Sheffield Paranormal Investigations

Abandoned house Coverdale Road Willesden - 18/03/1963. Brenda, Janice Strange noises, and lights. Voices heard in stables. My first ever real investigation, unless you include the bombed out building and Christies house when I was about eight and Mostyn Gdns when I was 13 (scary place). This was a large, detatched house with stables, apparantly abandoned. It really was a dream location for two psychic teenagers.

Poltergeist Activity, prefab Brondesbury park, London - June -December /1963. Brenda, Janice. Objects moving and flying across room, mumbling voices, toys starting up on their own, other noises. We tried all sorts of things to try and recreate the moving objects but could find no feasible explanation.

Railway Station, small village in Kent - Friday 9/06/1972. Brenda, Michael, Gerald. Arrived at the station at 1am (which seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere - there didn't seem to be any houses so why they would need a station is any ones guess). We were met by the Station Master, whose name was Jim, who told us about the spooky goings on along the line between his station and the next. After sorting the equipment we needed to take with us and locking the rest in the Station Masters box. We set off down the line towards the next station. We experienced the usual shadows and noises of the night but nothing unusual, apart from one spot where there seemed to be a real feeling of sadness (it wasn't exactly sadness but can't really desribe the feeling, maybe hurt describes it better) then fear, then total relief. We took photos (which yielded nothing), held a vigil, Gerald did some scientific tests but nothing unusual showed up. Again a few shadows but these could be attributed to imagination because of the feelings we were getting or just the fact it was early hours of the morning. I would like to add that both my companions were complete sceptics. We carried on to the next station where we met its Station Master, Brian, who told us that a man had thrown himself in front of a train at the spot where we had the feelings. The man was decapitated and they had to send out a team to search for his head which was found almost 4 miles away. We stayed at this station listening to the Station Masters' tales of life on the railway, we drank coffee and ate doughnuts. about 5.45am we made our way back up the track to the first station. Although we did not get much evidence of ghostly goings on it was an interesting night never the less.

Private House London - 13/04/1992 - Investigation team Bren, Dave, Trish. We were called to the house after reports of the lady of the house and her eldest child (a boy of 5) seeing a ghostly figure on a regular basis. When we arrived we checked out the whole of the house looking for areas where there might be signs of activity. The main areas seemed to be the childrens bedroom, the living room and garden with occasional sightings in the master bedroom. The boy, we will call him John, said that he had been poked and prodded by an old man. The younger child (also a boy) had been having disturbed sleep for several months and had been saying "Man, man". Although we spent several hours over a period of weeks sitting in vigil in the childrens bedroom and had a video camera running in the room for a month we did not find any evidence of activity in this area. A man was sited in the garden but we could not be 100% sure of this as it could have been a trick of the light. We did find a lot of fluctuations in temperature in the living room which could not be put down to normal causes as they were too erratic. On our second visit to the house we were rewarded when a toy car that had to be switched on to make it move starting moving on its own around the room, making a tooting sound. When it finally stopped after about 3 minutes we checked it and found that the switch that starts it was switched off, we tried various ways to recreate the incident but without any success. Conclusion: There did not seemed to be any signs of a definate haunting but there were certainly a couple of strange and unexplainable incidents.

Church Crypt London - 19/07/1994 - Investigation team Bren, Simon, Denise, Mike (sage). On entering the crypt all of the team felt a presence. Bren said she felt that children had been bought for a few shillings from a workhouse across the road (she pointed in the direction) and brought to the church to work. She said when they did not do as they were told they were put into a cell in the corner of the crypt and then the door was bolted from the outside. On moving some boxes this cell/room was found (with the outer bolt), there appeared to be scratches on the inside of the door; made by a child's finger nails? Bren said that children were sent from the workhouse to the Colonies. She picked up on an old school next door (which still exists). All members of the group felt a very strong link to Aleister Crowley and thought that there had been a black mass held in the crypt. Bren said she could see bodies laid out in rows along one side of the crypt but not in coffins, just covered, she thought it was 'wartime'. One side of the crypt appeared to be hazy and something seemed to be moving about although nothing was captured on the cameras or other equipment. The group sat in vigil for two hours. There were various noises like someone dragging something. Shadows, cold spots. A door creaked and there was definately no draught. The crypt was icy cold, but then again crypts usually are. Bren picked up on a priest who 'liked boys' and who later committed suicide because he could not live with the guilt. Upstairs a figure was seen by three of the team looking over the gallery. A skinny young boy was seen by Bren and Denise, he walked with a limp due to a twisted leg. He was given his keep for lighting the candles and tending to the altar.

The workhouse location was confirmed by a local historian and that children were shipped to the colonies and bought to work in the church. The priest story was also confirmed. It was also confirmed that the crypt was used to store bodies of bombing victims in the war.

There are in existance several photos that were taken by Simon, one of an orb is shown on our front page (courtesy of and copyright to Simon Weale © 1994. These photos were taken on film and had to be developed by the local chemist. PICTURE here

Galleries of Justice - 10/01/04 - Ghost Hunt Night (see link)

PENDLE HILL family day out and Investigation - Sunday 10th April 2005 - a great day was had by all exploring the hill, the graveyard, the surrounding area and the little gift shop with all the witches. The weather kept fine for us, we had a great picnic, we drove the witch trail, climbed the hill and also did an investigation in the evening.

HOOBER STAND SPECIAL AFTERNOON AND EVENING OUT, Follies, Evening meal and Karaoke - June 12th 2005 - We booked a private veiwing for the group at Hoober Stand, great building, lots of history and what a view from the top. After leaving Hoober we visited the Needles Eye folly and a tower and finished the evening with an excellent meal at the Miners Arms. This was followed by Karaoke a lot of the group got up to sing and everyone joined in. What a fantastic night.

Castle Howard - 23rd July 2005 - full investigation. .REPORT CAN BE FOUND HERE

Tontine Hotel Iron Bridge Shropshire - 1st October 2005 - full investigation.

We took a team of 12 to investigate reports of hauntings at this Shropshire hotel. We were a little disappointed to find that, although previously agreed, we would not be allowed to do a vigil in the cellar or the staffroom annex. We did however have access to rooms 5 and 9 and the function room. We did not find there to be much activity in the function room. In room 5 Brenda (who was working with group1) went into trance and channelled a man who had committed a murder, but believe this to be much earlier than Frank Griffin who is said to haunt this room. The 2nd group picked up on various spirits and had quite a lot of movement in room 9. There was an extremely 'heavy' feeling in room 5 and several of the group felt light headed and sick, but other than this there was no real evidence to back up the hauntings. Conclusion is that there are spirits in the hotel but these are recordings in time which did show up on camera or camcorder. But we will carry on searching in the hope of finding the 'ultimate proof'.

Private House, High Green, Sheffield   - 14/10/05 - full investigation.

Arrived 10pm. 3 bedroom 1950's privately owned house on main road. Team Bren, Mick, Gaz, Dave, Roy . Mick set up various trigger objects and beam barriers. He took baseline readings in all rooms. We set up video cameras and a 35mm camera on tripods. We took random photos with polaroid and digital cameras.

Mick had set up paper on cotton across stair well and this started moving slightly, but although we couldn't feel a breeze we could not dismiss the possibility. The lights flickered a little in the living room and the hallway a few times. The living room was on a dimmer switch. The hallway was on a normal on/off switch. The wiring didn't look to be in bad condition although some of it looked quite old. We did find that sound carried in the house. This was proved by Brenda having a conversation with Mick who she thought to be in the bedroom, but he was in fact talking to Roy in the room downstairs.

We carried out various vigils throughout the night both separately and as a group. Brenda and Dave both picked up on an old man that had lived in the house, he had a stroke and bad legs. Brenda also picked up on a little boy. We believe this to be 'residue' of people that had lived in the house. There was no real psychic activity during the night, although the light pull in the bathroom did start to swing at one point although no one had touched it. Not sure if it was a draught or not. As per usual there was a high EMF reading over the bed although there was no electric blanket or no apparent cause. We believe that the young lady who lives in the house could be a catalyst for the activity. We spoke to her and have decided that Mick and Brenda will revisit the house with her and see if anything happens when she is present.

Mick and Brenda returned to the house on 20/10/05 with the young lady and her boyfriend. From what we could see the young lady is opening herself up to the residual energies in the house which means that she is experiencing the presence of a man on the stairs. Because she is not an experienced medium she is unable to control the feelings that she is experiencing causing energy surges which could well be making objects move and lights flicker. Brenda coached her in the art of closing herself down and will be doing a follow up session to see if this is working.

Royal Oak Chesterfield home of the Crooked Spire a quaint 12th century public house - 22nd October 2005 .................. Full investigation - Report Here

Petty France, Gloucester The Manor House - 4th March 2006.......... What a very entertaining evening thankyou to Lynda, Gerry and Sally and all her Hen party friends.

Golden Fleece, Yorks most haunted public house - March 10th 2006 ......... A great strange public house .................Ghost Hunt Night

Manor Castle Sheffield - March 24th 2006......... Big thankyou to Kat for getting us this venue... Pity we didn't see Mary Queen of Scots but the evening was very intresting.

Sandal Castle, Sutton Scarsdale - 6th May 2006 Mick, Bren, Flashing Mike, Kat, John, Kirsty

Sheffield Fire Station Museum - June 3rd 2006 A great venue very active in certain areas. We won't print a full report at this stage as we are taking other groups and it would not be fair to influence them

Brenda has visited this site several times since over a period of several years but this was the first time with a large group. What a great venue. Excellent buffet and tour of the caves. We split into 2 groups and several people experienced the feelings of being watched or followed at various times and in several different parts of the caves. We had various shadows, lights etc. A young woman who died as a result of an incident in the caves was felt or seen by several people. Various other spirits were picked up on or channelled by the medium. Several people felt like they were being pushed backwards. Some felt nauseous and dizzy. In the early hours of Sunday morning we had the ultimate climax to the evening when we were 'visited' by something very unexpected where every one witnessed Brenda get possessed by a unknown demonic entity. Truely a very frightning night.. A  very entertaining evening. Lots of action.

Sheffield Fire station Museum - June 3rd, July15 and August 19th 2006

This has to be one of Sheffields most active buildings, To be locked in a haunted cell at midnight is something to experience. The upper floors have 3 spirits present one called Tom Courts who died of heartattack at the age of 57, retired early due to illness. We also picked up on the presence of a lady who hung herself in one of the upstairs dormatories. In the cells there is the presence of two spirits who were whitnessed by varoius members of our group. If anyone is intrested in a return visit please contact us.

Bolling hall GHOST HUNT NIGHT - August 12th 2006 - Members of another group were invited to join our guests on the Ghost Hunt Night

One of Bradfords oldest houses. The amount of activity in this very strangely built building is indescribeable I can see why none of the previous security guards would stop long when working here. Many strange noises, doors opening on their own, childrens laughter, many undescribeable shadows, smells. Anyone taking a visit with any ghost group will not be disapointed with this venue.

Guildhall Leicester GHOST HUNT NIGHT - Members of another group were invited to join our guests on the Ghost Hunt Night

Wonderful, old and very interesting building with a lot of history. Lee, our guide, was very informative and told us a lot of what had happened in the building previously.

Abandoned Hospital and Church Lincolnshire - Mar 31st 2007 PICTURES HERE

Private House Beighton - May 14th 2007

We were called in to investigate some strange findings and feelings in the house. There have been several people living in the house since it was built in the 1960's. The house was previously owned by a very religious black family who used psalms and pages from the bible to protect their home. These were put under the wallpaper. I have since found out that certain religions use this method not only to protect the home but also to guard against drug abuse and the use of pornography in their homes.
There appeared to be initials in blood under the carpet but these turned out to be a few small varnish drips that someone had used their finger to write in. The house itself did have a slightly negative feeling in certain areas, not surprising considering it is built on an area steeped in history next to a building that has been there in one shape or form since the 1200's, there has been at least one major disaster and possibly a battle fought near there.
The village itself seems to be situated on six ley lines which explains the 'whoosh' of energy experienced by the couple, which seemed to come up from the floor.
The couple and at least one of their children appear to be very psychic so therefore could be causing a portal to open to let certain energies in.
The added problem is that the family have been made more nervous by people telling them that there have been sacrifices made in their home and that the house is possessed by demons. I would like to stress at this point that the couple are quite level headed and dismissed this but you can see how if something like this is said it can stick in your mind and every little incident that occurs from then on will be accompanied by an "I wonder?"
There is, obviously, some degree of spirit presence in the home as would be expected from an area steeped in history. I am inclined to think that the lady of the house is quite a strong channel for spiritual energy but being scared stiff of seeing anything and being made even more nervous by would be D**** A*****'s / Witches has made the situation escalate.
We will be helping the couple through this with advice and any practical help that is needed.

© Copyright Brenda Diskin @ Spooktacula 2007

The Ball Inn Grimesthorpe Halloween Investigation for the Star Newspapers website - 28th October 2007 - Investigation team, Brenda, Elise, Bridget, Jill, Daniel and Richard from the Star who was recording the proceedings. The Star photographer turned up to take photo's. The evening was a bit influenced by the fact the pub was still open and noises heard could have been coming from the bar but never the less the team picked up on a little girl and a man with a leather apron who worked in the cellar. The footage was published on the Stars website

Old Post Office Derbyshire - 16th May 2008- REPORT CAN BE FOUND HERE

PICTURE badge found

RAF Holmpton - 6th June 2008- We joined Rotherham Ghosts on this investigation

REPORT CAN BE FOUND HERE

We did a full investigation of the property and found no evidence of any spirits in the house whatsoever (the local vicar also said the same when they called him in prior to our visit tonight).

We conclude that all the recent occurrences are due to an over imagination fuelled by inexperienced people claiming to be mediums who have made the couple very nervous (the wife being extremely frightened). All I can say is thank goodness for the new legislations and I would like to encourage people to ask to see the Medium's certificate of insurance before allowing them to enter their property.

Investigation of early Victorian back to back house in Sheffield - Saturday August 16th 2008. Investigation team Steve, Brenda and Cray (one of the resident's of the house. We were called to the house because a few of the residents were extremely disturbed by unseen footsteps and knockings on doors by unseen hands. One of the girls had even seen the reflection of a young man behind her in the bathroom, but when she turned around there was no one there. We arrived at the house just before 10pm. We thought we had gone to the wrong place because the area looked quite derelict. There were only two people present in the house when we arrived. The young woman, Becky, (who left for work about 10.30pm) told us that on several occasions she had experienced violent knockings on her room door when there was no one there. This seemed to have no pattern to it, just random. It was also this young lady that had seen the reflection of the young man.
Cray (the other person present) told us that whilst in the bath one night he heard footsteps coming, hesitantly, up the stairs. Because there was no one else in the house at the time he thought some one had broken in so he jumped out of the bath and ran down the stairs to see who was there but did not find anything.

The house comprised of four small early Victorian back to back houses knocked into one, with what was one a gennel running through the centre. This gennel would have originally run from one street (at the front of the house) to another at the back of the house.

There was a main staircase leading from the gennel which is now the hallway to the upper floors (three stories). There was a cellar which was blocked off. Two spiral staircases at the other side of the house which were enclosed in cupboards and unused.

We concentrated the investigations to the halls and stairs areas as these seemed to be the areas of most activity. There seemed to be a lot of activity in the hall/gennel area and all three of us saw a definite shadow of a figure in this area. A ghostly cat was seen on the stairs. Bren and Steve both picked up on a student who had accidentally overdosed on sleeping tablets. They both thought that he had probably resided in Becky's room, but did not actually die there. The noises on the stairs and the banging on Becky's door seemed to be people trying to rouse him. They also thought that the door had been broken down.

Although quite active the house had a good feeling about it.

An interesting evening.

The couple seemed to be very genuine and were quite distressed. The lady of the house said that she had felt a presence in the house which also seemed to be noticed by their cat and dog and a neighbours children. The man of the house has been experiencing troubled sleep (and sleepwalking) since knocking down a wall in the kitchen. A mirror has fallen from the living room wall for no apparent reason and a picture did the same thing in the hallway, both times the item fell straight down instead of forward. The man of the house told us that he has picked up on spirit in the past (whilst on holiday and visiting an old railway crash site) and has been very accurate with things he said. Brenda advised him on trying to close himself down as he is in a very susceptible state (being psychic and not sleeping properly).
Apparently whilst sleep walking he seems to be either very happy and playful or quite aggressive and swears (according to the lady of the house he is normally a very placid person). Some writing appeared on the bathroom door which both parties blamed the other for. This writing does not come off even with the strongest chemical cleaners being applied to it. The lady of the house said that she knew some of the history of the flat and previous tenant but Brenda requested that she did not elaborate at this stage, she was also asked not to state what had been said while her partner was sleep walking. The area of activity seemed to be concentrated around the hall, kitchen and living room area.

Brenda asked to use the bathroom before they started the investigation. When she returned she was asked if she felt any thing in the bathroom. She replied that a woman had died in there from an aneurism/heart failure and had been found slumped over the bath. Brenda said she liked 'busy' wallpaper. This was confirmed.

Brenda and Jill carried out Base line tests and established an area without any readings that they could use as the 'quiet zone' to see if anything registered on the equipment.
They dimmed the lights and sat quietly. A woman came through who asked for Charlie, she was followed by a man who said "Yon f***ing b*****d, why did you leave me. He kept repeating this. When Brenda came out of trance she was told what had happened and was also told that this was what the man of the house said when he was sleep walking.

Brenda went back into trance and a man came through saying he was Joe Johnson, he did not stay long and was replaced by the man who came through before. He was asked what happened to him and he replied, "The roof fell in" Jill asked if anyone else was trapped and he said "All out". He kept swearing and screaming to his brother (who he said was named Arthur) not to leave him. He was asked his name which he mumbled and was a bit incoherent. He was asked the year, "18" pause "73". He was asked the name of the colliery "Keevton" (we presume this was Kiveton as he had a bit of an accent). Jill asked if he lived on the site, "No", "Work" He was asked his age, "53". Jill asked his name, he replied quietly "John". He was asked his name again, he got quite frustrated and a little angry," John" pause "son".

Brenda came out of trance and they discussed what had occurred. Apparently there were coal shafts running below ground, beneath the buildings. Brenda told the couple that they were both quite 'sensitive' but in different ways. The lady was feeling the woman that had died in the house who was showing concern at the changes they were making to the décor. Whereas the man was channelling the male presence from the land during his sleepwalking state. Brenda believes that this male presence only wanted to let people know what happened to him and that things will hopefully calm down now that this has happened. Brenda asked the man of the house to persist with closing himself down at least until his health improves.

From records of coal mining deaths for the year 1873 at Kiveton Park Colliery we found this recorded incident.

Name: MARRIOTT John
Age: 53
Date: 24/12/1873
Year: 1873
Occupation: Collier
Colliery: Kiveton Park
Owner: Kiveton Park Coal Co
Town: Sheffield
County: Yorkshire
Notes: Fall of coal.

Investigation of flat on site of a 16th Century Estate in Sheffield - Friday September 5th 2008. Investigation team Brenda, Jill, Ken

This investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of events that occured in the 17th Century. We are still making enquiries and the results of these enquiries and investigations will be included in a book.

Sheffield Parkway Club Gala Bingo - Wednesday April 22nd 2009. Investigation team Brenda, Mikey, Steve, Bridgette, Various members of the public and staff of Gala Bingo. Charity event for Sue Ryder Charity. What an amazing evening this was with the venue being a lot more active then you would first imagine. All the team members (independently) picked up on a man who had his right hand cut off in some machinary. Brenda said at one point she felt like she was walking through a tunnel and wading through water. Various members of the public saw shapes moving about in various parts of the building and we had a mysterious stranger who we all thought was Mikey in his SPI hoody but Mikey was at the back of the crowd at the time. Unfortunately, although it was a really great event, none of us hit the jackpot.!!!!!!

Various Sites in Angelsey and North Wales - Saturday 23rd May - Thursday 28th May 2009. Investigation Team Mick and Brenda. Beaumaris gaol, Flint Castle, Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber, Din Lligwy Ancient Settlement, Bodowyr, Chapel and Burial Chamber Din Lligwy

Back after absence due to family illness

Preliminary Investigaton Sheffield City Centre pub - Thursday 14th October 2010 - investigation team -Brenda, Ken Billingham

Hallowscream, Concord Sports Centre - Saturday 30th October 2010 - investigation team - Bren, Mick, Keith, Jon, Denise, Gareth and members of the public - after a problem with the oven not browning the pies, lots of electrical hitches and complaints from several churches the evening turned out to be quite a good one with about 60 people attending. Apparantly the trance was quite productive. TRANCE RECORDING HERE

Old Spanish Shrine Cheshire Investigation - Sunday 10th July 2011 - Brenda, Mick. PHOTOS HERE

Travellers pub, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 26th July 2011 7.00pm

Timbertop pub, Readings - Tuesday 2nd Aug 2011 6.00pm

Divine Service, Sands of Time Denaby - Sunday 7th August 2011 7.30pm

Bolingbroke Castle, 3 Bunkers, Old church, museum - Thursday 11th - Sunday 14th August 2011 - Bren and Mick. Interesting audio footage and some great photos PHOTOS HERE

Psychic Supper Deep Trance Demonstration Ridgeway - Saturday 3rd Sept 2011 8.30pm

Hatfields pub, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 6th Sept 2011 7.00pm

The Corner Pin pub, Psychic Evening - Thursday 8th Sept 2011 7.00pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Black Swan Inn - Saturday 10th September 2011 7.30pm

Yellow Lion pub, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 20th Sept 2011 7.00pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Old Lodge Malton - Friday 23rd September 2011, 7.30pm - 9.00pm

The Cumberland pub, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 27th Sept 2011 7.00pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Kingston Upon Thames Spiritualist Church - Friday 30th September 2011 7.00pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Ilkley - Friday 7th October 2011 7.00pm

Public House Investigation, public house (H) Sheffield - Monday 10th Oct 2011 11.30pm

Romans Rest, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 11th Oct 2011 7.00pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Holistic Centre Loughborough - Friday 14th October 2011 7.30pm

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration Vine Spiritual Centre Nottingham - Monday 17th October 2011 7.00pm

Marquist, Psychic Evening - Monday 24th Oct 2011 7.00pm

Highwayman, Psychic Evening - Tuesday 25th Oct 2011 7.00pm

Evening of Clairvoyance, Birstall - Wednesday 26th Oct 2011 7.00pm

Whitby Goth Fest Special Camping Weekend - Saturday & Sunday 29th & 30th October 2011

Halloween Special Red Lion Grenoside - Monday 31st October 2011 - An evening of entertainment including Historical talk on the area, Halloween games, Clairvoyant/photo/psychometric demo, intuitive tarot workshop, Deep trance/cabinet demo.

Experimental Deep Trance Demonstration and talk, Stepping Stones, Ilkeston Road, Heanor, Derbyshire DE75 7AG - Friday 4th November 2011 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Psychic Fayre Timbertop Shirecliffe - Sunday 6th Nov 2011 2.00pm - 6.00pm. Readers, Therapists, Sellers, demos.

Cocktails & Screams 'Dark Nights' Halloween event Wath and West Melton - Wednesday 31st October 2012 - Team Mick, Brenda and various members of the public. Table tipping, mini investigation, Victorian style seance. We have been asked back this year.