The Leopard Inn

So, what do you get when PICOUK invite two of the ESSIVE members on an overnight investigation? Well, I guess you end up with an investigation that you can be reported on our website.

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• People present
  
  Chris & Eleanor Thompson, Yolande, Kev Isham and Vicky Greaves.

• Weather            
  
  Heavy rain with light wind

• EMF reading    
  
  By several of the radiators there was a reading of 2, by a door marked private in the carpeted area of the bar 5 however there was no movement from the needle at all in the rest of the area to be investigated.

• Ion                     
  
  6.4 in the carpeted area and between 0.6 & 1 in the rest of the area.

• Wind                 
  
  50 feet per minute under the front door and 100 feet per minute down the chimney.

• Temperature    
  
  Average of 20° centigrade through out the area.

Séance one

• Starting Temperature 20° C
• Temperature drop to 17.5° C behind Kev
• Temperature drop to 16.5° C in pub

Contact made with: -

• Boy? of 5 or 6 called Sam who was fatally injured in a motor accident.
• Lady called Victoria in a crinoline dress that ran the taproom and lived nearby, over the road that is waiting for her husband to return from work. Her husband died in a steam train crash.
• Man called Earnest or Ernie who was a night watchman at the brewery, he was severely burnt in a fire he was trying to help put out.

Séance two

• Starting Temperature 19° C
• Temperature drop to 15.5° C behind Vicky

Contact made with: -

• Man called Earnest or Ernie who was a night watchman at the brewery, he was severely burnt in a fire he was trying to help pout out.
• Man who was murdered because he was caught cheating at cards, he was stabbed in the back with what looked like a Sikh ceremonial knife. It had an ornate handle that contained jewels and the blade was curved. He was then garrotted within an inch of his life and thrown into the river and left to drown
• A youth who was visiting just to try and frighten Yolande he came from a pub he called the Punch Bowl.
• A female called Alice who although in her own words looked an old hag when she died likes to appear on the ferry bridge as a young and beautiful lady dressed in white with raven black hair and cherry red lips.
• A large powerful male believed to be a member of the Paget family.

Note from Eleanor: -

• I have the spirit of an Irish wolfhound that protects me when I need it and he was with me when we carried out the investigation at the Leopard. Yolande commented during the second séance that she was itching and her eyes were sore, Paul asked if she was allergic to dogs, which she confirmed she is. She was then told that my spirit dog was lying under the table, now this is a strange thing, I would never have thought that a spirit dog would activate allergies in people in it’s presence.

The people present at the investigation were Chris & Eleanor Thompson, Yolande, Kev Isham and Vicky Greaves (me)

We were asked by Eleanor and Chris to join them on an investigation of The Leopard Inn in Burton-upon-Trent and this was to be our first investigation with the paranormal team both Kev and I were really looking forward to the night.

Neither Kev nor I were sure what to expect and we definitely had results that really left us in quite as dizzying state.

The night began with base readings these included temperature, electro magnetic field readings and ion readings as we are new to this I’m not exactly sure of what all these readings mean, anyway while Chris and Eleanor took all the base readings Chris set me off on my merry way with the ion meter and my readings were quite clear there was a reading of 6.4 in the only carpeted area of the bar while the rest of the area we were able to access only registered at between 1 and 0.6, once all base line checks were done and Chris and Eleanor were happy with the findings we decided to start with pendulum dowsing.

After a short instruction on how to do this we were left to get the hang of it, Firstly we had to determine how the pendulum would answer for yes on asking mine this it started to swing back an forth quite vigorously to my total amazement, so I stopped it swinging held it dead still and asked again only to get the same reply, I then asked it what it would answer for no to this it started to move in a circular movement at this I was utterly gob smacked.

Eleanor and Chris then returned after compiling some questions to ask the pendulums and explained that we would be separated into two groups of two, one person dowsing while the second person wrote down the answers to the questions the groups were Kev and Eleanor in one set then myself and Yolanda in the other while Chris asked the questions there were 10 in total and after they had all been asked and answered we checked our results against each others answers they showed that 60% of the answers were the same.

After this was done we decided to try a séance we set up camera’s and audio equipment then we began with four of us around the table Eleanor, Kev, Yolande and myself with Chris taking the all important reading through out, to start Eleanor explained how it worked and how important it was for us to let her know what was going on and if at anytime we felt uncomfortable and what to stop we must not just break the circle.

I sat there for sometime listening to Eleanor not felling much of anything when suddenly my right arm started to move as if someone was tugging on it I mentioned it to Eleanor at which point she informed me that there was a young boy approximately 5 or 6 years old trying to get my attention this was were things started to get strange Kev the sceptic of the group also sensed the child’s presence with us he agreed that the boy seemed to be called Sam and that he thought Sam had possibly been involved in a road traffic accident to which he later lost his life in hospital, Eleanor said Sam liked me because I was fun due to having children myself (to which he is quite right I have 3) the tugging on my arm became more pronounced at this point Eleanor said that the little boy wanted to get past me to get to Yolande who reminded him of the nurse that looked after him in hospital, the nurse he said was named Heidi (I know of a nurse by the name of Heidi that does work on the children’s ward at Burton hospital) the young boy it seems past away between 10 & 15 years ago and Heidi was definitely working at the hospital when I had my middle child in 1994

Eleanor at one point spoke out the name Victoria to which at first I thought she was speaking to me (that being my given name) but she then went on to say that the lady was connected with the pub and that she believed that Victoria’s husband had had to take on work as a train driver as the pub was not doing to well, it seemed to come through that Victoria was waiting for her husband to come home although Eleanor sensed that he was possibly killed in a train accident around the 1800s.

Another presence to come through was a gentleman that Eleanor and Kev said to be called Ernie or Earnest along with this gents presence Kev felt burning as if in a fire and pain in his back to which he said it was like he had a heavy weight resting on him and he could not move but apart form the look of pain on Kev’s face I had no sense or feeling of this presence.

We then broke for coffee after safely closing down the circle.

Although I have no real idea about any temperature readings taken during the séance I do remember Chris stating that there was a drop around everyone at the table but myself.

The next experiment took the form of automatic writing with Yolande taking her turn first the laptop computer was set up so that the sitter could not see what if anything they were writing during this part of the experiment I went away and had a go with the dowsing rods to see if I could pin point the approximate area that was the original cellar for the pub this was again to my amazement quite effective as both Chris and I had the same results.

I then took my turn at automatic writing and yet again with surprising results, I let myself slip into a world of my own in which I was aware of the others but unable to really hear what was said until Eleanor informed me that I was not connecting with the pad enough so I put on more pressure and tried again this time I was more aware of what was going on around me and at one point I had the feeling that my hand was moving yet upon checking I could see no movement at all, then when checking the screen after I had finished I had scribbled something that looked to me like the start of a signature.

At some point while I was sitting this experiment Kev had taken a few pictures one of which show 2 orbs on my left side of which I was totally unaware of any sense of.

Kev then took his turn while this was going on I was seated around the corner trying to control a migraine that was starting to form. (I suffer very badly with these)

Finally we ended with another séance in a different part of the pub the same people were sitting they were Kev, Eleanor, Yolande and myself while Chris took readings

I personally did not sense much of anything during this séance other than severe burning down my left side which progressed round my back which then became very painful at this point Eleanor informed me that Ernie was sat on my left, there were many other presences that both Kev and Eleanor picked up on even Yolande had the felling of someone leaning on her shoulder, Eleanor said this was a young lad who had just coming to visit and try to scare her hence through out the entire experience he was pushing and tormenting her,

Everyone else that came through both Eleanor and Kev seemed to share the experience this was the most interesting part of the evening for me as I said before Kev was the sceptic of the group and his apparent sensitivity to all the presences if nothing else reassured me that there is something out there yet to understand.

How else can two totally different people with very different views sense and feel the same presence at the same time.

I would just like to say a very big thank you to Phil and Yolande of the leopard inn for having us and also a massive thanks to Chris and Eleanor for letting us in on the investigation, and we look eagerly forward to the next.

Many thanks again to all

Present at the investigation were Chris and Eleanor Thompson, Yolande, Vicky Greaves and Kev Isham (me!)

Vicky and I arrived at the pub at approximately 9.55pm, where we met Phil, the manager. While we were waiting for Chris and Eleanor, Phil told us a little about the pub and some of the strange things he and Yolande had experienced- an interesting tale about a candle in their bedroom lighting itself and strange white figures he’d caught out the corner of his eye.

My initial thoughts were pretty confused ones. I’m the natural sceptic who looks for logical explanations to things-I never take things at face value. I didn’t know what to expect from the evening.

After a quick look round the pub it became obvious that it had been massively refurbished prior to reopening. An interior wall had been removed, turning two rooms into one. I did detect an obvious draught coming from the fireplace and commented on this to the others.

The pub emptied soon after 11.00pm and while Phil and Yolande tidied up, we set up equipment and Chris and Eleanor took baseline readings of EMF, Ion and temperature. Vicky got to use the Ion meter, which was something new to both of us. I took a few still photographs and set up our camcorders and Dictaphone.

Phil went to bed, leaving the five of us downstairs. It was decided we’d start off with a bit of pendulum dowsing, which was another first for Vicky and I.

After we’d got the hang of it and found pendulums that worked for us (much to my surprise!) we paired up- myself and Eleanor, Vicky and Yolande. Chris then read out a series of 10 questions he and Eleanor had worked out, with those actually dowsing (Vicky and me) pointing to the answers written on paper (yes, no and no answer) rather than speaking aloud to limit any human contamination of the experiment. We also sat on separate tables, so that neither Vicky nor I could see the other’s answers.

A camera on a tripod was set up nearby to record the experiment, which ran from 12.23 until 12.28 am. The camera did not pick up anything strange, except for the soft-drinks ‘snake’ apparently falling off its’ stand halfway through question three. Our analogue Dictaphone was also running but, because we were sitting close to the windows it is difficult to distinguish between outside traffic noise and anything unusual inside.

The results of the experiment were unusual, however. In 6 out of the 10 questions, Vicky and I got the same answers to the questions. Basic Law of Averages would suggest a score of between 25 and 30%-not 60!

We then set up for a séance, which was another first for me. For me, this was one of the strangest things I’ve ever experienced. After I’d settled into it and just let my mind wander, I began to feel ‘out of it’. I was aware of the others around the table and could hear Chris moving around us, taking readings but I felt I wasn’t really there at all.

I began to sense (if that’s the right word) the presence of a small child trying to attract our attention. Vicky’s arm began to twitch, as if someone was tugging on it. Eleanor confirmed that there was, in fact, a small boy of about 5 or 6 tugging on Vicky’s arm.

I plainly heard (not out loud but in my head) the name Sam and got the impression that the boy was called Sam and that he’d been injured in a road accident, possibly outside the pub. Although this part doesn’t make any sense, because he wouldn’t have been moved following an accident, I got the feeling of him being carried into the pub after he’d been knocked down. Both Eleanor and I said the boy, Sam, had red hair and that the accident had only been 10 or 15 years ago. Eleanor felt that Sam hung around the pub because Yolande reminded him of the nurse who’d cared for him in hospital, where he’d died from his injuries. She came up with the name Heidi and Vicky confirmed that a nurse called Heidi had worked in the children’s ward in 1994 when our middle daughter was born.

It was then that my back began to get hot and painful. I got the distinct impression of a great (and very hot!) weight on my back, pinning me to the floor and burning me. I began to feel uncomfortable.

Eleanor then experienced the presence of a woman called Victoria who had a link to the pub. The woman was waiting for her husband, who worked on the railways and had been involved in a train-wreck sometime in the 1800s.

For my part, I didn’t get much of Victoria, although I felt the train-wreck quite vividly. By this time my mind was focussing solely on the fact that my back hurt like hell and felt like it was burning. I could see strange flashes in the crystal ball and the whole thing looked almost like a photographic negative to me. I couldn’t focus on it properly and my head hurt quite badly. I felt incredibly hot although I distinctly remember hearing Chris comment that the temperature around me was dropping rapidly. It didn’t feel like it.

I felt the name Ernest had something to do with this heat and back pain. I don’t know how or why, but I knew Ernest had been injured in a fire at the brewery. We knew that the Leopard had once been part of a larger building, a brewery. Ernest had been in the building when it had exploded or caught fire. I kept seeing flashes of light and I knew they were bomb blasts. I felt Ernest get crushed by something heavy and on fire. I also knew he’d been a workaholic who needed to get away from a nagging wife.

I also got the idea that he’d not been killed in the fire, but had returned to work later.

It was about now that Eleanor confirmed the presence of Ernest and said she felt the same symptoms as I did. Thankfully, it was at this point that Eleanor closed the circle and we broke off for a coffee break-and, for me, anyway, a much needed cigarette!!

After we’d had a break we set up for a spot of automatic writing. The experiment was set up in such a way that the sitter could not see what, if anything, was being written on the laptop screen. Yolande went first, while the rest of us tried a few other things. I had a wander round snapping off a few still photographs, while the others had a try with dowsing rods, apparently finding something below the floor just inside the front doors. We decided that there was possibly another cellar, probably partially or completely filled in-the age of the building would suggest the presence of a deep cellar for beer storage and the creaking of the floorboards in the area that the dowsing-rods indicated would seem to back up the idea that there was something down there. Both Chris and Vicky had the same amazing results with the dowsing rods and when I had a go later I got similar movement in the same area.

Yolande reported seeing swirling patterns in the crystal ball during her stint at automatic writing and at one point asked Eleanor to remove the silk scarf that was sitting next to the ball, as it seemed to be disturbing her. When she had finished, we found no indications that Yolande had written anything.

Vicky was next up and after being informed she wasn’t putting enough pressure on the pad she settled down to see what happened. I hovered round taking photographs and actually picked up a couple of orbs near Vicky while she was taking her turn, although she said later she didn’t feel anything near her. When she had finished a scribble had been written on the screen-it actually looked vaguely like a signature.

For my part I didn’t actually feel much of anything until just before the end of the session. I began to feel uncomfortable and edgy and kept hearing vague whispers. Although I didn’t actually write anything, camera footage viewed later shows me moving my head towards the end of my session and the camera’s microphone has picked up what sounds like breathing and whispering.

The final part of the evening was a second séance in the opposite side of the pub, near the fireplace. The same group took part, with Chris moving around us taking readings. Vicky reported feeling hot and having severe pain on her left side and across her back. Eleanor informed us that Ernie was sitting on her left and I felt his presence also.

I also began to feel the vague presence of someone called Charlie or Chas, a man who’d lost money to some Chinese (?) travelling showmen. I got the impression he’d tried to run away rather than pay his debts; I distinctly felt short of breath and pain in my legs from running. Then my back hurt, like a sharp stabbing pain. Eleanor felt much the same and we concluded Charlie had been caught and stabbed. Eleanor also felt the pressure of a garrotte round her throat and I too, suddenly found I couldn’t breathe. Finally I felt wet and cold. I don’t know for sure, but I believe the showmen stabbed him, garrotted him and threw him into the river; just to be sure he was dead.

Eleanor then announced the presence of an unidentified man looming over the table. Although this spirit (or whatever he was) didn’t give us much information when Eleanor asked him for his name I clearly sensed the reply ‘I’m Frank-what’s it got to do with you?’ I have no more information on ‘Frank’, except a sense of great anger.

Yolande then announced she could feel someone leaning over her shoulder and Eleanor confirmed the presence of a young lad who had ‘wandered in’ and was getting his jollies by tormenting and trying to scare her.

Two others joined us and although details were vague I ‘knew’ one of them was an older woman who liked to appear younger and spent a lot of time on the Ferry Bridge, where she liked to mingle with other people who couldn’t tell her for what she was. She had been seen by one of the people at the table and I, myself, felt this to be Vicky, who the woman had seen accompanied by children. A couple of months ago, Vicky HAD helped out on a school outing in the Washlands area and had travelled across the bridge (because I knew this already, I believe this part of my report is open to debate as to its’ reliability) However, Eleanor, who DIDN’T have any prior knowledge of Vicky’s outing, also sensed that the woman had seen (and been seen) by someone sitting at the table. Her name, we believe was Alice something like that.

The last visitor was vague and nobody got much from him, although both Eleanor and myself felt that it was a large, beefy man who was used to being obeyed and liked using his fists. Eleanor got the impression it was Lord Paget, but all I got was the idea that the man thought himself as the boss.

At this point Eleanor closed the séance down and we decided to call it a night.

A variety of results were picked up during the course of the investigation. This entire media is available for scrutiny. Results, briefly, are as follows-

After the incident of the soft drinks ‘snake’ during the first experiment, I’d set a camcorder up to film behind the bar. On viewing the tape, various orbs and flashes of light can be seen, especially during the first séance.

Another camcorder was set up by Chris in the pub’s cellar, but I do not know what, if anything, it recorded.

During the second séance, my analogue Dictaphone plainly picked up knocking, breathing and what sounds like a voice just as Eleanor begins the séance. The recorder was sat on a shelf over the fireplace, well away from anyone, and by the time it picked up the sounds, everyone was holding hands anyway.

As already stated the static camera in the other side of the room picked up sounds not unlike breathing and whispering during the automatic writing experiment.

Various still photos were taken (around 70 by just Vicky and me!) and on close examination many unexplained lights and orbs are visible on many of them. Some, such as the strange red and green mini-orbs (which seem linked in some way) were also caught by Eleanor and Chris on their camera.

Finally, Chris took some internal measurements with a laser measure, which couldn’t seem to ‘see’ past where the internal wall had been removed. It kept telling us that the bar-area was only 3 metres long!

Personally, I was absolutely blown-away by the evening. I’ve always held a logical, open-minded view on the paranormal and was always naturally sceptical about séances and dowsing and the like. However, the investigation of the Leopard has certainly raised a few questions in my mind as to my personal beliefs. My own experiences during the séances and my apparent sensitivity to the presence of Sam, Ernie and the rest surprised and shocked me, especially as Eleanor confirmed much of what I felt. I’m not going to be as presumptuous as to call myself a psychic or a medium (at least, not yet!) but I’m anxious to explore this particular avenue, with Eleanor’s guidance, if only to see where it leads me.

Finally, I’d like to express my thanks to Phil and Yolande for inviting us into their pub and a big ‘thank you’ to Chris and Eleanor for allowing two novices to see how a paranormal investigation should REALLY be done. Both Vicky and I look forward to the next outing . Thanks for having us on the team!

Kev Isham. September 18^th, 2004