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Paranormal Visit Rekindles Interest in Imber, Wiltshire’s Military-Controlled Abandoned Village

Decades after its 1943 evacuation, the site stays restricted under MOD training use with only St Giles Church opening occasionally.

Overview

  • Paranormal investigator Emma Watts reported no mobile signal and unexplained noises during a January 2026 visit, calling Imber "sealed off from the rest of the world."
  • Residents were ordered out in 1943 with 47 days’ notice for US Army D-Day training, and the area was incorporated into the Salisbury Plain military training ground.
  • Custodian Neil Skelton told the BBC that few original homes remain because cob-and-thatch structures collapsed once their thatch roofs failed.
  • Most surviving buildings are either gutted shells or modern constructions for military simulations, and wildlife has moved into areas where houses once stood.
  • St Giles Church, a Grade I-listed landmark, provides tightly controlled public access and most recently opened to visitors over the Christmas period.