Poltergeists are renowned for being some of the most agitating spirits. They have traditionally been described as troublesome spirits who haunt a particular person instead of a specific location.
Although there is still debate concerning whether poltergeists are the same as ghosts, they’re demons, or something else completely different, one thing everyone can agree on is that they are extremely disruptive spirits that people should stay away from.
In today’s post, we will examine a poltergeist case from London that occurred in the early 1970s. When people tend to think of poltergeists in London in the 1970’s, they tend to think of the Enfield Haunting, which the popular horror film “the Conjuring 2” was loosely based on. However, several years earlier another poltergeist story would occur in the Thornton Heath section of London. And as we will see, this story is every bit as terrifying. The Story occurs in the Thornton Heath suburb of England.
In August 1970 one night a family awoke to a clock radio blasting something on a foreign station. Initially not thinking anything of it, the family went back to sleep, but little did they know this would be the beginning. The beginning of 4 years of torment.
As the events continued, they got stranger until soon the family realized that indeed something strange was going on. Several strange and creepy events would happen.
During the Holidays in 1972, an ornament flew across the room, smashing into the husband’s forehead. The husband was violently hit and flew back into his chair. At this time, the Christmas tree began to levitate and to shake violently with no apparent cause.
Around New Year’s Eve, the couple awoke one night to hear footsteps in the bedroom. After turning on the lights, and searching the surrounding area there was no one there.
Perhaps creepier, the entity started to manifest. One night the couple’s son woke up and found a man in old fashioned clothing staring angrily at him.
Others would witness the event as well. One night the family was hosting a dinner party when there was a loud knocking on the door. Then, the living room door flew open and all the lights in the house turned on.
The family tried to do some things to stop the strange activity. First, the family had the home blessed by a priest. Then, the family decided to hire a medium to investigate what the spirit wanted.
The medium told the family that the house was haunted by a man named Chatterton, a farmer who considered the family trespassers on his property. Even Chatterton’s wife began haunting the family.
The couple said they would often see an elderly lady in 18th century clothes following them up the stairs. Oddly, whenever they tried to look at her, she would disappear.
For a four-year period, all sorts of activity would happen. The farmer began appearing on the television screens. Loud noises were heard all over the house, but when the family went to check nothing would be found. A lampshade repeatedly was knocked to the floor with no apparent reason.
The family was stubborn and even though they knew the spirit wanted them out, they refused to leave. There was more anger and they believed they earned the home.
However, in 1974, the family finally gave in and decided to move. It had been four long years.
(Read about the Bridgeport Poltergeist here)
It’s well known that London has several famous poltergeists. Besides the Enfield haunting, another well-known account occurred in 1934 to Alma Fielding. The area in general has many underground stories due to the long history in the city.
Perhaps what’s most interesting about the poltergeist haunting is that there didn’t appear to be one person being targeted like most poltergeist cases. Everyone in the small family heard and saw the spirit directly.
Much has been said about this case although it is not well known. One investigator studied this case and believes that this incident never occurred. The individual says he was unable to locate a source and believes this story originated from the internet. Still, others say it did indeed happen, and the family in question wanted to remain anonymous as well as not disclose the address. Until we get some sort of evidence or someone from the family publicly comes forward, the skeptics will probably continue to doubt the story.
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