Tamworth Castle

2003

The Team:

John Boland
Mr T. J. Driscoll
Mr T. C. Boulton (photographer)
Mr A. J. Bennett
Mr H.M. Biley  (Assistant Curator)

Objectives:

To see for ourselves and possibly photograph the ghost of Editha which supposedly descends the haunted staircase at midnight.

The Investigation:

Armed with flashlights and cameras, we prepared for the vigil, first examining the room from which the ghost was expected to appear. Nothing unusual was found, excepting two small cupboards whose doors opened towards each other, one standing open, unable to be moved to close it. Strings were crisscrossed over the doorway in such a manner that not even a cat could have crept through, the process being repeated on the top of the staircase.

We arranged ourselves at the bottom of the staircase. Each of us was tied at the wrists and the photographer by the legs so that each of us could feel if any of the others moved away from the group. We sat, facing the stairway, seated on a bench in the doorway, the space being quite limited. Then the vigil began in the dark, empty Castle.

In the dark, the sighing timbers settled and the rustle of the mice running in the wainscoting ceased. We chatted and waited to see what we might see.

At two minutes to twelve, we all doused our torches, and were plunged into total complete thick surrounding darkness. Two minutes later, Mr Driscoll remarked that it felt distinctly colder, and we all agreed that the temperature had dropped suddenly.

Then, our attention was riveted by a noise at the top of the staircase. It was the sound of a door being pushed gently, opening the room above. We could hear soft footsteps, coming from the room, as if the intruder was wearing soft leather slippers. Then, we heard three or four soft footsteps descending the staircase as if, whatever it was, was rushing down the stairs towards us.

 
Mr Biley exclaimed and Mr Boulton shouted, “I’m going to take a picture.” As his flash lit up the staircase in sudden brilliance, we saw the staircase was empty, and the time then was just seven minutes past midnight.

All of us were convinced that although there appeared to be nothing on the staircase the film MUST show something. It was an unnerving experience, especially when we discovered nothing had been disturbed at the top of the staircase, everything exactly as it was earlier.

In the room, we found that the cupboard door in the right hand wall was closed, where before it had refused to budge more than a few inches. Now, when pushed, the cupboard door closed easily.

We returned to Birmingham, and the film was developed. The picture developed showed a hooded figure descending the staircase at Tamworth Castle!

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