The Solitary Witch - A Path Misunderstood !

The word Witch usually for most of us is associated with pointy hats, black cat’s large warts and cauldrons containing eye of newt. With film and television came an additional play on the theme with the Wicked Witch of the West all the way though to the more modern Blair Witch. However, the similar running factor in the silver screens adaptation on the Witch was that the witch was evil! This pretty much covers our view of witches, our stereotype we have given them of being evil and all in all bad people, who could not possibly be a part of our normal community.

History it seems has had this view too, persecuting the witch through time, pushing them out of our communities and even hunting them down. From the witch trials and subsequent killings of witches in the middle ages right through to modern times when the differences of the witches beliefs are seen as wrongful by usual religions.

Ironically though witchcraft, as its known is actually an older belief system than many modern religions, which seek so hard to label it as evil. It’s possible to trace some of its origins right back to prehistoric times. Where the first gods to be worshipped would be those of the hunt, as this would be related directly to man’s source of food. Following the development of farming, which created the second source of food, a second god was created. As the hunt was tended by the men, the related God was identified as male, the Father God. And as the crops were tended by the women the God associated with this was identified as female, the Mother Goddess. These are thus referred to as the God and Goddess of witchcraft today.

As the Witches religious practices became more refined, certain men and women developed an affinity for their worship and became leaders in the rituals. These individuals became known as the Priests and Priestesses. As the seasons changed, so did the needs of the people, creating set days for the rituals to be performed. Each of the rituals was specialised for the needs of the people and the seasons. The Sun and the Moon movements would determine this too. Creating most celebrations on the solstices, Full and New Moon, possibly even equinoxes.

As man evolved further he began to classify things to masculine and feminine, determining which deity would be responsible for certain things. The Moon was determined to have feminine qualities and naturally associated with the Goddess. The Sun was in a similar way associated with the God. The Horned God became a solar deity and the Goddess a lunar one. More Gods and Goddesses were added to have influence over every facet of human life.

As religion developed over time these principles remained similar across the board, with variations and changes to names and types of Gods. It wasn’t until Christianity became the main religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century that it began to spread across the continent. It was the far reaches of the Roman Army which aided its quick growth.

As we enter the Middle Ages Christianity continued to grow with the aid of Missionaries. Who would entre territories and try and convert them from the top down. The monarch and more populated areas would be targeted first. They set up Christian altars in the same place as Pagan ones. This meant the towns were converted, but those who lived out in the country were left worshipping the old religions. They became known as Pagans. The Christian soon labelled these Pagans as heathens or non-believers. Then they brought in the Inquisition to convert everyone to Christianity. They labelled deities of old as Satan, by associating the Horned God with the devil. They used death and torture to force the people to convert. Their message was clear, convert or suffer the consequences.

This would lead into the Witch Hunts, where individuals were tried for their beliefs in the old ways. Once accused of being a Witch there was little chance of escape and the torture was so great that the individual would usually confess to anything.

As the Trials continued across the continent and many lost their lives, the Craft was driven underground, which is where it would remain and still does today really. However, through time it has had associations with key figures. Amongst these were William II, King Edward III, Duchess of Salisbury, and others.

As the 1800’s drew to a close it would have seemed that the old religion of Witchcraft had died out. The trials had left numerous lies and half-truths in the place of Witchcraft, and it seemed there was no one to speak on behalf of the Witches. However, a book called Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches emerged at the turn of the century. Its author Charles Leland passed on information from a practicing Italian witch. This acknowledged that the craft hadn’t yet died out totally.

As the last of the anti-witchcraft laws was withdrawn in 1951, Gerald Gardener wrote a series of books. These books told of witchcraft through the eyes of its practitioners. Correspondents from other covens came to Gardener from all over the world, each coven believing that they were the last. Although it had gone under ground the craft was still as strong as ever. Right up until his death in 1964 Gardener helped to found many covens and bring witchcraft to new generations.

It was at this time whilst Gardener was trying to sort things out and bring some order to the craft, that much of the current Wiccan Rituals were developed. As ever with witchcraft many accused Gardener of making it all up. However, Doreen Valiente has found evidence to prove the existence of Gardener’s High Priestess, Dorothy Clutterbuck and thus validating his information. Gardener played a large part in the crafts revival and was a trained witch. He drew from his sources, rituals that had meaning and embodied the spirit of what the witches’ ancestors celebrated.

Others came forward in Gardener’s wake and wrote books on the craft, such as Alexander and Maxine Sanders, Robert Cochrane and Ray Buckland. The craft was at the beginning of a revival and clearly had a lot to offer. Witchcraft has become, I suppose it always was, a beautiful religion, which has been based a little on tradition. However, the craft has now been rebuilt using many disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, and others. The religion holds many possibilities for people in modern society.

During 1974, the Council of American Witches came together and drew up a “Principles of Belief”. These were deemed to be the core principles of the Wiccan belief.

Following this many new leaders and authorities have emerged, such as Laurie Cabot, Stewart and Janet Farrer and Silver Ravenwolf. As with many subjects and causes the internet has exploded the ability to communicate with others and exchange information. Witchcraft, although an ancient belief is no exception to this technology and as others, has benefitted from it also. Witches now communicate, exchange ideas and information faster than ever, helping the craft to grow stronger.

However, even today it seems that admitting that you are a witch is not easy. Telling friends and family that your chosen religion is that of witchcraft, is still not accepted like that of Christianity. So, why in this day and age, when an individual’s freedom to choose is so prominent do witches remain in the shadows?

So, what would we define a modern day witch as, someone who hasn’t got a job, lives off the land with natural remedies? Well maybe, but in fact they are more likely to be anyone you know. I spoke to a modern day solitary witch, to discover more about the craft. My first shock, although her chosen religion was witchcraft, her day job was Marine Science. Obviously not the first career which I would guess, in fact I don’t think I would have it on my top ten guesses as that of the career of a witch! In reality this witch is a normal person holding down a normal job.

My 30 year old practicing solitary witch tells me that being a witch today is all about being in tune with your environment, honouring the Lord and Lady in their various aspects and having respect for all living things. She tells me that this may not be the view on witchcraft, but it’s her own. I guess that is the wonderful thing about the craft, although there are certain guidelines, it can pretty much be manufactured to suit the individual. Unbeknown to her work colleagues this solitary witch has a small altar at home, she celebrates the sabbats and her garden is full of herbs and plants. The craft allows her to emerge herself in nature, learn about herb lore and the old ways.

Witches are known to have in their possession information personal to themselves and that of the old ways. The information is usually collected in a form which has become known as ‘the book of shadows’. There have been many theories and representations of what ‘the book of shadows’ contains, but in reality each book is personal to the witch which created it. My solitary witch has a book, but it doesn’t contain spells, as this isn’t something she likes to dabble in. Her book reflects her path, places she has visited, energy work she has done, spirits she has come across and meditations she has felt important enough to write down. In reality, the witches ‘book of shadows’ doesn’t seem as magical or spooky as we have been led to believe. Obviously it is possible that more powerful witches with more experience may have more dangerous information in their book. Perhaps even spells!

From what I have read of witchcraft there are guidelines to follow and my solitary witch is no exception to this rule. However, as she is solitary and is creating her own path, she has tried to keep it simple living by two main rules. The first is the three fold rule. This is the belief that anything you do (including casting spells) will come back on you three fold. A bit like karma I guess, just times three. Her second rule is, ‘ye harm none ... do what ye will’. As it sounds, this is one of the old sayings followed by many witches and wiccans. It includes not harming yourself in anyway, so it’s a lot about developing self worth and treating others with respect.

Wanting to know more about the witches’ rituals I decided to ask my solitary witch. She gave me a quick example of a protection ritual. ‘You would get next to your altar, cast yourself a magic circle using salt, call in the elements, then the Lord and Lady. Then say a few words to ask for protection and close down the circle. That’s a quick one’

I had to ask her if these rituals involved any dancing naked around fires, but she assured me there was no naked dancing. Although, there may be dancing around fires its more like a beach party, just without the dance music. Also, for the record witches don’t sacrifice anything for the pure sake of magic – human or animal. It would go against the creed of the witch to harm none. Now if they were killing a rabbit say for meat and hide, and used part they didn’t need for magic then that would be the only reason why. However, even under those circumstances it can not be classed as sacrifice.

My solitary witch has been following the craft for about 8 years now, but what lead her to this religion. Like many who decide on a religion, we like to make sure it fits in with our beliefs. The reasons for choosing the craft for this witch was relatively simple though, it just ticked all the boxes and it all just seemed to fit in with her beliefs. However, in my opinion though it took great courage to take on such a religion, which has been passed off for being evil for so many years.

Our opinion of witchcraft is one shrouded in evil and darkness, but how is this? The solitary witch helped me to understand. She explained it as the energy of the Earth/Divine is just energy – neither good nor bad, but balanced. It is up to the individual to choose how to use this energy. Some use it for the ‘good’ of all and quest for balance. However, some become twisted by the power of it and use it for their own purposes. In life we all have our own path to walk, mistakes to learn from and there are those who will exploit the energy. Whether this makes them a ‘black witch’ or a ‘Satanist’ or something else, unrelated to witchcraft is unknown. This depends on the individuals’ belief system and what they want to call themselves. If they were a true witch then they would be fully aware of the codes and the repercussions of their behaviour.

So as there are no hard and fast rules, or Holy Scriptures to be tied to, witchcraft can almost be whatever you want it to be. To use the current buzz word, it’s all very fluid. You can honour the Lord and Lady (God and Goddess) in whatever way you see fit as long as ‘ye harm none’. The concept is to impact as little as possible on the environment, be in synch with the world and those who live in it. A witch must know about their surroundings in the form of geology, herb logy, etc. A witch won’t attempt to convert you to the craft, as they believe we each have our own path to lead.

With Christianities attempt to suppress witchcraft, societies continuous demonization of the craft to surround it with all things evil it’s a wonder it ever managed to survive. However, my solitary witch seems to side with me in the notion that witchcraft may never be seen as socially acceptable. Though with the development of Wicca as a religion, there is more of a chance it would seem. In writing this I have learnt many things about witches, discovered some things which make no sense and generally come a custom to believe that witchcraft may hold higher credibility than some of the other mainstream religions. Of course, all are entitled to believe in what they want, but if that is the case why should we continue to judge those who choose the more enlightened path of witchcraft.

I won’t be subscribing to the craft myself just yet, but that’s because I don’t wish to subscribe to any religion. However, if I was forced to choose, then this would be a high candidate. I truly hope the craft continues to grow and finds its place amongst the mainstream religions where it belongs. I hope it gains the recognition it deserves and our witches don’t feel they have to remain in the shadows, hiding their chosen religion. A religion they should be aloud to be openly proud of.

As ever I am by no means perfect and may have missed something or misunderstood information, if this is the case or you just wish to comment on this post, please feel free. All comments are welcomed and help me to ensure I get it right.

Farsight Files Update !!

My appoligies for not posting anything on here for a little while, but with Christmas, Birthdays and Work my paranormal research has almost been side lined. Almost I said. Although I havn't written anything on here or placed any updates some things have still been happening.

I have spent some time interviewing and researching Witches with the aim to write up a piece on them outlinning our modern Witch and their beliefs. Hopefully they wont be trialed like their ancestors, but still a great many keep their belief behind closed doors through fear of todays societies reaction. We are a world and even a country of many races, religions and beliefs surely accepting Witches can be achieved now. Well I will write it up and post here for your opinion and usual comments, see what you think?

What else has Farsight been up to? Well I was recently in communication with Jessica Foreman of Knuts of Bolts Productions. Knuts and Bolts specialise in paranormal productions and are currently putting together a series called 'I Want To Believe', which takes a group paranormal enthusiasts such as Farsight and puts them with a resident Ghost Hunter and Medium for a possible three plus night investigation. Myself, Jim (ISP) and my girlfriend made the trip to central London for the shows 'Open Call'. I must add at this point that myself and Jim are not really the types to just do something with the hope of being on TV, well I know I am not and pretty sure Jim isn't. However, this would be an opertunity to work with Ted Thornby (trained by the legendary Andrew Green), also it may be a chance to investigate a single location for more than just a single night.

Well the 'Open Call' passed swiftly and to be honest I didn't think I would get in, mainly due to my lack of field experience or experience at all for that matter. Plus my lack of confidence, its not every day you are asked to answer questions looking at a camera instead of the person who asked you. However, Jessica, Alek and crew were all very nice and made the experience pass without a hitch. We were soon on our way home wondering the results. My girlfriend and I said goodbye to Jim at Leicester Square tube station, as he headed off on a long train journey to join an investigation at Bisham Abbey. Lucky man.

A few days later the result came through from Jessica, and myself and Jim had been given a place in the second group. This means that if the Pilot is successful and the series gets the go then we would appear in the second group of episodes. So fingers crossed on that one.

So whats next then for Farsight? Hopefully a few more posts on the blog regarding the paranormal. A possible TV appearance and taking part in a investigation lasting more than one night. I hope to get some proper investigations under the Farsight belt in the new year also, giving us more to document and higher credibility. After all it would be nice to enter the TV thing with some investigation experience!

As ever if you have anything you would like mentioned, discussed or researched on the blog, drop me a comment. Until next time..

Interview With A Ghost Hunter !

It’s not hard to imagine what a Ghost Hunter may be, lets be honest the clue is actually in the name. It’s simply a living individual who searches out and sometimes finds evidence of ghosts and spirits. For many years this was the case and in most cases just an individual that would visit suggested haunted locations, talk to the witnesses and then settle down for the night to see if they experienced anything themselves. This held the level of evidence still with an individual that may or may not have experienced some kind of paranormal activity. In honesty a location itself can trick the mind into believing the stories which have already passed between the owner and the Ghost Hunter.

Thanks to the media and all of its many accessible points, we have been educated as individuals and given the tools to investigate and return with audio and visual evidence to prove that something was present.

I know from personal experience in my day job, that sometimes what a customer tells you may be far from the actual events which occurred. However, it is more often than not this initial perception of events which creates the Ghost stories and leads the Ghost Hunters to the location.

My personal interest in the paranormal began many years ago, but remained something I would continuously return to. More recently I returned to it and decided to combine it with my other interest, writing. Before I knew it I had created the Farsight Files and asked for the assistance of an actual paranormal investigation team to assist me. That’s how I first met Jim Bridgeman. Through months of email and MSN we developed the Farsight Files idea and saw its potential.

Of course this has lead me to want to know more about Ghost Hunting and the paranormal, and what better person to ask than Jim. After all he has become a bit like a Ghost Hunter mentor to me.

As co-founder of his paranormal investigation team ‘In Search of Proof’, Jim has clocked up a few years investigating in the field and many more years personally researching the paranormal. All that and he is still in his early twenty’s.

Jim first began his field investigation work with Paranormal Tours in 2004 at the Farnham Castle. In his time with Paranormal Tours he gained knowledge and experience, which soon made him a true investigator.

Usually when you ask someone why they are seeking ghosts or investigating the paranormal, you assume you will receive some weird and wonderful story about how a personal experience left them disturbed and wanting to know more. In my case there really wasn’t any such experience. Initially I found it all really interesting and to begin with, liked how the paranormal seemed to smudge the edges of what were real, what we believed and the unknown. I have to admit it’s the only subject field I have looked into which actually keeps me wanting to know more. And it was because of this I asked Jim why he got into Ghost Hunting. He answered simply;

“Unlike most paranormal investigators my reason for starting investigating was not born from a significant experience, but from a lack of one I suppose. As a child I was told stories of my Mam's resident ghost, growing up. He would open doors and close them when asked. My brothers and sister witnessed this when they were young, or so I'm told, but I never did. This made me interested and I spent many years getting books and looking at famous ghost pictures. Over the years my interest grew until I couldn't keep it in anymore and had to get out there myself!”

If you enjoy the paranormal as I do and try to watch as much related TV as possible with chance that one program might capture something good, then its more than likely you may have seen the US TV Series Ghost Hunters. The series follows The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS for short) as they investigate the paranormal in their own way. TAPS approach each investigation not with the aim of capturing a ghost on film, but with the aim of debunking what could be perceived as paranormal activity. It’s this method which further inspired me for my approach to investigating. Jim and his team also follow this methodology too, as In Search of Proof is a TAPS family member. A position held by very few investigation teams in the UK. In all accounts it wasn’t easy either, as I found out when I asked Jim how they became a member;

“We saw they were looking for international members and decided to apply. There were various levels of progression that had to be demonstrated to them and certain criteria we had to meet. After 3 months of application emails it turned out that we passed with flying colours and became one of the first international teams.”

As a TAPS family member I wanted to know more about Jim’s team approach, when it came to their investigation. I asked him if their approach was scientific, spiritual or both;

“We always try to keep a level headed approach and mix scientific with spiritual investigation. We feel that this gives us a unique view of investigating the paranormal as we keep all options open.”

I believe that Jim has some spiritual experience himself and thus doesn’t sit on the fence or believe solely in the scientific approach. He manages to see things from both angles, which as he said gives that ‘unique view’. With this in mind I was keen to find out what his opinion of Mediums was. I know personally I tend not to trust an individual claiming to be a medium with out some reasonably firm evidence being produced first. Pondering Jim’s opinion as a more experienced investigator I asked him to tell me;

“I have a few friends that are mediums and I have the greatest respect for what they do. I do honestly believe that there are people out there that can communicate with the spirit world in one way or another. I'm not sure if it is exactly them communicating directly with them or if they are tapping into some sort of universal conscious. In the early days of investigating I even sat a spiritual circle in the aims to further my investigating skills. Turned out this wasn't the way for me as I decided not to continue even though I scared myself with some fairly accurate information.
As for how they fit into our investigations that can be complicated. In the early days we tried to have a medium with us or at least someone with a spiritual background. Recently we haven’t felt the need as we wanted to push the scientific side but now we are looking at taking on a medium as a team member as we feel we need someone that can attract activity. This is working on the idea that spirit may not be able to interact without a certain amount of spiritual energy or that they may not be able to see us scientific folk who aren't on a spiritual level. If this works we're yet to find out but I'll keep you updated.”

Something I have noticed since I have got into the paranormal in more detail is the abundance of mixed reactions you receive when you tell people about it. In fact to begin with I hesitated in telling people, as most the reactions I got were negative and sceptical. However, with that in mind I remember conversations with my girlfriend where she would accuse me of being over sceptical regarding certain paranormal stories. For me this was easy to understand, but it crossed my mind that Jim was still very young and knowing what my group of friends were like at his age, I thought to ask him their opinion of his Ghost Hunting;

“It can go one of a few ways. I've had the usual "You're mad!" through to "Tell me more" all the way to "You're messing with things you don't understand!" Over all I would say people just accept it as something I do and on occasion enjoy to tell me their stories. Even the toughest acting ones have told me stories on how scared they were when they saw such and such when we've been alone.”

Eager to know more about ‘In Search Of Proof’ and their make up I asked Jim who he had in his team and what they done;

“Well best to start at the beginning.
Ian Pegg - Co-founder and tech manager
Liz Egan - Locations manager
Jenny Semmence - Scientific sensitive
Cliff Rose - Investigator in training
Martin Gregory - Sceptic
Andy Barkham - Investigator and researcher”

As you wonder with any organisation, I thought about what experience the team may have and if they had investigated in their style, any well known haunted locations. I asked Jim;

“Well as some of us work with Paranormal Tours as crew, and we've been lucky enough to investigate some very interesting locations such as ‘The Hell Fire Caves’ and ‘Woodchester Mansion’. As a full team we've investigated locations such as ‘Bisham Abbey’ and ‘The Kings Theatre’ in Southsea.”

Just a few of the locations there, a few others can be seen on their website.

Jim’s investigation team pose an obvious question, with their name being ‘In Search Of Proof’. Have they actually managed to find any proof in the investigations they have done. A vision of evidence being catalogued and filed away in some large warehouse, X-Files style comes into my mind. However, in reality evidence is hard to come by. Especially evidence which proves the paranormal and can be agreed by all that see it that it is deed proof positive. I asked Jim if he had managed to find any evidence;

“Depends what you call proof? If you mean personal proof I feel that some of us have. But something you can put in front of someone and say "this IS a ghost" then no. I'm not sure this can ever be found, but that won’t stop us trying!”

‘Proof’ is actually a massive word in the world of paranormal investigation and also a very grey area. Proof is what all investigators seek, but the degrees of proof vary according to perception and the individual. Proof of any kind is something I have yet to discover, personal or other wise, but would hope to with continued research and investigation. Perhaps one day a Farsight File will find something. However, that doesn’t mean I will stop looking. I feel the proof is out there, but finding it may never happen to the degree that makes it black and white to all that see it. Thinking of what would be the ideal and perfect type of proof in my mind I decided to ask Jim what his most perfect proof would be;

“The holy grail would be a ghost walking up to you and shaking your hand! But on a serious note I would have to say for me it would have to be visual and audio captured on more than one recording device in an area where I have covered all bases to insure no trickery could have taken place. If we could have environmental aspects covered too that would be perfect!”

I have to agree, currently that would be great. All angles covered, devices analysed to prove what was being seen was exactly that, a ghost. However, I know there would still be sceptics, who would produce an alternative reason or angle on the evidence. Perhaps Jim is right; perhaps we may never find that evidence for everyone. If I find evidence that is proof to me though, I would be happy.

As a part of my idea for the Farsight Files, I thought that rather than just investigating known haunted locations, I wanted to help people. That is visit a normal person’s home, who believes that they may be in the process of being haunted. Then investigate and research the situation, trying to discover some answers for them. I wondered if Jim felt the same way;

“We already offer this service to people over our website and this is the work that we do for TAPS.”

I look forward to working further with Jim and his team investigating the paranormal and learning more about it too. I believe he has a fresh opinion and approach to paranormal investigating which in the future may lead to some good results.

So, keep an eye on the Farsight Files and In Search Of Proof websites, perhaps one day that all important proof we all seek may be on there.

The Farsight Files Forum Opens for business ...

Okay, just a quick entry today! Just thought I would make you all aware that I have set up a forum for discussing all things Farsight and paranormal of course..

It's idea that comes from the fact that I like what ISP have done with their forum and thought it a good media for discussion. Nice one Jim, guess I owe you again on that one.

It's simply accessable from the Farsight Files logo picture on the left, just give it a click and check it out.

Like I said just a short entry, give it a click and leave us a message!

Keep your eye on the blog though I will have to post a propper entry soon.

How Do Poltergeists Fit In?

German for “noisy ghost” or more specifically poltern “to knock” and geist “spirit”, poltergeists would appear to be exactly that. It is the occurrence where random objects are moved and sounds made by unseen forces. The common belief is that this is to draw attention to itself. Poltergeist cases always seem to involve specific individuals, which is usually a child or adolescent. However, it’s not always a case of unexplainable sounds and moving objects. In some cases individuals have been known to be harmed, presenting scratches and bruising which they can not explain the cause of. Also unexplained pools of liquid appear and small fires may start and then extinguish themselves without warning.

Further to that in some famous cases, levitation has also been experienced. One of the most famous cases, which included all of the fore mentioned, is possibly the Enfield Poltergeist.

During August 1977 to September 1978, with an additional outburst in August 1980, a single mother and her four children were plagued by the actions of such a poltergeist in their council house in North London.

The phenomena began with the moving of furniture before their eyes. Then the family were kept awake by strange noises and knockings. A neighbour, Vic Nottingham entered the house at one point to investigate for the distraught mother, only to hear noises and knocking sounds for himself literally following him from room to room. This was the early stages of what was almost a year long period where the family experienced more knocking on the walls, Lego bricks and marbles being thrown aggressively, and more movement of furniture. Later on it became even more terrifying when a cast iron fireplace was ripped from the wall. Fires would ignite and then extinguish themselves spontaneously, and Janet would be thrown from her bed, and made to levitate around her room.

Police were called and witnessed some events and even wrote a statement to support what they had seen.

Then paranormal researchers Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair were brought in and conducted an intense investigation which lasted many months.

In the later months of their investigation, Maurice coaxed the entity into speaking to them. Its voice was that of an old man, but the voice came from Janet! Maurice recorded the voice as evidence. And it was tested to ensure its credibility and it was found unlikely that Janet could keep up the voice for the length of time it was heard under the conditions Maurice tested it.
The voice or entity claimed to be an old man called Bill. Who said he was the previous occupier of the house, and stated that he had died of a brain haemorrhage in the armchair in the living room. This was confirmed to be true. Also the man’s son listened to the recorded voice and was sure it was his father.

Was this a clever elaborate hoax or a true poltergeist encounter?

Looking at the evidence we have, we are compelled to believe it, yet not from the photographs or voice recording, but from the number of eye-witness statements confirming the events in Enfield. However, eye-witness accounts can also be flawed too!



The few photos’ I have seen of the levitation could easily be shots of Janet jumping from her bed too. You see the problem is there is no evidence of her lifting up from her bed and then moving around the room. Today we would expect to see video footage covering the bedroom constantly picking up every little movement. After all we are not truly satisfied until we see it with our own eyes!

As for the voice recording, this could have been faked. However, it is unlikely Janet would have managed to talk like an old man for as long as she did, without it causing her pain or recognisable as being fake. This may have been faked later by the adults, trying to add more to the story.



I am not saying I don’t believe in the Enfield Poltergeist, just that the distinct lack of physical and solid evidence makes it hard for me to buy into it entirely.

That’s why we would try and cover every base with our investigation and ensure we had good hard evidence to present. After all it makes more sense to investigate and debunk some paranormal activity claims, before admitting somewhere is haunted!

However, there is a common belief between many paranormal researchers that poltergeist are not ‘ghosts’ or ‘spirits’, but manifestations of unconscious mental upset, usually in children or teenagers. Repressed psychic energy may suddenly express itself by projecting from the person that is troubled and paranormally move objects or make noises. This in turn frightens the individual who is at the centre of the activity resulting in more fear that again feeds the escaping psychic energy. However, if the fear of the poltergeist activity is overcome the circle is broken and the activity usually fades away.

It is thought that in most cases poltergeist activity is an example of the minds ability to influence matter, something which American parapsychologist JB Rhine called psycho kinesis.

However, occasionally it is believed that an independent spirit entity may harness the energy and give intelligent communication by means of knocking or other noises.

Another spin on the explanation of poltergeist activity is that it is related to localise telluric rays from the earth’s core. The psychics believe that these ‘Earth Fields’ can be detected by dowsing. Underground rock strata, streams and springs distort these rays and result in areas of ‘geographic stress’ that are harmful to humans and some animals. Dowsers also believe that the megalithic standing stones were designed to mark the lines of these earth fields, named ‘Ley Lines’ by dowser Alfred Watkins. They apparently crisscross Britain and converge on Glastonbury in Somerset, Stonehenge in Wiltshire and the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.

Studies have revealed many poltergeist cases to have occurred in buildings that have been built exactly on the intersection of two major ley lines.

My last thought on poltergeist is that perhaps they are explainable by the means of psycho kinesis. Perhaps the traumatic events, stress or another factor subconsciously creates these phenomena using the power of the mind itself. However, cases like that of the ‘Enfield Poltergeist’ suggest the involvement of an entity. Perhaps the use of the mind in this higher manner attracts ghosts or spirits as a conduit for communication. If this was the case, perhaps individuals plagued by poltergeist may also have medium type abilities?

As ever your comments are welcome.

Paranormal Inspiration ?

This isn't a spooky story really, just a little entry from my father. Basically my little quest and project investigating the paranormal has inspired him it would seem to write a little poem about it. Although I am not a massive poetry fan we must remember a lot of historical events from the past are given life through the ages through song, poetry or stories which are then passed from generation to generation. This information can sometimes be used by historians as a source of evidence. Which mean when investigating the paranormal we may encounter this as a source of evidence.


Anyway, I hope you enjoy my dad's spin on things and as ever feel free to comment, if directed to him I will pass it on for you.

Investigations of the Paranormal

This was maybe sparked of by resent trends,

Together with a group of like minded friends,

The investigation to lost souls to which I started,

In seeking out Apparitions of those departed,

Perhaps a remembrance to a past relation,

An illusive Phantom to others imagination,

Ghostly showings to a visual echo of the past,

My hope is to see a spectral aura at last,

We have detection meters and special devices,

An array of equipment to identify sprit vices,

The taps and bangs, maybe a bell that rings,

A Poltergeist action in keep throwing things,

Therefore, I continue with my deliberations,

Reading all about those unexplained notions,

To examining everyday facts about the dead,

Even thought some say there better off not read.

He does enjoy to write, bless him. If you enjoyed this and would like to read more of his work please visit http://www.caxtonquills.co.uk/ and check out what else he has on offer.

Ghosts and Spirits – A Little More Insight

I must mention that this blog entry was inspired by my man in the know, Jim from ISP. He has brought my attention to an important fact and in doing so reminded me that even the paranormal is in abundance of technical terms. As what could be described as a ‘newbie’ to the field I have no problem learning as I go, after all that is why I am investigating, ‘to know more’.

As some of you may have read, Jim commented as follows;

‘Hi Ash its Jim. Nice little post there but I thought I would just raise a small issue. Obviously Andrew was referring to "Ghosts". As a paranormal investigator I know two terms within the field that people seem to think are the same. Ghost and Spirit. A ghost is a recording if you like, layed down by stone tape theory as Andrew has described in that passage. The term spirit is used to explain an occurrence which shows intelligence rather than just replaying something. Hope this gives you a little more insight.’

Jim’s comment immediately grabbed me. It encouraged me to want to know more. I have, probably like many people heard individuals refer to ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ as if they were two different things, but dismissed it and assumed they were sort of the same thing. Thinking about it though it makes perfect sense that they are not. Jim’s comment has been the catalyst for a brief knowledge search on the two. After all I cannot investigate the paranormal if I don’t know the technical terms.

First up, let me attempt to explain the ‘Stone Tape Theory’. The term itself is originally believed to be from the 1970’s BBC drama called ‘The Stone Tape’. Then it was used by Parapsychologists to describe the theory that materials found in stone and brick may have certain properties suitable for recording images and/or sound of events which occur in their vicinity. It is believed that the stoned, ground, etc are able to absorb the energy from living beings. Under certain conditions the absorbed energy can be replayed, just like a recording.

As most hauntings can usually be related to an emotionally charged scene, such as a murder, horrific accident or time of distress on the part of the person or persons involved. Somehow that scene becomes imprinted in the localised environment, such as a building.

For the scene to be replayed it has been suggested that it needs to be triggered by the correct catalyst, or person who sends out the right signal. This could be a highly emotional or distressed person. The replayed scene can be visual or audible, but not always interactive. This is often referred to as a residual or imprinted haunting.

That’s the ‘Stone Tape Theory’ in brief, but I think I will be heading back to this as a future blog subject, as it is quite interesting and could pose quite a good discussion point.

As for the difference between ghosts and spirits, this subject is slightly complicated. From a brief search of the web, you return a few conflicting views. However, I think I will side with Jim in distinguishing between the two.

From what I have read briefly and I am by no means an expert. Ghosts are as Jim describes them, ‘a recording’. If you agree with what is written, then they are stuck in replay (sometimes interactive and sometimes not) after failing to pass completely over to the afterlife. This means they are stuck in between the physical world and the afterlife in a kind of nether world. There are additional angles which state that they can be assisted to pass on to the afterlife with the correct assistance. For example, if someone was murdered, but the killer was never found then solving the murder helps the victim to move on. Personally this view is a touch ‘drama’ for me. I tend to think the ‘stone tape theory’ makes more sense and that the catalyst is no longer present which is why the ghost fails to appear.

Then we have spirits, which as Jim states ‘shows intelligence rather than just replaying something’. This is entirely possible, as some of the descriptions I have discovered describe spirits as having passed over to the afterlife, but are able to return to our physical world to assist or watch over us. All very well, but this leaves me the question, why? Which is fine with me, the whole subject of the paranormal poses the question why, hence my continued interest!

Obviously, my descriptions have been brief, but again I will return to these subjects again in more detail. After all, there’s plenty to discuss, plenty to understand in the paranormal world!

As ever your comments or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks to Jim for the Logo !

Just a quick entry to thank you to Jim from ISP for the swift and clever design of the Farsight Files logo and banner above.



As I said at the time, I can already imagine the logo on the back of some jackets.

Obviously my graphics skills are not quite as good as Jim's, but you get the idea !

Funny thing is I imagined a logo similar to this one in my head, but couldn't quite get it into visual format. I don't recall telling Jim or describing it, so its either a case of 'great minds think alike' or Jim can read minds through MSN !!!

Thank you again Jim.

Next up the Farsight Files website ?? Think that one is a slight work in progress though !

A Brief Update and A New Spin on Ghosts !

Just thought I better post a bit of an update before it seemed like I had forgotten about this Blog!

I am still working hard on the Farsight Files in the background, but unfortunetly its not my only work. I also have a full time job which is taking up much of my time. Shame really as my job has not a lot to do with my investigation into the paranormal. I havn't forgotten though and hope to get something good to share with you soon.


Thought I would use this brief entry as an opertunity if anything to share with you a theory of a Ghost-Hunter that I have been reading about recently. The man in question is Andrew Green who was ghost hunting up until his death for about sixty years, a touch of an achievment I think. He's theory is as follows, in his words;



"Ghosts exist as an object form of phenomena, as a type of electricity situated in a particular locality. This static is, we suggest, in a wave pattern, which can be visualized by a person as the transmission form their mind which matches the original impression. The witness feels cold as a result of an electro-chemical process and immediately afterwards sees the ghost.

This cold sensation could well be the catalyst which switches on the mentally recreated picture so to speak. The picture is merely a mental image of some person or a pet animal, the death or injury of which causes intense shock to the creator of that image. This picture is transmitted unconsciously to the actual site and visulaised in a telepathic fashion and as such exists."

Basically Andrew was saying that ghosts do exist, but not exactly as we may think they do. That is they may not be a spirit stuck here for some reason, but a type of energy transmitted to a location during a traumatic or intense moment. His conclusion being that a ghost may not be dead ! His evidence was that after working hard on a rockery in his garden he unknown to him tranferred that energy in the form of himself. Later after selling the house the new owners and their daughter came to his new house for some reason. The daughter had never met Andrew before, but on meeting him she suddenly fainted. The reason given for this was because she believed him to be a ghost. Why? He was alive ! She told them that this was the same man she had seen around their rockery at home, to which she had referred to as a ghost!

The man who had investigated the paranormal for sixty years, been coined 'the specter inspector' and was even said to be a ghost himself, may have come up with a fresh new spin on ghosts. However, these days we investigate in a similar way and look for energy readings and temperature drops. Could Andrew Green have pathed the way for the Ghost-Hunter's of today?

However, I must admit that the theory that links ghosts to the afterlife seems to give us a more belief based system to investigate. Something I try to avoid, as I wish to find the truth and strong evidence regarding paranormal activity ! That doesn't mean I dismiss religion and beliefs. After all we must embrace all angles to gain a greater understanding of the bigger picture.


If you wish to know more about Andrew Green and some of his cases, may I suggest reading the same book I am 'Ghost-Hunter's Casebook - The Investigations of Andrew Green Revisited'.



Feel free to comment and give me your opinion on the whole ghost thing? Do you side with Andrew Green, ghosts are residual energy dead or alive? Or, do you believe that ghosts can only be related to the dead?

Why The Paranormal ?

I thought it might be worth posting a short explanation to how and why I now feel the need to investigate the paranormal. After all this isn't something that has come out of the blue, but has developed until I myself realised what I needed to do.

I have always questioned the world around me, wondered about the how and the when, even the why, things and events occurred. I guess I can thank my parents for that as they always gave us the gift of free thinking, self discovery and personal investigation. They never thrust upon us their views, religious or otherwise, but only encouraged us to question what was around us to come to our own conclusions. Well at least that is what I think they hoped for us, but for me that information has only now in my thirties been realised. I would be the first to admit that I have made mistakes and things in my life have not gone according to plan, but to be honest that has been in the majority, out of my control. More recently, it was these life events of mine which led me to see once again that nothing is black and white.

To give myself something else to work on and think about I returned to a passion of mine, which is writing. Hence the development of this Blog! However, after previous attempts to write fiction I have made the discovery that I quite enjoy discovering things. My interest in history returned to me, but this time with a twist of Paranormal.

The Paranormal has always interested me, at one point I was convinced there was a ghost outside my room. I was five years old and later my father proved that the footsteps of the ghost was actually hot water pipes. I then realised that the unexplainable, in some cases could be explained! My interest expanded and I read on the subject, but lacked any true evidence of paranormal existance! Until the day of my grandfathers funeral. I was sat down with my cousin, when she told me or I may have asked, but basically it came to light she could talk to the dead.

Skeptical I tested her medium abilities by asking her to describe the inside of my best mates house, who she didn't know or had met. To be fair she done this exactly right, but mentioned a painting above the sofa which was incorrect. However, she remained adament about the location and what the painting was of.

It wasn't until a while later when I ran the story passed my best mate that he confirmed when his grandfather was alive (the person my cousin spoke to) the picture my cousin described existed where she said it was. My cousin had been 100% correct.

I then realised the wider scope of the paranormal.

Following that my experiences were few and reduced to reading the odd book or story.

Until I moved to Coventry and got involved with my ex-girlfriend. Her mum had an interest in the Paranormal and even conducted a few EVP sessions when I was there. The results of which were minimal, inconclusive, but still a little spooky. She also introduced me to Tarrot cards and the theory of prediction. I don't think my ex liked the fact I was interested in her mum's weird hobby! Suffice to say the time I spent as a bystander in her mum and friends paranormal experiments have enlightened me slightly.

For the years whilst I was married my interest in the Paranormal was put on a back burner and even following my divorce I didn't really return. That was until recently, when my new girlfriend drew my attention back to the Paranormal though her interests. Which has lead me to Clophill and its local myths and stories of hauntings.

So, there it is, nothing special or dramatic, just a pure simple interest developed over time and exposure. Unfortunetly I was never haunted during my life and I don't recall signing up to do battle with evil deamons, but I do search for proof and the truth.

Well that's my angle, why not comment on this post and tell me yours?

A Short Stop At Clophill !

Last Monday saw me with a little time on my hands, so I thought it was a good time to pop to Clophill and have a little wonder around the site in the daylight by myself!

However, I wasn't alone! A couple of teenagers were using the old church site for their own reasons, and to be honest I don't think they were searching for proof of the Paranormal!

I have to admit even though I felt like I was intruding upon the couple, the church on top of the hill, in the daylight still had me a little on edge. However, I didn't feel odd or as if anything was watching me, accept maybe the couple.

I rang my cousin to discuss some points that she had mentioned. She directed me towards a grave stone, but unfortunetly it was unreadable. And thus we couldn't confirm her belief that it was the daughter of a woman called Jenny. A spirit my cousin picked up on whilst tuning into the location.

More on Jenny will come later. I also tried to locate a Well on the site, but was unsuccesful.

To be honest I think a more detailed visit is required, perhaps even with my cousin so she can pick up on things more directly!

All in all though a good little visit. I have been to the church before, but not in as much detail. It is a wonder to see and I can easily imagine the fear it can create in the dead of night. I am now eager to see what secrets this location hides, if any!

This Farsight File is officially open and in full swing.

Putting It Together !!

Firstly, my apollogies for not adding to this blog for a little while, but things as ever have been busy.


Where to start !!


Well, what was going to be about me learning or teaching myself to investigate the Paranormal has now developed in to so much more of a greater possiblility. Obviously, nothing has been set in concrete, but I am forever hopeful that something good will come out of what is now everyone's efforts.




Let me explain..

I have written and explained earlier, my plan for the first two Farsight Files and Paranormal Investgations was to investigate Clophill Church and Minsden Chapel. This I am happy to say is still the case. However, after some preliminary investigating and digging around on the internet, I found some others interested in helping out!

First up, I was speaking to my little sister about the project. I can't remember exactly how it came about, but we decided it may be a good idea to film the whole and maybe create a documentary type programme on it. Possibly even a series !!


Second up, I discovered some experts in the field of Paranormal Investigation. A group who's method's I trust as their approach is similar to my own. That is they will attempt to disprove before they will conclude the possibility of paranormal activity. As they sate on their website http://www.insearchofproof.co.uk/ ;


'In Search of Proof are a team of paranormal investigators whoes aim is to prove or disprove the existence of the paranormal through the use of scientific experiments and spiritualist mediums. As a team they hope to find some defining evidence that cannot be disproved. In the past they have visited such "haunted" locations as Farnham Castle, Hellfire Caves and the Galleries of Justice.'




Hopefully, all going well the team will be able to assist us on our investigations.


Then, I spoke to my cousin about the Clophill site and briefly my intentions. Another person was soon involved. However, the only difference here was that my cousin is a medium and was able to pick up some bits of information regarding the site. As ever with these things, we will have to investigate to back them up.


The interest hasn't stopped there either! Through the magic of Facebook I also started talking to an old School friend who also has an interest in the Paranormal and wishes to get involved with the investigation.


It seems now that this has evolved into a greater, better investigation and with a possibility of documenting the whole thing as documentary or even a documentary series.


As for me, the Paranormal learning curve is in full effect and I hope to put things together as quickly as possible to get on to the investigation itself.


As ever if you have any sites that you believe may be of interest to us please leave a comment and I will take a look as they could be a potential Farsight File !

What's to come ??

Right just thought I should add to my previous post, just so everyone knows where this is going to be heading. Obviously, it's kind of self-explanatory, but to begin with here is the plan...

Investigate the ruins of St. Mary's Church at Clophill Bedfordshire. This will be to the best of my ability a proper investigation with the usual gadgets once I aquire them. I will then post the results directly onto my blog for all to read.

Following Clophill I would like to venture to Minsden Chapel in Hertfordshire. This is a much older ruin and is even more off of the beaten track. It has a similar history to Clophill, with black magic and hauntings. All in all it should prove another good investigation.

I also plan to research the black magic side of this aswell, as both of these investigations have references to it.

That's pretty much it to begin with, hopefully these two locations will provide some good results.

Again, if you have any ideas on locations which may require some investigation, please don't hesitate to contact me about them. We'll make note of them and hopefully visit them in the future to add to our body of evidence.

As ever questions, comments, advice and pointers are greatly welcome.

Where to start !!

Okay so, I’m not sure exactly where this will go, but I have a little time, enjoy writing and thought I should start getting stuff out there! Basically in this day and age (sound like me Dad now), a writers first port of call is the Blog!

Enough about why I’m doing this, lets talk about the Paranormal.

The Paranormal, be it ghosts, weird stuff, bumps in the night, stuff moving or even that old building which lets admit it looks blooming scary, we all have had some kind of experience thats made us think. With the flood of TV shows on the subject like Ghost Hunters, Most Haunted and the new Docu-Drama Paranormal State hitting our screens recently its hard to know which to set the old SKY Plus to record. Ofcourse the bueaty of this subject is that it can’t really get old and probably never will. Why? Simple, we can never 100% prove either way if these annomalies exist or not.

So whats my point? A good question! Well for years I have been interested in writing and getting something published somewhere, but never really got that far. Think the closest I managed was submitting a TV Series script to a competition which didn’t pan out. However, that aside I have always enjoyed investigating stuff, even the boring research part to find out what was before it is now!! In this I have discovered a greater thirst for more factual writing, which is where I am up to now.

More recently I have been investigating the Knights Templar and the history surrounding them in the local area around Hertfordshire. However, this little investigation began its life as an interest in a ruin church in Bedfordshire, which supprising enough was apparently haunted. My current girlfriend brought the church to my attention and thus began a small quest and definate thurst for information regarding the church. St Mary’s Church at Clophill, which sits upon an erie hill top in a spooky surroundings worthy of a Stephen King novel (or even film) has numerous stories of hauntings and history. If you google it, you could be there a while trying decide which you believe and which you don’t.Apparently back in the 60’s it was the location of a Black Magic ritual, possibly a Black Mass or Necromancy. A couple of the accounts that I read indicated that there was an odd cross painted on the ruin’s wall at the time of the ritual. A cross which matched that of the Knights Templar. Hence my link and interest to the Knights. Also, just down the hill used to be a castle, the motte and bailey type, which at one point housed a knight that joined the crusades to Jerusalem.The Knights Templar side tracked me to Jerusalem and then back to Hertford, where apparently there are Templar tunnels under the town. However, after a lot of investigation this is beginning to seem less likely. However, there is a cold war bunker below Hertford town and thus tunnels of a sort!

Where has all this investigation led me? Well nowhere so far, but here!Right, if you havn’t fallen asleep yet then hopefully your still interested. I would like to write about the paranormal and locations like Clophill, even stories like Hertford Tunnels. However, I will approach them as a skeptic with the mind to disprove any paranormal activities. That way if the evidence is good then the results will be too.

This is where you, my readers come in, if you have any suggestions for places that you think could warrent investigation, drop me a comment or mail.

I plan to return to the ruin at Clophill in the near future and conduct a proper investigation, which I will write up for all to read. Following Clophill I have another ruin Church which is older and closer to Stevenage, Minsden Chapel.

So, if like me you too are interested in the Paranormal or even just knowing more about the unknown, please feel free to comment or contact me. All are welcome.