Article first appeared in Prediction Magazine.
Posted in PS Magazine with permission.

Marion Williamson

To experience the best of Sussex's paranormal hotspots, the Prediction team visited one of England's most haunted pubs and then spent the night in beautiful, but notoriously eerie, Clapham Wood.

Stuck in a traffic jam for three hours on a sweltering hot day, the Prediction team were far more excited at the prospect of researching the Mermaid Inn's selection of cold beers than with carrying out any mystical research. But by the time we arrived in the picturesque, medieval town of Rye, a cooling sea breeze wafted through our baking minibus and our curiosity for all things supernatural returned.

The Mermaid Inn is reputed to be one of the most haunted pubs in England. It's an atmospheric, sprawling, thatch-roofed labyrinth filled with secret passages, priest-holes and sliding wall panels. The inn has been painstakingly preserved and is packed with original furnishings, features and paintings. Austere portraits with eyes that follow you around lend an unsettling presence to the place that once served as an ancient smugglers' haunt.

Parts of the inn date back to 1156 and ghostly tales of 'things going bump in the night' have been an integral part of pub's rich history. Owner, Judith Blincow, who part-bought the pub in 1993, told us one of her favourite Mermaid stories. "One morning I came downstairs to find a couple of guests sleeping on the couch in the lounge. They refused to go back upstairs - they'd seen people walk through walls in their bedroom. Other guests had witnessed the very same vision. But the thing that got me was that they were such normal people seeing these extraordinary things".

A previous landlord was approached by a local medium, convinced that the pub would be the perfect location to arrange a ghost watch. Legend has it that two ghostly figures appeared at the bar, drew their rapiers and started to duel.

The landlord witnessed this fight to its end and, when it concluded, the victor ran his sword through his opponent's chest, then removed a floorboard and disposed of the dead man's body. The apparition then escaped by fleeing into the early morning sunshine, only to return occasionally to the same spot to re-enact this ghostly murder.

Other strange tales include the many sightings of a 'lady in grey', and a chambermaid who was supposedly murdered by a smuggler for talking too much about his nefarious exploits. A few years ago a barman was tending to his fire when bottles at the end of the room flew off their shelf - he handed in his notice the next day. Then there's the woman who moves clothes around and the man in old-fashioned garments that takes to sitting on occupied beds. Rooms turn cold for no reason, rocking chairs move of their own accord - the list goes on.

After a much-needed drink, Blincow escorted us through the Mermaid's most haunted rooms. We decided to let psychic Anne Nash go first. Nash has been ghost busting for eight years. She finds that spirits usually want to move on, as they are not happy being earthbound. She says there is a definite sense of relief once they have been shown the way to go 'home'. However in this instance, the Mermaid Inn was quite happy to keep their ghosts, so they were left intact!

With Nash leading the way and the rest of us to follow later, we were able to make up our own minds about the Mermaid's ethereal guests. It wasn't until we all met at the end of the tour that we could compare notes.

Dr. Syn's Bed Chamber
After the tour Nash later told us that when she entered this room she experienced an immediate presence. "There was an ancient ambience in there - like old men sitting around together. I could feel the energy in my solar plexus and it wasn't very pleasant. Perhaps there's been a misuse of power in that room." Blincow then led Nash into a small, claustrophobic chamber, backed by a secret staircase leading down to the bar.

Pirates or smugglers would probably have used this area as a hiding place or as a convenient escape route. "I could sense the layers of time connected with that place and felt fear from a person or people who had hid in there. It was quite oppressive."

Strangely, although we had not yet been able to ask Nash her thoughts on the room, the rest of the team unknowingly corroborated her feelings of apprehension and anxiety. Walking around Dr Syn's Chamber we all felt quite depressed. One of us had a sudden stomach pain (the solar plexus area) and we all sensed that the room had absorbed and witnessed some tragic events.

The Elizabethan Bed Chamber
The next room Blincow wanted Nash to see had a magnificent, centuries-old, four-poster bed. She sensed a very different atmosphere to that of the brooding melancholia of Dr Syn's Chamber. "The Elizabethan room had a very different energy - much safer and more calm. I could see a little girl with long hair and an old dress - she's a sweet presence but she does like to move things around. I also got the name 'Clementine'."

When the rest of the team visited this room we felt relieved that the atmosphere was quite pleasant and agreed that place had been privy to happier times than the previous room. Incredibly, one of us 'saw' a little girl with long hair - just as Anne had described earlier. The image of the child had appeared spontaneously, like a projected film, in the person's mind. Things were getting quite peculiar.

Room 19
Nash was particularly drawn to Room 19 and asked Blincow to let her inside. There wasn't time for the rest of the team to visit this room but, for Anne, it was certainly the one with the most intense presence. "Right away I was taken aback by an extreme sensation in my throat chakra. I could sense the dramatic energy in there." Nash, feeling there was a connection with Blincow and the room, asked if she felt she had a past link with it. Blincow recounted that there had been something that had really "freaked her out". A few years ago a psychic told her that she was hanged in a previous life. Very soon after this revelation she had to have an operation on her throat - the complications of which caused her a lot of anguish. Nash had obviously picked up on this through the feelings in her throat chakra.

After exchanging ghost stories over dinner at the Mermaid Inn's restaurant, we bundled back into the minibus to head for Clapham Wood. Just before driving off someone noticed that the name of the house we were parked beside was 'Link House' - the old title of the building we all work in. We took this as a good omen.

Clapham wood
Clapham Wood is famous for its bizarre happenings and ghost stories and there have been intriguing reports of UFO sightings and mysterious dog disappearances. But it is the rumours that Satanic rituals had taken place nearby that really capture the imagination.

We arrived in total darkness and pitched our tent by the light of a full Moon and a moth-battered lantern. Then we explored our surroundings tentatively. Although we didn't see anything out of the ordinary it certainly had a sacred ambience. Later Nash used Tibetan and crystal bowls to tune into the wood's vibrations and for a while the night was full of lingering, stellar tones. When we woke, the sunrise filled out all the eerie spaces from the night before and any feelings of trepidation were replaced with respect and awe at what a wild and beautiful place we had spent the night in.

One spooky addition to note is that when we initially arrived in the wood, Nash was adamant that we camp under - or close to - a particular tree. In the daylight, and on closer inspection, we found a large knife embedded in its trunk - a little too Blair Witch than was comfortable!

prediction@ipcmedia.com, www.predictionmagazine.co.uk

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