I Went Ghost Hunting at Delapre Abbey with the Most Haunted Team

Delapré Abbey is said to be one of the most haunted locations in Northamptonshire. I had the chance to spend the evening ghost hunting inside the historic mansion to see whether the stories were true. Here’s what it was really like exploring this eerie location after dark.

Most Haunted is probably one of the first shows that fascinated me with the paranormal. I’d read many books about ghosts when I was younger, but it was only when I saw the show that I realised spooky encounters aren’t always myth. I soon discovered that you could look for them yourself and that things like ghost hunts actually existed.

I have very fond memories of watching Most Haunted with my mum growing up. We always talked about how one day we’d attend a live show together. Therefore, I think she would be so proud if she knew I finally managed to do so!

In recent years, Most Haunted has made a complete comeback with new episodes and new content now airing on YouTube rather than TV and the introduction of their own experience events. Members of the public can now join the team on various ghost hunts and events around the UK. A team trained by Most Haunted runs these events – and there are many celebrity events featuring Yvette, Carl and the rest of the team we know from TV too.

Full disclosure: I attended this event for free, as I was taking part in a trial run to join the Most Haunted Experience team. This meant I attended my evening ghost hunting at Delapre Abbey as part-guest, part-team member.

The History of Delapre Abbey

Delapré Abbey is a neo-classical mansion in Northampton, with the mansion and outbuilding incorporating remains of a former monastery. The mansion boasts over 900 years of exciting history. In fact, part of the Battle of Northampton took place on the abbey’s grounds back in the 15th century.

Delapré Abbey is open all year round as a beautiful place to explore or take part in events like discovery days, Christmas wreath making and more.

The building itself – and the gardens – are really beautiful and like many spooky places I visit, offers a totally different atmosphere during the day. Ghost hunts aside – I’d recommend Delapré Abbey for a great day out.

But what about the supposed hauntings of Delapré Abbey?

Most Haunted actually has an episode that covers their first visit, ghost hunting at Delapre Abbey in 2014, which is definitely worth watching. I was also told by the team that there has been lots of activity during previous experiences at the location.

The former monastery has had reports of ghostly nuns and World War Two soldiers being spotted within the abbey – as well as the famous Blue Lady. People have also claimed to see a black dog roaming the grounds.

Ghost Hunting at Delapre Abbey: My Experience

My experience was a little different as I was a team member, which meant I couldn’t take part in any of the investigations like table tipping or Ouija boards. Instead, I was there to encourage (and help) guests to take part. This meant we could not be accused of faking any of the investigations for example. But I was able to assist the guests and call out to any spirits.

We began our investigation in the second-floor library, where I assisted four guests taking part in an Ouija board. Another member of the Most Haunted team showed us how to safely open and close the connection, and immediately, we had a spirit come through: the father of one of the guests.

I had spoken to this guest earlier on in the evening who explained that this happened quite often: her Dad’s ashes had been spread on the grounds after he passed and that he comes through every time without fail – often not allowing other spirits to communicate!

This was certainly interesting, watching as messages appeared upon the board. Once some other guests had a go however, the activity seemed to die down.

In this room, we also saw light up cat balls light up by themselves (a piece of equipment that will not light up unless lightly touched by someone).

The library by day!

We then headed down to the incredibly atmospheric cellars, where we noticed more experiences with the light up balls. We placed them in a line in the doorway and watched as the first lit up and then the second..but despite our best efforts/encouragement, the one closest to the guests did not. Perhaps this spirit of a soldier was just too shy!

Before we took a mid-evening break, we made our way into the Archivist’s Office. Here, I had my own experience where I kept getting the strongest whiff of powerful perfume in one particular spot. However, my boyfriend and I went back to the abbey recently to take some photos for this blog post (as I live nearby) and we both experienced the same thing as soon as we walked into the room.

It’s clear that a certain smell or perfume is pumped into this particular room (which is standard for places like this). I just wanted to be transparent about the fact that something I thought may have been slightly supernatural at the time turned out not to be with some further research!

That being said, it doesn’t quite explain why the scent was still lingering after dark in that one particular spot..but I’ll let you all make up your own mind about that!

We then took a short break with tea and snacks provided by the team. I took this chance to catch up with the other group, where I heard they’d experienced loud scratching noises..in the room with a mummified cat. Nikki, one of the team members, had also returned to find every single window in her car opened and rolled down without any explanation. Apparently, this has only happened to her when she attends investigations!

Sadly, our team didn’t have much activity when we investigated the room with the mummified cat. But we did hear loud knocks coming from the hallway – so we decided to investigate in the next room over. We had full access to the building more or less. Although we had a plan of what rooms to investigate, we were able to explore other areas too.

In this room, we saw a rocking cradle move ever so slightly by itself. I also think I saw the tag hanging off it move quite a bit. But for the sake of honesty, it may have been the dark playing tricks on my eyes.

Our final investigation took part in the cold and eerie nuns’ corridor. Here, team member Tina played some monk/hymn music – which admittedly amped up the atmosphere a little! But once the music stopped, we all experienced a little activity.

Heather and another lady felt cold and strong breath down the back of their necks, stood right beside me. I felt a cold gust of something edge past me repeatedly too. Though the room was chilly, it did not feel like wind to me.

Down the other end of the short corridor, other guests experienced growling right behind them. One lady heard it so clearly in her ear that she ran out of the room in tears/fear! It definitely put me on edge.

That’s more or less the activity our group experienced! Overall, it was a great night. Though the activity was relevantly quiet when compared to previous investigations there, we still had some interesting experiences.

What Happens During a Ghost Hunt at DelapreAbbey?

During the event, the investigation was led by the Most Haunted Experience team, who guided guests through a series of paranormal experiments throughout the night. As I attended the event partly as a guest and partly as part of the team, I also got to see first hand how the investigations were run. During the evening, we took part in experiments like EVP sessions, table tipping, and exploring some of the abbey’s darker rooms in complete darkness.

I thought the team were fantastic. They were incredibly friendly, welcoming, and clearly very knowledgeable about paranormal investigations.

I loved how professional they were. Each investigation was carefully led, but guests were always encouraged to take part. The team explained that ultimately it’s the guests’ night – they’re there to help people experience things for themselves.

There were also clear rules in place for things like table tipping or Ouija boards. During these sessions, the team would step away so guests could see that nothing was being manipulated or faked.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to a lovely lady called Heather, who works at Delapré Abbey. She joined the event after experiencing her own paranormal activity while working there, and she shared some fascinating stories about the abbey throughout the evening!

Spooky Events at Delapre Abbey

As well as hosting ghost hunting events with teams like Most Haunted Experience, Delapré Abbey now runs a range of its own spooky events throughout the year.

These include seasonal ghost hunts, paranormal investigations, and themed Halloween events where visitors can explore the historic abbey after dark. For anyone interested in the paranormal, it’s a fantastic opportunity to experience one of Northamptonshire’s most haunted locations for themselves.

Because events change regularly, it’s worth checking the abbey’s website to see what’s coming up next.

Final Thoughts from a Morbid Tourist

I would absolutely recommend booking onto a Most Haunted experience. Not only is there that really fun element of being able to ‘ghost hunt’ with the amazing team that is Most Haunted, but the evening is just really eye-opening and exciting too.

Ghost hunting at Delapré Abbey was such a fun experience. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, spending the evening exploring this historic abbey in the dark is something you won’t forget.

Would you ever book a ghost hunt with Most Haunted? Or try ghost hunting at Delapre Abbey? Let me know with a comment below!

Official Most Haunted Experience
www.mosthauntedexperience.com
Tickets from £40 per person

Delapré Abbey
www.delapreabbey.org
Delapré Abbey, London Rd, Northampton NN4 8AW
£8.00 per adult (visiting normally. Not on a Most Haunted experience!)

There are toilets on-site and a free parking. There’s also a café and gift shop, plus an adorable second-hand book shop.