Leighton Buzzard ghost hunters join world's largest paranormal event - and you're invited!

A Leighton Buzzard ghost hunting group are taking part in a worldwide hunt - and you’re invited to join online!

The Ghostly Gatherings team are thrilled to be participating in ‘The World’s Largest Ghost Hunt’ on September 25, when paranormal hunters from 14 countries around the globe will be livestreaming their walks.

Each group will be exploring a haunted building, the idea being that if people participate at home and join in with asking the questions, then the spirits will become more responsive.

Emma Saunders, founder of Ghostly Gatherings, said: “This is the sixth year the event has taken place and it’s getting bigger each time.

“Those who have taken part before believe that, through collective consciousness, paranormal activity actually increases by 40 per cent on that day and this is something we're all looking forward to experiencing.

"There's over 150 paranormal groups taking part; there will be a team in Cairo at the Pyramids, a team at Dracula's castle, and a team at the Conjuring House in America - two of the ghost hunters are getting married there beforehand!"

Emma and her team will be visiting the The Rectory Cottages, Bletchley, for their livestream where they have encountered a spirit before.

The building was constructed in 1475, boasting a hammer beam roof, and Ghostly Gatherings are hoping some historical characters will come out to say hello...

Emma, 49, told the LBO: "We went there 18 months ago just before lockdown and there was a little boy called Charlie.

"Everyone picked up his name, age, who he was - he was running from room to room communicating with our different groups!"

Emma herself had her first paranormal encounter aged around seven, when she and her friends saw a man in a derelict stable building - "and we all ran off, like children do!"

Her family are also very spiritual - her father, grandmother and great grandmother all had encounters - but it wasn't until she moved into a new house in Wigginton that things really started to ramp up.

Emma said: "I moved there in my early 20s. I used to see shadows in the mirrors, hear footsteps, light switches used to flick on and off.

"My son and I were standing in the kitchen one day and the stairgate between the kitchen and living room slammed as hard as it could into the door!

"I was even stood in the kitchen once and someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me backwards."

Emma had lived there for 13 years when a man from the council arrived to put a drop curb at a house nearby.

Spotting Emma outside, the man asked if any "weird things" had happened in her house, explaining that he'd been so scared that he'd had to move out.

She added: "He'd seen a man walk down the stairs right in front of him! He was absolutely terrified.

"But everything he mentioned was exactly what I had experienced in the house and I got more and more excited."

Upon moving to Worcester, Emma and a few friends joined a ghost hunting group, where she had further encounters.

Then, when she moved to Leighton Buzzard, Emma took a Spiritual Development Course with Angelica's, Ryland Mews, and founded Ghostly Gatherings in 2019.

The businesswoman now has a team of seven ghost hunters who run events in Beds, Bucks, and Herts.

The group uses a variety of methods to communicate with the other side, including 'pat balls' (which light up upon being touched), hotel bells, electromagnetic field metres, 'spirits boxes' (radio scanners, which spirits can manipulate to form words using white noise), table tipping, dousing rods and the 'Human Pendulum' - and yes, it is exactly as it sounds.

Emma said: "We have someone standing in the middle of the room with people either side with their arms out ready to catch them.

"Then they imagine themselves in a dark room with a candle burning, and we call out to the spirit. 'If someone's here can you give the person a little bit of a push?'

"We had a group a few weeks ago who had come along for a laugh and each one took it in turn and went 'Oh my goodness..'"

Emma and Ghostly Gatherings actively encourage sceptics to come along to their events, while for those who do believe but feel scared, she reassures people that there's nothing to worry about - the presence of a spirit can be quite calming.

She added: "I've no problem with someone who doesn't believe; I'm not looking to completely turn their views around but it's good to get people thinking.

"Just come along and have some fun. It's not frightening, it's not scary; we look after you. We've got an amazing team and if people are a little bit nervous, don't be, it's so much fun.

"The more fun and the more laughter helps to bring them out!"

To find out more about Ghostly Gatherings and their events, visit: https://ghostlygatherings.co.uk/To join Ghostly Gatherings for their livestream on September 25, visit: https://www.facebook.com/hertsbedsandbucks (search 'Ghostly Gatherings' on Facebook).