(Image: KBP)
'It seems to follow him': The terrifying Greater Manchester streets where families have been forced to flee their homes
by Lee Grimsditch · Manchester Evening NewsThere are few things we enjoy more than a good scare - as long as it's not real or happening to us. But over the years, there have been reports of families in Greater Manchester being terrorised out of their homes by an often unseen force.
This is not unique to this region, of course. The phenomenon of poltergeist hauntings has been reported for centuries and has been the subject of countless TV shows and Hollywood movies.
Poltergeist is a German word for a ghost or supernatural entity whose behaviour includes physical disturbances such as loud noises or moving objects. The most famous recording of alleged poltergeist activity occurred in Enfield, London, between 1977 and 1979.
Journalists and paranormal investigators were invited to witness disturbing happenings centred around sisters Janet, aged 11, and Margaret Hodgson, aged 13, at their Enfield home. The alleged poltergeist activity included moving furniture, knocking on walls, strange voices, and even claims of levitation.
While many believe the events were a hoax staged by the girls and their mother, others still believe the Enfield case to be a genuine example of poltergeist activity. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of alleged poltergeist hauntings is that they take place in the most humdrum and domestic settings, as opposed to tales of headless spirits wailing in the corridors of some long-forgotten castle.
Whether the causes of reported poltergeists can be explained rationally, are found to be a hoax, or are even the product of an over-superstitious or unbalanced mind, there's no doubt those who have experienced the phenomena have seemingly been terrified by enough to leave their own homes.
As we creep towards Halloween, it seems a good time to examine three alleged poltergeist hauntings that have made the headlines in Greater Manchester over the years.
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Benchilll, Wythenshawe
This front page Manchester Metro story described the terror experienced by one family who had been tormented by an alleged poltergeist. Clare James and her seven-month-old son had recently moved into a house with her boyfriend and sister in Benchill.
Clare said a malevolent presence in the house soon made itself known. She recalled seeing a sinister 'monk-like' figure accompanied by a ghostly child peeping out from his long robes.
The family said the apparition pelted them with plates, ornaments, and even a piece of shelving. In desperation, the mum called in a vicar, a priest, and several nuns to try and rid them of what they believed was a "dangerous poltergeist".
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Despite the divine intervention, the entity still continued to appear most nights. On one occasion, the young mum said she had been pushed down the stairs by an icy hand.
Clare said her family loved the house, but they had begged the council to move them since the terrifying incidents started happening. She told the Manchester Metro: "It started soon after we moved in.
"At first, I thought it was nothing, but slowly, it got worse and worse. I'm just so frightened, we all are.
"I like the house and I like it round here, but I just can't live with this. I can't take much more."
The mum described the ghostly monk as being clearly visible when it appeared, and it looked like its face had been burned. She spoke of her fear, believing it was only a matter of time before somebody in the house got hurt.
A week later, the Metro reported that a team of "Ghostbusters" from Stockport Ghost Society had visited the house and began an investigation.
Despite the terrifying manifestation of the alleged spirit and its actions, Angela felt the monk was not malevolent. Initial investigations into several rooms in the house are said to have detected a "presence," which caused one of the investigators to become dizzy and light-headed.
What became of the alleged haunting of the house in Benchill, Wythenshawe, is unknown. No other incident records has so far been found, so its fate remains a mystery for now.
Wingates Grove, Westhoughton
(Image: KBP)
Imagine a street so haunted you have to sign a waiver to move there. While it may sound like something plucked straight from a horror film, this happened on an unassuming council estate in Bolton.
A poltergeist was said to have haunted a row of homes on Wingates Grove in Westhoughton for years, tormenting families who lived there throughout the 1990s. The paranormal activity became so frightening that it's alleged that even Bolton Council was forced to intervene – but staff couldn't find a rational explanation for what was happening.
It all started in 1993 when one family started experiencing bizarre activity that made them eventually flee the property. It was said that their toddler would talk to a 'little man' in his room, and an oil-type substance would run down the walls.
The incidents reportedly baffled maintenance workers, who could not determine the cause. The family eventually contacted a local church, and an exorcism was carried out at the address. Following the ritual, the street fell quiet.
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But, just five years later, in 1999, a flurry of supernatural activity would begin again. Just two doors down from the original haunted house, a family started experiencing strange disturbances shortly after they had moved in.
Laura was 12 years old when she said she 'knew' something was wrong with the house. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News in 2022, Laura, now in her 30s, said: "I begged my mum not to move in. I didn't like the feel of it. I didn't feel comfortable, but when we got our stuff in, it faded a bit.
"When things started happening, my mum would say it was the ghost of my granddad. But I said it wasn't. I just knew there was something there. It felt like I was walking into someone's personal space. I didn't want to walk through the door."
Laura said she was with her older brother and a friend when the first incident happened. The siblings decided to prank their pal, sleeping in the living room. As they ran back upstairs, her brother let out a blood-curdling scream.
He had cut his foot open on a picture frame that was standing on the staircase. It had been hanging on the wall moments before and had not fallen.
Another time, dozens of dead crows were found scattered around the front and back gardens, including along the ginnel at the side of the property.
Perhaps the strangest incident was the reappearance of the baby oil-type substance, similar to that found in the original haunted house. Laura remembers it dripping down her bedroom walls, causing her posters to fall. A foul, sulphur smell like rotting eggs would also fill the property.
Laura eventually moved out of the home when she was 16 years old. Although she hasn't experienced anything paranormal since what occurred in Wingates Grove continues to haunt her to this day.
"I don't watch any scary films or anything to do with ghosts," Laura added. "I've suffered with anxiety since to the point where the whole thing about the street is on my doctor's note. The last five months we lived there, I slept in a bed with my mum and dad because I was that scared.
"That's when things got really bad. I kept seeing people stood at the door. I fell asleep facing my wall because I was terrified of turning over. If I needed to go to the toilet in the night, I would hold it in."
(Image: KBP)
Caron Walton, who bought Laura's childhood home in 2006, said she has' no problem' with the property's history and actually enjoys its quirky past. However, she reveals she had to sign a disclaimer before she moved in.
She told the M.E.N: "I had to sign a disclaimer saying I wouldn't use an Ouija board or do black magic or anything dark. They wanted me to sign a slip of paper. I quite liked it.
"I've heard tales that there's meant to be an old man walking around on the landing, but we're quite happy here. I think it's quite novel; I quite like it. It's a selling point for me."
Caron said she hasn't experienced any supernatural activity since moving into the address, but added: "They wanted someone to move here who didn't have very young children."
Lorton Close, Langley
In November 1968, the Manchester Evening News ran a story on an alleged incident of poltergeist activity in Langley, Middleton. Dorothy Moulton, 48, fled from her council house on Lorton Close in terror of "The Thing".
In the preceding weeks, an entity Dorothy had dubbed "The Thing" drove her almost to 'breaking point' by haunting her home and, on one occasion, ransacking her back bedroom. Dorothy was pictured in the newspaper holding one of the drawers the mischievous spirit had supposedly emptied and left strewn.
The housewife had called in the help of two Manchester mediums after visits from a local priest, and the police failed to stop the disturbances. Footsteps had been heard on the landing, and cushions were flung about the rooms downstairs.
She contacted the newspaper only after the furniture was found 'disarranged' and the contents of her dressing table drawers were scattered. Still shaken from the experience, Dorothy said: "We treated it as a joke at first but now it has gone beyond a joke. My nerves are constantly on edge and we are getting very little sleep."
In December 1968, the M.E.N picked up the story again after Dorothy claimed "The Thing" had begun to 'show himself'. "He has appeared as both a black shadow and as a white patch of mist," Dorothy told the reporter, adding: "He is driving me out of my mind".
She claimed the disturbances had worsened since a priest was called to bless the house. The article went on to say that Dorothy and her husband were taking turns sleeping, and their lodger, 20-year-old shorthand typist Carolyn Fleetham, had also seen the spirit.
Following another blessing, no more disturbances were reported at the house. However, in a strange twist, 15 years later, a story appeared in the Middleton and North Manchester Guardian documenting another alleged instance of poltergeist activity in The Moss in Alkrington, Middleton.
Margaret Barlow, 60, said disturbing events at her house had left her terrified just weeks after moving in. Electrical items had started going missing, and beds were being stripped of their blankets that were left in a pile on the floor.
Over the Easter Weekend, Margaret said the 'ghost' had moved downstairs and started wrecking the living room.
"If it were burglars they would just throw things about and break things. As it is the furniture is piled into the centre of the room and nothing is broken. It is as if something is going round in circles," said the grandmother.
A neighbour helped seal the windows to ensure nobody was getting in, but this just seemed to make things worse, with continual bangs coming from the roof, walls and ceilings.
The centre of the disturbances seemed to revolve around Margaret's 15-year-old grandson. He lived in Lorton Close in Langley - the same street the 1968 disturbances were reported from. Whenever he visited his grandmother, things seemed to get worse.
"It seems to follow him," Margaret said.
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