Since moving into the property in 2003, many people, including myself, my family, friends and even a neighbour have all experienced, what now amounts to be, a considerable number of incidents of a potential paranormal nature, both within the house and its immediate proximity.
No one can explain, why these “happenings” actually occur, they just do, very randomly, and at times when we least expect. Months can actually go by without incident. Initially, in the first year of residence at the property, although the “odd” happening did crop up, as a family we didn’t really stand up and take that much notice. It was only when the events became increasingly regular with actual “sightings” witnessed, that we finally realised “something was amiss” and from then on, observed the situation with a much more critical eye, meanwhile trying our best to remain impartial, objective and practical along the way.
I am now very thankful it was at this point, I decided to document the dates, times and details, as and when something out of the ordinary should arise. As a result I have now kept a “diary” which is now quite comprehensive, thankfully both acting as a “memory jogger” and a valid source of information, helping with my unsuccessful attempts to identify any patterns or trends.
As strange as it seems, as the years go by, as a consequence of the sheer amount of “Incidents” experienced, no matter how bizarre they may be, we do still forget certain things that may be of importance i.e. the time and date, sometimes even the incident itself!
The irony is that, Claire and myself both being members of the West Midlands Ghost Club, as part of the course, we always remain objective and rational on our investigations, and yet we are finding the events at home, much more inexplicable and perplexing than that on most actual investigations.
Many people do not believe in Ghosts and the paranormal, and to be honest, I feel, it is only those, who have experienced such things, that can truly appreciate and empathise with others experiencing similar kinds of events. As a family we are not attention seekers, delusional, naive or gullible and definitely do not hold any hidden agenda’s. I fully realise the attention and sometimes ridicule this type of thing can attract, and its only now at this point, that our experiences have been relayed outside of the group itself. Up until now, the West Midlands Ghost Club have monitored the events respectfully, and due to its very random nature, the events have always been treated as an ongoing “pet project,” for the group, it makes sense, that in this muddled, conflicting, theory clogged world of the paranormal, a true and honest account, of what may be a “haunted house or family”, should be given, for visitors to the West Midlands Ghost Club website and its forum to view and make up their own minds.
The details of the incidents have not been exaggerated or romanticized in any way, merely documented, as and when they have actually occurred. It goes without saying rational explanations have always initially been pursued i.e. environmental factors, the presence of possible infrasound like vibrations, optical illusions, hypnopompic induced errors of judgment and influence from the power of suggestion etc. And I do feel, part of the reasons why these incidents have remained so remarkable is because no outside influences have so far come in to confuse and taint matters, such as psychics who would immediately try to put personalities to the “sightings” or on the other end of the scale, hard nosed sceptics who would immediately question everybody’s honesty, integrity and common sense throughout this period.
As far as I know, there is no “cut and dried” evidence to suggest what “Ghosts” actually are, or what kind of catalyst triggers these occurrences off, but the house and my family seem to be doing something. And the more we experience, the more we are baffled. Although the odd, unsettling moment arises now and again, the atmosphere of the house has generally always been warm and welcoming. Quite frankly, both Claire and I would not bring our children up in any environment that we feel would be threatening or psychologically damaging. Thankfully the children have never been really fazed by these incidents, and have always maturely accepted the fact, that these things seem to happen and that “Ghosts” are not things really to be
scared of, (easier said than done at times I must admit), and thankfully the incidents have often happened too quickly to be fully distressing to them. Anyone wishing to visit the house would surely be disappointed, it is just a standard unremarkable modern semi detached, and we are just a standard modern family that remarkable things seem to happen around us, now and again, but never on demand.
Please see the following examples of the differing incidents documented throughout our time at the property, updates will be added over the months if anything should occur again.
The following is an account of the most significant. I have gone into greater detail with the more bizarre occurrences.
Happenings over the years:
Cold draughts, Footsteps, Feelings of being touched.
Knocks, bangs, rapping’s (once lasting at random points throughout the whole night and some time into the morning, never to reoccur again, the knocks at the time, seemed to respond to my movements, stopping when getting out of bed to investigate.)
Regular, very loud crashes and the sound of someone “messing around” from various points within the house and on investigation, nothing actually found out of place, (this occasionally still happens virtually up to date.)
Lighting and other electrical appliances turned on and off, and other electrical related irregularities. (Of course this may not be of paranormal origin, but it needs to be noted.)
Disembodied male and female voices heard by various family members, occasionally heard calling members by their actual names, and twice, two voices heard as if in conversation, coming from the kitchen.
Growling, hissing, and other animal-like noises heard. Thankfully most of this was only heard in the early period of the activity.
Twice, that we know of, things have gone missing to be found in both an odd inaccessible places and also in the spot they were initially lost, many months later.
The family on returning home once found an ornamental figure on the floor in the back room, it had moved from its original spot around 7ft and not broken.
A tall figure (possibly cloaked) as been witnessed in total over the four year span, around 27 different times by all the family and a guest in different parts of the house, however it has appeared mostly in the kitchen and the area of the stairs. It seems to follow the contours of the house, i.e. moving through doorways and up the staircase. Claire once encountered the shape, in the kitchen and it physically drained her energy, for some reason? This type of apparition has also been seen by the next door neighbour in their own house.
A small black/grey shape, approx 3ft high, usually quite quick moving has also been seen numerous times in various parts of the house by the family and a guest.
A little girl has been witnessed on a few occasions, once by my youngest son who saw “her” (if it is in fact the same little girl image) in the doorway of my daughters bedroom, in negative effect. i.e. Black with white contours and creases, from what he could make out, she
appeared in Victorian dress?
Two different little boys have been seen, on different occasions one with an old fashioned basin haircut, the other in modern fashion, the way we used to dress our eldest lad in the late eighties/early nineties.
A bald, smooth skinned, disembodied head has been witnessed by two guests, members of the West Midlands Ghost Club simultaneously in my front room, both parties were very distressed and shaken, I myself was present and saw nothing. Independently to this, Claire has also seen
what looked like a “head” on two separate occasions in the same vicinity.
Men and lady images and partial representations have also been seen by two of my daughters, on many separate occasions now. These seems to be no uniformity in their dress or appearance, and from documented experiences, seem to be the only images who may be interpreted, as trying to communicate, by their actions and facial expressions.
Strangely a “lady” that appears just like Claire in a night gown, and a figure that has been mistaken for my youngest son in his house coat, have been seen by my daughter’s three times separately in different parts of the house, the “real” members of the family where in other parts of the house when these incidents occurred, dressed differently.
Objects have “fallen” a few times, too far from where they were originally situated. And objects have actually been witnessed in mid flight on separate occasions. One object would have had to be unhooked off the wall to fall, but its trajectory appeared to move as if thrown i.e. moving in a straight line witnessed by Claire and my daughter. The other was a bouncy ball “forcefully thrown” into the kitchen when Claire was actually in there, nobody else was actually home, apart from my youngest daughter who was asleep at the time in the front room. It came from the direction of the adjoining room.
My youngest son once saw a pink “potato” shaped light with a black outer lining; appear near the ceiling of the kitchen. This slowly moved downwards then disappeared totally near the floor. On closer inspection, a needle and thread were found on the floor in close proximity to where the “light” appeared. The sewing box is kept out of arms length on top of the fridge, if indeed this is where it would originate from. No one had cause to use the needle that day and the kitchen had been cleaned fully many times since the last time the box had been opened. The thread attached to the needle was not an exact match to the threads in the sewing box and of course, may in fact, not be related to the light.
A fork was dangerously put inside the toaster, the strange thing about this was my eldest son was the only person present, and had just removed the first made pieces of toast and was in the process of putting in another piece of bread. The placement of the fork must have
literally occurred in seconds between these actions.
Once on returning to the empty house, all framed photographs on a low cupboard had all been “placed” face down.
Once on returning to the empty house, washing up liquid had been found in the kettle.
On returning home to an empty house, duvets and bedclothes had been removed from two beds, in separate bedrooms, and left in disarray on the floor. Both were previously made. Approximately 10 minutes later, after the beds were remade, I noticed a cuddly toy that previously lay on the floor, was now placed on my bed. Claire had remade the beds and had not put this toy on the bed. Everybody else present was actually situated downstairs and during this time, hadn’t ventured up the stairs.
A matchbox car (above) was found, placed on top of the bedroom wardrobe, completely in line with the edge of the wardrobe front, on its back with wheels in the air. Claire and my three year old daughter were the only people within the house, and my daughter had last been playing with it at 4.00pm until her bath time at 4.30.The car was actually discovered at 6pm when the rest of the family returned. A similar incident also occurred with a square money box, balanced precariously on the edge of a desk.
Eldest son witnessed a “pair of ladies legs” wearing white woollen socks and a “bit of a piece of skirt” walking up the stairs, a short distance away from him, on reaching the top of the stairs they moved towards the bedrooms. All the girls were asleep and no one in the household actually wears clothes of this type. This is the first time I have witnessed a member of my family get physically angry over an incident of this nature, my son demanding an explanation, of which of course, he never got.
Claire on returning from dropping the kids to school was the only person in the house, on moving to the kitchen, she found the washing machine in the centre of the room. This was in its usual place at the time of leaving the house. The machine had never moved before, and
vibration as a cause has been ruled out due to its weight and the fact, the machine was not switched on at the time.
March 17th 2008 Update:
Following on from the last update, here are details of some of the recent occurrences within the house starting from October 2007 up to present day, complete with the dates and times.
16th October 2007 Approx 5.00pm
Claire on being the only person in the vicinity of the Kitchen area, witnesses a tall black shape/figure moving quickly from the entrance of the back room doorway, down along the hallway to the front door, before disappearing.
18th October 2007 7.25pm
14th November 2007 Approx 5.30pm
Claire situated in the front room, no one else present. On momentarily moving across the room to the television, to turn the channel over, then returning immediately to her original position, Claire notices a “card” belonging to our son lying on the floor in the middle of the room nearby. This had initially gone missing, many days previous and had not been seen since up until this point despite thorough searches. We have no explanation of how the card ended up in this position.
18th November 2007 Approx 3.30pm
Steve coming down the ladders from the loft can see a shadow of someone moving around being cast over the floor through the open front bedroom door, from a source out of view. At the time, nothing more was thought about this, it was only on realisation that no other members of the family were actually upstairs at the time, that this occurrence was actually noted.
29th November 2007 Approx 10 am
Claire had just finished mopping the kitchen floor; the door leading to the back room was closed, as were all windows at the time. On approaching the stairs a few moments later from leaving the area, a loud crashing sound could be heard coming from the kitchen. (Very reminiscent to the sound of multiple plates falling on to a hard surface.) On immediate examination, nothing at first appeared found out of place. On walking back out of the kitchen however, Claire notices the lid of a tightly vacuum sealed coffee tin, now lying flat and perfectly straight, wedged between the wall and an iron placed on the cooker in a “Bridge” shape. (See photo left) The lid was in perfect alignment and couldn’t be easily replicated, when attempted. There was no temperature change noted and Claire was alone in the house at the time of the incident. The coffee tin is usually situated approximately 1 foot from the place it was found, wedged against the wall.
15th December 2007 9.45 am
12th January 2008 11am and 8.15pm
On two separate occasions, the sound of “something” moving around upstairs is heard by Steve and Claire, at times when nobody is actually up there. On immediate investigation, nothing is found out of place.
12th January 2008 Approx 2.20pm
My youngest daughter aged 4 was upstairs in front bedroom, everybody else in the downstairs front room, back room and kitchen areas. After a while she started screaming hysterically. On investigation she was found cowering in the corner of the front bedroom crying uncontrollably. On eventually calming down, she stated that someone in the room was talking to her, although nobody was actually there. At the time she couldn’t confirm if it was a male or female voice. It took a while for my daughter to recover from this.
20th January 2008 Approx 11.45pm
Claire was sleeping in the back bedroom with my youngest daughter as she was at that time, still unsettled from the previously mentioned incident. Claire couldn’t sleep and got the impression she was being watched, a few moments later she could hear what sounded like footfalls at the side of the bed ( this is a wooden floor) and a deep “male” sounding breathing. No one else was actually present and Claire was too frightened to move at the time. Fortunately my daughter slept through this.
21st January Approx 12.15 am
Steve in front bedroom hears loud bang coming from the direction of the wall separating the back bedroom. This occurred twice again, minutes later, this time it was more metallic in its tone, similar to something metallic being moved /dragged. On immediate inspection, nothing was found out of place. Claire actually being in the back bedroom, did not hear these sounds and could only confirm the details of the previously mentioned incidents.
21st January Approx 3.55pm
Daughter aged 6 in the downstairs back room reported being “stroked” on the head.
21st January Approx 4.20pm
Claire in the hall hears loud male voice coming from the direction of the front room. My son was the only male present in the house at the time and happened to be in the upstairs back bedroom with the door closed. The television was also switched off. Unfortunately no specific words could be made out.
23rd February Approx 4.30pm
During a visit from Steve’s parents, photographs were taken in the front room. Later on, on viewing all the photographs’ taken, on one of them, a black “shape” had been picked up, reflected on the television screen from an unknown source. The television incidentally was not switched on at the time. The shape is seen clearly (See photo below) and appears in front of a white painted door. Attempts to recreate the image have proved unsuccessful. All present were actually seated and no one detected anything out of the ordinary at the time. The image appears upright.
25th February Approx 8.35am
As I have stated before, none of my family have ever been prone to disorders or are particularly susceptible to hallucinations of any kind. After this incident, I must admit, I was very close to “giving up” my involvement in paranormal investigation as an whole. Firstly, because of the general climate of scepticism on these matters getting to me, when seeing my nearest and dearest in turmoil, over things that according to some, are just tricks of our imagination and don’t exist. This just does not sit right with me and quite frankly at times angers me. And secondly, I acknowledge that whatever it is, triggering these incidents into action, I have absolutely no control over. This last incident leaving me at a loss of just what I can physically do to resolve, what is now turning out to be, a situation that is having a detrimental affect on my youngest.
7th March 2008 6.40pm
Steve walking across the kitchen hears the sound of something “plastic” hitting the floor. On turning sees a fridge magnet roll across the floor. On replication, vibration ruled out at this stage as the magnetism was very strong and needed to be physically removed to dislodge from the fridge door and there was no actual contact with the door at the time. No one else in the vicinity during this.
16th July 2008 Update
Tuesday 11th March 2008 10.18 pm ApproxSon in the bathroom, heard what sounded like a little child calling out, but couldn’t make out any specific words. All the younger members of the family were asleep at this point. The bathroom door and bedroom doors were also all closed at the time, blocking out any potential noise from the bedrooms. On immediate inspection of the outside proximity, attempts to find the source of this noise also proved fruitless. At the time it was pointed out that cats and vixen's sometimes make noises that may sometimes bear a resemblance to human vocal sounds, but this was discounted due to the fact these external noises have been heard on occasions previously and didn't really match, also the "sound" seemed to have a familiar cadence and pattern which seemed to originate from the room itself, although weak and distant.
Tuesday 25th March 2008 6.30 pm Approx
Steve being the only person upstairs, on walking out the front bedroom heard a loud crash (reminiscent to multiple objects falling over) coming from the front bedroom behind him. On immediate inspection, nothing was found out of place.
Wednesday 2nd April 2008 12.15am Approx
Everybody in the house was asleep at the time. The youngest son, Claire and Steve (to a lesser degree) were all woken by a very loud crash coming from somewhere within the house downstairs. The family dog also reacted to this, barking uncontrollably. On immediate investigation, nothing was found out of place inside and also outside, within the front and back gardens.
Wednesday 2nd April 2008 7.35 pm Approx
Steve was in the kitchen, everybody else was at the time situated in the downstairs front room. One of the younger daughters on facing the front room doorway leading on to the hall witnessed a “black shape” move past the doorway in the hall way, moving in the direction of the downstairs back room. No one else happened to be looking in this direction at the time.
Wednesday 2nd April 2008 7.45 pm Approx
Steve in the kitchen saw a “black human shaped figure” move into the kitchen from the back room, to move towards the outside back door. Although it was witnessed in the periphery of his vision, it was a very “strong” image none the less. No one else at the time was in the immediate vicinity and Steve got the impression the “shape” appeared not to be cloaked (unlike previous, similar sightings of such shapes.) Up until now, corner of the eye sightings have not usually been noted due to the probabilities of this being simply tricks of the light and other errors of judgement, but due to the clarity of image, on this occasion, it is felt this incident should be highlighted.
Thursday 10th April 2008 10.45 pm Approx
Steve in the front bedroom, heard a sound (reminiscent to scampering footfalls) coming from the upstairs landing area. On immediate inspection (whilst thinking it might be one of the younger children) nothing was found out of place and every member of the household were still all asleep in their respective beds.
Thursday 10th April 2008 10.50 pm Approx
Steve in the front bedroom hears a dull thud. This was initially ignored, but was soon followed by a very loud rattling sound (reminiscent to somebody rummaging through a group of objects.) The noise came from the direction of the landing. (Coincidentally at that time, there did happen to be a box of toys kept in this vicinity.) The younger son in the back bedroom also heard the noises, actually being woken up by this sound. Everybody else remained asleep throughout the whole incident.
Tuesday 20th May 2008 6.30 pm
Claire in the bathroom, bathing the younger children, briefly sees a figure all in white, on the landing (approx 4ft away). Although on this occasion it was quite a fleeting sighting, Claire could see the brightness in total contrast to the surrounding darkened landing behind it and also got the impression the shape was in fact a girl. Everybody else happened to be downstairs at the time.
Friday 11th July 2008 8.25 pm
Claire and the younger daughter were sitting in the downstairs front room facing the doorway leading to the hall way, both reported hearing a sound (reminiscent to somebody “messing around”) in the downstairs toilet. Claire then noticed the shadow of movement coming from under the closed door. On immediate inspection, the room was empty with no one else being in the area at the time.
Sunday 13th July 2008 11.15 am Approx
Steve walking along the landing area heard a noise reminiscent to” somebody messing around” coming from the boys back bedroom. Because the door happened to be already wide open, Steve had a very good view of the room and remained in the doorway observing while the noises continued for a few more moments longer before coming to a stop. There was nothing visible throughout this episode, and Steve was at a loss to explain what could have made such distinct sounds. Everybody else at this time happened to be situated downstairs and in the garden.
TUESDAY 12th August 2008 8.15PMThe two youngest daughters situated in the downstairs front room. On looking in the direction of the doorway leading to the hallway, the elder of the two noticed a “figure” all in white, draped in something that appeared to look like a curtain type effect, covering the whole of the form. The shape moved past the doorway very quickly in the direction of the front door and was Approximately 6ft in height . The other daughter situated in the room, happened to be facing the other way and was unaware of this. Nobody else within the household happened to be in this vicinity at the time. (It is interesting to note that over the last couple of weeks leading up to this date, there have been a number of “corner of the eye” sightings in the same area of the hallway, usually dark in colour, although Claire recently reported “half-seeing” what looked like a child in white, move from the front doorway, travelling in the direction of the back room. Unfortunately no date or time was recorded for this incident.)
TUESDAY 7th August 2008 8.00PM Approx
Claire in the downstairs dining room, witnesses a very fleeting “figure,” approximately 3ft in height, move down the hallway towards her. Claire stated it was cream coloured, translucent and in the short time it was present, looked like a small boy. The shape disappeared at the dining room entrance, connecting to the hall. Everybody else within the household happened to be situated upstairs in varying rooms at the time.
10th October 2008 8.15PM Approx
The eldest daughter situated on the upstairs landing, hears the sound of 3 consecutive “knocks” (reminiscent to someone knocking the door) coming from the girls bedroom window, approx 8ft away in distance. The daughter was visibly shaken by this because the sound was reasonably loud in volume. Steve happened to be in a nearby bedroom and heard nothing out of the ordinary, when advised of this occurrence. Everybody else within the household happened to be situated downstairs in the front room at the time. Steve had not made any sounds at the time and the possibility of sound travelling from downstairs as been ruled out due to all relevant doors being closed at the time. Nobody was actually at the front door.11th October 2008 10.10AM
The youngest son situated in the kitchen, facing the outside door at the time, turned around to start a conversation with Claire (who he assumed was nearby) and witnessed a “figure” move into the dining room from the hallway. The figure was totally black with head and shoulders quite well defined. The body however, seemed to be a “column.” On immediate investigation, the room was empty. The figure was slim and approx 6ft in height. Everybody else within the household happened to be situated upstairs at the time.
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