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.

Garrison Room And Chapel

The ground floor of the Keep consisted of two main areas - the Garrison Room and The Chapel.

The Garrison was a fairly large open room with a pillar reaching from the floor to the rood. Situated around the room was a number of 'headstones' with various descriptions on them, a couple of stone statues and a storage cupboard. There was also a blocked up fireplace in the room. At the top of some sone stairs was another room known as The Pit which it was said used to be used as a holding room like a small cell.

Down a very short passageway was The Chapel area. Upon first entering, you enter a small room off the side of the chapel, which contains only a small font. Passing through an open doorway you enter the chapel proper. This is the most lit area within the whole Keep with large arch shaped windows looking out onto the streets of Newcastle. There is no furniture in the chapel at all, its completetly empty, other than a few Norman headstones that have been moved and stored here from a nearby cemetary.

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

When we first went to the Garrison room some members of the group including myself and Derek and a few guests went up to the old pit room at the top of the stairs, we realised the door to the old condemned mans cell was open, which it had never been on previous investigations, but thought nothing of it, Derek closed it and we went down back into the main room.

We tried some pendulum dowsing. One guest tried but got nothing, another one started and got a female coming through, but had to give up as her arm ached from holding the pendulum. I took over and once again got a female, I suddenly got a flash of a vision of a young girl been attacked by two or three men, so we asked if that had happened to her and she said yes. I felt she had perhaps been raped prior to being killed. All questions we asked seem to point to this too.

We went into the Chapel briefly, but I was reluctant to bring the Ouija board in because of a previous experience, but I suggested to Derek that he could do it with the guests and that I would stand at the doorway ready to run. They attempted the board, but got nothing although I did get the feeling that the energy in this room was not even going to entertain them as it didn't agree with the board. One of the group took an amazing photo in this room of what looked like a moving light next to some ones leg.

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

Disappointingly, the Garrison was the quietest of all our locations. Jay always looks forward to the Garrison as he seems to think it is the focal point of all the castles activity, but tonight, sadly for our group, there was very little to report.

There were a couple of occasions when the entrance to the room went darker and darker which usually heralds the arrival of something coming into the room but just when it seemed like something would, it left.

At one point, we tried a human pendulum and asked any spirits present to choose one of the participants to work with and to communicate through. Nobody was chosen as their was no obvious movement from anybody beyond the norm, although Jay reported his right arm was freezing. Not just cold, but freezing - so much so that his skin was burning with the cold and he had to step out of the circle to put his coat on to warm up.

We split into two groups - one entering the Chapel led by Julie and Jay took four of the group into the pit room where we sat in the darkness and called out but got nothing in return.

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

When we went down the stairs about 2 thirds of the way down I felt 'energy' suddenly,as though I has walked into it.It made me 'shake' physically and I had to fling my arms about and shake them to get it off me.Not because of anything I was aware of,this was just how I felt it physically and had the urge to 'shrug' it off down my arms and out of my hands. It continued in the room at the side of the chapel and lasted about 30 secs but was very strong and 'light'. I asked if anyone else could feel anything but everyone said no.

Phil and I showed the guests the rooms whilst the lights were on.When we went in the Pit room everyone remarked how cold it was.However there was a door at the end which led into a little store room which was full of 'junk',and in this room there was a small door which was slightly open which looked like it was an external door,so we put it the coldness down to this.

As 2 guests had asked about protection on the Gallery when the lights went out we stood at the far end of the garrison in a circle and used a white light visualisation as well as calling on our spirit guides for protection. We then sent the 'twitch' around. I called out and asked for any energy/spirit present to come and make itself known to us in a way we would be aware of,to come and communicate with us and tell us a bit about itself,and its connection to the keep. I felt at times as though there was faint energy but it didn't last long the few times I felt it.

Phil saw a 'white flash' on the pillar in the centre of the room. I didnt see this but about 2 mins later I saw a bright white large flat circle of white light flash briefly at the top of the pillar. Phil didnt see this but one of the guests said they had seen a flash at the same time. At one point I felt the energy suddeny 'change and for about 1 min it felt very strong and 'dark', and my voice changed when I was calling out,however the energy left as quickly as it had come.

Phil said at this time the stairs to the pit room 'darkened' for about a min, although no one else could see this. Phil on my right was saying the right side of his neck felt cold. The guest to his right said his hand was trembling and at first it had felt very cold but suddenly she felt it 'start to burn'.Phil said he felt like he was burning up.

This feeling left him and we decided to try the Ouija board.

Before we did though we were trying to work out where the flashes had come from on the pillar when the guest said she had seen a yellow flash on the external door in the corridor,(not the pillar), about a foot above the top 'hole' where light was coming in from the streetlight outside.In the dark we had presumed we were talking about the same area but once we put the torches on we realised she had been indicating a different area and had not realised we were talking about the pillar in the centre of this room. Phil went and checked this.

All the guests and I put our fingers on the credit card planchette. Although it was quite difficult to 'push' the card (I demonstrated this before we started)it was slightly jumping all the time we were doing it which I believe was caused my the guests fingers not being steady etc. I called out but felt nothing and apart from the movement from our fingers the palnchette didn't move. I said I felt we would get nothing doing this now and we all moved into the Chapel.

The Chapel

(The lights were still on in here so Phil went and got them turned off).

We stood in a circle down at the end with the tombstones in.

We sent the twitch around again and straight away I felt Phils hand trembling. I remarked on this and the guest to his right said she could feel it was 'freezing cold' and 'shaking'. I called out and both I and the guest on Phils right felt his hand go very hot very quickly. He said he felt as though he was burning up,although he felt very cold.He said he felt a cold breeze on him constantly but his neck felt red hot.

Another guest said she had a pain in her leg. I asked if this was normal for her and she said no, unless it was because of 'all the standing'.

I then heard a noise like a small 'click/tap',like a very small pebble landing on the roof of the chapel. This was followed by another more towards the back of the room then another in the corner behind Phil and I.

After I heard the first noise I asked if it was spirit doing this if they could do it again, then I heard it again;I asked again and heard it again. It was like a small pebble was hitting stone quite hard and making a 'clink' or 'tap'.

All the guests and Phil heard this, but they all agreed that the sound came from the corner behind Phil and I every time. No cause was found for these noises. On looking on the floor in this area it was impossible to say if anything had fallen from the ceiling etc,however I have not heard this before in the Chapel.

I carried on calling out and felt my voice wanted to 'change' and deepen. Phil said he felt really horrible now, freezing cold but burning up and the right side of his neck was hurting him. The guest who had said her leg was hurting now said she felt as though she couldn't move it from the thigh down.It was her left leg and she felt as though from below the knee it was stuck out at a funny angle, as though she had a 'gimpy' leg. She said this was not common for her and she had never felt it before.

I left the circle but joined the link up and went around taking temperature readings from everyone. I took redings from everyones backs and legs. The coat temperature reading ranged from 21 - 25 degrees (the readings were lowest on the people who were originaly to the right of me and highest on those to the left of Phil). The leg readings ranged from 16 - 19 degrees (with the same pattern of a lowering of the readings in the same area as with the coat readings).

Phils neck where he said it felt 'strange' had a reading of 29 degrees constantly and his head gave a constant reading of 25 degrees. Phil said he felt so awful he had to leave the circle and sit down. I felt his forehead and it was very cold but he was dripping in sweat,as though he'd been doing a lot of exercise and had just stopped. We all stopped the circle and Phil sat in the window behind him. Just before he sat down the guest to his left felt his forhead too and confirmed he was freezing,clammy and dripping in sweat.

One minute later he said he felt normal again,and when I felt his head he felt 'normal' (warm but not hot) and there was no sign of any 'sweat', his skin felt smooth and clean. The same guest felt him again and also confirmed this.

He said he had not felt this anywhere else except in the garrison and as far as he was aware he was not ill.He said he felt fine now.

I gave the 2 pendulums to 2 of the guests. I talked them through how to use them and they both experienced them swinging. I called out for them both to swing for 'yes' and they both swang in a definite direction (although not the same as each other). I asked the both so swing for 'no' and they both immediately started to swing in another definite direction (again,not the same direction on both pendulums though).

We repeated this exercise 3 times and the pendulums gave the same 'answers/swings' so I then proceeded to ask if there was spirit with us, to which they both said 'yes'.

I asked if it was a male and they both said no.

I asked if it was a female and one said yes and one said no.

I asked if this person had lived at the Keep and one said 'yes' and the other no (same answers from the pendulums as to the last question).

I then asked if they had worked here and one said 'yes' and the other 'no' (but they gave the opposite answers to the last 2 times,ie the pendulum which had said 'no' was now saying yes and vice versa).

We decided to stop this now as our time in here was up and we were getting conflicting 'replies'.

Phil said he felt 'totally okay now, it was as soon as he left the cirlce he felt fine' and the guest who had had the 'gimpy' leg said as soon as we had stoped the circle she felt fine.

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

Pam joined our group for this last location. We started off in the Garrison Room. Before the lights went off, 2 of the guests Jean & Angela commented that they felt a funny sensation by one of the pillars. It was a pillar that was located near a set of inscribed tomb stones. When Jean stood by the pillar and faced the wall where these tomb stones lent against, she felt very cold down one side. When Angela stood staring at the same area of wall against the same pillar, she felt a tingling sensation also. They both asked me to stand there to see if I could pick up on this, which I obliged but sadly I felt nothing.

When the lights went off, we all sat in a sort of circle, well as much as we could, and waited for the darkness to settle. Pam sensed a spirit immediately in this location. She said the spirit on the stairs coming from the Pit Room was that it an adult male, whose name was Jacob. Apparently according to Pam this male spirit hated women, so with this in mind, and the fact that poor Mark was the ONLY male present, we 'as' a group had a field day with Jacob. Both Pam and I goaded Jacob, and a few members of the group felt a definite drop in temperature when we did this. There was a definite sighing sound heard at one point by nearly all of the group, including me. However, this could have been activity from outside, as this location has a door that leads out on to the main street. Mark being the only male in the room, we got him to counteract Pam & me, hoping this might bring Jacob further into the circle, the male bonding scenario.

Pam then said that we should move in to the Chapel, which we all did. Pam told Mark to stay in the Garrison Room, and I stood at the entrance of the Chapel. Pam called out to Jacob to come and follow us into the Chapel, and Mark also called out to him from the Garrison Room. Pam said she sensed a presence, I presume Jacob near me at one point, but to be honest I felt nothing untoward at this stage. We went back into the Garrison Room and I went up to the Pit Room with a few of the group, Pam did a seance with those who wanted to do it in the Garrison Room.

The Pit Room for was extremely quiet, although a guest did hear footsteps a little later (possibly) coming from the stairs out of the Pit Room, heading towards the Garrison Room.

When the group investigations had been fulfilled, we all went back to 'our' favourite locations. Both Mark & I stayed in the Garrison Room, and another 2 guests from another group called Lorraine & Doug heard a coin drop in the Pit Room, where there are a set of ladders going down into the basement. Lorraine (brave soul) ventured down the ladders to the said area below, to see if she could locate the coin, which she couldn't. Also the door of the store room was open, and it had been closed earlier. However, the door was easily opened so it could have just not been closed properly in the first place.