Ghosthunter Mum Chases Scotland's Spooky Past

By Steve Smith

WITH the kids in bed, most busy mums want nothing more than a couple of hours peace and quiet on the sofa.

But with her working day at an end, mum-of-two Sharon McKee checks on her kids, kisses her husband goodbye and disappears into the night - ghostbusting.

The 35-year-old business development manager likes nothing better than spending her nights in creepy castles or haunted hotels.

Despite a full working day in a Glasgow architects' office, Sharon regularly spends up to 10 hours a night speaking to spirits and probing the paranormal.

She is one of the latest members of Ghost Hunters Scotland, a paranormal investigation team that uses the spirit world to unlock Scotland's spooky past.

Sharon, from Ayrshire, revealed she joined the team after calling them in to investigate her own haunted cottage in the summer.

She explained: "I have always been really interested in the paranormal and I'm always watching the investigation programmes on TV or reading books about it.

"My husband, Stuart, was a non-believer. He was the classic, 'there's no such thing as ghosts' person and would not accept the spirit world.

"Earlier this year, we were staying in a rented cottage in Largs and even Stuart agreed something very strange was happening.

"We would often hear loud thumps or banging upstairs and there was nothing to explain it - the kids were asleep and nothing had moved or fallen over. The atmosphere in our bedroom upstairs was very heavy and uncomfortable and, every now and again, lights would flash on and off.

"I called Ghost Hunters Scotland and they came out to do an investigation. It was incredible - they caught images of bright orbs on camera and a clairvoyant who came out felt something to do with a plague and death was responsible.

"I checked it out on the internet and found that the plague had been in Largs around the 1640s and the local people had moved out of their homes to huts on the hill, where our house was eventually built.

"Many of these people died and it was this part of history that was picked up by the clairvoyant.

"I was absolutely fascinated and, after researching what we had been told, and finding it to be an actual event, it convinced me that this was something I wanted to be involved in.

"I was given a three-month trial with Ghost Hunters in the summer and I've just been given the role as location manager - so now I get to help decide which places we want to visit next.

"The demand for paranormal investigators is incredible. We are being contacted all the time from people wanting their homes, hotels or pubs checked out.

"It's getting so busy that we are now looking for new members to join the team - just to cope with the workload.

"If somebody has noticed strange things happening in their homes, they basically just want it checked to see what's causing it and maybe the history behind the spirits in their homes.

"We also pinpoint specific places ourselves, such as ruined castles and dungeons, so there is always somewhere available throughout Britain for the team."

Sharon admitted the hours are unsociable but she wouldn't swap the chance to communicate with the other side.

She added: "The last few months have been really hectic because we have requests coming in all the time.

"My normal day is work in Glasgow from 8.30am to 5pm then drive home to sort the kids' tea, then get them ready for bed.

"Normally, at least twice a week I'll meet up with other team members about 8pm and we drive to the chosen site.

"We can then be working throughout the night until about 6am. I get home, have a shower and grab some breakfast just as the boys wake up around 6.30am.

"It's usually during the week, so it's probably no surprise I take lots of caffeine.

"Stuart was definitely a non-believer until all the strange goings-on in our own house - now he's definitely a believer. He's seen the photos we have taken or the recordings we have made on locations.

"You can't deny what you can hear - the proof is there. He's brilliant because he takes charge of the kids when I'm out on an investigation and it works really well."

Sharon and her team use the latest technology to capture the evidence of ghostly spirits.

Special recording equipment is used to capture sounds on frequencies inaudible to humans.

Even the most muffled, faintest sounds from spirits are recorded, unscrambled and played back.

The team have even held conversations with ghosts, whose voices, barely more than a whisper, are picked up as EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomenon.

Sharon added: "We have gathered some incredible EVP in last few months. You can quite clearly hear the spirits' voices as they respond to questions about who they are, when they lived and why they are haunting a specific place."

The 18th century Winnock Hotel in Drymen, Stirlingshire, has boasted ghostly goings-on for years, with staff too afraid to go into bedrooms 38 and 39 after dark.

But Sharon and her team held a seance and recorded more than 20 minutes of EVP.

She added: "We were able to record dramatic changes in the room temperature and have photographs of mysterious orbs of light. This was definitely one of the most successful nights we have had.

"We made contact with a spirit called James Walker, who said he was unable to leave because he had murdered his pregnant wife, Helena, and their six-year-old son, Henry, by throwing them down spiral stairs in the hotel building.

"His voice was clearly picked up on the EVP recorder - answering our questions. I could even feel his presence in the hall behind me when I left Room 39."

The hotel is now organising weekend breaks where guests can join in an investigation to contact the spirit world.

The team recently carried out a Halloween investigation of Edinburgh's famous Vaults - and were confronted by thousands of spirits.

Sharon said: "We recorded EVP in the Vaults of a spirit called Richard Edwards.

The names have been picked up previously by mediums visiting the Vaults but this was the first time he had confirmed the name on EVP. We asked him his name, if the guides who show staff around the vaults were in any danger and also if he could count to 10, which he did.

"It was a fantastic moment because it was the first time it had ever been done.

"The spirit told us there were thousands like him in the Vaults. This backed up what the medium had felt on previous visits."

"Some people might think I'm mad to spend the night hunting spirits after working all day but there is no feeling like it when you make contact. Everybody gets such a buzz - you are all huddled around the EVP machine waiting to see who else is there with you and what they are saying."

Anyone interested in the team can find all the details at ww.ghosthunters.org.uk

'We contacted a spirit called James Walker, who said he had murdered his pregnant wife and their six-year-old son by throwing them down spiral stairs'