Chat It’s Fate – September 2019

everywhere and it seems to get
darker and darker every step down
we take.
9:10pm: We are standing on
small metal walkway that stretches
through what would have once
been a Medieval tannery. We turn
the torches off and start up our EMF
meters to see if we can detect any
unusual magnetic forces in the air,
which are supposedly linked with
paranormal presence. Everything is
at a normal level. It is pitch black
though and you feel like there could
be someone stood right in front of
you and you wouldn’t even know.
‘Is there anyone here who wishes
to make contact with us this
evening?’ Andrew asks, his voice
echoing everywhere around us.
Silence. No response at all. He
tries several more times, all in vain.
9:40pm: After trying to make
contact for some time we decide to
move on to a diff erent area. We turn
our torches on and start discussing
where to move too next. Out of
nowhere, SPLASH! Something has
been thrown into one of the huge
pools of water underneath us.
‘What the hell was that?’ I shout,
trying to regain my composure after
such a big shock.
‘I have no idea,’ says Judi,
looking as shocked as I am, ‘But
look at the water!’
There are waves from whatever
landed in the water. I shine my

torch down but

it’s too dark to

see to the bottom

of the pools. I

check that

no-one has

dropped

anything out of

their pockets but

everyone has

everything

accounted for.

All of a sudden,

the caves feel

more sinister,

like something is playing with us.

Toys for kids

10:30pm: We’ve moved to

another part of the caves. This

place is narrower but with a ledge

we can sit down on.

‘If there is anyone

there, can you make

yourself known to the

group?’ Andrew calls

out, only to be met

once again with

silence.

We sit and wait,

reminding ourselves

that patience is

usually the key on an investigation.

We place some small balls on the

fl oor in an attempt to attract the

attention of the supposed children

who haunt this part of the caves.

‘I can feel something,’ Judi

announces. ‘There’s

something playing

with my hair!’

I turn, look and

indeed, her hair is

moving on its own.

But then I notice

something I hadn’t

spotted before.

‘Are the long-dead

residents making

themselves known to

us, or is it...’ I smile

and point to the roof.

‘...The air vents of

Broadmarsh car park turning on?’

Everyone looks up and spots the

metal pipe coming through the

sandstone, the modern meeting the

old. We all laugh, but I can tell we

all feel a bit disappointed and silly.

11:30pm: Everything

seems to have gone

very quiet and it feels

almost quite peaceful

here, away from the

noise and revelry in the

pubs above us. If there

is something here, it

doesn’t seem to be

unwelcoming or

negative. We decide

that we should pick another area of

the caves for our fi nal attempt to

make contact.

12:15am: We are in what would

once have been used as an air raid

shelter, metal sheeting scaling up

the sides of the walls and ceiling.

All around us are relics of the war,

including ration packs, fi eld

telephones and a gas mask. I pick

up the mask and hand it to Judi,

who smiles and puts it on.

‘That’s the most frightening

thing I’ve seen down here so far,’ I

joke to her.

12:55am: It seems that tonight

isn’t to be our night. The location is

spooky, atmospheric, but apart

from someone - or something -

throwing an object into one of the

tannery water pools, we have had

no luck. The air raid shelter

certainly looks impressive

enough but we decide to

make our way back upstairs

to reception.

As we prepare to leave this

cave we spot something in

the corridor. A small white

object that couldn’t have

been there before or we

would have seen it.

‘That’s one of the balls we

put in that cave hours ago,’ I say,

confused but excited. ‘How on

earth did it get back here?’

We all look at each other,

confused. No one seems to have

any idea. We pick it up and begin

our walk back up the street level.

1:30am: We get back to the

reception area and I thank our

hosts for the night as the door to

this strange, unique and yes,

extremely spooky underground

world shuts and is bolted up

securely once again.

DODDS’ THOUGHTS:

There’s so much history

here that I had high

hopes for more

interaction with the

spirits. We had a couple

of really interesting

things happen but the

caves didn’t want to give

up their secrets - not to us

anyway!

City Of Caves is open to

visitors every day,

10.00am - 5.00pm. Dark

Souls events offer

overnights stays in some

of the most haunted

locations in the country,

for mor information visit

darksoulsevents.com

Something

sinister

is playing

with us

The forlorn souls

of long-dead children

haunt these caves

Dark Souls:

Meet the team

Splash:

Unexpected

Old meets new:

Strange world

Anyone there?

Lost souls