SOME people swear by the existence of ghosts, others dismiss them as belonging in the realms of fairy stories. But in the last of The News' three-part The Unexplained series, Alex Forsyth finds out what happened when ghost-hunters staked out one of Portsmouth's spookiest haunts.
A group of intrepid ghost-hunters had one of their spookiest nights on record in a local haunt.
Wessex Ghost Hunters (WGH) have been investigating paranormal activity in and around the area for three years.
In July this year they stayed in the Kings Theatre, Southsea, for six hours at night to see if there was any truth to the spooky tales surrounding the old theatre.
Group president Dale Butler said: 'It was definitely one of the more interesting nights we have had.
'The Kings Theatre has a great history and the theatre itself is one to remember. But with running the theatre comes with it a side people try to block out ? the ghostly side to it.
'Many of the staff here report phenomena from shadows to unexplained noises and feelings, and with all this hype around the possibility of a haunting we had to have a look for ourselves.'
The group set up their equipment, including an electro voice phenomena machine ? to capture noises ? and a video camera, and began conducting their experiments.
Mr Butler said: 'We were doing a glass-moving exercise, like a ouija board but only with "yes" and "no" answers, where you all sit in a darkened area and try to make contact with spirits.
'After a slow start we managed to contact a woman whose name was not known but who said she was connected to the theatre in 1938, and told us through the glass and through our resident medium that she had committed suicide there.'
But when the team tried to find reports of a woman who had committed suicide, there was none.
Mr Butler said: 'It is an amazing phenomenon, and it is literally unexplainable.
'I know a lot of people are sceptics and would rubbish these claims, but to those people I would just say come and see for yourself.
'That night we saw shadows and movements and heard knocks. We thought we had captured some of it on a video but when we got it back, for the first time ever the equipment wouldn't work.'
The team's reporter, Conrad Hillman, said: 'Throughout our investigation we made contact with many spirits and our night was one of great amazement.
'This theatre is not just used by people we see every day but other people living in what seems a different world.'
Sandra Smith, who has worked at the Kings Theatre for some 20 years, said: 'There have been sightings of shadows up in the gods and one of the cleaning ladies says she feels something.
'But it's not threatening.
'I think it is actors who have had such a good time they come back for an encore!'
KINGS THEATRE FACT-FILE
The Kings Theatre was built almost 100 years ago by businessman John Walter Boughton and architect Frank Matcham.
Opening night on September 30, 1907, was a glittering
occasion.
One of the theatre's most famous ghost stories is that John Walter Boughton can be seen wandering the aisles dressed all in brown.
In 2001, after a successful campaign by Akter (Action for Kings Theatre Restoration) to keep the theatre open, it was bought by Portsmouth City Council and leased to the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd, which took responsibility for the building's restoration and repair.
Over the years the theatre has changed little and the look is almost original.
The city council has spent more than ?1m bringing the building up to date
http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/ViewAr ... ID=1950245
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