On the 16th April 2005 we had the pleasure of spending the night at what was then known as The Maltings in Saffron Walden with Paranormal Tours.
At the time the building was owned and run by the Youth Hostel association and most of the upstairs rooms were fitted out with multiple beds and cupboard spaces. Downstairs there was a kitchen area and break out rooms but when you look beyond the furniture and fittings you could see the place was full of history.
The Grade I listed property dates back to 1497 and in its 600-year history it has been a merchant’s house, a maltings, a shop, a school for evacuees and at the time of our visit it was a youth hostel. The house is believed to be Saffron Walden’s oldest inhabited property and one of Essex’s most photographed buildings.
When we arrived the manager greeted us and gave us a tour of the building so that later we would have a rough idea what corridor went where and things to look out for health and safety wise. As we walked around he was telling us that only recently he had trouble getting into one particular room as the door wouldn’t open. He managed to get in eventually to find all the bunk beds and furniture had been piled up against the door. No one was staying at the time. He said he often found the furniture moved around the room and had gotten used to it now.
Later that night we happened to be in that room and there were I think about 6 of us including myself. We set up the camcorder on a chair and decided to try and hold a séance in between the beds. We all joined hands and I started to ask if the spirits would care to make themselves known. This went on for about 10 minutes when suddenly we heard what sounded like snoring and I honestly thought someone had nodded off, but they hadn’t. There is a second noise which does sound like someone clearing their throat and I think that might have been a team member. The sound is right at the beginning of the video below.
After we wrapped up we stood up and started to pick up our equipment when somebody notice that one of the bedside tables had been pulled between the beds and was now right in the main walkway between the beds. No one had moved from our circle and it certainly wasn’t there before we started. When we dragged it back it made the same sound as in the video.
