Storyteller: 100 articles and counting...

At the end of May, my paranormal investigation group, TIP, celebrated 24 years of public meetings by hosting a gathering at our new home, the wonderful Chelston Manor, which I wrote about the other week.
More recently, we celebrated 13 years of the launching of our Exeter branch of TIP, known as TIP-X. This was set up by myself and my partner, Sarah, who lives in Exeter, for those friends of ours who live in that part of Devon, and can’t make it to our meetings in Torbay.
We first started gathering, once a month, on a Monday night, at the White Hart on South Street, not far from Exeter Cathedral. This is a most fascinating old coaching inn, with lots of history, including a priest hole in one of the upstairs lounge areas, and plenty of alleged hauntings that piqued our interest, and kept us coming back for more.
Then one day the hotel started to undergo some renovations, and there no longer seemed to be room for us, so it was time to look for a new home.
In the early days of TIP, Dave, Adrian and myself used to attend monthly meetings in Exeter, of a group called ESP, the Exeter Strange Phenomenon group. They were primarily into cryptozoology, the study of weird and wonderful animal life, like the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti, only more obscure than that, but their meetings, and annual Weird Weekends, covered every aspect of the paranormal spectrum, always showing an interest in TIP’s activities.
These gatherings were held at Cowick Barton, an old manor house on the edge of Exeter, full of stories of phantom monks and mysterious underground passages, ideal for a group of ghost hunters.
ESP moved on to bigger and better things, so their meetings stopped but when we were looking to expand into Exeter, I did consider Cowick Barton, however another similar group was already holding regular sessions there, so, not wanting to tread on any toes, we found the White Hart instead.
Then, when I was looking for somewhere new, I heard this other group had moved on, Cowick was once again open to our sort of meetings, so we moved in.
Over the first few years, the management seemed to change quite frequently and somewhat suddenly, in some cases under quite bizarre circumstances, leading us to believe that the place itself might have been having an unsettling effect over those living there.
Then the brewery decided to spend a substantial amount of money on refurbishments, putting in a new chef to also manage the place, which turned the venue’s fortunes around. The chef and his young family moved in, asking us to play down the haunted history of the building for the sake of the children, which we were more than happy to do, so as to be able to still meet in such an historical property.
Then came Covid... Once it reopened, it was decided to close on a Monday, giving all the staff a day off after a busy weekend. As Monday is our day of choice, usually the quieter night of the week, allowing us to gather there more easily, we then found ourselves once again without a home.
As yet we haven’t found a replacement, however we did manage to meet up in an Italian restaurant over Christmas. I am still in touch with those members who can’t come to see us in Torbay, in the hope that, one day, normal TIP-X business can be resumed.
After completing my 100th article, the two-year milestone of writing for the Torbay Weekly will be reached in July, along with the anniversaries of some more paranormal local events.
On July 5, the death of Squire Cabal, who is buried in his tomb in the graveyard of the derelict church at Buckfastleigh, is said to be celebrated by the appearance of his pack of hunting dogs, coming to pay their respects to their old master, by sitting around his resting place and baying.
On the same day, at his home at Brook Manor, just up the lanes from the church, his horse and carriage allegedly appear on the driveway, coming to fetch him for one last journey.
Over the years, we have tried to attend these annual occurrences, to see if we can pick up any truth to these stories, sadly, to date, we have been unsuccessful. However, elsewhere in the West Country, another historical event, that is said to playback on the date and time it occurred, has been more forthcoming.
On July 6, between the hours of 2am and 3am, a re-enactment of the Battle of Sedgemoor is said to play out on the battle site, just outside the village of Westonzoyland, on the Somerset Levels. During the battle, the King’s troops opened fire with cannon and muskets on the ill equipped, and unprepared, army of the Duke of Monmouth, who were trying to sneak passed their opponents under cover of darkness.
When their position was given away, the rebels were literally massacred where they stood, their lifeless bodies being buried in mass graves on the battlefield, and marked with a memorial stone, which makes a suitable place to hold a vigil on any anniversary.
The first time we turned up, a fair number of the group made the effort. Having had a few drinks in the nearby Sedgemoor Inn, after our drive up from Torbay, we made our way along the tracks, out on to the levels, to keep watch from around midnight.
As the night wore on, so more of the group gave up and headed for home, until there was only three of us left. Then, at around 2.30am, we also gave up and headed back to the car, but, as we walked away, something compelled me to glance back over my shoulder, and I was rewarded with the sight of flickering lights high on the hillside overlooking the battlefield. This was followed by brighter flashes nearer to us behind a hedgerow.
When I shouted to my friends to look, they also turned and saw it. There was no sound, just the display of lights. Had we just witnessed a glimpse of part of the re enactment of the muskets and cannon being fired upon the hapless rebels?
Sadly, my camera was pointing in the wrong direction to capture any evidence, but seeing it, was enough to bring us back many years following, in the hope of witnessing it again. To date this hasn’t repeated itself for us... but who knows what might happen this year, should we decide to hold investigations on either of those anniversary dates in July...