M&M Embroidery Factory - Pre Invo Vigil

Trigger objects

Three trigger object experiments were set up by Claire in 3 different areas suggested by Julie, where it has been reported that things have been moved, or fallen for no evident reason. Random items from the factory were used.Each item was drawn round in pen on a sheet of white A4 paper with iron filings sprinkled on/around them.

A plastic bit from the machinery was set up at the far end of the machine near the fire doors at the bottom. A few small bits of plastic from the machines were used and set up on top of the cupboard at the opposite corner of the same end of the room. In the Managers office on the desk a religious magazine/leaflet was opened and used. Jay took photos of all 3 before and after the vigils. There was nothing unusual to note and it seemed that no movement occurred during the investigation.
Arrival and pre-vigil points to note

The NGI team and our 2 guest mediums had all met up beforehand in the Wessie, and set off in a convoy of assorted cars at about 8.30pm, following Julie to her haunted workplace, deep in the bowels of the deserted Crowther Industrial Estate.

Claire was in Jays car, with Carol and Mark. As they entered the Industrial estate she noticed her ears 'popping', like they do when she goes through tunnels on a train. The road they were on appeared to be flat, and they were driving slowly. Jay said he felt this too, although he said he'd thought he had some kind of ear infection so put it down to that. It was unusual for Claire to experience this travelling in a car on a flat surface at a slow speed.

The convoy pulled up outside the factory at around 8.45pm. Before entering Lee decided to take some external photos of the building.

The unremarkable shuttered building was not your typical creepy looking haunted location, but nonetheless an interesting photo occurred. Lee checked the shots after each take to make sure the focus had worked. On the third photo there was a mist that covered the entire shot. No one was near him and he’d held his breath prior to taking the shot after discovering a while ago that exhaled breath can cause the same effect. He showed Phil and took another shot to see it happened again but it was clear.

Upon immediately entering the building Di felt there was activity in the corridor and offices to the right, and Claire remarked that she felt a 'dizziness/disorientation' there. On first entering the main workshop Kirsty noticed a chill but did not at that point attribute it to any activity given the kind of building that this was. Claire felt this room was 'warm and thick', and asked Julie if the heating was on, to which Julie replied no. Not long after it was discovered the heating was set to auto and had been coming on and off.

What Kirsty did find unusual was the feeling of the energy in the main work room where the machines were. The room itself felt warm but this could have been attributed to a heating system. However the atmosphere itself felt unnaturally heavy and brought feelings of claustrophobia. Not long after being in the room Kirsty began to experience a headache – the kind of headache you would get from being under pressure (heavy atmosphere pushing down). As she began to walk up and down the machines she felt her eyes start to sting and water which she hasn’t experienced before and isn’t a normal reaction for her when she’s around spooks. She had the impression that it was caused by some sort of gas? Her throat felt really dry and her chest tight. She also felt teary and quite emotional.

She felt the energy of a male whom she felt had had some sort of accident as she got the impression he was dragging the right side of his body and he felt quite desperate.

At 9pm the whole group started to look about the place, setting up experiments and taking baselines, as well as doing a general assessment of the building. The long rows of sewing/embroidery machines stood silent (except when Julie turned one on to demonstrate how loud they were, and give an idea of the noise level during working hours).

In the far corner of the room Jay said he could feel a pressure on his head. Lee walked over to see if he got the same feeling and funnily enough he did. It was a heavy sensation of having his head pressed down. He noticed the machine he was beside was still switched on. He went to get his emf meter to see if it was radiating anything. Julie in the meantime had switched it off. The pressure had ceased too when he was standing back in the original spot. The EMF reading was nil but under the machine it went off the scale, but this was also where the transformer was housed.

Carol and Lee were stood at the far aisle of machines near the far end when they felt a strong cold draft blow past them. Mark had just walked past them and felt nothing. The temperature was immediately recorded and showed that there had been a drop to 15.5ºC (from 21.3ºC) in the space of 15mins.

The heater suddenly came on which confused people as it was not meant to come on. The settings appeared to be set to auto. The noise and draught it threw out meant the group could not start properly as some members felt it would influence how they perceived the location. Eventually it stopped so the investigation could begin.

Whilst in the managers office with Mark and Jay, Claire, whilst stood with her back to the door, saw a big black flash coming from the top left hand corner of the room, which she described as like 'black sheet lightening'. She asked Jay and Mark if the lights had just flickered, to which they both replied no. She asked if they had seen the 'flash - they hadn't. Claire usually associates these 'black flashes' to areas which have been extensively mined and have reported paranormal activity also. The area was checked by all 3, and Julie was asked if there was anything which could have caused it. No cause was found.

Claire then returned to the main workshop where Kirsty and Di asked her what she'd felt upstairs. Claire replied she'd not been up there yet, and set off climbing up the short staircase. As she reached the top she noticed she was breathing rapidly, as though she'd just exerted herself, which she obviously hadn't. She began to explore the wide gantry she was on, but as she walked towards the window she noted the nearer to it she got the tighter her chest felt, and the faster and shallower her breathing became. She felt as though she couldn't inhale deeply enough to get the correct amount of air her lungs needed, and she wanted to lie down. She stood experiencing this for about 2-3 minutes, and then decided to go back down as she didn't feel too clever. As soon as she was halfway down the stairs the feeling left immediately. She said this to Di and Kirsty, and Kirsty said that she had felt a similar thing up there too; however Kirsty did not include this in her own submitted personal report.

The group split into two teams. Jay, Claire, Mark, Carol and Di went into the office section while Lee, Julie, Phi and Kirsty remained in the workshop.