Atworth
On
Jacky took us to the church and suggested that we should quietly walk around the right side of the church, round the back, circle round the left side of the church and back out again. We decided to do this in groups of two and three.
Jacky knew a story about this area which she did not share with us initially, as she wanted to see what we picked up without influence.
Jacky and I decided to go in first. I know nothing about this area but I felt it wasn't good and I was actually quite afraid. We walked down the path and as we reached a certain point by a small door, I had a horrible feeling and I said aloud to Jacky "Oh, I thought someone was behind me then." Jacky replied "You are probably right." I swung around compelled to look but not really wanting to. I didn't see anything untoward but when I turned forward, I couldn't see Jacky. I must admit I felt quite panicky and I said "Jacky, where are you?" She was right by my side all the time and I scolded myself for being so jittery. Even as we walked forward, I felt as if someone was in hot pursuit behind us.
We rejoined the others and I still did not know the story as Jacky wanted everyone to walk around the church before she told us.
Loretta had not been around the church yet and I tried to persuade her to walk around with James and Matt. She was too scared that they would tease her so she made me go in with her. We walked in and Emma came behind us as she wanted to walk around again too. We all felt pretty safe as we knew Dave M had already gone in (by himself) to look around. As we walked by the right side of the church, Loretta became nervous and felt like we were not alone. This was interesting as it was the exact same spot (by a small door) that I initially felt afraid. Emma said that this was also the place that she had started to feel scared. We all felt that there was a male energy behind us. We knew it wasn't Dave M that we were sensing as we could see him quite far ahead of us, leaning against the church. Later Christina told me that as she also approached the door she said to Richard, "Richard, I'm so scared, if I hold your arm and shut my eyes, will you guide me?" Christina also said "I remember looking at the doorway and trying to run but Richard was still attached so I did not get far!"
We walked on to join Dave M and eventually we decided to return to the scary area. As we were walking back, Loretta and Emma heard a footstep. They turned around quickly and seemed really shocked to find nobody there. We stood there frozen to the spot and became aware of whispering. We tried to see if the whispering was coming from any of the team but they were all outside of the churchyard. We heard the whispering a couple of times and it seemed very close to us.
Emma decided she would 'call out.' Suddenly the atmosphere changed and seemed to become even more sinister. I was not feeling cold but my left side suddenly became ice cold and I was aware of goose-bumps, just on my left side. Emma continued to 'call out.' We heard a whistle and then a repeated whistle but it was slightly further away than the whispering so we could not deem the whistling as paranormal.
We all felt as if someone was coming up the small path, around the side of the church near a small doorway. The atmosphere felt horrible. Emma exclaimed that one of the branches of a tree had suddenly moved like someone had just passed by and deliberately moved it out of the way. This was strange as the night was very still, with no wind.
We stood by the small door and wondered if anyone had ever jumped out of it. I had the sudden impulse to shout "Boo!" We stood there for a while and Emma and I were filming with our Camcorders. Emma said she felt an icy cold breeze on her hand. We stood there talking and directing questions at any spirits present, hoping 'someone' was there to listen to us. It certainly felt as 'someone' was lurking around us.
I became aware that my mood was changing and I felt horrible and quite aggressive which really shocked me as I am naturally a calm and non-angry person. Emma and I felt that a really, nasty, mean energy was confronting us and I wanted to shout "How dare you" and I really wanted to take 'him' on. This is not like me at all. I told Loretta and Emma how I was feeling and Emma said that she felt the same. We decided to return to the others as perhaps it was not a good idea to have a 'fisticuffs' with a ghost. As soon as I got out of this area my mood returned to normal.
We stood outside the churchyard chatting for a while. Some of the local cats became interested in us and one jumped up onto the wall behind Christina. I know that cats are supposed to have nine lives and if humans are the same, Christina probably lost hers at that moment. She did a spectacular jump into the air and then ran forward (faster than light). As usual my Camcorder was not recording which is very sad as that was extremely funny.
Jacky later told us the story behind the churchyard at Atworth. The cemetery guardian reputedly does not like women and stands on the spot near the door. A psychic medium walked by this spot one night and suddenly bolted across the churchyard and leapt over the wall (where Christina was frightened by the cat). She later claimed that she was being psychically attacked by the graveyard guardian.
This story is thought provoking. All the men in the team who walked through the churchyard were not fazed at all anywhere in the area. But all the women felt afraid and threatened, in the exact same spot. Was this coincidence or did the graveyard guardian scare the women at exactly the same spot in the cemetery?
We would like to thank Jacky for taking us to this very creepy place on our way back from Swan Mine. Strangely, we really enjoyed the experience.
Written by Maria Williams
