Raiders who weren’t afraid of ghosts.
Thieves who raided a Nottingham council house were daring indeed even though nobody lives there. For the house is said to be haunted. It has been empty since the end of January when the “ghost” of a man in blue finally drove out a city bus conductor and his family. Last night Mr Charles Hill, who has taken his three children to live with friends, said that his former home, 133 Denewood Crescent, Bilborough Estate, had been broken into.
“The gas and electricity meters were broken open, though I don’t know yet how much was taken. I have about £1000 worth of furniture in the house, but I don’t think they touched anything.”
Mr Hill and his family first noticed something strange in the house shortly after they moved in last November. Then followed a series of goings-on which finally made life there unbearable. Matters came to a head when Mr Hill awoke at 2.30 a.m. one morning and saw a man walk towards the window of the front bedroom. He looked like a Foreign Legionnaire with a blue jacket and a white piece of cloth over his neck. The “man” disappeared after standing by the window for a few seconds. Mr Hill’s 17-year-old daughter Sandra also saw the man in blue, and other happenings at No. 133 included taps being mysteriously turned on, singing coming from inside a wall and fires dying out for no apparent reason.
The city council has put Mr Hill on the housing transfer list. The family are living with friends at Wareham Close, Nottingham. Mr Hill said last night: “I would go back there, but our doctor has said the children should not be allowed to go into the house again. They were terrified.”
“The thieves didn’t seem to bother about the ghost,” he added. He is concerned about the delay in getting another council house. “I have been down to the Housing Office three times a week for the past six weeks, but they still haven’t anything for us,” he said. “I understood that we would be rehoused almost immediately. We are rather overcrowded where we are living at present.”
Coun. Henry Wilson, chairman of the city Housing Committee, said last night: “This, of course, is a very unusual case. But housing is allocated first to those in greatest need. But, if Mr Hill cares to get in touch with me, I will take up the matter with the Housing Office.”
Nottingham Guardian, 13th March 1968.
The lonely ‘ghost’ of Denewood Crescent.
Built 32 years ago, Denewood Crescent undulates among the council homes of Bilborough. Until three months ago, it seldom came into the news. Then, in January, Mr Charles Hill and his three children reported supernatural occurrences from No. 133. Since that time, the “ghost” of Denewood Crescent has been a frequent topic in the area. After a series of disturbing episodes, Mr Hill left the house and moved to live with friends in Wareham Close, a mile away. But he has returned on several occasions and during a recent weekend, No. 133 was opened once more.
A seance was held by 16 members of the Ghost Club, an institution which has its headquarters in London. The story of the ghost of No. 133 is that it is of a young window cleaner, who shot himself in the house following an accident more than 13 years ago. His mother lived there until last November, when she moved to a new home, and Mr Hill and his children, Sandra (17), Margaret (15) and John (12), moved in. There were strange goings-on from the first day, but matters came to a head early in January.
Mr Hill awoke in the night and he claims he saw a man walking towards the window of a front bedroom. “I thought it was a nightmare,” he said. “The man had a handkerchief tied around his head.” Five days later, says Mr Hill, he saw the apparition again at the same time – 2.30 a.m. He was again prepared to dismiss it, but three weeks later the apparition appeared a third time – when Sandra was alone in th ehouse with their dog, Susan. The dog went to the bottom of the stairs and barked. “I went to see what was wrong,” said Sandra. “I saw a man going upstairs. He disappeared and I heard a door slam.”
Mr Hill then decided to ask his neighbours if anything strange had happened in the house, and Mrs Catherine Chambers, who lives at No. 131 told him of the tragedy. In the weeks before Mr Hill had his experience in the night, two taps were mysteriously turned full on while the house was empty; singing was heard from inside a wall; Mr Hill injured a rib in a fall; Sandra collapsed with appendicitis; and gas and coal fires died to a glimmer for no apparent reason. And earlier this month thieves raided No. 133, stealing cash from the gas and electricity meters.
Mr Hill said: “I would go back there to live, but our doctor has said that the children should not be allowed to go into the house again. They were terrified.” At his temporary home, with Mr and Mrs Leslie Parker, at 10, Wareham Close, Mr Hill talked about the seance. “We split into groups and went into all the rooms. When we sat at the lettered table the ghost spelled out his own name. He even told us he got the revolver from a friend in the RAF. We were amazed at his accuracy. He even spelt out the names of Mr and Mrs Parker’s five children.”
Sandra said: “I was in the back bedroom with one of the mediums. It was pitch dark and we saw this figure come from the front bedroom and go into the wardrobe.” Mr Hill said the ghost told them that he was not going to hurt anyone. “He said he liked Sandra, and that he wanted to live with us in the house,” he added. Not only did the spirit of the young man contact them during the seance, said Mr Hill. The young man’s father also communicated with them while they sat at the table. During the seance the ghost, says Mr Hill, even told Sandra what pop-record she ought to buy. The Ghost Club members told Mr Hill that it was one of the best seances they had held.
Mr Hill said: “I did not believe in ghosts until I moved into that house. You do not believe in them until something strange happens to you. Even Mr Parker believes in them now. The taps were again turned on mysteriously and we all heard a distant gunshot.” Mr Hill, a bus conductor, waited five years before going to Denewood Crescent. He had lived in The Meadows, and before that in the St Ann’s area. For more than six weeks he has lived in overcrowded conditions at Mr Parker’s house. There are 11 people, eight of them children, in the house.
The Housing Department are trying to find Mr Hill a new home. All his furniture is still in number 133, but he told the ‘Down Your Way’ reporter that he would not return to live there. The question now is, when the house does become vacant, would anyone wish to live in it? Certainly Mrs Chambers and Mrs Jean Brunt, who lives at no. 135, are adamant that there is nothing to be frightened of. “I think it has all gone a bit too far,” explained Mrs Chambers. “I have lived next door to No. 133 for over 15 years. Nothing started to happen until last November.” She said that one day she saw water pouring out of the house when Mr Hill was out. “I phoned the Water Board who came and cleared up the mess.” Mrs Brunt is the mother of four children, Derek (9), Richard (8), Elaine (4) and Garry (seven months). She said that there were no curtains in the bedrooms of No. 133. Mr Hill and the guests conducted the seance in candle light. Mrs Brunt said that Mr Hill told her that he saw the apparition when he first came to the house.
Mr Charles Hill and his children, Sandra , John and Margaret, reported “supernatural” happenings at No. 133.
Nottingham Guardian, 9th April 1968.