Diary of terror is kept by haunted housewife.
Housewife Mrs Emily Whilkes keeps a diary of terror – records of mysterious goings-on which have got villagers at Heacham talking about ghosts and troubled spirits. Now the Whilkes family’s home has been labelled “The Haunted House” by villagers who are convinced it is visited by ghosts. The family have been so terrified at times they refused to go upstairs to bed and slept in the kitchen for the night.
Visitors, neighbours and friends all claim they have heard the things that go bump in the night. Unexplained knockings and mysterious noises have often driven Mrs Whilkes out of the house during the daytime – and she was too frightened to return. Her diary of terror began about three or four months ago when the family moved into Victoria House, Lynn Road, Heacham.
She told me: “One of the first funny things happened when the gasmen came to put in new pipes down in the cellar. They said afterwards they heard footsteps coming down the cellar steps and turned round to see a small shadowy figure which quickly dissolved into thin air. They said the air felt like a morgue and smelt of decaying bodies. They had the fright of their lives and said they would never go down there again.”
Mrs Whilkes then showed me the page in her diary which tells the story of the “Night of the Hauntings” – Saturday, September 18. It was 10.50 p.m. and the children were tucked safely in bed. Mrs Whilkes, her husband George, daughter Jennifer and her boyfriend were in the kitchen.”Suddenly we heard a knocking on the ceiling above in the spare bedroom. Footsteps creaked across the floorboards and there was a scraping noise. There was a baby’s scream of terror. We were all scared stiff and even the men were too frightened to go upstairs. It was only in daylight we ventured upstairs to find in the spare bedroom that the cot had been moved.”
The family moved from Willesden in London and friends from the capital refuse to sleep in the spare bedroom when they visit Heacham. Mr Whilkes used to pour scorn on the family’s tales of ghosts but after experiencing some strange phenomena, his viewpoint has changed. He told me: “Sudden changes of temperature occur in the rooms at any time during the day and night. It feels like you’re in an ice-box and there’s an eerie atmosphere. When I’m shaving in the bathroom it often feels as if there is somebody right behind me. I admit there could probably be many logical explanations for these things but they are certainly very strange.”
The Whilkes family of Heacham stand outside the house they say is haunted. Picture from left are Christopher, Nanette, Mr and Mrs Whilkes and Danny.
Neighbour Mrs Gertrude Bradfield, of 10 Victoria Row, told me she had heard the ghosts. “I was sitting having a cup of tea with Mrs Whilkes when we suddenly heard knocking on the ceiling above. It was as if somebody was banging with a stick. The room went all cold like a fridge and it was really frightening. Mrs Whilkes often stays round my home because she’s too scared to be in her own,” she said.
Mrs G Bradfield
The Whilkes family called in the Vicar of Heacham, the Rev. Roger Pott, to investigate the “troubled spirits.” But he is sure there are no ghosts. He told me: “This is a house which never in its life has been haunted and that’s all I have to comment on the matter.”
Villagers put forward the theory that the house is haunted by the former owner who died aged about 30. The Whilkes family don’t know what to believe. They have set microphones all through the bedrooms and made recordings at night. “All we’ve picked up on tape is a peculiar noise which sounds like some kind of electrical interference,” said Mrs Whilkes.
Mr and Mrs Whilkes, their sons Danny (15) and Christopher (12), and daughters Jennifer (22) and Nannette (4) only hope the mystery can be quickly solved. “We’ve spent all our money on this house and the redecorating, and so we can’t afford to move. We’re just hoping these goings-on will stop before we are all driven mad,” added Mrs Whilkes.
Lynn Advertiser, 12th October 1971.
Torch at the ready, and a blanket round his shoulders to ward off the chill, Steven Childs ponders the bumps and other strange noises from the bedroom above. This picture of a ghostly vigil was taken by Roy Williamson.
I heard – but did not see that ghost – by Steven Childs.
A ghost shared my bed in Heacham’s “Haunted House” when I kept an all-night vigil to find out what is causing the things that go bump in the night. But when the nine-hour ghost hunt ended yesterday morning the mystery remained unsolved as my bed partner had vanished into thin air.
The Whilkes family, who live in terror at the “Haunted House” were not surprised though. It’s all in a night’s haunting for their ghost to try and get into bed with members of the family.
My chilling experience happened late on Wednesday night when I installed myself in the family’s spare bedroom – scene of many mysterious goings-on. I had laid down on the bed at the start of my haunting investigation when I was called downstairs by the family. As soon as I was downstairs we heard bumping noises coming from the bedroom. I dashed upstairs into the room and found… nothing. After straightening the covers on the bed I returned downstairs to keep watch in the kitchen.
Mrs Emily Whilkes, her husband George, photographer Roy Williamson and myself all heard strange noises coming from upstairs again. Afterwards we found in the bedroom the trademark of the ghost – crumpled sheets on the bed. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was just as if somebody had laid down on one side of the bed. The mystery was that nobody else was upstairs at the time.
All through the night as I sat sleepily in the kitchen peculiar noises and scratching sounds came from the bedroom above. As I crept about the darkened rooms cold draughts of air created a morgue-like eerie atmosphere. Every spine-chilling minute ticked by more slowly. So it was reassuring to hear at 6.10 a.m. the sounds of the milkman on his rounds in the street, and a welcome cup of tea was Mrs Whilkes’ early morning greeting. “I bet you needed a drop of the hard stuff last night,” she said pointing to my half empty bottle of “Dutch courage.”
My ghost-hunt was certainly another incident to be recorded in Mrs Whilkes’ diary of terror – records of mysterious goings-on at Victoria House, Lynn Road, Heacham. Ghosts, spirits, call it what you like. But you can take it from me there’s something very strange happening at Heacham’s “Haunted House.”
Lynn Advertiser, 15th October 1971.
Heacham hauntings are ended.
A Lynn spiritual healer claims he has driven away the ghosts which terrified a Heacham family. And mother of the family, Mrs Emily Whilkes, reports no further “hauntings” at their house since the healer made his visit. Mrs Whilkes had recorded mysterious goings-on in a “diary of terror” which she kept at their home at Victoria House, Lynn Road, Heacham. At times, she said, her family had been so terrified they refussed to go upstairs and slept in the kitchen.
Unexplained knockings and mysterious noises often drove Mrs Whilkes out of the house during the daytime – and she was too frightened to return. She claimed several people had either seen or heard the “ghost.” Neighbour Mrs Gertrude Bradfield told a reporter she heard ghosts in the house.
Then Mrs Whilkes was told of a healer at Lynn who might be able to help her and so she contacted Mr Michael Sadgrove of Wootton Road. Mr Sadgrove visited the house, and told a reporter afterwards: “I sat in one of the bedrooms for about 30 minutes and wasn’t in the house for more than an hour. It was a successful exorcism.” He said he sought spirit help to remove the influences. Mr Sadgrove, has published a book called “Strange Supernatural Experiences” and has dealt with psychic work for about 20 years. He said that he sensed the presence of a middle-aged couple whose child had died tragically.
Mrs Whilkes said Mr Sadgrove’s visit had completely cleared the hauntings. “It has been remarkable. We have had no trouble since he came. I can hardly believe it. It’s a great relief for all of us,” she said. She added that everything was normal now.
Lynn Advertiser, 26th November 1971.
Eeeek! It’s Ratman! by Jeff Samuels.
The Pied Piper would have to doff his cap to the amazing Michael Sadgrove. For Michael – of King’s Lynn, not Hamelin – claims he can scare aware vermin without even leaving his home. The secret, he says, is his psychic powers. He sends out “brainwaves” which drive rats plain bats! And he claims his bad vibrations work just as well on ants, mice, woodworm… even jackals.
“I just sit down and concentrate on the house where the vermin are causing trouble,” said 56-year-old Michael at his Norfolk home. “It takes only five or ten minutes and the pests just disappear. People have scoffed at my powers and even called me a crank. But I’ve cleared vermin from about 200 homes since I started seven years ago. I’ve had only a couple of failures.”
How do Michael’s powers work? “I meditate in a special room at my home and will the pests to leave,” he said. “My thoughtwaves communicate with the vermin and they are made to feel uncomfortable at the house they are infesting.”
Where do the vermin go when Michael spirits them away? “Frankly, I couldn’t say. Probably to someone else’s house,” he said. “Once, I managed to send my telepathic powers 4,000 miles all the way to Kansas in the USA. I scared off a pack of jackals that were collecting around a woman’s home. I was pleasantly surprised over that one. People usually get to know about my powers by word of mouth. But I also get a reasonable response from the advertisements I place in Psychic News – I’m a faith healer too.”
One satisfied customer nearer home is Violet Roberts-Cook. She lives 131 miles from Michael in Hampton Park, Eastbourne, Sussex. “Don’t ask me how, but he does it,” she said. “I saw it with my own eyes. My home was plagued with ants. I’d tried powders and nothing worked. I wrote to Mr Sadgrove and within three days every single ant had disappeared.”
Mrs Joy Oxenden’s home in St Ouen, Jersey was twice overrun with mice. “They ate through electricity cables and blew up the water-heating system,” she said. “But Mr Sadgrove got rid of them both times.” A bemused Environmental Health Officer at West Norfolk District Council was less convinced. When told of Michael’s method of shifting vermin, he said, “How very odd, I’ve never heard of that one.”
Sunday Mirror, 29th August 1976.