Garlieston Straight Investigation – Second Visit
Saturday 10th January 2009

Another cold, wet night awaited us on our return trip to Garlieston - strong bitter winds combined with heavy showers of rain. We felt encouraged by our previous encounters on this reputedly haunted stretch of road, yet conscious that nothing is ever certain when it comes to investigating the paranormal. On the whole, we were optimistic about the night that lay ahead (despite the unfavourable weather conditions!) however Derek felt that it would be a quiet night with very little, if anything unusual to report. Reluctant to dampen our spirits, he kept this feeling to himself until after the event.

Penkiln Farm Road-End

Having parked up our car in a drive at the Garlieston end of the Straight, the team headed out into the wild, blustery night to see if they could pick up on anything. We had just commenced our walk up through the tunnels of trees, when we reached the clearing on the right-hand side of the road. This is where Derek had sensed something during our original visit to the area. He informed us that he was getting a strange sensation similar to that experienced on previous investigations - the knowledge that someone/something is there, but you can’t see it. John took some camcorder footage as we walked along.

We stopped around where Derek had his experience and then turned to go back to the car. On the return trip, Derek picked up on the sensations and decided to venture a short way into the woods, where he discovered a pond. The rest of the team joined him and Kathleen suggested that we spend a little time ‘asking’ the spirits. We recognised immediately there were restrictions upon us, what with the wind and cold, but gave it a try. Nothing unusual happened.

We headed to the shelter of our car and on the way heard a distinct and repetitive sound which was like flapping or tapping. We looked through the trees, but could see nothing. As we got closer to where the car was parked, Kathleen wondered if it might be plastic sheeting blowing in the wind as there was a new house being built close by. We discovered this to be the case and could clearly see the sheeting around the windows being buffeted by the icy wind.

Kilsture Forest Road-End

The team sat in the car for several minutes before the evening took an unexpected twist. Out of the blue, Derek got a feeling of someone or something saying “Go away!” Kathleen became briefly unnerved and after taking a moment to write notes, asked out to any spirits present if they still wanted us to leave, offering reassurance throughout. John noted that although he felt calm, it was quite strange. He was also a bit lost for words. The group continued with their invitations and this time Derek got the word “Go” in his mind.

Mary suddenly became quite upset and commented on the despairing feeling that had almost overwhelmed her. She was a little tearful and said she had the impression of a girl. This only lasted a couple of minutes but we recognised that she had felt this before in the same area.

Vigil Recommences

Almost straight away, Derek confirmed that he still felt the man was around and through further questioning, we began to unravel more. From the information Derek was receiving, it transpired the man viewed this area as ‘his place’ and that he knew of the girl but was not prepared to tell us anything about her. At one point when we respectfully challenged the man, Derek immediately responded to it by exclaiming ‘None of your business!’

We continually reassured the man and showed appreciation of his efforts to communicate with us through Derek, but without hesitation and before the questions were complete, Derek told us the man believed he was not talking through him.

From the outset, the team were astounded by what was happening, particularly as this type of communication was completely new to us. We were determined to use the unique opportunity which presented itself to glean as much information as possible from the mysterious source.

As time passed, more strange occurrences were taking place. Mary sensed the name Alice in her mind and the age of ten years old. The man, although reluctant to help, told us that this was not her name. He also admitted he was trying to scare us when we first arrived but realised his attempts weren’t working, however he still wanted us to leave. He questioned why we wanted to be here, which we explained fully, in terms of the various sightings and unusual experiences people had reported.

The man seemed sure that the young girl would not talk to our group, in fact she didn’t care as she was completely unaware of us. We tried to establish who the man was and what time he came from. Derek got ‘1870’s’ and that the girl was happy, although he didn’t know what time she was from, only that she came from before him. We wondered what the man’s name was and Derek expressed that just before we had said this, he got impressions of the name Albert and that he had worked around the area. ‘Albert’ explained that the girl was with him and that she could not see us, he added ‘they’ are all together and aware of each other – it doesn’t matter that they are not all from the same time.

Derek confirmed to us that he wasn’t actually hearing a voice and found it very difficult to describe, due to the bewildering nature of his experience. It was like impressions of words in his mind and of course, the face which accompanied them.

As Derek had previously picked up a presence at the other road-end, we asked Albert if he knew who that was, but simply got ‘No’. He continued to say he had died aged 52 (although Derek observed he looked much older), described the girl as ‘Cute’ (which we commented on as being an unusual word for those times) and that only some of ‘them’ can see ‘us’.

During the communication, Kathleen said that we didn’t doubt Albert was there, only to be interrupted straight away by Derek, who commented that as soon as Kathleen began to speak, he got ‘I’m not here!’ We attempted to gain more information, with the aim of helping us to prove Albert’s identity – he said he couldn’t read, his second name was Johnstone, he worked as a farm labourer and had lived locally in a tied cottage. Mary began to get an image of such a cottage in her mind and described it as being similar to a ‘butt and ben’. Albert had no family and when asked of his health prior to passing, said he had ‘Just died’.

Mary sensed that the figure of an older woman was walking up the road wearing a long skirt and felt the need to keep looking out for her.

Shortly after, Derek asked us if anyone was thinking of a question to ask and John said he was wondering if Albert had ever shown himself to anyone else, however Albert said he couldn’t help us. We then invited him to ask us a question, but the immediate response was ‘Leave the child alone!’ Kathleen checked with Albert if he understood we would never harm her, to which he replied that she was happy. Albert then made a rather thought-provoking comment, stating that he was not really there. We quickly attempted to ascertain what he meant by that, but Albert only said that he was there, but not there, which left us to further contemplate.

We switched to camcorder for the remainder of our highly eventful vigil. Kathleen remarked on the lack of footage we had taken outside due to the adverse weather and Derek suddenly picked up from Albert that ‘You can’t change things’. He went on to say that they had already happened and had been done. We noted Albert was now coming in when none of us were asking questions. Derek continued to receive communications from Albert who stated that ‘What’s happened has happened’. Kathleen explained that although we were all from different times, the fact people continued to see/sense the wee girl, made her story current in our time.

It was clear that Albert believed our team wanted to change things somehow and despite repeated reassurance to the contrary, his belief remained. We persisted with respect and asked why spirits, including himself came to the area and Albert stated that it was where they wanted to be, in a place that they knew. John came back to the subject of altering events from the past, asking why would anyone want to do that. From Albert’s answers, it appeared that he didn’t know an awful lot about the wee girl, only that she was there. It was very apparent to us that Albert viewed himself as being in a protective role where the girl was concerned. He continually resisted our attempts to communicate with the child and at no point volunteered any information that could identify her. One thing for certain, is that he thought she was happy. He went on to say that the girl was unaware of us and there was no need for her to know about our presence.

Kathleen asked Albert if she was with her parents, but discovered that she was alone and had no other family around. Mary referred to her intense feelings of sadness earlier in the night, wondering if she had picked them up from a source other than the girl. Albert didn’t know and said that her parents were in a ‘different place’.

John stated that he was thinking of what to ask next and Albert came in abruptly with ‘Why?’ John elaborated that it was the first time he had ever communicated with a person from the spirit world and asked Albert if he had spoken with any others previously. Albert replied ‘Most people leave!’ Kathleen acknowledged our persistence and along with John reinforced our interest in Albert and his world. John then asked Derek if he was okay and he responded, saying he was numb and added ‘It’s true’. We were unsure as to what the last bit meant. Derek then said that Albert had to go. Kathleen asked if Albert could allow us to hear his voice, perhaps through one of our recorders. Albert’s final comment was that he didn’t understand how Derek could hear him. We thanked Albert one last time.

Penkiln Farm Road-End

After the highly compelling experience the team had shared, we decided to return to the Penkiln area, sit and compose ourselves for five minutes, then go back to Kilsture for a final short vigil before heading home to Dumfries. We had only been there a very short time, when we all jumped out of our skin! For some reason, the central locking on the car kicked in, making that unmistakable clunking sound. As our emotions (and nerves) were on overdrive, it affected us quite decisively and we all wanted to get away from the place. We checked the actual locks and it turned out that only three of them were in the locked position, with Mary’s door still open. She is unable to completely discount the possibility that she lifted it back up during the panic, but it seems unlikely. Kathleen asked Derek if there were any other factors that may cause the system to come on, but he couldn’t think of anything. He described how a person would have to push in the small button on the key, but he is pretty certain that did not happen. Either way, every door should have locked. Again, the team recognise that any mechanised system may appear to react in a spontaneous manner, but there could well be an underlying cause that only someone with specialist knowledge of the machinery would know of.

A newly built house stands eerily empty at the Penkiln road-end

Kilsture Forest Road-End

After leaving the last spot at speed, we only stopped very briefly at Kilsture. The whole team felt shaken and were now uncomfortable at this location. We decided to head off home and were glad to get out onto the main road!

Please Note: No members of our group have ever ‘communicated’ with spirits in this way or profess to have any mediumistic abilities, however we do recognise that everyone has some degree of sensitivity which may be triggered by numerous variables. The team explored potential explanations for what happened but were unable to find any other answers. Following the investigation, Derek felt very indifferent and detached regarding that particular episode of the night. He commented on the fact that when the rest of the team spoke of it, he felt like he hadn’t even been there. He also noted a very unusual sleep when he returned home after the investigation. He described it as if he were ‘turned off’ for six hours, which he says is very unusual. He cannot remember moving around, dreaming etc, only blackness. Having discussed and explored the situation numerous times, the team conclude that something out of the ordinary did occur which appeared to involve the spirit of a man named Albert, who for some reason, was able to communicate through Derek. We share total trust with each other and feel privileged that we experienced this unique encounter.

Subsequent historical research does not place an Albert Johnstone in the area around the dates provided, but he may have moved around as a farm worker between censuses. The only person who shared the name was found in the Wigtownshire records, born at Penninghame, Newton Stewart in 1899.

Regarding the central locking experience, we later discovered that there is another way of activating it. A button/switch is placed near the handbrake and we cannot fully rule out that one of us accidentally pressed it.