Shanklin Theatre - Isle of Wight
Written by Paul Gerfen

Oh go on then.. I haven’t written for a while.. sitting comfortably?

I look back at some of the things I’ve done with the paranormal, for me it’s the investigations that involve history that stand out for me, one such encounter that I will always remember is the Ghost Investigation at Shanklin Theatre, an event that the Myths Team, Goosebumps Team and local Ghost Tour guide Marc Tuckey put on some 10 years ago.

I’d hired spooky TV celebrities Jason Karl (Presenter/Actor) and Ian Lawman. (TV Medium) - with over 50 members of the public ready to enjoy a night of spooky encounters. One thing that I didn’t want to happen was to fake anything.. it was to be an accurate interpretation, no setup, no scripts, no hidden objects - just a full on ghost investigation, in the hope that the local spooky residents would want to share their story with us.

With the public splitting into 2 groups, Goosebumps with the lovely Maz, taking Jason Karl and 20 of the public with them to checkout some of the more backstage hidden areas of the theatre, it left myself and the Myths team with some offbeat rooms. One of which was a large dark room used to store stage props, quite how we ended up there - to this day, I don’t know why or even how we got into this pitch-black room.

So there we were 20 members of the public, a few of my team, and TV medium Ian Lawman. It didn’t take him long to start channeling spirit and memories of the past. Maps! .. yes MAPS ON THE WALL! - but what did it mean?

Well it turns out that the theatre played quite a role, not only were the back rooms used as a morgue, but these rooms we were currently in, were in fact used as war planning rooms. The theatre having reinforced underground rooms, making it ideal for its needs. Now although at the time - and remembering it was pitch black - if it wasn’t for Ian channelling a very clear picture of what he could sense, we would have thought nothing more of this store room. (This was later confirmed, with the current owners of the theatre saying that the maps were indeed on the wall when they took over)

Jason Karl, Ian Lawman & Paul

Ian mentioned the smell of smoke.. a fire! - thankfully not in the actual plane of existence, but a replay of the past. We all began to take deep breaths, now remembering that I'm a skeptical believer (work that out) - we all sniffed the air, was it just damp we could all smell? or could it actually have been an echo of the past.

We came out.. walking along the corridor that bridges the back rooms and the front of the theatre. “There was a fire here, possibly from a bomb, people died" said Ian, it wasn’t till later, and talking to some of the older caretakers of the theatre that it was bombed during the war, taking a direct hit.

Taking a brief rest in one of the larger front rooms, somehow.. and still don’t quite know how, I lost the Myths Team.. a swap-over should have taken place, however here I was sat with Ian and our public guests.. ok, show must go on - don’t show I’m nervous, push through it.. for gawd sake I’ve got one of the leading UK psychics in front of me!

Time to really bring it up a notch, if there are spirits around me - I want proof! - I want to understand, and so it began, my own personal investigation with Ian, time to see just how good he really is!

He didn’t disappoint.. what happened in the next 20 minutes blew my mind and my knowledge of the spirit world.

"There’s someone here with us, he died here, he wants his story known" said Ian.

.. to be continued..

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Shanklin Theatre - Isle of WightWritten by Paul Gerfen

Shanklin Theatre - Isle of Wight
Written by Paul Gerfen