‘Traitors’ star is faithful to the supernormal

Romford, Essex-based builder Adam Waughman is co-founder of the investigation team Paranormal Essex.

When viewers saw him using dowsing rods in the shadowy corridors of Ardross Castle, commentators said he “stole the show.”

Before entering the competition, Adam was open about his fascination with the supernormal and his hope that Ardross Castle might be an “active” site.

“I’m an enthusiastic ghost hunter so I’d love to get into that castle and see if it’s haunted,” he said.

In an Instagram post, Adam added that he would like the show’s host Claudia Winkleman (seen above) to join him in investigating the castle.

“So now I can tell you that one of the reasons why I went to the castle was to find out if it is haunted,” he wrote.

“I’d read so many stories and was eager to get in there. I’m hoping that Claudia joins me to investigate The Traitors castle.”

The Traitors is a BBC One reality competition series where 22 contestants, split into “Faithfuls” and secret “Traitors,” compete in challenges to build a cash prize.

The Traitors conspire to “murder” Faithfuls while the Faithfuls try to identify and banish them.

If a Traitor reaches the final, he or she takes all the prize money. If only Faithfuls remain, they share the pot.

Unfortunately for Adam, who hoped to take his wife and three children on holiday to Florida, he was eliminated in episode eight of the twelve-part series.

He told the BBC he felt he had to “downgrade” his personality to stay in the show. Normally he would be very “outspoken and opinionated.”

Adam reflected that if he had “come out of my shell a little bit earlier,” he could have made it to the end.

Adding that he was fine about leaving the show early, Adam explained he could now concentrate on ghost hunting and spend time with his family.

Adam was also pleased to have time to admire the 19th century castle’s baronial-style architecture, which incorporates an earlier hunting lodge.

As a builder, “I was telling people what sort of brick it was and how it was built,” he commented. “I would love to build a building like that, but I can’t.”

The show gained a massive following, with various international versions featuring both civilian and celebrity contestants. The final of season four attracted almost ten million viewers.

Adam has regularly ventured out at night for years to investigate atmospheric locations, filming the exploits of Paranormal Essex for social media platforms.

In 2021, he was featured in The Sun, having shown journalist Nicola Agius around the site of the infamous Borley Rectory and its adjacent church, which have been plagued by tales of poltergeists, disturbing noises and apparitions of a crying nun since the 1800s.

Paranormal researcher Harry Price investigated the events in 1937 and said he discovered the ghost of a nun, Marie Lairre, who was murdered and buried beneath the site of the rectory in the 17th century.

Following in his footsteps, Adam and the team explore locations around Essex, Kent and the London boroughs.

In an earlier interview, Adam said it was his father’s passing and the loss of a young friend which caused him to start his own research.

“I wanted to prove to myself that my dad is still out there somewhere and I’m going to meet him again because he was so young and we were best mates,” he said. “That and the fact that I love old buildings.”

Reflecting on his Traitors experience, Adam told The Sun he had hoped to be chosen as a Traitor because he believed he would have been able to keep a “poker face” when telling lies to cover his tracks.

“Loads of mediums in the past have tried to read me and they can’t do it,” he said. “I’ve got one of those personalities where you don’t know whether I’m joking.

“When I go out and ghost hunt, you have to understand the environment and have patience. A spirit has to trust you before it opens up, so some of the skills did help.”

Paranormal Essex has pages on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube where videos of their investigations can be viewed.