Sherwood Forest is forever linked to the legend of Robin Hood, so spotting a tights-wearing ghost with a bow might help push that legend a little closer to reality. It’s the royal forest of Nottinghamshire and that county dates back to Roman Britain, so its long heritage and ancient buildings are qualified to be haunted and to share those ghosts with Sherwood Forest. Paranormal investigator Dean Buckley visited there recently and brought along his trusty camera and his wife Veronica, a spiritualist medium there to communicate with and help identify the apparitions Dean regularly photographs. He has kindly shared his latest photos from his recent trip to Sherwood Forest. Any of Merry Men making mayhem?
“We felt we were not alone as we entered the forest. We felt were being watched as we walk up to the Major Oak in complete darkness.”
Major Oak (photo by Dean Buckley)
In his email, Dean says he, Veronica, medium Jayne Danby and paranormal investigator Frank Goncalves entered Sherwood forest through the village of Edwinstowe. For those up on their legends, Robin and Maid Marian were said to have been married in Edwinstowe’s St. Mary’s Church, and the Major Oak is where Robin and his merry men slept. Veronica identified those watching them as brothers John and Richard and two unrelated men named Tom and Charles. The most interesting of the presences she says she felt were Roger and Matilda, who said they were married at the church in Edwinstowe and were blessed by the king – the king was not identified.
Meanwhile, Dean says he and Frank saw a shooting star and lights in the forest, and heard banging or drum sounds. As they walked, Jayne was recording with an SLS (Structured Light Sensor) using an SLS Stickman app that highlights unseen but detected apparitions with a stick figure. Dean provided two interesting stickman photos. The first was said to be something Dean felt jump from behind some trees.
(photo by Jayne Danby)
The second was what Dean claimed to be an arrow.
(photo by Jayne Danby)
Who would have shot an arrow at the investigators? Dean claims this photo is a hooded figure.
(photo by Dean Buckley)
And this one is the spirit of Little John.
(photo by Dean Buckley)
All of the members of Dean’s team reported “heavy feelings,” feelings of being watched and areas of unusual coldness. He doesn’t give any other details on the hooded figure – a common apparition in England – or the “spirit of Little John,” which would imply that there might be other merry spirits nearby.
What did Dean Buckley and his paranormal investigation team see, hear, feel and apparently photograph in Sherwood Forest? It’s hard to say, but the photos and accounts are indeed interesting. And it beats watching “Robin Hood: Ghosts of Sherwood” — perhaps the worst Robin Hood movie ever – where Robin, Will Scarlett and Friar Tuck are killed, then brought back to life as zombies. You’ve been warned – it’s as bad as it sounds.
Thanks as always to Dean Buckley for his investigation account and photographs.