Couple flee ghostly goings-on.
Haunting forces tenant to quit Council flat.
By Anna Steven.
A spooked pet shop worker has fled his Kirkcaldy home claiming he’s suffered five months of ghostly bumps in the night. Mark Anderson (20) this week insisted that his council flat at 45 Sutherland Place was haunted by a mischievous spectre. And his claim was backed by a former resident who confirmed that supernatural incidents happened when he lived there. Now Mark, who left his home on Monday morning after a string of scary occurrences, wants the District Council to rehouse him.
The shop assistant told the Fife Free Press that the haunting started soon after he moved into the house in September. He heard bells ringing in the middle of the night and footsteps echoing through the top-floor flat when he was alone. Rooms suddenly turned cold and items began to go missing – money and even a pair of toenail clippers vanished into thin air. Mark continued: “Most of the activity has centred on the bedroom – one night I was in bed and heard feet dragging along the carpet. Another time I was lying there and it was like there was someone beside me, turning over and rustling the covers. It was terrifying.”
Some of Mark’s friends have been present on occasions when the ghost has been active – but matters came to a head on Sunday night when his 17-year-old girlfriend Leah Livingstone was in the house. Mark said: “A box of tea went missing on Friday but there was nothing on Saturday. On Sunday Leah stayed over and at 4.20 a.m. my radio started playing – even though it was switched off at the mains. After that I could not get back to sleep. I was lying there when out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadowy white figure at the bottom of the bed. It stayed for five minutes but when I moved it vanished. Leah and I left the house and I’ve not been back since. She was meant to be moving in with me – but now we’re both at her mum’s.”
Mark has asked for an exchange over the haunting and on Wednesday met Council officials to discuss the matter. A spokesman said: “We are obviously sympathetic to the concern Mr Anderson has and we have invited him to apply for a transfer.”
Former resident David Coxson this week said that ghostly incidents occurred throughout the five years he spent in the house – and he also claimed that the activity was concentrated in the bedroom. David (31) told only a handful of people about his experiences and did not report the matter to the local authority. He explained: “It didn’t frighten me – it is a harmless thing. I have never experienced anything like it before or since.”
Footnote: A haunting was reported in Kirkcaldy back in 1972 when a family of seven departed their Oaktree Square home in the middle of the night following supernatural incidents. And 14 years earlier, a similar complaint was made by another family living in Oaktree Square. They were rehoused after the Kirkcaldy MP spent a night in their home.
Fife Free Press, 14th January 1994.
Ghost rockers!
Mark’s spook plays a ghetto blaster at 4am.
Mark Anderson doesn’t just have things that go bump in the night. He has things that go be-bop-a-lula and boom bang-a-bang. For Mark reckons there’s a funky ghost haunting his council flat. Since he moved into 45 Sutherland Place, Kirkcaldy, five months ago, he’s had spooky experiences at least once a week. But earlier this week the last straw came when his ghetto blaster started playing in the middle of the night… even though it was switched off at the mains. Then a ghostly figure appeared at the bottom of his bed and terrified girlfriend Leah Livingstone, 17. Now part-time pet shop worker Mark, 20, has quit the one-bedroom flat – even though he’s spent £1300 doing it up. And he wants the council to rehouse him.
Mark said yesterday that until this week the eerie goings-on were what you’d expect from the average ghost. Bells rang, footsteps could be heard in the top floor flat and rooms suddenly went cold. He went on: “On Monday about 4.20 am the ghetto blaster started. Then I saw a white blur at the end of the bed. Leah said there was something holding her down.”
Previous occupant of the flat, Dave Corson, 31, said he’d had eerie moments, too. “But I never talked about them,” he said. “People would have thought I was a nutter.”
A Kirkcaldy council spokesman said: “We are obviously sympathetic to Mr Anderson.”
Daily Record, 15th January 1994.
Flees ‘ghost’ house in terror.
A Kirkcaldy man is begging the district council to rehouse him after allegedly experiencing ghostly goings-on. Despite spending over £1300 on his council flat at Sutherland Place, Mark Anderson is refusing to return to his home after what he claims is a five-month ordeal. Mark, who walked out of the house on Monday after a frightening night, claims the hauntings started soon after he moved into the one-bedroom flat in September. Until Monday he claims the strange activities were restricted to ringing bells; footteps echoing through the top-floor flat; rooms suddenly going cold and things going missing when no one else had been in the flat.
His view that the house is haunted is backed by former occupant David Coxon, who also experienced a mysterious “presence” and believes “there must be something if this guy has had the same experiences.” Mark commented, “Most of the activity has centred on the bedroom. One night I was in bed and heard feet dragging along the carpet and another time when I was lying there it was like there was someone beside me, turning over and rustling the covers. It was terrifying.”
Mark braved it out, but the events of Monday were the last straw. Stating that his girl friend, Leah Livingstone of Glenmore Gardens, had been staying the night, he said, “I was wakened about 4.20 am, when the ghetto blaster started playing – even though it was switched off at the mains. I got up and switched the mains on and off and it stopped, but I could not get back to sleep. About five or ten minutes later I saw a sort of white blur at the end of the bed. It was about the height of a person and seemed to turn before disappearing.”
He added that Leah said she felt as if there was something holding her down and was very frightened. “After that we were up the rest of the night. I decided to get out and am now sleeping on the couch at Leah’s parents’ home.”
Denying any suggestion that the ghost story was a ruse to get a larger flat, Mark said, “I was quite happy with that flat. It’s a really nice flat in a good quiet area and I spent a lot of money on it.”
Previous occupant Dave Coxson confirmed that he had experienced ghostly incidents during the five years he lived in the flat, but had not reported them. “It’s a thing you never really speak about because, if you did, people would think you were a nutter,” he said. “With me it was just a case of feeling a presence and being woken up, sometimes by a feeling like a ton weight was on top of me. It’s a shame this guy’s getting so much bother. There must be something there. I don’t know what, but I have never had that experience before or since.”
A district council spokesman said, “We are obviously sympathetic to the concern Mr Anderson has and we have invited him to apply for a transfer.”
Dundee Courier, 15th January 1994.
‘Haunted house’ tenant wants out.
A tenant of a council flat is demanding to be rehoused because he claims that it is haunted by a ghostly figure which stood beside his bed during the night. Mark Anderson, 20, left the house at Sutherland Place, Kirkcaldy, on Monday and declared yesterday that he would not return. He is insisting that Kirkcaldy District Council should let him have other accommodation.
He claims that haunting incidents had taken place about once a week during the five months he lived in the one-bedroom flat. Yesterday, he told of the worst incident, which happened at 4.20am on Monday. He claimed he was awakened by a ghetto blaster being switched on by a mysterious presence. He then saw an apparition in his bedroom. Mr Anderson said previous problems had been less alarming and included bells ringing, footsteps echoing through the top-floor flat, rooms sudddenly going cold and things such as money, a box of tea bags and nail clippers going missing. “I saw a sort of white blur at the end of the bed. It was about the height of a person and seemed to turn before disappearing,” he said of Monday morning’s incident.
Denying any suggestion that the ghost story was a ruse to get a larger flat, he said: “I was quite happy with that flat. It’s a really nice flat in a good, quiet area and I spent a lot of money on it, but I am definitely not going back.”
The previous occupant, David Coxson, 31, confirmed that he too had experienced ghostly incidents during the five years he lived in the flat, but had not reported them. “It’s a thing you never really speak about because if youdid, people would think you were a nutter,” he said.
A council spokesman said: “We are obviously sympathetic to the concern Mr Anderson has and we have invited him to apply for a transfer.”
The Scotsman, 15th January 1994.
Mums tell of ghostly nightmare. By Helen Wright.
A spooked Kirkcaldy mum has sent a message of support to the young couple who fled the flat after ghostly goings-on. “I know what you’ve been going through because I’ve suffered the same nightmare myself. My two kids and my mum and I were scared out of our wits – and out of our house.” The woman, who has now moved to another area of the town and who has asked not to be named pending a council house transfer, says her brush with the supernatural came as she moved into property in Cairns Street… not far from the Sutherland Place flat which 20-year-old Mark Anderson and 17-year-old girlfriend Leah Livingstone fled after a series of mysterious happenings culminating in them sighting a shadowy white figure at the bottom of the bed.
The scared mum said: “Last August, me and my mum and my two children were virtually scared out of the house we had moved into in Cairns Street. We had to leave that same night. We got taken in by neighbours and ended up in Victoria Hospital and I was on nerve pills for quite a while afterwards. There were flashing lights and everything was going on and off, it would take ages to tell everything that happened. We were all terrified. My wee girl of 10 was seeing it too, so it wasn’t just me. But she was seeing different things to what I saw. There were flashing lights going on and off the whole time… orange flashing lights. I have never ever witnessed anything like it – it was the worst experience I have had in my life and I know what this couple have been going through. To this day, I find it very difficult to sleep in the house on my own – I have to get someone to stay.” The woman added: “Tell this couple I know what they’ve been going through.”
A spokesman for Kirkcaldy District Council confirmed the Cairns Street incident had been reported to housing officials and added: “It was alleged that there had been strange disturbances.”
Fife Free Press, 21st January 1994.
Five ‘ghosts’ force tenant to flee flat.
A psychic investigator, who probed ghostly goings-on in a Fife council fat, claims it houses five ghosts. Alva-based Helen Walters said one of the spirits was a bit abusive – but others sat on her knee.
Pet shop worker Mark Anderson (20) was driven from the one-bedroom flat at 45 Sutherland Place, Kirkcaldy, last week by mystery noises and things going missing. He is staying with his girlfriend’s parents until Kirkcaldy District Council rehouses him.
Former occupant David Coxson also claims he experienced a mysterious presence.
Ms Walters was joined by Malcolm Robinson of Psychic Phenomena Investigation. She said the ghosts included an elderly Victorian couple. “There was nothing particularly evil, although one was a bit abusive and he swore at me,” she said. “It was like looking into another dimension – they actually came down and sat on my knee. I wouldn’t say there was anything to be afraid of.”
Mr Anderson said he wanted nothing more to do with it. “I hope the council sort this out quickly. I will be asking my local councillor to help.” Kirkcaldy District Council said his application would be processed in the normal way.
Aberdeen Press and Journal, 22nd January 1994.
Psychic says five ghosts haunt flat.
A council house from which a young couple fled in terror is haunted by at least five ghosts, a psychic and paranormal researcher has claimed. Mark Anderson and his girl friend Leah Livingstone quit the one-bedroomed flat in Sutherland Place, Kirkcaldy, last week after a nightmare experience.
Pet shop worker Mark who has spent arout £1300 on the property since moving in last September claimed there had been a whole string of scary goings-on and things going missing even when no-one else had been in the flat. The final straw came when his ghetto blaster mysteriously started playing despite being switched off and a ghostly figure appeared at the foot of his bed. He left to demand a new house from the council.
Now after spending a night in the house, psychic Helen Walters agrees the house is haunted, but despite her claim that there is no evil in the flat, Mark and Leah have no plans to move back in. Alva-based Helen, who was accompanied by Malcolm Robinson of Psychic Phenomena Investigation, claimed that there were five spirits in the couple’s home. Stating that the ghosts, including an elderly married couple, seemed to be from the Victorian era, helen said, “There was nothing particularly evil, although one was a bit abusive and he swore at me.”
She believes Mark is “sensitive” without knowing it and added, “I can understand why he’s afraid because he does not know how to deal with it, but I wouldn’t say there was anything to be afraid of other than the presence.” Helen said that it was possible other occupants of the house would have similar experiences. “The house could be cleansed. I would use words and prayer and strength from myself. I asked Mark if he wanted that done but he said he really wanted nothing more to do with the flat,” said Helen.
Mark, who is sleeping on the couch at Leah’s parents’ house in Kirkcaldy while the council consider his rehousing plan, said that he had no intention of returning to the flat. “I hope the council sort this out quickly. I will be asking my local councillor to help,” he said.
Kirkcaldy District Council say that Mark’s application will be processed in the usual way and that matters would progress in due course depending on the availability of suitable houses.
Dundee Courier, 22nd January 1994.
Council turns ghostbuster. Exorcism planned to ‘cleanse’ house. By Anna Steven.
A Council is turning ghostbuster in a bid to exorcise five suspected spirits from a Kirkcaldy tenant’s haunted house. Mark Anderson (20) has been sleeping at his girlfriend’s home since fleeing his flat at 45 Sutherland Place three weeks ago. He insisted that he’d suffered six months of spooky occurrences – and his claim was backed by former resident David Coxson. Last week a psychic stayed over night in the house – and went live on national TV to say that it was haunted by five spirits.
On Wednesday, Mark revealed that the District Council wants to have his house cleansed by a psychic in a bid to exorcise the ghosts. But he added: “They can have the exorcism if they want but after all this I will never be able to sleep in there again.”
According to the pet shop assistant, the mysterious happenings are still going on even though he has left the flat. He explained: “The old man who lives beneath my flat asked if I was back because he’d heard the TV on in the flat at night. But I had not been near the place – and everything is switched off. A few people have said that the lights in the flat keep going on and off, including a taxi driver who saw coloured lights. On Sunday, I had to go to the flat to switch all the lights off and I’ve asked a neighbour to call me if it happens again.”
Mark has been invited to talk about his experiences on a new Scottish Television chat show which is due to start later this year. And he has enlisted the support of his local district councillor Marilyn Livingstone in his bid to be rehoused. She commented: “Mark contacted me with regard to this matter and I have acted as I would on the behalf of anyone in my ward. The position has been discussed by officials and it has been suggested that the house be cleansed by whoever it is that does these things… a psychic. If that was unsuccessful then the position would be urgently reviewed, and I think that is quite fair.”
A Council spokesman confirmed that the exorcism would go ahead, adding: “We have been in touch with a spiritualist and it is a case of arranging a suitable date.”
Fife Free Press, 28th January 1994.
Council to call in ghostbuster.
Kirkcaldy District Council is to call in a ghostbuster in a bid to exorcise the unwelcome spirits of a haunted house in the town. Confirming that the exorcism of the flat, in Sutherland Place, would go ahead, a council spokesman said, “We have been in touch with a spiritualist and it is a case of arranging a suitable date.” However, its frightened occupant refuses to go back to the flat – even if the exorcism or cleansing of the flat works.
“They can cleanse it and give it to someone else, but I want a new house,” said 20-year-old Mark Anderson. He claims that he had had to put up with spooky goings on in the flat for five months. The strange happenings include ringing bells, footsteps echoing through the top-floor flat, rooms suddenly going cold and nail clippers disappearing – but all happening when no-one else was there.
Mark and his girlfriend Leah Livingston (17) both fled the flat three weeks ago when his ghetto blaster started playing despite being switched off and a ghostly figure appeared. His claims are backed up by the flat’s former tenant, David Coxson, and paranormal expert Helen Walters. She claims to have found five spirits in the house after spending a night there. Mark is staying at Leah’s parents’ home and has applied for another house.
About the exorcism, he said, “They can have the exorcism if they want but after all this I will never be able to sleep in there again and neither will Leah.” Mark, who works as a part time pet shop assistant, claims that the mysterious occurrences are still happening even though he is no longer living there. “The old man who lives beneath my flat asked if i was back because he’s heard the TV on at night. But I had not been near the place – and everything is switched off. A few people have said the lights keep going on and off, including a taxi driver who saw coloured lights and on Sunday I had to go to the flat to switch all the lights off,” he said.
Mark is hoping the local district councillor, Marilyn Livingstone, can get him rehoused. Councillor Livingstone said, “The poisition has been discussed by officials and it has been suggested the house be cleansed by whoever it is that does these things… a psychic. If that is unsuccessful then the position would be urgently reviewed and I think that is quite fair.”
Mark has been invited to talk about his experiences on a new TV chat show, due to start later on in the year.
Dundee Courier, 29th January 1994.
I’m not going back to haunted house.
Youth to meet Council official. By Anna Steven.
A spooked Kirkcaldy youth who fled his haunted house is to meet with a council’s top official to discuss his dilemma. Mark Anderson deserted his council home in January, claiming he’d suffered a nightmare five months at the hands of spooky spectres. Now he’s back at home with his parents – and he’s adamant that he will not return to 45 Sutherland Place under any circumstances. He has turned down one house offered by Kirkcaldy District Council – and claims he has been told he will not be offered another.
Now the fed-up tenant is to meet with the Council’s general manager, Donald Watt, on Monday to discuss his housing problem. Mark said: “They offered me a house but it was a dump so I turned it down and they got me to sign a form. Then I was told that I was officially the occupier of 45 Sutherland Place and that I would not get another offer. There is no way that I will go back to live there – but because I’m now in full-time work I will have to pay the rent on the house. I’m getting so desperate that I’ve even been to find out about mortgages – though I can’t really afford one.”
In January, Mark told the Fife Free Press that the haunting started soon after he moved into the house last September. He heard bells ringing and footsteps echoing through the flat, rooms turned cold, items went missing and a switched-off ghetto blaster started playing in the middle of the night. The final straw came when a ghostly apparition appeared at the foot of his bed. Mark’s claims were backed up by former resident David Coxson, who stated that similar incidents occurred throughout his five-year tenancy. And a psychic who spent a night in the house said it was haunted by five ghosts – and old man and an old woman, a middle-aged man, a sad man and the white-cloaked figure which finally drove Mark out.
A Council spokesman confirmed that Mark had an appointment with Mr Watt.
Fife Free Press, 8th July 1994.