North Devon: Ghost-Hunting at St Peter’s Church – Bratton Fleming! (26.8.2025)

Clearing the mind and relaxing the body. Sat on an old wooden chair to the left of the Altar – this will be my perch for the night. No belief, no fear, and no direction. The stone interior is cool to the touch and yet the air has a distinct humidity about it. Here I sit. The Priest is adamant that I will experience a supernatural event before the night is out. Really? I am irreligious in the literal sense – but have nothing against religious belief per se. Politicised or class ridden religion is dangerous to society and to each individual that follows or encounters it. So be it. I have no idea as to whether god exists – all I know is that various Priests have sat in this wooden chair going back nearly a thousand years. The stone walls and wooden beams are echoey. in fact, the roof looks like the interior of Noah’s Ark (in my imagination):

Here I sit – no sense of theism – but what do I know? My mind is calm and expansive, perhaps this is the “spirit” free of the confines of convention religion. Of course, if there is some type of residual leftover following death – then I will be more than willing to experience its presence. No problem – no resistance. I am free – so I choose to sit here. There is a sense of profound peace about it all – but at the beginning there was a mixture of sweat and coldness happening all at once. Many ghost-hunters find this significant – but these things can be experienced in many places. Whatever the case, my body has now adapted to its environment and I habitually wrap a blanket around me – like robe.

Quite often, when we sit to meditate, there is a strict allocation designed to control the minds and bodies of the group. This is helpful when young – but not required when older and experienced. In that case, the spot very much chooses you. When mature – a hermit existence is often chosen over that of the coenobitic. There is a tendency not to congregate together – but rather to spread out into parts unknown. This allows for the individualistic requirement in mind-body development. This emerges out of the collective tendency at the beginning. All this happens as ordinary life unfolds around me. So be it.