The Storyteller: Looking back on my paranormal past

As I write, I'm looking forward to being a guest on a paranormal radio show that will be available online, as of Thursday 6th November.

The host is a guy called Barnaby Jones, who runs his own paranormal investigation group based in Wisconsin, in the States. The invitation came out of the blue, and of course I accepted straightaway,  as I love any opportunity to share my stories and experiences with anyone willing to listen.

This isn’t my first rodeo! Ever since TIP (Torbay Investigators of the Paranormal) was formed, back in 1995, I’ve always had a healthy relationship with the media, whether that be featuring in newspaper or magazine articles, as well as writing my own; chatting on radio shows and podcasts; or popping up on TV...I always enjoy the experience, and it makes me feel I’m putting the three years of training I received at drama school to good use.

During the early years, a friend of mine asked me to set up an investigation at Barton Pines,  to be carried out during a charity Halloween event they were hosting, obviously I jumped at the chance. They managed to get publicity for it, and, as it was the spooky season, the local paper ran a week’s worth of articles, leading up to it, covering several spooky hotspots...the majority of which, featured TIP, as they were locations we had actually investigated, or were investigating at that time.

Then, in 1999, just as we were planning on going public, inviting other, like-minded people to come and join us at our Monday night meetings at Churston Court, the same local paper were running a supplement about spooky locations in the area, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, and, for the princely sum of £52...the best £52 I’ve ever spent...I was able to advertise our intentions.

That weekend, I fielded many phone calls, from people expressing interest in joining us, or offering suggestions of places to investigate. Then,  on the Monday night, we had a room full of around twenty people, all eager to listen, and share their own experiences...and so it began! However, we soon found out that dealing with the media can be a bit of a double-edged sword...

Our first investigation, after going public, actually came our way via a live phone-in on a local radio station, when we were invited to visit an allegedly haunted property, by the key holders. It turned out to be an intriguing case, offering up some interesting results, which we studied for the whole Summer of 1999. As our findings mounted, we were encouraged to take it to the local press, to share what we thought was some excellent examples of paranormal phenomenon. 

However,  just before our meeting with a local journalist, it was brought to our attention that we were being hoaxed, which brought into question everything that had happened during our visits, so I was forced to cancel the journalist...unfortunately they already smelt a story, thinking that a group of Ghostbusters being caught out was juicier than genuine paranormal activity. Not only did it make a headline in the local paper, but the journalist also got it published in The Sun, with the glaring headline “Ghoulded ya!”, featured on Page 3...next to a topless beauty! 

They do say there is no such thing as bad publicity, and as luck would have it, this certainly proved true for us that day. Not only did that headline get discussed on Radio 1, but Five Live rang me up, wanting an interview about the case, and the next day, I had a call from the BBC Overseas Radio Service, saying that the story might be of interest to the troops! I’ve no idea who I was talking to or why, but I gave the interview anyway.

More radio work came my way, when I was invited on to John Govier’s Late-Night Radio Show, on BBC Radio Devon. Myself, and my friend Maia, became monthly guests, taking calls from his listeners, and discussing a certain topic with a paranormal slant. We did that for a few years, even managing to persuade him to do some live outside broadcasts, in haunted locations.

These included two Halloween editions, the first at The Coffin House, in Brixham, the second at the old Exeter Court House, part of the remains of Rougemont  Castle, just before it was converted into flats, office space, and a nightclub. Here members of the group picked up on an ex-convict, still residing in the holding cells below the courtroom...now the ladies’ toilets in the club!

John also held a special birthday edition of his show, in the old ABC cinema in Plymouth, at my suggestion...just as they were uncovering skeletons in the walls of the building next door! At each location, we carried out an investigation, whilst John was broadcasting, giving him regular updates on our findings throughout the show. Those were fun times.

Whilst in The Coffin House, we were featured on Spotlight local news, as a Halloween feature, through our involvement with John, and this led to further exposure via the BBC, including some filming for their Video Nation project, whereby members of the public were encouraged to film themselves indulging in their favourite pastime, or a subject they were passionate about. I filmed myself telling folklore tales up on Dartmoor, and they chose to put my version of Kitty Jay’s story up on their website, where people were able to write comments, and share their own experiences of visiting the grave. This proved to be a very valuable research tool.

Another phone call from the BBC, saw myself, and other members of the group, being invited to join Sue Perkins, at Berry Pomeroy Castle, to film a segment for Countryfile. The idea was, that Sue was going to be spending the night in the castle, and they wanted the local Ghostbusters to tell her all the spooky tales pertaining to the ruins, to make her stay slightly uncomfortable.

It was a privilege to meet Sue, and give her the guided tour of the haunted hotspots. She was a good sport, and was looking forward to spending the night in a four-poster bed...no such thing in the old ruins, as most locals would know...instead, she was given a tent to sleep in! Having erected it, she said goodnight to the viewers and zipped herself in. She didn’t spend the night on the lawn in a tent, instead she headed off to a comfy hotel, further up country, as she had an appointment elsewhere the next day, but it all looked very convincing in the finished programme. 

Some of our media involvement, was actually foretold by a local medium, who we met holding a demonstration at a Torquay hotel, which we both happened to have been invited to investigate at the same time. Having shared messages with various people around the room, she finally arrived at our table. Seeing some of our equipment resting on it, she made a bold statement, claiming that, someday, the work we did, would be seen all around the world.

We smiled sweetly, thanked her for the messages, and she moved on. My initial scepticism, proved to be misplaced, for, during the following week, I received three phone calls from people, all asking for my involvement in their paranormal projects. The first was a guy from Australia, wanting to do a live interview on his radio show...job done! The second was a guy from the National Geographic offices in Washington DC, wanting to pick my brains about the best places to go ghost hunting in the UK...happy to help! The third, and most exciting, was a call from a researcher for a South Korean TV company, who was given the brief to find an eccentric English man who did ghost hunting...and she found me! This was so much fun to be involved with.

For a couple of days, I escorted the researcher and the director/cameraman around the area, visiting haunted locations, and taking them to some of the properties we had recently investigated. The director spoke no English, being more at home filming serious pieces for news broadcasts, but he certainly got into the spirit of this particular assignment, having some very specific ideas of what he wanted to film, causing me a bit of grief into the bargain! We got told to stop filming in the Thai restaurant in Palace Avenue, when some fellow diners offered up a ghost story that they were willing to share on camera. Then the owners of a certain haunted property, that we visited, took umbrage, when the director insisted on filming in their bedroom, where their particular story had taken place, and we had subsequently investigated.

They drew the line, when he wanted to film in their ensuite bathroom...we were no longer welcome to visit them after that! On a lighter note, when I took them to visit Lydford Church, next to the castle, the director spotted headstones with the surname Phillips on. He filmed me walking amongst them, to illustrate the fact I might be communing with my ancestors...probably not. Then, when I took them to meet a family, whose house we had recently investigated, they weren’t home at the arranged time. As we waited outside, the director asked the mediums amongst us, where they thought they might be. The general consensus was, that they had gone shopping. 

He filmed their arrival back home, and got very excited, when they emerged from their car, carrying shopping bags! He even zoomed in, to emphasise the fact! The finished piece was dubbed in to Korean, and then shown in front of a live studio audience, before being broadcast around the country. Judging by their reaction, it was most enjoyable, and I’m quite proud to have that amongst my collection of TIP’s time in the spotlight.

With this next interview imminent, I guess I’d better get ready for my close up...as they say in the business!