The team had been asked to spend the night on board the Frigate Unicorn as part of a charity event run by local radio station Wave 102 in assocation with sQuids. All proceeds raised were to go to local charities as part of "Bring a Pound to Work Day". Four generous listeners won the on air auction to join us on board and between them donated a massive £360 for the priviledge.
Date: Friday, 8th May
Times: 22.00 - 02.00
Weather : windy
Moon : full
Investigators present : Katrina, Natalie, Tori, Steve
Guests :
Radio presenters: Charlie Duthie, Richard Thorburn, John Quipp
Listeners : Gavin Rogers, Jason Baird, Paul Sale, Neil Doig
Many thanks again to Bob Hovell, ship's manager, for giving up his free time to allow the event to take place and for sharing his knowledge of the ship and its ghostly goings on with everyone present at the event on the 8th May.
Before the investigation could take place it was necessary to go over safety issues and protection methods with the guests. We congregated on the top deck where Tori guided everyone through visualisation techniques to ensure that the guests were suitably protected for the investigation ahead. Bob pointed out areas of interest and danger areas such as low ceilings. He also reminded the group to be respctful at all times.
Tour started on the top deck ending in the bowels of the ship, the Orlop deck. The night looked promising right from the start as Tori and Natalie both picked up on a male spirit on the top deck watching us from over by the display cases. Tori felt the presence of a few others watching from the other end of the ship by the unicorn model. Movement bythe barrels on the mess deckwas also witnessed during the walkround indicating that we were perhaps being followed and watched.
The walkround emphasized the problems we would have later with noise contamination. Members of the public decided to approach the ship to see if it was still open and their footsteps were very loud. The wind outside also caused creaks, taps and groans within the vessel.
Once the tour was completed the guests were asked to set up some trigger object experiments. The top deck was chosen as it would be furthest away from where we would be plus spirit activity had been detected there earlier. An old heavy key was chosen by one guest and another helped to set up a magnetic board and letters.He deliberately laid outa simple math's sum along with the wrong answer. The plastic numbers of the correct answer were set out below. A room guard was positioned within the area and a set of beam barriers left on the closest set of steps. A voice recorder and cassette recorder were left running for the duration of the experiment (none of the objects had moved by the end of the night).
The guests were then given the opportunity to choose a piece of equipment each that they would like to use during the vigils downstairs.
Mess Deck
This area was very dark indeed as it contained no windows. The only light source was from the green emergency lighting above doorways etc. Soon after starting some of the guests commented on seeing movement at the far end of the room in front of the entrance to the Officers' mess. Others saw what they descibed as shadows moving across this area. A bright light was also witnessed by 3 guests as they stood facing the stairwell. This was seen by the naked eye and not on video/camera. It was described as being a streak with tapered at one end. No light source could be identified to account for this. A few minutes alter Katrina was filming when her camcorder sudddenly switched itself off. Steve who was standing behind her could see that her finger was not near the on/off button. The infrared light attachment was not affected, however, and once the camera was switched back on it was noted to have 66 minutes' of battery life remaining.
The group spent a the remainde rof this sessio nin the Officers' mess and again movement was seen by the doors through in the mess deck .Tori also felt a male presence to her left in front of the doorway. Some of the guest bravely decided to sit in the cabins and one of them reported seeing an array of bright twinkling lights.
Attempts were made to get some kind of response by 'calling out' but nothing definite was heard or seen. Tori decided to try mirror scrying and quickly received a link to a male spirit who she drew. She felt that his name had the initial 'J'.
Time was passing very quickly so we decided to spend a brief period downstairs on the Orlop deck and after break on the top deck.
Orlop Deck
Everyone congregated in the small area by the foot of the stairs on the Orlop deck at the bow end. We all sat down to eliminate as much noise as possible from our footsteps and shuffling around. Various noises were heard such as distant footstep sounds but given the noise contamination from outside and the rattling windows inside , it was impossible to rule out natural causes. Closer noises were heard after calling out which were a bit more noteworthy due to their proximity. A noise like a footstep was heard directly above us at the to pof the stairs and also some taps from the same area, one of which sounded like a metallic ping on the rail. One of the guests reported seeing a figure standing behind Steve which stayed there for the duration of the vigil. Tori kept picking up on childbirth in this area which she found very strange and unexpected for this area of the ship.
Gun Deck
A quick coffee break was followed by some of us deciding to explore the Gun deck. John pointed out that the bow end of this deck felt strange and that he had become very angry since entering the area. He had the overwhelming sensation that he was intruding on someone's personal space by being there. Tori agreed and felt that there was a change of energy from the area by the main door and the bow of the ship which felt remarkably different to the rest of the ship and rather unpleasant to be there. Katrina also felt this and described it like walking through smoke as she walked towards the front of the deck. Everyone agreed that we were not welcome in this area and we decided to leave as there was a rather unpleasant atmosphere there.
A very brief time was then spent upstairs on the top deck but the atmosphere had changed and no longer felt active. John was still very agitated so Tori took him aside to ensure that he was fit to continue.
Divination
The guests were keen to try some form of divination. However, this is something the team do not take lightly. Before starting Tori explained about the method of protection she would use and Katrina briefly explained some of the supposed reasons why the glass/planchette might move. Protective measures were then put into place around the group.
Contact was made with an alleged male spirit, perhaps a former Captain of the ship.
Various taps were heard from within the room during this session. Katrina also felt a light push onher back as she stood in front of one of the cabins. John became increasingly angry and it was explained that he was probably sensing the emotions of the spirit man who was not too pleased about us being on board and felt that some of the group were being disrespectful. The session was a short one as nothing concrete was being conveyed. Katrina and Tori both spent time afterwards apologising for intruding into his private quarters and for any disrespect shown.
As we prepared to leave this deck, Justin shouted out that he had seen a figure by the far stairwell and that the green light beside it had been obscured by a shadow. He then said that he had seen a small figure sitting down atop a grille on the floor. Some of the others then made their way through to this area which became some what brighter because of their torchlight. Katrina was looking from one side of the deckto the other when she saw whatshe described as a pair of legs wearing jeans (or bright royal blue trousers). This was a feeting glimpse and on looking again there was nothing to see. These 'legs' were seen in front of one of the barrels and were of up to knee height. No living person was in that area.
The Paranormal Discovery team felt very honoured to have been allowed back on board for a 3rd night. The guests appeared to have enjoyed themselves and some even had experiences which they could tell their frineds about the next day. The event can't be classed as a proper investigation as the vigils were run in a less strict manner to normal and less attention was paid in attempting to capture proof of paranormal activity. However, the whole event was organised for a good cause and a significant amount of money was raised for charity. The audio and video recordings are still being reviewed and anything interesting will be added to this page at a later date.
