The main purpose of this second night was:

• To carry out experiments with camcorders and digital camera's to rule out any other possibilities for 'orbs' etc. caught on camera. View the experiments section on our web site for more information.
• To return to places where strange activity had been picked up to try and re-enact the circumstances in order to rule out enviromental causes.
• We also wanted to more adequately cover area's, that we hadn't the time to investigate

  fully on our first visit.

Summary of second investigation:

The whole group carried out some experiments in the Swine herders cottage, using the night vision camcorder, in order to capture and compare, the effects dust particles have on pictures and footage. Although the dust particles were picked up they were noticably different in form to those we term as 'orbs'. Which had been picked up in our first investigation.

Investigation experimentation in this area is still on going.

Batteries again drained from a night vision camera in the Tythe Barn.

In the Bakers cottage Anne reported feeling something to the side of her and described the exact feelings that had been experienced by Trudy, who had been sitting in the same place on the first investigation. Trudy had not discussed these feelings or the seat location with Anne.

In the Swine herders cottage, all group members experienced a strong smell of Lavender at the bottom end of the room by the cauldron. Everyone searched for a source for this smell, but apart from a small aged bunch of Lavender in a pot by the bed, which gave off no scent what so ever.

We could find no other possible source.

Despite spending over half an hour in the Bakers cottage there was no repeat of the flashing 'orb' we had picked up on our first visit. Which leaves us to conclude this event remains unexplainable.

No pink 'orbs' were picked up during the evening, although many transparent 'orbs' were captured on digital camera, most frequently on a hanging blue cloth in the Swine herders cottage. The same location where a collection of pink 'orbs' were picked up on our first visit.

Despite having gone into the investigation second time around with a little trepidation. As the evening progressed the mood became increasingly jovial, with some group members laughing uncontrollably for no reason that seemed apparent at the time. Nobody seemed tired or nervous. The most notable event of the evening, happened while the group were in the Tythe Barn. After sitting quietly for approximately 10 minutes, it was noticed the tunic displayed on the costume stand was moving. At first the group members believed this was caused by a draught. However on investigation no draught was felt and while the tunic was moving a camcorder that had been trained on this switched itself off. Also after viewing the footage from the locked off infra red camera later, a strange light is later seen moving around in that area.

To finish off the investigation the group carried out a seance in the museum, which had previously only been used as a base for our equipment.

During the seance many members of the group heard knocking sounds coming from the unused upstairs of the building. These sounds were heard after one group member had asked for a sign or a noise to prove there was someone there, after the first knock this member asked 'if that was you, can you do that again?' another knock was heard immediately.

Some group members began to feel physical discomfort such as leg and back pains. Nicola the seance leader felt extremely unwell and called a halt to the seance. Suprisingly, all physical discomfort ended instantly when the seance ended and the lights were put on.

During the night a few creaks and bangs had been heard, however the group cannot rule out enviromental causes and choose to record only, the many events that defy all attempts at explanation. The fact that not so much activity occured on the second night, is not viewed as a negative thing among members of the group. We consider it more as a positive result because it rules out the possibility of many of the first nights events as being natural to the enviroment. It also in many ways, pulls into question, the view that expectation leads to perceived activity.

Following the first visit, the groups expectations for more activity would have been high.

Psychological Report for Cosmeston investigation

Although the group has been set up fairly recently, the people within it are already finding their roles, not only in regards to the practical work involved but also in respect of their interpersonal behaviours. Although all of the group members believe in the existence of spirit life to some extent, some seem to seek out logical, rational explanation instantly.

While others are more prone to react to sounds etc. as paranormal first and then as an after thought rational explanation. It is worth noting that Anne, who is the most nervous in the group, is the person most likely to react in this way. Which suggests that her fear of the paranormal, makes her initially unable to react logically when something occurs.

However once the event has happened and the initial fear has passed she is able to investigate other possibilities. The idea that fear is infectious and that mass hysteria can be caused by events, has so far been disproved for the most part within the group. As it appears to be the case that when one or two members become afraid, the other members of the group seem to behave more calmly and rationally.

People have often said of various situations, that if their afraid of something but someone is with them, who is even more afraid, they become braver and the way in which the group interacts would support this idea. However, what I have found to be true, is that if a group member who is usually very calm and logical becomes uncomfortable, or distressed to the extent that they have to leave the building, this does have an impact on the rest of the group.

An example of this is when Austin, a member of group 1 in the investigation, had to leave the Swine herders cottage due to chest pains and his camera going off. Even though they were slightly nervous at the time, Anne and Kelly who were with him, had been feeling relatively composed until this happened. they then seemed alarmed and appeared more nervous for some time afterward. The same was also true, when Trudy reported feeling uncomfortable when she went into the Swine herders cottage alone. As Trudy rarely feels this uncomfortable, it appeared to have more relevance to the group and a few of them became more wary of this particular location.

On looking at the reports written by the group, it does not appear that preconception seems to effect the results they have. It is thought that if people go into a situation, where they have expectations of things occuring, then the chances are they will experience some kind of activity, due to the fact they are listening and watching for more. In some studies it is also felt, that this could be due to the fact more energy is built up within a group, while people have an air of expectation, which can make things happen, be they paranormal or not. What is interesting with the results so far is that following activity, which caused the groups to become more afraid, or have higher expectations, there was usually a period of calm where nothing was picked up. During the second visit to Cosmeston, the group did not pick up on as much activity, either on audio/visual equipment or in the way they felt. If it were true that expectations could lead to percieved activity, then the second visit would have been expected to be far more productive.

Although group members have a good rapport and are comfortable with each other, there are some area's where certain members are more comfortable than others. Kevin and Nicola who are possibly the quieter of the team, seem much more comfortable speaking during vigils and seances, where as members who seem more talkative generally seem to feel less comfortable with this, which is not as you might expect. We don't know if this is down to experience or if external influences are relevant. eg. Speaking at seances or even seances themselves may have been considered wrong. Maybe the whole situation has been the subject of ridicule, when watching the many Hammer house of horror films. The fear of ridicule may make others afraid to try it. As the group evolves and the team are more comfortable with each other, the ones who currently shy away from this may feel more confident to try.

On the second investigation, there was a period of time when three members did seem to act strangely to events around them. During a seance in the Swine herders cottage, Trudy began to laugh at something that was said and found herself unable to stop, usually she would have composed herself quickly. Anne who had been feeling the need to laugh for some time, started laughing as well. Austin reported that he had also been feeling 'jolly' for some time. As this was the building where most activity had occured and most group members had felt uncomfortable and unhappy, it seemed strange that we acted in this way. It could be put down to a nervous reaction, but this has never happened before on previous investigations, when a lot more unexplainable activity had taken place. Laughter is infectious, but what's noteable is three members had been feeling like this for some time without reporting it to the others. It was almost by giving in to it herself, Trudy allowed the others to do the same. Rather than Trudy laughing being the cause of the others hilarity. In conclusion, there does not seem to be any relationship between the feelings, fears and expectations of the group and any activity, percieved or otherwise. Fear at this time does not appear to be contagious to any large extent although it has been known to happen. It will be interesting as the group develops, to see wether those currently of a more nervous disposition become less nervous and those who are at present a lot calmer may grow more nervous as more activity is picked up.

WITH GRATEFUL THANKS TO NICK, FOR ALLOWING US TO INVESTIGATE COSMESTON MEDIEVAL VILLAGE AND FOR BEING ON HAND THROUGHOUT.