The Aberdeen Tolbooth
An investigation at the Aberdeen Tolbooth
©East of Scotland Paranormal 2007
12/12/2007
An investigation at the Aberdeen Tolbooth
©East of Scotland Paranormal 2007
12/12/2007
A Tolbooth is the common prison of a burgh, a building in which the municipal courts are held. The Aberdeen Tolbooth is one of the oldest buildings in the city, as well as being one of the best preserved 17th century gaols in Scotland. The present day building known as the Tolbooth is actually the Ward house, built between 1616 and 1629. The prison contains a number of cells from the 18th century and serves as a museum dedicated to the crime and punishment associated with Aberdeen through history.
Many people died in the Tolbooth while others spent their finals nights there, waiting for their execution. Notable prisoners held in the Tolbooth were the Quakers from the 17 century and some members of the Jacobite rebellion.
Chris has accompanied a number of paranormal investigations in the past but has never felt particularly uncomfortable in the Tolbooth.
The only thing experienced by him is that certain locations in the building can give off a particular unpleasant smell, particularly Criminal Cell 1 and 2. However, he admits that this may be caused by damp.
He was particularly looking forward to hearing what the mediums picked up on and there were some particular names that he would be listening out for.
The team arrived at the location at 14:00 and immediately started preparing for the investigation. Everyone felt fine during the setup except Rachael, who felt a little uneasy in Criminal Cell 2 at around 14:30.
The web cam was recording in 'Great Escapes' with the Beam Barrier alarm guarding the door. A bell was hung from the door in Criminal Cell 1 and a pen with the tip on some paper attached to the door in Criminal Cell 2. Trigger objects (dice) were placed in Criminal Cell 1 and 2, none of which had moved by the end of the evening.
M arrived at the location and the first walk around commenced. M picked up a lot of information regarding the previous layout of the building including an area which was out of access and incorporated cells below the Tolbooth.
The first vigil commenced in the Civic Room. A number of orbs were spotted and caught on camera - see the video on the website.
M felt that the Civic Room may have been a prayer room or some kind of place of worship at one time or another (the records seem to indicate that this is not true).
Sarah sat to the left of M and had an uncomfortable feeling sitting next to him; she really wanted to move away. She felt like she wanted to sing. She also felt like there was a man in his 30s sitting on the steps watching us and that he belonged in the Jailer's Room.
The second vigil commenced in the Criminal Cell 1. Rachael was filming and again a number of orbs were caught on camera. Many of them seemed to move with what appeared to be an intelligent motion, circling and approaching the team members. Rachael asked if the orbs would appear in certain places, such as beside Keith or in the middle of the group, which they did.
Sarah felt ill the whole time she was in this room, sick with a pressure on her chest just below her sternum and a strange gargling feeling across her throat.
The third vigil commenced in the Crime and Punishment room. Rachael felt that there was a significant difference in the feeling of this room but could not describe it, not so much uncomfortable but the feeling of someone else being there. Again, a lot of orbs were caught on camera.
Sarah described having the same ill feeling as in Criminal Cell 1 and that she hadn't experienced it during the transition between rooms. She felt that there was someone between Keith and herself and also a pressure on the side of her face.
M felt as though the other half of the building was missing and there was possibly a young boy of around 7 may have been kept (Records show that children of 10 years and up were kept in the Tolbooth, although not necessarily in this cell). Not so long ago, he felt as though there was some kind of discussion that made him feel as if the wrong thing was wanted for the building and that some people were adamant to preserve it the way things were. (There is no record of this).
M tried some psychometry using the door to the Crime and Punishment room and felt that he was picking up on backstabbing and treachery. For at least 70 years of its history he felt as though there was a dark cloud hanging over the Tolbooth.
The team regrouped in the Entrance Hall to await the rest of the mediums. Rachael and Chris headed back to Criminal Cell 1 to attempt to replicate the orb phenomenon. As they entered the room both noticed an incredible change in the atmosphere, it felt distinctly thicker and muggier. This feeling carried on into the Jailer's Room. The walls were brushed and they attempted to kick up dust but nothing would reproduce the recorded phenomenon. From Criminal Cell 1, Rachael felt a presence in the Jailer's Room. She felt that he was standing and watching what the team was doing. Chris went to where Rachael described the presence but experienced nothing.
The other mediums had arrived and at this point the next walk around began. A séance was carried out in the Civic Room where Emma had detected the presence of a man. She felt that this man would have made decision regarding the fate of the prisoners and also liked his 'booze and women'.
During the séance, Rachael felt a slight pain in her lower back but overall felt quite normal.
Sarah felt pains in her back - kidneys, lower spine and upper thighs, as if she'd been beaten up. Denise reported the same thing. Sarah thought she saw someone standing behind Emma's left shoulder but there was no one there.
Another séance was performed in the Crime and Punishment room. Upon linking hands with Emma, Rachael felt a rush of heat all over her face and chest as if she had a fever. She felt a slight tingling in the lower part of her face especially around her mouth. Denise started to feel that her back was a little uncomfortable and gradually the pain intensified to an unbearable level, radiating from the bottom of her back to the front of her stomach. Emma relayed that she was picking up on the labour pains from a young girl who had died in child birth, she was probably only around 15 or 16 years old at the time.
The team headed back to the Jacobite room where Rachael felt uneasy immediately. M felt as though the building had been under English rule for at least 20 years. He also picked up on the presence of an English captain. Denise had the feeling that she'd been struck over the head with some kind of blunt object. It didn't affect her that much so she dismissed it.
The fourth vigil began with Rachael, Dee, Chris, Sarah and M in Criminal Cell 1. M was picking up a lot of information for Dee but not much about the actual location. There were no particular feelings or phenomena while we were here.
Emma, who was in the Jacobite room, started to feel sick and was escorted downstairs by Drennen.
The whole team split into smaller group. Rachael and Keith went to the Crime and Punishment room, Sarah and Chris went to the Jacobite room and M and Dee went to Criminal Cell 1.
Sarah and Chris stopped in Criminal Cell 1 on the way to the Jacobite room. Sarah got the same feeling as Rachael had earlier about the man standing in the Jailer's Room.
In the Jacobite room Chris unveiled some more trigger objects - the White Cockade and the 9 of Diamonds. The White Cockade was the symbol of Jacobites, traditionally worn on their blue bonnets, the 9 of Diamonds is sometimes referred to as the 'The Curse of Scotland'. The story goes that the Duke of Cumberland wrote 'No Quarter' on the playing card and this was the order to kill the remaining Jacobian forces at Culloden. It was hoped that these items would provoke some kind of activity. The only phenomenon worth mentioning was a smell of honey which seemed particularly out of place.
Rachael and Keith (Crime and Punishment room) decided to do a small meditation to attempt to draw something closer. There was a slight temperature drop and Rachael felt that a male had entered the room and was standing to the left of me. She got the name Joseph and a last name beginning with D, possibly Drunnoch or something similar. She got a picture of a scraggy boy, probably around 11 years old with black hair and blue eyes.
Chris, Sarah and Keith headed to the Crime and Punishment room while the rest of the group went up to the bell tower.
There were no particular bad feelings in the bell tower and Emma did not feel much spiritual energy.
In the Crime and Punishment room, Sarah had the feeling that she wanted to lie on the ground and scream. She felt that there was a young girl, maybe 10 or 12 years old with long blonde hair in the room and she had the image of her up on her tip-toes trying to look out a window which was behind one of the displays in the room. Chris Croly later confirmed that there is a window behind the display. This girl was possibly called Charlotte. She didn't understand why she was there or what was going to happen to her. The feeling faded and they returned to the others.
Emma had decided to do a spiritual rescue in both the Jacobite Room and the Crime and Punishment room. The first was in the Jacobite room.
Rachael felt quite light headed during this and felt as if she was being drawn into the centre of the circle. Emma began to feel quite sick and the rescue had to be brought to an end and the spirit could not be moved on.
Sarah reported that M's hand (on her left) was burning hot during the rescue while Dee's hand(on her right) was freezing cold. At no time did she feel any presence in the room but there was a young man watching from the stairs.
The second spiritual rescue began in the Crime and Punishment room.
Rachael felt her legs shaking - a feeling that Chris had had all through the investigation. Eventually, she became quite light headed and hot, after the rescue she felt very emotional and cried.
The team believes that there is definitely something at the Tolbooth, whether it is active spirits or simply strong memories we can't be exactly sure at this point in time and believe that a future investigation would be welcome. In particular we would like to spend more time in Criminal Cell 1 and 2 given the dramatic change in atmosphere and interesting orbs that have been captured there.
The information given by the mediums during the night is still under investigation. This process has been slowed by the festive period and an additional report will be released when we have fully researched the information.