The port of Newhaven was always a tempting landing place for an invader and the defensive history of the area dates back to the Bronze age. A Roman fort was also situated at this location. In 1588 the Spanish Armada threatened the English coast by sailing through the Channel, strategically out of cannon-shot range. Construction of the fort started in 1864 and is the largest defence work to ever be constructed in Sussex. It stood fast through the two World Wars and was a real shame that it was abandoned suffering many years of neglect until a group of volunteers got together with the local council to bring it back to its former glory and is now an award winning tourist attraction. It was designed 22-year old Lieutenant John Charles Ardagh who used innovative concepts and design. He was the first to use concrete in a military structure and was blended in to the contours of the land and drawbridge. Reports of the supernatural are all over the fort, with many sightings seen in the caponier, a tunnel leading to the beach. Staff and visitors have have been in this area feeling a presence close by. The sounds of soldiers boots are said to be heard marching through the corridors and various rooms and even air-raid sirens have been heard. Tales of a ghostly drummer boy haunt the coastline and one mystery around the fort is that of Lord Lucan. From his disappearance in November 1974 his car was found abandoned at Newhaven. The police made a search of the fort and the tunnels, he has never been found dead or alive.

This was my second visit to the impressive Newhaven Fort, and one that I had been looking forward to. This time we were joined by Jannine would be our medium for the night, as well as Newhaven Staff Member Ed who had looked after us so well on our previous visit.

After the usual workshops and walk around we started the opening vigils a little before midnight. I took a team to the Grand Magazine area together with Jannine & Ed. For the first time I had setup a new experiment involving a deck of playing cards together with the communication cards (used before in blindfold glass divination) to represent the different numbered and lettered values on the playing cards. The idea was to blindfold those team members on the glass, which was circled with the respective divination cards, and for another team member stood back from the table to select a card from the deck. We would then ask out for any spirit energy in room to view the card, now placed face up on the table, and to move the glass to the corresponding symbol. The team settled around the table blindfolded while Mark stood with me and picked out the Ace of Diamonds from the deck. After placing this on the table we then asked for spirit to move the glass to the correct corresponding symbol. To my amazement the glass moved almost immediately, however it went directly to the Number 6, which was almost opposite the location of the 'A' card. So although the glass moved, our attempts to control this experiment had initially failed, hence no real strange or paranormal association could be linked to the movement. Other groups would also attempt the same experiment during the subsequent vigils, however there was no success. The team, with the assistance of Jannine, then attempted Glass Divination without the blindfolds while I took Mark to the adjacent Magazine Room to investigate. Although Mark did experience some discomfort and nervousness, no activity took place for either of us, while next door the remaining team members appeared to be having more luck. The glass appeared to moving in connection with some child spirits, although I remain dubious about the significance of any experiment which involves so little control and could easily be affected by unconscious movements or even deliberate fraud. For me the only thing of note was that when I would enter the room the glass movement seemed to stop. I repeated this exercise a few times, and on each occasion the glass would stay still while I was in the room but would then begin to move quite rapidly when I returned next door. Of course, this does not suggest anything supernatural, but it does make me question why I have so little success in witnessing activity of any kind. Maybe the rumours that I am some kind of "Psychic Dead Zone" are more valid than I had first believed. The team did also suggest hearing what sounded like footsteps or shuffles coming from the corridor outside, however as this area is open to the elements it is impossible to discount other explanations here.

My second vigil took place in the Caponier section where I began the session by asking the team members to sit in a circle and link hands while I asked out. Initially I thought that the light in one of the window slots was blocked out by something in the room, however I have put this down to mistaking the light coming through from the Lighthouse in the adjacent window slot, as this would naturally grow and fade on regular intervals as the lighthouse would rotate. We then attempted an EVP experiment with the dictaphone, where unfortunately we had no unusual responses to any of our questions. Finally I split the group into pairs to investigate all the various tunnels and rooms and unfortunately none of the team members reported anything unusual. As the Caponier is easily the more unnerving of the vigil areas I was quietly surprised that at least some elements of fear did not manifest themselves within the group. All in all it was a quiet and comfortable vigil.

I finished the vigils by taking a team to the East Magazine where we began with an automatic writing experiment using the planchette. Meanwhile one of the team members would volunteer to spend a short period alone in the small cell-like room across the corridor. Our efforts with the planchette were disappointing as there was little or no movement for any of those who attempted it. More activity did appear to be experienced in the smaller room with the solo vigils where one team member came out with a terrible headache while another said she could hear noises similar to Men singing. This coincided with a corresponding team undertaking a vigil in the Caponier where the group was predominantly male, and after the vigil they had revealed experiencing some significant activity which could account for the male voices being heard. During the entire duration of our vigil in the East Magazine there were distant male voices, which were most likely from the other group, as this area did have some unique acoustics which enabled sound to travel all the way up the tunnels and stairways beneath us. In fact the most intriguing experiences of the night were witnessed by the team investigating the Caponier at that time. When they returned it was clear that something genuinely supernatural appeared to have been experienced. Mark described being stood in the tunnel and sensing something approaching him from the other end. Upon turning around he described what could only be interpreted as a "black mass" coming towards him. What was even more unnerving was that the mass appeared to move straight through him after which it moved into a corner only to eventually disappear. Other team members said they too witnessed a sense of 'darkness' moving down the tunnel, as if the light was gradually being eroded, while Simon also experienced two separate occasions where the chair he was sitting on was being kicked or banged from behind. It was clear from speaking to the group afterwards that Mark was especially unnerved, and he did strike me as the sort of genuine individual who would not normally react irrationally.

On a wholly personal level this investigation had again left me frustrated at the distint lack of any activity my groups had experienced. On a more general level however it did at least appear that one possible genuine encounter was had by one of the groups which on reflection made the event one of the more interesting I had been involved in for a while.