A Real Fairy in the Shadows: What We Caught on CCTV at The Brushmakers Arms, Upham, Hampshire
- Dr Iain M Lightfoot
- Sep 29
- 5 min read
It is said that when you lower your guard, the hidden world sometimes slips through. At the very end of our investigation at the Brushmakers Arms, while we were winding down, packing gear, and transferring video files, something extraordinary emerged. On three separate CCTV “Blink” indoor camera clips, footage we thought routine, there appeared a shape unlike anything we’d ever seen: small, winged, darting in the air, a wonderful creature that simply resembled that of a fairy.
The Moment of Discovery
It was during the small hours and we had moved to a separate room to review the night’s recordings. The downstairs atmosphere earlier had felt calm, almost inert, the kind of stillness you might expect in a quiet pub when staff have gone home. Yet upstairs and elsewhere the energy had been different: charged, alive, as if someone, or something, was watching.
We had even made a light-hearted attempt at connection. Over a break, we asked, half-joking, whether “they” would like a doughnut. The response was a soft “yes,” indicated by a now responding glowing catball, and so we left two in the box, hoping for some sign of interaction. (It’s one of those little rituals we sometimes try, offering a token, to see if something responds.)
Yet, when we downloaded and began scrutinising footage, three clips from the CCTV “Blink” unit (located in the downstairs pub area, toward the garden-facing side) revealed something astonishing: a small entity, glimmering, with a flight pattern that seemed deliberate. Neither of us in the room at the time had witnessed it live, it existed, for us, only in that video playback.
Over the next few days, we researched, slowed the footage, enhanced contrast, compared frame by frame. Nothing else matches that shape. There is no insect, no dust speck, no optical glitch. The motion, the silhouette, the flicker of wings: it looked, looks, unmistakably, like a fairy.
Between Garden, Well & Folklore & Real Fairy
The location is telling. The camera that caught the apparition is inside the pub, but oriented toward and near the garden entrance. The garden, by all accounts, is beautiful and serene: apple trees, flowering plants, a well, features that folklore has long associated with the liminal places fairies are said to prefer. Many traditions claim that wells and springs are thresholds to other realms, fairy wells, wishing wells, enchanted springs etc.
In British folklore, small floral fairies known as Pillywiggins are guardians of plants and blossoms. They’re described as tiny, winged, ephemeral, often invisible to humans unless the conditions are right. Could what we recorded be one such being?
Moreover, the Brushmakers Arms has its own haunted history. It has served many roles over six centuries, from private house to school, and even was used by Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War. It has ghosts already attached to it, the spirit of Mr Chickett, a former guest who is said to haunt a chamber above the pub. No legend I found in published sources specifically mentions fairies being seen at this site.
That said, the garden’s well, its trees, its quiet corners, these are exactly the sorts of spots where folklore often places the “good folk” of the 'otherworld'. Wells especially are often neutral or sacred in fairy myth, sometimes offering healing, sometimes hosting spirits.
Interpretation & Analysis
As an investigator, I must tread carefully because extraordinary claims demand strong evidence. Yet, in this case:
We have three independent clips showing the same or very similar shape (not a one-off glitch). We ALSO have a video of a similar creature at The Trooper Inn, different camera and slightly differing shape, yet VERY similar.
We slowed the footage and compared it to insects, dust motes, light artefacts and yet none matched the form or motion.
The path is not purely linear; it darts, loops, hovers and pushes off with its legs, motion that suggests intention, not randomness.
From a theoretical perspective, there are several possible explanations:
Elemental or Nature-Spirit Manifestation: a being tied to the garden, to the trees, and to the living flora.
Residual Energy with Sentient Overlay: the stone, wood, earth around the well or garden may have held some imprint, and under the right conditions the “fairy” energy manifests.
A Conscious, Independent Faery: a living being from a parallel (or overlapping) realm, choosing to manifest.
Unknown Optical / Quantum Anomaly: some distortion of light or unseen particles, creating a shape that only looks living, less likely with three videos showing differing flight patterns.
Given all the research and evidence, my leaning is toward a true fairy manifestation. This is not a trick of light, but something “fairy-like” asserting itself at the threshold between worlds. Some will question the footage, some will question my/our honesty, yet this clip appeared on the roll and has me stumped as to what creature it is. Now, I actually suggest that it appears to be a fairy.
Invitation to the Curious
If you’ve made it this far, then the mystery has spoken to you. What we captured at The Brushmakers Arms is not just another odd light on a screen, it is something that makes us pause and ask, what if the old stories are true?
We don’t ask you to blindly believe. Instead, we invite you to take part in the journey for yourself:
Read the wider investigation blog: it sets the scene, explains our methods, and shares other fascinating encounters from that night.
Watch the fairy footage: There are three separate clips, slowed and examined. Study them closely and decide with your own eyes - Please NOTE, videos are not currently available as they are with the wider news/media for release.
Visit The Brushmakers Arms: sit in the garden, wander toward the well, look to the apple trees. Perhaps you’ll sense the same energy that our cameras recorded.
Bring your own tools: a phone camera, a notebook, or even just your own senses. Keep your mind open, but stay grounded.
Try a simple offering: in folklore, fairies are often drawn to small gifts: a flower, a coin, a sip of milk. You never know what might answer.
Whether you’re a sceptic, a believer, or somewhere in between, the Brushmakers Arms is a place that encourages wonder.
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