The Old Bell Hotel – Jul 2008

Investigation Site

The Old Bell Hotel
Dursley
Bristol

History of the Site

The Old Bell Hotel was believed to have been constructed around the 15th Century. It was originally used as a Coaching Inn as it lies on the route to Bristol, and would have been very popular around that time. Not many of the original features have been changed since it first was built, and there is still a large bell hanging over the entrance that has been there for around 100 years. The cellars are believed to have been used during the raign of Henry VIII to move the treasures from a local Abbey in Kingwood before he ordered its destruction (the treasure has never been found). It is said that in the distant past, one of the uses of the hotel was Assize Court where many trialled defendants where sent to their fate!!

Investigating Team

The members of the team present for this investigation:
Marlene
Sandra
Gill
Introducing a new member - Becky

Paranormal Activity Eyewitness Reports

Again this building has stood the test of time, and like with most structures this age, the stories of hauntings have always been something of a normal thing. However, one such story is still very interesting.

It is believed that a young chamber maid that worked in the Coaching Inn is said to have hanged herself. This was meant to have been caused by her boyfriend at the time being taken away by some soldiers on a recruitment mission, only later to find out that she was pregnant. As you can imagine this would have not been looked upon as it is today, so unfortunately Mabel took her own life.

Many have said that poor Mabel's spirit did not rest easily, and that over the years she has moved items (including the table arrangements) and also to tidily stack the clothes of visiting guests.

Two other unexplained happenings that have happened in the Old Bell is that once the mirror that hangs in the function room, was found laying on the floor undamaged, and taking into account the size of the looking glass, it would be impossible for someone to do this on their own. Also there have been reports of people hearing the noise of a baby cry from upstairs but never a baby or the source has ever been found!!

Investigation Report

For this investigation the team decided that they would arrive at around 8pm and where warmly greeted by the current land lord. He should them all to room 6 (where it is believed Mabel hung herself) and explained that they were free to use the room, as well as the rest of the upper floor all night.

Once the team had everything in the room, they decided that they would get some chips to start the night in style (which they ate in the church yard opposite the Old Bell), and then head back in to have a little conversation with the locals over a coke. They all found the people in the bar very friendly and all willing to share stories of ghosts and experiences they had all shared which was very interesting and added to the nights excitement.

They then returned back to room 6 and got started on the baseline tests, checking the temperatures in various locations, as well as using the EMFS. The results are listed below:

Room 6
TEMP: 21 degrees
EMFS: 3

Bathroom of Room 6
TEMP: 22 degrees
EMFS: 8 (unusually high)

Dining Room
TEMP: 18.5 degrees
EMFS: 8.5 (this was high due to the amount of electrical equipment in the room)

Function Room
TEMP: 23 degrees
EMFS: 8.5 (again this was high due to the amount of electrical equipment in the room)

Landing on the top floor
TEMP: 22.4 degrees
EMFS: very slight reading

The "motion" camera was setup by the team in the hallway, with a camcorder being situated on the landing. They also placed one "lock off" camera in the Dinning room and another in the Function room to try and capture as much activity as possible.

With everything setup around the building, they returned to Room 6 and started by performing a seance. They placed the voice recorders at either end of the room and then Sandra began. She started by asking if Mabel (the chamber maid) or May Lee (as she liked to be called) was in the room. The team noticed that the room began to feel "heavy" and that their own heads started to also feel "heavy" which they all thought was very odd and were not able to explain it. Unfortunately, the Hotel is next to a night club and the noise was easily captured on one of the voice recorders so this did hamper their findings a little.

The team then moved to the Dinning room and started to ask out again for anyone to come forward. Gill was able to capture 2 orbs floating on her video camera, and Sandra also discovered that she had captured an orb near the window, but there was nothing else happening. After a while the team decided that they would perform a seance in the Function room too. Becky was now filming and also was able to pick up an orb in this room. The team also found that during one stage of the seance the room temperature dropped to around 18 degrees which was a massive difference noticed by all. The team were unable to find anything else, and did not notice anything else out of the ordinary.

On their way back to the Room, they checked the "Motion" camera in the hallway and found that it had taken 7 shots already so they decided to review them. They found that 2 of the shots were of a very bright light coming from the upper floor, which they all found very interesting and exciting, so the team then decided that they would perform a seance in the hallway. Sandra again, asked for any spirits to come forward whilst they watched the screen of the "motion" camera. As she was asking out, all were amazed to see a very large orb float up the stairs and along the hallway towards them. This was truly a special moment for the team. They tried to follow the orb using the camcorder, but it disappeared at the other end of the hallway.

The team were so thrilled with the events that had taken place, they decided that this was a perfect time to end their investigation.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, due the night club next door, the team are not expecting to get many results or findings from the sound recordings that were taken.

They also found that most of the cameras had captured many orbs throughout the investigation, including the large one at the end which strengthened the excitement of the investigation of the Old Bell.

The team have still not been able to explain the strange feeling they had from Room 6 at the beginning of the night, but are going to find out if this had been experienced before.

***We would like to thank The land lord, and the "regulars" for letting us into the Old Bell hotel, and cannot wait for our return. Also they are really sorry for triggering the alarm as they left!!!***

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