It’s always a good day when you start off in a haunted manor with coffee in hand and infrared cameras in tow. At 11 AM, we set up our base camp in the music room of Wymering Manor for a full day of paranormal investigation training.
Hosting the paranormal investigators’ course was an absolute pleasure, the group brought enthusiasm, curiosity, and open minds, which made for an incredible day of learning and discussion.
Anomalies
With the baseline readings taken and our kit in place, we did a full walkaround of the building to familiarise everyone with the space and atmosphere. Even in the daylight hours, things began to stir. Shadows were seen moving outside a window, and a more significant sighting occurred, shadows were seen to move in the hallway. There was only one other person in the house at that point, and interestingly, the hallway's motion-activated light never triggered, though our cameras picked up movement. We couldn’t explain it.
Our weather station gave us something else to ponder. It recorded temperatures that didn’t align with the environment: a high of 21°C and a low of 13°C, despite the room consistently feeling around 18°C. Later in the day, it showed a spike of 34°C in the Grand Hall, again, way off from the surrounding temperature, which remained about 12°C.
This particular weather unit has been reliable for weeks, so it raised an eyebrow or two.
The Investigation Begins
At 7 PM, the building was split into two investigative groups, and from that point forward, activity came thick and fast.
In the morning room, we caught a string of orbs on infrared, along with photographs of orange streaks and strange cloud-like shapes. On the mediumistic front, both groups picked up on the presence of a man and a woman—aware of each other but not interacting. Names like Emily, James, Jacob (with a Scottish connection), and Jimmy came through independently in both teams. That kind of cross-validation is always fascinating.
Then came the grand hall—arguably the most immersive experience of the night. Both groups had vivid visions of a cold, wet, stormy night. They described a warm fire and the master of the house seated before it, receiving shocking news brought in by horse from Portsmouth. Black horses, to be specific. The moment carried urgency and tension and a scene that felt more like a residual replay than imagination.
Down in the basement, we had an incredible, though fleeting, capture of a spirit dog. The photo image was seen by several group members but the image mysteriously disappeared from the camera roll. EMF meters lit up red repeatedly. Later in the evening, the unmistakable sound of an animal running across the floor was heard by everyone in the group. No animals were present. Coincidentally, our liaison from the building trust, Jonathan, told us that the night before they’d captured clear EVP of a dog barking in that very room.
Amazing, Spine-Tingling Capture
Perhaps the most compelling part of the night occurred later upstairs, where a small group was experimenting with mirror scrying under red light. One member sat in front of the mirror while another snapped photos. In the images, we saw the reflection of a young woman with black hair. She didn’t resemble anyone in the room and wasn’t in the line of reflection. Understandably, we were sceptical. Could it be pareidolia? Could it be a trick of the light?
Then we tried again—with a different person at the mirror, and the rest of us intentionally moved to the side, out of frame. Another photo was taken, and there she was again, but in a different position in the mirror. This wasn’t a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment—it was visible and shared instantly with the whole group. No time for editing. No opportunity for staging. And no one in the room matched her appearance.
So what do we make of it?
It could be a case of seeing what we want to see.
It might be a distorted reflection of one of us.
Or… we really did capture the image of a spirit in that mirror.
I don’t believe it’s pareidolia or apophenia. Everyone saw the same thing. The image moved position. And no one in our group looked like the figure captured.
Just when we thought the evening couldn’t surprise us further, windchimes rang out loudly in the building, on request. We all heard them. After the session, a colleague and I investigated outside around the grounds, no chimes were heard, and even later driving around the perimeter, with the car engine off and windows down, we heard nothing like it again. If there were windchimes, it didn't seem that they were anywhere nearby. It’s a mystery still.
All in all, it was a fantastic day. The course was a brilliant mix of learning, exploring, and connecting with the unknown. Of course, some of what we experienced is subjective, mediumistic impressions often are. However, a few things we encountered defy easy explanation: the sound of the animal, the disappearing dog photo, and of course the mirror image.
Now for Something Way Right of Centre
And here’s a little “what if” to end on…
After the event, I started researching the former residents of Wymering Manor to see if anyone resembled the woman in the mirror. I kept being drawn to Jane Austen and an image of "what she may look like now" similar to that image in the mirror. Odd, but nothing strange and highly subjective, right?
Then I discovered that her brother, Sir Francis William Austen, was once the warden of the nearby St Peter and St Paul’s Church. Jane was said to have visited him at Wymering Manor and his ghost has reportedly been seen many times before.
So… was that her? Searching for him?
Maybe. Maybe not. It’s a theory worth noting in case it comes up in the future. Who knows, perhaps someday, the lady in the mirror will become part of Wymering’s growing folklore, joining the ranks of Reckless Roddy and the Bloody Nun. For me... The Adventures Continue...
Comments