Was Marehay visitant out of this world?
Police investigations at “haunted” cottage.
Ripley and Alfreton area gossip.
Weird and unnerving happenings within its walls have made a tiny cottage in Marehay into a house of mystery for the villagers. The cottage, occupied by an elderly couple, was once like any of its neighbours in the village. Then one day the couple’s 13-year-old granddaughter came to stay with them… and there began a series of incidents for which no worldly explanation could be found. A wardrobe came crashing down without leverage… clothing was found pulled out of drawers in rooms where people had been sleeping… papers that been neatly stacked and put away were found strewn everywhere.
Tales began to drift through Marehay… the phrase “The Marehay Poltergeist” was on everybody’s tongue. Then the little girl’s visit ended… and the chain of mishaps broke off. Eventually the police were called in to investigate. They explored the cottage, but found nothing to explain the phenomena. They did, however form two theories. 1. That subsidence from neaby Denby Hall Colliery was the cause; 2. That a smaller version of the landslide that rocked half the country about 18 months ago was in motion. A police spokesman was inclined to pooh-pooh the idea of supernatural forces at work. “There must be some rational explanation, but we haven’t found it yet,” he said, “and it’s not worth calling experts in.”
Derby Daily Telegraph, 18th September 1958.
House of mystery… 300 Derby Road, Marehay.
“Ghost” cottage to go.
‘Haunted’ house is unfit to live in.
The haunting days of the Marehay poltergeist are numbered. Ripley Urban Council are to close the tiny old miner’s cottage in which a strange and frightening chain of incidents occurred. “We’ve lived here for more than 20 years – but we are not sorry we’ve got to go,” said the tenant of the “haunted” house, retired collier, Mr Henry Wilding. “There’s been some queer things going on.”
Mr Wilding had just been told that the council had decided to issue a closing order on the house, 300 Derby Road, Marehay. According to Mr G. Ainsworth (Chief Public Health Inspector) the cottage was “unfit for human habitation”… but not because of the “ghost.” “It isn’t capable of being rendered good at reasonable expense,” said Mr Ainsworth.
Mr and Mrs Wilding could have objected to the closure – it was not opposed by the N.C. B. But they did not not. “If we have to go then we will have to be given other accommodation,” Mr Wilding told a ‘Telegraph’ reporter. Mr Wilding does not agree that a simple “earthly” explanation can be found for the strange incidents which occurred when his granddaughter, Carol, visited the cottage during her August school holiday. “We found drawers open… furniture toppled over… the wireless switched itself on and off…” began Mr Wilding. “And the kettle put itself on the fire and was boiling away,” added his wife. Then there was the case of the “jumping dominoes…” and the trousers which unhitched themselves from a chair, walked across the room and fell across Mr Wilding’s legs as he lay in bed.
Ripley police tried to lay the “ghost”. Their investigations led to two theories being formed: 1. That subsidence from nearby Denby Hall Colliery was the cause. 2. That a smaller version of the landslide which rocked half the country 18 months ago was in motion.
“They are wrong,” declared Mr Wilding. “We’re here and we know. When Carol comes with a friend nothing happens. But when she comes alone…”
Recently the Wildings met a man who vowed he had been very happy in the cottage. He is now in his nineties. Grey haired Mrs Wilding thinks she may have the answer to the mystery. “I have been told that a man hanged himself in one of these rooms,” she said with a shiver.
House of mystery… 300 Derby Road, Marehay.
Derby Daily Telegraph, 12th December 1958.
‘Haunted cottage to be demolished.’
An old single-storey cottage at Marehay, Derbyshire, which is claimed by its occupants to be haunted, is to be demolished by order of Ripley Urban Council, who have decided that it is unfit for human habitation.
Mr and Mrs Henry Wilding, who have lived there for 20 years, and have reported a series of strange happenings, will be given a council house. Mr Wilding said: “Furniture moved about, drawers opened, the wireless was switched on and off and a kettle apparently placed itself on a kitchen fire. We could appeal – but we will be glad to leave.”
A council official said: “The decision to close the cottage was not influenced by the reputed presence of the ghost. The cottage cannot be put into a satisfactory state at reasonable expense.”
Birmingham Daily Post, 15th December 1958.