Ray Jorden
It's been a little while since I’ve written a “Paranormal Investigator: Past & Present” blog, to be quite frank, I needed a break from writing. The blog will be up and running again soon, but the PI blog will be a little more sporadic, and perhaps only once a month, allowing me more time to concentrate on other topics I wish to present here, and over at The Haunts of Adelaide blog.
Today, I am going to introduce to you a good friend and colleague of mine Mr Ray Jorden, some of you may already know him from his previous work with “The Paranormal 5” television show in the UK, or paranormal radio show “Haunted 911”. Ray's Magazine column in Ghost Voices Magazine or by his regular hosting gigs, such as that of hosting his longtime friend, Ian Lawman's, “Buried Alive” event at Dudley Castle in the UK.
If you haven’t heard of Ray before, you will soon know his name from the Australian production of “Haunting: Australia” due to air on Foxtel's “Syfy” channel in February in Australia, and in the UK in April, on UKTV's “Really” channel.
Ray was born in the southern English town of Salisbury in the county of Wiltshire, a historic location sometimes described as “The City in the Countryside”, Salisbury is home to a Gothic Cathedral that holds the “Magna Carta” and is only minutes drive from the world famous Stonehenge, a place of mystery and intrigue for many paranormal investigators.
Allen:
"Ray, how did you become interested in ghosts and the paranormal?"
Ray: “ I have been interested in the paranormal for over 30 years, actually since I was five years old, when my cousin and myself use to play in the summer holidays at my grandfather’s house in the basement, we use to look for ghosts and ghoulish monsters, so my journey began then. I used to read books in private and in secret growing up, never daring to tell anyone in case they thought I was weird or bizarre.
Then in 1999 my two best friends passed away three months apart, so this set a new journey for me, I wanted to know more about, once were dead are we dead, and this journey has led me to this point.
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| Ray with Ian Lawman at Circular Quay - Sydney, Australia |
Allen: Have you had anything you would deem “paranormal” occur in your life?
Ray:
“ I have seen my grandmother when I was very young, I was playing in my grandfather’s garden, I looked up and saw my grandmother looking at me, even though I knew she had died 3 or six months before I could not understand why she was looking at me and why she was there, so I looked away looked back and she was gone. That is the most personal occurrence I have had on a personal level. “
Allen: “What led you to become a paranormal investigator/researcher?
Ray: “I can’t believe we just cease to exist, in my opinion. We go somewhere, or do we go where we want to go? So this is what I wanted to find out and one reason I became an investigator."
Allen: “ How has being a paranormal investigator changed your life?”
Ray: “ Every investigation I learn something new and I have to admit working within this field it’s a never-ending road of self-discovery and learning things about yourself that you never knew, I am proud of this and embrace it as I believe you can never stop learning and you can never stop learning about yourself.”
As I mentioned earlier, Ray worked with a team on television called “The Paranormal 5”, but this wasn't his first team or investigations, so I asked Ray, “What his first, or previous teams had been named?”
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| Ray and Gaurav Tiwari at Circular Quay Sydney, Australia |
Ray: "My very first investigation team I founded with a friend of mine and the team was called Jorden Williams Paranormal. My role was executive founder within the team, I also use to source the locations and was responsible for the investigation coordination for the night."
Of course, every team, and budding investigator needs somewhere to hone their skills and practice their craft...
Allen: “Do you have a favourite place to investigate or location you've investigated?"
Ray:
“I can honestly say I do not have a favourite location to investigate, each location is a real pleasure to have had the opportunity to explore, but if I had to say it has to be Woodchester Mansion, just so many tales and stories, ghost sightings and previous evidence caught, it’s a thrilling location.”
It's all about the evidence, I asked Ray what he thinks is the best thing he has captured...
Allen: “What is your best piece of evidence you have captured, and can you tell me about why it is good?”
Ray: “ I think as a collective with the “Haunting: Australia” team we collected some really compelling evidence, but personally it was on location at one of Salisbury’s oldest pubs or “chop house” as it was known called The Haunch of Venison. Myself and the team were sitting in a U shape in the restaurant on the first floor, I could see everyone to my left and to my right as I was sitting in the middle, this way I could view everyone’s position.
It was quiet, so Samantha said she was getting up to move across the room to have a look, as she returned from her little walk round, just as she was heading towards us, this all mighty crashing sound was heard, I thought someone had smashed the windows in, but that wasn’t the case. Lights went on and logically we were trying to work out what this might have been, I looked under the table (which was free from any objects on the top surface) and found a heaving silver dinner knife on the floor. When we first went in the room, we did a sweep of the floor and tables as to record and document any objects, as to know what was where, or what wasn’t there before, we checked this against finding the knife and it wasn’t recorded as being there before!!!!!! So we cant say it was paranormal, but we can say it was very unexplained and coincidental with the noise and the knife.”
Allen: “Ray, everyone who investigates the paranormal, generally has a favourite piece of equipment, can I ask, what is your favourite piece of equipment, and why?”
Ray:
“ I really like using the voice recorder on investigation and I really enjoy using simple trigger objects as well as my own senses, we are in fact in many ways a great piece of equipment using our own senses. “
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| Ray and Myself about to eat dinner in the Blue Mountains NSW |
Ray doesn’t run any Ghost Tours, like many of my previous guests to the blog, but he does get asked to appear at events, on the subject, Ray had this to say...
Ray: “ I often get asked to appear at Ghost Hunting Nights at various locations around the UK. I have to admit this is something I have enjoyed and have spent some amazing investigation nights with some lovely people of the general public. I have a few lined up towards the end of 2013.”
(With this in mind, if you are looking for Ray to host an event or to appear at an event please feel free to contact him via his website on the link below in this article )
Ray has done a ton of Media work, and this would be an extremely long blog if I were to list all the work he had done, it is a rather extensive list, and can be found on his website (Link below), but here is a short list of some of his appearances:
ITV’s The Paranormal 5 (8 part TV series)
Vision Paranormal (Vision News) (3 episodes)
The Kevin Mooore Show (Sky TV)
The Sporah Show (Ben TV)
Live in London (Brookiewood TV)
Ghostly Getaways (TV Pilot)
Screamers (TV Pilot)
Paranormal Magazine
Haunted Magazine
Society Magazine
Ghost Voices Magazine
Salisbury Life Magazine
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| Rayleen Kable and Ray at Circular Quay, Sydney NSW |
It has been an honour and pleasure to interview Ray and share the interview with you all. I had the pleasure of not only investigating with Ray on “Haunting: Australia”, but also inviting Ray (and the rest of the cast) to my home for a BBQ Kangaroo dinner, cooked by lovely Wife Karen, making the whole event of our overseas visitors coming to Australia to investigate just a little more personal.
I hope you, constant reader have enjoyed this little view into Ray's past...
You can look forward to seeing more of Ray Jorden in 2014 with the release of “Haunting: Australia”, in the meantime you can follow Ray on various internet sites listed below.
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| Ray Jorden with the cast of "Haunting: Australia", Ian Lawman, Gaurav Tiwari, Robb Demarest, Rayleen Kable, Allen Tiller and Allen's wife (hiding behind Allen), Karen Tiller - taking a break between shooting at Gledswood Homestead, NSW |
© 2013 Allen Tiller
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