Ghostly Monks of Dragon Hall

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Dragon Hall; the name itself stirs the imagination.

This medieval site is Grade 1 listed and one of the most important and stylish buildings in the history of Norwich.

Located close to a former Augustine friary the residual energy of Monks can still be felt in the lower cellars and old excavations in the bowels of the building.

As they walk the lower corridor their chanting can still be heard in the energy from a bygone age.

If that sounds scary then how much more would a ghost hunt at Halloween excite the senses? A number of guests were about to find out as they joined us at this recently refurbished building in the heart of Norwich, for its first ever paranormal investigation. With around a thousand years of habitation on this site who knew what they would encounter?

In the early 15th century the building was owned by Robert Toppes and was one of the great trading halls of Europe. During the 19th and 20th centuries Dragon Hall was home to pubs, shops and businesses. The land between the Hall and the river Wensum was a maze of poor quality housing. Eventually, 'Slum clearance' and industrial decline took its toll and the area was in danger of becoming derelict.

As guests entered the hall on Halloween weekend 2006, hand carved pumpkins and candle light set the scene for what was to become a nerve jangling night and after an excellent supper small teams were formed for an adventure into the paranormal.

Each team was assigned areas to investigate using scientific and metaphysical tools and after the spiritual protection ceremony the night’s proceedings began.

Laser thermometers and EMF meters were mixed with glass moving, table tipping, scrying and vigils in the dark with a video-cam on night vision but it was from the cellar and a mystical writing tool that the first heart stopping moment of the investigation came.

Everyone had just settled into their respective tasks when a scream, echoing from the cellar, filled the building. As soon as fingers had been placed on the ‘Planchette’ one of the participants was so overcome by fear that they were unable to contain the feelings welling up inside and had organisers and guests rushing to see what had happened.

Others experienced various unexplained events from the sound of horse’s hooves, the smell of hay and beer, lights turning off and on during the table tipping and a temperature drop of 5 degrees centigrade within the space of ten feet with no draft or open doors to account for it.

Light anomalies were picked up on the night cam and scrying in the mirror showed some strange and disturbing images on the face of some participants. Glass moving revealed a heartbroken family man with two children who had fallen on hard times and was evicted from one of the houses during a cold harsh winter.

Other Spirits from past eras were also picked up including a butcher, a monk and a small boy who had drowned in the river.

The investigation concluded with a ‘grande séance’ and closing protection to ensure none of the guests left with more than they had come with.

As for the person who screamed, they had been touched on the back of the neck by something unseen who then, through the Planchette, revealed itself as a priest, linked to a former monastery, who was angry that his space was being invaded.

Ghosts from the past, angry Spirits, or just the influence of Halloween?

You can judge for yourself. Visit Dragon Hall, stand quietly, alone in the cellar and see if the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!

5 / 5 Review by expert member John Blythe