Hi folks and welcome back to #WitchyWednesday on the blog. This week I am excited to report back on my recent overnight ghost hunt at Bron y Garth hospital in North Wales with Haunted Houses events.
Read my blog post and see what activity we experienced as we explored the corridors, wards and offices of this abandoned NHS hospital and former Victorian workhouse.
Ghost Hunter Diaries: Bron y Garth Hospital in North Wales
This was my first visit to a haunted hospital since I began attending ghost hunting events almost twenty years ago, and I was very excited about it. We had the opportunity to sleep over in the hospital, which was very cool, although I didn’t sleep much in the end, not due to the ghosts, simply because I couldn’t settle without my bed.
Bron y Garth was built in 1839 and known as the Ffestiniog Union Workhouse. It included a Victorian vagrant ward with six working/living cells, but we were unable to visit these as the property is now privately owned and this area was not open for us to explore. There is a lot to see on this site and we only got access to the former NHS main hospital and mortuary. From what I have learned with online research, the current owners live in a cottage on the property and are slowly renovating the Grade 2 listed buildings. They have documented their experiences on Facebook and you can see lots of interesting photos and historical relics.
Busy on the REM Pod device
While I am a fan of traditional tools for ghost hunting, I do enjoy using a REM Pod device. Haunted Houses events generously allow their guests to use the equipment that they have available, and this includes some valuable tech for investigations. The REM Pod is a device that has been popular for many years, but it is one of my favourites. I find that child spirits are always drawn to these devices, and we can have fun playing with the sounds and lights.
We set a REM Pod down on a table in a day room at Bron y Garth hospital. Our group moved to the sitting room next door, but before we could get settled, the REM Pod started flashing and the alarm sounded. That room was empty, housing only a couple of tables and chairs, an old, broken microwave in one corner, and we had closed the door to the corridor through which we entered.
When we spoke to the spirit that we believed had touched the REM Pod, it beeped as though someone was passing their hand over the sensor and immediately taking it away, almost like a child playing with a noisy toy. We wondered if it was a child spirit, because as we all ran into that room to try and video the interaction, it suddenly went quiet. We scared the ghost away! Although we stayed in the room next door for another half hour, nothing happened and we eventually accepted that we had frightened the spirit that liked the REM Pod, and so we reluctantly moved to our next vigil.
Haunted maternity wards in the attic
Our group climbed a steep, winding staircase to explore the attic rooms of Bron y Garth hospital. Our group leader informed us that these rooms were used as the hospital maternity department, which I found incredible since there was no lift access, and I couldn’t imagine climbing those stairs if I was heavily pregnant. You can see why the hospital wasn’t fit for purpose, with narrow corridors and narrow stairs. This was the proper workhouse side of the building, and because the attic rooms are derelict, they are very spooky.
We stood inside a room that had a connecting door to a room beyond, which I stood in front of, and I soon felt very uncomfortable, as though I was being watched. Switching on my torch to explore the room beyond, all I saw was a pile of bin bags in one corner, empty shelving on the opposite wall, broken windows, and bare floorboards. I did not want to step into that room, and I avoided it, feeling physically uncomfortable. I was much happier when we returned downstairs and moved to a different location, although I can’t explain what made me uneasy. Perhaps I connected emotionally to all the pregnant energy that had settled in those rooms over the years, I don’t know. It just did not feel pleasant.
Table tipping excitement
We set up a small, folding table in an upstairs office and decided to experiment with table tipping. If you are not familiar with this, it is a practice where people place a fingertip on the edge of the table to make contact, but do not exert any pressure or force that could physically move it. We then invite Spirit to use our energy and make the table move. Once we establish movement, we can then ask questions and try to hold a conversation for as long as the energetic connection lasts.
Since the energy was flat, we knew we needed to build it up. Our group leader, Rachel, explained how best to do this task, all the while ensuring that we were psychically protected. Using the method she explained, we encouraged Spirit to move the table and communicate with us. It is a strange experience when the table first starts to twitch, and you know that your fellow paranormal investigators are not manipulating it physically. I am still amazed even though I have done table tipping many times in my years of ghost hunting.
The table moved around the room
On this vigil, we had the table moving around the room in a sort of shuffling, walking fashion. It almost walked by itself! We couldn’t establish who we were connecting with as we were focused purely on providing enough energy for them to move the table, but that in itself was fun and exciting. The table jumped around the room with us following it as we tried to keep our fingertips connected to the object, and eventually it tipped over completely, breaking the connection and leaving us all exhausted and exhilarated.
We had a similar experience later that night in a palliative care ward, but by then my energy was flagging so I observed rather than joining in. I watched my fellow ghost hunters using their energy and inviting Spirit to move the table, and I saw it wobble and jump around in a 360-degree circle. It got wedged up against a hospital bed at one point, and then it jumped across to the wall and almost squashed the person that had their back to the wall. They tried to encourage it to move towards the door, but eventually it tipped over and broke their connection. It was fun to watch!
Spooky kitchen séance
The abandoned hospital kitchen was an interesting location to visit in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is mainly left bare, with a quarry tile floor and broken windows due to vandalism. There is a raised area in the middle of the room with a capped off gas pipe and a few stainless-steel cabinets for food preparation, along with a couple of tables against the walls and an old stainless steel sink unit. As I observed the room, I could imagine how it was during its busy hospital days (who doesn’t love a slice of hospital toast?).
I took a few photos in this room and there are a couple of white mist-like anomalies, but I couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t dust particles, so I am loathe to label them as orbs. They are quite large, and they did appear in different locations on my photos, so I hope that they were spirit entities manifesting, but there is no proper evidence. Our group did a glass divination experiment in the kitchen, and I observed, but we had no specific activity to report. The glass moved and I believe that the group made contact with a spirit form, but it was brief.
Our overnight ghost hunts
We had time to run four vigils throughout the night in various locations at the hospital, and I was hoping for some good activity. I know it is a popular venue and I know that Spirit will not perform for cameras, but I asked nicely in the hopes that someone might join us for a conversation during séance.
Unfortunately, we did not speak to anyone directly, although we did make contact with a shadowy man whose apparition I may have glimpsed in a corridor, but I can’t be sure. He briefly spoke to us during a human pendulum experiment and using a Ouija board, but he was reluctant to speak about the scandal that he was involved in. We believe he had an affair and the woman he was with died under suspicious circumstances, but there is no solid evidence or fact to back that up.
Are you interested to learn more about Bron y Garth?
If you are interested to learn more about Bron y Garth, I found an article on North Wales Live that was interesting. I feel that this place holds lots of secrets that would not have been documented and would remain hidden in folklore and stories told through generations of local people. It is a fascinating place in a beautiful location, and I am glad that I was able to visit and experience the energy of Bron y Garth.
Have you visited Bron y Garth? Please tell me about your experiences in the comments.
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