Clapham Wood has for many years been surrounded by mystery, in the 70’s it was a hotbed for UFO sightings as well as many Ghostly sightings, dogs would go missing never to be seen again or they would go insane and foam at the mouth. There were stories that an Occult group were steeling the dogs and using them as a sacrifice, who knows what’s really behind it all but one thing is for certain Clapham Wood is a very strange place… so when C.O.T.C asked us if we would like to take part in an all night investigation naturally we said YES!!!!!

C.O.T.C. is one of only a handful of paranormal groups in the UK that investigate things from The Occult to UFO’s as well as Haunted locations. For more info about C.O.T.C. you can find their web address on the LINKS page.

Our Investigation…

After setting up our tents we had a brief history lesson from Stuart Logan (C.O.T.C.) and Charles Walker (Occult specialist) telling us about what had and what is still going on in Clapham Wood we then had a BBQ and waited for the sun to set. 13 people turned up in total and we were soon split into two groups (5 & 6 with Stacey and Adrian floating) the group I was in featured Paul and Sandy (C.O.T.C) and Steve and Maria(C.O.T.C. members).

Our first task was to look around the large Beech tree and the surrounding area we found some strange chalk marks on the trunk believed to be left behind from a ritual that had taken place, as well as the chalk marks we also picked up lots of orbs but as we were outside we can not rule out the possibility of them being insects (dam you Mathew Smith!- Most Haunted) after 45 minutes we regrouped and then made our way to the second area of the woods.

Chalk marks

In this area we were shown a tree stump with a pentagram carved in it, the edges of the carving were rounded which would suggest that it was cut into the top of the stump with a chainsaw. Has this area been used for Devil worship or even a dog sacrifice?

As we left this area Adrian said he saw a “red light” in the trees ahead of us, we all walked up to have a look and as Maria got closer to the area she felt as thought she did not want to go any further (Maria is also a “sensitive)  I took a few pictures in this area using a digital camera and it did seem to pick up a red mist next to Maria.

Red mist on Maria's shoulder

We then decided to leave this area and find a log to sit on. As we all sat in the total darkness waiting for something to happen we heard a few noises and Steve saw what he thought was a mouse but sadly no ghosts so we headed back to the camp.

After a break some members of the group decided to conduct a Ouija Board by the large silver birch, they were performed many times that night and watching then I noticed that short strong gusts of wind would sweep through the trees as the glass moved (coincidence?).

Helens hand seems to glow, if this was torch light it would

light up her whole sleeve

During one of the Ouija Board sessions Maria seemed to have a link with a spirit called “Estelle” lots of details were picked up during the contact with Estelle including the fact that Black Magic had been practised in Clapham Wood since the 1800’s. We were also given the information that Stacey was in Danger even though Stacey was nowhere near the board, the spirit said that Stacey would leave the woods and take an evil spirit with her. At this point we all began to feel tiered so we turned in for the night (yes we actually slept in Clapham Wood are we insane?) I woke at about 5am even though I hadn’t had much sleep as I forgot to bring a pillow and blanket I did manage to get to sleep for an hour and a half resting my head on a 2Ltr Coke bottle. As I stepped out of my tent (this I remembered to bring) I meet up with Stuart who had been awake all night keeping an eye on camp, we started another BBQ and made cups of tea.

At 6pm Stuart woke everybody up and we all had something to eat, after we had packed up our tents we slowly made our way back to our nice warm beds. On the walk back to the cars Stacey was having trouble getting rid of an evil spirit that had clung onto her during the night (as predicted by the Ouija board) it was not there when Stacey went to bed but it was there when she woke up. Both Stacey and Sandy tried to get rid of it but as they had both had a long night their energy levels were not high enough to shift it. When I left Stacey at about 8:30am the evil spirit was still with her, she told me that it disappeared after she had caught up with her sleep.

Summing up

Yes Clapham Wood is haunted and a very dangerous place at night

It will be a long time before this Ghost Hunter ever goes back give me a haunted castle any day. It was a strange night and one I’ll not forget in a hurry, luckily the only injury that happened during the investigation is when Adrian tried to make a cup of tea and spilt hot water on his thumb (he’s all better now).

NOTE: Clapham Wood is a large area if you really insist on going there for the night try not to get lost, go with someone who knows the area or you might never be seen again.

Arron