Friday 21 August 2009

Haunting Activity??? (Part One).

The following account hails from the Black Country region and serves to outline some of the classic features frequently experienced in (so-called) cases of domestic 'haunting'.... The details herein are certainly typical of a great many cases of presumed haunting which have been sent in to the W.M.G.C. over the past 20 years.

The matter in question began with an email to the W.M.G.C. from the wife of the family concerned. It was mentioned in this initial note that a similar letter had been sent to another, local based group at the same time.

The family - wife, husband and young baby - had purchased and moved in to the 1950's property some 4 months earlier. Pretty much all of the subsequent weeks at the site had been taken up in decorating the house. We were told that the family had only really started 'noticing things' some 2 months earlier..... and then particularly so over the last month.

With regards to reported activity, the bulk of what was mentioned was a variety of 'feelings' being experienced by the wife of the family. A sensation of being 'watched' was the main feature of the case, along with an 'inability to settle' in certain parts of the property. It was noted in particular that the kitchen was possibly the worst room - often resulting in a direct, physical inability to enter that area. The main bedroom was also pointed out, the wife frequently finding it hard to spend more than a couple of minutes at a time here because of the feeling of being watched.

With regards to potential, physical effects, there was very little reported to the group. The wife mentioned that their baby seemed to move around the cot a lot - suggesting the positions that it was found in couldn't be naturally attained by the child. Noted as being 'the strongest episode' perhaps, was the tumble dryer being left on a 60 minute cycle one evening, only to be discovered still spinning at 6 o' clock the next morning. It was mentioned that this error hadn't occurred before or since the aforementioned instance.

Noises appear to have been heard around the property... mainly in the form of doors closing - a glass, kitchen door heard sliding of it's own volition - or the sound of creaking. A sensation 'like the feeling of someone walking around on the landing' was experienced by husband and wife on one occasion.

In an endeavour to find (an albeit tentative) cause for the experiences, it was mentioned that a particular, somewhat unusual, 'ornament' had been found in the garage when they had moved in and this had subsequently been displayed in the house. The wife had wondered whether their problems were related to the object being brought into the house in some way? This matter had been discussed with the other research group during a visit to the house and the item was subsequently moved first to the porch and then back into the garage.....

With regards to their general attitudes to the paranormal, the wife admitted that she had bought books on the paranormal for some years and was a 'total believer in this kind of thing'. The husband was a sceptical type - this being a viewpoint which appeared quite clear when a W.M.G.C. representative briefly spoke with him (!!) Despite this attitude, the husband had apparently shared in some experiences..... having suffered an 'Old Hag' type encounter - waking one night to find himself paralysed and sensing something in the bedroom with him - hearing doors banging, etc.

The group was told that the family had come to feel that they had 'another person' now living with them. However, the wife did comment that they weren't sure whether 'a series of coincidences were just playing on their minds....'

As par for the course in such instances, the W.M.G.C. conducted background research into the general area and found that, up until the houses (in the street) were built, the region had been open field, containing nothing more than a pool and a gravel pit. The name of the area itself derives from an ancient name concerning a clearing or a glade.

During the mid-1800's, three pit men were killed nearby when a brook flooded the mine they were working in and they drowned. In ancient history, a Saxon earthwork of some description is said to have existed in the region, but this was totally destroyed by mining activity.

In part two of this matter, we will be outlining some of the issues, items of interest and general queries that such, presumed instances lead to from a very basic, research point of view....

Regards,

The West Mids Ghost Club


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