Lympne Castle has been a Roman watch-tower & fortress, an Anglo-Saxon outpost, a stockaded camp, a Norman Castle, a home to the archdeacons of Canterbury (including Thomas Becket), a Tudor fortified residence, a farm, the haunt of smugglers and a look-out post during the Second World War.
Is it any wonder such a varied and chequered history has left behind ghostly forms and paranormal happenings?
Allow us to unravel the macabre and bloody history whose essence still lingers to this very day.
Legend has it that a Roman soldier, who was on watch duty in the east tower, accidently fell to his death and since that fateful day unexplained footsteps are heard mounting the tower steps, yet these footsteps are never heard coming back down.
Ancient documents tell of six Saxons who when fleeing from the Normans, took refuge behind the castle walls. So terrified were they that they entered the Castle itself and sought a hiding place until the danger had passed, one can only imagine how the Saxons were thrown into a state of intense fear & desperation upon being discovered by those pursuing and being slaughtered immediately from whence they hid.
It is said that these spectral beings still walk as shadowy silent figures bringing with them a sense of despair and doom.
The murder of six priests at Lympne Castle in the wake of the Norman Conquest preceded these religious men being thrown into prison inside the newly completed fortress for being married. The time spent imprisoned is not known nor is it documented how they met their demise but one thing is for sure those priests are seen lurking mournfully around the stone walls that held them captive walking quietly as if in conversation spectators cannot hear.
Two kitchen staff reported hearing mysterious cry’s of a baby from an empty room in one of the towers. I insert the record which was taken by Peter Underwood upon his investigation:
'On Whit Monday 1967, whilst working in a room in one of the towers we heard, on separate occasions, the crying and whimpering of a baby in the room beneath where we were working. Alarmed we hurried down but found the room to be empty. We were both absolutely astounded to discover no baby was in the castle at the time'.
It is thought that perhaps these cries were from an infant who had possibly been used as a 'foundation sacrifice' by the Romans; it is thought the same had taken place at other important sites. We can only pray this not to be the case.
A previous tenant of Lympne Castle reported seeing a spirit in Tudor costume and other ghostly apparitions and told of the various sounds, footsteps and vague forms which she and others had been witness to over many years with no logical explanation.
There is suggestion that some of the dark shapes seen scuttling from room to room in Lympne Castle are those of smugglers who used this vast building to hide their booty and had connections with a little wooded shanty (used as a look out) that once stood erect at the back of the church which neighbours the Castle. This could well be possible as the sea at one time came up to the Castle grounds and the high vantage point gave them early warning for escape upon spotting advance from the Kings Men that came to raid, arrest and hang any unfortunate they captured in the name of the law.
The Ghost Hunt
The ghost hunt will take place on Friday 22nd October 2010 starting at 10:00pm until 03:00am - SOLD OUT
As with all our Ghost Hunts, guests will be able to participate in Séances, Ouija Board sessions, Table tilting and EVP experiments. On the night guests will be split into two groups, with a Medium and a camera operator assigned to each group. A cold buffet will be supplied and Tea & Coffee will be served throughout the night.
Lympne Castle never ceases to amaze us at Ghost Search UK and that is why we have a number of events scheduled throughout 2010, but our next over night paranormal investigation is scheduled for Friday 22nd October 2010.
Previous investigations at Lympne Castle have given those attending some great evidence, which includes
• Disembodied footsteps recorded and heard by those present climbing the stone tower steps towards the room we were working in
• Numerous light anomalies caught on film, either moving purposefully slow for attention or at lightening speed
• Male medium given the sensation of being strangled whilst working in the East tower
• Shadows seen walking behind people during séance circles
• Strange lights cast on walls in rooms whilst working (visible to naked eye)
• The sound of movement in rooms which are empty
• The movement of a coat hanger by Spirit
• Mist or ectoplasm captured on film
We can’t wait to add to the catalogue of paranormal phenomena, are you brave enough to be there when we do?
Rod Aspinall has given Ghost Search UK access to all areas which includes both towers and rooms upstairs where the general public are not permitted. Many of these rooms and towers have been left untouched by refurbishment for a very long time and ooze active spirit as well as imprints of events that history books revel in.
This investigation site is one not to be missed, if you are seeking evidence that life after death exists and things really do go 'bump in the night' then I dare you to join us for the all night filmed paranormal investigation we are about to undertake.
Watch the videos of phenomena captured at previous investigations
