Saturday 8th September 2006.Ghost Search.

The Admiral Keppel was no doubt named after an 'Admiral Keppel' (1725-1786), who sailed round the world. He was court-martialled in 1778, accused of misconduct & neglect of duty. He was subsequently acquitted, when the court found the allegations to be malicious & ill founded.

The town of Deal had become a notorious haunt of smugglers as early as 1745. Stories abound of tunnels under Deal, some running miles inland, used by the smugglers.

Under the "Admiral Keppel", a local hostelry, which certainly dates back to the 18th Century, there is a blocked up tunnel, which is meant go from the "Admiral Keppel", under the existing road to the Church. There is no doubt that there were very many hideaways full of brandy, lace and tobacco. The tunnels provided a ready highway to transport contraband away from the prying eyes of ordinary folk.

Prohibition didn't deter the smugglers of Deal, Dover and Folkestone. Laughing at the authorities, they simply built their boats across the channel, under the self-interested protection of the French government.

To sum this investigation site up in one word, Wow. Both Adam and I were impressed with The Admiral Keppel. Not only are the Spirit very active, but the staff and local clientele were very sociable and friendly....so thank you guys.

At the top of this property you will find the attic, a large open space that is awaiting renovation. It was here that we came in contact with two male energies. The first image we were shown was a pair of thick leather gloves, and then a bird of prey, this used to be kept as a pet (the bird not the gloves!). The owner introduced himself as Richard Constable who was 54 years of age when he passed over. His comrade was Samuel King, who accompanied Richard at all times. There was also a four year old boy to be found hiding in a loft space that is not accessible, when I discovered him Richard stepped forward, I told him I meant no harm. Richard protects not only this little boy but also a murder victim on the floor below. It's the living quarters that you will meet a female Spirit by the name of Pricilla Seycombe; she had her life taken in a marital argument. It was a blow to the back of her head that took her over, her husband eventually hung for his crime. Not only do Pricilla and her husband roam this level, but also her brother-in-law, he is livid that his brother was hung for this 'crime of passion'. Both male energies are strong and I feel they will more than likely show off on the night. It was in the bathroom that we first came in to contact with 'the brother-in-law', his energy was awesome, when I asked him to identify himself he gave me a really rude name that I may only repeat on the night! There is an additional bedroom, cellar and storeroom that hold active Spirit. You might also like to know that Ley lines run through this property and there is a graveyard smack bang in front of the pub.

The Investigation Report

The table tilting session was pretty impressive, lots of dancing and spinning, and even going up and down a step. The entire group were so keen and open that Spirit didn’t have any problem getting the tables moving.

Our first port of call after the table work was the cellar. As we stood in a circle for the séance, people began to feel their backs get extremely cold (the chiller had been turned off so it was not from this). It was caused by a male energy walking around the circle; he seemed to be looking at us trying to see what we were up to. Gradually the guests started to experience gentle arm movement and being pushed and pulled so that they swayed back and forth. Poor Pete (Cam operator) who was leaning against the cellar door, got pushed (or rather the door he was leaning against) sharply and he jolted forward. He checked the door and found it to be very heavy and no springs fitted to close it. I noticed a man about 5'10"-5'11" step forward. He was a broad man and had a large stomach. He looked to be about 70yrs old, although he never confirmed this. He was wearing grey trousers and a white collarless shirt that had blue pinstripes on it. I asked him his name and he said Charles (Charlie) Hodges. Charlie told me that he passed in 1905, and that he had been a farm labourer. He showed me a scene of a row of cottages (3) and said that his was the one on the end (as I was viewing the scene it would have been the one on the right). He showed me chickens in the back garden. I could see there was a track to the front of the cottages, but no road, and I was seeing it as it would have been in the 1870’s as Charlie looked to be in his 40’s. I could see that the cottages had a name but no numbers, but I couldn’t work out what the name was. Steve (guest) said that there was, and still is, a row of three cottages opposite the Admiral Keppel called Church Cottages. There is no road in front of them. Steve asked me what was behind the cottages and as I looked all I could see were fruit trees, Steve and Ben (guest) both confirmed that at one time it was all orchards around the area. Charlie then disappeared from sight. Ben said that he felt someone tugging at the back of his top, just above his waist. As I looked I was aware of a young boy he appeared to be about 9/10yrs old. He gave me the impression that he had drowned in the local area, and it had been in fresh water, not salt. He gave the feeling of passing in the 1960’s although I could not pin this down to a year, but it had been in the late spring or early summer. He gave his name as David. Both Steve and Ben stated that there was (in the 60’s) a local duck pond not far from where we were. Just as David left he gave me a message to pass on to Tess (our locations co-ordinator), this I did. As he left Charlie came back into the room and he brought his wife with him. She gave her name as Mavis and I could see that although she was only about 5'2" tall she was (as Glen put it "well covered") Glen, (Medium) had also picked up on her and said that she was a jolly lady. Mavis promptly said that she didn’t come to speak to her (Glen) that swiftly cut the link that Glen had. Mavis told me that she had passed on the 26th June 1915. They had had 8 children and all had survived infancy. She told me that just after she had passed that 4 of her sons had joined her, killed, as she said, "In the Great War". Evidently 2 had been shot in Belgium (Pashendale) and 2 had been lost at sea. But now all of the family has been re-united. Both Mavis and Charlie then left us. We all had a short break then decided to try the loft. Once there Glen said that someone wanted to talk through her (trance) but as they wouldn’t say who they were and what they wanted she refused. We only stayed a few minutes, then left to go to the lounge. Here Glen and the guest’s had some success with glass movement. There was no evidence as such, but the glass was moved with some vigour down the side of a cabinet and went round in circles on the side. I had been sitting some way apart from the people doing the glasswork with an EMF meter. As I asked Spirit to walk in front of the meter the lights lit up like a Christmas tree. They did this for some time, each time I asked Spirit to step close, so the lights went mad. As the night was drawing to a close we thought we would hold one last séance so we went into a bedroom. When we had settled down the guest’s were again treated to some gentle (and in the case of Tess, not so gentle) swaying and pushing. Poor Penny (guest) couldn’t stand still for more than a minute at a time, before being pushed again. She even tried placing her legs, one in front of the other to restrict the pushing, but it did no good Spirit pushed her anyway. While this was going on I saw a small girl (aged about 3 or 4 yrs old) walking round the circle looking at each person in turn and asking "Is James here?" "Have you seen James?" As she came round to me I asked her who James was, and she told me he was her brother. They and their parents had come down from Scotland (Forfar) on holiday, she had fallen asleep in the back of the car and when she woke up everyone had disappeared. (RTA) She told me her name was Becky, I asked her if she would like to see James and she said yes. I informed the team and explained that we were about to do some "rescue work" and they all agreed to take part. I called on my guide to take Becky home, and she was gone in less than a minute. Everyone felt a bit emotional as the rescue was taking place, but we were all pleased that Becky would again be re-united with her family. Just a couple of minutes later a young boy appeared standing in front of me with his hands on his hips. He said “My name’s James, thank you very much” and left. I must say a big thank you to Dave for his hospitality, and wonderful food. Also a genuine thank you to our team, a lovely bunch of people to work with.

May the Great Sprit walk with each of you and guide you along your chosen path.

Pete & Glen

(Ghost Search Uk Paranormal investigators).

http://www.ghostsearchuk.co.uk/