Shepherd Neame

Shepherd Neame Brewery - 29/02/08

Team 1

Dante – Team Leader/Scientific Research

Jo – Group Manager/Investigation Co-ordinator

Gail – Core Team/1st Aid

Claire – Member

Dee – Member

Ash – Member

Team 2

Mick – Team Leader

Kevin – Group Manager/1st Aid

JoJo – Guest

Tina – Guest

Darren – Guest

Cath – Member

The team and it’s guests arrived at 8.30pm and were greeted by Mark Stiff.

Dante, Mick and Kevin proceeded to set up our equipment and then Mark showed us around a few key areas of the Brewery. Mark had mentioned to us that one of his colleagues had taken a photograph in one of the rooms outside which had a strange mist on it, and that there was no explanation for this that they could think of as things like smoke and steam had been ruled out and he showed us the photograph in question.

Scientific Report by Dante Machiavelli

Shepherd Neame Brewery - Repeat Invest (2nd Visit)

Time: Location: Air Temperature: Humidity: EMF:

22:47 Malt Kiln 16.1˚ – 18.2˚ 63% 0.2mg – 0.6mg

23:19 Vehicle Garage 14.3˚ – 16.2˚ 70% - 72% 0.5mg

01:30 Upper Galley 18.8˚ – 23˚ 53% - 54% 1mg

01:56 Boardroom 19.7˚ 52% --

At midnight, Dante and Ash were on the upper walkway with no one else present when they both heard a female cough in the corner of the room, followed by a softly spoken “Hello” in a female voice, and as the remainder of the first team was over the opposite side of the galley (and not below us) this remains somewhat unsolved.

We may possibly need a repeat investigation to discover the woman’s identity, also of note is the heavy atmosphere of the previous investigation and the dominant male energy picked up in the upper galley area by Jo.

Again on this particular investigation we were largely unable to use EMF meters to observe fluctuating magnetic fields due to the amount of plant machinery which would have given us ghost readings (ie we would have picked up the machinery and nothing else) proving a difficult environment to conduct an investigation in.

Team 1 Investigation Report by Joanne Whichelow

At 10.15pm both teams were ready to begin their investigation and Kevin opened with a spiritual protection for everyone. This consists of a simple visualisation/meditation exercise which enables you to relax and call upon your spirit guides for protection, or as some people prefer to call them, your guardian angels. It’s a very relaxing experience and leaves everyone in a calm and peaceful state of mind, perfect for conducting a paranormal investigation!

Team 1 took their investigations outdoors first and so headed off to the malt kiln.

Ash and Claire both stepped inside the kiln and immediately the energy levels around Claire changed. Our cameras then turned themselves on and off and we know from experience that this can be spirits way of trying to attract attention to their presence.

Claire began to feel very uneasy in the kiln and so decided to come out from this area.

As the team continue their outdoors investigation, we find ourselves in what appears to be a disused storage room.

This room proved to be of most interest for the team!

We settled down for a quiet vigil and asked aloud for spirit to communicate with us by making a tapping or banging sound/noise within the room.

Of course we had to take in to account any outside noise interference, but straight away we heard knocks and bangs on various items in the room as soon as we requested it. Another point of note is that one of the storage room doors kept opening and closing on request – although we have to take in to consideration the weather elements, as it was quite breezy outside but we feel there would have had to be a very strong wind indeed to swing open the door like this as it was quite a heavy and solid door. Ash picks up on the names Bert and Fred and the whole team hear footsteps echo in the corner of the room and a sniffing sound.

The team then head off to what we refer to as the galley.

It’s very difficult to conduct what we call a quiet vigil in this part of the brewery, as there is considerable noise from working machinery. Dee comments on how she feels particularly uneasy here and feels as if we are being watched. Ash picks up on an energy presence but feels as if it is cloudy, trying to remain hidden. Dee feels as if there is a heavy weight of energy above our heads and Gail also feels this. At this point a cough is heard right next to the group. Claire remarks on her uneasiness now just as Ash, Gail and Dante all hear the same coughing sound again.

Gail feels as if a heavy weight is being pressed down upon her head and Jo begins to feel very dizzy.

Jo then picks up on 2 spirit males above the galley area. She senses a death here. One male pushed the other and he fell to his death. Jo could see how the male who caused the fall of the other poor man, then casually glances over the side of the galley to where his body lay. He walked along quite leisurely and had a strange way of walking, as each foot turned outwards as he walked. This male was a spiteful person and most untrustworthy and spoke with a very clipped and sharp manner.

She senses he had a grudge againt the man he pushed and simply took the opportunity to dispose of him when he could. She feels that other members of staff may have felt strange or uncomfortable in this area also. This spirit male has a pale and weathered face and the tip of his nose is quite red. He also had an unusual way of lacing his boots up! She picks up on the name of Trevor and the surname Guilden, although she is not sure if this is related to the spirit males.

Jo informs us that this is residual energy she is picking up on as it’s like watching a clip of a film over and over again, like it’s on a loop. A residual haunting is a playback of a past event. The apparitions involved are not spirits, they are "recordings" of the event. Video and audio tapes capture sounds and images on a film of special material that has been oxidized or rusted. Certain building materials, such as slate used in older castles and stone structures and iron nails used in many older buildings, have properties similar to that of the tapes. When a traumatic event occurs or a time of heightened emotions, these materials record the event for future playback. Everything is made up of energy and energy can’t be destroyed. The materials store the energy created by these traumatic events and plays them back at a later time. The Tower of London's ghost of Anne Boleyn is a famous example of a residual haunting. We are not sure what causes the playback of the events and this still remains a mystery. Is it the right weather conditions, the witness's energy or sensitivity or some type of energy release.

The team then move on to investigate other areas.

At 12.30 both teams meet for a welcome break and after this the teams swap over to give Team 2 a chance to investigate the outside areas to see what they pick up on!

Team 1 now investigate the indoor section of Shepherd Neame starting with the boardroom and again it seems we’re are not alone and have some amazing orbs for company!

Throughout the team’s investigation of the offices inside the brewery, nothing unpleasant is felt, in fact quite the opposite. A light and happy energy is present and we found it to be quite intoxicating! Sadly, because of time contraints Team 1 didn’t manage to cover the upstairs offices, so we hope to be able to make a return visit next year to conduct a more thorough investigation.

Team 2 Investigation Report by Mick How

 

Base readings show no fluctuations in temperature and EMF readings are normal at this time.

The team first enter the boardroom for a quiet vigil. Mick stays standing so as to take photographs and observe the proceedings.

JoJo calls out for spirit. Nothing is observed. JoJo senses a man with sideburns who was involved with the brewery. Kevin also picks up on this too. Kevin calls out for spirit and a very quiet knock is heard. Kevin thanks them for the knock and asks for the same again but nothing further is noted. Mick checks outside by looking through the windows to eliminate any outside influences but can’t see anyone. Tina says she can feel the man looking down at the team (Note - this was quite interesting as Team 1 experienced this feeling of “beling looked down upon” outside on the galley).

At this point there are no temperature fluctuations or any change in EMF readings.

JoJo says that she felt a knock under the table. Kevin and Darren report they felt the same thing happen. Mick checks under the table and nothing of any note is recorded.

Tina says she felt a cold gentle breeze go passed her but no one else had feels this. Mick states that there is a small draught coming through the window.

As Mick starts taking temperature and humidity readings he notices someone walking past the room. The whole team heard the heavy footsteps. Mick runs out of the room and follows the sound of these footsteps up the stairs and through the main hallway and down another flight of stairs and did not see anyone.

Mick returns to the boardroom and passes on his findings. The vigil carries on for another half an hour with nothing of any note to report. Then all of a sudden everyone hears a door open and close and someone yet again walks past the door. The team tried to recreate it by Mick walking past and no footsteps were heard.

We asked the other team if anyone had entered the building and they replied that they had not. This is in our opinion unexplained. Paranormal? Maybe. It does seem strange that the footsteps could be heard so clearly by all the team at the same time, however, there is a really plush carpet outside the boardroom and no footsteps could be heard when we tried to recreate the situation.

The team then went upstairs, as you approach the stairs there is a wooden statue of a stag, everyone commented on how beautiful it was. When we reached the top of the stairs JoJo said she could feel a spirit of a man and stated this man “would take no prisoners”. Mick noted a small change in temperature but nothing else. Kevin also felt this spirit wasn’t nasty but like a headmaster would have been with his pupils.

The team then headed along the corridor, Mick sensed a “vortex” of energies. The team then went to the offices at the end of the corridor and everyone sensed that children were present. Kevin and Darren called out for spirit to communicate with us. A few faint banging sounds were heard. Mick noted a change in the EMF readings that seemed to follow Tina no matter what direction she would walk in. Then it just went silent and nothing else was recorded or sensed.

The team then went to the stairs at the end of the office block. Mick called out for spirit to make contact with the team and suddenly a loud banging noise was heard above the team on the stairs, almost as if someone was jumping up and down.

Mick ran up the stairs to try and find the source of this noise but no one was there. This happened over and over again on demand. We then went into the office at the top of the stairs and Kevin sensed a man from the 1950s who would have sat at a desk with his feet on the desk.” A jolly young man who had been killed in a motorcycle accident”.

Research is yet to be carried out as to the identity of this man. Kevin also felt that this was the spirit who had earlier walked passed the boardroom twice.

The team then returned to the foyer for a break and to meet back with Team 1.

After our break the team went into the outside area of the brewery. Sadly there is nothing to report here though, as the weather was so appalling with heavy winds and rain at this stage that nothing could be investigated. We then went into the production areas but found the same thing, because of the weather conditions no investigations could be carried out. We returned to the foyer and both teams decided to call it a night.

Conclusion – Mick How

As usual this venue has not failed to surprise or let us down in any way. The team considers it a truly great honour to have been given another opportunity to investigate Shepherd Neame. As a whole we feel there is certainly a great deal that still remains to be investigated! We have been very blessed with being permitted to carry out two investigations here and this is one of our favourite locations to investigate.

Conclusion – Joanne Whichelow

Another fantastic night at the Shepherd Neame Brewery! We are so thrilled to have been able to make a return visit to this amazing and beautiful venue, and a huge thanks to Mark Stiff for this.

All in all, some interesting activity noted, from our large array of orb photographs, to the different experiences felt by both teams. Of course we have had to bear certain conditions in mind such as outside noise and the weather, but we still feel that there are some aspects of our investigation that are not explained by either of those elements!

We sincerely hope that we are able to make another visit to this wonderful venue in 2009.

Sincere regards and thanks from Portals To Beyond to Mark Stiff at Shepherd Neame, we hope to see you next year!