During our first stay at Chillingham Castle, back in 2015, we were experimenting with a new piece of equipment, an ultrasonic proximity sensor. While all the team were in the living area, we heard the sensor detect something in the four-poster bedroom. This is the room that’s famously associated with the spirit of the Blue Boy. On entering the room, we quickly took note of the readings on the sensor before whatever it was detecting disappeared. Upon investigating further to try the explain what had just happened we discovered that the only way we could recreate the same readings on the sensor was for there to be something approximately seven feet in the air between the foot of the four-poster bed and the wardrobe opposite. We left the sensor setup in this location for the rest of our stay however it never detected anything again.

Three years later, in 2018, all team members were sitting in the four-poster bedroom in the dark conducting and EVP session. Chris H and Fay were sitting on the bed, pointing the SLS camera into the room towards the wardrobe opposite. Sometime into the session the camera detected a figure floating horizontally, as though flying, in approximately the same location as the previous detection by the ultrasonic sensor. The figure remains for approximately 30 seconds before disappearing again. We’re aware that the cameras software is designed to track human body movements and is constantly trying to find a human shaped figure in the data it is receiving for its sensors. As a result of this it often picks up figures from vaguely human shaped objects, such as the sides of bookcases, coat stands and newel posts (essentially a computer based pareidolia effect). It is worth noting however that this is the only occasion to this day that we have seen it detect a horizontal figure.

Seeing this figure as more of a curiosity that evidence of something paranormal Chris and Fay attempt to explain what they had just seen to the rest of the team. Jason, who was sitting in a chair next to the wardrobe opposite the bed, stands up and attempts to act out what was being described. At this moment the floating figure reappeared on the SLS camera and gestured its arm down towards the wardrobe and the wardrobe doors open.

Our initial reaction was that Jason’s movement must have caused the doors to open however when we tried to recreate this, we were unable to. All team members tried walking around the room, jumping, and shaking the wardrobe and the doors remained firmly shut.

Update

In the years following this event the bedroom has undergone some alterations, with the addition of an en-suite bathroom and changes to the positions of the furniture. We have discovered on subsequent investigations the doors of the wardrobe don’t close firmly like they once did and there are now some loose floorboards which cause the doors to swing open on a regular basis. We remain confident however due to our extensive attempts to debunk the phenomena that this was not the case during out investigation in 2018.