We got there just after 8.30pm and the sky was black, very appropriately it was a full moon, which Wayne failed to find any relevance to…! He’s the skeptical one out of the two of us….
The approaching dirt track to the house is over a rough terrain and my little clio was having trouble.
As we reached the bottom there stands the Mansion House an unfinished, gothic style house, which has lain in its unfinished state since 1870. The house was abandoned by its builders in the middle of construction, as the story goes they were disturbed by an unexplainable presence and left suddenly one night leaving behind a building that appears complete from the outside, but with floors, plaster and whole rooms missing inside.
We gathered with the group and made our way inside, after a brief but disturbing history tour we got down to the juicy bits and started our investigation.
Ground floorA vacant space with a strangely modern feel to it, modern wooden stairs are oddly joined to some of the original intricate stonewalls. It had an airy feel to it and nothing seemed to be triggering my senses. One of the more eerie rooms was the chapel, lit by two large stained glass windows. One of the more intriguing stories surrounding the chapel involves apparent 'Satanic rituals', which are said to have taken place, during the 1980's.
We gathered with the group and made our way inside, after a brief but disturbing history tour we got down to the juicy bits and started our investigation.
Ground floorA vacant space with a strangely modern feel to it, modern wooden stairs are oddly joined to some of the original intricate stonewalls. It had an airy feel to it and nothing seemed to be triggering my senses. One of the more eerie rooms was the chapel, lit by two large stained glass windows. One of the more intriguing stories surrounding the chapel involves apparent 'Satanic rituals', which are said to have taken place, during the 1980's.
CellarThis was a completely different ball game! We all stood in a circle of about 12 and remained deathly silent for about 15 minutes, there were clinking noises coming from the corridor behind us as if some one was putting tools into a metal toolbox. Also the air became very oppressive and a few people had to leave. This may well have been claustrophobia as the ceilings were very low.
Floor 2
Open doorways and shear drops met us on this floor; the feeling of abandonment grew more prominent. We stood huddled together in a close secure group and listened. One lady who was about 40 began to giggle, then the giggle turned into hysterics, it seemed to be out of place as she was with her 17 year old daughter and was having trouble controlling this fit of laughter, we asked her to move away from the circle to see if it continued. It stopped. She came back into the atmosphere and once again she could not stop laughing. It proved more than slightly strange, as she couldn’t explain it herself…
The guide asked if one of us would like to go it alone and sit on the pews which lined the back of the corridor, about 20 yards away. I happily volunteered trying to get the most out of the venue and experience something unexplainable myself. I sat on the cold wooden church pew and closed my eyes, I suddenly felt as though someone was playing with my shoelaces, untying them then tying them together in jest. I could feel a cold draft to my left and the others seen a bright white light appear over the top of my head. I didn’t feel threatened or anxious just curious…
The other rooms in Woodchester proved somewhat uneventful although the whole building is most definitely in a preserved state of abandonment – for what reason who knows.