Now, I am a total skeptic when it comes to the paranormal, ghosts and spirits but a few weekends ago my wife (a firm believer) persuaded me to spent the night at the now abandoned, Shepton Mallet Prison (Cornhill) for a ghost hunting experience.
The night started as cringe worthy as expected with me in danger of being thrown out as I was fighting the constant urge to burst out in a fit of giggles. The night did however, quickly become creepy and my wife even obtained an injury in an unexplained flying table incident Eeeek! Before I get to all that though, here is a very brief history of the prison ....
Prison History
HMP Shepton Mallet, also known as Cornhill now lies abandoned, bereft of those who were incarcerated here. Having closed as recently as 2013 this formidable prison operated as the oldest prison in England. However, before its closure it was a Category C Lifer Prison incarcerating the most hardened and dangerous of criminals including the notorious Kray Twins in the 1950s. Originally built as a House of Correction in 1625 this prison has a terrifying history.
Much of what has taken place here was extremely brutal. In the 17th and 18th Centuries the men, women and children who were imprisoned here existed in the most horrific conditions where they were left starving in packed, small pox infested cells. It is said that former inmates lie in unmarked graves throughout the grounds. Seven Judicial executions took place here between 1889 and 1926 but the full amount of executions that took place here prior to this is unknown. In the second world war it was adapted as a military prison and used by the British and the Americans. By the end of 1944 sixteen Americans had been hanged and 2 shot by firing squads for crimes that included rape and murder.
Recently, 16th century areas where they packed whole families with smallpox have been unearthed.
The Night
Once upon a time, on a cold winters night in the South West of England I was dragged begrudgingly to the abandoned Cornhill Prison to participate in my first ghost hunting experience. All in all, there were about thirty other nutters and I seemed to be the ONLY skeptic. To say I was feeling out of my comfort zone in this cringe fest of believers was an understatement. If I am being honest, the only thing that was going to get me through the night (and the cold) at this stage was the thought of wandering off later, in the dark, to explore on our own and hopefully getting the opportunity to jump scare the wife (it's a man thing, if tears then ... result!).
Shortly after arrival and a pep talk, we were promptly split into small groups to go to different parts of the prison to perform a vigil in the pitch dark. Our group started in Cell Block A. With our torches turned off and being unable to see in the blackness, the guide called out to the spirit's. I could already feel the giggles inside me but had them under control. They called out again, "Are there any former prisoners out there who would like to communicate with us? We mean you no harm. If you are there then please make a noise. Give us a sign". Everyone went silent, intensely listening for any kind of noise that would indicate a presence. My wife happened to have high heel boots on that night and the cold must have been affecting her. She shifted to her other leg and made a slight tap sound. There were gasps, "Did you hear that?", "We heard you, make another sign". Well, that was it, my wife was now nearly bursting and that was setting me off plus everyone went silent again. Tears streaming from my eyes, I was desperately trying to hold in a massive fit of the giggles. Only 6 more hours of this I thought, I'm never going to make it.
After the vigil, which everyone thought was a great success thanks to my better half, we moved to an area of the prison called the Old Mill House where prisoners used to grind corn. The guide had some Mag Lights of various colour's and had setup some tables to try Table Tipping. Our group gathered in a circle in the pitch dark and held hands (the young woman next to me had incredibly sweaty hands even thought the temperature was -2C). The Red, Blue and Yellow Mag lights were setup in the center of the circle and switched off. We were told that child spirits normally liked to play with these lights. Again, the guide called out to the spirits and invited them to turn the red light on .... nothing. She again called out, "We mean you no harm. Turn the red light on if anyone is near". The red light turned on. Gasps and whelps! These lights turn on with the slightest vibration, someone moved their foot I thought to myself although if I had to admit it, I had goose bumps and started looking around. The guide called out again for the presence to turn the light off. It went out DOUBLE EEEK! After more calling out, no more light shows happened and I could easily explain this away as the lights being too sensitive to vibrations from our feet . I was still not convinced at all although I have to admit that I was starting to enjoy myself.
We then moved onto table tipping. Four people put their finger tips on each side of the table and ask the spirits to tip it in a particular direction. The guide had told us that sometimes the tables could actually spin. This is the moment I had been dreading .... I would have to participate verbally with strangers who believe in this mumbo jumbo. Everyone had their turn calling out and now it was my turn. "If there is any prisoners here, can you tip the table in the direction of the person that you will murder later tonight when we are wandering around on our own." This went down like a lead balloon with the two teenage girls who had joined us and I got a really embarrassed and stern look from the missus. Sigh, 5 more hours to go.
The next cringe worthy 2 hours were spent attempting to contact spirits using Ouija Boards and Glass Divination with no success.
It was finally time to wander of on our own.
EMF reader and torches in hand, we wandered around the sprawling prison on our own.
I was just looking for the perfect opportunity to perform my jump scare to get the maximum impact.
We came across the execution room and the holding cells for death row. Even I had an eerie feeling here.
In the execution room itself where many hangings had previously been performed, the EMF reader registered a blip and the temperature appeared to drop. Feeling uneasy, I joked about it and kept the fact that I thought I felt something brush against me to myself before promptly leaving the area riddled with goose bumps.
I had completely forgotten about my plan to scare my wife.
With an hour left to go before 3am (time to go home), we met back up with our group and headed to an area of the prison where we had previously tried the Ouija boards (with no success). This was the old recently discovered,16th century part of the prison where whole families were packed having been quarantined with diseases such as smallpox. I have to say, I felt a weird aura in this place and it was colder than earlier.
We gathered in a circle holding hands for another vigil with our torches out in the pitch dark. One of the small tables with a Ouija board on it was behind my wife and an EMF reader was on a table in the middle of the circle.
The guide called out for a sign and there was no answer. They called out again and asked if their were any children in the room. "The EMF reader just registered something", someone shouted in excitement. "If there is someone with us can you show us a sign. Scratch or knock on a wall" shouted to guide. Another blip on the reader and a very faint knocking. I was thinking to myself that this was staged at this point and had that cringe feeling again.
"Can you knock a little louder?" .............. EMF BLIP! BANG! SCREAMS!
The table behind my wife had been thrown 4 foot across the room and had hit her in the back of her lower legs with quite a lot of force. Torches were put back on so everyone could calm down before trying again. Nothing else happened for the rest of our time at the prison. My poor wife was still hurting hours later when we got home.
I ended up strangely enjoy my ghost hunting experience. Am I still a skeptic ....... Yes ..... SOMEONE MUST HAVE SNEAKED ROUND THE BACK OF US AND KICKED THAT TABLE RIGHT???????!!!!!!