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HISTORY Preston Manor was originally built around 1600, rebuilt in 1738 and substantially added to and altered in 1905. The largely Eighteenth-Century exterior reveals little of the riches to be seen inside. The Manor was bought by the Stanford family in 1794 and was the family home for 134 years. Upon the deaths of Sir Charles and Lady Thomas-Stanford in 1932, the house and contents were left to the Corporation of Brighton (now Brighton and Hove City Council). As well as the house’s rich history, it’s the paranormal reports that bring Phil Whymans’ Dead Haunted Nights team to explore this fascinating property. Tales of ghostly sightings and unexplained experiences at Preston Manor go back through history, including Sister Agnes, the medieval nun who helped travellers on their way; a body buried under the patio; a disembodied hand floating by the four-poster bed; the White Lady and the elegant Lady in Grey who descends the grand staircase with nowhere to go. One friendly spirit was even seen trying out a child’s toy tractor during the 1960’s. The reports continue with modern day sightings of non-existent visitors, doors locking themselves, lights turning off for no reason and the ghostly hand holding onto a doorknob.
FIRST FLOOR Marq joins fellow team members Angel, Tim, Angie and Darren on the first floor along with Preston Manor guide Sue. In the Master Bedroom, various call outs were made as Darren thought he saw a shadow in the hallway although in the dark, eyes can play tricks on you. After a while, me moved across the landing into the library area. Sue recounted a few of the paranormal stories from the place whilst we set up a communication circle. Whilst this was in progress, Angie noticed that her orch had been switched on although it had been off. This was intriguing as the ‘On’ button was quite firm and no one had touched it. We wrapped up in this area with no explanation for this occurrence.
KITCHEN / SCULLERY After a break, we join Team Leader Vince downstairs to the kitchen and scullery areas. Tim locked off his camera as we gave various call outs to see if anyone would respond from elsewhere. Eventually, we decided to split with the men remaining in the kitchen area and the girls heading off to an adjoining corridor. It was here that Angie thought she saw something by a door in the corridor. A light seemed to dancing around the viewfinder of the camera but on closer inspection, this was revealed to be a light on a heater. Apart from this explanation, there still seemed to be something hovering in front of the girls and this was only broken by the arrival of the boys from the other room. Even in night vision, it’s hard to determine whether Angie had actually witnessed anything in the corridor and we have to speculate that this was proberly a trick of the light.
DINING ROOM For the final vigil of the evening, we join Team Leader Sara in the Dining Room. Sitting quietly in this elegant room, a few shadows were seen as Tim accidentally triggered the alarm system disturbing the stillness of the room! We did make fun of the situation with Tim and a healthy dose of laughter is always good to have on an investigation to raise energy and keep everyone grounded.
CONCLUSION Although a quiet night with regards to any alleged paranormal activity, Preston Manor does hold a certain atmosphere and you do feel the sense of something unseen watching us from the shadows…although that could be Phil Whyman making sure we haven’t got lost! |
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MEV Productions / Spiral © 2008 |
