Sunday 20 September 2009

The state of affairs.

When I founded the B.C.P.S 10 years ago with my wife Heidi. There were 4 other groups that I had heard of operating in the Black Country area, The West Midlands Ghost Club, Parasearch, Penn Paranormal (Defunct) and U.F.O.R.M. The B.C.P.S was founded just before Most Haunted came upon the telly, not by many months, but we are slightly older.

But since the founding of Most Haunted, paranormal research has become the new gardening. Every man and his dog is ghost hunting. And sometimes from what I've heard, a dog may well do a better job. Everybody is a parapsychologist, Psychic, foremost ghost hunter and all the other crap that comes with something that requires little to no real proof. And I wonder why? Me, I'm just plain old Wayne Pickrell, a man with a lifelong interest in paranormal phenomena and still none the wiser after 10 years of investigating the paranormal. Yes 10 years ago, I was an armchair enthusiast. And came into paranormal investigation, expecting to find a ghost in every corner of the UK. But was I going to get a wake up call.

What I found instead was that I spent many a sleepless night for very little reward. For although it might be hard to believe in this present climate of thrill seeking investigation groups, TV programmes and psychic TV, ghosts do not come out to play, just because the ghost hunters are on the scene! Although some will justify staying up all night with photo's of dust, orbs in other words, Ouija board sessions, E.V.P that's been altered upon a computer and only sounds like what the researcher wants to hear ( ofiolouy, see the ghost is saying, the investigator claims, it's name is Oliver, when all I can here ofioluy. LOL.) and what the psychic said, without any real research into whether the psychic was right.

What a state of affairs the paranormal research field is in. Which seems to have gone back to the middle ages. If we're not careful, there will be witch burnings at the stake next.  And then we have the other side of the coin, the scientific based groups with their ghost detectors. Hang on! How can you build a piece of equipment to detect ghosts, when there is no real proof that ghosts exist. Would you not need a ghost to measure the accuracy of this supposed equipment??? I'm no scientist, but I bet radiation was discovered before the Geiger counter was invented. I may well be wrong, but I doubt it. How can you build detection equipment without something to measure it against? I certainly do not claim to know it all, but some commons sense must be used here, PLEASE!

We at the B.C.P.S use Camcorders, Cameras, Thermometers and a psychic. Now just allow me to explain here. A psychic, our psychic is a member of the group and will admit freely, that she is as much under investigation by the group as is the alleged ghost. Although she has an uncanny ability to be quite accurate at times. And I do believe she may be capable of something. But it's the something, I'm investigating. Is she talking to the spirits of the dead, is she a mind reader or just lucky. I do not know! So until anything can be proven otherwise, the jury is still out. Anyway, we do also use an EMF meter, which again is under investigation, although I never use this EMF meter in buildings, for there are to many electrical items to affect this piece of equipment. Hence the finding would be flawed and of no real proof at all. But we have had some rather large readings in the middle of nowhere that are beyond explanation. And no electrical equipment to cause this strange effect. But does this lend credence to the existence of ghost, sadly no!

When any ghost hunter is investigating a commercial premises, it's OK to to offer up the weak evidence of Orb photo's. What the psychic found or E.V.P. Mainly because ghosts to a landlord, proprietor and so on of a commercial premises bring in the punters! But what about private properties. People's homes. Well, most people who call you in, don't want a ghost, they want peace of mind. They want it to be the plumbing, the electrics or just their imagination. Although I'm not saying this may well be the case in all alleged hauntings. Sometimes a good investigator might discover the supposed ghost is something normal, just by using their common sense. I remember one case I investigated, were the family had had a group in prior, who offered up the weak evidence of Orb photo's and what a psychic claimed to be the ghost haunting them. The alleged ghost turned the television on in the middle of the night. When in fact there was no ghost, but the family left the telly on standby and the families pet cat was using the TV remote as a pillow, until it turned the TV on and ran away frightened by the noise of the TV. Case solved and Casper the friendly ghost was nowhere in sight! 

Now this is not always the case. The B.C.P.S have investigated some sights, where we have experienced some phenomena that we are still at a loss to explain. The Manor House in West Bromwich is one such place and a lane in Kinver is another, plus the happenings, I've experienced in my own home. I am at a loss to find plausible explanations for these happenings, but that does not mean, I'm still not looking. But I'm sorry, I will never jump to wild speculative assumptions to please my belief system or someone else's! 

Now, I'm a Christian, I believe in God and used to believe we died, went to heaven and lived happily ever after and sinners were cast into Hell to be prodded by Satan for eternity with a pitch fork. But after some serious research and reading the Holy Bible. I discovered that when man dies, he is dead until the day of resurrection, when Christ calls them forth from the grave. So, if that's the case, who are the psychic's talking to? I could hazard a guess, but I will not. And where on earth are ghost coming from. A possibility could be, slips in time or time replaying itself. But that is only a theory with no solid fact! There are millions of questions surrounding the paranormal and very few answers. So until such a time that the answers become available, please use one thing that is common in most of humanity, when dealing with a paranormal situation and that's your common sense! 




Monday 14 September 2009

My A449 experience and what followed. Part 4.

First let me say how sorry I am, for taking so long for part 4 of this series. But here it is.

After seeing the Hollow man, everything seemed to quieten down for a while. And life seemed to return to normal. When one night, having yet another sleepless night. I arose to go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea.

I switched the light on in the living room and proceeded on through to the kitchen, which is at the rear of the property. Now there is sufficient light from the Living room, to light the kitchen up. And looking toward the back porch, I could only say, that I was viewing a Monk shape figure. Which was there for a matter of seconds and then gone.

Having stood there for a few moments, trying to work out what I'd seen, and asking myself if my eyes had deceived me. I could not say. So I carried on and made the tea and thought no more upon the subject.

Until a good few days later, when, sitting in bed, with the light out and the bedroom curtains open. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye at the side of the bed. Now I know I was not asleep and had not drifted off for a matter of seconds. But I saw a figure that was cowled like a monk walking down the side of the bed. Although it was rather transparent and held no substances. I watched it until it disappeared at the end of the bed.

Now things were not making sense. Prior to this, and after investigating many alleged haunted sites and witnessing nothing. I'm now seeing ghosts in my own home. Am I going mad, have I got a brain tumour, and many other such questions I asked myself. And even now, I can find no satisfactory answer.

But do I believe ghosts exist now. Yes and No. I'm now a sceptical believer. Yes people see strange things, Ghosts, UFOs, and so on. But can we truly pigeon hole what they are. Do the souls of the dead wander the earth, haunting the living, does time replay itself and some lucky spectator watches a piece of history replaying before them. Are ghosts an hallucination. We may never now. But even after what I've experienced, I will still keep an open mind on the subject and carry on trying to get to the bottom of this mystery. And if you are experiencing anything of this nature. Please feel free to contact me at anytime. For although I keep an healthy outlook on the subject of ghosts. I now know people do see something. But what that something could be, is still open to investigation.

Saturday 4 July 2009

Hi All,

Part 4 coming soon! Sorry for the delay!

Saturday 16 May 2009

My A449 experience and what followed. Part 3. The Hollow Man.

The next event in this calendar of strange experiences was maybe the most strange. I was sitting in bed reading yet again, when I decided to settle down for the night. I got out of bed and opened one curtain, not to keen on sleeping with the curtains fully shut, it makes me feel slightly claustrophobic. Anyway, I walked back to the bed, switched off the bedside lamp and sat on the bed and had just put one leg under the covers when I heard my name called.

Looking down toward the window, I saw what I can only describe as a tall, hollow figure, a bit like the character Kevin Bacon played in the film Hollow man. But when I say tall, I mean if this figure did not seem to have been leaning, it would have most likely have been over 8 feet tall and muscular. Although I could make out certain features, nose, mouth, eyes and so on. Well I sat looking at it, it stood looking at me and then the most extraordinary thing happened. I put my other leg in the bed and went to sleep! Hang on here, I went to sleep, I've seen this thing, in my bedroom and I went to sleep. What on earth was I thinking?

Most men, would run around gathering their loved ones, whilst screaming that the Hollow men from Mars were invading. No not me, I went to sleep! But was I asleep and dreamed it you may ask yourself or try to presume and my answer to that, is No. I did not slip off to the land of nod for a few seconds, I was fully awake! To this day, I still do not fully comprehend what I saw that night, but it did call my name, to draw attention to itself. Allow me to reiterate one thing to all that read this. I've been investigating paranormal phenomena now for near on ten years. And on all the investigations I've done, never have I experienced anything like these happening within my own home! Although the Manor House in West Bromwich has offered up some unexplainable phenomena in the past. But what happened there in the Manor House, I'll leave until a later date to tell you about.

Well, you may think that nothing more could have happened, but there is a lot more to come. But for now, I'll leave you with my Hollow man sighting!

Tuesday 5 May 2009

My A449 experience and what came later. Pt 2

Like I mentioned previously, I was a full blown sceptic. So my A449 experience did not unduly worry me and I thought no more of it; until I started to experience further problems within my own home.

The first thing to happen was not to long afterward. I'd been out and upon returning home. I opened the front door and got distracted and returned back to the car. After which I went into the house. Later, when getting ready for bed, I was in the bathroom. When I clearly heard my name called. Thinking it was my wife, I replied. To which she responded to me from the bedroom, asking me who I was talking to. It turned out she had not spoken to me.

Thinking no more of it, I went to bed. The next morning, I was awoken by an almighty knocking on our front door. When I got down stairs and opened the front door. The postman was standing there. He then proceeded to point at the door and when I looked. My front door keys had been left in the lock all night. I thanked him and then thought about the previous night and hearing my name being called. Now most would start thinking a disembodied spirit of a long gone relative may have been trying to warn me that I'd left my keys in the door. Which may well be the case. But on the other hand, it just as well could have been my own subconscious trying to warn me! Both explanations hold a plausibility factor. But this minor incident was soon forgotten.

Until a few weeks later. I was sitting in the living room talking to my wife. The television was on and a Table lamp. Now where I sit, I can see into the kitchen. And whilst I was talking to my wife, I became aware of a figure standing in the kitchen. The strange thing was, this figure glowed like a light bulb. No features, just a figure with an inner light. I stared at it for at least 30 seconds and then it was gone. Now I had not been staring at a light source and I'm not prone to hallucinations. So I was totally bewildered and my wife knowing my scepticism, thought I was going mad and so did I!

Then not so many days later, I was sitting in bed reading. When I heard someone walk out of my daughters bedroom and across the landing into the bathroom. I thought nothing of it, until I realized my daughter was staying at her moms that night. For a few moments, I shook myself and thought, had I fallen asleep. Knowing full well I had not! So I got out of bed and checked the house all over to find no one. I have heard this on a few more occasions since!

Anyway that is the story of my experiences, for now, but there is a lot more to be told. So I'll tell you more in part 3. So watch this space!

Friday 1 May 2009

My A449 experience and what came later. Part 1.

Prior to the 21st February 2006 I was considering closing the BCPS down. To say that I'd become disheartened with investigation would have been an understatement! I was a skeptic/debunker and was seeing no point in investigating the paranormal any further. The idea of giving up a nice warm bed for a night of sitting in cold dark places, waiting to see something that did not exist (in my opinion) seemed pointless to me.

So it is with a sense of wonder, that I tell you this tale of my experience on the A449, just before 7 pm on the of the 21st February 2006, which in my mind saved the BCPS from closure!

It was dark and there had been a light drizzle all day when I started out upon my journey to see a friend and then go onto a meeting with some colleagues who investigate UFO sightings. I was minding my own business, driving along, thinking about nothing in particular, especially not ghosts. Then on my approach toward Himley Cricket club, upon the grass verge, I saw what I took to be a figure of no distinguishable sex. Now this is a 60mph road and I thought look at that idiot, if they slip, I'll surely hit them.

So I checked my mirrors, slowed down and when I looked again the figure had gone. Then just as I reached where the figure had been, an almighty knocking started on my car windows. Now by no means do I mean just one window, but the knocking appeared to be going on all around me. Yet, I could see nothing that would cause this noise and it continued to the traffic lights just before the Himley hotel.

Now me being a rational thinker, I thought something was wrong with my car. So I stopped on the Himley hotel car park and checked my car over. But to no avail, the car was perfectly fine mechanically!

At this point in time, like I said before, I was a full blown sceptic and could find no explanation for my experience. So I shrugged my shoulders and continued upon my journey thinking no more of it. Then I started to experience unexplained happenings in my own home. But those experiences I'll tell you about in part 2!

Thursday 30 April 2009

The Black Country Paranormal Society.

Hi All,

I'm Wayne Pickrell, founder of the Black Country Paranormal Society. I founded the Society back in July 1999, along with my wife Heidi. We investigate all manner of Paranormal phenomena, Ghosts, UFOs, Alien Black Cats and anything of a paranormal nature.

Past investigations have been The Manor House in West Bromwich, The Station Hotel, Dudley, The Ancient Ram Inn, Cannock Chase, Gibbett Lane and The Lion Hotel in Willenhall to name but a few!

I will add though, that both the Manor House and Station Hotel were prior to Most Haunted and the Station was also prior to them conducting paid Ghost hunting evenings. We at the Black Country Paranormal Society, investigated the place for free! And were basically given the freedom of the hotel. No we were not in rooms where some poor guest was trying to get some sleep.

You can contact us by a number of means, by visiting our Myspace site at http://www.myspace.com/blackcountryparanormal or by contacting me via my email address at wayneparanormalsociety@hotmail.com We would love to hear from you and are willing to help in anyway possible, even if you want to only relay a paranormal encounter. We do not do house clearances and find any group that claims to do so, rather dubious! Although we do have a psychic who is a member of the team.

Over the coming weeks, I'll share with you some of our investigations and findings. But for now that's it!

Regards.

Wayne.