Mad monk is driving us out.
Exclusive by Claire Stephenson.
A family claim they are being driven out of their home – by the ghost of a mad monk. They say the terrifying apparition has pelted them with plates, ornaments and a piece of shelving. In desperation, Clare James has called a vicar, a priest and several nuns to try and rid them of what they believe is a dangerous poltergeist. But she says the monk – which has a disfigured face and is accompanied by a ghostly child peeping out from behind his long robes – is still appearing most nights.
Now Clare, who has a seven-month-old baby boy, is terrified of sleeping at the house which she shares with her boyfriend Lee and sister Amanda. She claims on one occasion she was pushed down the stairs by an icy hand on her back.The family say they love the house – which has been newly-refurbished – but are now begging the council to move them out.
Said Clare: “It started soon after we moved in. At first I thought it was nothing, but slowly it got worse and worse. I’m just so frightened, we all are. I like the house and I like it round here, but I just can’t live with this. I can’t take much more.” Clare says the monk can be seen quite clearly when it appears – it looks like its face has been burned. She fears it’s only a matter of time before one of her family is hurt.
The Rev. David Thomas, of St Luke’s Church, in Brownley Road, said: “We said some prayers in the house, but that’s all I could do. I think she’s very genuine about what she feels.” Father Michael Murray, of St John’s RC Church, in Woodhouse Lane, said he was very concerned about Clare’s plight. He said: “I didn’t feel anything at the house, but I think you’ve got to be there for a while. I did a short service, and blessed the house with holy water.” Nuns from the Altrincham Road convent in Sharston have also visited her and given her a crucifix.
A spokesman for Manchester city council said they had no policy to deal with poltergeists. He said: “She needs to go back down on the housing list, but I don’t know how long it will take.” He added that the council only moves people at short notice if there is a threat of violence.
Frightened: Claire James clutches her seven month old baby – and a crucifix given to her by nuns who visited her home.
Manchester Metro News, 18th March 1994.
Haunted by monk with an attitude.
The ghost of a plate-throwing monk is driving a family to despair. Clare James has called in a vicar, a priest and nuns in a bid to drive the spirit from her council house in Heaton Road, Wythenshawe. She says it has a hood and a disfigured face and throws plates, ornaments and shelves. Now Clare is frightened to spend nights in the house with her seven-month-old son, boyfriend Lee and sister Amanda. “I like the house and I like the area but I just can’t live with this, I can’t take much more,” she said.
The Rev David Thomas of St Luke’s Church, said: “We said prayers in the house but that is all I can do. I think she is very genuine about what she feels.”
A spokesman for Manchester City Council said they only move people at short notice if there is a threat of violence.
Manchester Evening News, 18th March 1994.
The ghostbusters!
Team ready to tackle ‘mad monk’.
Ghostbusters have visited a Wythenshawe house in a bid to track down the spirit of a mad monk. And after making a tour of the rooms ghost hunters Martin Mills and Angela Conway claim there IS a presence in the house. Last week Metro exclusively revealed how Clare James and her family were being driven out of their Benchill home by what she believed to be a ghostly monk. Clare and her sister Amanda have both seen an apparition of what they thought was a monk and they say it has also appeared with a little girl also dressed in a long cloak.
They have had ornaments, plates, and even a plank of wood thrown at them and both have been pushed downstairs after feeling an invisible hand on their backs. The family are so frightened that Clare has moved the family, including her boyfriend Lee and her seven-month-old son Robert into one bedroom at night.
On Monday, Martin and Angela, of Stockport Ghost Society, began their investigation into the phenomenon. Angela said: “I’d say there’s definitely something there and it’s not like a poltergeist. It’s a ghost that does things like a poltergeist for attention.” They have tried to allay Clare’s fears that it could hurt the family because they say they do not feel anything malevolent about the ghost.
In the front bedroom which Clare moved out of, Martin said he felt a presence. “I walked in and I automatically moved to a certain point. I could sense it was that part of the room,” he said. He added: “Another place in the house I felt something was downstairs in the entrance hall. For a brief few seconds I went light headed and I went dizzy.”
Clare said: “I really like this house and I don’t want to leave it. If they can get rid of it I’m happy to stay, but at the moment I’m really frightened.”
Martin and Angela are to carry out more investigations in the hope they can get rid of the problem. This could involve them spending the night there.
Ghostbusters: Stockport ghost hunters Martin Mills and Angela Conway take a look round Clare James’s home with baby Robert and sister Amanda.
Readers rush to help out.
Since Metro highlighted Clare James’ spooky problem letters from ghostbusters have poured in. Some have offered practical help from mediums, others would like to make a study of Clare’s problem. Spiritualist Robert Coupland, from Altrincham, wrote: “With all due respect, priests and vicars only make matters worse for they neither have expertise nor knowledge to get to the root of the matter. Believe me, throwing holy water about the place and saying prayers has no effect whatsoever.”
But Hazel Grove Baptist Church claims it could hold the key. “We recognise in Clare James’ situation a home where an act of deliverance and then a celebration of common needs to take place,” writes Simon Lambourne, assistant to the Minister.
Metro has also received numerous calls from members of the public who have suffered in the past from a ghost haunting their home. And two people have written in wanting to interview Clare about her experiences for books and scientific studies they are carrying out.
Manchester Metro News, 25th March 1994.