NGI

... Head over to Haunted UK for a review of the general history and haunted history of the Castle Keep. Alternatively, use the table of contents to view the reports for each location.

Queens and Mezzanine Chamber

The middle floor of the Keep was designated as the 2nd location and consisted of 2 separate areas with a side room attached to the first of these two areas - The Queens Chamber.

Just on the inside of the the entrance was a fairly large room with a number of display cases telling the history of the castle. To the side of this was another room which contained a mock up of a bedroom from olden times with a couple of waxwork dummies taking up the role of the rooms occupants.

Just down a set of stairs was the Mezzanine Chamber - a relatively small room with absolutely no furniture and only a single small window that looks out onto the streets of Newcastle. On one wall there looks to be a disused and blocked up fireplace.

Group 1 Report : Bekki Derek Jen Susan Shirley Diane Val Sandra

We started off our investigation in the Mezzanine Chamber, We sat and let ourselves get adjusted to the environment, as we where sitting, I felt very heavy headed and a sickness started to creep in. We tried a few call outs and I felt the presence of something in the corner of the room.

I suggested to the group that we try an energy circle, so we linked hands and began to pass energy around the circle. We called out again and one of the guests commented on how she felt there was someone behind her and her hand and the hand of the lady next to her had gone very cold. Myself and a couple of guests could feel the presence of a man in the far corner behind the two guests who had reported feeling cold. I asked one of the guests how tall she was, as I could only see an outline of what seemed like a very tall male.

Pam joined us in the room and not long after she did. We all felt the energy of the young boy Edward, he seemed to come down the stairs and one of the guests reported seeing shimmering lights as he did so. We tried to encourage Edward to come toward the circle, but he seemed very reluctant and afraid of the entity in the corner that we had already picked up on. He wouldn't come any further. He came as far as the edge of the circle and seemed as if he?d liked to have come further, but was too afraid.

We tried asking him to come and play a game with us, by pushing members of the group, But he would not go any further. I felt him moving away from the circle and Pam suggested we try the human pendulum. So we called out for any spirits present to affect a member of the group and as we did so, I felt the presence of the spirit in the corner get stronger and one of the group (I believe it was Shirley) started to sway and fall, she reported feeling sick and said it was ?Over her?, Pam came to the circle and called for the spirit to leave her, it at first seemed reluctant, but I called for it to come to me, which it at first ignored, I then felt it come towards the centre of the circle.

We attempted to talk to it again and on two occasions I was pushed from the front. I felt this presence was very hostile towards women and hadn't liked me standing up to it. After it pushed me for the second time, I decided it was time to close the circle and leave the room. We went up to the queens chamber while people took some photo?s before having our break.

Group 2 Report : Jay Julie Norma Thea Chris John Charlotte Christian

We immediately went down to the Mezzanine Chamber and sat silent in the dark for a short while with Christian sitting on the stairs to act as our early warning if something decided to come and join us.

Norma immediately began to hear a child's nursery rhyme which spoke about coming up and down the stairs. At this point Jay told the group the story concerning the two children who seemingly pop up in the Mezzanine time and time again and how one of them seems to stay at the top of the stairs and other in the chamber itself.

Norma then picked up on a woman who she said she could hear screaming as she thought she was being attacked as though she was being raped. Jay did mention at this point a tale told by a medium on a previous visit by NGI concerning a woman, possibly a servant, who had become pregnant by one of the Nobles or Lords within the castle and how the child had been ripped from her. As Jay was telling this story - we all heard a stone that was either thrown or which dropped from somewhere. We scoured on the floor for it with the torches lit and could not find it, although later we happened too when we tossed it up the top of the stairs to see whether the child up there would throw it back.

Jay began calling out to try and bring fore the 2 children, specifically the one who tends to stay at the top of the stairs. There was a slight drop in temperature but this could have been due to the hot lights which had been on previously, now switched off and thus the chamber cooling down. Christian, on the stairs, did note he could feel an icy breeze at times passing him and Chris, sat at the base of the stairs, reported he was freezing. However, there was a noticable darkness gathering at the top of the stairs which at times seemed to pulse.

After a short while, we gathered in a circle and began an energy raising excercise and once more, Jay began to call out.

There wasn't an immediate response but as we stood in the darkness a couple of us began to look up to the ceiling where we could hear what sounded like dull footsteps walking around. Jay then changed the direction of his calling out to any spirits who may have been walking about upstairs in the Queens Chamber. He asked for them to make a distinctive thudding if they could hear us. After a couple of seconds everyone heard a distinct and slightly louder : THUD THUD THUD as though somebody had deliberately jumped 3 times.

Again, Jay asked for a repeat to make sure that it wasn't something natural and we again heard THUD THUD - one short than previously, but they certainly seemed linked to the asking. Finally, Jay asked again to not only thud but to come and move the gate at the top of the stairs. Once more, we heard a THUD THUD and after a bit of encouragement we all heard what sounded like a short squeak from the gate.

Before leaving a couple of us saw a "lighter" darkness which could barely be seen at the end opposite the stairs which at one point seemed to move to the left of the wall. There was no possible source of light that could account for this "lighter" darkness and nor account for the movement.

There was also an instant where 4 people seemed to hear something which sounded like "Ugh".

Group 3 Report : Claire Phil Kathryn Susan Gillian Sheena Wendy Julie

We stood in the Queens chamber for 2 minutes and a few of the guests said they felt it was 'spooky',but that could have been becuase they hated the mannequins.

We then went into the mezzanine. Straight away a guest said she didn't like it in here one bit and felt slightly scared. This guest was the only person not have sensed/seen anything (except for hearing the 'taps' in the chapel and feeling slightly scared in the Kings Hall,which she put down to 'getting carried away in the 'moment'). She said this as soon as she came in here.

I felt energy all at the bottom far end and I went and stood there. We then all stood in a circle in this area and did the 'twitch'. The guest to the right of me said she felt as though someone was stood behind her and asked people to look for her as she didn't dare look. No one could see anything.

I felt my right wrist at times getting 'freezing' then returning to normal. About 7 out of the 10 times I felt this the guest on the right of me felt this too. I saw energy coming from the stairs and saw a small 'figure' shape come and enter the circle from between the 2 guests opposite me.

Whilst I was watching this the guest to my right said ''has something just come into the circle from over there?'' (she indicated the area I had been watching). I said yes, although I had not said this until she had mentioned it. It then seemed to go and for a few minutes it felt flat.

A few of the guests said they felt cold (more than usual but a general coldness, not local to any area). I then saw a different energy come and stand in between the 2 guests opposite me. It stayed here. I asked them if they could feel anything but they could not. I then saw it go and stand behind the guest to the left of these 2 (as I faced them).

She became all black and when 'it' moved around her I could see areas of her lighten and darken. She said she could feel nothing. I then saw this energy go to the other guest (to my opposite right) and I could see specific areas where it was touching her, especially on her right shoulder and side. She could not feel anything,either in general or on any of the specific areas I mentioned. The guest to the right of me then said she could see a big black shadow over the face of the guest this energy had gone around first.

Neither I or anyone else could see this and the guest could feel nothing. I carried on calling out but it started to feel flat so we stopped and all sat down so we could 'listen and feel' and also because some people were tired from standing.

Whilst we were sat several times very clear noises were heard by all of the group. Each time a noise was heard I asked everyone if they heard it, to which they all said yes, and also if they had made it, to which they all said no.

There were 3 noises only some of us heard and several stomach grumbles from different people so I've not included these but the definite noises heard by all we could find no cause for were:

3 clear 'sighs' from the bottom of the stair area.

a female 'singing' from upstairs. When I heard this I thought it was another group but the guests and Phil said it couldn't possibly have been because where they heard it from there was no one there. It sounded like 'proper' singing, although only briefly. I cannot comment fully on this as I was focused on energy elsewhere in the room, although I did hear it clearly.

5-6 'bangs/thuds' were heard from upstairs and I went to check there was no one there. The room above was empty as was the big hall area and there was no other sound to be heard.

1 'clink' was heard like a small stone had landed (because of the stone floor and the little bits already found there, it was impossible to say what had caused this).

Everyone apart from me heard a 'shuffling of feet' on the steps.

Everyone apart from me heard 'the metal gate clank/bang'.

Each time a sound was heard I thanked 'spirit' and asked if they could make another sound for us.

We heard another sound within 30 seconds, although they all seemed to be slightly different. Neither I or anyone else could sense any energy during this time. Then the noises stopped and we sat discussing what we had heard.

As we left this area Phil said a few times he had heard 4 clear footsteps (but faint) walking around in the room upstairs. He didn?t say anything to see if anyone else remarked on it. I never heard them and the guests didn?t say they had. Phil said he clearly heard them.

Group 4 Report : Mark Carol Gail Liane Angela Michelle Aileen Jean

A very strange incident happened in this room (Queens Chamber). After we all did the usual getting adjusted to the light etc, sadly in this particular location the lights off the cabinets in the main foyer are very distracting, one of the guests noticed Liane's hands. I have NEVER seen this before. and it was quite bizarre. Liane's hands were black and grey in colour. At first it was thought it was black dust that she had got off the walls, so she tried to wipe them clean, but to no avail. As much as she wiped them the colour of black and grey would return to the surface of her hands, it was certainly not dirt, that was an absolute fact. It was reminiscent of my dead bodies in the anatomy lab, Liane's hands in all intense and purposes looked 'dead'. Liane was also very very cold, so were her hands (naturally), Michelle who was cold in the Main Hall, but she warmed up in the rest of the locations, also went very cold in this room too. A light was seen by a few guests by one of the 'dummies', underneath a table, which had a silver goblet on top. To be honest this could have been 'normal' as opposed to abnormal light been cast on the goblet itself, like I have already mentioned, the lights off the cabinets in the main foyer are 'very' distracting, so the chances are this was them casting shadows etc.

We decided to move down to the Mezzanine area from the Queens, and this location apparently (with the previous group), had been quite a hive of activity. We did do some calling out, nothing untoward occurred, but then one of the guests, Angela who was probably the more sceptical of the group, suddenly commented on being extremely cold. Angela had NOT felt cold in any other locations that night, but she had to sit down at one point because she was freezing. I must admit I did not feel cold, neither I don't think did Mark, Mark will be able to comment on this personally, but I'm not sure if the temperature in the room dropped either.

We had been told by the previous group that a child's presence had been felt on the stairs area, and I must admit at one point this particular area became very dark indeed. Angela in particular, called out to what we 'all' thought might be the spirit presence of a child on the stairs. Apparently according to the previous group, it appeared to them that this little child, whom it was thought to be a male child, would not come any further into this room so stayed on the stairs, which may account for the darkness in this area. I went to the bottom of the stairs and called, looking up at the stairs as I carried this out. At first nothing, but then the stairs appeared to darken at the bottom four, it was then that I felt a cold, what can only be described as a breeze effect, around the bottom of my legs. It felt as though someone was wrapping their arms around my knees and legs area. It would be lovely to think this could have been (possibly) this little boy spirit looking for security and comfort, who knows!!!. The lights came on at this point and it was time to leave this location, sadly.