shattered we hit the sack.  The following morning we boarded the train once again for our second day of sightseeing, although it was a long journey I didn't really want it to end but before long we were back in Vancouver saying goodbye to the sightseeing and hello to our new home, this was going to be interesting.

                                    


Back in Van we stayed in a hotel called the Hi Hostel on Grandville Street, it was the most scariest, horrible place I have ever been in.  People were dealing drugs in the hallways, arguing, pimping you name it.  Myself and Jo had one room and Hayley and Chan had another, after only 30minutes me and Jo went to join the other girls, we ended up all sleeping in the same room with all our suitcases and bags against the door, taking it in turns to keep watch whilst the others slept.  We had booked this hotel for a week, safe to say come morning we checked out and went back to the YMCA hotel we had stayed in previously, we stayed here for a further week.

After the YMCA we stayed at the Hamilton Inn for 1 night and as well as seeing the sights of Vancouver we wondered what we were going to do with the rest of our time there.

TBC...

Canada I love you

Back in October 2007 Myself, Jo and 2 other friends Hayley and Chantelle started on our year long voyage to Canada and I was nervous, excited, intrigued to see what the forthcoming year would bring.

I realised I never really documented my time there so I wanted to write a blog dedicated to this.  Here is the first part of my Canada experience.

Our journey began for 3 of us at least in a little town called Burton. After travelling to Birmingham by Train we then went on to Manchester to meet up with our 4th companion Jo. 

I am not good at flying so that night spent at a travel lodge near the airport it was all I could think about, that and the fact I was leaving my family for a year.  I am close to my family and was worried I would find it hard to do.

In the morning we got up and went to the airport for our first flight (of many) from Manchester to London which took about 40 minutes, Okay so I had done the first flight and it wasn't so bad but could I handle the 12 hour flight to Vancouver? No time to question it, before I knew it we were up, up and away on our long haul flight (this was only the 3rd time I had been on a plane and by far the longest).  I shed a few tears but as I watched the flight tracker ahead of me my excitement grew, I was going to Canada baby, the place of dreams, new beginnings and SUPERNATURAL hahaha good times were ahead.

The 12 hours actually went pretty fast, I think I spent most of the time eating or listening to the cabin crew and their Canadian accents, I fell in love with Canada even more that day.

The year before we had been to Vancouver for 10 days and had found it to be a really nice place, we all joked we would live there but it wasn't until Jo got us all Visa documents I was like 'Shit this is really happening'.

Once we landed in Vancouver we had to go through the immigrantion office, safe to say I was SHITTING myself.  The lady at the counter took my passport and looked at it, then at me and I tried to remain calm (I always end up looking guilty) after a few minutes she smiled and said "Welcome to Canada" I breathed a huge sigh of relief and almost ran through the gates HURRAY I HAD LANDED and now my journey could begin.

As we went through a few more security checks I found a common occurance with Canadian's they couldn't say my name.  "Welcome to Vancouver Gomma" all my friends laughed and I thought Okay it's just one time but it appears throughout my 9 months that we ended up staying so many people had trouble saying my name.  I was called alsorts.

We got a taxi to downtown Vancouver and stayed in a cheap YMCA hotel opposite the GM Place stadium a football stadium that also held concerts.  We were here but not for long.  The following day we were going to be going on our Rocky Moutaineer Trip.

                                    

The following day we had another flight to Calgary booked.  It was a small plane and I didn not like it. We arrived in Calgary and checked in our hotel, it was the most amazing hotel ever and we all screamed as we ran in and saw the size of the beds, TV's and how posh it all looked.  I screamed moreso when I saw that Supernatural was on TV we were watching it at it's air time woot with all the other Canadians, good stuff.  We had breakfast in bed and it was AMAZING.  That night in Calgary we asked the staff at the hotel to call us a taxi as we were going to go out for a meal, the taxi driver dropped us at the best resturant in Calgary (probably the only one too) turns out it was the most expensive too.  We ate like Queens and drank loads, the bill came to $350 and we all thought 'Fuck it' it was well nice.

The next day we got a taxi to Lake Louise which has to be the most amazing place in the world.  Stunning place absolutely breathtaking. We stayed in a motel (yes I did say motel) that would make Sam and Dean proud :-) it was eerie and you had to walk down a long corridor to get to it.  It was dark and creepy, I fricking loved it.

I spoke to Archangel Michael as clear as day in Lake Louise, this is Michael's chapel (so to speak) the place that he is said to reside and boy could I feel him.

The following day we got a coach to Banff. I loved Banff it was a small town that looked like it belonged in the wild, wild, west.  I felt so at home here (moreso than Vancouver to a degree) I am from a small town and so this was just perfect for me.  As the sun shone and we were surrounded by snow covered mountains, I had to take a moment and breath, this was where I had always wanted to be, this was home.

We went out that night in Banff for food and drinks before our Rocky Mountain journey would begin the next day.

I was nervous as after the 3 days on the Rocky Mountaineer we would be back in Vancouver, no job, no place to live but at the same time I was sooo excited.  My life was just beginning and even though times ahead were uncertain I felt more sure than I ever had before in my whole life about things.

Let the next stage begin......

TBC

Asylum 6 Baby!!!

So in a little over 5 weeks I will be attending my 2nd Supernatural Convention at the Hilton Hotel Birmingham and I couldn't be anymore excited as I am now.  Partly because I need a break, Mostly because I get to meet some new friends in the flesh (Caz and Sally mainly) and majorly because I get to stand next to and possible speak to (if my mouth will move) the man I have had a crush on and LOVED as an actor for the past 14 years Mr Jensen Ackles.

I can't quiet believe it is just around the corner, I have a feeling it is going to be a weekend to remember.

So the event starts on Friday the 13th (spooky) of May and ends (for me anyway) Monday the 16th of May.  During this time there will be stage talks, meet and greets, photo ops, autographs, themed parties, drinking, dancing and craziness (not in that order).  I have a photo op with Jensen already brought #ohmyfuckinggod and I hope that I am successful in getting the J2 double and also a photo with Jared too #ithastobedone.  Other guests that I may get photos with are Mark and Richard (if the funds hold out that long).

We booked it last May at A4 and it seemed so far away, I really can't believe it has come round so quick.  Jensen was announced in December and I cried #saddo I have wanted to meet him for soooo long, I just hope I can hold it together (alcoholic drink beforehand me thinks).

I have made some great new friends on Facebook who are Supernatural Geeks like me and I can't wait to meet Caz who has become my Supernatural stalking buddy on Twitter (Chad tweeted us twice and Richard woot) and Sal who is really lovely.  I am also looking forward to meeting Tash, Kim, Charmaine, Frances, Fran, Laura, Lauren and I'm sure there are loads more.

I am going with my best mate Jo and we are super excited and I'm going to be super broke when I have done but oh well it's a once in a lifetime thing and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Jensen Ackles baby :-) I still keep having to pinch myself. I love him, I love him, I love him. Bring it on.

Mr Right - Where is he?

Every since I was a little girl I have believed that I would met my Mr Right one day, as the years have gone by call me guliable but I still believe that he is out there and that someday very soon I will be with him.

My question is how long do you wait for Mr Right and how do you know when it is him? Would you rather spend your life with the wrong person, or be alone?

I know I haven't found him yet because I have never been in love or felt loved by anyone.  I want the kind of love you seen in the movies (even if it only lasts a little while and then settles down), the kind of love that even strangers can see. I have seen it happen to others, so why not me? What did I do wrong? I want not only someone to love but someone to grow old with, share good and bad times with, laugh with, cry with. Someone who is not only my 'Mr Right' but also my best friend, is that to much to ask for?

Past relationships (If you can call them that) have all been based on lies, cheating and nothing much more.  In this day and age does anyone (besides me) still believe in their fairytale prince coming to rescue them or was that bubble burst a long time ago?

So to my Mr Right if you are reading this, I know your out there and for now I will continue to dream that I will meet you, afterall this is all I have to hold on to. My bubble is close to bursting so I am asking and praying to the Universe to please send me this man and reaffirm my faith in life and love, make me a true believer once again.