Alone In The Dark Entertainment, Ghost Hunting Events and Ghost Walking Tours in Newcastle, Sunderland, North East, North West England

Tucked away in the picturesque setting of Washington Village is Washington Old Hall, ancestral home of George Washington himself. Described more as a “romantic haunting” than the poltergeist locations or dark prisons that Alone In The Dark Entertainment are accustomed to, Washington Old Hall is a gem of the North. But is it haunted?

Records show that buildings of one form or another have stood on the site since 973 AD, but the Hall in its present form dates to 1621. The estate first came into the possession of William of Washington in the 12th century, and the Washington family lived in various locations around the country until 1656 when several members emigrated to Virginia. George Washington arrived three generations later, and went on to become the first US President in 1789.

Various tenants held the house until the 1800s, when it became a tenement block housing 35 people. It was on the verge of demolition in the 1930s, but has since been saved and restored to its Jacobean state. The National Trust took over the building in 1957. The Old Hall is now popular as a wedding venue, although American visitors also enjoy its sense of history and heritage.

One of the key attractions of the Hall is its beautiful garden, but you might be deceived into thinking it simply a good example of landscaping. The graveyard of the neighbouring church bounds the gardens, and a Grey Lady is often seen among the graves. Indeed, we spotted a windmill on top of a grave in the children’s graveyard, a windmill that would spin faster, before slowing to a stop. It would begin spinning again, even changing directions, all despite the fact there was no wind.

The garden also boasts a hanging tree, while the area now used as a car park was the site of a vicious duel. This particular area always results in feelings of being watched, and one investigator reported feeling a nip to her ear. In addition, the Washington Highwayman was known to have killed only one person, and while our team leader Dave Marshall knew the approximate location in the area, the two investigators who used dowsing rods to discover the spot did not previously know! The garden yielded further activity in the form of phantom footsteps, heard crunching across the snow, as well as rapping at the front door – although no one was there.

One of the wonderful things about the Old Hall is how exposed its history is. The main hall area downstairs feels almost medieval, and is the oldest part of the building, dating back about 900 years. The space has links with monks in previous times, and it's not hard to imagine this part of the house as part of a monastery. It makes a wonderful location for wedding photos, although uninvited guests have shown up in the shots on numerous occasions. I myself have never felt comfortable in that part of the house, always feeling very much like an unwelcome guest. A grandfather clock stands beside the door leading outside, and the clock drew a lot of attention from one of our investigators, Barbara. She felt irresistible urge to clean the clock, but upon closer inspection, was possessed by the notion it didn’t ‘go’ where it currently stands, and should be somewhere else. A wonky painting of Cavaliers hanging above the fireplace was straightened, only to slip back to its original position – did it slip, or was it moved by spectral hands?

Perhaps the most ‘notorious’ room in the Hall is the so-called ‘panelled room’ leading off the downstairs hall. The room always has a bad atmosphere, and an EVP recording made at an earlier investigation yielded the sound of a ghostly domestic argument - voices were clearly heard declaring something to be "dirty", while one party insisted on the other fetching candles. The room has a long association with witchcraft after a woman servant was ducked in the local pond as a witch after being caught teaching a daughter of the resident family witchcraft (one presumes the status of the daughter allowed her to escape punishment herself). A baby has been heard crying in the room, while knocks are heard behind false walls and doors. A pair of painted room companions are often mistaken for spectres in photographs, but they add a truly eerie air to an already creepy room. Does the heavy wood panelling add to the sense of claustrophobia in the room, or is the atmosphere thick with bygone pain?

During our investigation, we kept picking up on the sensation of people standing in the corner by the false door, and of a woman writing in the opposite corner. We decided to try an automatic writing experiment, with myself taking the part of the automatic scribe. I produced ten pages of seemingly illegible scrawl, but I can confirm that after the first few minutes, it really did feel as though someone else was controlling my hand – a not particularly pleasant sensation! Can you make out any words or phrases? It is interesting to note that the K2 meter was showing a lot of results at the same time that the experiment took place. Was I channelling the spirit of the female scribe in the room, or was something else controlling my hand?

The Old Hall is only spread across two floors, with the attic now out of use. The stairwell itself sees a lot of activity, possibly associated with the antique banister, culled from an old coaching inn down south. Children are often seen playing on the stairs, while footsteps are heard going up and down, leading to the assumption that the uppermost floor was originally servants’ quarters.

The first floor sees activity in the tea room, the site of many successful EVP experiments, but also a productive table tipping session. The table was moving back and forth with some degree of violence, with only two people offering up their energy for use, and the room felt very ‘full’ besides the small team of investigators. A ouija session in the main room offered little in the way of verifiable information, but it’s interesting to note that all of the investigators on the board reported feeling very hot.

Compared to some of the other locations that Alone In The Dark Entertainment investigate, Washington Old Hall is perhaps less dramatic, but it’s a beautiful space nonetheless – and always yields activity of some kind. If you’re willing to spend the night alone in the dark at the Old Hall, then why not book a place at our next investigation there? 

Icy Sedgwick