THERE are spirits in Glasgow's Saracen Head pub - the restless kind. The Gallowgate bar, one of the oldest in the city, is said to be haunted by a previous owner and a witch who was burned at the stake. One recent night, at an hour when everyone else was safely in bed, RUSSELL LEADBETTER joined the spirit-hunters.
OUTSIDE, at 1am, the Gallowgate was empty, save for the odd car or taxi swishing through the drizzle. It wasn't a night to be outdoors.
Nor was it, now that I think about it, a night to be looking for ghosts in one of Glasgow's best-known pubs, the Saracen Head.
Yet a handful of enthusiasts, armed with night-vision camcorders, thermometers, motion sensors, voice-recorders, still cameras and two-way radios, was doing just that.
It wasn't all high-tech, though: they also had an old-fashioned ouija-board to help them in their quest.
According to licensee Anne McGuigan, The Sarry Heid - the pub to which Billy Connolly famously re-located his Last Supper sketch - is haunted by a previous owner, Angus Ross.
"Angus's family had the place for a century and he retired in 1991," said Anne, 55. "He died the following year.
"Four weeks ago I was here on my own and it was as if Angus walked past me - I definitely felt something there. I told him, 'Angus, you're not supposed to do that when I'm here on my own'.
"Someone else has seen what appears to be Angus here. It is definitely haunted, but there's no harm meant."
The pub is also said to haunted by the spirit of a woman called Maggie, who was burned at the stake as a witch centuries ago. Legend has it that the skull displayed in a glass case here is hers.
Philip Dolan, 35, who heads the paranormal research team, Soulsearchscotland, with his partner, Annette, said: "We asked Anne if we could do an investigation, because it is a really old building, and there has been a pub associated with the name since 1755."
Philip and his colleagues have already done investigations at Barrowland, across the road, as well as Sloan's pub in Argyll Arcade (now the Bastille), The Arches in Midland Street and the Maritime Museum in Irvine.
"We've also done places in Edinburgh, including Greyfriars Kirkyard and the underground 18th century vaults.
"In the seven years I've been doing this, I've found things that I can't explain. We recorded three voices at The Arches and others at Barrowland. When we did a seance there we could hear a lassie singing while we were talking.
"At the bar, we detected an orb - a mysterious sphere of light - and we could hear a faint voice. It seemed to be a lady's voice, calling for help. We also picked up a voice in Sloan's.
"We believe the voices belong to spirits trying to contact the living world."
Philip, who claims to have had a couple of paranormal experiences when he was younger, said: "I like to keep my mind open during an investigation, and not to assume that a place is automatically haunted.
"If we don't come up with anything, fair enough. We just move on to the next investigation."
The group split into two, one section holding a vigil in the pitch-dark pub, the other downstairs in the cellar, where a portrait of Angus lay propped up on the floor.
I was handed one of the night-vision camcorders as Angela asked if there were any astral visitors present and, if so, could make themselves known.
My natural scepticism got a jolt when the camera screen picked up what can only be described as a moving cluster of lights. It shimmered and hovered before fading, but re-appeared minutes later.
Beginner's luck, I thought ... but Philip gently explained that the lights were actually from the digital thermometer that was being used to gauge the temperature.
Once Anne switched the pub lights back on, we went over the evidence. The eagle-eyed volunteers spotted some orbs - specks of light - in some of the footage. One orb was apparently spotted on my jacket.
The groups switched vigils, and we ended up down in the cellar, banging our heads on the low ceiling almost as a sort of ritual.
It was as cold as you expect pub cellars to be. Angela once again beckoned astral presences, while the camcorders did their silent work.
The portrait of Angus, leaning against a wall, looked vaguely sinister through the camera lens. My imagination got the better of me as I watched it to see if its eyes moved.
Some of the volunteers felt a distinct chill following Angela as she walked around the cellar. The digital thermometer, beamed into corners and ceilings, showed readings that flickered up and down, between 7.6C and 3.2C. "That's like stepping into a fridge," said Philip.
After an hour in the cellar we re-mounted the stairs, and the ouija board was produced.
To his discomfort, Philip found himself talking to his mum, who died in 1998. "I was shaking, and shivers went up my spine," he said. "I've held lots of seances and that was a first for me. I asked her why she was here and she said she was looking over me, and she was also looking out for my brother, Donald. An ex-boyfriend also came through for Anne's daughter, Judith, who sat in on the seance."
The following day, Philip and Annette went over all the footage ... and there was a surprise in store.
The microphone on my camera in the cellar apparently picked up a man's voice, saying, "I'm Timmy".
"That was the clearest voice I've ever heard," said Philip. "I played it back 20 times to make sure it wasn't a voice of anyone in the cellar group. It wasn't.
"It was so much clearer than any of the voices we detected in Barrowland. The voice was the best piece of evidence from the entire night.
"Another camera picked up the sound of footsteps on the stairs leading to the cellar."
Angela's husband, Billy, said: "In the cellar, I had the feeling that I was swaying back and forwards, almost as if I was in a boat, and I started to feel dizzy, and a coldness at my back. That has never happened to me before."
Philip knows sceptics will scoff at any claims of voices or footsteps.
"We don't automatically assume that everything we see or hear on the night is tied to astral spirits. But sometimes you get bits of evidence that seem to defy explanation, like the voice that called out "I'm Timmy".
"I'd love to play that voice to the sceptics, and let them make their own minds up.
"One thing's for certain - the voice definitely didn't belong to any of the volunteers who were down there.
"The pub is haunted, I've no doubt about it. I'd like to go back and do another investigation."
Said Anne: "It was good to have Philip and his team here. They're welcome to come back."
So, is there anything out there? No-one knows for sure. I'm just glad I never heard Timmy's voice behind me, down in that cellar.
Source: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/lo/features/7022523.html
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