Ghost hunter wants your spooky stories

Ghost hunter wants your spooky stories

Dr Graham Ramsden is an educational psychologist, but he also has an interest in the paranormal.

He is due to give a talk at the Jersey Arts Centre next month and wants to hear from those who may have a story to tell.

For ten years Dr Ramsden was a member of the Paranormal Activity Research Team, one of Yorkshire’s leading paranormal investigation groups.

With a background in education and science, Dr Ramsden said he had his doubts when he joined the unit.

‘I went in as a scientific sceptic, a dubious doubter. But I’ve got questions I can’t answer,’ he said.

‘Around about 95% of paranormal stories or experiences that people have are explainable.

‘A lot of people say they have had an experience of lying in bed and being woken up and there’s a ghostly figure at the end. I’m not saying that’s not a ghostly experience, what I’m saying is the chances are that’s a hypnagogic experience.’

A hypnagogic hallucination is thought to occur when someone is in between being asleep and being awake.

‘One of the questions I will ask during the evening is “who are we” as human beings,’ Dr Ramsden added.

‘In asking those questions we’ve gone to the highest mountains, the lowest depths of the oceans and we’ve even left the planet.

‘I think it’s a natural human psychological question to ask, and part of that is what’s the purpose in life and what happens when we die?’

Using his background in psychology, Dr Ramsden’s role in Yorkshire’s PART was to understand people, and they regularly carried out investigations in manor houses, graveyards and private homes.

One experience he cannot explain occurred at 2am, when the PART unit were called to investigate strange sightings in a museum.

‘Somebody had said they had seen the ghost of a child running around, so I was on my own in a pitch black room.

‘I knew where all the team were, and we were the only ones in the museum that night.

‘I was calling out, “If you are there, give me a sign”, and I had something thrown at me. It hit the wall just above my head. When I put the torch on and picked it up, it was one of those duffle coat toggles.’

Dr Ramsden’s talk will include anecdotes about his experiences in Yorkshire, but he is also keen to find out about stories here and perhaps include them in a book about ghosts in Jersey.

‘I’m interested in people’s real stories, what they believe to be real. I’m not going to say “I’m sorry it isn’t”, but I’m interested in what I would call “normal” paranormal.’

His talk – Are Ghosts Real? Exploring the Evidence – is at the Jersey Arts Centre on 14 November. Due to the content being discussed it is open to those aged 16 and above.

If you have any stories that might interest Dr Ramsden, they can be sent to community@jerseyeveningpost.com.

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