GHOST STORIES -
The truly terrifying theatrical production will be transferring to the West End’s Duke of York Theatre on 25th June, after a sell out run at the Lyric Hammersmith
Beachy Head is a beautiful series of high chalk cliffs (575 ft/175 m), on the south coast of East Sussex, S England. Since the 1600s Beachy Head has been notorious as a location for people to attempt suicide, estimated at 20 each year.
Eastbourne Parish Register contains entries of deaths at Beachy Head dating back to 1600 and by the middle of the 20th Century there were an average of 6-7 deaths per year. At the tail-end of the 1990’s it had crept up to an average of 17.
Between the years 1965-1989, an in-depth study of deaths at Beachy Head was made by Dr. John Surtees – a cumulative total of 250. His research looked into the causes of death, injuries sustained, factors relating to the circumstances of the deaths and the resultant verdicts.
After a steady increase in deaths between 2002 and 2005, in 2006 there were only seven fatalities, a marked decrease. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency attributed the reduction to the work of the Chaplaincy Team and good coverage of services by local media.
The Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team patrols the notorious suicide spot of Beachy Head reaching out to the depressed and suicidal. As well as the Frontline Team which operates many hours of patrols at Beachy Head every week of the year.
The BHCT also run an On-call Team which responds to emergencies on Beachy Head 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The team consists of 15 volunteer Frontline team members, 4 of which also operate the On-call Team.
The Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team also has a dedicated Aftercare team of 4 backed up by members of the Frontline Team, where members come from a wide variety of local Churches.
The teams operate closely with the Emergency services of Sussex, often working with Sussex Police and HM Coastguard on many of the incidents at Beachy Head.
The team is funded by voluntary contributions alone and is supported by local churches, ministries, businesses and individuals.The Chaplaincy Team is is run by the Christian charity More Fire Revival Minis.
Ghosts of Beachy Head
Many apparitions have been seen including that of a mother and baby near the cliffs edge and a black monk who is said to beckon people to their death.
Also many people report having the sudden overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and depression.
It’s sinister reputation is well known and Witches were said to have held rituals to deter French invaders here in medieval times, and the term Beachy Head is said to be from the French word “beauchef” the old word for beautiful headland, and before his death Aleister Crowley who lived nearby was to hold strange demonic rituals as part of Winston Churchill’s wartime “Black team “of occultists, at a part called the Devils Chimney.
Location Images
A cliff edge warning
The remains of a car that its owner drove over the cliff edge still located in the cliff face.
Rob Powell & Barri Ghai taking photographs at the cliff edge.
The beautiful sunset and onlookers Toni & Phil
Investigation Outline
The team arrived at the location at 19.00 and assessed the surroundings. A risk assessment was carried out and I briefed the team on expectations, hazards and responsibility.
The view was amazing, unlike any place I had been to before. The thought that kept running through my mind was, 'How can somewhere so beautiful, harbour such a sad and tragic legacy'.
The weather was very settled, and dry. The sun was bright and there were quite a few visitors to the area. It was unfeasible to attempt to begin any investigation whilst the public were still admiring the vista.
We began to take photographs and record pieces to camera to aid us in producing a feature length episode of ghostfinder investigations for Antix productions. As the weather and visibility was good we did venture up to the cliff edge and take a look.
Initial feelings by the team were quite apprehensive, and I also had a mixture of emotions as we all walked the cliff edge towards the Beachy Head Lighthouse.
Our spiritualist medium, Bongo took a walk around to try and make contact with any spiritual energy that was present. I kept my distance, and watched intently as she focused and seemed to become overwhelmed with her surroundings.
Bongo, eventually came to me and offered to share her experiences on camera, and imparted information to me about a spirit that had made his presence very real to her during her walkaround. She explained that a man aged around 40 called Mark had committed suicide here after being investigated by Police. She did not know what interest the Police had had in Mark, only that he was sorry and had no alternative but to end his life here.
Bongo also explained some interesting detail. She identified that he was from the other side of the world, possibly Australia, and that he had worked and lived locally in Eastbourne. Later she tried to give me a little more information, and divulged that he had either lived or worked somewhere with 'Marine' in the title. After his body was rescued from the cliffs, it was also returned back homeland.
This information was very detailed and had us all thinking about the many lives that have been lost here over the years. This was compounded by the several wooden crosses that protruded from the cliff edge, that were marked with names, dates, and kisses. The remains of flowers still wrapped in plastic were also visible at times, and I admit that emotion overcame me and I said a prayer for the many families that have lost loved ones to this tragic end.
Bongo also gave me more information about separate energies that she had identified. the first was female and seemed to be reliving her suicide attempt over and over again. Bongo explained it as being like a residual echo of a woman in white leaping over the edge in a continuous loop.
During her initial walk around, Bongo was accompanied by Trainee Investigator Sheena Prew, and they both had recalled a very overwhelming feeling to jump over the wire guard and walk up and over the cliff edge. Although they both restrained themselves from this action, Bongo mentioned how strong this desire was. Sheena also agreed that it was an irrational feeling and really frightened her.
At around 20.30 the sun was setting, and the most amazing views stopped us in our tracks. We took several minutes to look at our surroundings and take in the beauty of this place again.
I regrouped the team following a refreshment break at the car park situated around 100 feet from the cliff edge. We spent half an hour checking kit, replacing batteries, and awaiting further team members to arrive.
As dusk approached, the team made their way back up to the cliff edge to assess the best spot to start the first EVP recording and possible communication with any spirits. This walk back up the cliff top became a hysterical frenzy after we were swarmed by hundreds of flying beetles.
We were convinced that these winged creatures were bees or stinging insects and ran around screaming for what seemed like ages. We later found out that they are nothing more than harmless 'May bugs' or Cockchafer beetles.
Try not to laugh as our intrepid team tackle their greatest challenge yet!
Once the sun had completely set, the bugs settled and disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. We were relived and little exhausted from all the ridiculous running around and yelling that had taken place.
The First EVP Session
I identified a very beautiful and more stable location near the edge of the cliff to conduct the first EVP session of the night. The public had moved on and left us in peace, and the only sounds were that of the waves below and a few sea birds in the distance.
The group all took their places on the ground and I introduced the EVP recording before placing the recorder on the ground in front of me and Bongo.
Investigator Phil Measey was sitting 20 feet away to my left watching the LCD display on the Fluke Thermal Imaging camera, and Matt Watkins was recording the images from over his left shoulder. Here is that video recording which took place for the duration of the EVP session.
Investigator Rob Powell was sat next to me with his back to the group looking out to sea and holding a voice recorder on his lap. He also had a K2 meter next to him to watch for any changes in the electromagnetic field.
The EVP session only lasted 5 minutes, and no strange readings were recorded at the time. However upon analysis of the audio recordings, I have identified what we consider to be the voice of male spirit that was present with us during the experiment.
After introducing the session to the team and placing the voice recorder on the ground, a sigh and a loud whispered name 'Barri' is clearly identified on the recording. Hearing this voice sent shivers down my spine, as it is me that the disembodied voice was talking to.
The video clip below briefly shows the EVP session in progress, and clearly identifies where most of the male members of the group were sitting in relation to the digital voice recorders.
G.P.S tried extremely hard to debunk this EVP and prove it was a member of the team that had whispered my name. However, after looking at all the photographs, video footage, and listening to another recording captured on a second device, I have concluded that this very clear whisper is in fact a disembodied voice and a Class A EVP.
The Rescue
At around 22.00 the team were walking along the cliff edge and recording data, when we all saw a dark silhouette of a person standing on the edge of the cliffs looking out to sea. The figure was some distance away and immediately I thought that we were about to witness a suicide attempt. My reasoning was that at this time of the evening the only people that would be present were our team, and possibly the Chaplaincy unit that patrols the beach and cliffs.
Trainee Investigator Steve Sweet, is also a police constable and he and myself decided to pick up the pace and walk towards the figure to make sure they were okay.
The dark silhouette was around 800 meters away and we quickly marched uphill to identify it. As we got closer the figure turned and walked further along the cliff edge and away from us until they were on our horizon. We watched intently, trying not losing view of them when suddenly we both saw the figure drop and disappear from our line of sight.
My heart immediately raced and both Steve and I began to sprint towards the spot. With all our equipment in hand it was difficult work, and we just ran as if our lives depended on it. I recall being absolutely terrified at what we may find and all I could think about was getting to them as quickly as possible.
As we approached the brow of the hill that the figure had disappeared from, we were preparing to find nobody there. However to our absolute relief and surprise there was a man laying flat on the cliff edge with a telescopic camera in hand. He was taking photographs of the Beachy Head Lighthouse in the moonlight.
Steve immediately asked him if he was okay and assessed the man's intentions and state of mind before concluding that everything was okay. We both then nervously smiled and turned to walk back to rejoin the team.
Here are our immediate responses following this incident.
