The Ghost Tour (Plas Teg, Flintshire)

...my hometown, stands back from the passing dual carriageway and it's a building I've driven past frequently with the same uneasy glance at its stony front.
Why?
It is described as 'the most haunted stately home in Flintshire' - the stories are infamous, the building; imposing and impressive.
So - naturally - I jumped at the chance of spending a night within its 'haunted' walls. My friend booked for the five of us and we arrived ...
...(each stating that we were the most sceptic and therefore less likely to be scared at all. Even a little. Nope, not a bit…)

Walking through the large front door of the house, we entered a huge fire-lit room, pleasantly warm but somewhat scruffy looking and dirty. Of course, this only served to heighten the atmosphere - waiting for the tour that would begin shortly after our welcome. The group of us sat in the corner of the room under ... more

Plas Teg, situated only a few miles from my hometown, stands back from the passing dual carriageway and it's a building I've driven past frequently with the same uneasy glance at its stony front.
Why?
It is described as 'the most haunted stately home in Flintshire' - the stories are infamous, the building; imposing and impressive.
So - naturally - I jumped at the chance of spending a night within its 'haunted' walls. My friend booked for the five of us and we arrived at half past eight with bated breath and semi-nervous laughter (each stating that we were the most sceptic and therefore less likely to be scared at all. Even a little. Nope, not a bit…)

Walking through the large front door of the house, we entered a huge fire-lit room, pleasantly warm but somewhat scruffy looking and dirty. Of course, this only served to heighten the atmosphere - waiting for the tour that would begin shortly after our welcome. The group of us sat in the corner of the room under one of the two large chandeliers that hung from the ceiling above (covered in dust in a suitably aged way) and soon after we were welcomed and told the rules of the house. These were delivered very informally and were as follows;
1. If you feel ill, say something! There's a lot of old and antique furniture and carpeting in the house and we were told that someone would accompany us to a bathroom or for some fresh air.
2. The house and staircases are old - so be careful! The tour takes place in the dark so we were warned to be aware of the things around us and not to run in case of tripping.
3. Finally (and rather ominously), if we felt something, smelt something, or heard something, no matter how small, we were to speak up and describe what had happened.

We were then told this brief history of the house -
Plas Teg was built in 1610 by Sir John Trevor. The magnificent staircase was built from wood of ships destroyed in the Spanish Armada - which Sir John bought and crafted into the banisters. Over the years, the house has been used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the war, a home for various owners, a courtroom for travelling judges and has, more recently, fallen into disrepair before being bought by its current owner. Over the last decade or so, the current owner has attempted to restore as much of the house as possible.

Shortly after this, our small excited group was introduced to the guide that would be taking us around the building. His name was Jamie; a member of the British Paranormal Society (as well as a postman and aspiring model!). The group and I were immediately impressed with Jamie as he was perfectly normal! I asked him if he had ever seen anything in the house himself and he answered honestly and frankly, 'no', but said he had heard things and was often very sceptical of those who did believe they saw or felt something. This was refreshingly unexpected - I had been wary of meeting an all-seeing, all-believing sensationalist medium, who would tell us of the numerous occasions they had been witness to a levitation, headless ghost etc. etc.

**The First Room**
Led by Jamie, the group and I travelled up the huge wooden staircase, passing portraits and corridors either side of us. We entered the nursery and sat on the floor between two old poster beds. It was still quite light at this point, so Jamie told us a brief history of the room (and about Harry and Elizabeth who had once lived there). Shortly after, he took out a big metal case and produced an emf probe. After explaining what it was - an electro magnetic field probe designed for detecting surges in energy (i.e. the presence of a soul or spirit) - he offered us a go at taking it around the room. I jumped at the chance and found myself wandering into the dark corners alone, brandishing the small tool as if it were a weapon (I maintain the fact that I am a sceptic, but it's all too easy to imagine something when you're looking at an empty bed in a dusty dark room!).
Sadly, the machine didn't even make so much as a bleep and I returned to the group slightly disappointed.

**The Amber Room**
The next room we visited was the Amber room. The creepy tale that went with this one soon became clear when Jamie told us that it had once been the pregnancy room of the house. The story goes that a woman died in childbirth, and many guests in the house have claimed they have heard her labour-induced shrieks… Realistically though, the only thing I found scary about the Amber Room at all was the fact that there was a very thin corridor running behind the wall. Foolishly, I was elected to walk down it and conduct an evp (electronic voice phenomena test), stating clearly 'if there are any spirits in the house, please can you make yourself known to us. Can you tell us who you are? Or your age?'. Pleased with myself (and fairly desperate to get out of that dark cramped corridor…) I came back to the room and we listened to the tape.
It would be nice to say we found something conclusive, but all I heard was some ever-so-slight muffled breath or words that frankly, really could have been anything. Still, Jamie was suitably interested and kept the idea alive well. He transported the audio file to a laptop and we listened again - still nothing conclusive but I found myself fascinated nevertheless. We were shocked to find that we had been in the house for almost two hours and went back down to the entrance hall for our first break (see below for info on breaks).

**The Court Room and Hanging Chamber**
Sound creepy enough, don't they? The story for these rooms was fantastic - and undeniably true. The infamous Judge Jeffries (nicknamed 'the Hanging Judge') actually stayed in Plas Teg for a lengthy period of time. He was a travelling judge, famous for decreeing death by hanging for even the smallest of crimes. In the courtroom, he sentenced many local criminals and they were hanged minutes later, in the adjoining chamber! This is where we first tried the dowsing rods - similar to the sticks used for finding water, these were made from copper and the idea was that they would cross if paranormal activity was detected. I questioned the effectiveness of these (vibrations in the hand, slight movements, etc.) but was surprised by the fact that no matter who held them, they crossed in the same place in the courtroom. There's a lot of impressive furniture and pottery in this room, which are interesting enough in their own right.
The Hanging Chamber was a far more creepy room. Small and now converted into a bedroom, the plank of wood that people were hanged from still crosses the ceiling. Jamie informed us that guests had often felt something in the corner of the room. The lights were off and a four-poster bed stood between an individual and the rest of the group, so standing in the corner was no mean feat. Two of our group refused to do it but the rest took turns and, eyes-closed, we waited in the corner expectantly. Again though, I only felt slightly dizzy and wandered back to the rest of the group. The last test we performed in this room was a heat test - an infra-red light that took the temperature of anything it was pointed at. When I used this in the chamber, I was delighted to find a small pocket in the centre of the room that was about six degrees lower than the rest. Realisation dawned however, and I discovered that it was a trapdoor to a tunnel that led to the grounds. Family members of the recently-hanged criminals would pick up their bodies from here.

**The Great Chamber**
The next room we entered was the Great Chamber. This was a very large room on the second floor, roughly the size of the hall we had entered when we arrived. The fireplace that stands against one of the walls was magnificent - huge and made out of stone, the original builders scratched 5 pentacles onto its surface to ward away the evil spirits. Four can be found quite easily - one is deeply scratched into the mantelpiece but the last can't be found and some say it doesn't exist at all.
The paintings and period furniture in this room were also impressive. The one that stood above the fireplace depicted Medusa's severed head, in a particularly dark and grim manner…
We ran the same tests and Jamie called out for spirits as we sat on the floor - again though, nothing happened and we moved onto our second break.

**The Regency Room**
Saving the best until last, our remaining two rooms were said to be the most haunted in Plas Teg. The first room, the Regency Room, was the one that Sir John Trevor (who built the house) had lived in. The story (which seemed a little unrealistic to me) debated over these two things - one; that Sir John had killed his wife in the bathroom, or two; that she had committed suicide in the stained bath tub (all too easy to believe after you've seen it!). Either way, Sir John rode in a carriage around the grounds faster and faster until he was injured severely, and died in the same room a few weeks later.
The bathroom in particular was very atmospheric. Pottery was shelved on the walls in a strange manner and the bath was very deep and a rusty coloured brown. Again, Jamie convinced me to sit in the dark next to the bath alone and I can honestly say it was the most frightening experience of the visit. Whenever anyone moved in the bedroom, the pottery on the walls would shake and I recorded another evp test here. When we listened, there was nothing on the tape (I knew there wouldn't be… right?) and we left to the last room.
On the way out, the ambience was slightly spoiled by the fact that I saw a phone charger plugged into one of the sockets … hardly terrifying, is it?

**The Panel Room**
The last room we were shown to contained a large wooden table and was said to be the one with the most spiritual activity. The group and I sat around it, and were told to place our fingertips on the edge. Here, Jamie called for the spirits once again. We waited… and waited. But alas, nothing. This room also led to another disturbing bathroom. The bathtub was huge and metal and shaped exactly like a coffin. In the dark, the shower (a very early one that was basically an overhead colander where hot water was placed) looked like an exceptionally evil guillotine! A grim comparison to say the least. Yawning though, we looked at our watches and found the time to be nearing three in the morning. We had been in the house for six hours or so - and it really did feel like much, much less.
We headed back downstairs to the entrance hall, munched a few jaffa cakes and biscuits, thanked Jamie and then left to our welcoming homes.

The Breaks - There were two of these, each lasting about fifteen minutes. There was a very ample supply of tea or coffee, jaffa cakes and ginger nuts but I was slightly disappointed there wasn't more considering the price of the event.

The price pretty much breaks down as following -
Night tours - £25 per person and takes place on Saturday nights - expect it to last about six hours.
Day tour (much cheaper but nowhere near as spooky!) - £5 for adults, £2.50 for children. This lasts about two hours, so it's much shorter than the evening tour.
It's necessary to book; this can be done by phone or via the website - www.plasteg.co.uk. (more booking info on the website as well.)

**Facilities**
All the toilets are on the ground floor, quite near the entrance when you arrive. I had a fairly comical moment where I thought there were no lights in the bathroom ('ambience?' I thought, 'surely this is taking it a bit far…'), but found the lights outside the room shortly later!
Because of the nature of the building (the fact that it was built in 1610), there is unfortunately, no wheelchair access. Most of the travelling in the house involves going up and down the huge wooden staircase and various other steps, bumps and raises. Obviously, this is a big criticism of the building - and really disappointing for those in wheelchairs interested in visiting. For this, the owner of the house does apologise, but as Plas Teg is a grade one building of historical importance, they are not allowed to alter its structure.

**So, where is it?**
There's a map and directions on the website; Plas Teg can be found on the A541, Wrexham/Mold road - a few miles from the cities of Chester and Wrexham. It's very easy to get to, but here's a handy warning - the entrance is quite small and has a very long drive-way. When you first see the house, you might find that you're on the opposite side of the dual carriageway you need to be on - don't worry though, there are places to turn around all the way along the road. From there, it's just a matter of driving up the path to the house and parking in the gravelled area beside Plas Teg.

**Overall**
If, like me, you're something of a sucker for a grim history you really will enjoy this place. The guides are knowledgeable members of the British Paranormal Society and all are entirely un-sensationalist in their presentation of the house. We found them to be excellent company and very informal, and in the hours we spent together we got to know them well, swapping various email and myspace addresses etc. One of the main reasons the tour appeared to go so quickly was the fact that we spent a lot of time just talking normally - joking around and having an excellent time.
The price of the night tour is expensive - but it works to about £4.00 each per hour. When you consider that the house is still being improved in some places (the inclusion of more period furniture etc.) it's really not that bad at all. The breaks are basic but we found that some tea and biscuits was all we really wanted before we got back on the tour.
The evening tour takes place in the dark completely - parts are very, very dark so expect to stumble around somewhat! Plus, you're much better going in the summer. In the winter, the house gets very cold so visit whilst the weather is still warm. If you do decide to go in the winter, wrap up - the house will be like a fridge otherwise.
There's a lot of the building you're not actually allowed to go in - one part is still too decrepit to allow visitors and another part is the section where the owner lives. This was actually quite disappointing, as it didn't really feel like we were visiting the whole house - and missing out on something.
If you're in it simply for the paranormal aspect, you're probably not going to have a good time. Very little 'questionable' events happened to us or myself in the night but I did learn a fascinating amount of history of the building. We did capture something strange on the camera (see pictures); you decide for yourself if it's something or not!
The grounds, which we also visited briefly, were pleasing. With a large fountain and some impressive statues, they added to the overall atmosphere of the house.
Really, one of my most chilling memories of the tour was what Jamie said before calling out in the Amber Room. He warned us not to try the same in our own homes because, 'you have no idea who or what you could be inviting in…' Dramatic? Yes. Chilling?... when you're sitting in the dark in the most haunted house in Wales, undoubtedly so.
I left as sceptical as I entered. I also left feeling I had done something rather worthwhile and memorable that night.

Go for it. It's quite an experience.
 

...less