Summary of an Investigation
at Inn Burtle &
Battle of Sedgemoor Site – Friday 26th May 2006
The evening began with a splendid meal
before we headed out for a tour of the Battle of Sedgemoor
site. We made our way by car along several haunted roads,
passing through the village of Chedzoy, 
pausing
at the church and old blacksmiths (now a private house). The
rebels were camped near Chedzoy and it was from the church
where the royal army was first spotted setting up base on
the outskirts of Westonzoyland. There have been numerous sightings
of black figures around the church, reports of strange whisperings
heard along the lane and the sound of hoof beats and cries
heard in the old blacksmiths. Indeed it was here that Monmouth's
band of desperate rebels 'Doing the right as they saw it'
made their final preparations; sharpening swords and farm
implements in preparation for the inevitable encounter with
the King's army.
Unfortunately we did not encounter anything unusual here or
along the road from Chedzoy to Westonzoyland (the road many
locals will not use at night); with the exception of a hare,
which did not seem to want to get off the road!
When we arrived at the battle site, all seemed calm and peaceful,
however this changed when an experiment was conducted. Having
previously investigated the battlefield several times, we
were aware of two areas of the field that every person we
had accompanied there had reported experiencing phenomenon.
The first area is marked by a tree on the right hand side
(facing from the memorial) of the field. Previously a grey
shape has been reported, the smell of gunpowder (or possibly
stagnant water) and the sound of metal on metal clanking together
accompanied by an uneasy feeling. Sure enough the group made
their way straight to this area and several reported hearing
the clang of metal as if a gate was banging against a fence.
This was very interesting, as this phenomenon has not been
widely reported, so it is highly unlikely that any of the
guests would have been aware of this. Prior investigations
of the area has proved there are no fences or similar to explain
such a noise.
The second area is on the left hand side of the field, and
closer to the memorial. We made our way out of the field via
this area where one guest reported tightness on her chest
and a feeling of something wrong and being watched. Again,
this is not a well publicised phenomenon and we found this
particularly compelling as one of us had been experiencing
this at exactly the same time, but had not said anything because
we wished to avoid influencing the group. Indeed we did begin
to question autosuggestion as one of us knew that sightings
of dark figures and similar feelings have been reported here
in the past. So it was quite re-assuring when somebody else
reported the exact same feelings.
After observing the field in silence for a while, we walked
down the drove which runs in the general direction of Chedzoy
and yet again phenomenon was reported as it has on previous
visits. Strange sounds of breathing and what was presumed
to be horses were heard by several of the group at different
times. There are no horses kept out on the moor land for obvious
reasons, and as we had a high powered torch with us, it was
clear that there were no animals present to explain such noises.
A very interesting start to the night, with phenomenon reported
that has not been well documented, most interestingly in the
same areas as has been previously encountered. We then made
our way back to the inn and again nothing unusual was encountered
on the roads. Safety in numbers perhaps? Having driven these
roads alone at night several times and although we have not
encountered anything paranormal, it certainly feels different
alone!
We have to say that activity wise the inn was a lot quieter
than it had been on the two Paranormal Research Organisation
Investigations. However several guests reported strange feelings,
which again were notable for their position as being the same
as the previous investigations, even though this information
was not available to guests beforehand.
The chair and alcove in the lounge were commented on by several
as feeling unusual and intimidating, as was the far end of
the skittle alley in the Orchard Suite. The most active area
was again the bar, particularly by the fireplace. We did feel
the a sensation as if someone was with us here, but did not
comment as we were aware of the areas to focus on. However
the guests were not, and after suggesting that there was something
here a séance was held. Unfortunately this produced little
results for us and neither did the glass divination sessions
also held here and in the Orchard Suite. Unusually with such
experiments, there was hardly any movement recorded in the
sessions. Perhaps the most interesting part of the night was
that whilst we were asking for the glass to break, at the
other end of the building and completely out of earshot, the
owners reported a wine glass shattering for no reason! It
was quite interesting to see their startled faces when we
discussed what we had been doing, and we concluded that the
timing was so close that a coincidence seems very far-fetched!
A remote writing experiment was also conducted in the bar
by two guests, which resulted in the word 'Vicar' being drawn.
Very interesting as the séance had been held unbeknown to
them in the area that the popular local character known as
'The Vicar' (after his unusual habit of dressing as the clergy,
even though he wasn't) frequented. Furthermore the area most
commented on as feeling uneasy was to the right hand side
(facing) of the fireplace, the area of his passing.
So strong were the feelings in the bar, that one guest actually
collapsed and we had to remove her from the building in order
that she could recover. This is only the second time during
an investigation or 'Ghost Hunt' that we have known this to
happen and certainly gave us cause for concern, although we
are pleased to say that she made a full recovery. However
fatigue cannot be ruled out in such occurrences, so we cannot
state for sure that this was caused by paranormal phenomenon.
Equally though, we cannot state conclusively that it wasn't.
Comments from Guests:
"I have two evp's. the first of which was a series of metal
clanking I caught in the battlefield that sounds like swords
clashing which backs up what you and others heard. The second
is when I placed the dictaphone by the grill, there is a woman's
voice saying 'annya'. Maybe its not Anna, but close, the voice
had a foreign accent. I have analysed it in the computer and
it dos not match either the voices of the group or staff as
by chance I caught both on tape for comparison. Let me know
if the name Gerald is linked with the man and his chair, and
if the Vicar died of head trauma as that could explain what
happened to the other woman and myself.
**********
Hi guys,
Thanks so much for a great evening. I thoroughly enjoyed my
night and highlights for me were the battlefield where I heard
the tapping of metal. I was so pleased when Will had heard
the same thing and Stuart also said he'd heard the same thing
in daylight and that this had already been looked into and
no metal was found in that area. That confirmed to me that
it was unexplainable. I also felt an atmosphere change - feeling
ok when we got there but distinctly uneasy on our walk back
off the battlefield. Can't put my finger on why but I often
pick up on such feelings in places. I was also intrigued to
discover that the very place I felt uncomfortable by the fireplace
in the Inn was where one of the staff told us the "Vicar"
had died. My own automatic writing experiment astounded me
by clearly writing v i c and then 2 less clear letters. Hand
on heart I did nothing to influence this writing and was shocked
to look and see each letter after it had been written particularly
the 'i' as I didn't feel the pen lift between dot and line
to form the letter.
A very big thank you to all of you. The events are to your
credit, with your experience, knowledge and down to earth
personalities. Hope to come to another in the not too distant
future.
Thanks again and the future success of 'Haunting Experiences'.
**********
Hiya
We my mum and myself had a great time it was a brill night
the food was very good and it was nice to have coffee on hand
too.
Would most definitely love to come along on another ghost
hunt in the future.
We can't wait!
Thanx for a great night.
**********
Thanks again for a good night really
enjoyed it will definitely come again.
**********
