My Haunted House Challenge

I turned 50 this week

I think it’s a real privilege to reach half a century; I have friends and family who weren’t so lucky. With it being a milestone birthday I wanted to mark it in an unusual way. So back last year, when my birthday still felt far away, I decided I would spend the night, by myself in a haunted house.

Those of you who listen to the podcast know I have an open mind when it comes to the paranormal. I think many uncanny experience can be explained from a scientific point of view, and I also think that makes the experiences just as interesting, if not more so than if there was something truly supernatural happening. But I also believe people who have paranormal experiences, and not all of them can be explained rationally by science. Maybe one day we will be able to find answers. But now the mystery intrigues me.

My passion is history and how ordinary people’s experiences shape the stories handed down to us. I also have a fascination with our psychology and how place and story affect our minds. So this seems like the perfect challenge for me to take on.

This isn’t a ghost hunt

I saw a headline earlier this year about Yvette Fielding of Most Haunted being too afraid to go the toilet by herself when she is investigating ghosts. It was in the Daily Star but all the same it made me think of how many programmes about the pararmormal really ratchet up the tension and the drama. There’s often a lot of screaming and such. Now that’s fine if you’re after a bit of fun. But if you are living or working somewhere that genuinely is creeping you out, I’m sure that kind of programme isn’t very helpful.

I wanted to show that you can spend time in haunted places without resorting to screaming or theatrics. I want to really soak up the atmosphere and analyse how I feel in the locations. I’ll then share my thoughts and stories connected with the locations with you all. I’ll be recording while I’m there but not taking along a bag of ghost busting gear!

What is the challenge?

I am going to spend two nights in a house which dates back over 500 years and has a reputation for being haunted. Many guests of this house have experienced strange sounds and sights whilst staying there. It also looks like a fabulous place to stay right in the heart of historic York.

If I survive two nights in the haunted house I am then moving on to a haunted pub for a final night in York. Now most pubs in York, in fact most pubs in the UK, seem to have a ghost attached. The pub I am going to stay in has numerous ghosts associated with it.

My challenge is to stay in these historic buildings, notorious for hauntings, by myself and to record what I see, hear, feel and learn about the places. I’ll then share what happens with my listeners on a live YouTube stream to celebrate a year of the Weird in the Wade podcast.

Live YouTube Stream

That’s right I’ll be live on YouTube on Wednesday 1st May at 7pm (BST) you can follow and subscribe to the podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCegxZ9JdGavae6yHfu5Y6zA

Why stay by myself?

I plan to do this challenge by myself for some practical reasons and some sneaky ones. My husband couldn’t get the time off work to come with me for one. Secondly sometimes I just need to get away from it all by myself to recharge my batteries. I tend to do it at least a few times a year. But the main reason for doing the challenge alone is I want my responses to be natural and genuine. If I went with a group of people I am certain I would be influenced by their emotions and actions. I really do believe that it’s scarier when you’re in a group. When I see someone else is scared, that makes my fear more heightened. So if I’m by myself I can’t influence anyone else’s experience you know by asking “Did you hear that?” in a frightened voice. It’ll be just me and my field recorder!

When is this happeneing?

I travel up to York on Monday 8th April, so tomorrow as I write this. I’m not going to give away the location of where I’m staying until I’ve finished my stay, purely for practical safety reasons. Also I don’t want to be influenced just now, by other’s experiences of the places where I’m staying beyond what I find out myself. So please be patient. Keep an eye on the social media for the podcast, which you can find links to here because I will keep you updated there!

But I will be getting up to other spooky related things in York for the podcast. York is often described as the most haunted city in the world! I’ll be visiting York Minster, many local pubs, lots of historic sites and also the home to one of the worlds most intriguing ghost sightings, the Treasurer’s House. The story of this house is amazing, you can read all about it’s many ghosts here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/treasurers-house-york/ghosts-of-treasurers-house

My favourite of the stories being that of the Roman soldiers, and the wonderful Welsh story teller, Owen Staton has just told that tale on his Time Between Time’s podcast. I really recommend you give it a listen! Here’s a link: https://pod.fo/e/22e5cb