Granton House, formerly a grand hotel near Moffat, was apparently struck by lightning in 1997, causing a devastating fire that gutted the building; it now stands overgrown with trees and shrubs in a ruinous and precarious state. Again, it was our friend Sharon, who brought the remains of this beautiful old mansion to our attention. On a visit to the house, Sharon thought she heard a woman’s voice at the top of the stairs; she looked all around to source an explanation and found nothing. On Saturday 13th October, the Mostly Ghostly Team accompanied by our two guests, Sharon and Steven, conducted a preliminary investigation of the house. Within its terribly smoke and fire damaged walls were many traces of times gone by; children’s toys were strewn around downstairs along with photos, tapes and an old telephone switchboard - in their own way, ghosts of Granton House. Intrigued by the voice Sharon had picked up we focused our visit on the downstairs area, taking lots of pictures, camcorder and Dictaphone footage. There was a strange stillness to the place, not least because of its state. We found it eerily similar to another location we’ve investigated – Carnsalloch House.
During our time in this area, John picked up on the name ‘Marie’ so we ‘asked out’ to this spirit person. Billy felt really uneasy for a good few minutes, the feeling had come out of nowhere. Steven also felt on edge. A couple of distinctive thuds were heard. Up around the entrance area, we heard another thud and decided to go back down to where the action was taking place. Steven suddenly felt sick and went outside to get some air; although he’d been in the place many times before, this had never happened. Kathleen and Sharon reported hearing a murmur, like a male voice, they couldn’t make out any words. Mary picked up on feelings of sadness and Billy’s heart felt like it was beating out of his chest…
We plan to return to Granton in the future and are always on the look out for new and interesting places to investigate. We are keen for any web visitors who know anything about this fascinating building or indeed any other allegedly haunted places in Dumfries and Galloway to come forward. We continue to be vigilant in sourcing rational explanations before drawing an unexplained conclusion.
Our pre-investigation visit to Granton was featured in last week’s Dumfries Courier, Annandale Herald, Annandale Observer and Moffat News as part of a special Mostly Ghostly double-page Halloween feature - our thanks go to Rod Edgar and the DNG Media team.
DNG Media Mostly Ghostly Feature
Please note: Granton House is on the Buildings At Risk Register and is in an extremely ruinous state with extensive fire damage to consider. Care must be taken and if visiting, we would recommend you go during daylight hours taking the necessary safety precautions e.g. sensible clothing, footwear and torches.
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Located around six miles south of Moffat, the atmospheric ruins of Lochwood Tower (or Castle) stand in a wooded area surrounded by ancient oak trees, some of which are said to be 1000 years old. Lochwood, seat of the Johnstone family, dates back to around the middle of the 15th Century, although a fortification occupied the area close-by during the 1200′s. Like many castles, Lochwood has witnessed its share of unrest through the centuries and in 1585, was attacked and burnt by the Maxwell family.
It is said that the Laird of Johnston affixed the head and right hand of Lord Maxwell to the battlements of Lochwood Tower as bloody trophies of the Johnston’s’ overwhelming victory at the Battle of Dryfe Sands (taken from http://87.194.152.30/public_html/johnstonindex.html).
Lochwood first came to the attention of Mostly Ghostly Investigations when a lady contacted the team to share an extremely unnerving experience. Sharon told us that she had visited Lochwood with her family on a pleasant, clear afternoon to take a look round. As she wandered around the outside of the castle, she spotted a window and had a look inside. “I got a huge sense of uneasiness and could see in my minds eye a large dark figure with glowing red eyes and that this figure was watching us intently.” Sharon couldn’t face going inside the tower, there was an overwhelming sense that the presence didn’t want them there. This is when things became increasingly frightening; “When we were walking round the tower to head back to the car I felt something grab my neck and the grip tightened followed by a sharp pain at the right hand side of my neck, I quickened the pace back to the car and once inside I felt absolutely fine.” She bravely returned a few weeks after the attack (physical/psychical) and although nothing untoward happened, she still felt unwelcome.
Another interesting story relating to Lochwood concerns a group of builders. Apparently the builders in question were paid to brick up the entrance to the castle dungeon and were told in no uncertain terms not to work alone. It is said that they were told to keep things quiet – an eerie mystery or just a case of health and safety?
On Saturday 13th October, Mostly Ghostly made an initial visit to Lochwood along with their two guests, Sharon and Steven. After getting our bearings and having a look round, Sharon, who was standing outside on the wall facing the castle, said she could sense a presence on the other side of one of the castle’s window, not doing anything, just watching us. She felt it was a male figure wearing a hooded cloak; it felt like they were looking then stepping to the side so as not to be seen in a furtive manner. A short time later, she picked up the horrible feeling of being watched and a feeling of dread. Within the actual castle, we invited communication and various noises were heard, including a rumbling sound, similar to a barrel being rolled across the floor. Although most sounds were easily explained, a few of them left us wondering. We plan to re-visit the castle in the near future to carry out a full paranormal investigation…
Our pre-investigation visit to Lochwood was featured in this week’s Dumfries Courier, Annandale Herald, Annandale Observer and Moffat News as part of a special Mostly Ghostly double-page Halloween feature - our thanks go to Rod Edgar and the DNG Media team.
Please note: The castle is in a ruinous state with loose masonry, dampness and other potential hazards to consider. Care must be taken and if visiting, we would recommend you go during daylight hours taking the necessary safety precautions e.g. sensible clothing, footwear and torches.
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Mostly Ghostly recently celebrated Dumfries Theatre Royal’s 220th anniversary with a sell-out Haunted Theatre Tour. There was fun, laughter and chills galore as we led our intrepid group behind the scenes of Scotland’s oldest working theatre…
The Theatre Royal in Dumfries has consistently proved fruitful in terms of ghostly activity, both on our paranormal investigations and Haunted Theatre Tours. In a recent press release, Kathleen stated; “We are amazed by the diverse reports from participants on our tours. We hoped people would find our Theatre Tour entertaining and memorable, perhaps with a few eerie encounters along the way; however the level of activity has exceeded anything we could have anticipated.”
This was certainly the case on Saturday 29th September when we received all manner of spooky reports from our guests which stirred up plenty of interest, conversation and for one young man, a real scare!
There is a particular staircase within the Theatre that is well known for strange occurrences. When Mary, James and Billy were just beginning their presentations, the young man in question became very frightened when an unseen force touched him on the hand. The man was clearly shaken up by his experience and checked that no-one around him had been responsible for the unnerving incident. When asked about the feeling, he explained to the team he had felt pressure on his hand, almost like someone had squeezed it. He made the following brief statement “Something/someone grabbed my hand on the stairs. I was scared.” As yet, we have no explanation for this.
This was by no means a solitary occurrence; we were intrigued to hear unusual reports from some of our other guests during the tour. Following a trip to the Upstairs Dressing Rooms, a man named Ian told the team “I felt nauseous while in the dressing room and tight across my chest (2nd dressing room) soon as I left that area I was fine again.” As we left this area and headed towards our next location, one of our participants heard something strange; Nadine told the team “When coming down stairs from dressing rooms heading to the basement, I distinctly heard a knocking noise behind a wall on the stairs.” Meanwhile, Group B were up on the balcony when a young man called Matthew had an experience in the ‘haunted seat‘, “When I sat in seat number 9 on the third row I thought I felt light headed and had a tight chest.”
During our interactive stage experiment, a young lad was asked to give a whistle in order to trigger a response. This is a technique we have used with some success during our paranormal investigation work. It gave us all quite a surprise when a clear whistle was heard! It was hard to pinpoint where the sound was coming from and of course, we can’t rule out rational explanations, however this created a bit of a buzz and sixteen people raised their hands as witnesses to the event.
As a final touch to celebrate the day, we presented a delicious chocolate birthday cake in the Hopkin Room, which needless to say was enjoyed by all! Our guests kindly filled out comments cards, had a good blether with the team and each other and shared some of their personal stories. We even had several enquiries for a longer event which would allow people to spend more time carrying out vigils and learning about the Theatre. This seems to be a recurring theme and in response, we are planning a future Mostly Ghostly Presents… Paranormal Event, a follow-up to our 2009 debut.
Going by the feedback we gathered verbally and in written form (see examples below), we came away feeling the tour had been a fantastic success. We were delighted to welcome such a lovely, enthusiastic group and quite simply, we couldn’t have asked for a finer evening!
“Super night. Well done Mostly Ghostly Team!” Tela, Dumfries
“Throughly enjoyed the evening, very interesting. Have also enjoyed the ghost walks.” Nicola, Dumfries
Very enjoyable evening – thank you! Sharon, Lochmaben
Our warmest thanks go to all our participants, the Theatre Staff and in particular, the one and only Mr. Alan Henry, for his continued support, energy and dedication on the Dumfries Ghost Walk and Haunted Theatre Tour
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Are you looking for exciting Halloween Events in Dumfries? Do you enjoy tales of ghosts, hauntings and history with a distinctly dark flavour? If so, please read on…
We’re fast approaching our favourite time of the year - Halloween - when the misty veil between our world and that of the spirits is said to be at its thinnest…This date also signals in a double celebration for Mostly Ghostly Investigations; Wednesday 31st October marks our 4th anniversary as it was on this date in 2008, following a year of research, that we officially launched our paranormal investigation team. Fast forward to 2010 which saw the launch of the Dumfries Ghost Walk with two sell-out tours - a night we will never forget! So what’s happening with Mostly Ghostly for Halloween 2012?
We invite you to join your trusty guides on All Hallows Eve for not one, but two of our acclaimed Dumfries Ghost Walks! Led by three real-life paranormal investigators, all with their unique style of storytelling, you will trawl the hidden closes and vennels of dark Dumfries, learning about its grisly ghoulish past…For an added twist, why not get into the spirit and create a creepy pumpkin or classic ’tumshie’ lantern to add an eerie glow to the proceedings. and if you feel inclined, dig out a costume and celebrate our anniversary fancy-dress style! A prize will be awarded for the best character along the theme of ‘Ghosts, Ghouls, Murder & Witchcraft‘ (fancy dress optional).
The walks leave Midsteeple, Dumfries at 7pm and 9pm on Wednesday 31st October and tickets are available from the Midsteeple Box Office or by phoning 07791 047835 or 07912 145865. You can also check out our Booking section for more info.
Colvend WRI
On Tuesday 9th October, Kathleen, John, James and Mary visited Colvend Public Hall to give a talk (booked over a year ago!) to the Colvend Women’s Rural Institute. We were given a warm welcome by all the ladies, over 30 in total. In the first instance, a table in the corner of the hall caught our eye and placed upon it, were a weird and wonderful selection of fruit and vegetable Halloween lanterns! Next up, we had to judge the lanterns along with flowers and home-made parkin; it was very tricky indeed, as everyone’s contributions were to such a high standard. Following much deliberation, we made our selections before taking a seat - we had asked for the chairs to be placed in a circle, as if around a campfire so everyone could see each other.
This was our first talk where a microphone had to be used and Kathleen opened the presentation, sharing a bit of the team’s background. We spoke for just over an hour, giving the ladies an insight into many of our paranormal investigations including Dumfries Theatre Royal, Garlieston Straight Road and Lochmaben Castle. We were given a hearty applause at the end and one of the members proposed a lively and humorous vote of thanks. Afterwards, we all chatted with the ladies, and gathered a few new stories along the way. It was an added bonus to see a couple of people who have previously attended our Dumfries ghost tours. Leaflets and cards were handed round and a grand night seemed to be had by all!
Our sincerest thanks go to Jean Marchbank for organising the talk and to all the ladies who made us feel so welcome and showed so much interest and enthusiasm on thie night.
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Doors Open Days 2012 - Mostly Ghostly Tours of Old Dumfries
I felt a sense of anticipation as I pulled back the curtain on the morning of Saturday 29th September – would the weather be kind to us for our first Doors Open Days ghost walk or were we destined to be drookit? Normally this wouldn’t have mattered that much but with a Haunted Theatre Tour on the very same evening, we didn’t want to appear like a bunch of bedraggled wraiths! As it stood, we couldn’t have asked for better; the skies were blue and the sun shone down. We wondered what challenges we may encounter taking a group round Dumfries Town Centre while the shops were still open and with the Rood Fair in full swing on the Whitesands; it was to be a new experience for us all. At 4pm we arrived at the Midsteeple and were joined by Aaron Edgar, Doors Open Days Co-ordinator and a mixed group of participants, including a few extra folk who had turned up on the day. It was wonderful to see that lots of young people had joined the tour, and we hoped they would find it of interest.
There’s no doubt the darkness adds an atmospheric edge to our Dumfries ghost walks and in its absence, the storyteller’s skill is even more pivotal in setting the scene. We are pleased to say, going by the feedback gathered on the way round, that we achieved this, giving people plenty of dramatic, haunting and thought-provoking content. It’s always encouraging when you see folk huddled together arm in arm, psyching themselves up for what’s to come…
On our way to the Whitesands, I chatted with three wee lads about the ghosts of Dumfries when one of them, who looked about 9 or 10 years old, said how much he was enjoying the walk and that he was having a very interesting day. We’re keen to promote local history with children and young people and were delighted with his comment.
As the fair was in situ, we had selected an alternative location for our final presentation and crossed the Old Bridge. We stood in a rather scenic and sheltered position next to Old Bridge House. We were lucky with our timing as the fair had lulled and caused little in the way of interference. The final story always causes a powerful reaction which was clear to see on people’s faces.
Now to Sunday; the day began very differently and was bleak, windy and rainy. However, by the time we arrived at the Midsteeple at 3pm, it had transformed into a beautiful warm afternoon. Once again, we were welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd on the Plainstanes who we enjoyed a good blether with between locations. It also became apparent we had two very nervous young ladies on the tour, however after a bit of reassurance, they began to relax a bit. You can never tell how people will react on the ghost tour; some are laid back, taking it all in their stride right through to those who experience out-and-out terror with everything inbetween!
Whilst talking with participants, they commented on e.g. our knowledge of Dumfries history, recognising it took alot of work to develop a ghost tour of Dumfries, the walk was packed with information and they liked gaining access to a historic building along the route. Certain people mentioned feeling e.g. horror/revulsion at the way people were treated in times gone by, in particular those accused of witchcraft, and felt it was important to remember these periods of history and those involved. In some cases, people who had lived in the area all their lives discovered new places; a comment that comes up regularly on the tour. Perhaps one of the best compliments we received was our walk being described as a ‘great tourist attraction for Dumfries‘.
Before we close this week’s blog, we’d like to share a couple of quotes received via e-mail from Doors Open Days participants;
“Just to say how much we enjoyed the ghost tour. It was very interesting and excellently presented.” Paisley Couple
“Your website is great and the tours are amazing I never thought that Dumfries has so much history loved to go round again and again. I shall tell my friends about it i’m sure they will find it amazing I would love to go again” Emily, Dumfries
Thanks to everyone who attended our Doors Open Days urban ghost tour of Dumfries and for their questions, comments and encouragement, also to Jean Atkin and Aaron Edgar for their support with the organisation and ultimately for inviting us to take part in the event.
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Ghostly Guides On Display…
As you may have read in a recent post, we’ve been working with Fife artist, Mike Inglis on his Devorguilla Street Shrines Project. Our role has mainly consisted of assisting Mike with his historical research, in particular, the story of the lives and characters behind one of his physical shrines. Mike subsequently invited Kathleen and John to take part in the ‘paper shrines’ element of his project. This involved taking photographs of the two dressed in their Dumfries Ghost Walk garb, to be transformed into paper art works and displayed on the walls of a building or wee vennel somewhere in Dumfries, along with several other people who Mike views as ‘custodians’ of the town. Mike often adapts the model’s outfits by filling them with patterns and textures from their surroundings e.g. replacing a jacket’s material with patterned brickwork from a historic building in Dumfries. We felt honoured to be asked and can’t wait to see the finished artworks along with the main shrines when Inbetween: Dumfries opens on 5th November 2012.
On another note, we were delighted to welcome Mike on one of our summer ghost walks. Mike thoroughly enjoyed his trip around the shadowy streets and hidden closes of dark Dumfries, describing our tour as “The perfect blend of the paranormal with local history.”
Thanks to Mike for allowing us to be involved with this innovative project and for his encouraging comments.
Ladies Who Lunch
On Thursday 6th September, John and Kathleen arrived at the Station Hotel in Dumfries to give a talk to the Ladies Luncheon Club. We were given a warm welcome by Karine McDowell, President of Dumfries & District Ladies Luncheon Club who introduced us to some of the members. There was a great turn-out with around 35 ladies present. We spent time chatting with people before the meal and everyone made us feel very relaxed. We enjoyed a delicious lunch, coffee and good conversation before taking to the floor and beginning our presentation. We covered all manner of subjects, from our early beginnings through various investigations, experiences and subsequent tour ventures. The time was gone before we knew it, leaving us with lots to cover, possibly at another meeting. We would like to thank Karine and all the ladies for their warmth, hospitality, interest and support and hope to meet up with them again sometime.
Haunted Theatre Tour A Sell-Out!
There’s only a few days left until our next Haunted Theatre Tour and we are thrilled to announce the event has completely sold out! Our press release was featured in the Dumfries & Galloway Standard and Dumfries Courier last Friday which has created even more interest. With that in mind, we’ll be getting our heads together and confirming another date very soon so watch this space! Also, if you’d like to put your name on the reserve list, please contact us direct. Saturday’s tour will see the 220th anniversary of Dumfries Theatre Royal and we are all excited about celebrating this special day in Dumfries’ history along with a group of 32 daring participants – see you there!
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Hello everyone and welcome to Mostly Ghostly’s latest blog covering all the news from Dumfries and Galloway’s first paranormal team…
Doors Open Days 2012
With less than two weeks till Doors Open Days 2012 kicks off in Dumfries & Galloway, we are thrilled to announce that both our tours are fully booked! Thanks to everyone who has made enquiries through the Catstrand and to the 50 lucky participants who secured their places. If you’ve not already seen the DOD Brochure, we encourage you to take a look and with so many interesting places to explore over the weekend of 29th/30th September, you’ll be spoilt for choice!
Venues include; Wigtown Martyrs’ Trail and Martyrs’ Cell, Moat Brae House, National Museum of Costume and The Old School. Have fun and should you come across any ghostly tales or experiences along the way – please let Mostly Ghostly know!
Haunted Theatre Tour
In addition to Doors Open Days, we are running a Haunted Theatre Tour on Saturday 29th September - the 220th anniversary of Dumfries Theatre Royal opening - it’s going to be a packed weekend for sure! Tickets are selling well and we can’t wait to get back inside this hugely atmospheric building for another ghostly tour. Past events have seen a number of people coming forward with Eerie Encounters – will the big anniversary trigger anything supernatural? If it does, we’ll be sure to let you know!
Dumfries Ghost Walk
The summer ghost tours were a resounding success with continued local support and a range of visitors from all over Britain and beyond including; Cambridge, Glasgow, London, Spain and Switzerland! Due to the demand, we put on an extra walk in September and are delighted to see that all the promotional work is starting to pay off - the word is getting well and truly out there. We also believe changing our times from 7:30pm to 9pm has had a positive impact, as most folk like the darker nights for that wee bit of added atmosphere.
Promoting the ghost walk is an ongoing piece of work and John and Mary won’t be wasting any time as they head out and about this week to speak to people on the streets of Dumfries. We’ll also be working closely with our local VisitScotland team to gather feedback and inform tourists about our dark Dumfries tours…
Now to paranormal activity in Dumfries! We’ve had more reports of ghostly goings-on through the summer; a lady reported feeling someone touching her arm quite firmly on the old executions site and another stated she felt as if someone was strangling her during one of Mary’s spiels - scary stuff! Take a look at Haunting Happenings for more info.
Dumfries & Galloway Life Magazine
The new, jam-packed October edition of DGLife Magazine is out now! This month, Kathleen reviews ‘It’s a Metaphysical World’ by Marion K Williams and Elena J Michaels and provides info on our Haunted Theatre Tour and website. There are plenty of diverse articles to enjoy each month with something for every taste – check it out!
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Hello everyone! Mostly Ghostly are proud to announce the inclusion of our popular Dumfries Ghost Walk in Doors Open Days 2012. Partnership working is high on our priority list and we’re pleased to to be involved with such a positive, well respected event. This year’s theme is Change and there is no doubt Mostly Ghostly’s tours of old Dumfries highlight many of the town’s transitions. In past years, we’ve enjoyed being DOD participants and now find ourselves about to welcome visitors through our own ’doors’ later this month.
Taking place each September, Doors Open Days is a series of Scotland-wide events which enable you to gain free access to many fascinating and unusual venues. Certain buildings/locations are not normally open to the public which allows the participant a real treat in terms of exploring new and uncharted territories. In other cases, the venues are open, but have an entrance fee e.g. Dumfries Ghost Walk and on the weekend of 29th/30th September, we are offering 50 free places!
On 28th August, Mary and Kathleen attended the official Doors Open Days launch at the Catstrand in New Galloway. They met representatives from the Museum of Leadmining, Creetown Heritage Museum, Holywood Trust, Kirkandrews Kirk and Logan Botanic Gardens. Jean Atkin, of the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust and Aaron Edgar welcomed everyone before GCAT chairman, Cathy Agnew, launched this year’s events. Thanks to everyone for showing interest in our project and as for the scrumptious cream scones - what a treat!
Taken from the DOD 2012 brochure
“Doors Open Days is delighted to include Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries and Galloway’s first paranormal team, who have offered to provide a different view of old Dumfries, one you may never be able to forget.”
“The special Doors Open Days Dumfries Ghost Walk will reflect many of the changes absorbed by the town over the centuries. Discover how people lived in times of cholera and witchcraft, the crime and punishment of other eras and of course the ghost stories of past and present. In a history spannning almost 1000 years the Queen of the South has known many momentous events and memorable characters, some of which the town may prefer to forget: ghoulish body snatchers, grisly executions and a bizarre double tragedy to name but a few.”
A big thank you to Doors Open Days for supporting the Dumfries Ghost Walk and also, for using Kathleen’s Shakespeare Lane and snowy Whitesands photos in the fab 2012 brochure!
12/09/12 - our tours are now fully booked and we are absolutely thrilled with the positive response! Thanks for all your interest and support; we will look forward to meeting participants on DOD weekend.
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s blog. Today we bring news of our latest paranormal investigation when Mostly Ghostly took a trip to the haunted Machars on 9th August 2012 - our destination - the infamous Sorbie and Garlieston Roads. We are deeply intrigued by the ghosts of Wigtownshire, in particular, stories of phantom hitchhikers and with certain roads yielding much in the way of sightings, sensations and other strange experiences, we felt compelled to return.
Spurred on by a series of e-mails relating to the Sorbie Road hauntings, we initially planned to source the site of Kirkinner Station where many years ago, a man who was on leave from the army, alighted to the platform and began the long walk back to his home near the Sorbie Road. As he walked, the man became aware of footsteps behind him, ‘strange footsteps’ which unnerved him to such a degree that he couldn’t bear to look back. His pace quickened as he ventured along the dark route through Kilsture Forest… We are yet to discover what it was exactly about the footsteps that made them strange e.g. could it be their pace or the sound they made?
Keen to retrace his steps and with help from a couple of men who lived in Kirkinner, we discovered where the station once stood and from there, drove along the Sorbie Road a couple of times looking for familiar place names/landmarks mentioned in the e-mails. We parked up and took a short walk into Kilsture Forest along one of the pleasant woodland paths. It was a very peaceful afternoon, quiet and tranquil among the trees. We took a set of dowsing rods out with us, mainly for interest. Although we know they can be extremely accurate, neither of us have much experience with them and prefer not to read too much into findings as they can vary from person to person. As we walked, we invited spirit communication, however nothing came through.
After a delicious meal at the Bladnoch Inn (highly recommended!) events took a disturbing twist. As some readers will be aware, we are fascinated by the Garlieston Straight Road and agreed to take a wee detour before returning to Sorbie; the evening was lovely and calm, yet from the moment we turned onto the Straight, John felt sick to the stomach closely followed by shortness of breath. Whether this was because of past experiences on the road or something else, we can’t be sure, however John didn’t think this had influenced him. The feeling of sickness went away a short time later and he picked up other sensations including; a spirit presence who was waiting for us.
We took a look round and parked up at one of the Kilsture Forest road ends. Mary reported seeing (in her mind) someone in old fashioned farm worker’s clothing and thought it may be Albert Johnstone - a spirit we believe has contacted us several times. This was interesting as originally it was Derek who picked up on Albert and since he has left the team, Albert has come through to John. At this point, John didn’t feel any presence.
We headed back to the Sorbie Road - it was now dark and we got out of the car for a wee look round. We couldn’t get over the sense of calm, you could literally have heard a pin drop. Even the sounds of wildlife were at a minimum. At one of the forest road ends, John picked up a strong, ‘nasty’ feeling of presence which he found uncomfortable. It didn’t last long.
After further attempts to trigger a response on the Sorbie Road, we ended the evening back on the Straight and the rest of the night passed by without incident. We attempted direct communication with Albert Johnstone and nothing came through - we have our own theories about this following our investigation onn 31st May 2012 (contact the team for details).
It is significant to mention that upon reviewing our footage, the night appeared more active than originally thought. Most of the activity occurred from the point we turned towards Garlieston and gradually declined as the night progressed. Perhaps due to e.g. relentless communications with ‘Albert’ on past visits, there is admittedly a degree of expectation which can be difficult to detach yourself from. That said, in terms of the weather, environment and spirit communication, we felt is was one of our quietest nights in the area.
We recognise alot of patience can be required during investigations and there is often long periods spent simply waiting. In the world of paranormal investigation, every occurrence, however small or brief, is potentially significant and has to be examined carefully before a conclusion is reached.
We look forward to returning to these eerie roads as well as other locations in the mysterious Machars…
Kathleen has completed a full, detailed report of the investigation and will be starting work on the summary version to be uploaded to our site in due course. In the meantime, if you would like further information or a copy of the report, please contact us through our website or by phoning 07791 047835 or 07912 145865
© Mostly Ghostly Investigations, Dumfries 2007-2012 All Rights Reserved
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On Thursday 12th July 2012, we returned to Carnsalloch House, near Kirkton, for a look round ahead of our paranormal investigation. From the outset, John felt ill at ease; “I remember feeling very uncomfortable on arriving at Carnsalloch that evening, the feeling came on straight away, before getting out of the car, in fact as we were approaching the house, I would say that this feeling started as we were just passing the fishing turn-off. I would describe this feeling as very intense, certainly taking me by surprise, this was the first time that I associated any feelings with the grounds of Carnsalloch, it was full on and I felt that something horrible had taken place here.”
We sat in the car for a while, asking out and John remarked he could hear a ‘mechanical’ sound coming from the back of the car, ‘the sort you would expect to hear coming from the dashboard of any car’. No-one else heard it. There were regular clicking noises coming from the clock area in the front but these were sounds we’ve heard before. John stated “I’m sure there is an explanation for this, could it be my hearing playing tricks on me, an echo perhaps, what I do know is that I have sat in the back of many cars and never heard a sound like this radiating from behind me.”
We sat watching the windows of the house and saw nothing except for the plastic coverings flapping in the breeze and various pigeons flying in and out.
John thought he was picking up on a female presence. As time went on, he got a name – Marion. We did not record the following communication, however I have written as best I can remember. Kathleen asked Marion various questions and from the responses we were getting, it seemed that she had no awareness about being ‘on the other side’. According to Marion, her second name was Carruthers; she was visiting family at Carnsalloch, including her sisters – Louise/Louisa and Beatrice. There were other people in the house – Charles, Morris (not sure about this one) and Roberta, possibly a servant girl. The year was 1846 and they were waiting for the father, the man of the house, to come back from his business. John picked up on the name Samuel Beauly or Beaulieu – we’re not sure of the spelling.
Kathleen asked about Samuel’s wife and we discovered her name was Christine. When Kathleen enquired about Christine’s whereabouts, Marion responded with ‘did you not know she had passed away?’ It was a very strange conversation; it felt as if Marion was talking to us in her own time. Christine’s death had apparently been caused by an illness and had shocked the family.
A short time after this, Marion ceased communication with us, although we continued to ‘ask out’ for a little longer. John said “now, whether she was too busy to reply or had stopped the communication herself I can’t say for sure, I just seemed to lose her and no more impressions came through. I do remember searching in my mind before I said that she had gone.”
We had a good search for these names online but didn’t come up with anything. The only Marion Carruthers Kathleen had ever heard of was the lady of Comlongon Castle who allegedly comes back in spirit and haunts the castle and grounds. This particular Marion died in tragic circumstances on the 25th September 1570.
In terms of residents during that period in history, we can only find record of the Johnstone family; Carnsalloch House was built for Alexander Johnstone in 1759.
We know that John does his best to convey whatever comes through in his mind, however he cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information he receives. The most fascinating part for the team is that this happens in the first place, irrespective of the source or information, something unusual is going on and John’s sensitivity has developed considerably over the last 8-10 months. He reported feeling drained afterwards and stated “I cannot even remember what the last communication was, in fact I can’t remember a lot of the communication, but I do remember that we were trying to communicate with Marion.
We contacted one of our professional sources on the subject who explained that sensing words “is a normal form of ‘channeling’ where some outside source feeds thoughts and words into a mind that is both sensitive and open to it.” This can be described as clairsentience as opposed to clairvoyance.
As for Marion and the Beauly/Beaulieu family – did they even exist and if so, were they linked to Carnsalloch or some other property in the area? Did the lines of communication get crossed or was it someone playing tricks – we cannot say for sure and encourage you to draw your own conclusions.
If you have any theories or indeed, recognise these names, we would be very glad to hear from you! Contact the team through our website or by phoning 07791 047835 or 07912 145865
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