Woman who explores abandoned buildings reveals the spooky photo she took of a ‘nun’ in a derelict convent

Rebecca Brownlie has explored a range of abandoned locations and ruins over the years, and enjoys documenting her adventures through photography.

But there is one spooky encounter that’s particularly memorable for the photographer, from County Down.

Rebecca exclusively tells the Daily Mail about her visit to a derelict convent in Derry.

The explorer and her friend were the only people inside the building which they entered with permission from security.

The convent was spread across five floors but was completely stripped of any furnishings. 

Rebecca entered what seemed to be a canteen on the third level and recalls how she ‘walked out again because there was nothing in it, and there was only one door in and out’. 

‘I walked out of the door and walked down the corridor,’ she describes. ‘There’s a bannister to my left with a staircase and I point towards the door of the canteen, so there’s a glass panel on it.’

Rebecca recalls how she took a photograph of the door and steps towards the right to take another. 

Rebecca Brownlie has explored a range of abandoned locations and ruins over the years and enjoys documenting her adventures through photography

Rebecca exclusively tells the Daily Mail about her visit to a derelict convent in Derry. ‘In the second photograph [RIGHT], there’s a profile of what appeared to be a nun in the glass door, and you can actually see the curtain has moved in it as well,’ she says

‘I go home and look at those two photographs and notice in the second photograph, there’s a profile of what appeared to be a nun in the glass door, and you can actually see the curtain has moved in it as well,’ she says.

‘If I had seen that at the time, I would have been out the window. It’s a very compelling photograph, because I know 100% no one else was there and it’s not a trick of the light.’

Rebecca describes how in the peculiar photo it’s possible to see the nun’s habit and the ‘outline of her nose’. ‘It’s incredible,’ Rebecca adds.

The photographer says she has experienced a ‘few’ paranormal encounters during her 15 years exploring abandoned properties.

Another incident happened at Shane’s Castle, which featured in season one of Game Of Thrones. 

She was working on a paranormal investigation in the tunnels underneath the castle when the explorer came across something out of the ordinary. 

‘The tunnel is quite long and it has archways, like alcoves, all the way down it,’ Rebecca recalls.

‘So they would have stored grain and stuff like that back in the day.’

‘It’s a very compelling photograph, because I know 100% no one else was there and it’s not a trick of the light,’ she adds 

Down towards the end of the tunnels, which Rebecca thinks were 25 to 30 feet long, small windows could be seen and were letting ‘some natural light’ through. 

At one point, Rebecca’s group was all facing one end of the tunnel when she decided to look behind them.

‘We were all in the middle of the tunnel and everyone was looking at one direction, so I decided to turn the other way and look,’ she says. 

But the explorer was in for a spooky surprise.

‘As I did that, a head and shoulders came out of one of the alcoves, broke the natural light of that window and looked at me and back in again,’ Rebecca describes. 

‘There was no outline of a face on him because it was dark, but I could see a clear head and shoulders, looking, and then pulled back in.’

But Rebecca wasn’t shaken by the ghostly figure. Instead she felt ‘validated’.

She explains, ‘I wasn’t afraid. It was validation for me. I can’t explain what I’ve just seen there, but what is that? 

The photographer says she has experienced a ‘few’ paranormal encounters during her 15 years exploring abandoned properties

Another incident happened at Shane’s Castle, which featured in season one of Game Of Thrones, where she saw the ‘head and shoulders’ of a ghostly figure peeping out at her

‘There’s definitely something. I don’t know what it is, but there is something out there.’

The explorer says she has never felt unsafe when exploring, but recognises there are some dangers to consider. 

Derelict buildings ‘could collapse,’ she says, and there’s a risk of finding people living in properties located in cities.

‘Just keep your wits about you,’ Rebecca adds. ‘I’m not taking silly risks just for photographs. I wouldn’t go across a floor that dodgy, I wouldn’t risk it.’

Some abandoned buildings are left untouched with many of the original owner’s items, including photographs and family heirlooms, still inside.

‘I always feel really sad about photographs, especially wedding photographs and baby photographs,’ Rebecca shares.

‘Why has there been no one in the family line that felt that they should take those photographs to remember?’

Little ornaments in cabinets also pull at Rebecca’s heartstrings, and she describes the sadness she feels seeing what was once ‘someone’s pride and joy’ be left behind.

Some abandoned buildings are left untouched with many of the original owner’s items, including photographs and family heirlooms, still inside

Rebecca has published two books about her adventures, Abandoned Ireland Vol 1 & 2, and even hit screens with her adventures on BBC’s Abandoned Ulster and doesn’t plan to stop exploring. 

She’s particularly desperate to venture into HM Prison Maze, located in Northern Ireland, as it housed political prisoners during the Troubles between 1971 and 2000.

‘You have to get permission to get into that, so I have been trying to get permission for years to get in,’ Rebecca finishes.

‘I think that’s an important one, especially for our history, for the Troubles, to document, so I’m waiting patiently.’