The Regent

Blackpool

This isn’t the first time we have visited this venue. This was the first ghost hunt I ever attended. It was a fairly quiet night, although we did experience a few things that were difficult to explain.  But that’s another story. 

On this occasion we started the night at 9.00pm with five team members; Steve, Gareth, Alex Steve and myself, along with 30 ghost hunters.  

After a short introduction from Steve (the team leader) about the venue we split up into 3 groups. 

The Regent is a large venue with a balcony area that is currently used as a cinema, a downstairs floor and cellar, the second floor and coffee shop and the top floor.  The groups rotated so that each one spent around 90 minutes in each area. 

So what happened?  Quite a lot, although slightly different experiences for each group. 

The cellar

I led a small group of hunters down here. This is a dark (no lighting at all) damp cellar where there has been plenty of activity in the past.  With movement detecting lights we had a spirit communicating. We had one light set for yes and another for no. Plenty of questions were asked and the lights regularly provided a response. Not only did I personally see something moving in the darker corners of the room but one hunter reported the feeling of someone breathing on her neck (and there was no one behind her).

The ground floor

Meters were actively moving showing signs of energy in the room. One hunter used lights to talk to a spirt which resulted in cards falling off bookshelves. One hunter reported a young girl following her round the floor, which she did manage to capture a photo of. 

The second and third floor

These were not as active on this occasion. One group did perform the human pendulum and got some good results from this but apart from that there was just a little activity through light meters and cat balls moving themselves. 

The balcony

This area did see plenty of activity. From an Ouija board, balanced on a glass, slowly spinning around (only four people touching the board with their fingernails making it impossible to cheat). Lights, moving cat balls and strange noises were constant and witnessed by all groups. The projector room (just a small room above the balcony) had doors slamming and opening on command, people feeling ill and light meters flashing away. 

Finally, the stairs leading down from the balcony to the back exit was visited by one group using a spirit box (a device that picks up the verbal communications of spirits) which responded with scarily accurate answers of names, dates, and other information which all related to the building. 

Overall, this is a great venue. Nothing frightening, just plenty of playful activity that couldn’t be easily explained away. 

If you are thinking of trying a ghost hunt for the first time, this is a great place to start.