Lina and Charlie Killick have seen plenty of weird goings-on as part of Two Worlds Paranormal Investigation.
A weird and wonderful look at the strange things that make this a great place to live
FROM ghosts prowling the corridors of the city's oldest buildings to a refugee who tried to earn himself a place in the record books by scoffing three-and-a-half pounds of raw onions in a couple of seconds, Peterborough is well known for being weird and wonderful. Jemma Walton took a peek at the 'other side.'
ONCE, Lina Killick was standing all alone in the long, cold corridor of an old mansion when she felt something wrap itself around her belly and whisper "Help me" into her ear.
She couldn't see what was grabbing her, but she could feel a skirt swishing spookily around the back of her ankles.
"I was later told that the Gloucestershire mansion we were in was haunted by a maid who had had an affair with the master of the house and fallen pregnant in the mid 1800s," said Lina.
"She had jumped out of the window and killed herself rather than deal with the shame of having a fatherless child."
Lina and her husband, Charlie, are founder members of Two Worlds Paranormal Investigation, and regularly visit old buildings to check them out for paranormal activity.
They sometimes choose places they would like to visit, or are invited there by the buildings' owners who want to find out whether their premises are haunted ? and they have seen and heard enough to shake even the most hardened ghost non-believer.
"We have had some very intense experiences," said Lina (30). "And we have been scared. We were in a house in Essex once which had a series of underground tunnels.
"I was standing in a tunnel during an investigation, and suddenly the worst agony I have ever experienced flashed through the whole of my left side, from the stomach down, just for a second. It was horrific.
"We then heard footsteps, and then the air filled with the smell of gunpowder, it was very strong, unmistakable. Some of the members of the team began to freak out and left, and I have to admit, it was very frightening indeed."
The couple found out that the house had been built on the site of an old Second World War fort, and the tunnels had been used to store bombs and ammunition.
There had been an accident there one night, and a man had been blown up, losing his leg and taking blows in the stomach and hip.
"Most people think we're mad when we tell them about Two Worlds, but then they add 'Well now you mention it,' and have a story of their own to tell about a ghost," said Lina, who works in IT.
"We like meeting sceptical people because they tend to be rational and logical, and can help us to try to understand what we have experienced, and that's what we want to do. We would love to know the truth behind paranormal activity, we would love a scientific explanation.
"The worst people to deal with are the people that believe too much. Some people will see dust on their floor and take it as evidence that their house is haunted, and then get disappointed when we don't find anything."
Lina's fascination with the supernatural began when she was four, and her sister was born. Her granny gave her a crystal ball which she used to play with. "Nothing came of it," she said.
"But it set me off thinking about what if there was some truth in it, what if there is something out there?"
Lina and Charlie, from Park Farm, Peterborough, decided to set up Two Worlds after having been members of several paranormal investigation groups and learning something different from each of them.
They now have a team of eight or so members, including a scientist, a teacher and a mental health worker, who go out on investigations all over the country during weekend nights.
The couple have completed more than 100 investigations, with 30 of those being with Two Worlds.
"We have picked up quite a bit of activity at the Wisbech Institute, which is a derelict building," said Charlie. "Strange sounds come from locked rooms, noises like a row of coathangers rattling.
"We always take a dictaphone and videocamera with us, and we check everything we think we've seen or heard with that, to make sure that we aren't mistaking noises for something they're not.
"Once we thought we heard something, but then we checked with the camera, and it was me speaking. But there are times when the camera or the dictaphone pick up things that we didn't know about.
"Once, for example, the dictaphone picked up the sound of something screaming. It sounded horrible, really eerie. We had been investigating a pub which had once been the site for public executions and torture, which might explain it.
"But even after seeing what we've seen and hearing what we've heard, I still wouldn't say that I believe in ghosts or spirits or whatever you want to call them.
"There might be a psychological explanation for it, but it'd be very interesting to find out the answers. But I suppose if we did we wouldn't have a hobby any more!"
Note: You can click on the source link below to hear audio
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/feat ... iclepage=2
