Haunted Leeds - Temple Newsam
Watch the podcast then come back and read our report www.hauntedleeds.co.uk
Today we were joined by KAPS own medium and Barrie’s sister Amanda Jane. Until we arrived at Temple Newsam none of us had any idea where we were going. None of us have visited this building before and new nothing at all of the history.
As we arrived Barrie and Amanda immediately began to pick up on a man outside of the building and also Barrie felt a “darkness” to the building that he couldn’t quite explain.
During out initial walk around in the cellars I thought that I had seen 2 shadow like figures standing in an archway as always, I immediately took a picture which showed two light anomalies or orbs in the spot I say the shadows. Barrie and Amanda also said that they felt the presence of children watching us. We stood quietly for a while and did hear what sounded to us all like whispering. The lights were still on so we tried to find a source for the noise but couldn’t. Of course at this point we couldn’t rule out a physical explanation as we were not familiar with the building. However the member of staff who was with us did confirm that over the years this “whispering” and shuffling had been reported several times and no-one had been able to explain it.
Moving on to the bottom of a staircase, near the entrance to the hall, Barrie picked up on a pregnant woman who visited this area to see someone or the body of someone (see podcast). We went to night vision and continued with a spirit board séance. During this I heard footsteps coming from a nearby room. On investigation we could see nothing, but as we turned to walk away 3 of us all heard the noise again. I would describe this as footsteps on a wet concrete floor sounding as ours did. We tried to reproduce the sound ourselves to try and rule out an echo but couldn’t.As can be seen on the podcast when Debbie, Barrie and myself asked the spirit to do something to Amanda and Nicola they did experience knocks and bangs.
We all gathered in the cellar as all of us had heard or seen things in this area. We heard a series of loud bangs and clanking noises on request. Of course these could have been attributable to the usual noises of an old building but they were reproduced each time we asked for them. After a few minutes even the sceptics amongst us began to feel uncomfortable and were convinced that there were other people on either side of us. As we were discussing this Barrie and I heard a very clear whistle. This was picked up by the cameras and again the whispering noises. At this point we thought it best to leave as we were all getting quite uncomfortable and thought our imaginations may take over.
Moving upstairs the cameras and crew went into a reputedly haunted room. Amanda and I stayed in the long gallery hallway looking at the pictures. We noticed that none of the portraits had identifying name plates on them. As we were talking we were interrupted by load whispers and the EMF meter started to light up. We followed the source of the whispers and we led to a painting at the top of a second staircase. Strangely enough this portrait did have a name plate of one of the ladies named Ingram. Very strange. Was this just a coincidence or were we purposely led to that portrait of the girl said to be “the Blue Lady”?
We all gathered again in the room where a picture of Napoleon is said to regularly fall of the wall. However these walls were exposed and not in good condition. We all actually wondered how this picture stayed on there in the first place. We could see no evidence of damage on the frame or marks on the floor, both of which we would have expected to see had this picture fallen of the wall. No activity was picked up in this area at all. I questioned the staff member with us and asked how often the picture was found on the floor. She said it happened once 18 months ago. I think in this instance we can perhaps say that the ghost story has outweighed any kind of evidence.
We tried to contact the children again at the bottom of the staircase and I suggested using the planchette with a pen. There were some scribbling marks on the paper and the EMF once again flashed a few times on request.Unfortunately time ran out. We all agreed that we would like to return and explore more of the building.
By far the most compelling part of the night was our time in the cellars. The clear sound of a whistle and the picture of the light anomalies after seeing two shadowy figures were very interesting. Although not conclusive evidence of spirit presence it did make the investigation worth while.
2nd visit on 1 October 2009 with members of Harrogate Roundtable
by Neil Jackson - Paranormal Investigator
We arrived at Temple Newsom and met the Harrogate Round Table, who had invited us to join their tour.Even before I entered the building I began to pick up the feelings of the spirit of a man. My chest and back felt tight. I found breathing hard, as if I was wearing a corset of some kind and my torso was aching. I found out later that the house had been used as a hospital during the World War 1, so that might explain these feelings. The tour started and as soon as we left the impressive hall the feelings went.We were lead to a small room. Our guide told us the history of the room and how it had changed over the years. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear much of the talk as I was busy trying to get a feel for the place. I had the distinct feeling of being watched. At first I thought it was a child, but as it came closer, I got a pain in the top of my right leg. I believe it was man. The impression I got of him was that he had a limp when he walked. He was quite short, thick set and very strong. He also seemed very friendly and good natured. As we were lead to the wine and bear cellar, we stopped just out side near to the coal cellar. My attention was drawn by movement going up and down the corridor. We heard several footsteps. I later found out that children have been seen running up and down on previous occasions. I also sensed the man with the limp there. There was also a figure in the end room and I felt dizzy. Unfortunately, we could not investigate the end room has it had pipes all over the floor.We then went through the tunnel to the other side of the house. As we were going through I felt euphoria and stronger. At the other end of the tunnel we were lead into a room that had once been a chapel, then a kitchen and had been changed again as the guide was telling us this, her features changed. Her right eye went white. I then felt my right eye cloud over. I told Amanda who had also experienced a pain in her right eye. We were told of an incident that happened there, so any other feelings or impressions we experienced would be compromised. But the figure that I had sensed earlier in the tunnel fitted in with what was told to us. The last room we were allowed in was interesting and had been used as work room making commodities for the household e.g. soaps and medicines. Again, I didn’t hear all of the talk as I was trying to pick up any activity. Lynn and some of the group said my face changed. It became drawn and haggard. At the time I was getting a tooth ache. This was funny as the place that was hurting I no longer have a tooth. I also lost all sense of smell. I got the impression that the spirit I was sensing had suffered pain and lack of sleep for some time. This could explain the change in my appearance.