Saturday, October 26, 2013


southwalesargus.co.uk


Weekend It’s The


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INVESTIGATORS: R.I.P. South Wales (l-r), Grace Dixon, Gareth Mates and Roger Dixon check out the most haunted spots in Gwent


KIT: Tools of the trade for the paranomal investigators


HAUNTED SPOT? Sarah Brown Marketing Manager at Llanyrafon Manor holding a book during spooky goings on in the Heritage Centre


ation into the Paranormal’, as well as referencing the fa- mous epitaph. On the crack squad are his wife Mar- yse, parents-in-law Roger and Grace Dixon from Pontnewydd, sister-in-law Danielle, CCTV technician Gary Fitzgerald and several other friends and family members – as well as special team member Vixen the husky, who has been trained to sniff out the paranormal. They are a sceptical bunch


for the level of dedication they put into scoping out spirits, with Gareth, Grace and Roger all admitting that they aren’t sure there is an afterlife at all, although they have strong suspicions. Like Gwent Paranormal, they have an array of scientific instruments to measure changes in the electromagnetic field, digi- tal thermometers, a laser thermometer, negative ion


detector and a suitcase full of other technical tools to detect disturbances. Father-of-three Gareth


said: “To cut a long story short, when I was little I wanted to be a ghostbuster - Eighties child and all. Any book on ghosts I read, any video, so I could train to be a ghostbuster. It started when I was about four.” But he has yet to see a ghost himself, and isn’t con- vinced of their existence. Grace Dixon, 52, says part


of her motivation for being in the group is to learn about local history: “You learn a lot. People might think it’s a spooky place because of the history. I have my moments. Some- times I believe and some- times I don’t. I have yet to be convinced completely. There’s stuff going on that we can’t perceive but maybe that’s just science we can’t


understand yet.” Jon and Tammie have had


to use their investigative techniques in their own home. Jon said: “We did in the children’s bedroom when Hope was having lots of nightmares. She said there was a girl with long arms that kept on stretch- ing and stripy legs and sharp teeth, old looking. I went up there, closed my eyes and concentrated and actually had a vision of her standing behind me. I did the purification ritual that night. A medium said there was a portal inside the bedroom there and by doing our ritual, I managed to close it.” Ghosts and ghouls are not


the only thing that might frighten visitors at the Scott residence. They share their living room with a twelve foot Burmese python while six tarantulas live in the


master bedroom as well as finding space for three cats, fish and a crested gecko. Tammie Scott, 28, an Avon


lady when not investigating the spirit world, said one of the scariest assignments she has been on was dealing with an incubus in Thorn- hill, Cwmbran. “They class it as a male demon that attacks females. The fam- ily were starting to get at- tacked when they contacted us – scratches on their breasts, things like that. Me and my husband are Wic- cans. We do use spells to try and get rid of them. We had a priest in there three times and that didn’t work. I con- tacted them last week and they said it has quietened down a bit. “We have had quite a few people saying it can’t be real. I say if you ever see what we see then you will believe.”


MOST HAUNTED: Shows like this are inspiring Gwent people to investigate the paranormal


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