Ghost of a chance for new home.
Couple driven out by a spook win court ruling.
A couple who fled from their council home because of bizarre ghostly happenings were today given leave to seek a High Court ruling that they can be rehoused as a homeless famimly. John and Helen Costello, who are in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation, allege that they left 124 Melbourne Road, Aspley, Nottingham, last May because they could no longer stand frightening supernatural occurrences such as: Hearing “heart beats” which brought their disabled daughter Sharon to her knees; Electric plugs mysteriously pulled from their sockets; A guitar being played apparently by no-one; A typewriter activated and paper ripped from the machine; Furniture inexplicably moved and bedclothes in Sharon’s bedroom mysteriously removed from the bed; Being bodily lifted “by an unseen force” from a sofa.
But in December, the city council refused their application to be re-housed on the ground that it would have been reasonable for the couple and their children to continue to occupy the house. The council said Mr and Mrs Costello, who are now being temporarily housed by the council at a guesthouse, were homeless intentionally and it was under no legal duty to house them.
Today, David Watkinson, for the couple, accused the council of failing to comply with its duty under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act to make all the necessary inquiries in order to discover whether there was any supporting evidence for their “very remarkable account” of why they had been forced on to the streets. Mr Justice Nolan described the circumstances of the case as “highly unusual” and said that, though he had some misgiving, he would give leave so that Mr Watkinson could argue his case at a full hearing.
At the heart of the Costellos’ case is a claim that others also saw the spooky goings-on at their home, but they were not seen by council housing officials. Mr Costell, 52, who is unemployed, and his 51-year-old wife, told the council how they had returned home one day last May with their daughter Sharon, who is severely disabled with autism and now in a special home, when they heard the sound of “heart beats.”
The couple, who have two other daughters, Suzie, 18, and Rosie, 13, say they witnessed power plugs mysterious pulled from their sockets, a guitar being played apparently by no one, a typewriter activated and paper ripped from the machine, furniture unexplainably moved, and bedclothes in Sharon’s bedroom mysteriously moved. They say police officers visiting the house on other business had witnessed some of the happenings, as had two social workers and a Mr Yates, now a retired legal executive. The council was not represented at today’s brief hearing.
The couple claimed they could communicate with the “spirit” and the response was a series of knockings. A priest from St Teresa’s Church visited the house and gave a blessing, but that made no difference. Spiritualist Betty Henswell tried to make contact and said there were five spirits present, one of which was “misbehaving.”
The full hearing of the case is expected in the near future.
Liverpool Echo, 13th April 1988.
Family flees ‘ghost’ home.
Ghostly goings-on have forced a family of five to flee their Aspley council home. And yesterday at a hearing in London, John and Helen Costello, who left the house last May, won the right to take their case to be rehoused by Nottingham City Council to the High Court. The council claim the family deliberately made themselves homeless and it was unnecessary to leave.
A judge was told that the Costellos saw plugs pulled out of their sockets, paper being shredded and their guitar being strummed – all by invisible hands. And the Costellos claimed that a man who spent the night in the Melbourne Road home, was lifted bodily from the sofa by an unseen force.
Judge Michael Nolan told the couple they can seek a High Court ruling that they are entitled to be housed as homeless. Unemployed Mr Costello, 52, and his wife, 51, told the council how they returned home one day to hear loud heart beats which petrified their severely disabled daughter Sharon.
Nottingham Evening Post, 14th April 1988.
Family flees ghost house.
Now they fight for new home.
By Frank Palmer.
The haunting refrains of a musical ghost drove a family to flee their home. Then the council said it was their fault they were homeless and refused to rehouse them. But yesterday a High Court judge granted them the right to fight the town hall decision.
John and Helen Costello first heard heartbeats at their council house in Aspley, Nottingham. Soon the spook switched to music. A disconnected electric organ played a mournful tune. Then a three-string child’s guitar strummed a spirited solo. And a typewriter wrote ‘ah, ah???’ until it ran out of paper. But that wasn’t all. The ghost smashed windows, wrecked beds, levitated a guest off the sofa and pulled out plugs.
Police and social workers saw the weird happenings and a priest came to exorcise the menace. When he sprinkled holy water on the stairs, the ghost blew it back over his head. Finally John, 52, and Helen and their teenage daughters left the house swearing never to return. They now live in lodgings and a new tenant is coping with the ghost. Jimmy Cotterill, 36, said: “Crosses chalked on the walls to try to exorcise the ghost keep reappearing when I try to rub them off. I’m off to see the vicar.”
Daily Mirror, 14th April 1988.
Ghosts on the run…
A family claiming it was chased out of its “haunted” house by mischievous ghosts has won the right to sue the local authority for re-housing. A judge in London’s Civil Court ruled the poltergeist-fearing family of John Costello can sue the city council of Nottingham, because it refused to give them another government-subsidised house when they fled last May. Solicitor David Watkinson described a long series of eerie happenings, including their electric organ playing by itself, lights mysteriously switching off, a window suddenly shattering and unexplained banging. He said the poltergeists also used a typewriter and strummed a guitar.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 15th April 1988.
Family tell of fleeing ‘ghost’ house.
A tale of ghostly goings-on at a suburban semi produced more mystery than suspense among baffled neighbours. “I think it’s all piffle,” said next-door-neighbour Mrs Ethel Pearce, a sprightly 88-year-old more worried about her catarrh than the Other world.
Other residents of Melbourne Road in Nottingham were equally bemused by the ghost story. It unfolded in a court-room when Mr Justice Nolan allowed Mr John Costello and his wife, Helen, leave to appeal against Nottingham City Council’s decision not to re-house them. The couple, with their two daughters, fled from the house one Saturday night in May 1987, claiming it was haunted. They said their electric organ and guitar played by themselves; plugs were pulled from electric sockets; doors banged and sheets removed themselves from beds.
They also claimed a friend who stayed at the house was lifted from his bed, and that holy water was splashed back into the face of a priest. But their explanation for their rapid departure did not impress the council, which decided they had made themselves homeless voluntarily. The Costellos, now living in lodgings, will now appeal to the High Court to try to over-rule the decision.
But neighbours said it was the Costellos themselves who made bumps in the night, rather than ghoulies or ghosties. Mrs Pearce has lived in her house, which is attached to the Costello’s former home, for 58 years. She and other neighbours had by pestered by people wanting to know where the Costellos had gone, claiming they were owed money, she said.
The ‘haunted house’ is now occupied by Mr Jimmie Cotterill, aged 36, and his 34-year-old wife, Sandra.
Sandwell Evening Mail, 15th April 1988.
A Chilling Test To Pass.
Merseyside families don’t stand an earthly chance of jumping the housing queue with their bonechilling tales of ghoulish goings-on – unless they pass the ghostbusters’ test. They’ll have to satisfy the experts that things really are going bump in the night if they went to the council to move them on. And that’s a devil of a job when you’ve got to convince social workers, doctors and clergy that you’ve got the spooks. Only then would the housing department consider shifting a family to a new home as a “social move.”
A spokeswoman in Liverpool said today: “We could only re-house anyone after very careful consideration. We would need reports from doctors and social workers – and then evidence from an expert. That would normally be a member of the clergy.” The council is now bracing itself for a rash of re-housing claims after the Costello family took the case of their haunted home to court. A judge yesterday gave the family permission to appeal against the council’s ruling that they made themselves homeless when in fact the family claim they were driven out by a ghost.
The most recent victims of a spooky spectre in Liverpool are now back in their Speke house. Shirley Kane and her daughter Elizabeth fled their council home in Conleach Road in 1986 when a phantom furniture-thrower moved in. But the clergy were called in and they appear to have successfully exorcised the house.
In 1985 Graham Christopher and Helen Coyne were driven out of their home in Dovecot by a ghost and the year before a ghoulish tormentor forced the Rea family from their Clubmoor flat.
In 1982 a mysterious “man in black” turned life in a Halewood flat into a nightmare for the Dever family, the previous occupant having died. And Liverpool clairvoyant Dorothy Wright says that’s one of the major reasons why homes become haunted. “A ghost is a wandering dead spirit who has not been put to rest,” she explained. Possible causes of spooked houses include: Someone dying there in unnatural circumstances; The presence of evil people living there; An enemy of the family exerting a strong telepathic influence over them; Children reaching adolescence unwittingly releasing uncontrollable bursts of energy. Dorothy confirms that the only known answer is to call for the clergy.
Occult lecturer Geoff Roberts has found a common link in most haunted house cases. They tend to occur in council houses with poor families and a baby or daughter reaching puberty – just the setting in which poltergeists thrive.
Have you had a ghostly experience? If you have had an encounter drop us a line and you could win £10. Send your letters to Ghosts, Liverpool Echo, Old Hall Street, Liverpool. The letters published will each win the writer £10.
Liverpool Echo, 14th April 1988.
The Haunted House.
Lawyer was levitated out of his bed by spirits. Invisible fingers tapped out words on a typewriter. Ghostly music played on children’s toy organ.
By Georgina Walsh.
A “terrified” solicitor’s clerk told yesterday of the night he was levitated from his bed in a haunted house. He said he also heard ghostly music from a child’s toy organ and saw a message being typed by “an invisible hand”. Down-to-earth Yorkshireman Jack Yates, 64, now retired from his legal post, said: “I felt this force lift me about a foot in the air. It seemed to last for several minutes. I had to use all my strength to come down again.”
Mr Yates said he had been sceptical about a couple’s claims that their Nottingham council house was haunted. But he was so unnerved by his experience he fled to the next room where John and Helen Costello were huddled together with their family. And it persuaded him to give evidence for the couple who have taken Nottingham city council to the High Court in London in an attempt to be rehoused. If they win their case, it will make legal history.
The frightened Costellos and their daughters Rosie, 14, Susie, 19 and Sharon, 21, moved out of the “spooky semi” in Melbourne Road, Aspley, after just four months – unable to take any more. But the council ruled they had intentionally made themselves homeless and refused to rehouse them. The family are now living in bed and breakfast accommodation.
They claim they were spooked by five spirits – including the “mischievous one.” The court heard that the council never investigated their claims first hand, even though police and social workers were notified. Mr Yates said he was a friend of the family and agreed to sleep in a downstairs living room to check their story. Speaking after the court reserved judgement in the case, he described how the light in his room started to switch itself off and on. Then suddenly he was physically levitated and had to struggle desperately to get back down. Next he saw the typewriter start to move. He said, “It was as if invisible fingers were pressing the keys. Then the paper started scrambling itself. I grabbed the paper and right across it were the letters AH, AH, AH. I witnessed it wi
th my own eyes.”
Mr Yates said the ghostly music appeared to come from a child’s toy organ which was not plugged in and had no batteries. He also heard scratching on his bedclothes and strange knockings in the air. Mr Yates said he taped the noises on a pocket recorder. But when he tried to play it back, there was just silence. He added: “A Catholic priest came to bless the house. He sprinkled holy water and it sprayed back all over us. It would be impossible for someone to live there and remain sane.”
The Costellos moved into the house after it had been specially adapted so that Sharon, who is handicapped, could live with them. But they say that as soon as Sharon stepped over the threshold, a noise like “a gigantic heartbeat” sent her into such a state that she had to be taken to hospital. Finally they fled the house, without even taking their possessions.
The council claims it has had no complaints from the new tenants.
Homeless: John and Helen Costello and their daughters Rose (left) and Susie.
The council semi where a family were driven out by “ghosts.”
Witness Jack Yates.
Daily Mirror, 19th January 1989.
“Ghosts chased us from home.”
Family says rehousing plea failed.
A Nottingham family claims to have been chased from its home by frolicking phantoms going bump in the night. Family members claim that disbelieving Nottingham City Council refused to rehouse them after they fled from their “poltergeist’s playground” home. The council says the Costello family made themselves “intentionally homeless.” And it denies any blame for the family’s plight, saying that Mr John Costello, 52, suspected his wife of being the cause of the ghostly visitations.
The Costellos claim that thei lives were made a misery by a poltergeist haunting their family home in Melbourne Road, Aspley. In affidavits before London’s High Court, the Costellos say that mischievous spirits played a “mournful duet” on an unplugged electric organ and a child’s toy guitar.
A poltergeist was also said to have terrorised a priest who came to exorcise the house. Furniture moved of its own accord and a house guest was lifted from the sofa, the Costellos claim.
Court papers reveal that the Costellos are staying temporarily at a guest house in Elmsthorpe Avenue, New Lenton, with their disabled, autistic daughter. Mr David Watkinson, counsel for the family, told the court that the council had refused to rehouse the Costellos because, by moving out of their former home, they had made themselves “intentionally homeless.”
The court heard that the Costellos moved into the council semi in November, 1986. But in February, 1987, a poltergeist began hounding the terrified family, Mr Costello claims. It was too much for family members to bear and, Mr Costello claims, they were forced to move out on May 23, 1987. Mr Watkinson said the council neither admitted nor disputed the presence of ghosts in the Costellos’ former home.
The council referred to statements Mr Costello allegedly made to social workers that his wife, Helen, 51, was to blame for the strange visitations. Mr Costello allegedly told the social workers that his wife had become involved in black magic when she left the home for a time because of marriage difficulties. Mr Costello is also alleged to have told the council that the poltergeist may have continued to hound his family after they left their Melbourne Road home. Mr Costello denies having made the statements.
Court papers reveal that the council’s housing (finance) sub-committee thought it “impracticable” to move the Costellos to a new home “in view of Mr Costello’s belief that visitations were likely to recur whenever his wife was present.” The council’s barrister, Mr Nigel Godsmark, told the court that the council had two reports in which Mr Costello had said it was his wife and not the house that was responsible for the haunting.
Mr and Mrs Costello are seeking a judicial review of the council’s decision that they had made themselves “intentionally homeless” and that it had no duty to provide them with a new home. The judge reserved judgement until a later date.
Nottingham Evening Post, 19th January 1989.
‘Haunted home’ family lose fight.
A family who gave up their council house because they claimed it was haunted today failed in their High Court bid to be rehoused. Unemployed John Costello, aged 52, and his wife Helen, aged 51, left 124 Melbourne Road, Aspley, Nottingham, in May 1987. Nottingham City Council refused them new accommodation on the ground that they were intentionally homeless within the meaning of the 1985 Housing Homeless Persons Act so it had no duty to rehouse them.
Dismissing the couple’s application for a court order quashing that decision, Mr Justice Schlemann said it was clear they left their home of their own free will. The council had to decide whether it would have been reasonable for the family, who are now at a guest house in Nottingham, to stay at Melbourne Road.
The Costellos, who have three daughters, had told the council they heard the sound of “heart beats” which brought their eldest, Sharon, who is autistic, to her knees. Power plugs were pulled from sockets, a guitar played itself, a typewriter was activated and paper ripped from it, furniture moved and knocking was heard.
The visitations continued despite the efforts of a priest and a spiritualist.
The judge made a costs order against the couple not to be enforced without the leave of the court.
Birmingham Mail, 27th January 1987.
Haunted House Misery.
Judge turns down family.
A family who claimed their home was haunted have failed in their attempt to get a new council house. Unemployed John Costello, 52, and his wife Helen, 51, failed to convince a High Court judge that they should be rehoused. The Costellos, who have three daughters, claimed they had been forced out of the house in Melbourne Road, Aspley, by a ghost which: Pulled power plugs from sockets; Played the family’s guitar; Used their typewriter; Moved furniture; And lifted a visitor bodily from a sofa.
The Costellos, who now live in a guest house in Elmsthorpe Avenue, New Lenton, told the High Court in London that the visitations by the ghost continued despite the efforts of a priest and a spiritualist. But Mr Justice Schiemann dismissed their claim that Nottingham City Council should rehouse them. He said it was clear they left the house of their own free will. Mr and Mrs Costello claimed the council had not taken their complaints seriously and that it had a duty to rehouse them once the ghost had driven them out. But the council refused to give them another house, saying they had made themselves “intentionally homeless”. The judge found that the council had not acted unreasonably.
After the hearing, Mr Costello said: “We are obviously very disappointed. We are prepared to continue the fight to secure accommodation.” The family are considering an appeal.
Nottingham Evening Post, 28th January 1989.