The South Shields Poltergeist E-Book

Darren W. Ritson

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 606

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

One of the most significant cases in the last fifty years, The South Shields Poltergeist is a true and terrifying account detailing a family's brave fight against an invisible intruder. This intense, protracted and well-documented encounter spanning 2005–06 is said to be one of the best cases of its kind, and is certain to go down in the annals of psychical research. Objects moved on their own, carving knives were thrown around, coins appeared in mid-air before being thrown to the floor, sinister text messages were sent by the poltergeist, apparitions were seen, and a number of physical assaults took place on one unfortunate householder. Now, fifteen years on, this new and updated edition includes the original case review, which was first published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 2010. It contains a preface by Alan Murdie, and a new chapter that was originally omitted from previous editions. Based on the testimonies of those who experienced it first hand, The South Shields Poltergeist is a chilling reminder that reality is not what we think it is.

Leseprobe

The South Shields Poltergeist

In memory of Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair

Front cover design by Ryan Bartley

First published 2008, 2009

This edition published 2020

The History Press

97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL50 3QB

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

© Darren W. Ritson, 2008, 2009, 2020

The right of The Author to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7509 9441 5

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

‘If events happened as alleged, it was reasoned there would be a considerable quantity of documentary, photographic and other evidence available that would be consistent with the claims made in the book. This proved to be the case – I am of the opinion the South Shields poltergeist joins a small but significant collection of spontaneous cases where credible evidence has been obtained by investigators whilst disturbances were still occurring.’

Alan Murdie LLB, Head of the Spontaneous CasesCommittee for the Society for Psychical Research

‘Books about poltergeist cases written by those who were there and witnessed some of the action are very rare. Investigators who witnessed as much as Mike and Darren did and manage to record a great deal of evidence are even rarer. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on the most bewildering phenomena we are ever likely to encounter.’

Guy Lyon Playfair BA,Author of This House is Haunted:An Investigation into the Enfield Poltergeist

‘I am aware of many poltergeist cases, but nothing comes close to being as terrifying as the South Shields poltergeist. This case has so many disturbing events throughout the course of its stay that it surely must rank as one of the most extraordinary cases of poltergeists – ever. If you only ever read one book on poltergeists, then this must surely be it. Be prepared to have your worldly views shattered from those that say that poltergeists can’t harm you; they certainly can. This is simply an astonishing book’.

Malcolm Robinson, founder of SPI and author

‘From the stone throwing Guyra ghost of the Australian outback, to the Rosenheim poltergeist which allegedly plagued the electrical system of a law office, opportunities to study ‘the poltergeist’ in action are few. This book – whatever you may conclude from the detailed findings – is one of those rare instances in which the events were given significant observation. It demonstrates above all, the need for sceptical inquiry when such a variety of phenomena occurring becomes a ‘plate-spinning’ task of critical evaluation for the researchers trying to find a cause. The South Shields case is no exception. The book offers the reader a documentary-style account of the events as they unfolded, and the complexities of seemingly anomalous phenomena the investigators had to face.’

Callum E. Cooper, PhD, University of Northampton

‘The Poltergeist remains a true enigma. Many consider the poltergeist to be a powerful demonstration of uncontrolled psychokinetic forces resulting from psychological angst. Others claim it to be a physical manifestation of some discarnate intelligence, one which seemingly delights at teasing and tormenting those who are unfortunate enough to encounter it. There are also those who consider the poltergeist to be entirely the result of prank, hoax or misperception.

Regardless of actual cause, those who find themselves surrounded by the poltergeist’s turmoils might consider themselves to be fortunate that its disruption rarely lasts for very long. Characteristically, the poltergeist is a short-lived phenomenon, going through its entire repertoire in weeks or months before it fizzles and ceases its activities altogether. However, for those who seek to discover more about the poltergeist’s nature, the short duration of the poltergeist’s manifestation makes investigating such cases difficult.

All too often, by the time the investigator learns of a poltergeist case, much of the activity has already faded and they are left with only the testimony of the witnesses to consider and many unanswered questions to puzzle over. However, just occasionally, the investigators find themselves in just the right place and at just the right time. They are able to observe and document the poltergeist disturbance almost from the very first interaction and follow to its ultimate conclusion.

Over the years, many books and treatises have been written about poltergeists. But, of that considerable number, very few works exist which provide the reader with a detailed first-hand account of the perplexing, sometimes frightening and constantly changing situation that people find themselves embroiled within. The South Shields poltergeist is one of those rare examples. It is a book which documents not just the experiences of the family whose lives have become blighted by the poltergeist, but it is also an account of the struggle by the investigators to document, understand and to search for some meaning for the events they now find themselves a part of.’

Steven T Parsons, author of Ghostology:The Art of the Ghost Hunter

‘This new updated version of this exciting page-turner digs a little deeper into the enigma of poltergeist activity. There are never two cases exactly the same but similarities and comparisons can be made in search of an answer to the sometimes terrifying experiences that some people have to endure.’

Tricia J. Robertson, psychical researcher, author, broadcaster, lecturer and former president of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research

‘Undoubtedly, one of the great classic works on the poltergeist.’

Colin Wilson, philosopher, author and occultist

About the Author

Darren W. Ritson was born in March 1972 in Newcastle upon Tyne and has been fascinated with ghosts and the poltergeist phenomenon as far back as he can remember. His first real attempts of collating and documenting accounts of paranormal phenomena was in 1993–4 when he regularly corresponded with veteran UFO and ghost researcher Malcolm Robinson, who assisted Darren and steered him in the right direction. For this he will always be grateful. In later years Darren corresponded with some of the literary greats in the paranormal field such as Peter Underwood FRSA, Guy Lyon Playfair BA, Alan Murdie LLB Chairman of the Ghost Club, and the philosopher and occultist Colin Wilson. Sadly, three of the aforementioned are not with us anymore but to be a correspondent of theirs was indeed an honour and a surreal experience. Darren is still regularly in touch with Malcolm Robinson and Alan Murdie.

The poltergeist enigma always had Darren ‘on the fence’ so to speak, when it came to either accepting it or not, until 2006, when he was given a chance to investigate one for himself – it turned out to be one of the most intense and bewildering accounts he had ever had the fortune to encounter. And now, having seen it first hand, he is fully prepared to accept the reality of the phenomenon. Darren has also travelled the UK lecturing and giving talks about the South Shields poltergeist case, and on the poltergeist phenomenon in general.

Darren has been invited to conduct talks and lectures with some of the country’s leading academic research associations into psychical research such as the Incorporated Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and The Ghost Club of Great Britain (both based in London). Further invites to lecture on the poltergeist came from Professor Nick Neave of the psychology department at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, where for three years running he talked to first year psychology students as part of their parapsychology module, and The Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) where he addressed over two hundred psychical researchers, parapsychology students and society members at Glasgow University. Darren is also a current member of the Incorporated Society for Psychical Research after joining in 2006 in the hope that he could make a small but significant contribution to the field.

Darren has had almost twenty ghost related books published to date which include: The Haunting of Willington Mill: In Search of Ghosts; Contagion: In The Shadow of the South Shields Poltergeist; Ghosts at Christmas; The Supernatural North; Ghost Taverns of the North East; Paranormal North East; Paranormal County Durham; Haunted Tyneside; Haunted Northumberland; Haunted Berwick; Haunted Carlisle; Haunted Durham; Haunted Newcastle and Newcastle East Through Time.

Darren currently lives in Roker, in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, after relocating there in 2018, and has a teenage daughter called Abbey. His other passions include mountain climbing, scrambling and fell-walking in the Lake District. Darren is a Black Belt in Judo, a keen wildlife and landscape photographer, a lover of travelling, and in 2015 he achieved one of his lifelong dreams and climbed Mt Fuji in Japan. Darren can be contacted at [email protected].

Contents

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Preface

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter

1 Contact

2 Full English

3 Shivers

4 Nuts and Bolts

5 Petulance

6 Noises

7 Bloop, Bloop, Bloop ...

8 Interpretations & Perspectives

9 The Nature of the Beast

10 Smudging

11 Battle Lines

12 Paranormal Pen-Friends

13 Pennies from Heaven

14 Moving Pictures

15 The Fib Factor

16 The Polt Personality

17 Cut-Throat Cuddlies

18 Voices from Beyond

19 Conversations with Robert – and Sammy

20 The Rage of the Wraith

21 Marc in the Clear

22 Confrontation

23 Evil is as Evil Does

24 In the Still of the Night

25 Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

26 Die, Bitch

27 More Phone Fun

28 The Briefing

29 Into the Darkness

30 Fear No Evil

31 Afterwards

32 I’m Back

33 Roll Cameras

34 Go Bich Now To Your Mam

35 Footsteps in the Dark

36 Another Vigil

37 Candles and Cuts

38 Housewarming

39 Flushed with Blood

40 Visitors from Afar

41 The Need to Feed

42 Body Count

43 The Poltergeist – At Work

44 Conclusions

Appendices

i The Society for Psychical Research Journal Review

ii Witness Statements

iii Statement from Dave Wood and Nicky Sewell of PSI

Further Reading

Acknowledgements

The North East Ghost Research Team, for volunteering to take part in a living nightmare.

Daniel Jackson, for his services on ‘Grim Saturday’.

Jill Butler, for her encouragement and advice.

Bob and Marrisse Whittaker, of Orion TV, for their help in recording some of the evidence. Stephen Swales, for his valued insight and assistance.

Dave Wood and Nicky Sewell, from PSI.

John Gledson and Andy Briggs, for their much valued help and advice.

Graphologists Dennis Duez and Dana White.*

Jon Downes, of the Centre for Fortean Zoology.

Lesley, for drawing Darren’s attention to this extraordinary case.

Guy Lyon Playfair for generously agreeing to write the foreword for this book, and for his help, guidance and encouragement.

To Peter Johnson and Alan Murdie of the Society for Psychical Research for use of the Journal’s book Review, and further thanks to Alan Murdie for also providing the new preface.

Author’s Note

Since writing this book quite a large change has subsequently occurred in regards to its authorship. The first two editions of The South Shields Poltergeist: One Family’s Fight Against an Invisible Intruder featured Michael J. Hallowell in its by-line, but now the observant reader may have noticed that this present and new volume has the sole author as Darren W. Ritson. This, it has to be said, is essentially down to the fact that Michael decided for reasons that were pertinent to him, that he no longer wanted to share the by-line; it is as simple as that, and it is a decision that I accept and respect.

Ill health forced Michael into retiring from paranormal research and writing. It must also be said that in addition, a recent change in his religious faith (around 2014) made him realise that withdrawing his name from the book and case was the correct course of action for him to take. I am more than happy to continue and promote the South Shields poltergeist book, case, and its evidence in a solo capacity, and will endeavour to push forward in an effort to assist in getting a better understanding of its nature, in whatever means possible.

The account of the Lock Street infestation will of course remain exactly the same and Michael will still feature heavily throughout the main body of the text as it is quite obvious I cannot and will not re-write its history, and nor would I want to. What was reported and documented back in 2005/06 and what was first published in 2008 was the truth. Michael is not edited out of the text in any way and just for the record, we both still categorically stand by our account of what unfolded at that time, so, in this respect, nothing has changed.

Darren W. Ritson, 2020

Some of the names in this book have been changed to protect anonymity, and are marked with an * at their first appearance.

Preface

Every decade a major poltergeist seems to erupt in Great Britain and one that lasts sufficiently long enough for investigators to arrive, observe and attempt to record events. Only a small percentage of the total number of poltergeist cases reported annually fall into this category allowing proper investigation by serious researchers so far as circumstances allow. Author Darren W. Ritson found himself in this situation in the summer of 2006 with the South Shields poltergeist, which is one of the most remarkable British poltergeist cases thus reported in the twenty-first century. It erupted in a modest house in South Shields in Tyneside, then occupied by a young couple in their twenties and their three-year-old son.

This book, first published in 2008 and now updated, provides many details obtained first-hand. It is an important study because so much material and evidence was gathered – far more than appears on these pages. Inevitably, the majority of the evidence we have on poltergeists with spontaneous cases tends to be anecdotal and after the event. In a few years, the details tend to be forgotten. In the case of haunted houses (especially haunted pubs and inns) the residents may change quickly. Domestic poltergeist outbreaks prove much the same, family life being inevitably complicated by dealing with practical day-to-day demands and issues.

These mundane matters soon eclipse what in most cases is a relatively short-lived interruption in the daily routine, and inevitably even the most amazing events get relegated to experience and family stories, forgotten with the passage of time. Therefore, a contemporary record such as this gathered by contemporary researchers on the spot is a very valuable one indeed. Much like the investigators of the classic Enfield Poltergeist of 1977–9, the original authors of The South Shields Poltergeist faced scepticism when they first published their results.

There are those who will reject any evidence of this kind if it conflicts with their beliefs, conscious or unconscious, concerning ways that physical systems should behave. This criticism was advanced by people who had little or no familiarity with the South Shields case, and certainly possessing no direct knowledge of the evidence. As the late Maurice Grosse and Guy Playfair observed (Grosse, Maurice & Playfair, Guy (1988) ‘Enfield Revisited: The Evaporation of Positive Evidence’ in Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. Vol 55 No.813. pp207–18): ‘There are those, we have found, who are prepared to believe in psi phenomena provided they happened a long time ago and preferably in another country. The suggestion that they happened yesterday evening right here is less welcome. There are others who reject any claim for positive evidence of psi automatically, as ducks’ backs repel water.’

Crucially, none of this criticism was advanced by anyone who had even attempted to engage directly with the researchers or their evidence. As the claims in this book were extraordinary, after consulting with others, I took the opportunity to inspect their evidence at first-hand, and interview the investigators at length. My conclusions being that not only were they truthful in describing and recalling their experiences, but corroboration existed, together with much additional evidence in many forms, in terms of documents, witness testimony and recordings over different media.

Accordingly, the position of those who seek to dismiss the evidence in this book without examination, bare comparison with the cardinals who (allegedly) refused to look through Galileo’s telescope. Perhaps more pertinently, their position at best is no more sustainable than that of a doctor who has not examined a patient, or, indeed, any patient. Such reluctance to engage with evidence may, of course, have a psychological basis.

Speaking personally, viewing the material behind this book in its totality, from a legal perspective, I considered testimony of those who witnessed events together with the material collected, matches or exceeds the evidence accumulated in many civil and criminal proceedings. In the decade since, I have had no reason to depart from this position and events and parallels from other cases have if anything strengthened this conclusion that genuine psychokinetic incidents occurred, as the authors described them.

Thus, more than a prima facie case been presented in this book and the task now is not proof but interpretation, a matter which is still at a very early stage nearly fifteen years later. Each generation has its own poltergeists behaving in certain ways and attracting all manner of theories and hypotheses. Prior to the sixteenth century it was the angry dead. In the seventeenth century through to the mid-eighteenth century the idea of witchcraft was in vogue. Then in the nineteenth century spiritualist ideas of ‘unconscious mediums’ and elemental spirits or, alternatively, forces produced by living persons dubbed ‘human batteries’ envisaged as producing surges of electrical power.

In the twentieth century, parapsychology has supplied and concentrated upon the idea of psychokinesis from living minds, labelling it ‘Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis’ (RSPK) pin-pointing the source of the energy as the unconscious minds of living persons, typically adolescents undergoing stress.

Yet another researcher, D. Scott Rogo, proposed in 1974 that poltergeists might be a group effort, stating: ‘I have long maintained that some poltergeists are projected by disturbed agents, while others are the outcome of a co-operative family effort.’ (Rogo, Scott D., (1983) Correspondence, ‘Journal of the Society for Psychical Research’, Vol. 52, No. 794, pp152–3.)

The parapsychologist and psychiatrist the late Ian Stevenson went so far as to propose in an article ‘Poltergeists: Are they living or dead?’ that there might actually be two varieties of disturbance – relatively simple and non-complex cases attributable to the unconscious mind and those involving complex effects (such as targeted movement of objects and communications) which indicate the presence of an external intelligence. (Stevenson, Ian, (1972) ‘Are Poltergeists Living or Are They Dead?’ ‘Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research’, Vol. 66(3) pp 233–52.)

This leads to the fascinating possibility that the poltergeist at South Shields may have been shaped or influenced by the observers’ beliefs at the time. If so, this might make sense in terms of the responsive nature of the phenomenon, but equally it should be noted that Darren W. Ritson has gone on to propose the thought-provoking hypothesis of an ‘arch-poltergeist’ as possibly behind this and other outbreaks. It is certainly an arresting idea that the victims at South Shields might have been afflicted by phenomena orchestrated by some cosmic ‘arch-poltergeist’, and were thus destined to suffer like Thomas Hardy’s hapless heroine in Tess of the D’Urbervilles up until the point where ‘The president of the immortals had finished his sport with Tess’. Alternatively, a case could be made that some external reservoir of energy – the nature of which must presently remain wholly opaque and mysterious – might be being drawn upon in the creation of the disturbances. But that is to run ahead of the story contained in this book. Ultimately, what this book demonstrates is that there is a real and currently unexplained force that can erupt in the material world, one which current scientific models need to be able to confront and accommodate.

It is for those who encounter poltergeists often prove far from fun or humorous, imposing a considerable personal strain not only just upon those suffering them, but also upon those who investigate, both short-term and in the long term. As D. Scott Rogo wrote: ‘… poltergeist (RSPK) manifestations…represent one of the most potentially horrifying experiences an individual or family may face.’ (Rogo, Scott, D. (1974), ‘Psychotherapy and the Poltergeist’, ‘Journal of the Society for Psychical Research Vol.47, pp426–40.) This book provides a cogent illustration of this truth. Therefore, it is in my opinion, that the fact that Darren W. Ritson has been prepared to revisit these remarkable and often disturbing events again, deserves admiration and respect.

Alan MurdieHead of the Spontaneous Cases Committee for the Society for Psychical Research

Foreword

This remarkable book is the inside story of the invasion of a young couple’s home in the north of England by an invisible intruder of the kind we call a poltergeist and the havoc, fear and panic it caused there for several months in 2006 before departing as mysteriously as it had arrived.

Many will find parts of the story hard – even impossible – to believe, and they have my sympathies; I too find poltergeist phenomena hard to believe even when I see them happen, as I have many times.

The word poltergeist means ‘noisy ghost’, which is not a very helpful definition. They are certainly noisy – they bang on walls and floors, fling things around and overturn furniture, yet are almost certainly not ghosts in the sense of spirits of specific dead people. Indeed, we really haven’t a clue what they are. We don’t even have a word of our own for them and have to use an archaic German one. As my late colleague Maurice Grosse, with whom I pursued the Enfield poltergeist in 1977-8, used to say, ‘Anybody who says they know is a charlatan.’

There is a huge amount of evidence, much of it of a very high quality, describing cases dating back to ancient Greece and Rome – at least five hundred of them. We also know that they keep repeating themselves – we find identical phenomena reported from countries that had no contact with each other. This makes the investigator’s job easier, since if they are as experienced and well informed as Mike and Darren, they will know more or less what to look for, and they will spot a fake a mile away;

People do fake poltergeists, whether in order to be re-housed by their local council (quite common, I am told) or to make large sums of money. But they have to get the detail right. When they describe a case of a kind that has never been reported before, as with the hoax known as the Amityville Horror, they do not fool a competent researcher for a minute. You may be surprised to know that nearly all the events described in this book have been reported again and again from all over the world for centuries.

There are those who just cannot take poltergeists seriously. What they are alleged to do is so obviously impossible that it simply cannot be true. Yet it is true, and we should take poltergeists seriously for at least two reasons. One is that they cause real distress to innocent people who would get immediate expert help if they had a fire, an accident, a burglary or a heart attack. There is no Emergency Poltergeist Service, however. There are only dedicated researchers like Mike and Darren who are prepared to give up a lot of their spare time – and sleep – recording the evidence as best they can, acting as volunteer social workers as well as reporters.

The other and most important reason is that the kinds of things poltergeists do force us to realise that science does not yet have all the answers. For example, solid matter cannot pass through solid matter, can it? Common sense tells us obviously not. Yet as you will read, it happened again and again throughout this case in front of several witnesses. It is in fact almost a standard part of the poltergeist repertoire. I have witnessed it myself several times. It does happen. Common sense can be wrong. Reality is not quite what you may have thought it was.

Books about poltergeist cases written by those who were there and witnessed some of the action are very rare. Investigators who witnessed as much as Mike and Darren did and who manage to record a great deal of evidence are even rarer. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on one of the most bewildering phenomena we are ever likely to come across.

Guy Lyon PlayfairAuthor of This House is Haunted: the Investigation of the Enfield Poltergeist

Introduction

In one sense, it can be said that the fates conspired to bring Mike, Darren and the residents of 42 Lock Street together.

When Mike was just eight years old, he lived in Humbert Street, Jarrow. This town, which has maintained a faithful vigil over the south bank of the River Tyne for many centuries, was the home of the famous Jarrow Marchers. In October 1936, fuelled by the support of the fiery MP Ellen Wilkinson, the marchers took their grievances over unemployment and poverty all the way to Downing Street – on foot. Their courage and fortitude still inspire Jarrovians to this day.

At the other end of Humbert Street, by the second-hand bike store, there also lived a young girl of approximately the same age as Mike. One Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1965, she was roughed-up by some youngsters who lived on the other side of a nearby railway line. At least for the children of Jarrow, the line formed a physical and psychological divide between two sides of the same community. Mike, plus several friends, decided that justice should be meted out to those who were both literally and metaphorically on the wrong side of the tracks.

Later that afternoon, they raided a timber yard nearby and relieved the owner of some unseasoned staves of hard, heavy redwood. They then crossed the railway line, tracked down the offenders and dispensed a sound beating to the guilty parties. Mike and the young girl – June Peterworth* – then became friends. As a reward for his childish heroism he received an invitation to June’s birthday party. Mike moved house some time later, and the two lost touch. He did remember her name, however.

Over forty years later, Mike and June’s family would be reunited, albeit under the strangest of circumstances.

Most curiously, it was also an old railway line that would ultimately be responsible for bringing Mike and Darren together.

As a child’, recalls Darren, ‘I would ask my father to tell me ghost stories when I went to bed. One day, he told me about a little boy who used to live in our house many years ago. Tragically, he was electrocuted on the electrified railway track at the rear of the house’.

Although this is indeed a sad tale, those Darren relates it to always wonder why he refers to it as a ‘ghost story’. His response is interesting:

You see, my bedroom was the same room in which the little boy had slept. On many occasions my father, downstairs, would hear footsteps walking across the floor up above. Naturally he’d yell up the stairs, telling my brother and me to get back into bed. There’d be no reply. He’d check, and always find the house in silence. My brother and I would inevitably be sound asleep in our rooms, oblivious to the spectral footfalls.

My Dad also told me another part of the story in later years, which he felt would have been too much for me to handle as a child. One night, he heard the same, eerie footsteps and came upstairs to make sure we were still in bed. As usual, we were. Puzzled, he then went into his own bedroom thinking how strange the whole thing was. At some point he looked out of the bedroom window which, incidentally, overlooked the old railway line. Through the darkness he noticed a small boy, about eight to ten years old, walking about aimlessly on the tracks. He considered it a bit late for a youngster to be out at that time, but other than that thought no more about it.

Then, weeks later, it hit him. He realised that on the night he had seen the young boy, he had also heard the mysterious footfalls across the living room ceiling, which is directly below the back bedroom overlooking the railway lines. It occurred to him that he may well have seen the ghost of the small boy who had died there.

Had the spirit of that young lad been walking around upstairs in our house, and then visited the scene of his horrific death on the railway? You can understand why he never said anything about this to me when I was young.’

Darren verified the tale’s authenticity when he was older.

‘It turned out to be a true story, as I found out in later years when I questioned my father about it in some depth.’

The tales Darren’s father told him as a child had a profound effect on him.

‘It was stories and accounts like these which made me study the paranormal and read books on this fascinating subject for years, until I decided to get involved with actual “ghost hunting”’, he recalls.

Of course, the young boy seen by Darren’s father may not have been a ghost at all. Perhaps he was simply a streetwise kid who had managed to convince his parents to allow him to stay out longer than he should have been, given his tender age.

Regardless, Darren’s interest in ghosts had been well and truly activated, and paranormal investigation is a passion that has stayed with him throughout his entire adult life. Paranormal research is in his blood; it is part of his very essence. Darren W. Ritson is the quintessential hunter of all things insubstantial, the determined seeker of that which lies just beyond our senses.

Mike has also had several paranormal experiences. He now runs his own media business and writes about ghosts and other paranormal phenomena for a living. Both Darren and Mike later met when they became members of a local paranormal research society, and thus an enduring friendship was precipitated. Both researchers have written books about ghost-hunting.

In May 2003 Darren had begun to research his book, Ghost Hunter: True-Life Encounters from the North East. Early in 2006, he finally asked Mike to both review the manuscript and make the illustrations ‘book ready’ for sending to his publisher. Just as the task was almost completed, their lives took a dramatic and unexpected turn.

On Saturday 15 July Darren telephoned Mike and told him that a colleague had approached him and asked for some advice on behalf of a friend. Her friend’s daughter, she said, was absolutely terrified to stay in the house on her own because it was haunted. She knew Darren was something of an authority on such matters, and wondered if he could help. The friend, it turned out, was none other than June Peterworth whom Mike had befriended all those years ago as a child when he lived in Jarrow. The young woman whose house was haunted was none other than June’s daughter, Marianne Peterworth*.

Between them, Mike and Darren have investigated hundreds of hauntings and poltergeist infestations. Most times, it has to be said, the thrill of the chase is better than the end result. Few alleged hauntings are really paranormal; most, in fact, can be explained away quite simply. But not all; some cases present rationalists and sceptics alike with a real challenge, and the one you will read about in the following pages is no exception.

This is the true and terrifying account of a family besieged by something invisible, malevolent and intimidating; an entity of sorts that effortlessly moves heavy furniture around, breaks ornaments at will, inflicts serious slash-wounds upon people (seemingly with invisible blades), removes children from their beds without waking them, throws knives at people and, as a piece de resistance, occasionally scribbles death messages on a child’s doodle-board. It is a creature without light, who may whisper terrible things in your ear, or if it is so moved, even communicate with you via your mobile phone. Cloaked in darkness, it wreaks havoc in the lives of all it touches.

In the pages that follow you will read of the experiences endured by Marianne and her family. You will also read of the authors’ investigation into the case and their efforts to help those who had been driven to their wits’ end by their unseen – and definitely unwelcome – guest.

Of course, the authors realise that many sceptics will simply refuse to believe that anything truly paranormal was taking place within this otherwise ordinary family home. To countenance the existence of quasi-corporeal entities, whatever their true nature, disturbs their worldview too much. To be honest, neither Darren nor Mike are interested in converting rabid sceptics into true believers. People will simply have to make up their own minds on the basis of the evidence.

But the authors will say this: They have no doubts whatsoever that Marianne and her kin have been, for a protracted period, frightened and terrorised by something that they cannot see, but whose presence, like a rank, foetid odour, they can easily detect. The authors have no qualms about denouncing the poltergeist that attacked Marianne and her family as evil in the purest sense of the word.

You may choose not to believe in the existence of the poltergeist phenomenon. You may, for reasons known only to yourself, put this book back upon the shelf and retreat once again into your comfortable world. The authors once lived in this world; a pleasing vista strewn with friends, wine and roses. Then, without warning, they were forced to look into the very heart of darkness. This is their story.

Darren W. Ritson & Michael J. Hallowell

February 2007

CHAPTER ONE

Contact

On 19 June 2006, Darren Ritson was informed by a colleague, Lesley, about an alleged haunting at a house in South Tyneside. He was told that the owners of this house were ‘at their wits’ end’ because of the ‘ghostly goings-on’ that had been occurring there over the preceding months.

The following day, after being told that they wanted help with this matter, Darren contacted the homeowner’s mother, June Peterworth, and asked her if she was prepared to talk to him about it. On the basis of that brief conversation, he then sent June an e-mail which read as follows:

Hi June, its Darren here, the paranormal investigator.

I was just wondering if you could give me an in-depth idea of the things that have been going on at your daughter’s house. If you could write down in detail what has been happening and what you have experienced, that would be great.

Of course, I would love to talk to your daughter, to hear her experiences and get some more background information. An investigation of the property would be a good idea, too. We have a few night-vision video cameras and other tools of the ghost-hunting trade we could use in an effort to catch something on film. If what I hear from Lesley [Darren’s colleague] is right, it sounds too good to be true from an investigator’s point of view; however, for the family at the focus of the alleged haunting it is a different story and we would try to help in whatever way we can.

Darren.

Some time later, Darren received a welcome reply from June:

Hi Darren, I will try and list as much as possible from what she has told me and what I experienced myself last night – she is very frightened at what’s happening and is willing to get any help possible. She is more than happy for you to go to her house at any time and talk to her or do whatever you need to do - I will get back to you with the list of occurrences. Thanks, June.

Darren forwarded his reply to June immediately:

Thanks June. I could start the ball rolling by phoning up Marianne tonight to arrange a time when I can visit her at her home. Darren.

More from June:

Darren

She is going to the spiritualist church tonight, and she may be stopping at my house as her partner is out all night and she is too afraid to stay at home on her own. You can catch her on her mobile. June.

After giving the matter some thought, Darren – whose obsession with detail could shame both Holmes and Watson – decided that he still wanted to elicit further information about the case before contacting Marianne directly. He again e-mailed her mother in an effort to find out more.

One of the difficulties in researching poltergeist infestations is that the experients often formulate a fixed view of what the problem is very early on in the investigation. These perceptions may seem logical on the surface, but are often wildly incorrect and made on the basis of cultural and spiritual ideas prevalent in the locale where the ‘haunting’ is taking place. For instance, a poltergeist is almost universally perceived as a disturbed or angry spirit. Indeed, the word poltergeist is derived from the German and translates literally as ‘boisterous ghost’ or ‘knocking ghost’. While the visible symptoms of a poltergeist investigation may appear to back such a conclusion strongly investigators know that there is another, far more likely cause that needs to be given serious consideration. This will be discussed further in this volume, but Darren was already aware that those who experience poltergeist activity directly, because of their deeply-ingrained beliefs, will subconsciously edit their experiences to match their perceptions. It is often better, therefore, to accumulate the initial evidence from third parties who may have no preconceived opinions, or who have not had time to formulate any ideas about the cause of the phenomena taking place.

Thanks June.

What is the spiritualist church going to do? Are they offering her help? If so, this may be the best ‘port of call’. If they are a reputable spiritual group they may be able to make the activity cease. If they don’t, I know someone who may be able to help. Whatever the scenario, I would like to investigate in the hope we can prove one way or another that something odd is going on, and of course help your daughter. However, the chances are that the activity will cease as quickly as it all began; but when? That’s another question. Darren.

June replied:

Darren,

She’s going to the open circle, which is where a lot of the mediums that have been to her house go to - I am not sure what they are going to do; they just keep telling her what spirits are there and pass on messages. They have said they can’t force them to go and that it would stop soon.

I suggest you would be better off talking to my daughter as she could give you a lot more information. She has been saying that she has had something in her house for months now and things have escalated in the past couple of weeks.

I’ll pull together a list of things at lunchtime for you. June.

As these correspondences show, when Darren began to liaise with June Peterworth she had already endured some strange experiences herself while visiting her daughter’s home. Obviously, then, the focal point of the phenomenon, geographically speaking, was the best place to start.

June gave Darren her daughter’s telephone number and told him that he could phone her at any time. June had already informed her daughter about Darren, and Marianne had made it clear that she would welcome any possible assistance.

June told Darren that the bizarre phenomena taking place in Marianne’s home had began several months earlier. However, over the last few weeks, things had escalated dramatically. Marianne was now so scared that she would rarely sleep in the house alone when her partner was working nightshift.

June Peterworth, by nature a sceptical person, didn’t formerly believe in ghosts. When her daughter had first informed her of what was happening, she laughed it off and told Marianne that she must have been imagining things, or was at least mistaken. Then, as the weeks passed by and the strange activity escalated, she began to change her mind. Mainly, this change was precipitated by first-hand experience of the phenomena that had already terrified her daughter and her boyfriend, Marc Karlsonn*.

As stated earlier, Darren had urged June to write down in detail what she had personally experienced at her daughter’s house along with a list of any other phenomena that had, to her knowledge, taken place there. What follows is a transcript of her hand-written notes.

Things that have happened over the months:

• Shower has been mysteriously turned on.

• Robert* (3 yrs old) has seen a lady in his bedroom and has talked to her.

• General noises and bumps have been heard when no one is around etc.

More recently (last couple of weeks):

• A cup fell from the worktop into bin next to Marianne and her dad – twice.

• The blinds keep being taken down in Robert’s room.

• Robert has seen a little boy called Sam and plays with him in his room.

• Marianne and Marc (her boyfriend) have heard a voice on the baby monitor telling Robert that he was going to fall out of bed.

• A vase on stair landing keeps moving from one side to another.

• Coats are thrown up the stairs.

• A chair has been wedged up to the door in Robert’s room.

• Robert’s table and chair found on the landing.

• Marianne and her dad were standing at back door when a cup from Robert’s room landed in the garden and smashed – the window was closed and the blind was down.

• Robert’s rocking horse keeps getting moved and turned upside down.

• Ornaments keep getting moved.

Last night (19th June 2006) I went to Marianne’s house for the first time since all this has happened in the last couple of weeks. We all went to Robert’s room while he got ready for bed. We were there for about 10 minutes, then we all went downstairs together while Robert had his supper. After approximately 20 minutes we all went back upstairs together into Robert’s room when we noticed his chair had gone – it was in Marianne’s room and the door was shut. I had stood in the doorway before we went downstairs and the door was definitely open.

Darren’s first thought when he reviewed June’s notes was that this might indeed be a genuine case of poltergeist infestation. Many of the ‘symptoms’ mentioned above are classic examples of what investigators often refer to as ‘polt-presence’. What intrigued Darren, however, was that on one occasion a cup from the child’s bedroom had apparently passed through one closed window and a set of drawn blinds before smashing to smithereens in the garden below. Even in poltergeist cases, incidents of solid matter passing through solid matter are quite rare. They are not, however, unknown. In one well-attested case in 1977, a child who was the poltergeist ‘focus’ levitated up into the air and passed through an adjoining wall into a neighbour’s house, taking a book with her. The book remained in the neighbour’s house after the focus was mysteriously returned to her room, where she was later found by investigators.

At 3.30pm, on 20 June, Darren phoned Marianne for an informal chat. They discussed the ‘strange happenings’ in detail, and Marianne agreed to write down, in depth, everything that had occurred to date for research purposes. Darren also asked her if she would keep a record of any other phenomena or strange events that happened between the end of the phone call (4pm) and when he next made contact with her.

June again contacted Darren on Friday 14 July,

Hi Darren,

Marianne has asked me to contact you as she is still having problems. It started again over a week ago and things are getting worse – she had a priest in on Monday and things seemed to quieten down, but last night things got really bad and they all left the house to stay at mine. Things are getting quite scary and sinister for them, furniture is moving in front on them, things are getting thrown at them, things thrown down stairs at them and much more. Marianne has asked if you can ring her as soon as possible if you don’t mind. Thanks, June.

That afternoon Darren again telephoned Marianne, and it was clear that she was becoming increasingly distressed. To his knowledge, she had already sought help from two sources; a local spiritualist ‘circle’ and a priest. This in itself was indicative of the fact that, to Marianne at least, the problem was becoming serious and some form of extra-familial help was needed.

For about forty-five minutes, Marianne reiterated what her mother had told Darren in her last e-mail; a priest had indeed visited the house to perform ‘a blessing’. This was followed by a short lull, after which the activity started up once more – with a vengeance. It is common for such rituals to cause a short cessation of symptoms. Unfortunately, it is also common for them to start up again, usually after ten to fourteen days, with renewed ferocity.

Marianne then told him about some of the other incidents that had occurred since they last spoke. Marianne’s son, Robert, had a rocking horse that usually stood in his bedroom. One evening, to their horror, Marianne’s brother Ian* found the horse hanging from the loft hatch by its reins. It was subsequently put in the garden and left overnight, only to be found inside the house the following morning. It was then destroyed.

Robert also possessed a cuddly toy; specifically a large, tan-coloured rabbit with a white face and feet. On one occasion, Ian found the rabbit sitting in a blue, plastic bucket chair at the top of the stairs. The chair also belonged to Robert and, like the rabbit, was always kept in the toddler’s room. Chillingly, the rabbit had in its hand a razor-sharp blade from a box-cutter. One could be forgiven for thinking that whoever – or whatever – was behind these bizarre incidents was trying to send some sort of message to Marianne and her family, and it certainly wasn’t pleasant.

Like many children of his age, Robert had a burgeoning collection of toy cars. Mike has found that, for reasons not quite clear, poltergeists seem to have an unusual fascination with miniature or toy vehicles. On one occasion, he was called in by a married couple who were repeatedly subjected to a whole range of ‘polt’ symptoms. During the initial interview, a commotion broke out in the couple’s loft. Neither was prepared to venture up the ladder into the roof space, but Mike did. In the loft was a large, cardboard box filled with a collection of remote control cars which the husband had kept since his childhood. He takes up the story;

There were approximately ten to twelve cars in the box, all covered with a thick layer of dust. Every single vehicle was in motion, their wheels spinning as fast as their electric motors would let them. Some had lights which were flashing on and off constantly. I detached the battery cover from one car and found it empty. Regardless, the wheels were still spinning frantically and the lights continued to flash. I detached a battery cover from a second car. There were two AA batteries inside, but they were badly corroded and highly unlikely to be generating any electricity. Suddenly the activity stopped. At the same instant, all the wheels stopped spinning and the lights all went out. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Marianne told Darren that, on a number of occasions, she had been hit in the back by toy cars, sometimes as she walked down the stairs. She also said that she had several times been ‘hit on the back by an invisible force’, but when she turned around nothing was there.

Boyfriend Marc had on occasion been pushed over, and large objects such as stepladders and bed frames had fallen on him while they were propped up against a wall.

On one occasion, a set of large stepladders fell over, as if pushed by an invisible pair of hands. Marc had instinctively raised an arm to protect himself. The ladders caught him on the shoulder, causing pain and bruising which lasted for several days. This was both unusual and disturbing. Poltergeists often intimidate and frighten people – it actually seems to be part of their modus operandi – but they usually don’t cause physical harm. Later, both Darren and Mike would feel uneasy at this development, as it indicated that the entity they were dealing with was either of a type they had never encountered before, or at least one of unusual strength and ability. This assessment turned out to be essentially correct, but the authors later realised that they had massively underestimated both the power and the cunning of this particular polt.

It was the following day when Darren telephoned Mike and told him about this new case for the first time. Darren asked if Mike would be prepared to visit the house with him. Mike laughed and quipped, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’ ‘Live’ polt cases are not common, and it is a rare opportunity that presents itself for investigators to experience such things first-hand. Mike wouldn’t pass up a chance like that for the world.

CHAPTER TWO

Full English

For some time, Darren and Mike have engaged in an extremely constructive ritual that they both hope to enjoy for many years to come. Every few weeks, normally on a Saturday morning, they meet in The Market Cafe in Market Square, South Shields, to discuss the latest news and events in the world of paranormal activity. Often, Mike will solicit from Darren information about the latter’s current investigations and write them up in his WraithScape column in the borough’s newspaper, the Shields Gazette. The Gazette is Britain’s oldest provincial newspaper, and WraithScape is probably the longest-running weekly column of its kind in the UK. Every Thursday, Mike entertains readers with tales of ghosts, UFOs, psychic phenomena and sea monsters. Both Mike and Darren feel that it’s important to inform the public about paranormal activity. They call it ‘consciousness-raising’.

On Monday, 17 July, Mike and Darren met up for breakfast. Mike arrived first, and ordered two cups of tea. Darren, he knew, wouldn’t be long. When Darren did arrive, he had with him a large hold-all filled with all the tricks of the ghost-hunting trade. These included a digital video camera and a pair of motion sensors. Mike, in a smaller bag, had a digital camera and his treasured Olympus digital sound recorder. He also had with him the more conventional accoutrements of the professional journalist, such as a pen and notebook.

It was only 9am, but the day was already proving to be uncomfortably hot. The country was basking in the midst of a heat-wave, and neither Darren nor Mike cared for it too much. They both hate the heat passionately, and carefully selected a table away from the large, plate-glass windows so that they could enjoy as much shade as possible.

Within the hour, both investigators would visit the troubled dwelling, but first they needed to formulate a strategy and assess the meagre amount of evidence they had accumulated so far. Most of it had been drawn from the oral and written testimonies of Marianne and her mother, June.

Darren takes an extremely ‘evidential’ perspective towards paranormal research. His primary goal is to gather evidence, accumulate data. Mike is more ‘experiential’. He isn’t so much interested in the recipe of a paranormal event as he is in its flavour. Darren will gather data, Mike will listen to his senses and inner instinct. Perhaps that’s why they work so well together as a team; they complement each other.

Darren had brought with him a copy of some further diary notes made by June Peterworth. In them, she detailed the on-going litany of strange experiences that were disturbing her daughter so deeply. He handed them to Mike and asked him what he thought.

Mike, who had already seen a typed transcript of the notes, looked over them again for a minute or two.

‘Well, if all this is accurate then it seems pretty much like a classic polt case to me. There’s only one thing that bothers me, Darren: as you know, in polt cases there is almost always present a young, pubescent female under stress. Marianne is too old, and I see no mention of a younger sister, visiting cousin, or whatever. That’s odd. Darren agreed, and they both made a mental note to raise this with Marianne during their visit. At this juncture, a word of explanation would probably be appropriate.

For reasons that will become clearer later, in the vast majority of polt cases the infested home almost always plays host to a female of teenage years who is unhappy to one degree or another. Typically, the girl will have at least begun – if not actually completed – the first stages of puberty, including menstruation, but will be under the age of seventeen. She will also be under great stress. This may be because she is being bullied, struggling with schoolwork or perhaps having to witness discord between parents within the familial home.

It is not always necessary for the youngster to be living at the infected premises. She may simply be a regular visitor there. A typical scenario involves a young female who regularly visits her older, married sister. When she is absent, all will be quiet. When she is present, all manner of polt-like symptoms may manifest themselves. As we shall see, this peculiar phenomenon may provide potent clues regarding the true nature of the poltergeist enigma.

Mike mopped up a smudge of egg yolk with a triangle of toast and asked Darren just what he thought they should try and achieve from the forthcoming visit.

‘We don’t want to go in there with size nine boots, Darren. The family is obviously upset, and I think we’re going to have to be particularly tactful.’

Again, Darren agreed.

‘Maybe we should just talk at first; you know, get to know them . . . put them at ease.’

‘Do you think we’ll get to carry out any hard research?’

‘Maybe’, replied Darren. ‘We’ll just have to play it by ear. I’ve brought my gear along just in case.’

‘Ever the optimist, eh?’

‘We can live in hope’, said Darren with a grin. ‘I’ll tell you what, Mike; it would be terrific if we actually got the chance to witness some activity first-hand.’

‘Yeah, if only’, Replied Mike. ‘Small chance though, eh?’ ‘Yeah. Still, you never know . . . ‘

Mike and Darren left the cafe and walked across Market Square. Suddenly, a penetrating two-tone siren broke forth from Darren’s bag. The delicately-calibrated motion sensors had been activated. Darren quickly pulled on the zip, reached inside and deactivated them.

‘I hate it when that happens’, he said sheepishly.

‘Don’t worry, my lips are sealed’, said Mike, After all, you paid for the breakfasts.’

Meanwhile, several miles away, Marianne and her boyfriend Marc Karlsonn were sitting in the living room of their home, wondering what was causing the terrific banging and clashing noises in the bedrooms up above. There was, after all, no one up there.

At least, there was no one up there they could see.

CHAPTER THREE

Shivers

Marianne’s home is a terraced house in Lock Street* on the outskirts of a fairly modern estate within the Borough of South Tyneside. It bears none of the stereotypical hallmarks one normally associates with haunted dwellings. There are no gloomy cellars or darkened stairwells, no suits of armour in the hall or sinister-looking portraits hanging on the walls. The rooms are bright, airy and furnished accordingly. To all intents and purposes, it is a typical family home.

Often, when one enters a polt-infested home, there is an aura or atmosphere that hits you like a steam train just as you cross the threshold. This feeling is hard to describe, but well-known to investigators. Typical symptoms include a deep sense of unease, a knotted feeling in the stomach and tightness around the chest. Neither Darren nor Mike felt anything like this. The atmosphere in the home seemed relaxed. Even Marianne and Marc seemed at ease, which was surprising. Could it be that the problem was not as great as they were making out? Later this unwarranted assumption would be completely dispelled. The problem was serious indeed; Marianne and Marc were simply coping with it extremely well.

Once they had been ushered into the living room, Mike cast his eyes around, scrutinising every detail. Seasoned investigators will look for anything and everything that may provide clues as to the nature of an unusual phenomenon. A shelf filled with books on the paranormal may well indicate a predisposition on the part of the experients towards the study of strange phenomena. Religious artefacts such as crosses and menorahs will provide clues as to how the witnesses may perceive the phenomena they are actually experiencing.

Often, an allegedly polt-infested home may just be presenting a set of mundane symptoms that are being misinterpreted. Some types of heating systems are notorious for causing creaks, groans and bangs as they warm up and cool down. The malevolent spirit in the bathroom may simply be an airlock in a pipe, and calling for a plumber may be far more appropriate than calling for a priest.

In this case, there was nothing untoward or unusual about either the exterior or interior of the household apart from the nauseating, inescapable heat which was slowly roasting the entire country alive. Marianne brought both Darren and Mike a large glass of ice-cold water, which was truly appreciated.

Once the formal introductions were out of the way, Mike made a quick mental assessment of Marianne and Marc. They were friendly, pleasant and open. Marc was the quieter of the two – quite reserved, in fact – but still very co-operative. There was absolutely nothing about their initial demeanour that made either of the two investigators suspicious. Nevertheless, fraud is a word that hangs over every poltergeist investigation like a dark cloud, and witnesses who seem both honest and genuine can often turn out to be cunning, manipulative liars. In many cases, there is no malice behind the deception. The witnesses simply feel compelled to draw attention to themselves to fulfil an inner need. Sometimes, however, greed is the motivating factor. Mike and Darren have known cases where people have claimed to have a poltergeist in their home because they believe that doing so will encourage TV producers, newspaper editors and filmmakers to throw buckets of cash at them. This is rarely the case, of course. Sometimes even experienced investigators can be fooled for a while, but most often the deceit is apparent from the beginning.