A Ghostly Presence by David Jacobs
Sunset at Cowdray Castle

Ghost Hunting Takes Off at Cowdray 2010

GHOST HUNTERS have 'discovered' Cowdray Castle over the last twelve months with several dates already fixed for a fright night in 2010. It's shaping up to be a bumper year Editor's Note 17th March 2010. Seven companies now have regular events at Cowdray Castle with others pushing to get in. Here is another recent development: SPIRIT FM GHOST WALKS for the SUMMER 7.30 PM - 9.00 PM Friday evenings 14th May, 18th June, 16th July and 24th September. Ghost walks around the Ruins of Cowdray Castle. A full hour of walking and talking is offered with your host, Paul Ullson, Cowdray's historical education and interpretation consultant. He will take visitors on a whirlwind tour through the house's spectacular history, discovering dramatic stories and potential ghosts along the way. After the walk, free refreshments are served, making it a lovely way to spend a summer's evening. £7 per walk, or £24 if you book all four dates (walks different each time). CLICK LINKS COLOURED LIKE THIS TO REACH WEBSITES Most things start hesitantly and Cowdray Castle as a venue for the paranormal experience has proved no exception. Was there sufficient cover in the ruins for events on inclement days? Well, the answer seems to be a resounding Yes! The Cellar which was the venue for a small exhibition in the summer of 2009 about the WW2 use of Ambersham polo ground as an RNAS base proved this space was large enough to accommodate 20 people. One of the first ghost hunters to enthuse over Cowdray Castle was The Spirit Parlour. They have confirmed an event for the 17th of April 2010 at 7.12 pm as follows:- "The Spirit Parlour invite you to tread in the ghostly footsteps of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Guy Fawkes! A spiritually uplifting experience in a breathtaking historic setting! Ghosthunting techniques, hands on interactive evening, with Rebecca’s world class tea, coffee & hot chocolate with plenty of cakes, fully insured £29 - call us on (01273) 834480 Tickets in advance only." Another Company of ghost hunters Dark Encounters of Portsmouth advertised their last event in May 2009 as follows: "The sombre ruins of the original Cowdray Castle are clearly visible close to the town, looking a little like the setting for a horror film. Cowdray Castle saw its heyday in the time of Sir Anthony Browne the Second. An important man in the court of Queen Elizabeth the First, who was awarded the Castle and Battle Abbey. After razing many of the church buildings to the ground he evicted the monks and, as a result, was cursed by the last monk of Battle Abbey who said that his family line would perish by fire or water. Did they... join us as we find out." But the first 'out of the trap' in 2010 is one of the oldest and best known ghost hunting company, Frightnights, with an event on the 9th of January at 7.0 pm until midnight. This is what they say about the castle ghosts " "As well as the curse still acting out its revenge there are allegedly many other ghosts said to walk the ruins.  The crypt is said to be haunted by someone who lost their life in the great fire of the castle. In the pitch-black people have felt their hair being touched and as if someone has blown in their face. Inside the ruins there is the alleged ghost of the White Lady who wanders the ruins looking for her lost love – is it the 6th Viscount she longs to meet? The most terrifying of all the ghosts is that of Sir Antony Browne, a local sire who is said to have killed many local person in the construction of his nearby home. During the civil war he took his parliamentary army and purposely attacked Cowdray, slaughtering all inside. After the war he was hung, drawn and quartered for his actions and his name scrubbed from history forever – is this the reason why his ghost is said to attack female visitors to the castle? With many years of sightings and strange experiences – what will happen to you during your investigation" Haunted Happenings advertise their next event at the ghost castle of Cowdray on the 5th March 2010 at 7.0 pm.with these words :- "Join Haunted Happenings for a night of suspense and intrigue at the very haunted Cowdray Castle. This was once a 16th century house in Sussex. It has been bombarded with sinister happenings over the centuries involving curses, tragedies and mass slaughter and visitations by Henry V111 and the boy king Edward V1." Editor's Note, March 17th. Haunted Happenings. Here is Jayne Hendy-Clewes review of the evening; WHAT A FABULOUS VENUE "We experienced a variety of activity throughout the night.  Knocks and bangs, chanting, people feeling pushed and touched.  The writing Planchette produced some really interesting results, as did the glass work that was done. And we appeared to have made contact with several spirits during the night. Haunted Happenings prides itself on running events where our guests are trained up and given the opportunity to investigate the locations free from hoaxing.  Our evening begins with an introduction to the Haunted Happenings team and staff of Cowdray, followed by health and safety and a walk around the location.  We then move on to providing an energy workshop with our psychic and training on the equipment, dowsing with myself.  After which we place our guests into smaller groups and go into 45 min vigils through out the location.  Each group gets to investigate all areas and work with each member of our team.  After our guests are comfortable in using the equipment and have had the opportunity of working with each team member we give them the opportunity to carry out a lone vigil.  We always end our events with a debrief at the end of the night and ensure that our guests leave the venue safely.  After which we check the venue to make sure it is left as we have found it. After the event our guests are encouraged to share their experiences on the Haunted Happenings forum. People travel from all over the country to attend the events we host. The Spirit that excited us most was the spirit of a soldier who came through and was specific about being around during the period of Henry 1st. He claimed to have died from falling from the roof. On the night refreshments were held in the shop area. The Cowdray staff were fabulous on the night, helping us provide the refreshments, assisting us in moving our guests around the location and being on hand to verify any information that we seemed to be getting". But what has really got everyone excited and almost certainly contributed to the surge in interest in Cowdray as a ghost castle is the video from a Frightnights Halloween on the 30th of October this year, heralded by this advertising pre-amble:- " Join television paranormal investigator Andy Matthews (Ghost Detectives and NI Greatest Haunts) and psychic artist and medium, Marion Goodfellow (Most Haunted Live, Scream Team and Ghost Detectives) for a Halloween" On the 1st of November a ghost video called "Cowdray Castle Pantry Voice on evp" was published on YouTube, continuing with these words " at 1minute 36sec you can hear a lady say 'Please Tell Me'. This really shocked me. There was nobody that could have said that. Amazing !!! " Editor's Note 17th March 2010. This page will be updated end March. A lot is happening at the Castle... keep looking in! GHOST CASTLE FRIGHT NIGHT WITH COWDRAY GHOST HUNTERS, MIDHURST, WEST SUSSEX.

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[MIDHURST HOME] [ TUDOR HOUSE] [ TUDOR KITCHENS]
[COWDRAY CASTLE RUINS] [COWDRAY CASTLE HISTORY]
[TUDOR WALLED GARDEN] [ TUDOR INGLENOOK] [MIDHURST SOCIETY] [TUDORS FOOD]
[ANDRE DURAND ] [GHOST CASTLE]

' Ghost Castle Fright Night at Cowdray " is sponsored by Violet Designs, Midhurst, West Sussex Tel: 01730 810059. We just try harder to give exceptional service and prices.

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