...it has been long believed that Draxel Church Yard is the site of a massive Plague Pit. By pit, I mean a large hole, dug by those already contaminated with the plague, in which to throw the town's pustule covered, rotting corpses; To be removed from the dying village, in the hope of it's survival.

The current owners of the church site, who live immediately opposite, believe The Black Death is just one of the horrific events from Draxel's bizarre and turbulent history. For if a Plague Pit is not enough to stir your thoughts, how about tales of murderous bandits, hiding away in the church during the Thirteenth Century, protected from arrest by the church's 'divine' power. Or, the ghastly story of a man thought to be walled up inside the tower. Left to die alone, and afraid. His crime? Stealing ewes milk from a nearby farm, back in the Seventeenth Century. The church itself had lost the support of the Bishop, after the reformation. Officially, the church was thought to be a centre for Paganism, and even Satanism. Spicy stuff indeed!

Draxel, as a word, is an odd one. I could find no reference to the word in any dictionary, until I stumbled upon a book in Looe's Public Library. The Glossary of Cornish Words, (Published for the English Dialect Society, 1880), states 'Draxel' means 'The Treshold'. Now, to an imaginative mind like my own, those words conjure up images of portals, time travel and other mysterious powers. Does Draxel have some geographical, spiritual or existential significance?

As the sun began to slide towards the tree tops, it was time to leave the comfort of the owners fine house, and venture across a muddy field to Draxel Church itself...

...the ghastly story of a man thought to be walled up inside the tower. Left to die alone, and afraid.

How: The mission at Draxel Church was to seek possible paranormal activity, whether supernatural or not, and capture the remains of the church for use in The Lost Crown. There was also a chance that our images, videos and sounds may be the last to be recorded, given the churches uncertain future. The building could, at any time, be purchased for redevelopment or...heavens morbid...total demolition.

3 x EMF: With no electricity, Draxel was an ideal place to use the EMF Meters. We should detect only the slight, natural sources of Electro-Magnetic energy, so any strong readings could lead to interesting results. Obviously, moving or fluctuating sources would be totally unexplainable, and spectacular indeed.

Digital Camera: We all have digital cameras, of different brands and editions. It was essential we record as much of the building, and church yard, as possible, both for the case-file, and my use in The Lost Crown.

Compass: A favourite of mine, the humble compass has often provided insight into natural/unnatural magnetic's where the EMF and other tools have failed. As a team, we have experienced some bizarre compass events (such as Blackentrack Woods wildly spinning dial), so I'd be sure to keep my compass close at hand.

Nite-vision camcorder: Not much need for Nite-vision this time round, given our late afternoon, dusk timing; even so, the video camera would prove handy for recording the location, and picking up any strange sounds, or movements. Positioned on a tripod, pointing directly at the church, the camera would record 2 hours of our movements, and any events occurring around the church.

There's more information about the tools we use, in various forms, on the original The Lost Crown website, here: Ghost-Hunting 101: The tools of the trade

The investigation:

14:00 Arrival: Ruined. There's only one word for it. The church was utterly ruined. We were expecting a ghostly, fragile, stone skeleton of a church; the type seen in hundreds of fantasy images, inspired by Tolkien, or sketched by Byron. Instead, Draxel was a rotting, stocky hulk of a building. More like a large chapel, with stumpy Norman-era tower on one end. It looked, to all intents and purposes, to be arrogantly biding it's time, refusing to die (disgracefully).

I took an instant dislike to the place, but could not help but admire the potent atmosphere of dread and discomfort. And, of course, it fed my imagination, so my first thoughts were "this would make a fantastic game location!".

14:15 We set up the static equipment; the camcorder, on long play, to record our progress. We also performed our first full 'walkaround', to take stock of the building, noting any immediate issues or findings. I was intrigued by the sealed up tower. This may be hard to fathom, but Draxel's Church Tower (which is large, and solid) has no door, from inside or out! Where a large arched, stone doorway should be, there was nothing but a bricked up arch. There was no-way to enter the ancient structure. Who had done this, when, and why?

...there was nothing but a bricked up arch. There was no-way to enter the ancient structure. Who had done this, when, and why?

14:30 We move our attention to the main building, the 'nave'. The church nave itself, now missing it's roof and pews, has some impressive plain glass windows in the North Aisle. The nearby wood seems to protect that end of the building, where as the middle section was piled with rubble and rotten timbers. Obviously, with some walls having collapsed, gaining access to the interior of the nave was no problem (Joanne was over the wall in a shot, like some sort of ghost-hunting Lara Croft). But what of the tower? I must admit that I stood in the grounds of Draxel Church, utterly transfixed by the tower, and whatever mysteries may be hidden inside.

15:30 After taking plenty of photos, in the warm spring light of the March afternoon, we decided to split up. I took the tower door (no surprise, my interest was piqued!), Joanne remained inside the nave (with her EMF Meter, calling out to anyone/thing present), while Matt positioned himself at the far end of the churchyard, with his back to the deep woods. He too had an EMF Meter and camera. I switched my EMF Meter on, which showed no remarkable readings, and positioned my compass atop a nearby tomb. Placing myself at the base of the tower door, I prepared myself for a strange evening. The last of the evening sunshine was now filtering weakly through the branches of the wood...

15:45 There were noticeable sounds (snapping and cracking) coming from within the woods. By now, it was dusky, and misty, so it was easy to get a little spooked. I've had odd experiences in graveyards before, but Draxel's ominous atmosphere seemed to heighten even the slightest unease. The landowners had told me stories, that afternoon, of country walker's pets that seemed to flee from the yard, as if chased by some unseen being. While local horse riders had experienced their animals bolt in panic, only to calm when away from the area. I've heard these kind of stories before, and taken them as seriously as they deserved, but with the knowledge we may be standing on hundreds of plague graves I found it more than easy to imagine why domestic animals react strangely. Could they smell death in that place?

16:20 I had to change the tape in the camcorder, so also chose to make sure both Joanne and Matt were safe and well. Joanne had heard no sounds from the woods, but did hear 'footsteps on stone, or tile' in the nave (which is overgrown with thick weeds, with no original floor, and a few mildew covered glass windows). She even went as far to say that the footsteps echoed, as if coming from 'another time'. In all honesty, hundreds, if not thousands of people will have walked Draxel's aisles...so, was Joanne merely hearing what she expected to hear?

16:40 My visit to Matt was also interesting, as he too had heard the sounds from the woods. In fact, they were so loud, in his corner of the yard, he believed someone was actually watching us from the woods. Was someone, a local, trying to spook us? It was well known that the owners of the land have been trying to rid themselves of the responsibility of maintaining the church. Many similar buildings have been converted into beautiful homes, across the country, but no-one seemed to want Draxel. As we listened, in the gloom, to further noises from the woods, I could easily understand why the church was not the most ideal 'do-er upper'.

17:10 Joanne calls to us, from the church nave; she sounded a little alarmed, frightened even. Matt and I approached the nave, and prepared to scale the broken wall. Only Joanne is startled to see us. She had not made a sound. This is very odd, given that we both heard her, by the woodland edge. After explaining, for the tenth time, that we had both clearly heard her voice, both Matt and I wondered if we'd heard anything at all. Perhaps we just presumed it was Joanne's voice? In which case, who was it?

17:35 A sound. A tapping and scraping sound coming from the end wall of the nave. It was rather unnerving, to be honest. To me, it sounded like someone trying to scratch their way through the wall. What was on the otherside? The tower! The walled up tower! Leaving Joanne and Matt to listen to the sounds, I returned to the tower base, to listen by the walled up doorway. Nothing. Nothing at all. Perhaps there was some loose rigging, or timbers inside the tower, making the noise in the nave....with no windows, or access, it was frustrating to stand there, not knowing. Until....

17:42 Tap. Scrape. Tap. Tap. Scrape. I too could hear the sounds, coming from inside the tower. Was there someone, or something inside the structure? Glancing at my EMF revealed there was a mild signal, nothing too impressive, but present nonetheless (whereas there was no signal before). My compass, on the otherhand, was now pointing South (90 degrees in the wrong direction!), fluctuating between South and South-SouthWest. I'm always thrilled when the compass reacts unexpectedly. I do like the modern gadgets, but being electronic, sometimes makes me feel as if they are unreliable ...unpredictable. Whereas the humble compass, well, it's so simple. Reliable. What was making it react this way?

18:00 The tapping was now quite loud. Enough to convince me that something, or someone, was making the sound. Occasionally, there would be pauses, for a few minutes or so, but eventually, the sounds would start again...to continue the rhythm.

18:15 Both Joanne and Matt join me by the walled up door. The sound in the nave was obvious enough, to them, to make further exploration essential. They too believed that someone was inside the tower! Naturally, after hearing tales (that afternoon) of the crook who had been walled up, we presumed we were hearing his ghostly form, attempting to dig himself out. It took a great effort not to get utterly hooked into that story. There could be, or should be, totally rational explanations for such strange events, but I couldn't get the image of the desperate man out of my head. Was this a prime example of Psychological Suggestion?

18:30 Matt has the bright idea to fetch the camcorder; it is always too easy to forget to record events, when in the chilly 'heat of the moment'. Returning, Matt was quick to record both the EMF's reactions (still at a steady '1mg', growing to '2mg', with occasional peaks of '3mg'). Do view the video clip, below, to see this event.

18:38 We dispense with the EMF, as the scraping sound is now clearly audible on the camcorder, in Matt's hand. Moving towards the rough stone wall, the camera picks up what we have been hearing both in the nave, and by the walled up tower. Tap. Tap. Scrape. Tap.

Why had these sounds started after our arrival? I had sat by the tower door for a long period of time, earlier that evening, and noticed nothing. Was someone trying to communicate with us? The sounds themselves had started after we'd all regrouped in the nave. A voice, not belonging to Joanne, had drawn both Matt and I into the nave...was it the same person, now tapping on the ancient stone wall...these thoughts crossed my mind, as the sound began to fade. What was once clearly audible to even the camcorder, was now so faint as to be ignorable. With no obvious weather change, this decrease in activity is, in fact, the most significant event of the evening. Whoever, or whatever, had made the sounds, had now decided to stop...

19:00 By seven o'clock, the sounds had totally ceased. We had waited patiently, for 15 minutes or so, calling out into the gloom for someone to 'make a sound', 'communicate with us', 'show yourself'...but there was no answer to our call. Feeling very much like the event had passed, we chose to pack up our things before the dusky evening turned a pitch black. I for one knew, at that moment, that I would be returning to Draxel, in the not so distant future. The ruined church was not only inspiring, but utterly foreboding.

As we made our way, back across the muddy field to the car, we felt...and this is something we all agreed on afterwards, in the pub...that we felt eyes watching us from the churchyard of Draxel. I would love to round off this tale, and say the eyes probably belonged to our imagination or even well-meaning ghosts, but I cannot. The feeling I had, as we drove away, was that someone, or something, had despised our presence, that afternoon.

Conclusion:

Is there really a ghost in the church tower, at Draxel? It certainly felt that way, in the heightened reality of the ghost-hunt. Back home, viewing our footage, in the safety of my own home I still couldn't help shake the feeling that someone/thing had tried to communicate with us...through sound, and energy. Did they need help? Or, were they attempting to warn us of the darker presence, that had watched our hasty departure?

EMF: The EMF doesn't normally provide such obvious results, given many of our ghost-hunts are indoors, near machinery or cables. Draxel, on the otherhand, had no such modernity, so I am finding it a little difficult to provide rational explanations for the events we recorded. I did, at first, suspect the camcorder may have affected the device, but it has never done so before. The EMF itself is pointing away from the camera, and was reacting to the doorway long before Matt arrived with the camcorder.

Sound Event: The taps, scrapes and noises recorded by the walled up doorway are very exciting. There does appear to be something/one scraping the wall, hidden from view, inside the church tower. It is going to puzzle me forever why the tower was walled up in such a way. The work could have been carried due to instability of the structure (although the tower looked totally sound), or, is there more to the story about the 'walled up thief'. Believed to have been buried alive by the furious villagers, after he stole ewes milk from the nearby estate. I will certainly be researching the story, in the hope to discover some truth behind the ghastly tale.

...were they attempting to warn us of the darker presence, that had watched our hasty departure?

Influence: A desolate, ruined church, hidden away in the woods, beyond view and care. What stories could be told in such places? What frightful fiends could hide in the crumbling remains? Draxel certainly gave me much food for thought, when it came to writing the screenplay for The Lost Crown.

I would end up featuring two churches, in the game-play, both with strong elements of my ghost-hunt that March afternoon. I wasn't aware, previously, of how many villages had disappeared during The Black Death. Whole communities were wiped out mere weeks after the arrival of the lethal plague virus, with nothing to preserve their way of life, cattle and homes. Most of the buildings were constructed simply, using local materials, which soon rot away...leaving nothing left...except ghost villages.

Lastly, the idea of gaining access to walled up buildings is an exciting one. Could the tower have more than one entrance... perhaps one is hidden from view, or tucked away in a crypt, or ancient tunnel?

2008©Copyright: This Haunted Land / www.thishauntedland.co.uk & Darkling Room