'Spooked Scotland': Verdant Works - Episode 10 Review

Gail Porter and Chris Fleming bring their team together for one last time as they become the first paranormal group to investigate Dundee's infamous Verdant Works in the series finale of 'Spooked Scotland'.

Nearly 200 years ago, the works were one of the city's deadliest factories. Its owners were amongst the wealthiest in Europe, but their fortune was built on the exploitation of women and children as young as six in the name of profit. For the first time ever, the factory has opened its doors to a paranormal investigation.

The episode begins with Chris telling Gail what they should expect on their final outing of the series, "there's going to be an emotional negative imprint in this place, not only that, you're going to have some of the individuals that died who will be seeking revenge."

The pair are joined at the location, which is now a museum dedicated to Dundee's industrial past, by fellow team members Evelyn Hollow and Ryan O'Neill. Together, their task is to investigate the claims of paranormal activity, which includes the sound of phantom footsteps, sightings of a lady in grey clothing, apparitions of young children, child's handprints appear on surfaces around the building, and the unexplained sound of machinery powering away is heard in an otherwise empty factory.

Chris and Ryan started out by conducting a walk around in the oldest part of the factory, the High Mill, where straight away they heard a metallic machine-like sound. Chris said the sound that seemed to be moving around them despite the building being empty seemed "out of the ordinary." Moments later he became aware of the spirit of a little boy. Ryan used his Panasonic RR-DR60 audio recorder in an attempt to try to capture the sound of the spirit's voice.

Later in the Social History Gallery, they use a ghost hunting device called an Ovilus IV, which has a 'true or false' function. The belief is that spirits are able to affect the device in such away that they can make it flash up green to indicate 'true' or red for 'false' in response to the investigators' questions. The device seems to yield some answers and tells Chris and Ryan that they are dealing with a female spirit.

While Gail and Chris conducted a mini investigation of the nearby Mains Castle, which has links to the factory, Ryan and Evelyn have rigged the Verdant Works with ghost hunting gadgets, including some which should draw in child spirits. Then, after darkness had fallen outside, the team began their nightlong investigation.

They spring to action when they hear a voice above them and a REM-Pod that Ryan had placed upstairs beep. Talking about the device, Chris said, "there's a radiating electromagnetic field, so something has to pass through that to cause it to make the sound." After the REM-Pod triggered a second time, the team dropped some tempting sweets on the floor in the hopes of attracting the spirits.

Later, after Evelyn has an unsettling experience in the ladies' toilets, Gail goes in to investigate. But while alone in the bathroom, she finds one of the cubicles is mysteriously locked just as the lights suddenly fail on her resulting in her calling in the rest of the team for backup.

Towards the end of the investigation Gail and Chris return to the machine room in an attempt to contact the ghost of Bridgette, a little girl who lost her life while working in the mill. A little later as Gail leaves the machine room after communicating with the spirits that reside there, she said "I feel emotional, uncomfortable, I need to get out."

Once outside in the courtyard, Gail admitted that she hadn't liked the atmosphere in the machine room. She said, "it's horrifying to think of the lives children had here, the work was slave labour and many lost their lives in brutal accidents."

Chris ended his time at the factory by blessing the building and preying for the spirits in an attempt to help them move on. He said, "I want to give the lost souls here the opportunity to leave and be at peace." He summed up the last investigation of the series by saying, "I think and I believe that we brought them peace."