A ghost hunter broke down when he picked up the ghost of Princess Diana at the home of her former butler, Paul Burrell.
Ian Lawman, an ‘ordained exorcist’ and medium, visited Paul’s home in Cheshire in the first episode of the new series of paranormal reality show Celebrity Help! My house is haunted.
He was moved to tears when he realized whose house he was in after seeing a photo of Paul and his husband Graham on the table.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Ian, who revealed he ‘used to read for Princess Diana’, suggested her ghost visits Paul’s house.
Through tears he said, “She’s in this house, she’s here. She’s here! She’s trying to send a message to Paul!’
Recalling his own relationship with the late Princess, Ian revealed the last time he spoke to her.
Paul Burrell was Princess Diana’s butler. He invited the Celebrity Help! The My House Is Haunted team heads to his farm in Cheshire to help sort out a range of strange noises and sightings
Paul worked for Diana for ten years until her death in 1997 and said the late princess was particularly attuned to the world of the paranormal.
“We were in contact two months before her death,” he said. “She had a great relationship with Paul.”
Earlier in the episode, Ian admitted he felt a rush of emotions when he entered the house.
“The emotion just came to me as soon as I walked into this house,” he said. “I know I haven’t been here before, but there’s just a certain familiarity that drives me crazy.”
He added: “I feel so emotional. There’s a female here; I feel her energy is everywhere in this house.”
Although Paul has always been skeptical about paranormal activity, the events in his home over the past decade have completely changed his mind – and he is now convinced that a ghost roams the halls of his farm.
“There’s a ghost in my house and I’d like to know who it is,” says Paul. “This mold has always been in this house for as long as I can remember.”
Paul shared some of the terrifying, unexplained incidents that have plagued him and his husband Graham over the years.
‘My husband woke up at three in the morning, sat up in bed and shouted, ‘There’s someone in the room, there’s someone in the room!’ I see someone at the foot of the bed!’ explained.
‘When I wake up, I sit up and see a shape or something; I was seriously thinking about a shotgun or a baseball bat. Because we’re in the middle of nowhere and no one would hear us scream.”
Paul believes that the levels of paranormal activity in his home have increased over time and is reminded that Princess Diana was particularly attuned to the world of the paranormal.
“I learned from Princess Diana a long time ago that there is something there, and she was a huge supporter,” he said. “I think a little bit of that rubbed off on me.”
Paul admitted that he and his husband Graham have also witnessed other strange phenomena in the house.
“We smell tobacco smoke in this house,” he began. ‘We both regularly hear noises in the upstairs bedroom. Every now and then we hear a thud; there’s no one else in the house.’
Searching for answers, Paul has often wondered if the late princess was trying to contact him, and if her ghost occasionally visits his home.
“I think if anyone could come back, it would be the princess. And if she wanted to tell me something, I think my princess would come to me.”
Later in the episode, Ian gathered together paranormal investigator Barri Ghai, paranormal investigator, psychologist and historian Jayne Harris and Paul himself.
Ian began, “I came into this room and saw your picture, I picked it up and I broke down.”
“Lady Diana was a client of mine, and that was the connection I had here and I want you to know that she is coming to see you.”
Almost wordlessly, Paul replied: ‘I didn’t know that. She is always with me. In my dreams she is always there.’
The team then attempted to communicate with the late Princess, along with the other ghosts Ian discovered in Paul’s house.
In a spirit triggers session, where the team captured and projected spirit voices, Paul attempted to make contact.
‘Hello Hello!’ he shouts. ‘It’s me. Are you watching over me?’
Among the static, the team heard an audible “…I’m here…” and “…sorry…”
Paul shook his head in disbelief and said, “You don’t have to be sorry.”
He then asks, “Did you send Graham to me?”
After a short delay, the team heard another response. ‘…It is possible…’
Sensing something akin to the late Princess Diana’s playful side, Paul joked, “You’re teasing me!”
Later, when the team reunited, Burrell said, “I felt like I was close to the princess and you brought her closer to me.”
Smiling, he added, “It also felt like I took her with me when I left you.”
The team then played another recording for Paul that they had not picked up during the spirit triggers session.
At this point, paranormal investigator Barri asked Paul if he could identify the word in the recording.
Paul has difficulty with it and Barri added: ‘It sounded like a very sweet female voice.’
Ian then continued, “It sounded like France.”
Although confused at first, Paul noted that the princess died in France and he was going there to bring her back.
According to Barri, the recording indicated “validation.” From there, Paul put two and two together – the words ‘sorry’ and ‘France’ – and concluded that the late princess apologized for taking him across the Channel.
- Celebrity help! My House Is Haunted is now available to stream on Discovery+