I recently stayed in a disused church in the south west of England - Church Camping or Champing as it's affectionally known. You can find out more at champing.co.uk but in short it's a way of raising money to fund the maintenance of these buildings.
It was a fairly cordial event really, a camp bed was provided along with a kettle and some hot drinks and candles. The bed was by a large leaded window and hd a row of candles on the sill. I decided before I got there that I might do some recording while I was there, and what better to record than Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven?
I arrived in the mid afternoon and parked up adjacent to the church. I settled in and took the dog for a walk, and by 7.30pm it was getting dark. By 8pm it was pretty much pitch black in the church. I set up my mic and recorder and recited the poem, and shortly after, the heavens opened - that was probably the best bit, the sound of wind, rain and distant thunder while lurking quietly in an ancient church with just my dog Captain for company!
I literally slept on someone's grave... |
Below is a the audio recording and below that is a video I also made while there.