A few months ago I was approached by a local radio station and asked if myself (Paul Gerfen) and the wife (Janis) would consider taking part in a radio show about ghosts. Although reluctant at first, we finally agreed on the understanding that it was to be a serious show and our views were not to be ridiculed. (You just can’t always trust the media!)

The show went very well, leading from one show to another. But what could we do to prove to the listeners that the Paranormal World exists? These are people who would not normally watch or take part in ghost investigations. But could we do it? could we really pull it off? Having already had great success on the radio, we had a good friend in the shape of local radio presenter Calder Jon. The idea was put forward to Vectis Radio!

With the planning stage out of the way we had settled on a 4 hour investigation that would run from 9’o clock till 1. The investigation would be broadcast live on Infra-red streaming video cameras across the internet – while the Vectis Radio studio team broadcast a special show, allowing the viewers at home to interact with the investigation. What a plan! but would it work!

Slowly, Saturday the 18th June kept up the calendar, and before we knew it my house resembled something like a TV broadcast van. Wires and laptops snaked across the floor, problem is.. it may all work here, but then I’m not sat in a dark, haunted location trying to broadcast to the nation!

With the cameras still playing up, its decided that for the first hour of the show the team will be based mainly in the studio, giving me time to work on the camera feeds. With Janis & Maz Wills (the medium’s)- giving their account of the atmosphere of the location next-door, it wasn’t long before myself and our cameraman for the night Jason, started to feel just a little uneasy. The temperature felt like it had dropped immensely, although the probe sat next to me proved otherwise. Poor Jason had the job of tracing the wiring, just to make sure everything was still free and untangled. With 50 metres of wire trailing behind you, there is that burning worry that something would tangle up and you just wouldn’t be able to get the camera into that one position where everything was happening.

Although we are unable to prove it, we both heard what sounded like children laughing coming from different directions. The location being a former Boys Academy, it was quite probable that we had a few visitors with us, I only hope it wasn’t them playing with the camera feeds. With the team now in position, it is time to get this investigation on the road. We started with the usual introductions by Janis, watch it Yvette Fielding.. Janis has you in her sights! Thankfully after the first few minutes everyone started to relax, forgetting the live feed and concentrating on the investigation at hand.

Why is it that you always have to have a nervous person with you on these types of shows? We had the company of two Vectis Radio presenters, Karin Brinsford & Maxine Furness. Karin has been out with us before and so was quite used to standing quietly in the dark, but poor Maxine really was a fish out of water – half expecting a demon to appear and whisk her off into the depths below.

What a night this was turning out to be, the spirits – thankfully – had decided to play to the camera. One o’clock was fast approaching, it was time to head up to the very top rooms. Rooms which for some reason had been filling our mediums with dread. A table was in place for glass divination, could we get any sense from the cold feelings of apprehension that seemed to be contagiously passing between us. Janis started to focus on the glass and get a clear picture of the messages she sensed forming in her mind. “You killed him!” – Jan doesn’t like to mince her words! Jan was in clear communication with this foreboding spirit, who was starting to become more than a little agitated. Still the information flowed, was it possible that we had stumbled on a murder?

As the energy of the glass divination built up so did the quickfire information that Janis was passing. “He was your son!.. You pushed him down the stairs.. he fell.. the injuries killed him” – strong stuff indeed Jan! But what a way to end our first show. With us all feeling a little subdued over what had just transpired infront of us, Maz brought the table session to an abrupt close.

The whole team still have big grins on our faces, we did it! we actually put out a quality live ghost investigation on air. But where do you go from here? who knows where this will take us!..