The D-Day Tour with Brian J Cano

This exclusive tour of three amazing haunted locations was put together by Sage Paranormal who worked extremely hard to book these locations and also manage to get Brian J Cano from across the pond into the UK. I think what’s also really important to note here is that given the locations, the presence of Brian J Cano and that there were limited numbers; for the price this was excellent value. Often with events such as these the numbers can be upwards of thirty guests attending and this in my opinion can simply ruin a good ghost hunt. Too many numbers equals too much location contamination and not enough of the hosts and special guests to go around.

Virtual hat tip to MJ Dickson and the Sage Paranormal team for putting together such a good package for a reasonable price.

Also, big thank you to Brian J Cano for coming over to the UK and making this such a unique event.

As you can see from the Sage Paranormal advert, the tour hit three amazing locations from the 3rd March to 8th March. Starting with Fort Horsted in Kent, then one of my favourites The Explosions Museum in Gosport and finishing up at Fort Widley in Portsmouth. Now that I have been to all three locations I can happily state that they are each well worth a visit, from a historical point of view and not just because they are all pretty cool. The Explosions Museum has also been a location I’ve returned to and never come away disappointed. The other two were equally interesting and I would certainly return at some point.

Fort Widley Tour

Once we had all arrived and settled in we began with a tour of the areas of the Fort that we would be investigating. However what was apparent early on was that once again Sage Paranormal had done an excellent job in not flooding the event with guests and this would in turn help change the event into more of a team investigation. Often this can change the entire night, especially for those that have some experience investigating. On this occasion everyone apart from me had attended the previous two D-Day Tour investigations and had become an excellent team.
We left the large meeting room that we used for our HQ on this occasion and descended the near by staircase to the lower lever and entrance to the tunnels we would be investigating. MJ guided us along the first tunnel all the way into where the spiral staircase ascended towards the parade ground. At this point we all familiarised ourselves with how sound travelled around this part of the location. Suffice to say it wasn’t exactly how you may think and perhaps could easily be mistaken for paranormal activity on occasion. From there we headed down the North tunnel to explore and familiarise ourselves with the location. The tunnel opened out into a vast area at the end, with two levels. We looked around and quickly identified where the area was exposed to the elements. It was certainly going to be a chilly investigation that was for sure.

It was certainly an interesting area and we were looking forward to investigating it, so we headed back up towards the centre spiral staircase.

On this occasion we couldn’t venture down the east tunnel as this was blocked off for use by the local emergency services. As time was ticking away from us we left the tour of the west tunnel too and returned to the HQ too.

It was time to regroup over a hot drink and grab a radiator to warm us up a little. Brian J Cano took the opportunity to jump onto Facebook Live and introduce us all to the world. I’ll let you search Facebook for that particular video. Not only does it introduce our team brilliantly, but it also showcases a very special impression that shouldn’t be missed. There’s also an important announcement from MJ and Brian regarding the Sage Paracon 2017, which sounds epic.

EVP in the North Caponier

Our first vigil took the whole team down to the far North Caponier to investigate and conduct a full team EVP session. Its odd, but when you make the walk down to this location you really begin to realise the truth size of the area under investigation. I also couldn’t help think if the walk through the tunnels could also be an attributing factor to some of the paranormal activity experienced at the location. Whether this was psychological due to the environment and its history; or perhaps the underground element in the dark which caused a little sensory deprivation could increase our ability to connect with whatever was there. Either way it certainly added to the experience as a whole.

Once we arrived in the North Caponier we setup on the second floor and most of the team sat on a few available chairs there in a circle. It was clear to see how far the group had come by this point too as they operated like a well oiled machine, many of them with their Digital Voice Recorders and MEL Meters ready to go before the last of us settled.

For this particular session we would once again attempt to work as group and each ask a question, which I believe was prompted by Brian J Cano by means of a quick shine of the torch.

However this again highlighted how far the team had come in such a short space of time. Rather than the mixed bag and random untagged noises, the group tagged both noises they made and ones that could be heard externally too. Impressive work guys.

As ever MJ listened live, but I noticed a couple of others were also trying this out too. Once we had been around the circle we listened back to the recording using a speaker. We identified a few minor oddities, but nothing that was particularly crystal clear or significant. Although it did seem to show some responses to our questions at times. During this MJ swapped her seat with another of the team and was filming the area a little.

This was also when we seemed to experience a little battery drain on a few devices, which occurred at the same time that some of the group saw a few light anomalies. Light anomalies and battery drain was also confirmed as something that had occurred previously when MJ’s team had investigated Fort Widley.

With batteries draining, the cold creeping in and time running away from us we headed back to our HQ to warm up and take a break.

Duel Blind Spirit Box Experiment

Following our break Brian and MJ came up with the idea to run an experiment based on the use of the Spirit Box. For this experiment they would require two volunteers, so Victoria and I of course volunteered.

Basically for the experiment two of us would listen to the same spirit box device using headphones. Whilst we did this it would be hard to hear the questions being asked. Actually with the white noise in between music and voice, it was near on impossible to hear the questions being asked.

Once the question was asked, indicated by a torch-light being shone on the table in front of us, each of us would note down what we heard from the Spirit Box. When the torch was shone on the table again, we would draw a line under what we had written in order to separate the questions.

We settled in and started the experiment. Noting down anything that made sense from the Spirit Box. Although there was a lot of white noise and music rather than actual words to begin with. Meanwhile MJ and Brian asked ten questions.

Once the ten questions had been asked, it was pens down and earphones off, nothing like an exam honestly.

We then compared the answers we had to the questions that were asked looking for specific matches and not things that could fit. Unsurprisingly none of our ten answers really matched the questions asked. Interestingly few of our answers matched either, with possibly an average of one word per question.

This really poses the question, do we often attempt to fit what we might be hearing from devices like the Spirit Box to the questions that we are asking?

Duel Blind Spirit Box Experiment with One in the Tunnel

Not content with our first experiment as a one-off, we decided to retry it. After all in order to properly experiment you need to repeat it over a few trials to understand things properly. Obviously during an investigation at a location that’s often not that easy, as time is against you and you’re there to experience the location more so.

However, on this occasion we decided to run the experiment again with both me and Victoria in the HQ. However this time around we placed the Spirit Box into a Faraday Bag and also sent Jo down the tunnel with the rest of the team to attempt it from there with a different Spirit Box.

Although these additional elements in effect change the entire experiment, it gives us a different perspective to work with. After all this is an experiment which we could run from home rather than on location in reality. Still its good to get the old grey cells working.

Once setup with our walkie talkies relaying question changes to Jo in the tunnel, we began again with Brian asking the ten questions. Again shining the torch in front of Victoria and I each time the question changed.

Interestingly on this occasion I heard what sounded like physical taps on the earphones. It’s fair to say once again none of the answers from Victoria and I matched the questions, but Jo had at least one which came very close. Also, less of the words that Victoria and I heard matched up this time around. Oddly what I heard and noted down although there were gaps of white noise and music between them seemed to create sentences. Ok, not perfect English sentences, but pretty close.

For example; ‘After drug way happy’, ‘Tell him 34 paint’, ‘its a boy’, ‘Tim leave’.

Now these didn’t match the questions, but were amusing to read out loud to the group, including my personal favourite (thanks Spirit Box); ‘Airport naked bounce’.

Its interesting too how we often look for patterns and familiarity in everything too. I even found myself trying to fit those answers with the questions, previous and after the one they related to.

West Tunnel ITC Apps

Our next vigil took us down the West tunnel, where on route some of the group found a swastika with the initials AH and a possible date protected by some perspex. We decided that this may be a good place to attempt a little communication. This time Brian J Cano used the iPad ITC Apps.

As previously at Fort Horsted we came up with a password, which I think was ‘tunnel’, but MJ had also written some words down in HQ before we headed out.

To begin with the Apps iOvilus and EchoVox gave us quite a few random words and sounds, some of which could be associated to the location and the communication we were attempting. However they were reluctant to deliver the password. That changed about ten or so minutes in, when a few of us (including me) heard the word ‘tunnel’. Was this a random occurrence or was spirit communicating through these apps? In all honesty, for me I still need to play around with these apps a little more and perhaps understand more how they work. That said if you can obtain some kind of communication in relation to other recorded changes, that would be quite interesting.

The Apps certainly delivered some interesting and varied communication which could be related to the tunnel or indeed the use of the tunnel or location.

Singapore Theory Experiment

As our time at Fort Widley was drawing to a close, we decided to finish on a high and attempt a Singapore Experiment around the spiral staircase area of the tunnels. This would be a location where many would have passed through on their way to various parts of the Fort. Little did I know that I was about to tap into the inner Sargent Major in me.

In order to attempt this version of the experiment we recorded the sound of an air raid siren and would utilise this to hopefully ‘stir up’ activity a little. As the siren played out through the tunnels I would circle the staircase shouting orders as if I was ordering the soldiers to take up their positions. Whilst I done this the rest of the team would setup around the entrances to the various tunnels using devices to capture audio and detect changes in the EM field.

Oddly as I took on the role of a military man shouting orders I have to admit it did feel a little weird to say the least. Once completed we regrouped to see if anything had been captured.

Unfortunately there hadn’t been anything seen on the devices monitoring EM fields or movement, but MJ managed to capture a short EVP following my reference to ‘Smithy’ as walked around the spiral staircase. I’m not going to say what we believe was captured as I have added the clip below for you to listen to. It’s a little enhanced, as this particular recording was recorded when MJ played what she captured on her device. Basically I have brought the volume levels up, but not cleaned it up. Please feel free to comment on what you believe you hear and if you hear nothing say so as that’s equally valid.
Once we had run through the clip a couple of times and I was suitably embarrassed by my poor impression of an officer, we decided to head back to the HQ as our time at Fort Widley had come to an end.

Round Up

Fort Widley was another fantastic location which I would love to return to for another investigation in the future. Sage Paranormal and Brian J Cano delivered an excellent investigation experience which on this occasion allowed for a little outside the normal approaches. It’s good to see a more involved event rather than a kind of ghost tour. Great work guys, I look forward to the next time I can join you on an investigation.

It was clear from talking to others in the team that the D-Day Tour hadn’t just been three events over less than a week, they had been a learning experience thanks to MJ’s and Brian’s approach. From Fort Horsted to Fort Widley the group had grown and learnt a lot, each becoming excellent investigators.

Fort Widley had delivered some interesting EVP results, a possible apparition sighting by one of the team and some odd experiences. I am sure that Sage Paranormal still has a lot of audio and video to review, so perhaps some additional pieces may come from that.

Once again though through some of the techniques used at Fort Widely it has become apparent that there is a significant emotional tie to activity. Regardless of whether the information presents itself telepathically or not it seems that an emotional link is required to make that connection more stable, so to speak. This is a fascinating concept that also could help us understand why a clinical scientific approach doesn’t always work. Especially as emotions are a very personally unique thing.

For more information on future events with Sage Paranormal or Brian J Cano, please check out their websites:-

Sage Paranormal – www.sageparanormal.co.uk

Brian J Cano – www.neverstopsearching.com

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