Spooky goings-on are rife at a Mearns museum, with ghostly sightings uncovered by paranormal investigators.
Afterdark Paranormal Investigations picked the Tolbooth Museum in Stonehaven for its historical connections with the darker side of the town’s past.
Richard Stibbles, John Spratt, Evelyn Williamson, Erin Gray, Irene Gray and Kev McCaffray visited the museum and are convinced they unearthed paranormal activity there.
Many of the group felt physical discomfort during the evening, including a drop in temperature, minor physical assaults and general feelings of dizziness or breathing problems.
The Tolbooth was used as a court house and a jail up until 1767 and the investigation began in the North Room, with a lit walk round with guest medium Richard Stibbles.
Richard picked up on a man called Peter who had been in the Tolbooth for about three months and was ill with a disease caused by poor hygiene.
Communication was also made with a man called Jack, a person in authority who probably walked with the aid of a stick.
Although he was giving out sentences he was a kindly man who always made sure the prisoners were well looked after. As the group moved into the cell area a beeping noise was heard for which no explanation could be found.
Evidence was also obtained of oppression, with one spirit suffering from broken fingernails and bleeding fingers from trying to dig or scrape to escape.
Further evidence of oppression was signified by the presence of a spirit who had been chained to the wall.
Evelyn, one of the team’s mediums, gave the following report: “The names Sergeant George and Captain Alexander McLeod or McClair came through.
“George loved his job as a policeman and told of the hanging of a young boy that went wrong. They had to hold on to his feet to snap his neck.
“The young boy was charged for poaching. Alexander wasn’t a nice man. He used to punish prisoners and hated drunks. He would often kick them.
“A two-year-old girl called Mary drowned near here. Footsteps will be heard from above.”
The team agreed this was a very successful night and would like to return to the Tolbooth for a further investigation.
A report by the six investigators stated: “There was lots of activity, sightings and feelings.
“Most noticeable was throughout the night everyone had the feeling that they were swaying, like being on a boat. Two good EVP’s (electronic voice phenomena) were caught, but the team are certain there would have been more.
“Unfortunately, the early part of the evening was quite noisy from the restaurant upstairs, but this didn’t curtail the investigation.”
Afterdark is a company run out of Mains Castle in Dundee and its investigators travel all over the UK to investigate ghostly phenomena.
A spokesman for the Tolbooth Museum said: “We are assured that the spirits are friendly and welcome visitors.
“Please come and see us. We have a wide range of artefacts reflecting Stonehaven’s history, and you never know, as a bonus you might make contact with a spirit.”