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An inn spectre calls at lodge
It was a crisp frosty night and the warm glow which came from the window of the Knight's Lodge couldn't have made it look more welcoming.
However, as well as being a haven where customers can enjoy a hearty pint, the pub is notoriously welcoming to spirits – and I don't mean the sort you find behind the bar.
Once inside I met the group leader Dennis Binks and his ghost hunting team of Angie Hewitt, Russ Anderson and Alison Steele.
Turning to a table laid out with various pieces of ghosthunting equipment, they explained how they would try to detect any spirits which may be lingering in the building, which dates back to the 17th century, maybe even earlier.
Dowsing rods, infra-red cameras, a compass and an electromagnetic field sensor, which emits a high pitched buzz when moved near any activity, were all collected together and taken upstairs to the pub's dining room, which was to be our home for the night.
Standing in a circle we held hands and said a special prayer to protect us from any entities which may make an appearance during the investigation.
Then the lights were switched off, the cameras switched on, the heavy curtains closed, enveloping us in a blanket of darkness.
We sat in silence for a good few minutes in order to "blend" with the spirits.
The minutes ticked by. My toes grew cold. And nothing could be heard apart from the odd clinking of the beer glass from downstairs and the low hum from punters.
Talking out loud in the darkness Dennis told the spirits we meant no harm and would they make themselves known to us.
More silence.
Alison got up and quietly padded around the room with her dowsing rods.
They are meant to point together when you get near a spirit.
Dennis, who is a medium like all the group members, said he could sense spirits. He said there were groups of people sitting in the room surrounded by what looked like maps.
He said he felt the room was a place where battle plans were made and also asked if hangings took place in the area.
He said he could see a lady with ringlets and cited the name "Belvedere" on a number of occasions.
He said: "It does feel as if a battle or a siege was taking place and the plans were made here.
"I sense men with long hair and boots and the name Belvedere."
Russ said he sensed the name Thomas Walsh was important. A lady with a hood and a cape was also mentioned and knocking noise was heard, which we dismissed as coming from downstairs.
The group then all said they saw a black shadow dart across the room.
I, however, was looking the other way and just felt a bit chilly.
Alison's dowsing rods took her to a corner and the electromagnetic
device started going crazy.
The team said they could all sense a little girl in this part of the room.
One of the cameras kept switching off and the electronic device went off again in another corner, but this was later attributed to it picking up an electronic alarm system behind the wall.
At one point the landlady Gaynor Elliott came out of her flat, which is next to the room, to ask if we had been knocking on her door. We hadn't. Dennis said he believed the knocking we had heard earlier and then dismissed had been psychic activity.
Monks, secret tunnels and a creche were all mentioned but myself and staff photographer Alan Castle, not being mediums, didn't pick anything up. I did, however, feel a chilly breeze in the room which Dennis described as a psychic wind.
At times I could have sworn I saw faces in the shadows, but then again my eyes could easily have been playing tricks in the darkness.
Just after midnight the group started to pack up, but vowed to come back to find out more about who exactly "Belvedere" was, and find out more about battle plans and maps.
Mr Binks says his team, who are all mediums, have ventured into properties and moved on spirits where other paranormal teams have been unsuccessful.
He said his team had even visited a home where two priests had run out of in fear.
He said: "Certainly it was bad but we went in there. Sometimes we find that activity takes place in homes where there are girls or teenage girls for some reason."
He said that so far the group had always been successful in convincing
spirits to move on.
The group is now hoping to spend time in more pubs and buildings which have a reputation for being haunted, If you want to call Northamptonshire's very own ghostbusters, contact Dennis on 01536 460097 or email denby2402@hotmail.com
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Weather for Kettering
Sunday 27 May 2012
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