Mysterious Torbay: Unexplained happenings in Oldway Mansion

Oldway Mansion, home to unexplained happenings

Oldway Mansion, home to unexplained happenings - Credit: Archant

One of the most impressive buildings in Paignton is Oldway Mansion, which was once the home of the Singer family.

It is a Grade II listed building, built in the French style with a grand marble staircase and a beautifully painted ceiling which was based on a design from the Palace of Versailles.

Over the years it has seen many changes of use and many visitors have passed through its doors.

Ghostly figures have been seen in the grounds and more than one person has said they have heard someone calling to them while standing on the grand staircase, when there was no-one else around.

Many years ago, Hidden Realms Paranormal Team held an open night for the public to come and join in with an investigation of the building. It was held at nighttime and people were split into small groups and situated in different areas within the building.

A strange thing happened to the group who were standing at the bottom of the staircase. A coin was thrown down at them from the painted ceiling. It bounced down onto the steps next to the group.

Among the group was a person who was a sceptic, but who admitted that he happened to be looking up at the ceiling when the coin suddenly appeared. It was a modern coin, a 20p piece.

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The main lift was locked down on the ground floor, as was the custom at that time, during the night. I was setting equipment up with a group on the upper floor when we heard the lift begin to ascend.

It was slightly unnerving because we knew the lift should not have been able to move and there was no-one from any of the groups on the ground floor.

We waited nervously for the lift to stop, which it did. The doors slowly began to open. What or who would be inside? The answer was... nothing, no-one was in there... that we could see.

What or who pressed the button inside the lift was a mystery.

A photograph was released on social media some time ago, which appeared to show a figure stood in one of the upper windows at the front of the building, when it was thought that it was empty.

A great deal of interest was shown, but it turned out to be a real person, innocently patrolling the building, not, disappointingly, a ghostly inhabitant.