A semi-detached house in the English market town of Pontefract was the host of the most violent poltergeist haunting in European history. It all happened in the 1970s and the ghost was known as the Pontefract Poltergeist, but was also nicknamed the Black Monk of Pontefract due to a belief that it was the spirit of a monk killed during the 16th century.
Number 30 East Drive was the home of the Pritchard family, Joe and Jean, along with their son Philip and daughter Diane. The family said they were tormented by a wide variety of problems from a ghost they nicknamed “Fred.” He threw objects around, made rooms colder, and left puddles on the floors. He also took bites out of jam sandwiches and smeared stuff on door handles. Fred could also apparently teleport eggs from room to room before smashing them.
One of the scariest incidents involved him dragging Diane, then aged 12, upstairs by her neck. He apparently left handprints on her neck. The ghost is also reported to have tried to strangle Diane with an electrical cable. The house received visits from the local mayor, the police, and large numbers of curious psychics and paranormal researchers.
One person who was convinced the stories are true was Carol Fieldhouse, who lived next door. Her house joined onto number 30, and the she claimed the ghost occasionally wandered into her quarters. Carol claimed to have met and spoken to Fred, though he generally just came by to stare at her menacingly. She reported him being about 1.65 meters (5 ft 5 in) tall.
Categorised in: Ghosts, Paranormal
This post was written by Nadia Vella