Paranormal Discovery

The Paranormal Discovery team would like to thank Jeanette Swankie for allowing the investigation to take place and for her hospitality on the night.  A big thank you also goes out to the guests who were brave enough to stay for the investigation.  Being involved with a group of people who were so interested in what we were doing made the investigation all the more enjoyable.

Details of reported unexplained activity in the Dreel Tavern can be found on our Haunted Properties page.

 

 

Brief History

Anstruther, known locally as 'Ainster' is a small town situated on the North shore of the Firth of Forth which is known as the East Neuk of Fife.  The settlement was formerly two towns, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester, separated by the Dreel burn, which lies to the rear of the Dreel Tavern.  The town's name is actually derived from the Gaelic 'an struthan' which means 'the stream'.  The two burghs were created Royal Burghs in 1587.  Once a thriving fishing town, its main industry is now tourism.  Ships from Anstruther and other East Neuk ports regularly sailed to ports in the Baltic such as Danzig (Gdansk) and to the Low countries where there were sizeable communities of Scots.  The history of fishing in Scotland and a memorial room dedicated to Scottish Fishermen and Lifeboatmen lost at sea can be found in Anstruther's museum located on the harbour front: Scottish Fisheries Museum.  Notable events in the town's history include being plundered by the English in 1651 and being visited by two ships from the Spanish Armada in 1588.  As with many other fishing villages, smuggling also played a part in the lives of some of the locals.  A short walk form the Dreel Tavern you come to the 16th century Smuggler's Inn which still possesses a seaward door to the burn.  

The Dreel Tavern

Date: Sunday, 24th February 2008

Time: 21:30 - 05:00

Outside Conditions: Moon: waxing crescent Weather:  slight wind

Investigators present: Katrina, Natalie, Tori, Bozzie, Mike

Guests: Jeanette (owner), Michelle, Laura, Kareen, Liz, Tommy  

The team arrived at 9.30 pm as planned and were allowed to use Jeanette's living room in the flat above as base for the night.  The investigation was centred around the 3 floors of the building (the top two being private).  Since the pub itself was still open, it was agreed with the owner to commence the investigation upstairs and work our way down as the night progressed.  We were well aware that voices from downstairs could be heard on the top floor and that other noises might travel throughout the building despite the flat being accessed separately from the pub and having its own front doors etc.   

Trigger objects were set up in the guest bedroom on the first floor since this is where objects have been seen to move before.  A male apparition has also been seen sitting in the armchair in the corner by the display shelves.  Various items were laid out to appeal to a variety of personalities in the hope that something might be moved: keys, coins, jewellery and a crucifix.  As usual, a compass was left in shot as any movement of the needle would prove interesting.  We were hopeful of capturing some evidence of paranormal activity given the experiences of others and the fact that Natalie had her foot tickled while sitting in this room shortly after we arrived.  She had been sitting on the settee taking notes when she felt the sole of her foot being repeatedly touched.

All guests and investigators present carried out grounding, centering and protection exercises led by Tor prior to the first vigil on the second floor.  The somewhat large group of investigators and guests initially split into smaller groups to sit in different rooms with the doors open.  The guests and Tori sat in the office where Tori decided to attempt automatic writing.  Katrina and Natalie moved a few feet away into one of the 2 bedrooms and Mike and Bozzie remained in the corridors filming.

Tori felt the presences of a male and female spirit, very quiet, who take care of each other.  There is a strong bond betweem them and they tend to stay more to the top floor.  Unusually, Mike also felt that there were 2 spirits attached to this level; a male and a female, the male being younger but not the woman's son.  He had the impression that the male may even have had some kind of learning disability.

Tori's attempt at automatic writing had been successful and we all met to take a look at what had been written: there were two names clearly written in old fashioned handwriting, "Elizabeth  M" and "Edward".  We then decided to all stay together so that any noises on this floor could be accounted for.  We managed to squeeze into the bedroom and sat quietly. We asked out for any spirit present to make him/herself known or to even speak his/her name so that our equipment might record his/her voice.  At this point, Mike suddenly shouted out "Stewart" and said that somebody had shouted this at him in response to the question asked.  Not long after a loud bang was heard by everyone and sounded like a glass pane being hit.  It was agreed that this noise had been very close and was not the door to the flat being closed downstairs.  Mike and Bozzie were sent to tap on various doors and windows and to slide the wardrobe doors etc to try to replicate the noise just heard.  The nearest match was the bathroom window but it was noted to be wedged open and on its hook so it couldn't have blown shut.  Other events experienced during this time upstairs were a heaviness felt on one of the guest's shoulders and pressure felt by Katrina and Natalie in their heads.  Movement was also seen at one point behind Mike as he stood at the top of the stairs.  More than one person in the bedroom thought that there was somebody standing behind him.  Photos taken revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

As time was drawing on the team decided to move down to the next floor.  We were eager to see if any of our trigger objects had moved.

 

 

 

 

 

None of the trigger objects had apparently moved but a photo was taken anyhow as is our normal practice.  It is possible that the other items in shot could have been moved without us knowing about it, for example, the voice reocrder or EMF meter or the sheet of paper itself.

We had originally wanted to move the trigger objects upstairs to the office area but as it was quite late by this time and some of the flat's occupants had retired to bed upstairs, this was not possible.  It was decided to move them next door to the living room.

The next vigil took place in the guest bedroom where the trigger objects had been previously.  The atmosphere in this room was quite intense but perhaps this was due to the darkness of the stone walls and the low ceiling.

Tori picked up several psychic impressions of this room.  She felt that someone had suffered either a miscarriage or a botched abortion in this room shown to her as panic, abdominal pain, and blood running down a womans legs.  Jeanette told us that another psychic had previously linked this room to a woman dying in childbirth. Tori also sensed a male spirit who was a quiet man but hung around with the wrong crowd.  He may have been involved with gambling and got on the wrong side of somebody.  He was murdered though it may have been accidental as the intention may have been to just hurt him badly.  He was struck from behind and then on the top right of his head.  He fell and was beaten up by at least 2 or 3 men.  The Dreel felt like home from home for this man and that is why he visits.  Mike, who for some reason was picking up far more psychically than usual for him, felt very strongly that 7 people had been murdered in or very close to the pub over the years.

This vigil produced quite a lot of possible paranormal activity.  Several creaks were heard in the corner by the armchair but this was attributed to the leather settling after being sat on earlier.  Lots of orb activity was filmed around the women sitting on the bed and between the bed and little cabinet.  The girls also felt the bed moving on more than one occasion.  Several little noises were heard in this area too - taps and creaks.  It is worth mentioning that there was a slight draught coming in from the window by the bed.

Tori had been sitting on the floor to the left of the fireplace and felt uncomfortable due to intense feelings of cobwebs touching her face and eventually had to move.  Katrina then sat there for a time followed by Liz who said that she had suddenly felt very cold as did some others.  The temperature in this room was quite static at 20-21 degrees Celsius and so she should not have been feeling so cold.  However, some studies show that the sensation of a lower temperature can also come from reduced humidity.  The humidity of the room in question was quite high at 84%, however, so this does not explain the feelings of cold.

Mike decided to sit in the armchair and soon started behaving very strangely.  Some of the guests remarked that he had begun to look different, even like an old man.  Michelle even thought she saw an arm move by Mike but he had been sitting completely still at this point and had not moved his arm in the way Michelle had described.  Mike suddenly said that he felt the compulsion to press buttons randomly on his camera and didn't know why.  He was quite agitated throughout this vigil in the guestroom and said that he felt hypractive.  He was urged to move from the corner which he reluctantly did.  

Tori then decided to sit in the same spot as Mike to see if there was any effect on her.  She soon commented that she felt as if she was becoming distant but was aware of everything happening around her.

Various requests were made of any 'spirit' present to either make a noise or show itself without much happening except for the small taps mentioned before.  Towards the end of the session several people present remarked on how it had suddenly become darker then lighter on more than one occassion.  We talked about this for a while and tried to find an explanation. There was a window at the back of the room that had no curtains/blind up but there was nothing shining in to explain the visual phenomenon.  It was thought it could be due to the movement of the camcorder but as it turns out Bozzie, who was filming, had not moved the camera as he had been filming in the same direction for several minutes.

This heralded the end of the vigil on the first floor.

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

    

                                                  

A strange anomaly photographed by a customer in the dining area (top).  Note its similarity to the blue and white plate on the adjacent wall (middle).  It appears to be blue and white and to have a patterned rim like the plate.  We were asked if we knew what it could be and whether it was a 'ghost' plate.  Our first thought was 'orb' and probably just a coincidence that it resembled the plate.  During the vigil on the ground floor some photos were taken in the same area and each photo was full of similar orbs (see left).  In comparison, there were very few captured at the opposite end of the room.  The coal fire was lit, however, and Jeanette had just added more coal as we arrived.  The likelihood is that the orbs are either soot or dust particles and there were more at one side of the room than the other due to which way any draught was blowing at the time.   

 

 

 

 

This area was very large so we spread out around the bar and the lights were put out.  The guests sat at one of the tables, Natalie and Tori at another and Katrina sat on bar stool in front of the bar.  Mike and Bozzie were walking about filming and taking photos.  Tori began automatic writing again in the darkness and eventually asked for a light to read what had been written which she kept to herself for the time being.  

Mike went through to the small dining area and took a photo at which point Katrina shouted that she had seen a white figure behind the bar in front of the cash register.  She said that this had been visible when the flash had gone off and asked Mike to take another photo of the same area.  There was nothing behind the bar to account for this and no mirror.  Katrina had initially thought that Bozzie had been standing behind the bar filming and that is who she had seen but he had been behind her the whole time.  The two people standing had been accounted for and there was nothing else to cause the appearance of this figure.  One of the staff members later pointed out that the area where the figure had been seen was actually an old doorway now just an alcove behind the bar (to the right of the photo). This seemed to be the start of an active period downstairs.  A short time later Mike saw a white flash in the area of the pool room and again there was nothing obvious to have caused it.  Bozzie was then surprised a few minutes later to feel something touch his arm and then Katrina called out that something had pushed the back of the bar chair.  Nothing was visible on camera to account for any of this.

 

The time came for Mike and Bozzie to leave and the 3 female team members and guests moved to the opposite end of the bar to the dining area for a glass divination session.  Just the team members were allowed to participate with the guests observing only.  Camcorders and voice recorders were set and a protective circle put into place around the participants.

The glass was very slow to start moving and when it did, Katrina explained to those watching that there was no guarantee that a spirit was the cause and that it could equally be our subconscious and not to believe all that might be communicated. It was also feasible that if 'spirits' do communicate in this way that they might not always give truthful answers or even be who they say they are.

Communication was allegedly with 4 separate entities:

1. A male who says he was associated with the building and was murdered.  He just visits because he likes the place and has been seen upstairs.  He said that he died in a fight and that the culprit was caught.  He also indicated that he is buried near the pub in a marked grave but here was no response to several further questions despite him answering that he did want us to know who he was.
2. Another male spirit who said he had been a customer.  After asking if he knows anyone present in the room the glass zooms to the edge of the table where Tommy and one of the women are sitting (Kareen?).  We ask if it means the woman and it answers 'yes'.  We point out to the group that the 'spirit' could well be messing about to which the glass moves in agreement. We ask the glass to draw the initail of his name and what appears to be a lower case 'b' is drawn.  We ask if it is indeed a 'b' and are told it is but when we ask if that is one of his initials we are told 'no'.  All of a sudden there is voice-like noise from the other side of the bar which some of us think is a growl and others a snigger.  It was loud enough for us all to hear but is quite faint on the audio recordings and actually sounds quieter than we remember and more like a panting sound.  The communicating spirit took credit for the noise and also indicated that he had comunicated to us before via glass divination.  When asked if he would be helpful he said 'no' so we asked if he would allow somebody else to communicate to us which he agreed to.
3. Yet another male spirit was next.  He indicated that there were 5 spirits present in the building including himself.  He said that he was born in the 20th century and then that he died in 1914 and that he was a customer 'upstairs' (lots of contradictory answers given).  Cause of death was not established.  This man said that he moves items upstairs and in the bar.  We ask for him to make a noise in the bar and are immediately rewarded with 4 taps which were recorded.  We try to establish a first name and get the initial 'T' and that his first name is not a common one.  The alphabet is spoken out loud and interestingly the glass indicated 'no' when 'B' was said.  His surname was given as beginning with 'S' and given that the name Stewart had come up before we asked if that was his name, to which he replied 'yes'.  We established that this man had lived in Anstruther, went to Wade Academy, drank upstairs and that it was actually a brothel, had 3 children, but never married.  He also said that he was born in the 19th century which is not the answer given earlier, and confirmed that he was a 'pirate'.  He was asked if he was just messing us about at which time a loud 'grrrrrr' was recorded on audio but not heard at the time.  Later this spirit indicated that he had spoken to us just because we were there and not because he needed any help or had a message for anyone.  Additional information was given: he was buried in Anstruther in a family plot with a headstone, another spirit was with him (the mother of his children), and that he liked us but didn't like speaking to us.  Further questioning revealed that there was another male spirit present who had come with us to the Dreel and who we had been made aware of at another location and who didn't want anyone communicating with us.  The spirit we were communicating with indicated that this other man frightened him and he would like to stop the interaction with us which we were happy to do.
4. Some of the group then asked us if it would be possible to communicate with somebody that knew one of them rather than any spirit simply associated with the building so we said we would ask to see what would happened.  After asking, the glass immediately went towards Liz and Jeanette who then asks "is it Joe?".  When the glass indicated 'yes' to Jeanette's question, Katrina again emphasized the need to take the answers given with a pinch of salt as we do not truly know the source of the messages (Joe was Jeanette's husand who had sadly died at sea in the 1970s).  Tori decided it was time to come clean about some additional things she had 'picked up' during the investigation so far and before:

She had first seen Joe on the initail visit where he had shown himself to her as an outline of a figure and then sat with his arm around Jeanette to show her he was linked to Jeanette specifically and not to the building.  Before the investigation the name 'Joe' was shouted at her and she had initially thought that her attention should be with her own mother whose name is Jo.  However, the supplementary image of yellow waders like fishermen wear was given to her and convinced her it was Jeanette's husband.  It must be pointed out, however, that the team were told Jeanette's husband's name on the pre-investigation visit along with a brief summary of what had happened to him.  Tori felt that he was desperate to communicate and she had known that he would come through on the investigation.  She also thought that he had come through via automatic writing in the bar earlier as the writing had said "I will speak to you, J--".  Tori had deliberately not written the last word in case it caused upset.  She really felt that he was desperate to talk to Jeanette and had not wanted to miss the opportunity to do so.

Jeanette was asked to pose the questions to the glass and we would relay the answers to her which we did.  Several questions were asked about where he had lived, the name of his daughter, his age when he died etc.  We still do not know which of the answers were given correctly but Jeanette did say that most of it was right.  Some important pieces of information were answered incorrectly though, such as his mother's name and the name of the boat he was on.  When asked about his memory of events leading upto his death, Joe answered 'yes' to the question "do you feel we shouldn't ask that?"  Other general questions were asked while we had the opportunity, eg did he see the room as the living see it and the answer was 'yes'.  "Is it difficult to communicate in this way?" and the answer was again 'yes'.  We wondered if there could be some kind of time delay between us asking a question and the spirit hearing it and then being able to respond. This would have accounted for the wrong answers given previously but the reply to this was that there was no time delay in what they can hear.  The spirit calling himself Joe denied moving any items in the buiding but indicated that he knew who had been doing it and that this spirit was friendly, not harmful.  At one point in the proceedings we asked Joe to point with the glass to the area he was in and the glass moved towards Jeanette.  We asked if he would be able to make a noise in the room for us and a quiet tap was immediately heard in the corner near the window not far from where Jeanette was sitting.  

Jeanette initailly asked Joe if he was happy and he indicated that he was, but also that he was not at peace due to a concern about a family member.  He was also glad that Jeanette had moved back to Anstruther.  Jeanette asked if Joe was here to look after her and the answer was 'yes'.  When Natalie asked later if there was any further message the answer was 'no' just that he had wanted Jeanette to know that he was still here.  When Joe indicated that he no longer wanted to communicate we ended the session.  Jeanette said that she was convinced it had been Joe who had come through to speak and said that he had done so several times before.  We have asked permission to include this last part of the investigation and Jeanette was only too happy for us to write about it.

  

 

Most of the experiences from the investigation centred around feelings, impressions and the individual's perceptions.  There was no hard scientific evidence obtained but the investigation was nonetheless interesting and worthwhile.

We had wondered in the guest room why the wall where the shelving was appeared to be rounded and thought perhaps some old feature may have been built over.  The front of the pub seems to have been altered over time and some windows moved.  There was brickwork in the exact spot of the shelving/armchair which maybe points to a window or door having been there at one time.

Trigger Objects  None of the trigger objects had moved.

Audio Nothing unusual was captured on audio from the voice recorders left with the trigger objects which is probably just as well considering that the pub was still open and noise/voices coud be heard from downstairs.  Verifying any suspect voice would have been almost impossible in the given circumstances.  What is more interesting is the growling/sniggering heard by almost everyone in the bar, the strange 'grrrrr' noise recorded during glass divination which nobody apparently heard and the 4 taps which were conveniently heard after asking for a noise to be made.  Fortunately for the team, some members of staff were present including the pub's owner who were able to rule out certain noises or to tell us what noises were unusual and not normally heard in the bar.  We thought initially that the taps heard could have been caused by the fridge's motor but were soon told that the fridges were switched off.  Creaking and footstep type noises were heard from the far away part of the bar when the group was seated in the dining area.  Other loud noises were heard and caused alarm but were explainable - springs on Katrina's chair which had the habit of twanging now and again and were thought by the guests to be a musical instrument for a brief moment!  Also, a torch fell out of Katrina's coat pocket which was on the back of a chair to the floor with a loud clatter which made everyone jump!

1. There is a weird 'grrr' sound after Tori asks if the 'spirit' is taking the micky.  Nobody commented on it, so it can be assumed nobody heard it at the time (even the slightest noise was being commented on). 

2. There is a breathing/panting sound just audible on the recording but this appeared to be quite loud at the time to those present.  It was heard as a snigger or growl.  There is a voice in the background, too which is only just audible when amplified.

3. Four taps are immediately given as we ask for a noise to be made.

 

Visual Several photographs of orbs were captured in the dining area of the bar and not anywhere else but the possible reason being the coal fire has already been discussed.  Orbs were also filmed on the top floor and in the guestroom where they appeared to centre around one specific area of the room.  Nothing was filmed or photographed to account for other phenomena experienced such as the figure and flash of light seen in the bar or to show what had banged into Katrina's chair or touched Bozzie's arm.

Temperature the temperature throughout the night remained quite static and was quite warm.  No strange rises/drops in temperature were noted despite the feelings of those attending.

Glass Divination/Automatic Writing

Apart from Joe, there is no other alleged spirit who was identifiable.  Records for deaths in 1914 for Fife give 12 T. Stewarts as having died so in theory we could have contacted one of them but without further information it is difficult to say.  'Edward' was written by Tori but again there is not enough information.  The name 'Elizabeth M' certainly rang a bell with one of the guests as, unbeknown to Tori, it was in fact this guest's first name and initial of her surname!   We were told by Jeanette that a lot of the answers given by the spirit calling himself Joe were correct if it had been him but that others were wrong.  Since the team did not know anything about Joe apart from his name and the decade in which he died, we feel that this particular session was noteworthy.  If questions can be answered correctly about facts nobody touching the glass knows then it could point to proof for paranormal forces, whether this is 'spirit' involvement or telepathy between those partcipating and those observing.