Spooky happenings torment family.
Council officials are investigating claims of an Amityville-style haunting at a semi-detached house. Father-of-two Michael Banks and his wife Mandy, say they have been tormented by ghostly goings-on at their council home since moving in two years ago. Now, they have had enough of the noisy poltergeist and have asked the local authority for a house transfer.
Unemployed Mr Banks, aged 22, cannot find any explanation for the spooky happenings at 16, Brocklehurst Way, Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent – incidents which could be straight out of an Amityville horror film script. He claims: Living room furniture moves around during the night; Lights come on and go off by themselves; Curtains have been opened before they get up in a morning; Visitors have complained of the feeling of an eerie presence.
The strangest incident was when Mr Banks could not open the living room door because the settee had been moved several feet and wedged against it. “It is really weird – the sort of thing you don’t tell people about in case you end up being put in a straightjacket,” he said. “I used to think kghosts were a load of twaddle, but I am now convinced the house is haunted. I’ve looked under the floorboards, I’ve been up the loft, and I’ve had the wiring checked, but I cannot find anything that could have caused all this.”
The couple – who have a four-week-old baby son and a daughter, aged 14 months – say they are anxious to get away from the house as soon as possible. “It is worrying and frightening my wife,” added Mr Banks. City housing committee chairman Mr Mick Williams promised the haunted house claims would be seriously investigated. “We are not sure how to deal with this one because we are used to dealing with natural problems not supernatural ones,” he said. “Some people may think that ghost stories are far-fetched, but we will treat the tenants’ request with sympathy.”
Worried about the next ghostly scare… Mrs Wendy [sic] Banks and 14-month-old daughter Catherine pictured in the lounge where most of the poltergeist activity has taken place.
Staffordshire Sentinel, 18th July 1987.