Exorcism may settle Kenton poltergeist.
Things which went bang in the night have been worrying a young Kenton man, and on Wednesday a team of exorcists came to his semi-detached in Woodgrange Avenue. There were Canon J.D. Pearce-Higgins, Vice-Provost of Southwark Cathedral, Mr Donald Page, a medium, and Mr Page’s assistant, Edna Taylor. Their visit was to the home of Chris Rider, a journalist working on a spiritualist newspaper, who in the course of his duties had investigated a poltergeist’s activities, and had since been greatly troubled.
This, you might think, was one of the hazards of specialising in the supernatural, but Mr Rider seems to have taken more than his fair share of knocks. He would wake up and find his bed shaking, articles would change position on shelves, and armchairs would move about the room. Before the poltergeist attached itself to Mr Rider it had been bothering another family to such an extent that they had been forced to vacate the upstairs of their house. An exorcism was performed here and Mr Rider returned home. That night he could not sleep for bumps, rattles and vibrations which shook the room. It was little consolation that the family which complained originally has had complete peace and quiet since then.
Wednesday’s team of exorcisms was the same as before. The ritual began with Holy Communion, which was celebrated by Canon Pearce-Higgins and taken by Mr Page, and Mr Rider’s parents, who also live in the house. No sooner had this been done than Mr Page went into a trance. He was led upstairs in to the most affected rooms, and there he started to shake and tremble, apparently as a spirit took over. The spirit announced himself as “John,” but said no more, and Mr Page’s “spirit guide,” known as Dr White, took possession.
“Dr White” strolled round the house, dipping his fingers in a bowl of water, and drawing a cross on every window and mirror in the upstairs rooms. As he did this he spoke in Latin. The water, he told the others, must be kept and used to water the plants in the house. If any was left over it was to be placed in the back bedroom as additional protection. Having blessed the windows, “Dr White” said they should be left open, presumably to provide easy exit for the poltergeist. Soon after this “Dr White” departed and Mr Page came out of his trance. Despite his name, “Dr White” claims Chinese nationality.
Mr Page explained that the poltergeist was extremely strong, and spread its influence throughout two or three rooms. He said that one exorcism would probably not be sufficient to get rid of it. Following the exorcism Mr Rider was to sleep back in his own room. His nerves failed him on the first night, Wednesday and he did not get round to returning until Thursday.
On this occasion he said he heard bumps and bangs, but they were not as violent as before. He spoke to the “spirit,” and seemed to have replies “tapped” back to him. He eventually left the house in the early hours of the morning, but not “in a blind panic” as before.
On Friday he visited a medium, who appeared to contact the poltergeist. She described him as tall, and dark, and this time his name was given as “Joe.” Joe admitted to having wasted his life, and he said he had returned “to get his own back.” People had not cared when he was killed in a car crash, he said. The medium, Ena Twigg, of Acton, said that Joe had probably been a car thief. She warned Chris not to go into a pub or take a drink for a fortnight, as alcohol attracted Joe and would discourage him from leaving.
Another medium, Jessie Nason, who demonstrated at Brent Town Hall last week, told Chris that “Joe” or “John” had communicated with her too. He had told her that he came from Canning Town, worked in the docks and slept in doss houses.
Harrow Observer, 29th October 1968.