Global Halloween Ghost Hunt and Live Broadcast Coming to Ghostvillage.com
Three teams of paranormal investigators from the United States, England, and Australia to offer live and interactive coverage from some of the most haunted places on earth.
Paranormal investigators across the world are joining forces with BBC South West on October 31st for what may be the world’s first global ghost-hunt. The broadcast, highlights, and interactive chat room can be accessed at: www.ghostvillage.com/halloween.
The spooky encounters of teams in the USA , Australia, and the South West of England will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Devon, Cornwall, Jersey, and Guernsey and streamed online to a worldwide audience.
Listeners to The John Govier Late Show and Ghost Chronicles will be able to hear whether things really do go bump in the night at a creepy chapel in East Devon, a notorious mansion in Rhode Island, a sinister theatre in Australia, a former workhouse in Plymouth, and a ghostly castle in Exeter. They can interact with the teams by following the action via live Web cams and pose questions to the investigators via a chat room.
The idea is the brainchild of the founder and leader of Haunted Devon Byron Jackson who wanted to mark Halloween in a special way after forging links with a paranormal team in the States. “We’ve been working at a location in East Devon called Salem Chapel which was built in tribute to a local dissenter who later founded Salem in Massachusetts. While researching the story we got in touch with Ron Kolek of The New England Ghost Project and he suggested the possibility of a pan-Atlantic investigation. The US team have links with Haunted Australia and before we knew it we were planning Halloween on a global scale. We’ve enjoyed working with BBC South West over the past two years on various projects and thought it would be great to give listeners and web users the chance to investigate with us from the safety of their own homes!”
Matt Woodley, BBC Radio Devon’s Head of Programmes is producing the Halloween broadcast from 10pm on the 31st. “The beauty of a programme like this is that anything could happen at anytime. All five locations have been chosen because they are said to be extremely active, so the teams are hoping to catch plenty of unexplained noises, sensations and sightings. We can cross live to each investigation at a moment’s notice, so we’ll be following the action as closely as we can. Whether you’re a believer in ghosts or not it’s an ambitious broadcast from some fascinating historical sites on three different continents, so it should provide a great listen.”
One of the largest paranormal sites in the world: www.ghostvillage.com is also involved in the project and will be hosting a live forum chat room specifically for this event. “We’re proud to be a part of this global paranormal event,” said Jeff Belanger, author and founder of Ghostvillage.com. “It’s a very haunted world we live in and on Halloween night this broadcast will offer a taste of the ghosts of three continents.”
THE INVESTIGATIONS:
1. The Treasury, Plymouth, Devon: Thought to have been built on a French Prisoner of War gravesite, this former workhouse, treasury building, nuclear shelter, and police station has recently been converted into a bar and restaurant. This venue has never been investigated by a paranormal team before. The former police cells (which can only be accessed via a tunnel below a manhole in the street outside) have been boarded up for years but will be unsealed for this investigation. The team of believers and sceptics will be led by Byron Jackson from Haunted Devon and attended by guest psychic medium Mark Cheetham. BBC presenter Pippa Quelch will present live from the venue.
2. Salem Chapel, East Budleigh, Devon: Salem Chapel dates back to 1719 and stands on the edge of East Budleigh , the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh. The Chapel’s past is one where smuggling played a major role. The minister from 1768 to 1807 was Samuel Leat, reputably a man made wealthy from the illicit gains of smuggling. After his death in 1817 a scandal arose over embezzled funds leading to the desecration of his grave in 1818 when the coffin was dug up and wrecked and the body mangled. A team from Haunted Devon will be leading the investigation, including Eileen King a Pagan Witch from Plymouth who will be marking the Pagan Halloween festival in a traditional way. (Eileen is happy to be interviewed about this – please see contact numbers at bottom of news release.)
3. Exeter Castle, Devon: A team of investigators – including ladies from the Devon Air Ambulance Trust – will be exploring the old court house built inside Exeter Castle – formerly knows as Rougemont. The investigation will be led by Dave Phillips from local team TIP. BBC Presenter Kevin Hutchings will present live from the venue.
4. Sprague Mansion, Rhode Island, USA: The Sprague Mansion is reportedly Rhode Island ‘s Most Haunted Mansion . Built circa 1790 and added to in 1864, it was the home of industrialist William Sprague II and later Amasa Sprague. He and his brother William Sprague the fourth were the two richest men in America at the time of the American Civil War.Although the mansion saw its share of wealth, its opulence was shadowed by death and murder. Amasa Sprague was murdered near the mansion on New Year’s Eve in 1843. An employee of the mansion, John Gordon, was quickly accused of his murder. In 1845 he was convicted of murder on circumstantial evidence and hung on the gallows. Evidence later came to light casting doubt on his guilt. Amasa Sprague’s father William Sprague II died in the mansion, choking on a chicken bone at the breakfast table. Kate Chase Sprague, wife of Amasa’s son and Governor, William Sprague the fourth went insane and her son William Sprague the fifth committed suicide. Visitors to the mansion have heard mysterious footsteps and felt an icy cold touch. Ghostly apparitions have been seen ascending the main staircase and strange lights can be seen in the wine cellar. The most famous ghost of the mansion is that of Charlie the butler. Charlie attempted to marry his daughter off to one of the Sprague sons to gain possession of the mansion. His clever plan failed and now it is said that he refuse to leave what he believe should be his. This investigation will be led by Ron Kolek and The New England Ghost Project.
5. The Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, Australia: The Australian team decided to base their investigation inside a sinister theatre in the gold mining town of Castlemaine, said to be haunted by several ghosts who have been seen during the daytime, as well as at night. (The timing of the global investigation happens mid-morning for them.) They investigation will be led by Jose from Haunted Australia .
THE INVESTIGATORS:
Haunted Devon: Haunted Devon was formed in 2005 by Byron Jackson and a small team of dedicated paranormal investigators. The team now has over a hundred members and has earned an excellent reputation as one of Britain ‘s largest and best equipped non-commercial groups. HD’s television work has included ITV West Country News, a two part documentary entitled “Believe it or not” with ITV, BBC Spotlight and HDTV a US cable company. The team has appeared in the national “PARANORMAL” magazine and numerous local and national newspapers and magazines. Website: www.haunted-devon.co.uk Contact: Byron Jackson: 07821 410071 or byron.jackson@btinternet.com
The New England Ghost Project: Ron Kolek is the founder and lead investigator of The New England Ghost Project. With a degree in Environmental Science, he was the ultimate sceptic. But a near death experience changed all that. He now uses scientific background to seek the truth about the paranormal. In addition to hosting and producing Ghost Chronicles on Ghostvillage Radio, Itunes, and PodCast Alley, he also hosts and produces a weekly radio show on 1490 AM WCCM in Lawrence , Massachusetts , and writes monthly paranormal newspaper columns in The Stateline Review and Food and Spirits. Ron, his co-host, Maureen Wood (a trance-medium) and his group have been featured on all of the major New England television channels including WBZ CBS 4, WHDH Channel 7, WCVB Channel 5, WMUR Channel 9, WNDS Channel 50, and others. His exploits have been documented in many newspaper and magazine articles including Woman’s World. He has been a guest on several radio stations and is internationally known with features in the U.K. , Germany , and China . Website: www.neghostproject.com Contact Ron at: ronk@ghostvillage.com Telephone: (978) 455-6678
Haunted Australia: This internationally respected team has been described as the Australian version of Most Haunted and films investigations for TV. Website: www.mysticalguides.com For more information contact: Jose at: mysti1@mysticalguides.com
