Gawthorpe Hall hosts TV show Most Haunted
9:10am Tuesday 16th February 2010 in
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- By Kate Turner » Reporter
GAWTHORPE Hall became a centre of paranormal activity as hit TV show Most Haunted Live attempted to contact spirits haunting the building.
Chandeliers swung and crayons flew at crew members as the team, including TV favourite Yvette Fielding, held a seance at the Padiham building for a live show aired on the Living channel.
Manus Wynne, producer of Most Haunted Live, said that the hall was chosen as it was known as a paranormal hotspot.
The Elizabethan hall, which once belonged to the Shuttleworth family, is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Rachel K Shuttleworth, the last family member to live in the hall.
Colonel Richard Shuttleworth, who lived at the hall and was involved in the Pendle Witch trial of 1612, may also haunt the building.
It is also believed that a young woman was once murdered at Gawthorpe with some visitors describing being gripped by a sudden chest pain.
Manus said: “Our researchers spotted Gawthorpe Hall in their searches and saw it had an interesting history with links to the Pendle witches and that it was regarded as being haunted.
“During the day crew members said they felt like they were being followed and heard bangs and knocks that they couldn’t explain.
“When we were filming the chandelier in the grand staircase started swinging furiously as Yvette and the team tried to make contact with the spirits.
“We also spotted what seemed to be a group of people on our thermal imaging camera stood looking down on the crew from the landing but only our crew were in the body of the hall.”
According to Mr Wynne even more scary things then began to happen.
“In the former nursery we left crayons out and when we came back later the paper had been drawn on,” he said. “The crew also said they felt crayons flying past them.
“Yvette also said she heard her name being called at her and when she was in the female servants quarters she heard someone moan in her right ear.
“Gawthorpe Hall definitely has a lot of activity and we would like to carry out further investigations there.”
Rachel Pollitt, manager at the National Tust hall, said: “It was a fantastic experience having Most Haunted Live here.
“Staff here have seen people in the hall when no one else should have been here and also felt like they were being followed.
“It has never scared us though as we don’t think they are evil.”
The show can be seen on TV channel Living at 10pm tonight.
Comments(4)
Davidoff
says...
1:40pm Tue 16 Feb 10
One main reason they won't get anything 'paranormal' is because they can potentially keep the show going, keep the viewer strung along each week in the hope something 'paranormal' will be shown or caught. Thus far we've had nothing that's not come straight out of any 70s Hollywood horror movie including cackles, 'hisses'. Don't get me wrong, Most Haunted when it first started off with Jason Karl (who was just a normal TV presenter BTW, he possessed no qualifications in parapsychology; another thing MH does - gives people job titles they haven't earned; with the exception of Ciaran O'Keefe who IS a genuine parapsychologist) as a half hourly show, we had none of what we have now. But, as the show grew, and it became the huge success it is now I guess they knew they had to do bigger and better things going to keep the viewers watching.
Also, MH keeps insisting they were the first to produce a TV show like this - not so! When the (quite faked and made up as mostly everyone now knows) Amityville Horror was very prominent in the late 70s, investigators led by Ed Warren went to the home and produced a live televised investigation which produced nothing in the end. In 2001 Ghostwatch Live (exactly the same as what was to become Most Haunted Live the following year end) was produced over a few nights from The Tower of London. With the exception of an audience, everything else in the broadcast was as we see on MHL including webcams, phone ins and emails; also had it's own Blue Peter presenter as a guest investigator.
What will now probably happen is any groups wanting to go to Gawthorpe to do an investigation will be charged the Earth purely becaue MH has been there. Jumping on the bandwagon, like plenty of other places featured on MH/MHL through the years. Suddenly, overnight everyone wants to go there so they see money signs everywhere. I have also heard that MH may be coming to an end, which is possibly why they've changed the format now to the new weekly 2 hour Live show. It's much better without an annoying audience anyway, all those made up emails and texts straight out of BBCs faked documentary 'Ghostwatch' from 1992 that was also live. Oh, that annoying hub nonsense, too.
I would really view anything on this show with a cynical eye. Everyone knows once Stuart and Karl go off together things 'happen'. Wonder why ... ;)
antony h
says...
2:37pm Tue 16 Feb 10
Yvette are you still working towards your blue peter badge?
Don't worry love it will come in post one day..
DaveBurnley
says...
11:48am Wed 17 Feb 10
Unlikely since Gawthorpe Hall is owned by The National Trust and run in conjunction with Lancashire County.
What will probably happen is that Burnley, and Padiham in particular will get extra visitors, which can only be helpful to the local economy.
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SPOOKY: Yvette Fielding outside Gawthorpe Hall
SPOOKY: Yvette Fielding inside Gawthorpe Hall in the dark
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Mikeee47 says...
11:56am Tue 16 Feb 10
What does Yvette Fielding know anyway she's just a Blue Peter Host,