‘We have a demonic doll called Esther’: Kymmi Jeffrey & the Occult Family, ghost hunters

I was always a sceptic when it came to anything paranormal, especially with ghosts. But my husband, JP, who has long been a believer, decided to take me to a haunted sleepover for my birthday in 2022. I captured an image of pink energy that, after enhancing it back at home, revealed a little girl. I was absolutely wowed.

It was really moreish; so much so that after going to a few more events, we set up our own company. I never thought I’d be on this journey. I’m a psychotherapist and am putting my name as a professional to this, but only because it’s real.

At first, it was just JP and me. But, after a while, we visited the Four Crosses in Cannock, a haunted inn, as a family, with my daughters, Snow and Pebble. On the way home, Snow asked how many people were in the building with us. I told her it was just us, but she described a man with ragged clothes, a soldier staring at her and a lady holding a little girl’s hand. We never Google the buildings before a hunt to avoid the power of suggestion, but we searched it afterwards and her sightings matched up.

I was absolutely ecstatic. I also apologised to her as I realised the imaginary friends she saw as a child, that I had long dismissed, were actually real. That’s when we started to come together as a family and travel across the country.

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‘People want reassurance that they’re not mad’: Deborah Hatswell, Bigfoot tracker

It was May 1982, I was 15 and bunking off school with a friend. We were playing in Buile Hill Park in Salford and I saw this movement in the corner of my eye. This thing leant out from the bushes. It was like an ape and a man had been pushed together. It had thick brows, looked Neanderthal and it was awful. I ran.

I began to collect clippings and put ads in papers across the UK to try to find other witnesses. I uncovered old articles reporting on Bigfoot in Britain; since the second century people have reported a hairy man in the woods. I started to look for evidence myself. For years, I worked in the shadows. Then, in 2006, I had an accident that left me disabled. I set up Being Believed Research to hear other people’s stories, but also to help with investigations.

When a report comes in, we liaise with local researchers across the UK, who meet witnesses and gather information. Sometimes, we look for footprints and hair samples. My work is word of mouth. Often, people think: “Right, I’m going to phone Deb. She’ll know something.”