Spooky goings on have forced a major UK tourist attraction to relocate one of its latest rides.
Exhilaration and spine tingling excitement are all par for the course when visiting theme parks, however workers at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey have reported feeling sudden chills, seeing objects moving of their own accord and even recorded sightings of a headless monk on the site where they are building the new Storm Surge water ride.
The attraction was planned for an area known as Monk’s Walk; an old footpath that has linked the ruins of Chertsey Abbey to Thorpe Church since AD666 and tests by a paranormal detection agency have revealed that the ride could be being built on an old burial ground or settlement. The foundations of the ride would have been sited directly above an area where stone coffins have previously been excavated.
The water ride which will see riders hurtling down a 64 ft spiral shoot in a life raft trying to escape the rising waters of the Amity, has now been moved to another location, and management have called in a forensic team to carry out further investigations in what is one of the country’s largest and most popular theme parks.
Mike Vallis, divisional director of Thorpe Park stated “It became apparent that something strange was going on when teams started clearing Storm Surge’s initial site. Staff reports of eerie goings on shot up and the only physical change in the park, at the time, was the beginning of ground preparation work for the new ride.”
Vallis explained that they decided to call in the experts to see if the unusual occurrences could be explained, but admitted that he had no idea how dramatic the findings would be.
Jim Arnold of South West London Paranormal who investigated the site explained that they carry out many tests such as the one at Thorpe Park every week and most come back with medium to weak results; however things were a little different at Thorpe Park.
He explained “The results were so strong, we felt the only explanation could be that an ancient burial ground or settlement was being disturbed, prompting the extra paranormal activity.”
The tests picked up strong Ouija reaction results, eerie images and ghostly orbs around the proposed building site, so the management called in forensic geologist Peter Masters from Cranfield University to further analyse the site using deep ground radar technology.
He confirmed “From the preliminary investigations, we have picked up signatures similar to that of a burial ground – possibly ancient.” Whilst he admitted this could possibly be just from an old building he confirmed that the investigation will continue at Thorpe Park. The world famous tourist attraction is due to reopen for the 2011 season on March 17th with Storm Surge one of their exciting new features for the coming summer season.
Facebook
Twitter
Email 
