How Twinvestigate Are Proving That Fun & Serious Ghost Hunting Can Coexist
"Don't underestimate Twinvestigate."
That's the message from the all-female ghost hunting team, who might be wearing pink, but they're serious about what they do. The team is on a mission to inject some fun and acceptance into the paranormal world with their energetic and colourful approach to ghost hunting.
I spoke to the four investigators while they were shooting a YouTube Halloween special for their subscribers at the infamous 30 East Drive in Pontefract, a house that was once said to be home to the most violent poltergeist case in Europe.
On a cold October evening, Emma Louise Thornton, Sarah Jane Ainsworth, Adi Brookes, and Toni Corrigan were securely locked inside number 30, which is perhaps only a little safer than the dark estate outside. Dressed in pink, the girls were huddled around a phone in the eerie living room of the house, a dated-looking room that's stuck in the past.
The problem with conducting an interview in an allegedly haunted house is the risk of ghostly interruptions. In fact, we'd barely said hello when the first such distraction occurred in the form of an unexplained noise heard by one of the girls. I glanced at my phone, we were just 30 seconds in.
Once they'd settled down from the excitement of what might have been potential poltergeist activity, I put my tongue firmly in my cheek and asked the team how they met, knowing full well that Emma and Sarah are biological twins, but in fact, all four have a connection to twinship. Toni is a Gemini, and Adi had a twin who sadly didn't survive. This connection inspired their team name. Emma said, "We played around with the word 'twin' and came up with 'Twinvestigate.' It just fit."
Sarah began telling me what Twinvestigate is all about. "It snowballed into what it is today," she enthusiastically told me. "We thrive off our feminine energy, and we think that being female has an impact on the way that we investigate and the sort of evidence that we get. We have fun, we're upbeat."
Sarah stopped mid-sentence as the other girls around her gasped. Emma asked, "Did you hear that?" I wasn't sure if she was asking me or the other ghost hunters, so I kept quiet and listened. The four of them had heard a faint knock, this time coming from upstairs. I hadn't noticed the sound over the phone.
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"We know the paranormal can be quite a dark and dingy place at times."
Sarah Jane Ainsworth
Regaining focus, Sarah continued, "We know the paranormal can be quite a dark and dingy place at times, and we're just trying to bring light to that. We're also encouraging more women into the paranormal, especially young women, so they won't be intimidated by the current industry."
It's no secret that the paranormal field is male-dominated. In fact, psychic medium Michelle Belanger was told by a television network that their "audience does not find women intellectually credible." Michelle, has appeared in several US series alongside Katrina Weidman, who has also spoken out about how women in the paranormal field aren't fairly represented by the media and on TV.
I was curious whether Twinvestigate faced similar issues here in the UK. Sarah said, "Yeah, I think we do. Even before we wore the pink, we got a lot of comments because it's quite a male-dominated field. We know that men and women have different approaches to investigations - women are a bit more holistic, men are more analytical. But we embrace that difference."
One misconception they often find themselves tackling relates to their vibrant personalities and colourful pink outfits, which might make them seem less serious to some, but the team insists this isn't the case. Adi explained, "We've got to have that element of fun. We are sitting in dark rooms where sometimes things don't happen, so we keep our energies up in some way. But we take it seriously too."
Another noise interrupted us, this time louder. The girls went silent as they listened for more. Eventually Emma said, "Sorry, we just heard another noise coming from the bedroom." She picked up, "Our message is that it doesn't have to be so serious to be doing something serious. We're invested, but we're having fun too."
It's clear that the team's lightheartedness isn't just for show. Toni added, "We always say the spirits use our energies, and if we're sat there in the dark with no energy, what are they going to use? So, the more upbeat we are, the more we're giving the spirits something to work with."
As if on cue, there was another noise, this time coming from the direction of the fireplace. "What was that? In the fireplace?" Emma asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and surprise.
Despite the odd interruptions, the interview continued. I wanted to know more about their dynamic as a team. Emma explained, "We all bring different things. I'm the producer, editor type. Sarah is more of the cheerleader, the dominant one in front of the camera. Adi's the spiritual one, and Toni is the observer, always noticing things the rest of us might miss."
Over the past year, the team has grown significantly in the paranormal community, doubling their social media following and capturing some of their best evidence yet. One of their proudest moments occurred at Keighley, while Adi was recording footage used for cutaways. She said, "I was just taking B-roll footage, and we captured what we believe to be a shadow figure. We've tried debunking it, but we can't explain it."
Emma agreed, "That's probably our best capture yet. It could be lens flare, but we debated this. Tried to go over again, debunk it." Adi explains, "I've gone back and tried to recapture it. I sat in the same position with the same camera, asked Emma to reposition the lighting, and tried to recreate the entire scenario with nobody moving at all, and the lens flare was completely different to what we actually captured. It was a full-on figure, and it walks and then disappears."
Another memorable moment for the team happened on a previous visit to 30 East Drive itself. Sarah recalled, "Last time we were here, we heard movement in the kitchen. It sounded like drawers clanging, but when we went to investigate, the room was empty. It was one of those moments that you can't forget."
Twinvestigate is also behind the popular Paraunity Facebook group, which has quickly become a hub for paranormal teams and enthusiasts to share content and support one another in a non-toxic environment. The group was born out of frustration with the negativity often seen in the paranormal community. Emma explained, "I was sick to death of seeing people moan about other people's content or telling them, 'You shouldn't be sharing this, it's rubbish.' I thought, why isn't there somewhere people can just share their content and get supportive feedback, even if others don't agree with them?"
Since launching the group just six months ago, it has grown rapidly. "We had 3,000 likes in about two months," Sarah shared, adding that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. "Everyone seems to have a laugh, make friends, and support one another's teams. It's created such a nice, inclusive space for the paranormal community."
The group has even helped form real-world connections, as Emma recalled, "We met people at Paracon that we'd known online through the group for a long time, and when we finally met in person, it was like we already knew each other. That's the kind of community we wanted to build."
As the strange noises continued at East Drive, I thought it was best to let the girls go. Clearly they have investigating to do. As we wrapped up, they reflected on their mission. "We want to encourage the next generation, especially young women, to get involved in the paranormal," Sarah said. "It doesn't have to be toxic. Everyone's paranormal is different, and that's okay."
If the knocks and bangs during our chat are anything to go by, then the team's two nights at 30 East Drive are going to be worth a watch when it premieres on their YouTube channel over Halloween. You can also join the conversation and support other paranormal teams by following their Paraunity Facebook group, and stay up to date with Twinvestigate's latest content and behind-the-scenes insights on their official Facebook page.
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