From possible swearing ghosts to "very loud thumps" and children's voices - a paranormal investigator has recalled some of his strangest discoveries at three potentially haunted Essex locations.
Halloween 2026 is upon us and for many, the stereotypical sheet-over-the-head ghost costume suffices for acknowledgement of the paranormal.
However, for some like Nick Howe - one of the co-founders of Paranormal Research Investigators UK (PRIUK) - interest in the unexplainable runs much deeper.
In 2013, Nick founded PRIUK alongside Andy Wilson after years of researching and investigating the paranormal - many of which were spent together in a group called The Ghost Club.
“We want to do things in such a way where you might say we had a scientific approach," Nick said.
“Our findings are what we’ve discovered ourselves, but we look for rational explanations, we’re not sensationalists and I’m not even sure I’d say I believe in ghosts anyway.
“I’ve never been to a place and said that place is haunted because ultimately there could always been an explanation."
Speaking exclusively to Newsquest title the Recorder, Nick recalled investigations at three stand-out locations in Essex that could be haunted.
Tilbury Fort - September 2017
Tilbury Fort sits on the north bank of the River Thames in Thurrock and in September 2017, was visited by Nick and the team.
“We always hold up Tilbury Fort as a classic case," Nick said.
He posted two YouTube videos relating to this investigation, including noises picked up by an electronic voice phenomena (EVP) device.
The tool recorded what sounds like a whispering voice that could be understood to say: “Well, Scotsmen”.
Nick explained that during the Jacobite Rebellions (1689–1746) - a series of uprisings in Great Britain and Ireland to restore the exiled Roman Catholic House of Stuart to the British throne – Tilbury Fort held Scottish prisoners who were treated “extremely badly”.
In a separate recording, Nick says "make a noise", to which a possible voice was picked up saying "f*** you" in response.
“It does seem as though recorders can pick up voices that aren’t heard at the time," Nick said.
“It could be radio interference but in those particular cases, it couldn’t be because we were in a tunnel.
“We didn’t hear those voices at the time and I can certainly say there was no one whispering or talking.
“You have to be careful because you’re drawing a bit of a conclusion but it was quite audible and it was something that you listen back to and think 'well, that’s very unusual'."
Nick also recalled hearing “a really loud, audible thump” during this visit which he said was “quite common in paranormal investigations”.
Thaxted Mill - October 2016
The Grade II listed Thaxted Mill, in Thaxted was investigated by PRIUK in October 2016 where the team appeared to record the sound of a child's voice on the ground floor.
When recalling this investigation, Nick explained the concept of pareidolia, which can cause our senses to deceive us when our brain tries to make sense of something that we see or hear.
“The actual word that sounded like it was said was ‘mummy’ and it just came out of the blue," Nick explained.
“But recorders record things differently – it could be something scraping on the floor, a mobile phone, a ringtone.
“That’s the sort of thinking you have to adopt but it wasn’t heard at the time so I think if it was someone’s phone, you’d have known it."
The Essex Regiment Museum - February 2017
Located in Chelmsford, The Essex Regiment Museum was visited by Nick and the team in February 2017.
Recalling the investigation, Nick described hearing an unexplainable noise.
“This was again a very, very loud thump," he said.
“In fact, I felt the floor vibrating.
“I was the only person in that particular area and you couldn’t really replicate it - I think it would be almost impossible in a building like that.
“It was totally out of character with the rest of the recordings.”
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