Hampshire 'one of the most haunted counties'

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Hampshire 'one of the most haunted counties'
June 19, 2009
By Clare Alexander
Hampshire

HAMPSHIRE County Council is one of many organisations said to have asked a ‘ghost hunter’ to conduct a paranormal investigation.

The question of ghouls and haunted houses has baffled many but even the most profound sceptics agree it is an intriguing topic.

David Scanlan is so fascinated by it that he founded the Hampshire Ghost Club in 2001 and his first book Paranormal Hampshire has just been published.

The ghost club investigates claims of paranormal phenomena and where possible records the evidence to publish.

He has led more than 130 cases since it started. The county council, he claims, is one of many clients to have called on the ghost club to investigate possible happenings.

The Royal Navy and a member of the British aristocracy are among others.


She started experiencing poltergeist action and even pets wouldn’t stay in the house.
David Scanlan, author of Paranormal Hampshire

Frightening

“The ghost club has been really successful,” Mr Scanlan said. “We have done work for Hampshire County Council, haunting investigations for the council into allegedly haunted venues owned by them.”

His book consists of an easy to read A to Z list of places and buildings across Hampshire, which are reportedly haunted.

There are alleged sightings of phantom soldiers slaughtered in battle during the English Civil War at All Saints Church in Crondall, the most famous being a ghostly roundhead soldier riding his horse.

With its military connections, Aldershot has long been known as the home of the British Army.

But the town is also home to ghosts, according to the author. Today, the Cambridge Military Hospital is used temporarily while Frimley Park Hospital is being renovated.

But it received its first patients in 1879 and a nurse, plagued by the death of her husband to be, is said to haunt the corridors.

There are a number of buildings listed in the book where he claims to have witnessed encounters.

Haunting

Paranormal Hampshire is a mixture of his own experiences, legend, and word of mouth and there is enough to convince Mr Scanlan that the county is one of the most haunted in England.

Mr Scanlan’s fascination began in 1986 when he was aged 11, after his sister moved house.

“She started experiencing poltergeist action and even pets wouldn’t stay in the house,” he said.

“There was a mysterious figure at the bottom of the garden wearing a trilby hat. She found a broken Ouija board on the site where he would appear.

“There was this dark looming figure above her which attacked her.

“He smothered her down on the bed and she could not move.”

He, along with a team of helpers, began his own investigations. “We go to a haunted place and try [to gather] information or evidence so other people can review it.

“I have so much information built up over the years that I thought instead of sitting on it I would put it in the book and share it round.”

He describes on incident at Netley Abbey, which is relived in his book, as the most frightening experience he ever had.

“I am not here to convince anyone,” he said. “I go out and get evidence and present it to the public and they can choose whether to look at it impartially.”

Sightings

The ghost hunter uses some hi-tech equipment, including electronic voice phenomena, an experiment that is done with a digital dictaphone when he is investigating.

He says there are often ‘unexplained disembodied voices’ when he plays it back.

While some dismiss it as merely radio waves, he disagrees.

“If it’s radio waves then you would expect to pick up people like Chris Moyles but we’re not getting that.”

Mr Scanlan says he has seen many ghosts, which rarely look as they are depicted in films.

“The majority of the time they’re not transparent but solid and they look like normal human beings,” he said. “It’s only when they vanish or walk through walls you realise it’s not right.”

To book a ghost hunt or for more information, log on to www.hampshireghostclub.net.