Introduction
Para.Science is presently engaged in a long term study into the alleged paranormal activity within areas of an old dock building in the North West of England.
This study has to date taken to form of a series of vigils both during the day and overnight.
This preliminary report covers the part of the investigation that deals with the Island or Grain Warehouse.
The group has employed several techniques to support this work including video surveillance (infra red and visible light), photography (digital and conventional), sound recording (analogue and digital), temperature monitoring, personal observation and the limited use of clairvoyant mediums.
This on site activity has been supported by research into the history of the building and the general site and interviewing witnesses to alleged paranormal or unexplained events.
The Island Warehouse
The history of the Docks and warehouses is well recorded and documented and requires no further coverage within the context of this report. The area pre-dates much of the surrounding development and was directly responsible from 1795 for the growth and subsequent development of the local town.
The Island or Grain warehouse was commenced during 1872 adjacent to the flint and blue clay wharf in the upper docks level. The ground floor was completed and in use by 1873, with the upper floor being completed ten years later in 1883.
The building was used to store primarily grain along with some limited quantities of other goods until the turn of the century when it was replaced as a grain store by new, larger purpose built warehouses and silos on a different part of the site. From the limited records available it appears that the building was little used and neglected after this time as during May of 1939 it was reported as being "Disused for many years".
With the outbreak of the Second World War the building was taken over by a construction company for the building and storage of prefabricated army huts and later houses.
After the war the ground floor of the building was used by a vehicle engineering company as a maintenance Garage. This role lasted until the late 1950's when along with the majority of the site the building was vacated and fell once again into disuse until the building was acquired for use as a museum.
Located on an man made island within the upper dock level, externally the building is substantially the original brick construction. It's position allowed narrow boats to dock either side of the structure and even underneath a first floor extension permitting easier loading and offloading of cargo.
Internally the building has two levels - ground and first floor. The first floor has wooden planking beam floors and a wood trussed roof. Several modifications to the internal layout have been made to accommodate the present museum and it's associated displays including a full size canal boat "Friendship".
The originally open floor-plan has been divided into smaller units comprising a restaurant, lecture theatre, staff room and other associated areas. A central stairwell leads to a ground floor level, which may also be reached via a lift and an escape corridor and stair at the Northwest side of the building.
Access from outside the building is normally from a first floor walkway on the Southeast wall of the building although access can also be gained from the ground floor South wall via a small bridge over the loading dock.
A series of exhibits housed within dummy buildings occupy the central part of the first floor Northwest wall, and include a shipwrights workshop and a blacksmiths forge.
The first floor has a series of large glass display cabinets up to almost up to the roof truss height, these are concentrated around the centre of the level with smaller exhibits occupying the area above the loading dock. The narrowboat Friendship and several other boat exhibits are located in the Northwest section of the building.
Alleged Paranormal Phenomena and Unusual Events
Over several years members of Para.Science had heard several second hand and unsubstantiated reports of ghostly activity within the Museum generally and the island warehouse in particular. These included sightings of apparitions, strange smells, feelings of unease and unexplained noises such as bangs and voices.
These reports came variously from ex volunteer staff and museum visitors and although they could not be substantiated they did seem to warrant further investigation by this group. Accordingly an investigation was co-ordinated with the Museum.
The groups first contact was however to lend its support to the Museums "Spooky Night" Halloween tours around the 30th and 31st of October 1998. This was to be a light hearted affair with group members located in the foyer with a small display relating to paranormal investigation.
It was at this event that the initial first hand reports of ghostly activity were reported to the group. At the end of the tour on the 31st of October two of the visitors on the tours reported that they had had strange experiences whilst on the tour. Both these events took place within the island warehouse. One, a male reported seeing the ghostly figure of a young girl around 6 or 7 years old with long black hair peering from behind the narrowboat "Friendship" near the bow. The apparition lasted for only a few seconds before vanishing suddenly when the guide started to speak. Although now invisible he continued to have the impression of something being there for several minutes afterwards.
A female visitor on the same tour felt an icy cold chill around here legs for most of the time she was in the island warehouse with the feeling being strongest near the bow of the Friendship. She also reported that she felt ill at ease the whole time she was in the island warehouse.
Interestingly, several children also became uneasy during this part of the tour and had to leave the building quickly. All these events taken singly cannot be given too much credence and may simply be due to the expectations of visitors and the undoubted skill of the actor/guide.
The group then set about talking to staff within the museum to ascertain whether they had experienced anything unusual or out of the ordinary. Little of any substance was forthcoming although several volunteers reported strange noises coming from near Friendship which they were sure were not normal sounds made by either the building or the boat. The sounds were usually heard late in the evening and generally were short load bangs, knocks and thumps that they said were not the usual sounds of the wood settling and with which they claimed to be familiar.
One person who answered an appeal for assistance in the local paper said when interviewed that when he had been a volunteer worker at the museum he had experienced several untoward events that had convinced him that the building was indeed haunted.
The first took place when he and another volunteer were going round the island warehouse changing lightbulbs. He was standing on a stepladder inside the shipwrights shop display and while reaching up he felt a sharp tug on his overalls. He thought that his colleague was trying to attract his attention but on looking down and around he found that he was alone and his colleague had gone down to ground floor level.
A second event took place as he was coming up the central stairwell. Upon reaching the top he noticed that his dog "Toby" was behaving strangely, shaking and refusing to go further. The dog continued to refuse to move and he was forced to take in back outside via the central stairs and ground floor door. He returned alone and when into an office to discuss some matter. It was when he was leaving the office and moving through the restaurant that he experienced a great difficulty walking. There was a strong smell of burning sulphur and he felt that he was being crushed. Alarmed he made for the outside landing. Passing through the restaurant he felt that everything was now in slow motion and that time had somehow slipped around him. Upon reaching the outside everything was immediately normal once again and after a few minutes he returned inside where everything was once again completely normal. He added that he little dog would normally happily follow him to all parts of the site and within the island warehouse. However there was an area in front of the bow of the Friendship that Toby always refused to enter no matter how much coaxing or persuading he did. The dog consistently growled at the area and behaved strangely as if it could see something there that it did not like.
Another volunteer was interviewed and he also reported the strange bangs and knocks coming from near to Friendship and added one other interesting phenomenon. During the previous winter work period he had been working on the ground floor of the island warehouse alone. The museum was closed to visitors that day and no school groups were on site. However, he clearly heard the sound of children singing what sounded like "Ring a Roses". He knew he was alone but looked around the building only to find it empty.
One summer volunteer worker reported strange events within one of the cottages while several reports were received reporting an apparition within the conference centre theatre. However at this time the group has not yet had the time to properly examine these areas of the site it would serve only to confuse if they appeared within this report which deals with the island warehouse.
Para.Science Vigil Findings
The first vigil took place over the night of the 21st and 22nd of November 1998. On this occasion the group was accompanied by two clairvoyants who work with the group.
As on other vigils the group equipment was as noted earlier in this report (for detailed listing see appendix).
Prior to any group activity, the two clairvoyants were allowed time to wander freely around the warehouse recording their feelings and impressions on tape and video. Independently, both psychics identified two distinct areas on the first floor as being "active". An area in front of the bow of Friendship and adjacent to the shipwrights display was prominent with a secondary area in the restaurant also being identified. It should be noted that neither psychic had to the group's knowledge ever been to the Museum before and the group had not discussed events or the reports it had received concerning any part of the site.
Children featured strongly in the psychic impressions and were described on the tape as "running about, playing and laughing". Three adult spirits were also identified, these were confined to the area at the front of Friendship and seemed to be displeased by either the group's presence or the activities of the children.
Both psychics also reported to the tape "a great sadness, chains and coal" although at the time this meant little. Later one of the psychics said that someone had died near the loading area and this they felt was connected to the chains and the sadness.
Later on as the vigil progressed further details were reported by one or both psychics, these included children continuing to play games whilst the three adult figures became more menacing. Several names were given during the course the night: Children - Clare, Sarah, Molly, Gregory, Rosalind, John and Tom. Adult names were also proffered - John and 'Longarm'. The date of 1852 was mentioned and once again the psychics got the impressions of death linked to coal and a loading area.
This information was duly recorded and noted although little could be made of the detail that it contained, until several months later in the investigation.
The remainder of the group and the equipment continued the vigil with interesting results. The building was subject to many bangs, creaks and assorted noises throughout the night. Clearly many of these were result of the building and it's contents cooling and settling. Other noises were less easy to explain and consisted mainly of a series of loud knocks and taps from the area at the front of Friendship. These were unlike the general building noises which we soon became familiar with and were often considerably louder and appeared close by the observers.
Several of the observers had visual occurrences during the night - shadows moving about, blurred impressions of people and changes in apparent light levels. One member did report seeing a small child in his peripheral visual field for almost a full 15 minutes which left him disturbed and confused. His sighting was independently confirmed by another observer sitting some feet away.
Several observers reported feeling ill at ease and at times icy cold. As the night progressed many of the group were to report being touched or clothing being pulled or tugged upon.
Perhaps the most interesting phenomena were the 'cold columns' that several of the observers reported coming into contact with during the night. Concentrated around the front of Friendship and near the shipwrights display these areas of intense cold could easily be differentiated by bare hand and felt tangible although nothing could be seen. They appeared to move quickly about and the bare hand could easily distinguish a boundary to them and a slight resistance to the hand passing through.. They were around 4ft in height but all attempts to measure any temperature change was thwarted by their apparent speed of motion. The observers breath was clearly seen to form condensation when encountering these intensely cold columns. This condensation was not seen at any other time during the night. This clearly suggested that the phenomena did indeed take the form of a sudden drop in the immediate air temperature within these columns.
Later analysis of the audio and video recordings added little to our overall knowledge of events that night but stereo sound mapping of several of the loud knocks and bangs indicated that they originated from an area close to the bow of Friendship. With another area within the restaurant being the origin of other difficult to explain noises.
During early January 1999 the group again returned for an overnight stay, this was a much smaller group.
Once again the night was full of load bangs and thumps, one or two so load as to make members of the team jump. Several members of the group reported hearing small footsteps on the wooden floor and later on louder heavier footsteps. These were at times when all group members were seated.
Again group members reported the shadows moving about. They were all familiar by now with the effect of car lights reflecting within the glass cabinets. These visual events also took the form of bright white flashes of light seen near to the front of Friendship. One shadow appeared rapidly near one observer making her jump then it vanished again. Heavy noises continued all night long some causing the floorboards to shudder. The sound of men's voices were reported at around 4:00am - subsequently traced to a group member talking into his tape recorder. All observers reported intense and sudden cold spots at different times during the night, with the touching and tugging at clothing also reported as on the first visit. This time one observer was apparently struck with sufficient force for him to start and draw breath.
The most interesting phenomenon of the night was revealed later during analysis of the sound recordings made by one of the digital recorders. While members of the group were heard setting up and getting ready for a vigil session at 2:00am the sound of what appeared to be a group of children could be clearly though quietly heard singing what sounded like the nursery rhyme 'Ring a Roses'. This was not heard or reported by any of the group observers and it's presence upon the digital recording are impossible to explain.
Subsequent computer analysis of the sound does seem to confirm that they are indeed the sound of a group of children singing either quietly or at some distance. Traffic noise from a nearby motorway is also clearly heard although it is below the level of the voices. Para.Science Group members may also be heard talking and moving about and it is clear that they are oblivious to the singing. Stereo sound mapping indicates an area close to the front of Friendship being the apparent source of these sounds as well as the many loud thumps and bangs recorded.
Click HERE to hear the sound of "Children singing"
February 3rd offered an interesting clue to the paranormal events so far recorded within the island warehouse. That afternoon the investigation co-ordinator was visiting the warehouse to conduct a photo-study using a digital camera. He was accompanied by his father and for a time the museum events co-ordinator. Early in his visit the warehouse hosted a school party many dressed in Victorian costume. These were photographed as he thought he may be able to illustrate future reports with their pictures in relation to the earlier recording of children singing. After the children left he continued to take more pictures whilst speaking with the museum events co-ordinator. Thus three people were in the museum first floor level at the time of one particular picture being taken. This picture when afterwards examined appeared to contain a semi-transparent and incomplete figure of a man. Although a low resolution image it was examined further by computer and appeared to be the upper body and head of a man near the front of the narrowboat Friendship. A right arm with sleeve rolled up was clearly visible and the apparition appeared to be wearing either a hat or hood with a shoulder drape.
Subsequently this image received a deal of publicity locally and regionally and there is little to add within the context of this report other than it is worth noting that Sony UK have been contacted subsequently and they have confirmed that the camera is not capable of double exposure or optical phenomena which could manifest itself in such a manner. The building first floor was certainly empty apart from the three people mentioned above and the figure was not seen at any time by the people present, only being noticed upon later examination of the pictures recorded
Subsequent to the photograph being published within a local paper, a series of interesting events occurred that may or may not offer some explanation as to the nature of the apparition contained within the photograph and on the face of it appears to be supported by the psychics who accompanied the group's initial vigil during November 1998.
Click HERE to see the photograph of "Sammy"
"Sammy"
The apparition in the photograph taken on the 3rd of February appeared to show the figure of a male. The upper body, head and right arm with sleeve rolled up were clearly visible. The figure wore what appeared to be either a hood with a drape of fabric down over the shoulders or perhaps a cloth sack as often worn by the likes of coal delivery workers. This cloth sack was worn to protect the head, neck and shoulders from dust and chaffing by the loads carried. Within the museum display there is a photograph of a Victorian dock worker wearing just such a garment.
When the image was published it coincided with an article from the Museum reporting a memorial service for a young worker killed 100 years before whilst loading coal in the docks. Samuel Hill, aged 18, a porter employed by the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Company was killed at around 5:00pm on Friday February 10th 1899. He and others were working at the coal tip loading a steamer. During the process it was necessary to move the vessel and re-position the coal shoot. Samuel was disconnecting a chain and stooping in such a position that brought his head into a position between the chain and an upright. The shoot slipped tightening the chain and trapping young Samuel's head between the chain and the upright. He was quickly freed but was already dead, his neck and windpipe crushed.
The group were not aware of these events and when they subsequently contacted the Museum to express their surprise Para.Science learnt that this event was only realised a short while before and that a decision had been made to commemorate the event. A plaque marking the event had been recovered from some building spoil and this is now displayed within the museum. Para.Science was also looking back through its own files at the time trying to offer some explanation of the recent ghostly picture. Quickly it was realised that the notes of the two psychics contained similarities to the death of young Samuel Hill - in particular the reference to the a young death on a loading ramp, along with the mention of coal and chains. Further examination failed to reveal in which area of the docks the accident took place so no further link could be made. However it is interesting to record that the picture of the ghostly worker was taken almost exactly 100 years to the day after his death, for that reason the ghostly apparition has been christened "Sammy" in memory of Samuel Hill, killed so tragically 100 years before.
Other Vigils
During March a further vigil was planned which will be remembered as perhaps the most uneventful vigil conducted by this group for some time. Several minor bumps and thumps were recorded but little if anything unusual took place during the occasion of the group investigation.
A further vigil that took place during May commenced in the early afternoon and was completed by 10:00pm, again nothing untoward took place. The Museum on that occasion was open until 4:00pm to the public. It may also be worth reporting that toward the end of the evening as darkness several of the group did report some change to the atmosphere within the building and the perception that something was about to happen. Unfortunately it was not possible to remain later that night.
Further Witnesses
Since the investigation commenced the group has been contacted by 12 people who at various times have been visitors to the Museum. Each had a tale of something unusual that took place while they were in the Island warehouse. Of the 12 witnesses 8 reported either being touched or feeling their clothing being pulled or tugged at. A further 2 said that they had seen what appeared to be children plying 'hide and seek' by the narrowboat although no children were present at the time of their visits.
A final two witnesses both said that they had smelled a strong odour of burning wood or something similar which was only within the building and not noticeable outside. This strong smell of burning was also reported by several members of our own group during the first vigil in November 1998.
To date no additional witnesses have come forward.
In Conclusion
The reports of witnesses taken alone are not proof of any paranormal activity within this building, people however well meaning are subject to all manner of human frailties. It is well documented by science the ability of both the brain and our own environment to play tricks upon our senses. Likewise equipment is prone to failure and malfunction and on its own should not be relied upon to obtain proof of paranormal phenomenon.
However, in the case of the Island warehouse we have a scenario whereby multiple witnesses independent of each other and over many occasions each report identical events. Additionally, we are able to place these reports upon a plan of the warehouse and observe a close correlation in the location of phenomena.
By personal observation group members also provided first hand accounts of similar events - the smells, the touching, the visions of children and the sounds.
Many of the sounds heard both by the group and by the witnesses were clearly those of an old wooden building cooling and settling. Group members are aware of this and have spent several nights within the warehouse and other old buildings listening to the normal sounds that such places make. We are generally familiar with such sounds and they are rarely as loud or as unusual as the sounds experienced and recorded within the island warehouse. Likewise, the volunteer museum workers also are familiar with the building at the normal sounds and noises and it is significant that they should mention hearing strange thumps and bangs.
The sound of children singing was reported by a volunteer when the building was closed to the public and no children were present, that is unusual but not improbable - to record the sound of children apparently singing at 2:00am certainly is improbable and highly interesting to a paranormal researcher. The evidence for the ghostly children is also strongly supported by several witnesses, our team's observers and the psychics.
The ghostly picture has stood up well to peer examination and computer analysis. It is true that the original image was captured digitally and it is well accepted that modern computers are capable of very convincing image manipulation. That said, there was a credible witness from the Museum Staff present when the image was taken and the subsequent time period between leaving the museum to alerting and e-mailing the image to other group members tends t o rule out any fraud. It must be accepted as being a genuine image of something unusual.
Many of the events of all types do seem to be confined to specific areas within the island warehouse and this suggests that only parts and not the entire building are subject to paranormal activity. It is also not clear if the events are linked to the building itself or one of the many exhibits it contains. Certainly, the narrowboat Friendship is closely linked to many of the phenomena that have taken place and it is this groups intention to examine the vessel and it's history in the near future as part of the ongoing investigative work.
The area of the restaurant opposite the servery also shows a strong consistence of reports of unusual activity taking place and that area will be examined more closely during future work by this group.
Although this investigation is not yet complete and several more vigils are planned for the forthcoming Winter it is clear that something unusual is taking place within the confines of the Island Warehouse.
Para.Science is confident to state that by all accepted criteria of modern paranormal investigative research this building is haunted.
It is not yet clear the exact nature of the haunting, or by what mechanisms it takes place perhaps the future investigation work at the museum will reveal further clues and perhaps further our understanding of this interesting phenomena.
Appendix - Equipment Used in Support of Vigils
During the course of this series of investigations Para.Science made extensive use of human witnesses to record and document the various phenomena within the Island warehouse. To support this effort the group also make extensive use of the following items of equipment.
Imaging equipment
Sony Mavica FD-7 digital still camera, 2x Sanyo digital cameras.
2x Sony 8mm camcorders I/c "Nightshot" Infra-red capability, Sony digital camcorder I/c e nhanced "Nightshot", 2x Canon 8mm camcorders, Canon digital camcorder.
2x Infra-red monochrome surveillance cameras linked to VHS video recorders.
Minolta APS SLR camera, Canon 35mm SLR camera.
2x Moonlight "nightvision" light intensification scopes.
Sound recording equipment
2x Sony MiniDisc digital stereo recorders I/c Sony digital stereo microphones.
Sharp MiniDisc digital stereo recorder I/c stereo mic.
Yamaha 4 track analogue tape recorder I/c 4 mic. Set-up.
6x Sony walkman type cassette mono recorders.
Temperature monitoring equipment
2x Oregon Scientific radio linked digital thermometers I/c 6x remote reader/ sender units.
2x Paterson fast response digital thermometers.
Other equipment
Ultrasonic and Infra-red motion detectors.
Prototype homebuilt electromagnetic field strength measuring instrument.
CB radio handhelds.
Wireless intercom units.
Fluorescent powder, UV lamp.
Toshiba laptop PC
AMD K7 desktop PC
This equipment list is by no means exhaustive and does not represent some items such as cameras and tape recorders that individual members brought with them.
It also does not take into account the equipment used away from the vigil such as computers used to assist sound and image analysis and interpretation.
Smaller sundry articles such as torches, candles, blu-tac, adhesive tape etc which are invaluable at every vigil are also excluded from the main list.
The group has a policy of continued improvement and development of it's equipment and several new items are currently being built or field tested for future inclusion in available equipment stocks.
References
a. Para.Science vigil notes and team leaders reports.
b. Para.Science witness interview notes and reports.
c. Museum archive and document store.
d. Cheshire records office.
The full and complete documentation relating to this case are contained within Para.Science files ref:BM98-99. This file also contains the original MiniDisc recording of the "children singing" and high resolution prints of "Sammy". The file may be viewed by contacting The Investigations Co-ordinator through the website.
Addendum - Para.Science Vigil Results November 1999 / February 2000
Para.Science returned to the Museum Island warehouse in November 1999 to commence a further series of vigils.
The first of these in late November 1999, proved to quiet and fruitless with no abnormal activities being noted either during the night or on subsequent examination of the audio or video recordings.
The group returned on the 19th February 2000 arriving at around 19:45.
The equipment in use consisted of 3x MiniDisc audio recorders. One Sony Hi8 'Nightvision' camcorder and a standard 8mm camcorder. The EMF meter was positioned at a point roughly adjacent to the centre of the narrowboat 'Friendship'. Additionally, 2 digital still cameras were available. The group concentrated upon the area adjacent to the hull of the narrowboat 'Friendship' facing the body of the museum. This was the area were a museum worker heard footsteps late one evening, some years ago.
The first vigil session commenced at 20:15 and proved to be quiet and without anything untoward. Some slight noises were noted but these were easily recognised as part of the normal noises associated with the building 'settling'.
Session two commenced at 21:00 and within a couple of minutes the EMF meter registered a response by means of an audible alert tone. A picture was taken manually a second or so later by the nearest digital camera aimed directly at the EMF meter. At random interval throughout the next 40 minutes the EMF meter registered 18 more responses and each time another manual still photograph was taken.
The session also produced a series of bangs and thuds that were not part of the usual building noises to which we are well accustomed after so many vigils at this location.
Session three commenced at 22:00 and again after several minutes the EMF meter commenced registering responses to a total of 14 during the 45 minute session. As in the previous session still photographs using the digital cameras were taken manually. Several of the EMF responses also appeared to coincide with more of the thuds and bangs including one that sounded just like a heavy door being closed with force.
Session three was to be the final session and shortly afterwards we commenced packing up our equipment.
It was during this period that a strong smell of 'Cornflakes' was noticed near to the middle of the narrowboat and almost exactly were the EMF meter had been positioned. Unfortunately the smell only lasted for a few seconds and was not noticed by another group member called over to see if he could smell anything.
Due to the lateness of the hour it was not possible to examine any of the photographs taken that night but after the vigil was over the keys were dropped off at another members house. It was here during a description of the events that evening that the Cornflakes smell was mentioned. The member to whom the keys were being deposited described how she smelt a similar smell whilst driving past the Seaforth grain silos some weeks earlier. It was then that we all remembered that the Island warehouse's was a grain warehouse - something we all knew but neglected to remember at the time of the smell.
The following day the first indications of something unusual in the still pictures emerged. The pictures from the Sony camera positioned nearest the EMF meter were looked at. Out of more than 30 photographs taken eight, had what appeared to be a fuzzy ball of light on them. Subsequent enhancement and analysis has ruled out any camera fault, reflection or trick of the light. Dim and without definition they defy further interpretation. They are about the size of a tennis ball and appear to have a denser core surrounded by a lighter halo. Each of the three pictures was taken within a second or so of the EMF meter registering a response and perhaps there is a link to be made between the two events.
The following day the pictures from the second still camera were examined, this was positioned further to the rear of the narrowboat and some 15ft or so further away from the EMF's position. Initial reports suggest that 3 or 4 images from this camera also contain the mysterious balls of fuzzy light. However at this time they have not been seen by this reports author and no analysis has been performed. The 6 hours of video tape have not yet been fully looked at and the audio recordings too are still being listened to.
Analysis of Photographs Taken
The eight photographs taken during the second and third vigil sessions were taken between two separate digital cameras. Each was manually triggered in response the EMF meter showing an a udible response. As nothing was seen at the time the pictures were taken, the cameras were pointed toward the general direction of the EMF meter. Out of more than 70 photographs taken eight were subsequently discovered to have circular patches of light within the frame. The building was in darkness and although flash was used in each picture the overall images were very dark and required enhancing by means of a computer before the light 'balls' were properly visible.
Using the computer it was quickly established that the light 'balls' were not the result of camera malfunction [ also ruled out as two different cameras were used ], reflections and other external lighting effects were also eliminated. By noting the times the images were taken [ recorded by the cameras ] it was possible to suggest that the balls of light were moving around the area of the narrowboat and ranged in height from floor level to the base of the roof rafters. By measuring the size of known objects within the frame it was possible to estimate the size of the light balls to that approximating to between tennis and squash ball size.
In appearance they are circular or spherical and translucent but appear to be independently luminous as the colour temperature of the objects differs from both the flash illumination and any residual lighting coming through the windows. Furthermore they appear to have better defined edges and in some views appear almost ring like.
No conclusion can be drawn as to their nature or the mechanism that produced them. However, it is probably a fair assumption that they represent some form of Electro-magnetic energy as demonstrated by the coincidental responses by the EMF meter.
Similar balls have light have been recorded previously by this group using an infra-red video camera at a former stately home in Cheshire and such occurrences are also frequently reported in haunted houses and are linked to other forms of paranormal activity such as apparitions and even poltergeists. The photographs will be subject to further examination over the coming months in the hope that an explanation as to their nature might be found be it natural or otherwise and Para.Science will be returning to the Boat museum within the next few weeks in order to hopefully record more of this phenomenon.
Potential Other Causes of the Anomalies Observed and Recorded
The night was calm and without wind but the group are aware and have experience of the sound made by wooden boats that are moored alongside and beneath the Island warehouse. By comparison of known recordings of the boats 'bumping' at their moorings we feel it unlikely that this simple event would explain the loud thuds and bangs that were heard during sessions two and three of 19/2/2000.
The building outside doors were locked throughout the evening and it was not possible for anyone to have gained admission without group members being aware. People do live on several of the nearby narrowboats and the museum's caretaker was also on the site - but not near the Island warehouse, until around 21:45.
Again, although it can not be stated with absolute certainty that some of the noises heard were as a result of these external causes, the group's extensive experience within the museum have given us tremendous experience in recognising such causes.
The activation's of the EMF meter are more puzzling. This device is capable of registering changes in either a static magnetic field [ but not changes in an Electro-magnetic field ]. It can also monitor and measure changes in an electrostatic field. The measurements are given in the form of a logarithmic scale and by a calibrated audible rising tone.
The device has been fully calibrated by Para.Science and those calibrations entered into a computer aided interpretation program.
In basic terms the device will not react to fluctuations within a buildings normal Electro-magnetic field resulted from mains electricity or electrically operated devices within that environs. It will detect and register animals incl. Humans passing within it's detection range, it will also detect and register changes in the buildings magnetic field and charges of static electricity.
Para.Science operate the device with the variable sensitivity adjusted so that an average human will just activate the audible alert as they approach 8ft from it. Smaller objects or ones with a lesser EMF potential clearly require to come in closer and larger objects or ones with a stronger EMF potential, further away.
At the level the device was activated, this would equate to a human at a distance of 6ft. The device did not trigger in the first session or in the periods between sessions 1-2, 2-3. No member of Para.Science was closer than 20ft from the device during any of the vigil sessions. The battery was newly replaced prior to the vigil and the device was in perfect working order before and after the vigil.
Thus we are left with few potential causes for the 40 plus audible alerts experienced during sessions 2 and 3. It is fairly safe to assume that some variation in the ambient EMF field occurred during these periods and that these measured variations coincided with loud thuds and bangs from within the Island warehouse and the images produced on the two cameras.
