Paranormal Investigations Ltd

The age of the Church of John the Baptist in the village of Aldenham is unknown but is reported to be situated on a much older pagan site due to the large amount of Hertfordshire Puddingstone found in the present building.

Hertfordshire Puddingstone is mainly found in the riverbeds in Hertfordshire and is a natural stone consisting of rounded flints cemented together by a matrix of Silica Quartz. Superficially it looks like cement but is actually a natural conglomerate Sedimantary Rock which has formed over thousands of years. This Puddingstone is also alleged to have supernatural powers including being a protective charm against witchcraft. In 1662 a woman suspected of being a witch was buried in the graveyard with a piece of Hertfordshire Puddingstone  on top of her coffin to prevent her from escaping after the burial.

It is thought that the origins of the building date back to the mid 13th Century. The earliest documents show the appointment of a vicar in 1267. The lower tower, font and Lady Chapel also date from this time. The south aisle was addedd in the 14th Century and the 15th Century saw the additions of the North aisle, oak ceiling, upper tower, butresses and turret. In the 16th Century the Chancel was widened and the vestry added. The East window contains a panel showing  the 8th Century King Offa holding a Saxon Church and there is also an 11th Century Norman Window from an earlier bulding at the west end of the south aisle.

In 1882 the church underwent major renovations and an overhaul where early features of the church were discovered including a rood passage, an original painted screen and the original Priest door to the Sanctuary. Memorials date right back to the 1400's.

In 1940 the Church suffered bomb damage to the spire, tower and windows.

On our first visit to Aldenham during daylight there was a general feel of calm and peacefulness in the graveyard. There were no other persons present so we moved about taking pictures. On further inspection of these photos it appeared that there was something behind a gravestone on the far right hand corner as we entered the graveyard. We thought that whatever it was appeared young.

Now you see me ......... now you dont

We returned back to the graveyard the next day to investigate this photo further. More photos were taken to try to recreate the same effect. We were unable to do this and on further inspection of the actual grave it turnrd out to be a family grave containing a father 45 a mother 38 and son 12  Their parents were also buried alongside.

Do you see anything odd in this picture?

Our third visit to the graveyard was at night and we found plenty of orbs.  Our next visit was again during daylight so that we could take photos at all angles and distances of the children's grave to try to analyse things further. We also have on this visit a large orb over the path leading up to the Church which is quite unusual to see in daylight.

On a previous visit a couple of years ago at about 4.30am, a man dressed in a suit was seen standing between two graves at the front of the church as our investigator drove up but disappeared as soon as he went to investigate. On all of our visits to date, the temperature has been cold enough to see breath but dry.Bearing this in mind we have not placed any of the mist photos as we cannot be sure they are not our own breath, even though we took precautions.

Above three brave souls ghost hunting in the graveyard.Right an orb behind them very near to the gravestone where we took the photo of the small child.

    16-11-08   We returned to Aldenham on a dry sunday morning, the bells were ringing and we decided to take some evp recordings some videos and well why not some pictures. 260 photos, 6 videos and 1 hours worth of evps later,all we had was 1 small orb. Well that's life, so we went inside. Without getting technical, the inside of the church is just fantastic. The stained glass windows and architecture are superb. We arrived as the congregation were just leaving so after a brief talk with the Reverand we took 6 photos and caught 7 orbs.....guess what it appears  the orbs went to church. Below are some of them. One photo shows the Reverand with an orb right behind him, so we thought we would ask his permission before posting that one. St.John the Baptist is well worth a visit for its spectacular architecture and feeling of calm and serenity.

 An orb in the chancel beneath one of the churches fantastic stained glass windows.

Another orb,  behind it in the left hand photo is the churches stunning Rood passage.

                                              More orbs high in the roof.

  Whatever or whoever this is has  been caught twice on two seperate photos. This area is now being researched on a regular basis and any further photos will be added.

               20TH MARCH 2009 - EVENING VISIT

 Persons present - C Griffin, F Bowdrey, S Griffin, L Hammill .

  Time of event :  11.15pm

Ambient temperature:  2 degrees C.

 Weather: Dry but cold. No noticeable wind.

 On arrival at the Church we made our way slowly across the graveyard observing the surroundings. The two lads sat quietly on a bench as this seems to draw attention, whilst we took photographs and observations.

 The first photo taken was across a grassed area towards the grave where we have recorded figures previously. The photo came out quite dark but the orb remains the same intensity when light is put into the photograph.

The next photo was taken past the grave to where the boys were sitting. Again it was a very dark photo with what appears to be a number of orbs. The orange glow is a street light in the background but the smaller orb adjacent to this is very bright and again the intensity is not affected by adding light to the photo. A slightly larger orb can be seen higher up. It is less bright and due to the temperature being very low we are unable to discount the fact that this one may be reflection from ice crystals.  Finally in this picture there is a large, dull orb by the wall. This one is likely to be a reflection of the tree.

The temperature had dropped by 2 degrees and we were consistantly seeing this bright orb accompanied by a very small orb. There were also a number of pictures where no orbs were recorded.

As we started to leave a selection of photos  were taken across the graveyard. It appears that a group of orbs are escorting us!

Again the intensely bright orb appears in the area near to the grave where figures have been recorded.

Three orbs coming towards the Church. The dull orb in the tree again maybe due to  the weather conditions.

The next photo contained something rather odd (no not Lee!). The large orb behind him is not completely spherical and appears to have something infront of it, even though we cannot see it ourselves.

As we stand on the steps at the gate of the graveyard, a number of orbs are captured around the church. We see this quite often in different places that we investigate in that although we may initially only capture one or two orbs, on leaving there seem to be many more as they are waving us off!

Orbs captured in the tree at the gateway to the Church.

LINK TO OUR SITE INVESTIGATION FORM

 Back to top