Investigation
Masonic Public House
Runcorn
The Masonic Arms has a very interesting past. In its time it hosted in the top floor of the building a meeting place for masons. In the early 1990s we were informed by the landlady that the top floor was removed from the building.
Although this as been done
A roof as been put over what is left of this level and bits of the room such as the fireplaces are still visible.
Reported Occurances
Jackie who had just become the new landlady asked us to come and investigate after she had some strange happenings to her in the pub. These varied from strange noises to the feeling of being watched.She explained that she felt most unnerved in the cellar area.
After taking readings around the location it was decided to do the first vigil of the night in the bar area.The landlady,her guests and team member Dave sat at a table while Pete And Darren of the team watched proceedings.
Pete noticed that the door leading to the cellar stairwell was closed.This door had been left open by himself and Darren as they had placed soundbeams in the cellar and wanted to hear if the beams were set off. There was no draught registered in this area and the door did not shut when pushed so this occurance was interesting. As the vigil was coming to a close what appeared to be the sound of footsteps was heard near this same door area.
The second vigil took place in the cellar area. At different moments some of the people present felt breezes pass by themselves.The front of the main cellar area near where the beer deliveries were dropped was notably colder in temperature so this had to be noted in this case. The area did have a heavy atmosphere due to having a number of smaller rooms as well as the main area. This in itself gave a sense of being unnerved.
In the third and penultimate vigil it was decided to separate into small groups . Jackie reported that she felt that she had been touched on her back and that she felt a draught move across her.
During the fourth and final vigil occurred the main talking point of the investigation . Again everyone split into small groups. Dave and one of the pubs bar staff had positioned themselves in the living room. They were sat on the rooms couch which was adjacent to the rooms door.Dave closed the door and they began the vigil.After app 15 min the door handle was turned and the door opened.Dave assumed one of the team was entering but on investigation he found they were alone.Everyone else was accounted for in other areas of the building.
Summary
The Masonic Arms was an excellent building to investigate. Due to its layout and unusual features it had an unnerving feeling to it in certain areas. The two occasions when the doors appeared to close in one instance and open on another were very interesting . The living room door opened by the handle turning resulting in being difficult to explain.
The team would like to thank Jackie and her guests for their hospitality.