Middleham Castle North Yorkshire

Several investigations conducted by Ngrit-uk have been carried
out at Middleham Castle, a large and imposing 12th Century
castle in Yorkshire.

Northern Ghost carried out its first investigation at Middleham in
late 2002, and it got off to an interesting start with a vigil in the
castle keep.
Around five minutes into the vigil, everyone witnessed a
battery-powered lantern flicker and then dim.

This continued for 15 minutes until the lantern completely drained of power despite having fresh batteries at the start of the investigation.
Later in the investigation, batteries in the two-way radios would also suddenly drain.
While investigating the cause of the battery drainage, the group recorded high EMF readings, fluctuating between two and five milliguass, around the lantern.

A short time later, two very high negative ion fields were detected in the castle keep cellar area, followed by high EMF readings. Almost immediately, an observer reported being pulled backwards by an unseen presence. A Northern Ghost member using night vision scope said he could see her coat toggles act as though they were being physically pulled.
Several times during the night, members reported seeing unexplained red lights hovering in the castle keep’s kitchen and great chambers. The group also reported seeing a large, brilliant white light that lasted for several seconds in the keep’s southeast upper staircase, which could not be explained, and a light glow in the lower staircase.
In the Prince’s Tower, one member of the team was convinced he had seen someone standing near the team, but as he approached the figure, it disappeared. No explanation could be found for it because no one was moving at that time.

A group in the main gatehouse reported hearing footsteps, shuffling and walking on wood. This lasted for 20 seconds before stopping and was followed by two short bursts of negative ions. Despite extensive investigations, no explanation could be found.
Northern Ghost returned to Middleham in early 2004 and once again had an active night. As with the previous investigation, the group had problems with their two-way radios throughout the night. The call-sign was heard, without being triggered, and the radios continually switched themselves off. Fresh batteries had been put in at the start of the investigation, and the radios worked perfectly well when tested after the investigation.
High levels of EMF were recorded in the keep’s southeast lower staircase. EMF had not been recorded in this area during the earlier baseline checks.

The negative ion detector recorded a prolonged reading in the Prince’s Tower. This is unusual as the negative ion detector is rarely triggered during investigations and prolonged readings are highly unusual.
The activity continued into the break when it was discovered that a cross left in the keep as a trigger object had been broken in two. No one could explain the break as members had been accounted for at all times.

During a later vigil in the keep everyone heard a loud coughing sound on the stairway that could not be explained.
Northern Ghost made a third visit to Middleham in autumn 2004 but it proved to be a quiet night, partly thanks to rainy weather.
During the investigation, members heard several unexplained loud bangs that seemed to come from inside the castle. The negative ion detector also recorded high levels of negative ions in the auditor’s kitchen, just after a team member had witnessed a shadow moving across the floor.

Unfortunately, the last two investigations at the castle, in 2005, both proved less fruitful, thanks to awful weather conditions.