The Warder

Rob as Warder

Andrew Boyd, one of the jails longest serving warders, is played today by staff member Rob Irons.  Visitors can identify him by his uniform which is, and was, an all black button neck tunic and peaked cap.  Rob, a former present day prison officer, likes to regularly lock up inmates (visitors)! After all, it is his job.  The warder assisted the Governor who was in total charge of the prison.  Boyd’s employment at the jail began in 1880.  He lived just over the wall behind the prison in one of the cottages but he was only allowed to go home for just two hours every evening.  The warder was expected to sleep in the prison every night and work long hours for very little pay.  Today, visitors can have good nosy round his room.

The Matron

Hanna as Matron

The Jail had a matron, usually the Governor’s wife, whose duty it was to be responsible for the female prisoners.  A typical day in the life of the matron is performed by actors at the jail.  Her day-to-day routine involved the general up keep of the female prison block (known as the Old Prison) and, along with her husband, she was expected to teach the prisoners how to read and write.

Some Naughty Argyll Ladies

Some prisoner stories are too terrifying to bring back to life, so the characters at Inveraray Jail focus more on the light-hearted, comical stories. In particular, there were some very naughty ladies in Argyll during the 1800s!  Take 38 year old thief Helen Mackintosh from Campbeltown.  After stealing eight stockings, a petticoat and a series of clothing originally left outside to dry, Helen’s footprints in the snow were traced back to her home.

Sam as Elizabeth

She refused to walk after she was arrested so they had to wheel her to the courthouse in a wheelbarrow!  Helen was jailed for three months whilst waiting to be transported to Australia.  Meanwhile, re-offender Elizabeth Henderson, portrayed by Sam Potts,  regularly features in today’s prison.  Elizabeth stole silverware from the Dunoon Hotel where she worked and sold it for alcohol (gin was her favourite!).

Museum Guide and actor Hanna Nixon explains her role at the jail: “Many times I play the role of female prisoner Eliza Thorpe from London who, according to our records, served a two month sentence in the jail in the late 1800s.  Eliza was locked up in the Old Prison which, at that time, was where all female prisoners were held.  Whilst on holiday in Oban, Eliza was accused of stealing from a hotel.  However, it is thought that the man she was with, who seems to have been a very bad influence, was the actual guilty party.”

She added: “What is so fascinating about Inveraray Jail is that after meeting one of the characters when exploring the prison and courthouse, visitors can go on to the exhibition and find out what happened in the end for the prisoner.  It’s a great reminder that these characters actually existed once and makes the experience very real.”

‘Criminal Lunatics’

Luckily, visitors won’t come across Peter Campbell in today’s prison.  On Thursday 11^th January, 1844, according to a report at the time in the Glasgow Herald, Campbell assaulted his aunt and his mother.  Using a razor blade, the schoolmaster from Craignish, almost ‘severed the head of his aunt’ and ‘severely cut his mother about the face, neck and arms’ leaving her in a ‘dangerously ill’ state.  Campbell was judged ‘insane’ and received a life sentence on 19^th April. After spending three years in Inveraray Jail, Campbell was finally moved in March 1847 to the new criminal lunatics section of the General Prison in Perth.

Thousands of male prisoners were tried and locked up at the jail, serving sentences for a range of crimes including assault, theft and murder.  Male prisoners occupied the twelve cells in the New Prison when the completed building was opened in 1848.

Mischievous Children

Many children, some as young as seven years old, served sentences at Inveraray Jail.  Juvenile crimes were normally for very minor offences.  13 year old Hector MacNeil from Lochgilphead got 30 days for stealing a turnip whist 11 year old James Muckle was sentenced to eight days for stealing apples.  For children without a home, committing a petty crime was usually a purposeful way to get a warm bed, food and clothing.  However, in 1852, ‘whipping’, for boys only, was introduced as a punishment and an alternative to sending juvenile offenders to prison.  Many children were often sent to reformatory school at the end of their prison sentence.

The Haunted Cells

Though the jail was closed down in 1889, there is a chance that many of its occupants never left.  Unexplained sightings and unusual activity recorded by visitors, staff and paranormal investigators suggest that Inveraray Jail is in fact haunted.  With its dark history and a haunting reputation, the jail was recently an obvious venue for TV programme Most Haunted in 2009.  Overnight Ghost Hunting events open to the public take place throughout the year at the jail.

Mark Turner

Mark Turner, Paranormal Investigator at Ghost Events said: “We have carried out investigations for several years now at Inveraray Jail.  We are starting to notice several patterns in our findings particularly with the noises and sounds we have recorded.  The jail certainly has a high level of paranormal activity in comparison with many other sites we have visited around Scotland.  This nation is blessed with such rich history so it’s the ideal place to search old buildings and historic landmarks for evidence of the afterlife amid the countless reports of paranormal activity.”

Back to www.inverarayjail.co.uk

On the alert!

A psychic medium was said to have picked up a spiritual presence during a real-life ghost hunt at Argyll’s 19th century courthouse and prison, Inveraray Jail, at the weekend.

More than 6,000 men, women and children were tried and served sentences in the jail between 1820 and 1889.

Today, it is a popular visitor attraction and museum at the town of Inveraray, on Loch Fyne.

Paranormal investigations at the jail provide both novices and enthusiasts the opportunity to communicate with the traumatised spirits of old prisoners.

Saturday night’s event, hosted by Ghost Events Scotland, Scotland’s leading paranormal events company, was attended by 16 people.

The evening started with a walk around the location with a psychic mediums.

Mark Turner, paranormal investigator at Ghost Events Scotland, said: “Our psychic medium picked up the presence of a woman in the old prison block. It was thought she was a nasty character who disliked children.”

The event continued in the dark with interactive experiments which included filmed vigils, trigger object experiments, electronic voice phenomenon experiments and a variety of other ghost hunting gadgets.

Ending at 4am yesterday, participants looked at the recordings to see the results.

Mr Turner added: “One of our participants felt a sensation in his ribs as if he had been punched and claimed to have seen a green light moving through the air. A woman also felt that someone was touching her head.

“Our voice recordings, which are recorded below the human hearing frequency, picked up voices in response to questions asked by our participants. It is not clear what is exactly said but there are sounds of loud shouting. Also, in the new prison block, there were sounds of footsteps and tapping.”

The next paranormal investigation at the jail take place on February 20, May 8, September 11 and November 6 next year. Advance booking is essential. For further details www.inverarayjail.co.uk or call 01499 302 381.

Ghost Hunting events open to the public take place throughout the year at Argyll’s 19^th century courthouse and prison – Inveraray Jail.   6000 men, women and children were tried and served sentences in the jail between 1820 and 1889. Today, it is a popular visitor attraction and museum. Unexplained sightings and unusual activity recorded by visitors, staff and paranormal investigators suggest that the establishment is haunted.  With a history of depression, torture, death and damnation and a haunting reputation, the jail was recently an obvious venue for TV programme Most Haunted earlier this year.

Arriving at 10pm at the eerie jail, just off the banks of the misty Loch Fyne, brave event goers are greeted by Ghost Events Scotland, Scotland’s leading paranormal events company.  The opportunity to communicate with the traumatised spirits of old prisoners – without the gimmicks – begins.

The Ghost Hunting nights start with a walk around the location with one of Ghost Events Scotland’s Psychic Mediums in search for spiritual presences. The lights go out and the event continues in the dark with interactive experiments which include filmed vigils, trigger object experiments, Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) experiments and a variety of other ghost hunting gadgets.  Ending at 4am, participants look back at the recordings to see the results.

On the Look out for Paranormal Activity

Mark Turner, Paranormal Investigator at Ghost Events said: “We have carried out investigations for several years now at Inveraray Jail.  We are starting to notice several patterns in our findings particularly with the noises and sounds we have recorded.  The jail certainly has a high level of paranormal activity in comparison with many other sites we have visited around Scotland.  This nation is blessed with such rich history so it’s the ideal place to search old buildings and historic landmarks for evidence of the afterlife amid the countless reports of paranormal activity.”

Most of our staff at Inveraray Jail have their own stories on ghostly sightings and unexplained activity around the jail and many visitors share with us their stories and pictures, from a feeling they got in a certain room to an unexplained object in their photograph.  Cell 10 is the one to watch!

For further details or to book event tickets please visit www.inverarayjail.co.uk or www.ghostevents.co.uk

Is this a Ghost?

A snapshot taken by a visitor to Inveraray Jail in Argyll has fuelled debate over whether the almost 200-year-old year old court house and prison is haunted.

The jail, which is recognized as one of the spookiest places in Scotland, is a popular destination for paranormal investigators, including the team for tv’s Most Haunted, who spent a night at the jail earlier this month.

Over the years many visitors to the former prison by the side of Loch Fyne in Argyll have complained of uneasy feelings, strange noises and, in some cases, taken photographs which later show unexplained images.

As the County Court anyone from the surrounding area sentenced to prison or transportation would have spent time in the jail where children as young as seven could be detained for minor crimes and subjected to whippings or pointless manual labour.

“The place in the prison that most people react to is cell 10. It doesn’t tend to be something people see so much as a feeling they get there. During the height of the X Files days we used to call it Cell X for obvious reasons,” said Gavin Dick, manager of Inveraray Jail.

“In the kitchen, which is in many ways the most unremarkable room we have had people sense that there’s someone cowering behind the door. There are various areas that cause reactions, and not just on ghost hunts.”

One woman, who visited the jail with her husband and young daughter, complained of having sensed an ‘unsettling presence’ in the prison and was surprised to discover a blurred image in one of her photographs which she didn’t notice when the picture was taken.

”We found the jail very interesting but for myself very scary,” she wrote to prison staff after the event.

”I felt really ill in the old jail. As soon as I walked in my chest tightened and I felt very sick and dizzy.

”I felt as if someone was with us all the way round and was watching us. I couldn’t wait to get out.

”When we got back to our guest house we looked at our photos and to our amazement there is a misty figure standing between the airing cells [in the court yard].

”We cannot explain things but we felt very strange. There is definitely something there. If we were uneasy in the daytime what must it be like at night in the pitch black?”

A recent event at Inveraray Jail, organised by paranormal research team Ghost Finders Scotland, uncovered what they believe to be good examples of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP).

EVP, made famous in the film White Noise starring Michael Keaton, are electronic recordings that reveal sounds resembling words which many paranormal investigators interpret as the voices of ghosts.

George Allison, 61, a works manager from Glasgow, who took part in a recent ghost hunt at Inveraray jail is convinced he caught a voice on tape.

“People were talking about a ghost which had been running about in the corridor poking people in the back. When I asked if there was anyone there, and if they had hit someone, we could clearly hear a voice say ‘yes, I have’ when the tape was played back.”

Ghostly experiences

A booming interest in death is breathing new life into old haunts.
The search for ghosts and all things paranormal has created a multi-billion pound industry with more than 60 per cent of people admitting they believe in the spirit world.

Where once hotels, visitor attractions and retailers would never admit to having a ghost or anything supernatural they are now queuing up to promote life after death experiences with charities, amateur ghost hunting groups and organised businesses all joining in.

“There’s certainly been a vastly increased interest in the paranormal, not necessarily an increased intellectual interest, but an increased general interest thanks to television,” said Richard Holland, Editor of Paranormal Magazine.
“Once upon a time the last thing a hotel would want you to know would be if the bedroom you were staying in was haunted for fear of driving off custom, now I’m sure they’d take out a double page advert to tell the world.
“Ten years ago the psychical research society counted something like 15 or 20 ghost hunting groups in the country, people who actually went out to try to find evidence of ghosts. Now there’s more than 300.
Among Scotland’s spookiest places open to the public for paranormal investigation is Inveraray Jail by the side of Loch Fyne in Argyll.
Over the years many visitors to the former Victorian jail and court house have complained of uneasy feelings, strange noises and, in some cases, taken photographs which later show unexplained images.
As the County Court anyone from the surrounding area sentenced to prison or transportation would have spent time in the jail where children as young as seven could be detained for minor crimes and subjected to whippings or pointless manual labour.
“The place in the prison that most people react to is cell 10. It doesn’t tend to be something people see so much as a feeling they get there. During the height of the X Files days we used to call it Cell X for obvious reasons,” said Gavin Dick, manager of Inveraray Jail.
“In the kitchen, which is the blandest and most unremarkable room we have had people sense that there’s someone cowering behind the door. There are various areas that cause reactions, and not just on ghost hunts.”
One woman, who visited the jail with her husband and young daughter complained of having sensed an unsettling presence in the prison and was surprised to discover a blurred image in one of her photographs which she didn’t notice when the picture was taken.
”We found the jail very interesting but for myself very scary,” she wrote to prison staff after the event.
”I felt really ill in the old jail. As soon as I walked in my chest tightened and I felt very sick and dizzy.
”I felt as if someone was with us all the way round and was watching us. I couldn’t wait to get out.
”When we got back to our guest house we looked at our photos and to our amazement there is a misty figure standing between the airing cells [in the court yard].
”We cannot explain things but we felt very strange. There is definitely something there. If we were uneasy in the daytime what must it be like at night in the pitch black?”
A recent event at Inveraray Jail, organised by Ghost Events Scotland – a business launched three years ago by self-styled paranormal research team Ghost Finders Scotland – uncovered what they believe to be good examples of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP).
EVP, made famous in the film White Noise starring Michael Keating, are electronic recordings that reveal sounds resembling words which many paranormal investigators interpret as the voices of ghosts or spirits.

“EVP experiments date back to the early 20th century,” said Mark Turner, a paranormal investigator with Ghost Finders Scotland.

“Before that people like Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb, believed that if people were going to communicate with the spirit world it would be through electronic means.
“He actually thought he would be able to design a devise which would enable him to communicate with the other side.
”Guglielmo Marconi, who invented the telegram, had the same idea about communicating with the spirit world but nothing came of it.”

EVP experiments started in the 1920s when Hereward Carrington, a psychic researcher stated experimenting but it wasn’t until 1959 that the first known case of EVP was reported.
“It happened to Friedrich Juergenson, a Swedish filmmaker. You have to remember that at the time Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) equipment wasn’t available to everyone, it was only the affluent of society with a lot of money or filmmakers who could afford it.” said Mr Turner.
“He was out in a field recording bird sounds for a production he was working on and he got home and analysed the results and what a shock he got when he heard a voice saying ‘my little friedel.’ which was his mother’s nickname for him when he was the child.
“His mother had died 25years earlier. So he undertook years and years of research into this subject. Since then there have been thousands of EVP researchers over the years.”
One recent convert to the cause is George Allison, 61, a works manager from Glasgow, who took part in a recent ghost hunt at Inveraray jail.
“People were talking about a ghost which had been running about in the corridor stabbing people. So I asked ‘are you the one that’s been running about in the corridor and have you stabbed anyone in the back?,” he said, still shaking at the thought.
“When we played it back it said very clearly ‘yes I have.’ It was really terrifying.”
However, according to scientists, people are likely to hear what they want to hear when they put themselves into a scary situation.
Those who watch programmes along the lines of Most Haunted and take an active belief in the paranormal are more likely to interpret these experiences as ghostly, claim the experts.
“If you are sitting waiting for something ghostly to happen in the dark, chances are you are going to get a bit scared; and by getting scared you become even more vigilant and jumpy, so the slightest little thing like a creak can have you jumping out of your skin,” said Dr. Caroline Watt, parapsychologist at the Koestler Parapsychology Unit in Edinburgh University.
“You would be almost guaranteed to have an unusual experience by going on one of these vigils.
“Some places have a reputation and it is hard to escape that. In Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh there is a room called Annie’s room, which is full of children’s toys – so if you know anything about Annie’s room then you expect that you will see or hear the ghost of a child in there.
“Knowing about the place you are going to can affect your interpretation of the experience, it does prime you.”
Among those benefiting from the renewed interest in the spirit world are charities which have found some people far more keen to take part in a sponsored ghost hunt rather than a parachute jump or fun run.
In just five nights Sense Scotland managed to raise more than £22,000 through their connections with Ghost Event Scotland.
“The first one sold out which set the scene for the rest, we’ve held five events with them now and raised over £22,000.” said Andy Hughes, events organiser with Sense Scotland.
“I knew when I decided to use them that programmes like Most Haunted had helped draw the paranormal to the attention of the public, so there was a growing interest in this type of thing among people who had probably never had the opportunity to experience anything like this directly.”