Haunting

Does the thought of visiting a haunted place excite you?

How about coming face to face with Peggy, now infamous as one of the most paranormally active dolls in the UK? Anyone who has seen the articles and news features about her will know the effect she had during her first few weeks of being made public.

Would you be curious?

For the first time, in a unique charity event this October, you will get your chance.

HD Paranormal are teaming up with Psychic Medium Ian Griffiths at one of the UK’s most haunted locations, Derby Gaol to bring you an evening of paranormal experiences like no other. With special guest, Paranormal Historian and owner of the gaol, Richard Felix coming along too, it’s a night that is sure to entertain, inform and intrigue you in equal measure.

So why are we doing this? I have been reluctant in the past when asked to bring Peggy along to events, shows and psychic gatherings, given the effect she has on some people who view her photographs for a prolonged period of time, or watch her videos. Anyone following her case will know that we receive emails and messages daily telling us about the weird experiences people are having in their homes after spending time with photographs of Peggy open on their monitors. From feelings of panic and shortness of breath (we get at least 3 or 4 emails a day giving this description) to pets reacting very aggressively to her. But, she can’t stay in the shadows forever, and when I was asked if I would like to organize an event to raise awareness for CLIC Sargent I couldn’t refuse.

As a mother of 2 small children, I find it is heartbreaking to hear that every day 10 children are diagnosed with cancer in the UK. CLIC Sargent are the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people and work to offer treatment, support and comfort to those affected.

And so we began thinking. We knew we wanted to give people the opportunity to experience Peggy for themselves, and to highlight this very real field of paranormal research, but we wanted the event to be more than just that. We wanted to find a place that echoed our own fascination with history, the macabre and all things eerie. There are few places with a more macabre history than Derby Gaol. The torture, anguish and fear that must have inevitably been absorbed by it’s very fabric, is said to be palpable in the atmosphere, and contributes to the paranormal activity experienced by staff and visitors. As I read more and more about the gaol itself, I knew it was the place I wanted to go to.

Stories of a cloaked figure being seen in the day room by staff and visitors alike is just one of many that draw people to Derby Gaol. It’s owner Richard Felix has made no secret of the fact that it is the only place he has ever actually seen a ghost, notably a “dark mass” in the shape of a man that drifted past him as he worked I the office one afternoon around 3.20pm.

Stories of poltergeist activity in the condemned cell also gave me an idea. What if I were locked in there alone, in darkness. What if Peggy joined me? Could it be true that introducing a paranormally active object to a haunted place could actually intensify experiences? Would Peggy open a doorway to the other side? And if so, who would come through! I realized that this was a challenge I was up for.

Fate must have known about my plans, as shortly after I had started making arrangements, I stumbled across the Facebook page of Ian Griffiths, a psychic medium working regularly with Burton Ghost Walks. Ian and I spoke at length about the paranormal, our experiences and our passion for reaching the Other Side. I mentioned my idea for a charity event and it turned out Ian has previously visited Derby Gaol and highly recommended it, and offered his powers of intuition to the cause. And so the idea began to take shape and a few emails later, it was all set.

So what awaits us at Derby Gaol. We hope to take along a group of fearless ghost hunters for an evening of eerie encounters and attempts to contact the dead. There will be séances, a human pendulum experiment, a chance to meet haunted doll Peggy face to face (for those feeling brave enough) and more as we explore the Gaols macabre history and ghostly goings on.

The evening will run from 8pm – 2am.

Tickets are £30 each including food and are available at www.haunted-dolls.com/eerie-encounters.html

Anyone who can’t join us can still donate to CLIC Sargent, and to the sponsored “Cell LOCK IN” by visiting our Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/eerie-encounters