Chairs violently vibrating, picture frames shaking uncontrollably on the wall as the period music reverberates throughout the room – no this isn’t a scene from the latest horror film, this is one of the real-life experiences of the Highland Paranormal group.
Describing himself as “Mr Sceptical”, Liam Shand wasn’t convinced that there was much truth in ghosts, ghouls and all things otherworldly when he co-founded the Inverness-based paranormal investigation group in 2010.
But 12 years on and Liam says he has been proved wrong after experiencing one too many spooky situations.
“I’ve gone from being extremely sceptical to being a sceptical believer,” says Liam, an Inverness native who works as an IT manager by day.
“I believe there is something there.
“I’ve witnessed far too many incidents myself to be able to write them off with no real rational explanation for them.”
Smell of decay at Ness Islands
From graveyards and big hotels to people’s homes and historic castles, the not-for-profit group has been in strong spiritual demand across the north and north-east.
One paranormal investigation Liam won’t forget in a hurry was at Ness Islands in Inverness.
“Highland Council asked us to investigate Ness Islands prior to a Halloween event they had organised there,” says Liam.
“It was a PR exercise for them and to be honest I didn’t think we would find anything.
“But nothing could have been further from the truth.”
Armed with a K2 meter – a ghost-busting tool used to detect spikes in the electromagnetic field – Liam and the team were left shocked during their night-time mission.
“We were walking around in the dark and we were basically saying out loud ‘you tell us where you want to go and we’ll scan with the meter and when the meter goes to red we’ll follow that direction,’” says Liam.
“So the red light took myself and my fellow investigator into the middle of the islands where both of us could smell this horrible smell of decay.
“The smell was only there for about two or three seconds and then it was gone.
“We expected to actually find something dead in a bush but we never actually found anything.”
Witches of the past
From meters and audio recorders to night vision and thermal heat cameras, Liam and the team use a range of equipment in their hunt for all things extraordinary.
Dowsing rods – metal rods that are said to react to paranormal activity – have also led to some dramatic results for Liam and the team, especially at Auldearn Cemetery at Auldearn Parish Church in Nairn.
“As part of the Nairn Book Festival we visited Auldearn Graveyard to investigate the story of Isabel Gaudi, a witch who is said to frequent the area,” says Liam.
“Using dowsing rods, a lady who was part of our group asked Isobel if she was sad and the rods move to the direction of yes.
“She then asked Isobel if she wanted a cuddle/hug and the rods turned round, both of them and hugged the lady on the shoulders.
“We couldn’t see anything there, there was nobody visible to the human eye.
“That’s what I live for, that kind of intelligent response.”
‘The majority of ghosts are not nasty’
Another spine-tingling moment came during a night out at St Barevan’s Church, an old church ruin near Cawdor.
“I got what I can only describe as a fingertip being run right across my forehead,” says Liam.
“When I started out doing this I was a bit scared of things like that but now nothing tends to faze me.
“I think the majority of ghosts out there are not nasty.”
Liam’s favourite spooky site to explore so far has to be Touchwood House in Inverness.
“It’s an Edwardian House which is actually owned by a practising witch,” says Liam.
“That house is extremely active, there’s a lot of things that go on in that house.
“On our first visit there we saw bright balls of light flashing in front of our eyes as we sat in the hall,” says Liam.
Vibrating chairs and moving pictures
But it was on a separate visit when things became even more bizarre.
“One of the experiments we do involves taking a period piece of music and playing that music to see if it helps to bring the spirit through,” says Liam.
“So we were playing this music and a member of staff who was there was sitting in the corner and she suddenly said that her chair was vibrating.
“I was quite sceptical so I sat on the chair and soon realised that it was vibrating.
“The pictures on the wall then started to shake – it was amazing.”
As much as their investigations are exciting, it’s working with charities and in the community where Liam gets the most joy.
“I enjoy helping people,” says Liam.
“For example, we get people who can’t sleep in their beds at night or they’re too scared to be in their house so we’ll try and get answers, and we do.”
But the big question is, is the truth out there?
“At the end of the day we’re all doing it because we want to capture something that proves once and for all that ghosts exist,” says Liam.
“Whether we have the technology to prove once and for all that ghosts exist I’m not so sure.”
To find out more about Highland Paranormal visit the website.
Conversation