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CaSPIR Info |
Ghost Walks of Pevensey and Westham
Interview by Caz Streeter - 13th May 2006  Robert Slater - Host of Pevensey Ghost Walk Introduction
Robert has been running the Pevensey Ghost Walk for 13 years now; it was in fact his own
brainchild and he is also a trustee of the Pevensey Courthouse Jail & Museum. Every Saturday you can find Robert with his
lantern taking people through the ghostly tales of Pevensey. The walk starts off at the Pevensey Castle car park at 7:30pm
each Saturday evening (in all weathers) and lasts for an hour and a half. CaSPIR joined Robert for one of his excellent
walks and were pleased and privileged to be able to interview him afterwards.
CaSPIR... How did you become interested in ghosts? Robert... Well I've always been interested in what you can't explain, and I did a couple of little books on ghosts and stuff and was asked to do an adult education class on local ghosts in Eastbourne. Lots of people on the course asked to go and view some of the haunted places. So I put a walk together and they enjoyed it so much I put it in the local paper and decided to see if anyone else would turn up. I started it off on a Sunday afternoon though which wasn't very ghostly (laughs) so I changed it to a Saturday night when it got dark and have been going ever since! CaSPIR... Do you change the time of the ghost walk according to the time of year? Robert... No I stick to the same time each week. The only time I do it differently is if I take a private booking or at certain times of the year like Halloween! Then I do an extra one at 10:30pm. CaSPIR... So you take private groups as well then? Robert...Oh yes, I do all sorts of groups. WI's, hen parties, and one time I had a group of Hell's Angels who were brilliant! CaSPIR... Did you find it easy to find all the information for your walk? Robert...Well some of the stories are quite well known stories like the Mint House. But a lot of them come from talking to people and hearing tales of what others have seen. A lot of people don't like talking about it though and sometimes think they might be seen as mad if they tell someone. I tend to alter the walks sometimes as well and take things out and put other things in to vary it a bit. CaSPIR... Are you interested in doing paranormal investigations? Robert...Yes I wouldn't mind as long as it's not people larking round, it's quite interesting. CaSPIR... Do you find that people who come on your walks are generally accepting to the idea of ghosts existing? Robert...Yes I think some people are. It's not as though everybody believes in them, I think most people are interested, but it's a mixture though. CaSPIR... Have you ever had your own scary or just interesting experience while either on ghost walks or somewhere else? Robert...The only thing that happened to me was actually in East Dean in a house on Friston Hill, about 14 years ago. It was up for sale and I went round to look at this house with my mum and the estate agent. This house was completely empty, so walked in there and there was kitchen, dining room, and one room upstairs. We went upstairs then came back down and as I came down the stairs I was in front and I saw this old man walk across the room into the lounge. There was something about him that wasn't right, it was odd, but he walked into the living room and I thought "oh the estate agent must have left the front door open and someone's wondered in", cos it happened so quickly. I didn't say anything but I thought he'd be in the living room when we went in there but there was no one there! You know, I can try and explain it but it was an old man who walked through there so.. CaSPIR... What's your most favourite part of the ghost walk and why? Robert...It's hard to say really, I mean some of the stories are good like the white lady because it's happened recently, and some of the older stories like the Mint House are good because they make people react and they are entertaining. But like a lot of these stories they are not all necessarily true, it's like they may have started off with a genuine story and then someone would have invented something to go with it and then added a murder on you know (laughs). CaSPIR... Has anything strange ever happened on one of your ghost walks? Robert...The only thing that happened was about a year ago down Church Lane, a group of about 30 or so were there, and this man suddenly let out a scream and said that someone had walked behind him and that as he had turned round this person had walked into the wall! This man got a lot of ribbing from his friends but even at the end he said to me "you know someone did really walk behind me" and he was really quite shaken. But I haven't experienced anything yet, but then when you have lots of people with you you're not as attuned to what's going on around you as when you are able to sit quietly. The only thing I notice sometimes is that when you walk through the castle and come out the atmosphere changes, I don't know why and normally the castle has a pleasant feel to it but sometimes it really does change. CaSPIR... What do your family think of what you do? Robert...Oh they're ok about it I think everyone knows me as the mad one with the lantern (laughs). CaSPIR UK would like to thank Robert for his time with this interview. If you'd like to join Robert on his ghost walk of Pevensey and Westham he starts from the castle car park (in Pevensey, East Sussex) at 7.30pm every Saturday evening regardless of the weather. The costs are £5 per adult and £3 for under 16's. CaSPIR UK heartily recommend this event; if you have any questions regarding this event please don't hesitate to contact us using the links provided. © County Society for Paranormal Investigation and Research - 2008
Last Updated 27/07/2008
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