Evil spirits blamed for marriage
Police and church leaders have denied that they have a haunted house on their hands at Rampton where a young wife claims that evil spirits caused the breakdown of her marriage to the village bobby. A spokesman for Retford police said that the talk of evil spirits is a “load of rubbish,” and as far as the police were concerned the break-up in the marriage of Wendy Tobin and her husband Kevin was purely a domestic issue which had resolved itself.
He pointed out that the now empty house known as Tree Tops which has four bedrooms and stands in its own spacious grounds has been lived in before by two other police families before the Tobin’s. “They were happily married couples who never made any suggestion that there were any kind of spirits, evil or otherwise,” he said.
Village vicar the Rev. Trevor Gibson has extended the offer help to Mrs Tobin who is now staying with the parents of Mr David Phillips, the man alleged to be involved in the break-up of her marriage. But Rev. Gibson says that instead of offering exorcism he would give advice. Said Rev. Gibson: “The story of evil spirits comes as news to me. As far as I’m concerned such things are not a reason for the break-up of a marriage. The house is built of bricks and mortar, not evil spirits. Obviously I would try an dhelp her if she came to me but my help would involve giving her some sound practical advice.”
Mrs Tobin has denied sleeping with Mr Phillips and said that once she finds herself a new home he would not be coming to live with her. “Kevin and myself are getting a divorce and we will have to sort things out from there. No matter what anybody says I am adamant that there were evil spirits at the house. Articles on my dressing table have been rearranged and I have personally seen a shadowy figure that did not look human. On one occasion both David and Kevin ran out into the garden after hearing a knock on the door but there was nothing there.”
Retford, Gainsborough and Worksop Times, 25th August 1978.