Ghostly Attack.
By Emma Walsh.
A tormented Sleaford family has had to call in a priest to exorcise their home after a troubled spirit attacked the occupier and her sister. The family, who have asked to remain anonymous for fear of neighbourly taunts, have experienced odd goings on in the 60-year-old house since they moved in earlier this year.
Despite two holy blessings the spirit has not settled and last week the strange events took a turn for the worse. Said the mother of five: “It was about 8.30pm and I’d taken my youngest son to the toilet. I walked him back to the bedroom and felt something on my face – pushing me back. I didn’t really think anything of it but when I went downstairs a friend of my older son asked what I’d done to my face. When I looked in the mirror it was black and blue and swollen up. Then a couple of days later my sister came and we both went into the room.”
Continued the sister: “The room was so cold, then I felt some pinching on my face and legs. I came out bruised from top to bottom.” The room is normally occupied by two of the boys, aged six and seven, but for the past few days the family has slept on the kitchen floor.
The exorcism was carried out on Monday. “The vicar came and put on his robes, made a cross on both our heads with holy oil, blessed by the Bishop of Lincoln, and said prayers in the room where the spirit seems to be at its strongest,” the couple said. “He warned us that some spirits leave peacefully but others don’t so now we’ve just got to wait and see.” Local vicar the Rev John Thorold said: “Yes, they certainly consulted me but it is a very delicate matter and I wouldn’t like to say any more.”
The family are puzzled by what could be haunting their home. “It had started before we even moved in,” said the man of the house. “When we first got the keys we used to go every day to make it looked lived in. We would turn off the lights and shut the curtains at night, but the next day the curtains would be open and all the lights on. Money would go missing – we found some in the toilet brush holder – but it’s definitely not the children. Then ornaments and things in the room would move but the scariest thing of all was when we found an old teddy bear. We had been decorating one of the boy’s bedrooms and found the bear under the bed. But we’d never seen it before and it didn’t belong to anyone we knew. It was a horrible looking thing with a downturned mouth and arched back. We showed it to the vicar on Monday but we’ve thrown it out now.”
“But we’re not mad – it’s true,” said the woman. “I know people won’t believe it.”
Due to the teddy bear and impish pinching the couple think the spirit may be that of a child but have come up with one possible theory. “The only thing we can think of comes down to the former owners. They were an old couple and the woman died in her chair in the living room,” the couple explained. “They had lived here for 30 years, brought their family up, and then spent a peaceful retirement here. Now, with five children in the house, perhaps we have disturbed their peace.”
Sleaford Target, 20th September 1995.
Spirits sleep in haunted house vigil.
By Neil Hunter.
Things that go bump in the night are a common occurrence at one house in the county. A family in Sleaford claim they are being tormented by an evil spirit. Mysterious objects have appeared in rooms, noises can be heard throughout the night and glowing balls of light have been seen in mid-air. A priest was called in to exorcise the home last week but the family say since then things have got worse.
When an invitation to spend the night in the haunte dhouse was passed around the Echo office, volunteers were distinctly short on the ground. There was only one man brave enough to face up to the spirits and sleep in the room where most of the supernatural events were happening – and that was me.
The family, who wish to remain anonymous, told me how the night before a friend had walked upstairs and mysteriously received a bruise on her face. “She was just sitting down and suddenly her head jerked back – a few seconds later she had a bruise on her cheek,” the mother said. “Another time we were all sitting around and an ornament flew off a window ledge and hit someone on the back of the head. The children won’t sleep at night now and the only room I feel safe in is the kitchen.”
Undeterred , at midnight I climbed the stairs and settled down for a night of restless sleep while the family prepared their beds in the kitchen. As the hours passed it was becoming clear that nothing was going to happen. In the morning the family were almost apologetic – everything was normal. Apparently it was the first night for weeks the ghost had been silent. Feeling slightly disappointed and greatly relieved, I left, undecided whether to take up their invitation to spend another night there.
Lincolnshire Echo, 25th September 1995.
Ghost family asks for move.
The Sleaford family tormented by a troubled spirit will receive a sympathetic ear but no promises from North Kesteven’s Housing department. After spending hundreds of pounds on interior decoration the couple had previously pledged not to be driven out of their council-owned home but after last week’s exorcism failed they say they can’t stand it any longer and want to leave. But housing officials were unable to make any promises to the tenants and their five children when they went for help on Friday.
Said housing manager John Tudberry: “This is the first time we have experienced this kind of situation. The previous tenants had lived there for many years but we have no history of this kind of phenomena. However, that is not to say we disbelieve the family.”
The family has enrolled on the council’s transfer and mutual exchange lists. Added Mr Tudberry: “We will be sympathetic to their reasons for wanting to move but unless we have got something else available that’s suitable immediately it would be pointless us going any further or suggesting they move out.”
Sleaford Target, 27th September 1995.
Angry spirit is put at rest.
Sleaford’s haunted house is now at peace, says a local medium and his colleagues. The Target called on the help of medium Bryan Gibson to see if he could detect any spirits at the troubled home and along with reporter, Emma Walsh, they went to investigate.
I organised to meet Bryan and his colleagues, Alan and Sue, at the Target Office. I didn’t want them to know the address of the house to ensure they were unable to find out any background or history of the house other than what had previously been published. After a short discussion with the mother-of-five at the house, Bryan, Alan and Sue went upstairs to take a look around. They suggested we all stayed downstairs because any fear would produce negative energy and work against them, explained Sue. After a few minutes she came down and told us they had detected two spirits in one of the rooms and returned upstairs.
Forty-five minutes later the exhausted group re-appeared to explain to the frightened family. The room they had chosen was the same room which had been the centre of the odd goings-on. “We picked up a gentleman and a lady,” said Sue. “The lady had died following a sickness and that would have caused your feelings of sickness and nausea when upstairs. The man had lived here and didn’t know where else to go and later on his wife had joined him. Things were getting progressively worse because he was angry someone was in the house. If someone moved into your home you would be angry. Although he had died it’s still his home. For him it feels no different,” she continued. “He kept asking you to go but because you couldn’t hear him he was becoming more and more frustrated.”
They said the spirits had told them the woman’s name was Lilian and the surprised mother said they, too, had been told by neighbours that the former tenant’s name was Lilian. Said Bryan: “When we went in the room it was so cold in there. It was like walking into a fridge. I’m sure they didn’t mean to frighten or hurt any of you. Although they didn’t realise what they were doing they were just trying to communicate.”
The mother of the family was confused as to why the spirits had chosen that particular room and why they had stayed. Explained Sue: “People assume that if someone dies in a room that’s where they stay but that’s not always the case. I would think that’s the room where they have the most memories. Perhaps it was their children’s room. Some people die and go but some people don’t believe in life after death. Mind is th emost powerful thing and if they don’t want to see the light they won’t see it.”
After some lengthy chat the mother decided to go up to the room with Sue. She returned, smiling. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “It just feels so much different. It’s warmer and the fusty smell has gone. I didn’t feel sick either. It’s brilliant. I don’t want to move now- not any more. There’s just such a different atmosphere. At least now I know I wasn’t going crazy, and my friends and family know we weren’t lying,” she said.
Checks with the Electoral Register failed to link the name Lilian to the house although it has been said the former tenant was known by that name.
Sleaford Target, 4th October 1995.