Bazalgette Pier - Ghost Hunt

October 31st, 2005

 

On Halloween, 2005, a group of paranormal investigators took a less than legal excursion to the remnants of Bazalgette Pier. It is the only time the pier has been surveyed for supernatural activity. Using ghost-hunting kit available in 2005, the team of [anon], gained access to the rusting structure with plans to conduct experiments in a search for paranormal activity.

 

The following blog is a record of the events that occurred, that dark night, out at sea, over ten years ago. The diary, videos, audio clips and photos are published here, for the first time.

Note: Both the video and audio recordings have deteriorated in quality, given the age and various analogue methods of recopying, over the last 11 years. The evidence is presented without further corruption and unfiltered. The audio recordings are from the original magnetic tapes, used by the ghost-hunters when trying to capture EVPs, using an analogue dictaphone (voice recorder). The quality is far from perfect. The same can be said of the video recordings, which have suffered damage over the years, with some sequences lost to VHS noise.

 

 

September 15th, 2005

Heard back from the authorities, they won't allow access to Bazalgette Pier. They can't find a descendant or anyone wanting to take responsibility for the old ruin. Very disappointed.

 

 

October 28th, 2005

A break! A real opportunity has appeared out of nowhere. The Pier has legal 'custodians' apparently, called Hare & Crow, who 'might' allow access. They're pretty cagey, but I've got a good feeling about this.

 

October 31st, 2005

13:45

Buzzing for tonight's Ghost Hunt! I bloody LOVE the old Bazalgette Pier. I spent my childhood trying to beat The Claw, stick it to Electradart or wasting time on the deck. Those days seen to go on forever, like the old promenade. Good memories. There's barely any photos from the 80's era, of the pier. I wish I had taken more, 'cos you never know when it's too late to take the opportunity.

 

It'll be sad to see the state of the place, neglected and forgotten, so I'm expecting the worse. 2005 is likely to be The Pier's last year. The winter tides have been getting increasingly bad, smashing the coast and anything that stands in its way.

The storm is coming.

 

October 31st, 2005

15:25

Some thoughts:

HAUNTED?

Is the pier haunted?

There is strong evidence to suggest something or someone is trying to draw attention of those on land. Does a spirit want the help of the living? There have been mysterious lights witnessed, with some describing an unnatural fog that cloaks the derelict pier, even on a blistering hot summer day. There have even been reports of audio phenomena: old time music has been heard, drifting across the sea from the skeletal remains. Others state that they have heard sounds from the old Fun Fair, the terrible whining screech of the Ghost Train.

 

Is the haunting a hoax?

Unlikely. The pier is a treacherous place, lots of dodgy old building materials and chemical treatments, with any part of the rusting ruin likely to break and fall to the sea below. At any time!

 

There are also toxic hazards, as well as the impracticality of landing on the pier. It is illegal to approach the pier struts, with heavy penalties for trespassers. The place hasn't been surveyed for years, so it's impossible to know just how bad it is.

Note to self: be careful and don't get caught.

 

October 31st, 2005

19:15

We're inside! Took a bit of doing, but no-one saw us. No-one living that is. We're gonna unpack, get set up and find some ghosts! We have set up a base HQ in the tower, above the arcade. It's a good look-out spot, and away from any snooping metal thieves and the police. We plan to sleep all day, and work all night.

Bazalgette Pier is now home, until the foreseeable future.

 

Here's some background:

Bazalgette Pier last closed its doors in March, 1988. The place had become unfashionable, due to the rise of the video arcade and flashy theme parks. Basically, the cool kids had something cooler to do than ride on the old Ghost Train or pop pennies in the vintage slot machines. You can hardly blame them.

 

The only accessible area of the pier, back in 1988, was the Bingo Hall and old Penny Arcade. The main section of the pier was abandoned, back in the 1950's, following a terrible 'event'. There were rumours of a curse, a cabal and a mysterious entity, known as the Dark Fall. It's proper crazy stuff, the stuff of legend, or a dodgy horror movie.

They all disappeared, 12 of them at least!

Never to be seen again.

 

October 31st, 2005

20:30

We've got something! A reaction! It started with a good hit from the EMF, suggesting an energy form was gathering strength. Then, almost immediately after, the Laser Thermometer registered a 5 degree shift in to cold. We could all feel it. We called out, trying to coax the spirit to make contact. Guess what? It did.

The old red letters of the Bazalgette sign lit up! There's no way that's accidental. There's no power!

The red light seemed to throb, or pulse, for a few moments, and then it was gone.

This is good. This means there IS something here.

 

October 31st, 2005

21:10

I don't mind admitting that the pier is getting to me. I'm supposed to be a seasoned ghost-hunter, but there's something about this place. I keep hearing noises, voices! I thought it was the sea at first, the endless slosh and crash beneath the boards… but no, it's something else. I'm going to get [deleted] to do a sweep with the Spiritbox, see if anyone is trying to speak to us.

 

21:25

Another hit. There's a clear, consistent vocal coming from the Spiritbox, with direct answers to specific questions. We're debating the significance of the find, as well as what the voice actually said.

"Where is Eddie?"

"Where's my teddy?"

Those are the two most popular, but [deleted] is insisting that it's saying:

"We are ready"

I personally find the last interpretation quite sinister, but that's [name withheld] for you, always finding darkness in his own shadow.

 

21:54

Music! Old time music, properly scratchy music hall stuff. It's coming form the PA system, in the old Gents toilet. Tinny, distant at first, but then stronger, like something upped the volume. I thought [name withheld] was messing with me at first, but he was as spooked as I was.

There's a bit of tension; I'm not the only one getting a bit freaked out.

 

22:05

A shadow? A shape? I'm always skeptical with evidence like this. I tried to recreate the shadow, by repeating my actions (camera strap? My shadow?), but nothing. It's kind of weird how it looks like a man, like a shape of a man but filled with nothing. I've never seen anything like this before, it's as if [text ends]

 

22:08

The arcade is alive! The bingo machine has just switched on. By itself! It's a bloody racket; a musical mess of old arcade machines and creaking metal. I don't understand! The energy required for such an event, I've never seen anything like it.

 

22:15

Quiet again. We've split up to conduct our individual vigils. [name withheld] is on Thermo duties, [name withheld] has the Spiritbox and I get to play with the multi-spectrum Goggles (thanks boss!). Gotta love a bit of updated tech. My first experiment with the goggles was back in 2000, my first proper paranormal investigation, searching for ghosts in an old railway station and hotel.

 

Bazalgette Pier reminds me of that old casefile; the pier was built at the same time as the railway expansions, both locations are heavy with nostalgia, like the old time era refuses to die and fade away. There have also been disappearances at both locations, a series of unexplainable 'vanishings'.

 

23:45

The pier is bloody dangerous, there's no room for error, so messing about is not a good idea. So, I am less than pleased that [name withheld] has decided to go off on a ramble of his own. The metal walkways are treacherous, with no guarantees that a collapse may be imminent. But, you know what he's like, "…nothing ventured…", the patronising dolt.

But, I am worried.

 

00:01

This is impossible! A time change, or a slip or some kind? For a moment the place was different. No. It was the same. Damn, this is hard to explain. Deep breath…

I was on the deck, looking down the length of the pier. There's an old 80's ice-cream stall out there, nothing fancy, but I thought I'd take a look. That's when it happened. Bright at first, just a white light, like a torch in your face! But, it wasn't a torch, it wasn't a light.

 

It was day! It was real bloody day light! There was music, like 50's radio muzak, cheery, meaningless, out of place. Then the people. Chatter, like everyday voices, passing by, right next to me! So, either I'm hallucinating, or this is more powerful than anything we've encountered before.

I've never encountered anything like this!!

 

00:15

[name witheld] is back, he's been further into the remnants than anyone I know. The old Bazalgette fragments are bits of the old Victorian Pier, inaccessible for over 50 years. It's a miracle that any of it still stands. But, [name withheld], thinks there may be more buildings, even the old fairground, out there, in the fog. Waiting for us!

He's a bloody idiot, but he gets results: evidence!

Click a frame on the contact sheet to see an enlargement:

 

Another time slip, this time is was the 30's, based on visual and audio clues. This is unbelievable. This could blow the lid of everything we known about ghosts, the paranormal, and the 'otherside'. I had all the activity down as an 'anniversary ghost', an event from the past that plays out on a certain night, or date. But, this suggests something else, a restless era, trying to live again.

 

00:54

[name withheld] has gone! Just gone! Me and [name withheld] are going to do one last search, just in case. She was using the Spiritbox, by the arcade office, and said she heard me call her name. Nope. Wasn't me. I thought/feared it might be the police, but no, there's no-one else. How would an anniversary haunting know our names?! Then, she was gone, just vanished. There's a whopping great hole in the deck, water pouring in from above, but she was always so careful. There was no scream, no shout, just… GONE!

01:34

We should never have come here. They said it was cursed, they said no-one was allowed back on Bazalgette Pier. They were right. They should have destroyed this place years ago. They should have burnt the place down. Now it's too late.

Now it knows… it knows my name, it knows my NAME!