The Hylton Castle ghost

Seldom have I read a book that claims to be a ‘true ghost story’ which actually lives up to its claim!  What tends to happen with such works (much like the Amityville Horror), is that the story is given to a writer, who in turn uses ‘artistic licence’ to exaggerate and blow most of the events out of all proportion, so the reader ends up with a work of fiction claiming to be true!   This is not the case with THE HYLTON CASTLE GHOST, which documents the history and past experiences of people who have lived and worked in the castle since 1600’s.   

However, the main bulk of this book documents an investigation carried-out at Hylton Castle in the 1980’s, by Matthew Hutton and a team of students interested in trying to find a cause for the phenomena.   

Matthew Hutton is the controversial paranormal investigator who formulated the idea of electro-magnetic ghosts.  His theory is that ghosts (or haunted properties) are caused by a traumatic event which took place in the building, and were witnessed by someone who was so affected by what they saw, heard or even felt, that their brains gave out large amounts of electro-magnetic energy, which was imprinted in to the fabric of the walls.  A little like a video recorder, Hutton claims that  natural rock can hold an electro-magnetic charge, which under the right conditions can replay whatever the witness saw, felt or heard, at the time of the event.

To support his electro-magnetic theory, Matthew Hutton studied the structure and elements of natural rocks, and discovered that granite and some sand stone buildings can hold quite substantial amounts of electromagnetic charge.  The ghost itself is a reflection of what the witness saw, and the ghost itself is a replay of what they witnessed.   This means that the ghost can never communicate or interact with people, but is more akin to watching a television screen.   

This is quite an unpopular idea, as it means that houses built with brick (which is a man-made structure and cannot hold a charge), can never be haunted, and that mediums and psychics who claim to communicate with ghosts are basically conning people!

THE HYLTON CASTLE GHOST fully documents the whole of the investigation in to the claimed haunting, and most of the text is a translation of the recording made during the course of the vigil at the property. 

During the investigation three members of the team experienced strange illnesses, a crying child was hear, equipment became temperamental and started to record at high speed, a locked door suddenly opened and a strange mist formed in one of the rooms during!

While these events would be enough to make anyone a believer in the paranormal, the author maintains that he can explain and find the natural cause for each of these events.

My only criticism with this book is that it is not long enough...  More please!!!