The Winnock Hotel in the Press

The Press & Journal, 01 November 2007

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

A Scots hotel is running ghost-hunting weekends after paranormal experts tuned into a long-running feud featuring two old adversaries.

Scottish ghost-hunters have named the Winnock Hotel in Drymen as one of the most haunted places in Scotland.

After hundreds of ghost-hunting expeditions at some of Scotland's spookiest places, a team of professional ghostfinders say the hotel is haunted by scores of ghosts jostling to make their voices heard on tape.

In what the ghostbusters say is one of the best examples of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) in the world, there's a recording of a ghost called James Walker discussing a running,
centuries-old feud he has with another ghost called Buchanan.

This week, another spirit from the 1500s named Edward McGregor was uncovered. It is thought he may have occupied a cottage on what is now the site of the hotel. A spirit of a little girl and a woman in a lilac ball-gown was also uncovered.

Hotel owner David Warnes called in Ghost Hunters Scotland after guests and staff at the hotel reported spooky goings-on in and around rooms 38 and 39. They were summoned after trainee manager Chris Smith, who has worked at the sleepy village hotel for five years, told the boss of weird goings on in his room and the corridor outside at night.

Now the hotel plans to run Most Haunted-style ghost-hunting weekends at which guests can carry out investigations at Scotland's most scary sites with professional ghostbusters and mediums using specialised equipment to pick up paranormal activity.

The weekends will also include atmospheric candlelit dinners, group readings from mediums, tarot card readers and scary ghost stories around the fireside.

Alex Dorrens, of Ghost Hunters Scotland, said: "We have made contact with a spirit in room 39. I have conversations with him for about 30 minutes, which is all recorded on EVP.

"In all the years we have been doing this, and of all the hundreds of investigations we have carried out, this is the most exciting breakthrough we've had. There were several areas of the hotel we found to be haunted, and our mediums picked up the spirit of a little boy, a soldier from World War II and the ghosts of witches hanged on the village green outside the hotel."

On the tape, the ghost in room 39 can clearly be heard answering Alex's questions. He says he has one son called Henry, says he misses female company, especially his wife. He says there are seven other spirits in the room with him, and can be heard telling them to get back when they try to make contact. 

Ghost-hunter Sharon McKee said: "I wasn't scared at all; the general feeling was one of friendliness and not at all threatening. When I left the room to tell the rest of the team what was happening, the temperature went up in there because he followed me out and I could feel him with me all the way down the corridor. I must admit I ran all the way."

The Ghost-hunter weekends start in November and will run throughout the winter and next year.