Ghost hunting fundraiser is here

Happy Friday Sunshine News readers!

Or is it? Digital Fundraising Manager, Lauren and I are getting ready to set off for our Chillingham Castle Scarefest event where we will join Chronicle Sunshine Fund supporters, paranormal investigators Spiritus Paranormal and local medium Stephen Crawford for a night of ghost hunting at the UK’s most haunted Castle.

Chillingham Castle has a long and pretty dark history dating back to the 12th Century. It's rumoured to have over 100 ghosts and given the castle has been a Monastery, a royal dwelling and the scene of some of the UK’s most gruesome executions at the hands of the infamous John Sage, it's little wonder there’s so much activity on the grounds. I have goosebumps as I type this…

Lauren led a team of ghost hunters to the event last year, and there was spooky goings on from the get go. Many of our participants arrived as sceptics but left as true believers as they experienced phenomena like orbs, being touched, unexplained noises and even ghostly apparitions showing up in video footage while conducting a séance in the Castles dungeon where the spirit of a Spanish Witch is said to reside.

Lauren vowed to return to continue the investigation one year on with new participants and a fully equipped ghost hunting team, however I still cant work out why she needs me to go too. Maybe the scariest part will be me driving us home…

This years event will be even bigger and better as we arrive with equipment like EVP sensors and night vision cameras as a well as experienced investigators who have already visited the Castle to conduct their own investigations, with startling results. We’ll report back next week. We hope….

On a lighter note I had a lovely afternoon with our friends at True Potential this week, when I went along to their Newburn Riverside offices to celebrate their Great North Run Fundraising. The team have raised a phenomenal £20,903 for our charity through this years GNR campaign which includes a donation from The Harrison Foundation.

This amount, at a time of real financial crisis, is a huge help to us and to the families currently on our waiting list for equipment. Thank you to all at True potential for being such fundraising superstars. We do a love a giant cheque photo!

Bev and Rachel are busy putting the final touches to two fantastic family events which we are hosting during the half term holidays. First up we have our Family baking session on Monday, October 24 at the Metrocentre Hub in Gateshead where our families will be cake decorating and creating tasty treats thanks to donations from Morrisons Tynemouth. Our Great Sunshine Bake campaign, sponsored by The Grand Hotel, is off to a flying start so it's no wonder our families want to join in the baking fun!

Next we have a spooky Halloween sensory session at Tesco Kingston Park which takes place on Wednesday, October 26 in their wonderful Community Room. Free parking is available on site at both venues. Interested families can reserve their free spaces via email Bev however places are limited for both sessions and are filling up fast!

Siobhan X