Ghost hunters search for supernatural inhabitants at Henley’s Kenton Theatre

A TRIO of ghost hunters visited the Kenton Theatre looking for evidence of its storied supernatural inhabitants.

Harry Trueman, Jack Porcas and Joseph Jacobs, who form the group SOM Investigators, hired the New Street venue to assess it for any other-worldly activity.

Armed with equipment including a “spirit box” and electromagnetic field meter, the group conducted experiments attempting to communicate with the spirits which are rumoured to have been observed in the building since the late Sixties.

The most famous of these ghosts is that of Mary Blandy, who was hanged in 1752 for allegedly killing her father by arsenic poisoning. Blandy is buried in the chancel of St Mary’s Church in Hart Street.

The theatre’s website says people began to speak of “odd occurences” when they were alone in the theatre in 1969, including mirrors smashed, doors opened and shut, and lights being turned on and off.

Mr Trueman, 34, who lives in Headington, said such tales made investigating the fourth oldest working theatre in the country an “exciting prospect”.

He said: “We like to do investigations in different environments. We have been to a castle, we’ve been to a house, we’ve been to an inn, to forts, so going to a theatre was quite an exciting prospect anyway.

“When we’re looking for places to investigate, we want to look for places that apparently have got some kind of paranormal activity.

“The Kenton has that, with Mary Blandy and with children’s spirits and a particularly mischievous child.”

Mr Trueman said the most compelling evidence of these spirits found during their experiment was the sound of footsteps running across the stage.

This was discovered with a method called the “Estes method”, which employs a spirit box, a type of radio, which is believed to act as a medium to allow ghosts to communicate.

A sensory deprived participant typically wears a blindfold and listens to the radio for supernatural messages.

Mr Trueman said the group received a very “appropriate” message heard through the spirit box. He said: “Jack was trying to communicate with the spirits and we kept getting shushed. It was very appropriate because we were in a theatre, right?”

Mr Truman believes the spirit that had communicated the message was the mischievous child rumoured to haunt the 200-year-old building. He said: “My cousin, Joe, said ‘ok, if you want us to shush we will go quiet for a minute. The spirit then told Jack to say ‘great’ followed by ‘I won’, as in ‘I was able to make you go quiet’.”

Mr Trueman said the ghost hunting group was initially formed by himself and his cousin, Mr Jacobs, when they discovered they shared a passion for the hobby.

Mr Porcas later joined the group and they upload videos of ghost expeditions on their eponymous YouTube channel.

Theatre manager Lottie Pheasant said: “We’re always delighted to welcome visitors into our historic theatre, whether they’re coming for a show or in search of something a little more… otherworldly.

“We’re regularly contacted by paranormal enthusiasts and exploring the theatre after dark certainly adds an extra thrill.

“We like to think our resident spirit, Mary Blandy, keeps a watchful eye on proceedings and we’re happy to let curious visitors discover for themselves whether Mary (or anyone else) decides to make an appearance.”