The not so secret bunker

the not so secret bunker.

The not so secret bunker

The not so secret bunker. One of the locations on pretty much every paranormal enthusiast’s list of places to investigate is located in the middle of no-where in Essex, and is reached by entering the front door of a non-descript run down bungalow.

Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker was constructed in 1952 to meet the threat of Cold War and originally classed as a “S.O.C.” (sector operations control) for the R.A.F. ROTOR project, but soon after its construction it evolved in a facility for civil servants and heads of state to run the country in the event of war, Region 5 Regional Seat of Government covering London, so the most likely place that the standing Prime Minister would end up if they were able to get there should the red button be pushed.

I was lucky enough to revisit the location on October 2nd 2020 – it was not my first experience of the bunker; I am fortunate to live ten miles or so away so it is probably my local as far as haunted venues are concerned – with the fabulous guys from Haunted Houses who I help out as a host.

Just think of me like Batman, as soon as I get the signal, I am on my way….

The British weather didn’t dampen our fun …

The weather was atrocious, torrential rain which had been non stop pretty much all day, and I did wonder if this was going to cause us any issues during the evening, saying that, we were going to be one hundred and twenty-five feet underground so it probably was not going to be an issue.

What was a bit strange however was the many men walking around in German WW2 costumes, after chatting to one of them we found out they had been filming a Bollywood epic, I am actually waiting for it to come out as I am totally intrigued how the Indian film giant has managed to incorporate Nazi’s into a production?

As the guests started to arrive – with temperature checks, social distancing, groups of six, hand sanitizer and all the other safety precautions that the pandemic of 2020 has caused to become normality in our lives – the most common question I was asked as a host was “if there was never any nuclear war, why is this place haunted?”

Well, that is the million-dollar question is it not? There are no obvious documented deaths (unlike its Regional sibling in the Midlands, Drakelow) and we know that thankfully the bomb was never launched, so why would a spirit choose to come back here?  That is something that I guess we will never be able to answer for sure, but would it surprise you to know that all of the Regional bunkers around the country (of which there are quite a few) would have been made operational at some point, even if it was just as an exercise. One of the nerdy things I do being a Paranormal Historian is research, and then more research on top of that, and in the Parliamentary records there is a transcript of a House of Commons meeting where the then Prime Minister, Harold McMillan talks about the “Fallex” project of September 1962 when all the Regional Bunkers were put into action and how it involved four thousand personnel. It transpires that the existence of these underground offices had been made public and many in government were concerned in the breach of confidentiality.

So that means we know of at least one occasion when the big bomb doors were shut, the machinery was switched on and those that worked there had to act as though destruction had occurred outside…and then return home without breathing a word.

Will you join us next time at the “not so secret” bunker?

When you come on a Haunted Houses event, you have the ability to utilise the equipment you want to use with the guidance of the hosts (if needed), and we certainly found in my group that laughter flowed easily when it was needed to generate energy. I do not want to tell you about all of the experiences we had as it would be good for you to book onto an investigation at the bunker yourself but the sounds of  footsteps, and not just normal footsteps, high heels click clacking on an office floor was heard by two groups independently, motion sensors and cat balls lighting up when no one is near or able to make them move in answer to conversations (oh yes, top tip, if an investigation is going quiet, just start chatting between yourselves and they will join in) and a very accurate human pendulum experiment in the main corridor being just a few of the things we had happen.

When will we see you at our amazing Secret Nuclear Bunker event?

Penny Griffiths-Morgan

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