Saturday evening and all
the visitors and stall holders had gone, Grace Dieu Priory returned to a silent
tranquil ruin. Or was it…..?
The Leicestershire
Paranormal Association requested a vigil on the Saturday night, where they would
attempt a scientifically based experiment to try and find out if there was any
paranormal activity around the Priory.
Splitting the night into
vigils of approximately one hour duration with a twenty minute break, they
visited various areas around the ruins including the field containing the
Standing Stone.
To summarise their
findings or shall we say their experiences, here is a list of the more notable
happenings.
Near the ruins of the
south range, two members of the group experienced a vision of a banquet with
gentlemen and ladies eating off metal plates, there was also a young boy playing
a flute.
In the field beyond the
railway line, there was a drummer boy beating his drum for a company of soldiers
who were also present.
Members of the group
reported that they could see people passing through the field across the brook,
men, women, and children dressed for work on the Home Farm. One woman named
“Fanny” looked to be in her thirties was wearing a fawn/light brown long
skirt very tattered at the bottom. Her beige blouse was torn and her mousey hair
was tied up in a bun at the back of her head. They also could see horses, cows,
dogs, pigs, geese, hens and chickens. Horse and carts could be seen carrying
wooden barrels, cloth, live stock such as chickens and geese enclosed in wooden
cages and pigs tied to the back of the carts.
Whilst sitting in a
circle between vigils there was a sudden gust of warm air which went through the
group and was felt by everybody, then the cold night air returned.
A member described an old
man she had seen sitting near part of the ruins and the name of “Albert” or
“Alfred” had come to her. Bill and Ann Newton, who had been invited to join
the group, recognised the description as that of their grandfather who had lived
and worked all his life on the Grace Dieu Estate.
Another group member was
very disturbed by a vision of three young soldiers being executed in an area
near the new entrance to the Priory.
Finally whilst the group
were sat in a circle having a break, three black shapes began to move across the
cloister area and approach the circle. With some relief on both sides, they
turned out to be three people and a black dog, out for a walk. What at 1.30am!
It had certainly made the
hairs on the back of my neck stand up!
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If the 2007 Ghost Walks
Programme tested the stamina of the “Ghosts” of Grace Dieu, then the Walks
of 2008, must have stretched them beyond belief.
The numbers of the Public
who attended the programme of walking events in 2007 was estimated at 600
people.
The numbers of the Public
who attended the programme of walking events in 2008 was estimated at 1,020
people and the walking programme for 2009 is proving just as popular. We may
even beat that total.
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The Priory has been
filmed by the BBC as part of the introduction to some of its national
programmes. Local articles have appeared in the Leicester Mercury, the Echo and
the Coalville Times and it has been featured on local radio.
The ghost walks and
paranormal evenings have highlighted the reputation of the Priory as one of the
most “Haunted Locations” in the
People have found
evidence in their photos of; orbs, ectoplasm and strobe lighting, which I am
expertly informed, indicates the presence of spirits, and we have even been
fortunate enough to capture ghostly apparitions of people and faces.
We are already in the
middle of this year’s programme, so it is hoped we will have another very
“active” year.
Here are a few of the
photographs taken by people attending our ghost walks over the past years.
Thanks to the ghosts of Grace Dieu Priory.