STEPPING into the nuclear bunker at Kelvedon Hatch on Saturday night, I was not sure what I was expecting, writes the Gazette's Joe Sturdy.
When someone mentions 'finding spirits', my mind runs back to Derek Acorah and re-runs of Most Haunted, night-vision cameras and screams as creaks and odd sounds are heard.
But on my first ghost walk with Spooksavers, there was none of that – I was given a torch, a thermometer and an electromagnetic (EM) meter, and a healthy dose of belief by the rest of the group and Grant Colyer, a 'psychic medium'.
Encouraged to take pictures to see if any paranormal orbs were present, thus showing the existence of spirits and ghosts, and guided by the red flashing lights of the EM meter, we all went into the main computer room.
There were no orbs, not really.
The ones that were present, I am sure, were just a result of dirty lenses.
From there, we were guided into the sick bay where Mr Colyer got the impression that someone had passed away – a monumental prediction, made even more amazing by the fact that no-one has believed to have ever actually done so.
After this, we went into the tunnel in the dark, where supposedly a soldier had been made a runner – and we laid down our EM meters in a line to see if he would run through.
Despite coaxing, name calling and commands from members of the group for the spirit to come forward, there was nothing – not a flicker of red light in the blackness.
From there, we were guided into a circle and we waited until our arms were raised, or we were pushed forward.
Nothing happened – despite a supposed 'trance' from Mr Colyer who ran out screaming, embodied by his soldier companion.
It all seemed rather tenuous, which summed up our participation of the evening – at £35 a ticket, if nothing else, entertainment should be vital, and entertaining this was.
While a sceptic, I arrived with hope that perhaps, just this once, my beliefs about this sort of thing could be challenged – sadly, despite the best efforts of the 12-strong group, they weren't.
