After nearly 5 years the team decided to make the long journey back to Inveraray Jail. Another old favourite of ours, and a venue that had never disappointed. Was tonight to be any different?
After an initial walkround to identify the most active areas of the jail we decided to start our investigation in the courtroom.
Initially we asked all the guests to take a seat on the benches where they believed there was a spirit. We then asked them all individually why they had chosen that seat and if they felt any different there. A few said they had chosen that spot because they had seen something and they also confirmed that they had felt different when they sat down, with some experiencing a sharp change in temperature or an uneasy feeling. Using the temperature guns and EMF meters, as well as dowsing rods to point we were able to confirm that these were indeed active spots and that there were 5 maybe 6 spirits with us in the room.
After being able to identify where they were located the dowsing rods then began to rhythmically swing from side to side continuously, something we have never experienced before. What was even more fascinating with this is they also stopped completely on command, and started up again on command.
We believed one of the spirits may have been a young child so we set up the EMF teddy on the chair where we thought she was sitting. After a short while the teddy began to light up. We were able to ask the spirit to back away and come closer to make the lights go on and off. We were unable to confirm that this was a child, and in fact, from the evidence we managed to get through the spirit box, EVP recorder and using the dowsing rods, we believe it may have been a male spirit called Elliot from around the 1820s.
Using the thermal imaging camera we were able to identify a heat source sitting in this area. We can definitely rule out any heaters or such like causing the heat.
The courtroom was clearly very active and several people reported seeing shadows moving around the back wall, and the far corner getting constantly darker the more you watched it. There was also whispering heard on several occasions, and regular temperature drops in specific areas.
We decided to move on to the old jail block and straight away certain members of the group were drawn to certain cells. Cell 21 had an uneasy feeling and the EMF meters backed that feeling up. Later research was to show that there have been previous reports of 2 female spirits in this cell, both former prisoners. Niki sat on the bench at the bottom of the corridor using the dowsing rods. She began to feel really cold around her legs. Temperature guns confirmed that the temperature around her legs was considerably lower than elsewhere on her body. Using the dowsing rods we were able to confirm that the spirit was also sitting there (as if on her knee) and that this was his seat. Cells 5 and 6 upstairs also felt very different with Cell 5 having a very evil feel about it. Sadly we were unable to get any clear EVP responses, but they certainly were loud.
We then moved across to the new cell block and because on the walkround we had identified the gallery and exercise area to be very active we headed straight to there. Sadly with a large group there it felt very quiet. Some of the group headed downstairs and a few stayed. Almost immediately Stuart felt the presence of a very tall well built man. He seemed very threatening and as Stuart moved to the visitors area this figure moved to block him in there. Stuart said he picked up on what was maybe a nickname “the enforcer”. Using the EVP recorder we were able to establish that he was deliberately trying to be intimidating and didn’t want us there. When asked if he was “the enforcer” the response was not totally clear but sounded like it was a “yes”. We also believe his name may have been James.
After a short break most of the group headed back to the courtroom and Stuart took smaller groups back to the new jail block to see if the smaller group encouraged more activity. We sat in the cell with the wooden bed and sing the dowsing rods were able to establish that we were joined by two male spirits, and that they weren’t really happy that we were there. However the real activity was going on in the corridor. Loud footsteps, bangs and voices were heard. Every time we went in to the corridor they stopped. When our attention was elsewhere back in the cell, the noises started again. Using the EVP recorder and dowsing rods the spirits from the cell confirmed that the spirits making the noise stopped as they were suspicious of us and thought we were prison guards. They were acting the way they would had it been a prison guard and were active when they thought they weren’t being watched.
Over the course of the rest of the night we took several smaller groups over and every time we heard clear footsteps, bangs and voices.
The large group in the courtroom had set up the SLS camera and it showed some strange movement around Brian and Kirsty. Brian stood with his hands still in his pockets and yet the camera showed him as if he was waving both hands. It also looked like Kirsty had balls of light around both her hands.
The spirit box was clearly picking up on several spirits all trying to communicate, but they all tried to talk at once and it made it very difficult to make any clear messages.
Again several members of the group continued to see shadows and hear voices, with some actually reporting seeing a figure walk past the door behind the judge.
We would like to thank all our guests for joining us on the night and helping us investigate this amazing place. Thanks also to Rob for his hospitality on the night and his great knowledge of the jail. We will definitely not leave it 5 years before we return.