Did you know that the Black Country is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the United Kingdom? The area boasts many historical and architectural sites, some of which date back to a pre-industrial period and in some cases to the early 16th century. With this rich history, it wasn’t surprising that Walsall Council recently received a request from a local paranormal group to hire the first floor of the Leather Museum. Their mission: to undertake some ’out of hours’ investigations and conversations. Paranormal enthusiasts ‘Energies and Entities’ love nothing more than a good ‘lock-in’ on a dark winter night at some of our region’s oldest buildings. In their search for auras and vibrations, their goal is to reveal secrets that these historic buildings may hide.
Catherine Lister, Collections Officer at Walsall Leather Museum said: “The Energies & Entities group take their work and research very seriously and we were pleased to be able to give them the opportunity to hire the Museum and investigate the old workshops on the first floor. We get a range of requests to use the building, but this was the first time we allowed a paranormal group to do an investigation.
“As it was ‘out of hours’ booking, I myself supervised the visit- and as a history lover with a great interest in Walsall’s past, I can see exactly why our 130-year-old Museum would appeal to them. Whatever your beliefs or interests, it is an atmospheric old building and we cannot know exactly who worked here and what went on. The building was a hive of activity at the height of the town’s leather industry – who knows what stories and secrets could have passed inside these walls?”
Chris Stone, member of Energies and Entities said: “We were very excited to investigate this landmark site. We recently spent a good three hours at the museum with and picked-up on a lot of different energies and auras. I quickly became aware of a soldier and Officer, who I believe fought in the Great War – he wasn’t directly connected with the building, but I got a strong feeling that his leather accessories for his dress uniform, namely a harness, belt, gun holster & boots, were all made on site.
“I had several colleagues with me that night and all of us greatly enjoyed our investigations, the atmosphere in the building is so warm & friendly. We would love to come back some day to discover more secrets!”
