A rural film festival celebrating independent movies and filmmakers has been beset by technical difficulties which the event organisers believe could be paranormal in origin, and they claim to have captured evidence of a poltergeist on camera. The annual MegaFlix Movie Awards has been taking place this week in the beautiful Standish Village Hall in rural Gloucestershire, UK, a site steeped in history dating back to the medieval period.
The Grade II listed building is at least 700 years old, and is found on the route purportedly taken by the funeral cortege of King Edward II in 1327 after his murder, when taking his body from Berkeley Castle to his final resting place at Gloucester Cathedral. According to local tradition, it is believed that as nightfall neared, the Royal funeral cortege decided to rest overnight at Standish Church, immediately adjacent to the Village Hall, before continuing their onward journey the next day.
The venue was also used in 2004 by Sir Tony Robinson and the Time Team as a base of operations when carrying out an archaeological excavation of the neighbouring field for the hit show. They uncovered a Roman burial site, finding the remains of a young woman who likely lived and worked on the land well over a thousand years ago.
Photos show the dig in progress, the team’s set up inside the Village Hall, and Sir Tony Robinson relaxing outside the main entrance.
The organisers of the MegaFlix Movie Awards had reported having various technical difficulties, and unusually had a couple of keen paranormal investigators working at the event. Edd Francis and Paul Cowmeadow of Gloucester Paranormal Investigation Services, were volunteering there after partnering with an affiliated event, the Fortean Film Festival, a paranormal-themed film festival, back in 2022.
Upon witnessing some of the equipment malfunction and hearing some strange noises in the building on Monday evening, the duo set about investigating the possibility of paranormal activity, with the situation quickly escalating from there.
According to Paul Cowmeadow: “I heard an unusual noise that sounded like clanging saucepans coming from the kitchen, so we set up our motion-sensitive kit and electromagnetic frequency detectors in there. When we do these kind of investigations we try to debunk it first, but if feel we have encountered a spirit, we ask questions and look for intelligent responses – and that is exactly what we got!
“We kept talking to whatever it was; it claimed responsibility for the malfunctioning equipment, and by this time the whole team had gathered in the kitchen to see what was going on. This went on for a few minutes before we all heard a loud bang come from the next room. I rushed next door, followed by Edd and we found a whole row of chairs had been tipped over.”
“All of us were in the kitchen when this happened and there was no one else in the building, and it’s on video.”
Edd Francis said: “I have done a lot of investigations of this type all over the country, at many of Britain’s most haunted locations, and I have never been anywhere as active as this. The vibe in the place is not at all unfriendly though; whatever it is seems to be quite playful and has a sense of humour.”
“Despite the unusual activity which briefly spooked some us, I am pleased to say that the rest of the event took place unhindered.”
Guests were welcomed by veteran actor David Bradley, known for numerous big screen roles including in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies and ‘Hot Fuzz’, and TV presenter Carl Marshall, known from several shows on Blaze and Sky History was hosting the evening and also witnessed the ghostly goings-on. Carl said: “What happened does seem to defy explanation, and it was certainly very, very odd indeed. Thankfully though, things did settle down for a very pleasant event and it was wonderful to honour indie filmmakers and celebrate some amazing films, especially several stand-outs from the UK.”
The Audience Choice Award was scooped by filmmakers from Swindon who have created ‘Asmodeus’, a dark and gripping new drama mini-series about cults, conspiracies, and drug and organ smuggling. The show also picked up Platinum Awards for Best Trailer, Best Concept/Work-in-Progress, Best Story/Plot, Best Screenplay, Best Writer and Best Director. The show’s creator, Jodie Potter also claims to have felt a supernatural presence at the venue: “I looked up to one of the windows, and as I looked up I just felt really cold. It just felt odd, so maybe there’s something there!”
The star-studded event saw several notable celebs picking up awards with Lucy Davis, best known as ‘Dawn’ in Ricky Gervais’ hit sitcom ‘The Office’, scoring a Platinum Award for Best Performance for her role in new dark comedy ‘Have a Good Day’.
While Corrie stars, Georgie Taylor and Peter Gunn were honoured alongside Tim McInnerny (known for his roles in ‘Blackadder’, ‘Notting Hill’ and ‘Game of Thrones’), and rising star Phoebe Cheffings for their performances in short film ‘The Sea’, set in the north of England in the 1950s.
Paul Heaton of ‘The Housemartins’ and ‘The Beautiful South’, who reunited with former bandmate Norman Cook (otherwise known as Fatboy Slim) to perform at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival, was also recognised for his original soundtrack to the stunning new film ‘Nine Years’, which tells the story of a teenage girl on a quest for musical stardom against the backdrop of the construction of the Humber Bridge in gritty 1970s working-class Britain.
One of the festival directors said: “It has been a real honour to be able to showcase such a range of incredible films and to recognise the ingenuity and creativity of independent filmmakers.
“I am always astounded and amazed by our home-grown talent, which never ceases to amaze me. For me, the UK filmmakers really stole the show, and everyone here has been talking about the new drama show ‘Asmodeus’, that’s the hot topic of the event – well, that and the poltergeist!
“With so much history, it is understandable that the village of Standish has a few ghostly legends; a well-known one being that of the ‘Grey Lady’, an apparition seen around the grounds of the now closed Standish Hospital, which was occasionally reported by nursing staff and patients there before it shut down.
“It seems there could be another ghost to add to the local folklore.”
Asmodeus trailer:
