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The Pontefract Poltergeist


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The Pontefract poltergeist haunted the house of Joe and Jean Pritchard and their two children: Phillip, who was 15, and a 12 year old Diane. But when it made its first appearance, in September 1966, most of the family was away on a trip. Only Phillip was there, along with his grandmother Mrs. Scholes, Jean's mother.

On the evening of September 1, Mrs. Scholes was knitting in the living room. Just as Phillip walked in, there was a gust of wind,t he back door slammed, and the room suddenly felt icey cold. Then Phillip noticed a cloud of whitish dust, like chalk dust. It hadn't come off the ceiling, as it was only in the lower half of the room. As he watched, it coated the furniture with a thin layer of powder.

Phillip and his grandmother fetched Aunt Marie, who lived across the road. As soon as she walked in, she slipped on a pool of water. They mopped it up, but more appeared. No one - not even a man from the water company - could figure out where it was coming from.

At first, the Pritchards weren't scared, just puzzled. They only realized the house might be haunted when a wardrobe began to sway away from side to side and moved across the floor by itself. At that point, Phillip and his grandmother packed their bags and went to stay with Marie.

Later that night, Marie and ehr husband Vic decided to investigate. They had a friend, Mr. O'Donald, who was interested in ghosts, so theyr asked him to come and explore the "haunted house".

As they opened the door, they felt a blast of cold air, but found nothing else unusual., Mr. O'DOnald said he thought the problem might be a poltergeist. He added that poltergeusts often damaged photographs. Then, as it was quite late, he went home. The moment he had gone, Vic and Marie heard a crash. In the next room, they found the Pritchard's wedding photo on the floor. The glass was borken, and the paper was slashed in two.

After that, the haunting ended as quickly as it had begun. When the rest of the family returned from their trip, everything was back to normal, and nothing spooky happened in the Pritchard household for two whole years.

Then, one day, Jean Pritchard and Mrs. Scholes were having tea when they heard a noise in the hall. They found the covers from Jean's bed lying at the foot of the stairs. Phillip's bedclothes were thrown downstairs too, along with some potted plants. Mrs. Scholes was sure it was the ghost. "I told you," she said, "it's starting again!"

This time, however, the haunting was much worse than before. The whole house was filled with banging noises and thumps, and the rooms would suddenly become mysteriously cold. Dozens of objects began moving around by themselves.

One of the upstaurs rooms in the house was being decorated, and several paintbrushes, a carpet sweeper and a roll of wallpaper were hurled through the air. The kitchen was affected too - giant bite marks appeared in a sandwich in the refrigerator.

Eventually, the Pritchards had had enough. They decided to call a priest to perform an exorcism - a type of religious ceremony which some people think can get rid of ghosts and demons.

When the priest arrived, he suggested that the bumping noises and moving furniture weren't caused by a ghost at all, but by the house subsiding. However, he soon changed his mind when, just as he finished speaking, a candlestick floated into the air and waved itself under his nose. Terrified, he left in a hurry, saying there was evil in the house.

Diane Pritchard, who was now 14, seemed to be the focus of the haunting. This suggested a poltergeist was to blame, as they are known to victimize teenagers. Diane was thrown out of bed during the night, and even dragged up the stairs by a pair of invisible hands which grabbed hold of her cardigan.

However, another family member, Joe Pritchard's nonsense sister Maude, didn't believe a word of the stories she heard about a poltergeist at the Pritchards' house. She was sure Diane and Phillip were playing tricks, hoaxing the haunting to get attention.

Convinced she would uncover a fraud, Maude decded to come and visit the Pritchards in Pontefract, in order to see the events for herself.

As soon as Aunt Maude arrived, the lights went out. Then the refrigerator door opened and a jug of milk floated out, crossed the room and poured itself onto Maude's head! Still convinced it was a trick, she decided to stay the night. She and Jean arranged to sleep in the same room as Diane, to keep her company.

That night, the poltergeist put on its most impressive show so far. Food from the refrigerator was strewn all over the kitchen floor, all the lights in the house flickered on and off, and when Maude climbed into bed, her reading lamp detached itself from the wall and sailed out of the bedroom door. And four tiny lightbulbs, which were part of the gas fire in the living room materialized in Diane's bedroom.

But the scariest part was yet to come.

Suddenly, an enormous pair of furry hands reached around the door, one at the top and one near the bottom. It looked as it there was a huge monster behind the door - until they realized that the hands were in fact Aunt Maude's fur gloves, moving by themselves.

"Get away- you're evil!" screamed Aunt Maude. in reply, one of the gloves beckoned the women to come neared - but they were too scared to move. Then Aunt Maude sand a hymn to scare the ghost away, but the gloves merely beat time to the tune. Jean Pritchard later admitted that although the moving gloves were frightening, the way the ghost teased Aunt Maude was funny too.

Until now, whatever had been haunting the Pritchards had been invisible. But soon after Maude's visit, Jean and Joe woke up one night to see a hooded figure in the doorway. When they switched on the light, it vanished. Their friends also saw it - one of them said it looked like a monk. One visitor even felt it touch her head.

It turned out that there had once been a monastery near the house. Was a monk's ghost on the loose?

Not long after that, the ghost made a last appearance. Diane and Phillip were watching TV when they suddenly saw the monk through the glass kitchen door. Phillip ran after it, and was just in time to see it disappear into the kitchen floor. That was the last they ever saw or heard of it.

Was the Pontefract poltergeist a hoax? The ghost hunters who investigated the case didn't think so. One of them, Colin Wilson, said that there were so many witnesses and unexplained events that the case only convinced him that ghosts really do exist...

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I've read about this case several times and feel it to be one of the only genuine ones on record.

The way the 'haunting' progressed from small incidents, right through to a terrifying physical attack, is compelling.

I believe Colin Wilson hit the nail on the head when he pointed out about Phillip and Joe arguing and feel that this initial tension gave the poltergiest it's energy.

Hammy x x x

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Hammy as you do appear to know quite a fair bit about these sorts of things, I would like to ask you what it is about this story you feel makes it seem genuine ?

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I've read about this account too. It is the case that eventually led Colin Wilson to conclude that it was emanating from more than just the people in the house and some outside force was involved.

The bit where the aunt starts signing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' to ward off the force and a pair of gloves start 'conducting' along with her would make a great comedy scene.

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Hammy as you do appear to know quite a fair bit about these sorts of things, I would like to ask you what it is about this story you feel makes it seem genuine ?

Several things Kismit .......... wink2.gif

The case a started in 1966 but it was never really publicised. It could have been forgotten and was never the subject of an official investigation. The various

phenomena that took place is way too strange and had never been reported before ~ unlike most hoax cases that start with outrageous claims.

Eggs disappeared from a locked box and exploded like floral scent bombs in front of the witnesses, gold inverted crosses sprayed on the doors at Easter, large bites from sandwiches, the 'sinking feeling' that they family experienced before 'Fred' appeared, almost like being drained of energy.......this list is endless!

If you want to read more try 'Poltergeist' by Colin Wilson ~ it details the entire case from start to finish!

Hammy x x x

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Thank -you . I am particularly interested in potergiest manifestations . We had a marvelouse discusion in the ouija board thread that went over topics like , the possibility of an outside influence ..

We postulated ( I just had to use that word ) that 2 things must really be necisary for a poltergiest haunting to occur . Firstly you need an outside entity of sorts and a conducter for its energy or something to attract and supply energy to the poltergiest , which of course would be the hormone filled teenager .

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As I said on the ouija board thread, I believe that most of it is caused sub-conciously, like table-turning.

However, I am open to the suggestion of energies feeding from a leaking source (troubled/over-active/distressed person) and R.S.P.K. occuring due to the energy levels............ wacko.gif

Criminey......it's all too much for a chilly hamster on a wet Wednesday.........

Hammy x x x

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  • 2 years later...

Hi

How did you all hear about this event? I am doing some research into sightings of the black monk in pontefract, let me know if you have any links on this.

Id be greatly appreciative, Stace

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Ive read the case study on the pontefract poltergiest. It was the first but not the last time that heardc reference to the "piano falling down the stairs" noise. I have since heard this noise myself and that is the best way to describe it. I find it intriguing that there are several cases of this particular phenomenon. Has anyone else heard it or does anyone else know of it?

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Mr. O'DOnald said he thought the problem might be a poltergeist. He added that poltergeusts often damaged photographs. Then, as it was quite late, he went home. The moment he had gone, Vic and Marie heard a crash. In the next room, they found the Pritchard's wedding photo on the floor. The glass was borken, and the paper was slashed in two.

How precipitous is that...

I'm sorry but that part seems just too good to be true.

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The bit where the aunt starts signing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' to ward off the force and a pair of gloves start 'conducting' along with her would make a great comedy scene.

ROFLMAO!!! Hahahahahahaha..... I was just thinking the same thing! It all just seems a little too incredible to be true.....

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I have an old book by Colin Wilson that is a great read that was purchased used at yard sale by my mother in the seventies. It is simply entitled "The Occult."

The book itself as an object is interesting as it cannot seem to be kept in one location and everyone swears they have not read it and do not move it.

It is one of my "scary" possesions to some in my family, the other two being a cursed ring from the orient and a haunted doll from the 1960s.

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  • 1 year later...
AS I HAVE LIVED IN PONTEFRACT ALL MY LIFE I HAVE PRIVVY TO SOME INSIDE INFORMATION ALSO BEING A MEDIUM ALSO HELPS I ACTUALLY NO THE FAMILY IN THE STORY AND WHERE THE HOUSE IS IN PONTEFRACT I HAVE VISITED THE HOUSE AND THERE IS A LOT OF ENERGY IN THE HOUSE ALTHOUGH THE ENERGY THAT WAS THERE HAS SUBSIDED A GREAT DEAL THE ENERGY IS STILL THERE AND SO IS FORCE THAT SURROUNDS THE HOUSE. 1 COMMENT WAS POSTED FURTHER UP BY HAMSTER SAYING THIS WAS NOT REPORTED HOWEVER IN EARLIER EDITIONS OF THE PONTEFRACT AND CASTLEFORD EXPRESS THE STORY WAS REPORTED ON BUT THE FAMILY WAS PASSED AS HOAXERS HOWEVER IN THE EARLY 1980'S WHEN THE ACTIVITY WOULD BE AT IT'S PEAK A REPORTER FROM THE DAILY MIRROR AND STAYED THE NIGHT AND WITNESSED SOME EXTRODINARY PHENOMENOM HE DOCUMENTED AND TOOK SOME PHOTOS SOME WHICH WERE PUBLISHED IN THE PAPER. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS INFORMATION
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Hey:

linked-image

Just FYI.

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Why would a ghost take a bite from a sandwich?? :huh:

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The case was from the '60s NOT the 80's so I am not sure what your point is?

Are you confusing it with the Enfield case??

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Why would a ghost take a bite from a sandwich?? :huh:
Was wondering that as well.
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  • 3 years later...

hi guys im glad i found this post as i am from the pontefract uk area and im doing a tv documentary on the haunted house in pontefract this story is very interesting but im not sure if its the right story for the house i am looking for if anyone has a address for this please email me at the-him-bullet09@hotmail.com all info is crucial for the documentary i am making the most research i can the better

thanks for your time

bulletshuandakin

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hi acebam!

my name is bulletshaundakin and im doing a documentary on this house in a few weeks in the meantime im getting as much research as i can if you would like to help me out more please contact me on my email address or msn account the-him-bullet09@hotmail.com

if there is anything you would like to tell me about this house before me and a few overs spend a weekend in there documenting it all with cameras though out the house

we all so are getting backed by one of the biggest tv program channels on the uk network channel 5 but are yet to be confirmed

thanks for your time bulletshaundakin!

<b></b><i></i>AS I HAVE LIVED IN PONTEFRACT ALL MY LIFE I HAVE PRIVVY TO SOME INSIDE INFORMATION ALSO BEING A MEDIUM ALSO HELPS I ACTUALLY NO THE FAMILY IN THE STORY AND WHERE THE HOUSE IS IN PONTEFRACT I HAVE VISITED THE HOUSE AND THERE IS A LOT OF ENERGY IN THE HOUSE ALTHOUGH THE ENERGY THAT WAS THERE HAS SUBSIDED A GREAT DEAL THE ENERGY IS STILL THERE AND SO IS FORCE THAT SURROUNDS THE HOUSE. 1 COMMENT WAS POSTED FURTHER UP BY HAMSTER SAYING THIS WAS NOT REPORTED HOWEVER IN EARLIER EDITIONS OF THE PONTEFRACT AND CASTLEFORD EXPRESS THE STORY WAS REPORTED ON BUT THE FAMILY WAS PASSED AS HOAXERS HOWEVER IN THE EARLY 1980'S WHEN THE ACTIVITY WOULD BE AT IT'S PEAK A REPORTER FROM THE DAILY MIRROR AND STAYED THE NIGHT AND WITNESSED SOME EXTRODINARY PHENOMENOM HE DOCUMENTED AND TOOK SOME PHOTOS SOME WHICH WERE PUBLISHED IN THE PAPER. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS INFORMATION

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hi acebam!

my name is bulletshaundakin and im doing a documentary on this house in a few weeks in the meantime im getting as much research as i can if you would like to help me out more please contact me on my email address or msn account the-him-bullet09@hotmail.com

if there is anything you would like to tell me about this house before me and a few overs spend a weekend in there documenting it all with cameras though out the house

we all so are getting backed by one of the biggest tv program channels on the uk network channel 5 but are yet to be confirmed

thanks for your time bulletshaundakin!

Sorry to have to tell you this but that post is from July 2007, which was also the last day that user logged into their account, and she also mixed up events with another story, so I dont think you're going to get much im afraid...

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post-102432-095665600 1283722674_thumb.j

hi acebam!

my name is bulletshaundakin and im doing a documentary on this house in a few weeks in the meantime im getting as much research as i can if you would like to help me out more please contact me on my email address or msn account the-him-bullet09@hotmail.com

if there is anything you would like to tell me about this house before me and a few overs spend a weekend in there documenting it all with cameras though out the house

we all so are getting backed by one of the biggest tv program channels on the uk network channel 5 but are yet to be confirmed

thanks for your time bulletshaundakin!

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