Normally I don't record with anyone, which if you've trawled through these blogs and this website, you poor unwitting things, you'll already know. You'll be aware of my reasons for being an antisocial whatsname; it just works well for me, that's all. I know what's what, who's who, and what was there at the time. Having someone else with me sort of smashes the silence and EVP captures are few and far between, or really difficult to ascertain if they were indeed captures at all! There's always much whispering and rustling going on. And that's without farts, rumbles, grumbles and giggles. You know how it is.
However, I do attend the prison sometimes with my good friend Michele. Fairly new to the EVP game, Michele dabbles with her recorder on and off, but is mainly a cat ball and K2 sort of girl at present. She's been having good results with her weapons of choice too, which is fantastic. Last Thursday it was Michele's birthday, and so she took the day off work to do what any sane lady would do, spend three hours isolated in an old prison talking to the dead. A woman after my own heart!
We met up in the prison car park and mosied on down the hill to the gates where we breezed through, despite it not quite being opening time, mainly because my bladder was about to start leaking and Charlie (manager) aspied us and said it was OK. I do find it weird and sometimes frustrating I must say, after having been a key-holder myself and having been able to access as and when being Night Supervisor, that I now must toe the old line again and behave like a normal person. Some hope, I hear you cry!
Once inside, bladder mercifully emptied, we chatted to new CSAs Brin and Matt, and terrified the work experienced lad, whose name I didn't catch. Poor little mite. Then, off we went our solo ways, and that was that. Until Michele made me leap out of my skin in B Wing that was, at around 12:15.
I suggested that we hop into one of my 'favourite' cells; that of the Body in the Boot Murderer's cell. I often find myself in this tiny room chatting to (with good and valid results) its previous occupant, or one of them. It was in that very space that my friend and ex-officer (name to be kept under wraps) Mrs X, discovered Mr Bracey hanging from the bars of his window. He seemed to have made something of a friendship with the staff, and by all accounts was polite and affable, even. However, he couldn't come to terms with the death of his Father, whose funeral he would not be able to attend, being sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend. He had decided to put her body the boot of his car, and then drove up the M4 with for a while, picking up a hitchiker on the way. I've read the newspaper clippings of Neil's crime, and then the headlines that he had been found dead - in the very cell in which I and Michele, now found ourselves.
There's flies in Neil's cell - for about nine months of the year they cluster in dopey swarms all over his window, the one with the Christian fish sticker on it. It's a little sinister I admit. Like something out of The Conjuring, or The Amityville Horror. You can tell when spring is here (although god only knows when it's actually going to make a proper appearance. The UK this March is just dire) because there the little buggers are, and likewise you know when winter's here because they magically vanish. We stood gazing in mild disgust at the black buzzing bodies.
Anyhow, killer or not (actually there's no doubt that he was...), I chat to Neil regularly, and occasionally, someone with a strong Welsh accent chats back.
On Michele's birthday she wanted to test out her new K2, and so we put it on the bed and I recorded. We were in there for 10 minutes and 18 seconds. The K2 had a few fluctuations and then settled to nothing, and so I said that I'd move on, leaving Michele to film the flies. As one does...
To be honest I wasn't expecting anything to come back at all from our little session, but I was wrong. OK, so the captures weren't the clearest, and all barring one are spoken at the same time that either Michele or myself are talking so the words are obscured; but they're there. I'm not sure if it's Neil or not, because in the capture I received in which I called out to him and a voice, a deep Welsh voice, answered, "Here", sounded quite different. But nonetheless, some male was commenting along with what Michele and I were chatting and laughing about in there!
Normally as I say, joint sessions for me don't really work and indeed, even when Michele and I have tried a little Ouija together the board has been quite dead. That's just the way it can be.
But perhaps, just maybe, Michele could be my joint partner in crime. Not all the time, but if we occasionally meet and try our hand, perhaps we could get a repartee going with the invisible folks of HMPSM, or at least in B3,16. Come to think of it, we had luck once in A Wing in October 2023, and D Wing last week too. By Jove, I think we've got it!
So, here's to new communications and new experiments! Talking of which, I'm working on a lengthy film about the prison that's taking up all my laptop's space, and on a presentation to be given at the prison down the line. I've actually been asked to do it, which is a massive win for me. Most of the time I think people just find me an irritant and want to get rid of me quickly and easily, like Daisy May Cooper did. Also I'm finishing The Book which I'm sure is my nemesis, then my YouTube channel that I've not touched for months because of the other film, and then of course there's this website which lately I've completely neglected. There's just not enough hours in the day!
Anyhow, have a listen to the files below. Not flies, files. With headphones please. Thanks! Have a good day all.