Michelham Priory 15/03/08

Duration :19.30-05.00

Weather: Cold, damp and windy.

It had been a long wait but SPRG were thrilled to once again be heading back to one of our favourite venues. After meeting up at a nearby pub for chips and cola (a staple diet for SPRG!) We headed onto the priory on a very cold wet & windy evening to meet Chris Tuckett as per normal. The conditions were spot on for a ghost hunt, we seem to be used to the cold now. We decided we would set the cameras up in Tudor room 1 which was just off the main stairway, another in the kitchen and the other aiming toward the top staircase near the quarters where Chris lives. This was due to a rather entertaining story that Chris had told us when we arrived. We were going to put a camera in the gatehouse which is about a 200 yard walk from the priory, however the rain was really bad at this point and we didn't want to risk the equipment getting ruined. Whilst some of the group were outside in the rain, exploring the grounds once again Clint D found himself bombing it down the path to main house again, believing he was being followed. Lorraine S had also described this feeling.

After a quick cuppa, and Shane's health and safety update, we were ready to roll. Clint D, April, Sean and Adele took Tudor room 1 and 2. Garry was on monitor station duty, Craig, Lorraine S, Shane and Liz took the kitchen, and Angie, Ben, Clint S and Lorraine N took the priors room. There seemed to be little activity for the group at first and nothing on the monitors. It seemed quiet.....not for long. Angie had picked up on the presence of a man in the priors room who didn't seem that nice, a few odd knockings were noted but nothing out of the ordinary. The guys in the kitchen were aware of some camera orbs and tapping's, but were taking into account the weather conditions. Clint D's group seemed to have quiet a lot happen that startled one or two members. April caught a floating orb that seemed to come from the roped off area in the room and float toward her and Adel. Within seconds a loud tapping sound seemed to come from the window near where they were all standing, Adel and April re-created the noise and matched exactly what we had heard. In a previous visit we had encountered antics at this window also. Clint and Sean decided to stand as near as possible to the roped off artefacts and objects which almost instantaneously set off another rasp at the window which again startled them. By this point they were practically huddling as further noises emanated form the middle of the room. April got Clint D's positioning all wrong as she seemed to think he was in another area of the room standing in a corner turns out he wasn't. April was convinced she had seen a shadowy figure then within minutes saw another near Sean. The vigil finished fifteen minutes early as April swears that she saw a face looking right at her really close up, she said that she could make out his hair and the top half of a dark brown coat of some kind. The group exited the room rather swiftly, and awaited the other members of the group to explain the exciting findings. April was so convinced of what she saw it has rather upset her, this seemed to be very similar to what Liz saw on the groups first visit to the priory in 2005. So vivid was the face, that April drew exactly what she saw. (See image below)

After a re-grouping we headed off for vigil 2. Clint D, Sean, Shane and Garry took the Priors room, Lorraine S, Lorraine N and Liz took Tudor rooms 1 and 2 and rest of the group covered the stair area. No activity occurred in the priors room, and oddly the group in both Tudor rooms didn't experience anything. once again a few odd feelings on the stairs but the weather was really playing up at this point making it hard to distinguish noises. At the end of these vigils, it was time for an extended break before we starting prepping for the séance, which we decided was going to be held in both Tudor rooms. As space was tight we decided to limit it to just 4 people around the the table, and the remainder of the group joining hands and standing in a circle around the table. Again odd noises were captured and one or two orbs. The glass technique seemed to be inconclusive, no words or relevant information at first. When asked if the presence was a male we got a "yes" and when asked if he would like to talk to April the glass very erratically shot over to "yes" leaving two group members fingers behind! When asked to confirm if he would like to speak with April it again violently shot over to "yes" April didn't like this. Again no information form the glass but it appeared to circle the table aggressively for a while, then April and Lorraine S both witnessed a shadowy figure who seemed to lean in between their shoulders April said that she saw his hair again out the corner of her eye, in the end enough was enough we decided to call it a day on the séance as one or two members began to feel drained. Poor April had sure seen enough for one night. Then Shane slumped into a chair looking almost grey and not at all well, he said he was hot and just felt incredibly tired, this took Shane a good hour to recover from his ordeal. He was standing right in the doorway between Tudor room 1 and 2 and Angie believes that an energy was possibly trying to enter the circle, which eventually it seemed as though it did.

In this image there seems to be an orb in motion in the old music room.

After a quick break the EVP team set about their new tasks, April and Adel went back into Tudor rooms with their Dictaphone, and Garry and Lorraine N went into the Childs room. The object here is to do this at 3am, witching hour. Ask 7 questions out loud to do with the building or a person who may have lived or worked there, then 7 questions off the top of their heads. The tapes are currently being reviewed, no results as of yet.

After this activity, the group decided to freely roam and carry out mini vigils or just chat about the building and what they had experienced so far. Things started to quieten down around 4.30am so we decided to settle down and catch some sleep. At one point during the nap time Craig shot out of his sleeping bag as he could hear classical music and seemed to get excited, soon realising however it was Clint D's ipod !

Once again from all of us at SPRG we would like to thank Chris Tuckett for once again allowing us the freedom of this beautiful building we are truly grateful, and we certainly wont rule out another visit in the near future. finally thank you to our astral friends who stopped by. Until next time.

SPRG 2008