SA ghost hunters visit ‘haunted’ Val Hotel in Mpumalanga

Allegedly, there was definitely some paranormal activity at the Val Hotel, but the team from Phoenix Paranormal SA will have to comb through their footage to determine exactly what this “activity” was.

This professional ghost hunting team, situated in Pretoria, was invited to Val by Rita Britz, owner of the quaint hotel, reports Standerton Advertiser.

“I have heard several stories of apparitions in the area, and some incidents. Several stories were of an old man in one of the rooms,” Britz said.

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A restaurant employee told Standerton Advertiser that he saw a photo taken at a nearby tree and shrub.

“A patron took the photo of her friends, and when it was printed, an extra face appeared on the photo. She came to show us,” he said.

Arno du Toit and Charmaine Roos led the excursion to Val. They established Phoenix Paranormal South Africa in 2014, and their group has since grown significantly.

Rita Britz from Val Hotel (middle) welcomes the ghost hunting team from Phoenix Paranormal SA, Stefan Gouw, Chantelle Paton, Charmaine Roos and Arno du Toit.

The team uses high-end electrical equipment to capture evidence of the unknown, and only after they have eliminated all logical explanations, will they consider the paranormal.

All their findings are posted as videos on their YouTube channel.

“We are extremely excited about the evening ahead. This area is almost like unexplored territory,” said Du Toit on Saturday afternoon.

They first took drone footage of the small town, which is basically just a hotel and police station, and recorded interesting historical facts of the area.

A view of the small town the Val Hotel is situated in. Image: Val Hotel website

“Our missions are mostly two-fold: we inform our followers of the historical relevance of the place we visit, and then we also look into the paranormal,” explained Du Toit.

The four team members who visited Val on Saturday were excited to be the only guests at the hotel that night, the ideal time to embark on their investigations.

Roos told Standerton Advertiser on Monday that they did pick up on activities here and there, but that they would have to comb through much data before they would make their findings known.

A video of their visit to Val will be aired in about a month.

Readers can visit their Facebook page at Phoenix Paranormal SA or their website.

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