British Paranormal Society set up headquarters in Stamford, Lincolnshire
A paranormal investigator with more than 50,000 followers wants to hear your spooky stories and unearth the area’s haunted hotspots.
Alex Brown set up the British Paranormal Society 10 years ago and has decided to base its headquarters in Stamford.
Having left the area for Yorkshire, Alex returned to his roots six months ago and set up home in Tinwell.
Personal experience very close to home first got him interested in matters from beyond the grave.
“I lived in a property near Kettering for years and that was absolutely bouncing with activity,” he recalled.
“There were probably 10 people who have seen the same things there. We were having multiple happenings a week, which none of us could explain, and that’s really what triggered it.
“Some people do this for years and never see a thing.”
He decided to make his interest more involved and set up the British Paranormal Society while living in Scarborough.
“It was not through choice really - it was more of a fluke,” he recalled.
“Just by chance we got to investigate a building. We didn’t know what we were doing, we were just complete novices.
“But we picked up loads of stuff, analysed it, showed the manager of the building, and held an evening event there.
“People then got in touch and it took off from there. We’ve been all over the place to all sorts of locations - lighthouses, castles, old prisons - fascinating places.”
Alex trademarked the society and now has 57,000 followers.
The next step is to create membership, a headquarters, and regular meetings at a Stamford venue.
He has already established a three-strong team here for investigations, but just needs some ghoulish leads.
“It’s nice to have a base and I think Stamford is a great place for it,” he said.
“It’s quite central and has a lot of history. Things are starting to open up a bit more now.”
He also feels Stamford, Bourne and South Lincolnshire as a whole is something of an untapped ‘market’.
“Stamford has so much history but there isn’t a huge amount of information about the paranormal around here, so I’d like to see if there’s anyone locally who knows anything,” he said.
“I lived in York for 20 years and it has this huge thing about hauntings, but I’ve never seen anything there.
“I’ve carried out a lot of investigations and it’s pretty flat, but around here, and out towards The Fens and Whittlesey - that’s a really spooky area.”
As you would perhaps expect, Alex’s work can be greeted with doubt.
But as a self-confessed ‘sceptical believer’, based in science, scepticism is as essential as an open mind when an investigation begins.
“We listen to the stories, see what evidence they have and then go backwards,” he explained.
“We try to debunk things first, so if you do get something you’ve kind of covered your bases.
“After we’ve done all the groundwork, interview whoever needs to be interviewed, then we go in ourselves to see whatever we can find.
“We do it in more of a controlled experiment way. Sometimes you can just be really unlucky and get nothing, and another time you’ll get loads, so it’s not an exact science behind it.
“It’s all evidence-led because if it isn’t you could just think every bump or bang is something. That’s quite an easy mistake to make when people start out.”
He admits: “No one really knows.
“A lot of people are quick to dismiss it, but they are usually the ones who come out with the best stories - ‘I don’t believe in ghosts, but…’. They’ve always got a story.”
While Stamford has old buildings and history aplenty, that does not automatically qualify it for paranormal goings on.
Alex is not looking for the stereotypical half-derelict haunted house, backlit by lightning, and certainly not the archetypal medieval figure with his head stuck under his arm.
“You get more contemporary stories which are fascinating, like road ghosts with people wearing trainers and shorts,” he said.
“They’re the ones to me which are more interesting because they're more contemporary.
“And domestic houses can be fascinating, especially new builds.
“Sometimes you get to places where it’s very active and you weren’t expecting it. Sometimes you get to places you would think would be very active and there’s nothing there.
“There are some interesting ones I’ve been on over the years, some which I’ve really had to scratch my head over and really can’t explain. That’s why I do it.”
Alex believes many experiences go unreported because people are afraid of the reaction they’ll receive, although some reports come from unlikely sources.
“I’ve had police officers and ex-army come to me and when they’re telling a story you think ‘there’s no way they are just making this up’,” he said.
“Why would they put their reputations on the line for what sounds like a crazy story?”
So what attracts people to groups such as Alex’s - other than the age-old compulsion to frighten ourselves silly?
“There’s the paranormal side of it, but a lot of people like the history and folklore side of it as well,” he added.
“We want to get locals here to come along, have a chat, make it more open and friendly because a lot of these groups can be closed.
“I don’t want that, I want people to share their experiences and tell us stories.
“People love stories, they love to be scared.”
To get in touch, visit facebook.com/theparanormalsociety
