A PAIR of Pontypool teenagers are becoming internet sensations after filming their unusual hobby – as ghost hunters.
Jack Strange, 19, and Laura Dixon, 18, started their channel Jack and Laura Ghost Series back in 2010, and since then they have gone on to write regularly for paranormal magazines about their experiences while filming.
They visit haunted locations around Gwent, and film their investigations for an online series on YouTube. Their newest episode sees them exploring Monmouth’s Shire Hall, which dates back to 1724.
Jack, from Penygarn, and Laura, from New Inn, met in year eight, when they were both pupils at West Monmouth school in Pontypool.
Jack said: “One day we were outside on break, and we started talking about tv programmes like Most Haunted and realised we both had an interest in it, and decided it was something we would like to do ourselves.”
The first time the pair went ghost hunting was in some woods in Pontypool, where Jack had heard there used to be hangings.
“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Jack said. “But when we looked back at the footage we could see things moving in the trees, shadowy figures and stuff.”
The pair film on a hand held camera and have recently upgraded to a top of the range version for better footage.
Apart from that, they don’t use much equipment apart from the occasional ouIja board, although Laura wants them to start using a 'spirit box', which records voices from beyond the grave.
Jack said their scariest experience was when the went to stay at the Skirrid Inn in Llanviangel Crucorney, just outside of Abergavenny, and reputedly Wales’ oldest and most haunted pub.
Jack said: “There’s a room where apparently the prisoners used to stay. We took a Ouija board in there, turned off the lights and straight away we heard this loud, massive groan. It sounded like a man and he was right next to us. It was very scary.”
They have also filmed in the grounds of Tredegar House and at a derelict house in Caerleon.
Jack added: “It’s mainly been in Gwent because neither of us can drive.
“People seem to enjoy our films- they get a good reaction from people on Twitter and our Youtube channel, particularly from other paranormal fans.”
The pair hope one day to turn their hobby into a full time profession.
“We would like to do it as a career,” Jack said. “It just a matter of figuring out how we can go about it.”
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