Marsden Grotto - Investigation Report

The History Of The Marsden Grotto

Actually located in a cliff-face itself, overlooking the sea, The Grotto was built (or rather blasted) by a character known as Jack the Blaster, who used explosive to carve a home for himself out of the raw stone. Thanks to Jack’s legendary hospitality, what was originally a private residence soon transformed into an inn which became a favourite with the local smugglers.With such a colourful history, you might expect a ghost or two to be hanging around, and you wouldn’t be disappointed. The most common story attached to the place relates to a smuggler who was reputedly murdered by his fellow criminals after selling information to HM Customs. It is said that he was hanged in a cave close to the present lift shaft and left to starve.

The Paranormal History Of The Marsden Grotto

n old landlord of The Grotto would leave out a special tankard of ale each night after closing and, in the morning, it would be empty. Local DJ and TV presenter, Alan Robson drank from the tankard during one of his live Metro Radio shows, allegedly sparking off a series of supernatural phenomena that eventually forced the then landlord to quit. This included flying ashtrays smashing against the wall and flooding in the cellar after all the beer taps were inexplicably turned on. Unfortunately the original tankard was lost during refurbishment. A replacement is on display, but is no longer filled up each night for the ghosts.

Marsden Grotto - Baseline Report

Before every investigation we conduct a thorough examination of the location site to highlight anything within the environment which may interfere or influence with any later investigation through the night. For instance, if there is a railway line nearby which, with the passing of trains throught the night, could cause virbrations in within the location - we'll make sure it's noted down

We also take readings throughout the investigation site (see actual locations) so as to set a baseline which all further readings can be compared againt. At present, we currenly take readings concerning the Temperature, Humidity and of the local Electro-Magnetic Field.

Information Regarding The Marsden Grotto Investigation

What follows is some general information regarding the investigation at The Marsden Grotto.

Possible Environmental Influences At The Marsden Grotto

Marsden Grotto - First FLoor

The first floor restaurant consisted of a small bar area cut into the natural rock of the cliffs and then, up a couple of steps, the restaurant area itself. A couple of dividing walls seperated the restaurant out into a few parts and the large central lift shaft connecting the Grotto and the top of the cliffs dominated the center.

Through a small doorway, past a downward spiral staircase, sat the male and female toilets. The Male toilets were the standard faire - while the female toilets once more backed onto the natural rockface of the cliffs.

Baseline Report

Environment Readings

You will find in the table below the baseline readings that were taken at the beginning of the night for The First FLoor.

Next, you will find a series of graphs showing subsequent readings (including baseline) that were taken through the night.

Group Vigils

What follows are the group vigils that took place in this location.

Note : These vigils are presented purely in Group Order and in no way reflect the order
 in which each group visited the location during the night.

Group 1

NGIers - Jay, Claire, Carol, Mark

The group distributed itself across the 1st floor as follows.
Carol - Bar area
Mark - Restaurant opposite lifts
Jay - Restaurant (Toilet End)
Claire - Restaurant (Toilet End)
Mark sets up a camcorder pointing at the area in from of the lift towards the 1st floor Bar.
It is noted the the ceiling vents regularly rattle due to wind/drafts.
Mark continued to monitor the environment from his position.
12.48 am - Claire laid on the floor where the 'mysterious footprints' were and deliberately, using self hypnosis, put herself in an altered state purposely telling 'her mind' it would have access to any information there was regarding the 'marks on the floor people assumed were footprints on which she was was laid across'.

What came into her mind from doing this follows:
"Claire felt as though she was a woman, wearing a long light coloured skirt was was pushed forward and had something hard (which she felt was a 'tool' of some kind) repeatedly rubbed against the front of her lower abdoman and pelvis,causing friction and soreness. This was forced on her, although Claire got no emotion from it and couldn't get a sense of who was doing it,she experienced it as though she was the woman physically,although like mentioned,she had no sense of emotion or how the woman felt, only the physical activity. She noted the light coloured skirt because she looked down at 'herself' and saw it pushed up. Although the floor she was knelt on was wooden it was a lighter coloured wood then the actual floor of the pub is now. It was still smooth though as though well scrubbed.It was like a rape situation only there was nothing internal involved.Claire felt the 'woman' was left with a sore, red, bald patch on her pubic hair caused by the continual friction.

This then changed and Claire saw a slim male wearing a dark blue or black suit who came forward and went down a tunnel into the ground (the staff member had told Claire, Lee and Carol that there was reputed to be a tunnel going deep into the ground). This was a vertical tunnel as Claire saw it, more of a shaft or a well. Claire felt this male was linked to something she couldn't quite put her finger on, he reminded her of someone, or she had seen him before.

Things changed again and Claire saw a woman in a cave and the water was rising up,it was to chin height and rising fast. Then Claire saw a man there too, and both were shouting to each other, both had dark hair. The water rose and they pressed thier faces up to get the last few centimetres of air before the cave was filled with water.Claire saw the man floating underwater but not the woman. She 'observed' this.

Claire also saw caves with fires in them, far more caves than she saw in the pub, which seemed to be connected by a series of tunnels, and smaller caves. They were empty as she saw them."

At various times doing this Claire felt as though she was physically floating and several times floated forward and rotated the full 360 degrees. This made her feel physically nauseous, and she felt lighter and lighter and had to focus not to naturally jump out of the state which was causing her to feel 'bodyless' and nauseous. Claire has experienced this before and regards it as a part of the process however. A few times she felt several 'strong rushes of energy' coming from feet to head then back down again very quickly, again, something Claire has experienced several times before and something she now regards as being part of the process.

Claire was fully aware of things around her during this time, and was aware of the others moving about and talking quietly etc.After about 15 mins Claire conciously counted herself back up, as this was something she wanted to do specifically as oppose to just seeing what she picked up from the place the rest of the time.

At the far end of the upstairs section of the Grotto - near to the 'footprints' that are part of the wooden flooring, Jay often got a feeling of pressure on the top of his head. There were one or two other areas within the Grotto as a whole where he felt the same - but it was more pronounced and noticeable here.Claire heard Carol scream and Mark and Jay asking Carol if she was okay. As Carol did not immediately answer Claire went into the small first floor cave bar where Carol was with the others, where a sheepishly grinning Carol said she'd tripped up over her own foot or something........

Claire asked Jay to go and sit on the 'footprints' to see if he picked up anything. Jay said he didnt want to sit on the floor but went and sat in a chair in that area. Claire went and sat in the paino room area under the window on the floor.

12.53 am - while Carol was sat on a stool close to the bar, she felt as if something 'touched' her right hand - Carol commented that it "felt like a cobweb had touched her". Carol also felt a cool breeze intermittently blowing in her face, which "wasn't" there previously and it appeared to have come out of nowhere. The breeze then stopped, it was 'more' noticeable this had occurred, because the general temperature in this area was 'always' warm. However, it has been noted in one of the previous paragraphs, there 'were' quite a few ventilation shafts in this particular area because of where it was situated, so this may very well have been the air circulating on a "timer".

There was a door on the right hand side down the stairs from the bar, which might have been into the Kitchen. Twice this door 'opened and closed' and no one was seen entering or leaving this room at the time. Mark joined Carol in this area sometime later and spoke into his dictaphone calling out the name "Jack". Unfortunately there was a lot of "buzzing" noises coming from behind the bar from the pumps, which made this distracting for Mark. When Carol told Mark about the 'earlier' door incident that was witnessed, he then tried the 'said' door and commented that it was quite easy to open. So this could have been members of staff entering the building from another entrance, or going outside hence causing an air flow, which could have caused this to occur.

1.14 am - Mark sees a streak of light go across the doors of the lift. He describes it similar to 'car headlights' going pat although there are no windows in this area. No explanation is found for these lights.

1.16 am - A loud band is heard from the 1st floor bar area where Carol is situated. Claire, Mark and Jay rushed to the small bar where Carol was, who said the bang had come from the room and she thought it had come from a machine in the corner.

Claire said although she didn't know for definate she felt sure that it was something to do with metal expanding/contracting due to changing temperatures. Others were not so sure. Claire remained with Carol in the small cave bar and they both scaled the huge stools and sat at the bar, listening and quietly chatting about what could have caused the noise.

The machine where Carol said the noise had come from had an orange and a green light on, so both were watching that machine for any other noises or changes. They both heard it change and make a different noise, which was mechanical and persisted, indicating that it was doing something which was timed. Claire pointed out that as the pubs own camera was focused in that area we would be able to show the staff it and ask if it was definately the machines and 'normal' etc.

(This noised is heard throughout the night at approximate 50 minute intervals and is found to be the Ice Making machine.)

Jay decided to take a trip to the Gents. Firstly, upon entering the Gents, there was a small section between the outer and inner doors which was semi-lit as he entered. Upon immediately opening the inner door to enter the toilets proper, he faced an uncomfortable sensation as the room itself was quite disconcerting. To his right was a section containing urinals that actually thrust back over his shoulder the way he came. Being "around the corner" from the couple of small windows which gave a little light into the toilets - this area was almost pitch black and the usual "whats in the darkness" feeling overcame him.

After doing his business, Jay turned and opened the inner doorway when ready to leave and entered a truly disorientated sense of being. As mentioned above, on coming into the toilets, the small space he was now entering was semi-lit - but now coming out of the toilets - this section (with no light source behind him to light the way) was plunged into pitched darkness - which completely threw his senses to pot.

Jay stayed for a short while between the two closed doors before deciding to leave and join the others. As he stepped out of the main door to the toilets - there was a loud buzzing noise just to the left of his ear. It was as though a large fly had suddenly appeared next to his left ear - buzzed for a second or two - and then vanished. There was no coming or going with the buzzing. One moment it was quiet - the next moment there was a buzz - then, the next moment it was quiet again. He spent a couple of minutes checking around the top of the stairs for any fly or insect that could have been responsible, but nothing could be found.

Claire joined Carol in the bar area shortly after the banging incident. Claire thought she saw a "heat shimmer" on the stair railings near the Kitchen door, which earlier had been seen opening and closing by Carol. Jay joined Carol and Claire at this point, and said that he had been in the upstairs toilets (near the table with the so-called footprint markings) and "didn't like it" and couldn't wait to get out of there. Jay said he felt a "buzzing" sensation and felt on edge. Claire went with Jay to see for herself and Carol remained in the bar.

Claire then went with Jay to the male toilet, leaving Carol still watching the machine. They both stood in the dark area between the 2 doors which was pitch black, and Jay explained what he had experienced in there and they both tried to find explanations for this.

Claire then went into the actual toilet area and immediately wanted to leave. She felt very unwelcome, as though she had entered a private area for men only, and that there was a male in the far corner who wanted her out straight away. Just to note, as shifty as it sounds Claire is used to being in male toilets and normally doesn't feel uncomfortable in them due to the fact that they are male toilets. She felt this was a place she did not want to be in on her own at all and she struggled to stay there, despite Jay being just on the other side of the door. She tried to find a cause for this however nothing obvious sprang to her mind. She felt constantly watched and constantly unwelcome and constantly had the urge to get the fuck out of there. Jay then joined her in there and they both talked about possible reasons for what they both felt in there.

They then went back into the gap between the 2 doors and stood there. Claire didn't feel anything in there really, but could see why, as it was so dark that Mark had felt disorientated. Just as they left Claire felt a 'dizziness' just as she stepped back onto the landing. Jay said that was the area where he had felt the 'buzz' in his ear. She was still experiencing this when Mark came up, and when Claire and Jay said about the toilets as he said he'd not been in the main toilet area he went in for a look.

1.36 am - Claire and Jay ask Mark to go into the gents toilet as they have been 'picking up' on things in there. Mark entered the toilet where he remained for a few minutes. Although being very dark and a bit smelly, Mark did not feel anything 'strange' in this area.

1.47 am - Mark feels a lot colder and has to put his jacket on even though the room temp has hardly changed. His body temp is 32.6ºC but he had not been feeling too well for the last two days.

Claire and Jay decided to try the female toilets for 'comparison'. On entering Claire immediately got the same 'unwelcome' feeling, and said she would struggle to remain in here on her own for long. She said she would force herself to do it but would rather not. They both noted Claire was unusually jumpy in both these areas, especially in this area. Claire said she didnt usually feel this indoors,however did feel it outdoors in certain places and situations, but could find no reason why she felt this now.

Claire said she felt the urge to pick her legs up, as a person who was scared of spiders might do in a room where there was several on the floor (or rats,anything really,Claire didnt get spiders or rats and neither is she scared of them, she just used it as an analogy to describe the feeling she had. At one point Claire felt a warm sensation on her lower legs, although Jay couldnt feel anything on her.Claire said that whatever was making her want to pick her legs up only went to knee hight, if that.Jay remarked how jumpy she was.

At one point Claire thought she saw a person stood down towards the far end of the room, but put this down possibly to the fact that a piece of rock jutted out, and although she was aware of this,seeing it out of the corner ofher eye it had looked like a person, in the gloom.

She felt uncomfy with her back to the internal wall. She heard the words shouted ''come on'', closely followed by''alacazam!'',which were repeated many times.She asked Jay what this word meant, as she said she had it in the sense of 'open sesame' and an ali baba type thing.She also got the words ''jackety jack'' repeated several times, which she said to Jay. Jay said he felt that the wall should go back further than it did, which he was proved correct in as on checking there was a room they couldnt get in behind it. Claire felt as though the whole pub should be 'deeper' than it was. Claire and Jay sat with thier backs on this wall, and Jay said a few times he thought he saw a low shadow towards the corner of the room,near the sink area and the cubicle.

At one point Jay walked into a counter that sat underneath the mirrors and upon commenting that he had done, Claire gasped out "What Counter!?!?!" as though the shear idea of something in the female toilets such as a counter was completely abnormal.

Any bumping together between Jay and Claire in the near pitch dark of the toilets caused discomfort and shocks.

The door to the toilets opened flush against the right hand side of the wall (although, the wall was angled). Although this area was seriously black and not a thing could be seen - both Jay and Claire had the sense that the toilets were much larger than they actually were and this coming together of wall and door seemed to be where the "extra dimensions" should be. Jay commented that he felt he could just walk and walk in that direction and ended up in pain a couple of times from trying it and walking into the wall!

2.08 am - Mark Joins Carol and they did a bit of 'calling out'. This produced nothing of interest.

2.15 am - The group left the area as thier time was up. Claire went into the cave and spoke to Carol, who said that the noise was definatly coming from the machine, and that as the lights had changed to both green she had heard it again. Claire asked Carol if she had been in the toilets, as Carol replied she hadn't Claire asked her to go in and see what she thought. Although Carol was present when Jay was describing his 'buzzing' both Claire and Jay had said they wouldnt tell her what they'd experienced in there after as they were interested as to what she felt.

Immediately on entering the male toilet Carol said she didnt like it in there, felt uneasy and wouldnt stay in here on her own, which she said (and Claire can vouch for) was unusual for her. She couldnt say exactly why but she felt it quite strongly. They then went in the female toilets where Carol said she again felt uneasy and wouldnt stay in there on her own, and again they both remarked this was unusual. Claire then filled Carol in on what she'd experienced in those areas, and they both left to join the others down stairs.On passing the window overlooking the veranda they spotted Jay on his own and decided to have a bit of fun with him by shouting his name out of the window in strange voices then hiding when he looked. Giggling like schoolgirls,especially at Carols 'voice' they were sure Jay had heard them and was straining to see where the noise had come from, hoever when they told Jay this he said he'd not heard them.......

Group 2

NGIers - Lee, Julie, Bekki, Phil

2.30 am - The group looked about, checked windows for breezes and while doing this we heard a rasping sound. It was quickly found this to be the air vents in the ceiling, which rattled even louder when a door in the far end of the restaurant was opened.

2.45 am - The Ouija board was the groups first choice of communication, but this produced no significant results. A glass divination was then attempted. Just as the group started Lee was showered with dust and grit from somewhere. Lee looked above his head and could see a gap between the ceiling and the rock face, which forms part of the interior wall. He put the dust shower down to air circulating in the ceiling space blowing the dust and grit through the gap.

2.50 am - A loud clatter in the small bar drew the groups attention but again they quickly picked up on an ice machine dropping its hourly load. While the group was in the bar they tried the Ouija again as well as calling out for anything to happen from affecting the EMF meter to rattling glasses on the shelves. All remained quiet.

3.10 am - The small bar was very warm and uncomfortable so the group returned to the bigger restaurant. The tables were quite large and heavy but as the group had not tried table tipping, this would be their next attempt at getting some sort of result. Again they were disappointed.

3.30 am - Lee and Bekki decided to go into the two toilets on this floor as these were a lot darker. They could stand being in there no longer then a couple of minutes in each due to the over powering smell of urine. Not a pleasant place to be at all.

Marsden Grotto - Ground Floor

Built into the natural rock, the ground floor bar area offers unique areas for drinks and dining. The front part of the bar is a pretty normal bar you'd find in any pub or inn anywhere in the country, while the back part of the bar creates a special enviroment for anyone to visit. A front terrace sits at the front of the Grotto and allows access to the beach and beyond the caves that the smugglers once used to use.

Baseline Report

Environment Readings

You will find in the table below the baseline readings that were taken at the beginning of the night for The Ground Floor.

Next, you will find a series of graphs showing subsequent readings (including baseline) that were taken through the night.

Group Vigils

What follows are the group vigils that took place in this location.

Note : These vigils are presented purely in Group Order and in no way reflect the order
 in which each group visited the location during the night.

Group 1

NGIers - Jay, Claire, Carol, Mark

Mark one again seated himself in the back bar Cave area to monitor the environment.
Mark set up his camera in the back part of the restaurant, which is built within the cave itself.
2.36 am - Claire enters the Back Bar and complains that she is finding it harder to breath in this area. Best way she can describe it was as though she was in an area with a limited supply of fresh air, and this was the first signs of it starting to run out, the air had become warm, thick and stale and deeper breaths were required. Claire felt this strongly, and commented on it to Mark and Carol, as she'd been in the cave several times on the pre vigil stuff and not felt it. People were constantly in and out of the bar going outside all night on and off, and the doors from the bar directly to the veranda (think they wee fire doors) were wedged open slightly.Carol asked if it was like how you sometimes get on a plane, and remarked on the smell you can get. Claire said she did smell a foisty smell but had put that down to the fact they were in a 'cave' and the rock walls. As Claire had never been on a plane she couldnt commment. They chatted about this for a while, then Jay came in. Jay commented that previously he had felt a "pressure" pulling down on his head when he was in this location, earlier on in the evening.

2.42 am - Mark hears a slight tap from the front bar, however there is a fly killer in this area which occasionally makes a noise.

At around 2.42 a.m. a "clicking" sound was heard by Carol and Mark. It was on Carol's left hand side, near the barrel where Mark's tankard was placed. Carol went to try and ascertain where the noise came from. It seemed to come from behind the cave wall, in the bar area on the other side. It was thought that this clicking noise may very well have been from the beer pumps in the bar, it was heard several times after that.

2.43 am - Mark feels as if someone is touching the top of his head. He calls out for whatever is causing it to do it more but comes to the conclusion that it is just his hair standing on end that is causing the sensation.

2.45 am - Mark attempts a glass divination and is soon joined by Jay. Nothing of note is reported. Mark and Jay try again but instead place their fingers on the side of the glass rather that the top. This again produced nothing of note other than more unconsious movement of the glass.

2.46 am - Claire went and sat where Jay had spent time earlier and said apart from the toilets it was the only place where he'd felt anything.This was at the seated bay window area at the other side of the lift, towards the kitchen area and stairs.

2.51 am - Claire heard 'nyak nyak' repeated for about 1 min in her head.

3.00 am - Mark, Jay and Claire take a walk down the beach to try and reach the 'caves' and look for 'smugglers'. Carol stayed on the veranda alone, as she she said she didnt have suitable shoes on. If Claire felt anything at all on the beach it was overshadowed by pain hehehehehehehe! Not the best idea to try and walk across big slippy rocks in 4 inch heels.........Claire would like to thank Jay for helping her out there, otherwise she'd still be there now hehehehehe!

The cave wasn't found (turns out they didnt go far enough along the beach).

There were rumours of paranormal activity on the patio, but Carol felt nothing worthy of note, nor did any of the others in the group on their return. Carol went upstairs while the others in her group were still on the beach, and joined the rest of NGI who were carrying out their vigils upstairs, to see how they were getting on. On the return of Carol's group she rejoined them in the downstairs cave restaurant that they had been in previously that evening.

On returning to the veranda the female staff member said as she'd been sat reading in the bar area on her own she'd heard what sounded like rubber soled footsteps coming from the empty area the other side of the lift donwstairs.

3.35 am - Mark re-enters the Back bar Cave area and hears a 'rasping noise' on entering as if someone is clearing their throat. There is no one else present.Claire went and sat back in the seated area and heard a loud noise,which she traced immediately to the vent on the wall. She heard and saw the slats move a few times, and she could see how this could be interpreted as rubber soled footsteps, as at times it only made a single,quite quiet noise which did sound to Claire a bit like footsteps. Claire waited for it to do it again, when she would get the staff member and ask if that was exactly what she heard, however the vent didn't make the noise again, or consistently enough for Claire to ask.

Jay joined Claire and she mentioned about the 'vent, although it didnt do it when Jay was present. Claire asked him if it had done it when he was sat there at any time earlier in the night, to which he answered it hadn't. Claire also said that it hadnt done it when she'd been sat there prior to going outside on the beach.

Jay went to the hotplate area and Claire moved to sit on the settee with her back to the main bar area. After about 15 mins after hearing the Julie, Phil, Bekki and Lee had left, Claire rejoined the others in the cave, and the investigation was wrapped up.

Group 2

NGIers - Lee, Julie, Bekki, Phil

12.50 am - The group began their investigation on the terrace. The Ouija Board was their first choice of communication. In the still, warm night Julie began by calling out in an attempt to get the board moving. As there was no response the group took a turn in seeing if it made a difference – but no. The board was as dead as the atmosphere.

The famous pebble beach has a number of interesting features, such as the now ruined Marsden Rock and caves along the cliff face. The group decided to stroll along the beach to see if the atmosphere changed. Known for being a place for suicide jumpers they wondered if they’d pick up on this, but again there was nothing.

The group then walked along the beach a little, and this is when Bekki recalled coming out earlier and seeing what looked like a lady on a horse riding down the far end of the beach, not that this could be confirmed as paranormal as riders often do ride down there.

1.15 am - Back in the Grotto the group sat in the downstairs cave. In a corner reputed to have activity, they set out the Ouija board and began calling for spirits to communicate with them. After about 5 minutes and a lack of response they attempted glass divination but again, there was no response. The group all commented on how flat the atmosphere felt.

1.30 am - The group decided to split up individually and see if they could sense or experience anything rather than pursue the group activity.

Lee took snaps of the bar and restaurant areas, sat quietly in various places and allowed his thoughts to drift.

2.00 am - The team gradually drifted back together and they discussed the Grotto, reminisced about the locations that had been interesting and theories as to why Marsden Grotto seemed to lack any kind of 'atmosphere' whatsoever.

Marsden Grotto - Pre Invo Vigil

Bekki arrived at the venue, at 9:30 and hung around playing on the game machines, till the bar started to empty at about 10. As the bar began to empty Bekki went off to the toilet. As she passed the entrance to the back cave, she got a sudden feeling that she should go in there. Instead she decided to wait for the rest of the team. Bekki now wishes she had followed her instinct and gone in.

After descending the steps down the cliff, Claire got the urge to 'run' on the beach. To just run and run for sheer delight. This may have been because of what she'd felt on a previous visit.

On entering the building and during the initial walkaround Claire felt nothing other than suprise that the building was larger than she'd previously thought. member of the bar staff gave the entire team a tour of the building and talked briefly about other paranormal groups who had visited. One thing that was pointed out was a mark in the shape of a footprint in the upstairs restaurant. This mark was near the window on the wooden floor. It was claimed that even after the wood was sanded back and revarnished a few times, the shape reappeared.

Another comment was made by a couple of staff who said that since recent renovation of the steps leading down the cliff side, activity in the Grotto had practically diminished entirely.

After the guided tour, Mark decided to set up his camcorder in the 1st floor bar area where the security camera had previously picked up some footage of a 'strange moving light'.

Between 11.30 and 12.30am Lee took shots of the location and orientated himself before things began. Outside there was a strong smell of urine from near the toilet area and while on the terrace a number of bats swooped overhead and came very close. It was very warm, the tide washed gently on the shore and slowly receded. The moon in its final quarter occasionally appeared from behind a cloudy night sky.

When Claire went in the 'cave' (she didn't go in on the walkaround and hadnt been in before), she got the name 'Jack'. She ignored this thinking 'bloody hell theres a fuckin 'Jack' everywhere I go according to me hehe'. When sat on the decking talking with Lee and Carol a staff member said the place was linked to a 'Jack'. Claire has in the past loosely read about the place, however not in depth. She probably has read the name 'Jack' linked with it, although conciously has no recollection of this.The staff member mentioned several things regarding the history of the place especially linked with a book that had been written about it. The books author was also a paranormal investigator, who had told her all sorts about the place.

On entering the room on the top floor with the piano, Claire felt a tightness in her chest which she only felt in this room. (Stepping out of the room her 'tightness' ceased, stepping in agin and the feeling returned) She felt quite excited and 'genial' in there.

When Claire was sat with Jay upstairs at the table with the 'footsteps' they both heard a 'rattle' from in the room. Claire said she presumed it was the blinds rattling cos a door had shut downstairs. Jay had been walking at the time and tried to recreate it to see if it was his footsteps. On further inspecton Jay traced the source of the noise to a ventilation thing further down the room. Wind, movement in the room and downstairs seemed to cause it to make a noise, and the door to the stairs only had to slightly move to cause it to rattle loudly.

Walking through the small first floor cave bar with the camera, once on her own Claire felt several draughts, and noticed several cobwebs floating about the place which seemed to be floating in an air system type of thing. She couldnt trace this and noted it down to ask the staff about.

Claire sat on her own in several locations and felt nothing 'energywise', although she did note things down in regards the layout of the rooms and factors which could possibly influence things.ark filled a metal tankard up with beer and put in on a barrel in the back bar cave area. He placed movement sensors in front of this area. This was an attempt to recreate the old story that is attached to the Grotto. Apparently there used to be a tankard that was filled with beer every night for the 'spirits'. Each morning the tankard would be found drained of beer. The tankard has since been lost/stolen. Mark called out to whoever was listening, that, although this was a different tankard, if the spirits would be so kind to drink the beer during the course of the night then he would kindly donate the tankard to the pub to be filled with beer on a nightly basis. (By the end of the investigation the tankard was still full of beer so Mark consoled himself that his experiment didn't work by having a nice pint.)

Some of NGI were still sorting themselves out in the front bar area so Mark decided to conduct a solo vigil in the Back Bar Cave area for a while. Seated in the south corner Mark sat in silence and monitored the area.

TIME / TEMP / HUMIDITY
12.21 am / 21.5ºC / 67%
12.26 am / 21.6ºC / 67%
12.31 am / 21.7ºC / 67%
12.37 am / 21.8ºC / 68%
12.43 am / 21.9ºC / 68%

EMF: A 10+ MG reading was detected from all of the emergency lights that were distributed around the area.

This vigil passed without incident.

The team considered their plan for the evening and split into 2 teams. Before the investigation started, the bar staff turned off what lights were allowed but the remaining emergency lights still left the building relatively light so any hope of an atmosphere based on the psychology of being in the dark was lost.