Each room contains a laminated card explaining some of its reported history and folklore, which gives investigators possible names and questions to work with. This room was quiet on both visits. I think the ghosts had gone for a tea break, but that did not mean we were not entertained — remember to look around the room. We set up the usual motion-activated cat balls, REM pods and EMF meters, none of which gave us so much as a flicker. Ghost hunting is a little like fishing: sometimes you have to wait patiently for a bite.

On our second visit, we also tried the Estes Method. One investigator wears a blindfold and noise-cancelling headphones connected to a spirit box, isolating them from the questions and reactions in the room. The rest of the group asks questions while the listener repeats any words or phrases that seem to emerge from the rapidly scanning radio frequencies. In our case, Chris and my parents did the questioning while I sat in the bathroom wearing the headphones.

The aim is to reduce the chance that the listener is consciously influenced by the questions or by other people’s body language. Unfortunately, apart from one very cold knee — which I jokingly considered a ghostly hand offering reassurance — we experienced nothing more concrete.

On our first visit, we began by stashing our belongings beside the bed in Room 2 before getting down to business.

Surprisingly, given that it was the beginning of the night, the Forsaken Room became our most active room on that first visit. We placed our REM pod near the main door, while the one supplied by My Haunted Hotel went into the bathroom to monitor the darker edge of the room.

We started on the bed by taking photographs of the room. Top tip: take at least three shots from the same position so you have a comparison series rather than one isolated image. We captured several apparent orbs, but we do not treat those as evidence alone because dust, insects and reflected light can easily create similar effects.

The first event that genuinely surprised us was the REM pod sounding from the bathroom. It was the first time I had experienced a REM pod activating during an investigation, and the other groups appeared to be in their allocated rooms. We moved to a small table from which we could see both the pitch-black bathroom and the main room, then asked whether anyone was present and whether a male spirit was with us.

The K-II meters on the table and chair showed spikes during the questioning, and the bathroom REM pod activated again. Equipment responses alone cannot identify their cause — wiring, phones, movement and other environmental factors all have to be considered — but the timing caught our attention.

We investigated this room last on our second visit. Whether because our energy and concentration had faded or because the room was simply quieter, we experienced nothing significant. That contrast is worth recording: the one room in which I had previously seen a REM pod activate gave us nothing at all the next time.

The Mirror Room is a sight to behold, with mirrors lining almost every available section of wall. It is also home to the infamous black mirror, which is ironically white — a useful tip when trying to find it in low light.

Mirrors appear prominently in divination and spirit folklore across many traditions. One method is scrying, or mirror-gazing: staring into a reflective surface under low lighting in the hope that images, faces or messages appear.

On our first visit, the room was very quiet. We caught nothing during mirror scrying, on our equipment or later when reviewing our photographs and recordings at home.

The second visit was no more fruitful in terms of physical evidence, although all four of us felt a temperature drop as we crossed the threshold. The contrast seemed noticeable because Chester was in the middle of a heatwave and the building’s thick walls held the warmth. Unfortunately, we had left our thermometer at home, so this remains a shared sensation rather than a measurement.

We did not try mirror scrying that night. Instead, we used the Estes Method, which produced nothing of note, and took photographs that showed no unexplained mists, shadows or other anomalies. Lesson learned: never leave the thermometer at home.

In the early hours, we realised we had left a REM pod in either Room 2 or Room 3, so Chris went alone to retrieve it. He returned looking unsettled and said that, while searching Room 3, he had felt distinctly watched. In his words, the experience was “unnerving”, as though the room he entered was occupied.

Chris is normally the more grounded of the two of us, which is precisely why he is willing to wander around alone. The experience left him perplexed because he had felt nothing similar when returning to Room 2. It proves nothing on its own, but it raises an obvious question: why did Room 3 affect him so differently?

According to hotel lore, Alexander is said to be searching for his missing sword and slippers. The venue’s documented history confirms that a sword was discovered beneath the floorboards during a 1930s refurbishment and is now displayed in the bar.

On our first visit, we received one strikingly timed response. After several unanswered questions through the K-II meter, I asked aloud, “Do you want us here?” A cat ball immediately began flashing. I interpreted that as a possible “no”, due to getting nothing else of note.

With no further response, we used the remaining time to recover our energy and regroup after the earlier events in Room 2. One coincidental or intelligently timed activation — depending on your interpretation — was all Room 4 gave us that night.

Our second visit to Room 4 was completely uneventful. My parents sat on the bed while Chris and I parked ourselves on the floor, but we received no equipment responses, voices, knocks or other apparent communication. It was so quiet my Dad fell asleep on the bed and started snoring…

The first thing that strikes you on entering Room 6 is the large pentagram marked on the floor, with a rocking chair at its centre and a deeply creepy porcelain doll waiting nearby. The room makes an impression before the investigation even begins.

Our first visit produced a voice-like sound on a recording that neither of us noticed clearly at the time. We describe it as an unexplained audio anomaly rather than proof of an EVP because its source remains uncertain.

There are two beds in this room: a large double four-poster and a single. Chris sat on the larger bed while I sat on the single. The footage captured the sound and our immediate reaction, which helps show that the moment was not invented during the later review.

After increasing the volume and enhancing the audio, we thought we could hear a giggle. We posted the clip on Reddit for a second opinion, where several listeners instead reported hearing something closer to a dog barking..

Captured this during our visit to Ye olde King's Head – Chester, UK
byu/TheUnknownQuest inGhosts

The video below contains both versions of the same recording—the original audio first, followed by the enhanced version. Listen and decide what, if anything, you hear..

Our second visit produced a different kind of anomaly through the Necrometer app during the session. When we asked whether the music from Chester Races was bothering anyone, it produced “nine o’clock”. We checked the time and it was exactly 9 p.m.

Coincidence is an obvious possible explanation, particularly with an app capable of producing words or phrases. Even so, the timing was undeniably odd. View the footage below and judge for yourselves.

As a well-grounded Capricorn, I did not get much out of this room the first time — I promise to work harder at tuning into my spiritual side on the next visit. We did not attempt a serious Ouija-board session on our first night, and our spirit-box and word-generation apps produced nothing worth reporting.

The second visit was slightly more interesting. One participant felt a spasm-like sensation in the finger touching the planchette, but the board itself did not move and I experienced nothing unusual. Whether this was simply a muscle twitch or the briefest brush with something unseen, it remains a small anecdotal detail of note from an otherwise still session.

The Restaurant hosted the only group vigil at the end of each night. This was held in the old upstairs restaurant, situated within the building’s former brothel area. The team used the ParaCast, a custom-built audio communication device used by Danny Moss and the My Haunted Hotel team. The ParaCast produces white noise together with additional sound frequencies, creating an audio background or “carrier” through which investigators listen for apparent voices or responses.

Both vigils started slowly, but after several questions from the My Haunted Hotel team we heard responses that appeared relevant and came in different pitches and tones. On our second visit, one voice seemed to identify itself as Sarah, and I heard what sounded like a young girl saying, “He’s here.” To me, the phrase was remarkably clear.

Chris remembers the session differently. He recalls drumming, scratching and occasional moaning sounds but struggled to distinguish words among them. The contrast between what we heard was startling. You might think my parents could have settled it, but they were equally divided.