The Location
Date - 16th February 2008
Location – An infamous cave complex, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire Team – Laura and Mark
The caves were a location that both Laura and I had always wanted to visit as a team but had never got around to doing so.
After a couple of discussions about the location and as to its suitability taking into account the restrictions we would be under, we decided to take a Saturday morning drive over to Buckinghamshire pay a quick visit.
Although we had no intention of the trip being anything other than a sightseeing visit, the situation for Laura soon took a change once we had entered the cave system.
In Laura’s own words:
‘Walking through the tunnels, I didn't feel anything of any importance paranormally until we got to the first feature cave ‘The Circle’, a circular pillar type piece in the tunnels. We took the left (or clockwise) passage when I remember turned back saying “but what's around there?” (Me with no sense of direction).
Mark said “it's where we came from, there is nothing there”. I remember saying “but we haven’t been there” he said “no, because we came the other side of pillar”. I said in reply “but we haven't got that bit there, that's hidden”. I had to take pictures from this position to satisfy myself, in my own mind, that I hadn't left nothing out (and nothing was hiding, although what I don't know).’
From my perspective, as soon as we had reached the first feature cave, ‘The Circle’, it was clear that Laura had become disoriented.
The 'Circle'
The Circle feature consisted of two passages hewn out of the sold chalk, forming a huge central pillar. We took the left hand side passage and rejoined the right hand side passage around the other side of the pillar.
It was at this point Laura started to appear disorientated and started to proceed along the adjoining passage, back to the point where we had originally entered the Circle. I told her that she was merely going back to where we had started, to which she replied, rather than acknowledging that fact, that we hadn’t been there before and needed to make sure that we had not missed anything out.
Having taken some more photographs, Laura paused and asked me to lead on. Nothing unusual I accept, but I got the impression that there was a reason for this request.
Moving along the passages, pausing only to take some more photographs, we moved down to the main chamber in the cave complex.
As we walked down the passage Laura was given the name ‘John (something) the first’.
However, it was from here that things started to become very interesting from my point of view.
The 'Main Chamber'
Entering the large, domed chamber, we went our separate ways to take photographs. Laura went to look at the wax models on the right hand side, whilst I went to the far left to take some wide angled shots.
Whilst there, we were joined by some other visitors, the first ones that we had encountered during our visit. After a couple of minutes Laura walked over to where I was standing, totally ignoring me. If I hadn’t have stepped back as she passed she would have walked into me. She appeared very focused, as if she had something on her mind.
As I watched her, I realised that something was up and she could be picking up on something. I thought about taking some photographs of her at that point but held back, as I didn’t want the flash to disturb her.
I watched her pace back and forth, retracing her steps and repeating this action. At this point I decided to risk taking a photograph and managed to capture her, deep in thought as she repeated her steps.
 | Laura finally paused and looked up at the ceiling, then she looked to the floor to her left. Initially I thought that she was watching the occasional drips of water falling from the roof of the cave high above us, falling down onto the gravelled floor. |
Laura then seemed to snap out of herself, looked at me and told me that ‘there was a pool of blood right there” gestating with a sweeping movement of her right arm and stepping around an imaginary pool of blood. I took a couple of pictures, just in case the camera could capture what I couldn’t see. Laura later told me that she can’t recall telling me this or indeed speaking to me until we left the chamber.
I asked Laura if she was ok and if she wanted to leave the chamber and continue on our journey, to which she gave a simple “yes” in reply. We made our way to the lower passage and left the chamber, passing the two other remaining visitors.
As we left Laura explained to me what she had experienced, a male, looking up, something falling from the ceiling and getting hit on the head, leaving a pool of blood where he fell.
It would be interesting to let Laura explain the situation in the chamber from her perspective below:
‘We continued further into the caves along the passage, to the main chamber. Upon entering, I thought that it was quite a nice room, big, open and spacey. I went over to the right of the chamber and I remember at this point that there were other people in the hall with us, three males.
I looked at the exhibits on the right hand side of the chamber and worked across. I walked straight across the centre of the chamber to the left and at this point I become unaware of any other people around me or indeed in the chamber with me at all, like I was isolated from the location. I looked at the exhibit in the first little cubby hole and moved quickly to the next, but was drawn back to the first one again.
Whilst looking at that exhibit again, I felt a presence of a man. I didn't see him, just felt a presence. I remember turning around at that point and, looking up at the ceiling, saying in my head “why are you showing me the ceiling?”
I then walked about five feet slightly behind and to the left of where I was standing and looked up at the ceiling again. In my head I saw something big fall down towards me, then I felt like I’d collapsed on the floor.
When I looked down I saw a pool of blood, so I retraced my steps and started to pace back and forth from where I had started, to where I had ‘seen’ or ‘felt’ this happen, to see if I could get any further details or information to clarify what had happened.
My only conclusion was that this male spirit was showing me how he died, here in the chamber. He walked from where I was standing, looked up and something fell on him. He collapsed and died in a pool of blood right there in the hall.
Once I had got this clear in my head, I snapped out of this isolated feeling and became aware of others in the room again. Mark asked if I was ok, I think I remember saying he collapsed and there's a pool of blood there as I stepped around it, as to me it was still there.
Mark didn't ask any questions at this point.’
The 'little boy'
After 50 yards or so after leaving the main chamber, we reached the next feature, consisting of three passages linking up to form a triangle.
Initially, it looked as if we had reached a T-junction, but it quickly became clear where we were in the scheme of things. We turned right to find the next side passage, Laura pausing at the entry point to the adjoining tunnel, to take another picture with her camera.
We proceeded along the passage, passing the point where the right hand side of the ‘triangle’ joined up again to form a single passageway. Laura looked left along the passage and, as we continued to walk, calmly told me that she had observed a spirit of a little boy, ten foot or so along the adjoining passage.
At this point we were joined by some others, so I asked Laura if we could go back at the earliest available opportunity and take some photographs of where she had seen the spirit. Laura readily agreed.
We arrived at the next feature, known as the ‘Miner’s Cave’, taking some more photographs as we waited for the other visitors to snake past.
Here Laura reported that her head hurt on the left side.
Once we were sure that the passageway was now devoid of any other human life, we quietly made our way back along the passage to the ‘triangle’, to the point where Laura had seen the little boy.
As we reached the side passage, we spotted, to our dismay, more visitors making their way down the passage from the surface.
Unable to wait any longer, Laura made her way up the side passage whilst I stood stationary, watching, camera in hand. As Laura reached the point where she had seen the boy, Laura gently touched the wall, a pillar, with her right hand, just as two other visitors passed her from the other direction. I allowed them to pass by me, where I was standing and walked up the passage to where Laura was waiting, whereupon I asked her if she had seen the spirit at the point where she had touched the wall. She confirmed that indeed that was the spot. |  |
Laura standing where she'd seen the little boy
I then asked her if the spirit was still there, but sadly Laura replied that he was not. I asked Laura to stand next to the pillar, where she had observed the boy, so that I could take a couple of shots.
We then made our way back down the passages, through the Miner’s Cave, to the final cave some 300 foot beneath the surface, which passed without event.
The final cave
We found the final cave to be caged off and containing some wax models of people feasting, complete with a model of a baboon that looked as if it had seen better days.
I turned to Laura and suggested that we should return to the surface.
It was at this point that Laura then picked up upon another presence, a spirit being attacked by another and trying to make escape, causing her to re-enact the scene itself by exiting the area as quickly as she could.
Laura turned around and bizarrely sped off along the passageway leaving me standing, puzzled at her quick escape.
Quickly gathering my thoughts, I thought that I’d better give chase and proceeded back along the tunnel, Laura quickly disappearing off into the distant gloom.
As I raced along the passage, I thought it most strange that Laura was moving so fast, especially as we were at the steepest point of the tunnels. As we proceeded down into the cave, Laura had walked at a leisurely pace, indeed, I had to slow down on occasion to allow her to catch up with me.
 | In the distance I could see the light of the Miner’s Cave and could only watch as Laura pushed her way through the crowd of visitors looking at the wax work displays and into the darkness where I could no longer see her. I quickly realised that I needed to catch up with her before Laura got too far away. |
My pace had now developed into a speedy trot as I tried to gain ground. As I passed through the Miner’s Cave I could see Laura ahead in the dimly lit passage leading to the main chamber, bumping against the side of the narrow passage as she went.
This seemed to slow her down and I called out to her, which slowed her down even further.
Catching up with her, Laura looked really confused. Unlike the earlier episode in the main chamber, where she appeared to be deep within herself, this time she appeared to be her normal self, but just a bit confused.
Laura turned to me and said we need to go there, indicating what appeared to be a small recess, but clearly what looked to be a solid wall from where I was standing.
I convinced her that there was no passageway there, which she sort of accepted despite her confusion and we made our way up the passage to the main chamber.
As we walked, Laura asked me if I felt unbalanced as I had walked along the passages from the final cave. I replied that I hadn’t really, although I advised that the gravel flooring appeared to be much deeper in the lower part of the tunnels, which gave the impression of walking along a beach in places and may have given the impression of ‘unbalance’.
Making our way along the final yards of the passage to the main chamber, Laura explained to me what she had experienced deep down in the bowls of the cave, the feeling of being attacked and ‘clumped’ hard on the head, the need to exit the caves as fast as she could. Although I asked several questions regarding her experience to try and make sense of things Laura wasn’t really able to add to this, so I let the situation be.
However, again, at this point it would be useful for Laura to explain these events in her own words:
‘Up until this point I had been wary of some of the tunnels and combined with my lack of sense of direction had let Mark lead the way along the tunnels.
However, we now reversed roles and I took the lead (maybe it was because I felt ok bout the tunnels at this point, I don't know). We came to the final cave, by which time the tunnel became dark and sloped away steeply. |  |
I remember other people being there too, but I felt a need to get out quickly. I took off at full speed, leaving Mark behind.
Walking along the sloped tunnel, I picked up speed. Although I had the sensation of being drugged, drunk or groggy, I felt as if I had been hit or clumped hard with something, which was making me feel this way and I had to get out, my balance was very bad and I felt uncoordinated.
I remember being so unbalanced that I was hitting off the walls as I was walking through this tunnel. When I reached the top, I hesitated and was trying to go left was clear the opening was right.
Mark had caught up with me by now and “said go that way”, pointing right. I remember saying “what about that way?” pointing left. He said “it’s not a way, it’s blocked in”. I remember feeling bit confused at his point, thinking someone had taken that doorway (to the left) away.
I said to Mark at this point “did you find that tunnel really unbalanced you?” He said “yeah, is uneven, why?” I told him what I felt on the way back from the final cave deep within the complex.
We then headed back for the main chamber, where I retraced my steps and showed Mark what I had got when in there the first time around. From there we left the caves.’
Indeed, back at the main chamber did Laura proceeded to tell me exactly what she had already told me about her vision of the dying man when we were in the Hall for the first time.
I pointed this out to her but was only met with a blank look. She advised that she had no recollection of saying anything to me whatsoever last time we were there.
Leaving the caves
We paused to take some more shots of the chamber, including one where I managed to capture Laura unaware, staring high up at an unreachable point on the ceiling where I can only assume that whatever she had saw fall first time around had originated.
We left the chamber and headed back up the passage. As we proceeded, Laura asked me to walk on alone to allow her to ask some questions in isolation. As she was alone, she got the year ‘1723’, that Laura believes to be related to the ‘John’ name that she had received earlier elsewhere in the caves.
This effectively brought matters to a natural close and we made our way up to the exit and daylight, our eyes rapidly adjusting to the weak winter sunshine.
Mark.