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|name=Spirit Searchers | |name=Spirit Searchers | ||
|type=Paranormal investigation team | |type=Paranormal investigation team | ||
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The team described its case history as inconsistent by nature: some locations, such as Oxfam Savers in Grimsby, produced no activity detected by the wider team and only impressions reported by the mediums present, while other sites were reported as considerably more active.<ref name="archive2006" /> The team's own account singled out an investigation at [[The Corner Pin]] public house in Donington Le Heath, Leicestershire, as its most prominent case, during which several team members reported being physically attacked by what they took to be spirit entities.<ref name="archive2006" /> | The team described its case history as inconsistent by nature: some locations, such as Oxfam Savers in Grimsby, produced no activity detected by the wider team and only impressions reported by the mediums present, while other sites were reported as considerably more active.<ref name="archive2006" /> The team's own account singled out an investigation at [[The Corner Pin]] public house in Donington Le Heath, Leicestershire, as its most prominent case, during which several team members reported being physically attacked by what they took to be spirit entities.<ref name="archive2006" /> | ||
=== The White Knight === | |||
In January 2005, Spirit Searchers investigated The White Knight, a pub on Thesiger Street, Grimsby believed locally to have been built on a former graveyard.<ref name="grimsbytelegraph">{{cite web |title=Take a look back at the popular White Knight pub before it was demolished |url=https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/white-knight-pub-demolition-redevelopment-2540386 |website=Grimsby Telegraph}}</ref> Gary Adams, reported picking up on a vicar he believed had murdered someone with a knife.<ref name="grimsbytelegraph" /> Co-founder Gary Spate later described the team as sharing a strong collective sense of a boy dying and a girl badly burned in a fire, alongside an impression of a man who had died outside the pub following a fight over a woman — a detail the pub's landlord reportedly confirmed as an actual historical event.<ref name="grimsbytelegraph" /> Sadie Ingoldby-Spate, whose own grandmother had died in the pub, described being overcome by an intense surge of energy during the investigation, saying she felt more excited than apprehensive at the time.<ref name="grimsbytelegraph" /> | |||
=== The Longship === | |||
On 18–19 February 2005, Spirit Searchers conducted a joint overnight investigation with [[Paranormal Lincs]] at The Longship public house on Macauley Street, Grimsby, at the invitation of the venue's licensees.<ref name="longshipreport">{{cite web |title=Investigation Report The Longship |url=https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/paranormallincs/investigation-report-the-longship-t15.html |website=Paranormal-lincs forum |date=25 May 2009}}</ref> | |||
The team's own report describes baseline EMF and temperature readings, a walkaround by mediums [[Paul Drake]] and Erin Josephs, a trigger-object experiment, a séance, and an overnight vigil in the pub's back cellar, during which the report records a sharp, unexplained temperature drop and an incident in which team member Gary Adams reported being physically affected by a spirit presence.<ref name="longshipreport" /> The mediums' impressions recorded on the night included claimed historical layers beneath the building — variously described as a former workhouse, a set of graves, and a friary associated with executions and burnings — though none of these specific historical claims are independently corroborated in the report itself.<ref name="longshipreport" /> The report concludes the team considered the location to have genuine paranormal activity, based primarily on the cellar temperature reading and the incident involving Gary Adams.<ref name="longshipreport" /> | |||
=== The Mosborough Stone Mystery === | === The Mosborough Stone Mystery === | ||
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== Legacy == | == Legacy == | ||
Spirit Searchers closed in 2007 | Spirit Searchers closed in 2007. Gary JJ Spate and Sadie Ingoldby-Spate went on to found the [[Society of Paranormal Studies]]. Resident medium [[Paul Drake]] was separately already involved with [[Paranormal Lincs]] — documented as collaborating directly with Spirit Searchers as early as February 2005 (see [[#The Longship|The Longship]], above) — which he continued running independently after Spirit Searchers' own disbandment. | ||
{{ | {{VaultOrganisationBrief | ||
|scope=Multi-county investigation team covering Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and Yorkshire | |scope=Multi-county investigation team covering Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and Yorkshire | ||
|methodology=On-site investigations combining witness interviews, mediumship and photography, publicly documented via a website with news updates, a photo gallery and a message board | |methodology=On-site investigations combining witness interviews, mediumship and photography, publicly documented via a website with news updates, a photo gallery and a message board | ||
|key_members=Gary JJ Spate; Sadie Ingoldby-Spate; Neil Smith; Tanya Smith; Matt McKiernan; Susan Shreeve; Jody Shreeve; Paul Drake; Gary Adams | |key_members=Gary JJ Spate; Sadie Ingoldby-Spate; Neil Smith; Tanya Smith; Matt McKiernan; Susan Shreeve; Jody Shreeve; Paul Drake; Gary Adams | ||
|notable_case=The Corner Pin, Donington Le Heath, Leicestershire — several team members reported being physically attacked by what they took to be spirit entities | |notable_case=The Corner Pin, Donington Le Heath, Leicestershire — several team members reported being physically attacked by what they took to be spirit entities | ||
|successor=[[Society of Paranormal Studies]] | |successor=[[Society of Paranormal Studies]]; [[Paranormal Lincs]] | ||
|current_status=Defunct as an independent team since 2007; succeeded by | |current_status=Defunct as an independent team since 2007; succeeded by two separate organisations founded by former members | ||
|legacy=Spirit Searchers is documented here less for any evidential findings — the team's own account describes inconsistent results, with several sites producing nothing beyond mediums' impressions — and more as a formative case study in how a small, independent UK investigation team operated in the mid-2000s. Its most notable case, the Mosborough investigation, also connects directly to one of the Vault's other documented incidents via Alex Birch, and its eventual evolution into the Society of Paranormal Studies makes it a useful starting point for understanding | |legacy=Spirit Searchers is documented here less for any evidential findings — the team's own account describes inconsistent results, with several sites producing nothing beyond mediums' impressions — and more as a formative case study in how a small, independent UK investigation team operated in the mid-2000s. Its most notable case, the Mosborough investigation, also connects directly to one of the Vault's other documented incidents via Alex Birch, and its eventual evolution into two separate successor organisations — the Society of Paranormal Studies and Paranormal Lincs — makes it a useful starting point for understanding both groups' own origins. | ||
}} | }} | ||
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* [[Society of Paranormal Studies]] | * [[Society of Paranormal Studies]] | ||
* [[Paranormal Lincs]] | |||
* [[Gary JJ Spate]] | * [[Gary JJ Spate]] | ||
* [[Paul Drake]] | |||
* [[Alex Birch UFO Sighting]] | * [[Alex Birch UFO Sighting]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:02, 5 August 2026
Spirit Searchers was a UK-based paranormal investigations team active from May 2004 to 2007, and a precursor to the Society of Paranormal Studies (SPS). Its co-founding members included Gary JJ Spate, Sadie Ingoldby-Spate, Neil Smith, Tanya Smith, Matt McKiernan, Susan Shreeve, Jody Shreeve, psychic medium Paul Drake, and Gary Adams.
Not to be confused with a later, unrelated group that adopted the Spirit Searchers name and the spiritsearchers.co.uk domain after this original team disbanded. The two groups have no connection beyond the shared name.
History
Spirit Searchers ran as an active investigation team from 2004 through 2007, operating a public-facing website with news updates, feature articles, a photo gallery, a message board and an online shop, alongside its investigative work.[1]
Investigations
Spirit Searchers conducted investigations across a wide geographic spread for a team of its size, covering locations in Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.[1] Investigated sites included two British Army barracks (Carver Barracks in Saffron Walden, Essex, and Deverell Barracks in Ripon, North Yorkshire), public houses, hotels, a nightclub, retail premises, and several private homes.[1]
The team described its case history as inconsistent by nature: some locations, such as Oxfam Savers in Grimsby, produced no activity detected by the wider team and only impressions reported by the mediums present, while other sites were reported as considerably more active.[1] The team's own account singled out an investigation at The Corner Pin public house in Donington Le Heath, Leicestershire, as its most prominent case, during which several team members reported being physically attacked by what they took to be spirit entities.[1]
The White Knight
In January 2005, Spirit Searchers investigated The White Knight, a pub on Thesiger Street, Grimsby believed locally to have been built on a former graveyard.[2] Gary Adams, reported picking up on a vicar he believed had murdered someone with a knife.[2] Co-founder Gary Spate later described the team as sharing a strong collective sense of a boy dying and a girl badly burned in a fire, alongside an impression of a man who had died outside the pub following a fight over a woman — a detail the pub's landlord reportedly confirmed as an actual historical event.[2] Sadie Ingoldby-Spate, whose own grandmother had died in the pub, described being overcome by an intense surge of energy during the investigation, saying she felt more excited than apprehensive at the time.[2]
The Longship
On 18–19 February 2005, Spirit Searchers conducted a joint overnight investigation with Paranormal Lincs at The Longship public house on Macauley Street, Grimsby, at the invitation of the venue's licensees.[3]
The team's own report describes baseline EMF and temperature readings, a walkaround by mediums Paul Drake and Erin Josephs, a trigger-object experiment, a séance, and an overnight vigil in the pub's back cellar, during which the report records a sharp, unexplained temperature drop and an incident in which team member Gary Adams reported being physically affected by a spirit presence.[3] The mediums' impressions recorded on the night included claimed historical layers beneath the building — variously described as a former workhouse, a set of graves, and a friary associated with executions and burnings — though none of these specific historical claims are independently corroborated in the report itself.[3] The report concludes the team considered the location to have genuine paranormal activity, based primarily on the cellar temperature reading and the incident involving Gary Adams.[3]
The Mosborough Stone Mystery
In August 2005, Spirit Searchers conducted a private investigation of a property in Mosborough, near Sheffield, following a large stone found standing on two breeze blocks in the garden — resembling, by the team's own description, a miniature obelisk.[1] This investigation was carried out at the home of Alex Birch, who identified himself to the team as the photographer behind the 1962 UFO photograph taken in Mosborough, and separately described having been visited by figures he identified as the UK's equivalent of the Men in Black, said to have worn conventional black suits.[1] The team's investigation of the property did not detect any paranormal activity.
Legacy
Spirit Searchers closed in 2007. Gary JJ Spate and Sadie Ingoldby-Spate went on to found the Society of Paranormal Studies. Resident medium Paul Drake was separately already involved with Paranormal Lincs — documented as collaborating directly with Spirit Searchers as early as February 2005 (see The Longship, above) — which he continued running independently after Spirit Searchers' own disbandment.