The Investigation
Bar Area
Temp - 26.8 degrees
We began our investigation in the bar area. We set up camcorders and took some photographs before attempting a communication using the automatic writing planchette. We continued with this for a while, but as we did not seem to be getting any response, we decided to try some EVP experiments. The team sat quietly around tables in the bar while we asked for any spirits present to communicate with us using our voice recording equipment. We picked up several clear voices during this vigil including ‘Arthur’ (click here to listen), ‘Collette McDonald’ (click here to listen), ‘What would you like to do?’ (click here to listen) and perhaps the most strange of all was the sound of a dog barking and a voice saying ‘Quiet dog’ (click here to listen). We can confirm that there was no dog in the castle, and indeed this file was captured in silence. There is a ‘community cat’ which comes into the castle, at times and during this vigil the cat was in the bar area with us. At one point the cat was making strange squealing noises although we could not understand why, could it have been reacting to the presence of the ghostly dog? This is indeed one of the most impressive EVP files that we have ever captured during our many investigations. We also picked up several light anomalies on both still digital cameras and on digital camcorders. No temperature changes were detected during this time, however we did detect slight EMF fluctuations during our vigil.
Room 12
Temp - 20.5 degrees
The team moved to the top floor of the castle into bedroom 12. We filmed this vigil using digital camcorders and still photographs were also taken. We decided to try asking for any spirits present to make themselves known to us in any way they could. We did appear to be getting a response in the form of the window rattling after we asked questions. However it was a rather windy night and we cannot guarantee that the noises were not a result of the wind blowing. Several members of the team reported seeing flashes of light during this vigil and we did capture many light anomalies on both still digital cameras and digital camcorders. We tried running the voice recorders in an attempt to capture better evidence of the activity in the room. We captured many voices on our recording equipment, but many of them were not clear enough to make out specific words. We did capture one voice which appears to say ‘I’m dead’ (click here to listen) . We also had one of our team members attempt transfiguration during this vigil. We opened a curtain partially to allow a little light into the room. One team member stood in the area where the light was shining and the rest of the team concentrated to see if we could see any changes to her appearance. We did not get any noticeable results during this experiment. No temperature changes were detected during this time. We picked up EMF readings of up to 2 milligauss at the foot of the bed, we could not find an explanation for this. After our vigil, we left a locked off camcorder running in this bedroom. On reviewing the footage, we captured many strange light anomalies and flashes of light can be seen moving around the room, You can view some of these light anomalies in the following files, Video File 1, Video File2 & Video File 3. The locked off camcorder also picked up many bangs and dragging noises throughout the time that it was recording in room 12.
Cellar
Temp - 9 degrees
The entire team moved down to the cellar area below the bar. This area is the oldest part of the building and has been there since the original building was constructed. We set up camcorders and some team members took still photographs. We decided to keep using the voice recording equipment as this seemed to be producing more results than any other experiments. We asked out for communication and we did seem to be getting lots of response. Although many of the files were not clear enough to make out specific words, we did capture a file which says ‘I am David Sneddon’ (click here to listen). We caught several light anomalies on both still digital photos and also on the camcorders. We also picked up some unexplained noises on the camcorders. During this vigil, several team members experienced a small drop in temperature which was confirmed using digital thermometers as the temperature dropped to 6 degrees, a drop of 3 degrees. No EMF fluctuations were detected during this time.
Tower (Lower)
Temp - 5 degrees
The team split into two groups, half going to the upper floor of the old tower and the other half going to the lower floor. On the lower level, we set up trigger objects in one of the rooms while investigating in another room. We also set up playing cards as trigger objects in the room we were investigating. Using camcorders and voice recording equipment, we tried to get to initiate some communication. We heard several voices on the voice recording equipment. When asking for a name, we got the response ‘Ian’ and when asking where Ian was, we got a response saying ‘against the wall’. We could also hear a voice saying 'yes, I'm watching'. Although we could hear these voices on playback quite clearly at the time, when analysing them, they did not appear to be clear enough to include as files. We picked up several light anomalies and flashes of light on both still digital photos and also on our camcorders. The temperature dropped by 4 degrees during our vigil, but no EMF fluctuations were detected.
Tower (Upper)
Temp - 5 degrees
The other half of the team set up on the upper floor of the tower and using camcorders and voice recording equipment, tried some communication. We managed to capture a very strange light anomaly on digital camcorder. It appeared to be a very large light appearing in the middle of the room for a split second and then disappearing again. During this vigil, many voices were picked up using digital voice recorders, but very few of them were clear enough to make out specific words. We did capture one voice which seems to say ‘My name is very friendly, I'm Robert Davidson’ (click here to listen). No temperature changes or EMF fluctuations were detected during this vigil.
Room 7
Temp - 18 degrees
After regrouping, we split the team into three small groups in order to cover as many areas as possible. One group took to bedroom 7 for a quiet vigil. The group set up some camcorders to film the vigil, then sat quietly to try to encourage some activity. We used digital voice recorders and asked anyone present to communicate with us. We picked up several voices during this vigil. Some of the voices were very loud and at first seemed very angry. However after some analysis, we found we could make out some of the words spoken. Among those captured were ‘I’m proud of you’ (click here to listen), ‘I’ve been following you’ (click here to listen), ‘Mark Taylor’ (click here to listen) and we also picked up what sounded like the name Arthur, although the file was not clear enough. We captured a flash of light on the digital camcorder during this vigil. No temperature changes or EMF fluctuations were detected during this vigil.
Room 4
Temp - 17 degrees
The second group headed to bedroom 4 for their vigil. The group used digital camcorders and voice recording equipment to try for some communication. Although the group tried asking for any form of communication, they did not seem to get much response. They did get some voices on the voice recording equipment, but none were very clear. Their filming of the vigil did not pick up anything unusual. No temperature changes or EMF fluctuations were detected during this vigil.
Room 2
Temp - 17 degrees
The third group went to bedroom 2 for their vigil. The group used digital camcorders and voice recording equipment to try some communication. Although the camcorders did not pick up anything particularly unusual during this vigil, this group did seem to be having more success using the voice recording equipment. We picked up many voices including ‘lived in Dornoch’ (click here to listen), ‘it’s disgusting’ (click here to listen), ‘you’re a bastard, leave me’ (click here to listen) and also when asking if they were happy with us being there, a response could be heard saying ‘I like you’ (click here to listen). No temperature changes or EMF fluctuations were detected during this vigil.
Honeymoon Suite
Temp - 16 degrees
For the last vigil of our investigation, the entire group got together and headed for the Honeymoon Suite. We set up the communication board and cameras to film the vigil. Photographs were also taken during this time and we did manage to capture several light anomalies in this room. We did not get any results using the communication board during this vigil and our voice recorders seemed to be picking up very little. We did not detect any unusual temperature changes or EMF fluctuations. The team's energy levels at this point seemed to be very low so we decided that this would be a good point at which to end the investigation.
Summary
Dornoch Castle seems to be a very active place and seems to have more than its fair share of unexplained activity going on. We captured many EVP files and light anomalies that we could not explain. This was a highly succesful investigation. The castle is a fantastic location and we would be delighted to return at some point in the future for more investigating.
We would like to thank the owners and staff of Dornoch Castle for their warm welcome and excellent hospitality.
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