Tuesday 28 February 2017


Tuesday 28th February 2017

From The Archives:

In Mid-2007 I was contacted by a gentleman about alleged 'activity' at his house, which was situated on the West Midlands / South Staffordshire border.  He believed that the happenings in the property potentially tied in with another case that we'd looked into / investigated in the same area, his having been alerted to the matter by a newspaper article on the site involved.

The activity concerned - at the time of my interview - had been occurring for some 2 - 3 years.  The house involved was apparently built in the mid-1960's.   

The occupants reported having heard loud knocking sounds on the windows of the house... including on 'upstairs' windows.  It was said the 'bangs' concerned were so loud, they had expected neighbours to have heard them and complained about the matter.  A 'fast rapping sound' had also been heard on occasion, actually 'going away' at one point, but returning at a later date.  The male, head of the household said that no origin - naturally occurring in the normal context of day to day life in the building - could be found to account for these sounds.  One particular noise was described as being like someone 'dropping a plank flat on the floor'.  Another knocking noise had been heard from the top of the stairs and sounded like a door being rapped.  I was told that non-family visitors to the house had also heard these noises in the property too.  

The situation had become so bad at times that the male of the household said he had often wanted to leave the property, when he lived there alone....  He had been so afraid of the occurrences.  Throughout our interview period, constant references / remarks were made regarding how scary the situation had generally been.

One of the bedrooms of the property was dubbed 'the worst' area in the house, because the sound of what appeared to be several children - running around, fighting, etc - could often be heard in there.  A security system was fitted in the room concerned and, when the noises began, the system was activated and, allegedly, the noises recorded.  Nothing in the room was ever found to have physically moved, however.  (*Recorded footage no longer in the keeping of the family, though).

Bumps, bangs and thumps were heard from one corner of one of the bedrooms.

Items in the household would go missing and appear (though objects were never physically 'seen' moving).  I was shown a 1940's, half-penny coin that had appeared one day, as an example of the aforementioned.   

Pictures mounted on the walls would be found hanging 'crooked'.  Sound of someone moving quietly up the stairs heard at night.  Doors were heard shutting, while occupants of the house were in bed at night.... though the doors were found open the next day.  Bed clothes were pulled off the occupants of beds.  Also, feelings as if beds were sometimes being 'kicked hard' by an external body. 

A cold atmosphere was reported in the house.  This was often remarked upon by visitors.  It was said you could enter the front door and literally 'step in and out of' the atmosphere concerned.

Smells were detected in house, like 'violet perfume', a cigarette smell and cooking smells - roast beef, etc - late at night.  A strong, horrible smell was detected in one bedroom that belonged to a daughter of the family.  It seemed to begin after the girl complained of believing there was some form of 'presence' in the room.  She refused to sleep in there, as a result, and her father took up occupancy to prove to her that there was nothing there.  (He detected nothing untoward).  The smell would apparently stay for a couple of days, then dissipate.  The smell was said to be worse than 'something dead and rotting' and - while the room was taken apart in the search for a cause - nothing was ever found to account for it.

Lights in the house would 'dim' and then brighten again.  Bulbs would also blow.  A joke was made one day, concerning 'Rednecks' shooting the bulbs with guns and so on, and - on cue - a bulb blew!  The TV would change channel of it's own accord.     

The sensation of 'having your legs sat on', while lying in bed, had been experienced. 

The feeling of being 'pinned to the bed' was experienced by a female occupant of the house.  This, at a base level, seemed to be a fairly typical, 'Old Hag' / sleep paralysis style scenario:  inability to move a muscle, etc, while feeling fully awake and conscious.  Coupled with this, however, a feeling that was described as 'having an aeroplane next to you' was reported: i.e. air pressure and vibration, etc.  The victim says she attempted to 'protect herself' by visualising bright, white light and so on - but said she received an 'almighty slap across the face' in response to this(!?)  The slap was so hard, it could still be felt the next day.  There was no mark visible, but the 'sting' persisted.  She said she felt there was a definite, overwhelming 'male' sensation to the experience... though she also admitted that she didn't think this was ever 'human', because a person could never generate such an overwhelming feeling of negative, power!?  She phoned the local Spiritualist Church the very next day to try and combat the problem.     

A visiting medium had said that the core problem lay in the fact that this was a 'mining area' and a metal disc was discovered in the street, outside the property, that was actually a miners 'identity tag'.  When the Spiritualist medium and a minister came to the house, it was said that they had 'stopped' the activity concerned.  The activity was said to 'cease gradually', following the visit.... though the medium had predicted that this was what would actually happen. 

They had said that there were mine workings under the property and the cause of the ghostly activity involved an explosion and horses, which had resulted in the loss of several lives(?)  The occupants checked the history of the site - via maps and aerial photographs - and discovered that a building related to the mines had seemingly stood on the exact spot now occupied by their house.  (*This was not checked out / verified by the WMGC, however).  A local mine had indeed been the site of a terrible accident in years gone by, including the loss of human life.

The father of the household said that he had seen a typical, old-fashioned, 'miner'-type figure standing in the kitchen one day, as he was making coffee.  He had looked up to find the figure standing, apparently looking into a coffee cup.  He described the figure as having a black face, black clothing and a leather, miners helmet, with carbide-style lamp attached to the front of it.  The figure was said to be quite clear and remained in view for 2 to 3 seconds.   

The medium had also said something about the presence of a 'little girl' in the house, which interested the male occupant, as he had apparently seen the figure of a little girl in the house.  She was witnessed coming into the living room, from the passage leading to the front door, and then ran part-way up the stairs before vanishing!  She had been wearing a red, pinafore-style dress..... and didn't seem to have any feet!?  She was said to be quite modern looking in style.  (Male occupant said he had spoken to a local woman who had lived only 100 yards from the house in question, but had moved from the property because their home had been haunted by the ghost of a little girl!?)      

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