Two up, two down blessing for estate agents with des res ghost!
Exclusive by Sarah Stephens.
A ghost-busting vicar was called to exorcise a North estate agency… after a three-month spate of horror-hauntings. Spooked staff at Park Estates rang Reverend Murray Haig after office equipment started flying around. And after a series of blessings a cross has been hung in the 100-year-old shop at Cramlington.
Senior managers at the company’s head office in Leeds were alerted after terrified staff reported: Mysterious holes appearing in the walls; Strange noises and office equipment sliding across desks; A fridge turning itself up and freezing the contents.
Both Reverend Haig and the staff insist the daytime hauntings are genuine. “The office girls were very scared and I am quite sure they have grounds to be,” said Rev Haig, of St Nicholas Church, Cramlington. “I’m convinced the things that happened were not caused by human agency. I’ve been to the shop three times and prayed with staff, left a cross and met with the senior branch manager.”
He added: “I’m hoping the problems have now been solved. I have blessed every room.”
It is believed the building at Dudley Court was once a church hall. Research revealed a history of mystery fires breaking out.
Office manager Myra Neil said: “Obviously we didn’t want this to appear in the paper because it is a sensitive subject. We’ve managed to keep it from the customers, apart from one occasion. Some papers started to move around, but we said it was just a draught.”
And senior branch manager Ian Robinson said: “A vicar was called, he came to have a look at the place and expressed some concern. There is a general feeling that something is there. I don’t know what.”
North occult expert Matthew Hutton believes a poltergeist is to blame for the ghoulish games. “I’ve studdied the subject with a critical eye for five years, but this is without a doubt the most active ghost that I’ve ever heard of,” he said.
Sunday Sun (Newcastle), 13th October 1991.