A TUNNEL in Wombwell Woods has been at the centre of a paranormal investigation.
Paranormal investigator Phil Sinclair, from Brampton Road, West Melton, decided to look into Wombwell Woods after hearing local stories and legends about the ‘convicts’ tunnel’ within the woodland.
Phil achieved national fame last year when his investigation into Stocksbridge bypass showed a ghostly figure passing behind him.
Last weekend, along with trusty cameraman Ash Cox, Phil headed into the woodland after dark to see what he could find.
Phil, 30, said: “There is a lot of history in the woods relating to suicides and murders. And it is a big interest to local people and paranormal investigators who say there is quite a lot of activity there.
“The story goes that the tunnel was used in the early 1800s as a means of taking convicts to a nearby prison. It was supposedly a stopping point where they could rest before continuing their travel.
“Now it is just left there in the woods. There used to be a train track running down it but it has long been abandoned.
“It was a weird experience and you definitely have to have your wits about you. It was creepy, but you can’t let that stop you.”
Phil was armed with an Ovilus, a device which reads electromagnetic waves in the air and translates them into words.
“I asked, after hearing quite a loud bang, who was there. It said ‘enjoy’, then it said ‘clown’. I asked what it had thrown and it said ‘ball’ and then it said ‘evil’.
“I asked who was there and it said ‘Daniel’ and then ‘Dan’.
“The Ovilus is not a scientifically proven tool but a lot of paranormal investigators use them. There is much debate around them but I have had a lot of success with it. People say it could just be spitting out random words but it does seem to reply to questions.”
Phil focuses his investigations around South Yorkshire and has previously explored a tunnel in Thurgoland and Monk Bretton Priory.
When he isn’t hunting the paranormal, he works as a guitar teacher.
“I am half and half when it comes to whether I believe,” Phil said.
“I try to be very logical about it. I’m not someone who says every bump or noise is a ghost. But it is quite exciting when something happens and you can’t find an explanation for it.”
Phil shares his investigations on his YouTube channel, Phil Sinclair Paranormal Investigations, and has acquired hundreds of followers.
Find the film about the convicts’ tunnel on YouTube here
