Earthbound Paranormal share their passion for ghost hunting, from eerie prisons to a chilling full-body apparition at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool
Meet Helen Barrett and Simon Blake, the Oxfordshire-based duo behind Earthbound Paranormal — a ghost-hunting team driven by personal experiences and a deep curiosity about the unknown.
Both began seeing spirits at an early age, and after crossing paths in 2022, they’ve since explored some of the UK’s most haunted locations together.
With a hands-on, open-minded approach and a passion for uncovering the truth behind paranormal activity, their investigations blend instinct, equipment, and a strong connection to the spirit world.
Interview with Earthbound Paranormal
How did each of you first become interested in the paranormal?
Both of us, from a very early age, have been able to see spirits in full-body form. So we always knew it was something we wanted to explore further.
How long have you been investigating together, and when did you start calling yourselves Earthbound Paranormal?
We met about three years ago, in October 2022, and quickly realised we both wanted to do investigations. After visiting different venues with various teams, we decided to create our own name. A lot of groups only like to do team collaborations, but it’s nice to be with like-minded people under our own identity.
What inspired the name Earthbound Paranormal — does it have a particular meaning for you?
We thought of loads of different names, but chose Earthbound Paranormal because so many spirits are earthbound and haven’t moved on. It just felt right.
What kinds of places have you investigated so far?
We’ve been to quite a few places. Our first investigation was at Shrewsbury Prison with the Most Haunted team. It wasn’t the best night, but we carried on.
Since then, we’ve been to Gloucester Prison, the Old Prison in Northleach, Oxford Castle, Hell Fire Caves, the Glass Museum in Stourbridge, Bucks Museum, the Old School Museum in Hitchin, the Nunnery in Malvern, Guys Cliffe and St John’s House in Warwick, Winter Gardens in Blackpool, Bodmin Gaol, the Haunted Antiques Centre in Hinckley, Ancient Ram, Tudor World, Judges’ Lodging, the Weird Shop, Ashbourne Hall and Ramsey Rural Museum.
There are more, but we can’t remember them all!
Do you have any favourite or most memorable locations?
The best location we’ve been to was definitely Winter Gardens in Blackpool. What a place — so much history. We both saw a full apparition of a lady.
At first, we thought she was a staff member, but we quickly realised that couldn’t be the case because the door she came from is permanently locked. We went back to see if we could make contact again, but the only door we could use was locked.
Later we found out that this particular door has no key and can’t be locked. It felt like the spirit didn’t want us back in that room. We’d love to return.
Do you follow any particular philosophy or set of rules when carrying out your investigations?
When we go to a venue, we approach it with an open mind. We don’t do any research beforehand.
What has been your best or most striking experience during an investigation?
The best experience was at Winter Gardens, where we saw a full apparition. Nothing else has come close to that moment.
Tell us about more about that experience.
We were sat in a side room bar just off the Empress Ballroom, with a staircase behind us. We were doing a Ouija board session and started talking to the spirit of an eight-year-old boy. He told us he visits regularly to watch the shows. Later, we found out he was buried in the church opposite the Winter Gardens.
While we were sitting there, we both saw a lady walk down the stairs behind us. At the time, we didn’t think much of it — we just assumed she was staff or another investigator.
It wasn’t until we saw her walk over to the bar and then completely vanish that we realised something wasn’t right.
We got up straight away to have a look, but she would have had to come back past us to leave — and she never did. She was wearing a white top and a dark skirt. We don’t remember looking at her face, she just looked straight ahead and walked normally.
We checked with the team if any staff had come through and were told all the staff had already gone home. They also told us the door she came from is never used and is kept locked.
We went to check the only door that leads into the side room, and it was locked.
After that, we sat in the Empress Ballroom and spoke out loud, hoping to make more contact. I caught a light on the floor that moved right across to Simon.
The next day, we went back and spoke to a staff member. She told us again that the door we saw the lady use is never in use. She also said the side doors we had used are never locked.
Then she told us something interesting — we’re not the first ones to have seen this same lady in that room.
So we’ll definitely be going back.
What kind of equipment do you use on your investigations?
We try to talk to spirits and see if we get any knocks or bangs. We use cat balls, bells, laser pens, temperature sensors, REM pods, a REM pod teddy, K2 metres and motion detectors.
When we’re out with our favourite team, SGP Paranormal, they bring even more kit. We also do table tipping, Ouija boards and spirit writing. It’s amazing chatting to spirits and finding out names, ages and years. But we don’t always get activity.
Do you personally believe in ghosts — and if not, how do you interpret what people call “paranormal activity”?
We both believe in ghosts. But what some people call paranormal isn’t always what it seems. We always try to debunk things first — to figure out what might be making the noise or causing a shadow.
Is there a dream location you’d love to investigate in the future?
The Edinburgh Vaults. That’s definitely at the top of our list.
