30 East Drive, Pontefract - The UK’s Most Violent Poltergeist

Ghosts & Hauntings

$30 East Drive, Pontefract – The UK’s Most Violent Poltergeist$

30 East Drive, Pontefract – The UK’s Most Violent Poltergeist

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A Very Violent Poltergeist at 30 East Drive

In my mind, 30 East Drive is to the Enfield haunting, what Madeleine McCann is to Shannon Matthews. And if you don’t know the story of Shannon Matthews, oh boy are you in for a treat. There’s even a musical!

Basically, the ghost at Enfield is a much weaker facsimile of the violent poltergeist that plagued the inhabitants of, you guessed it, a council house. This particular tale took place in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and predated the Enfield haunting by a decade.

The Story of a Poltergeist in Working Class West Yorkshire

In 1966, reports of some very strange goings on at 30 East Drive in Pontefract started to emerge. The Pritchards had begun to notice spooky happenings since moving in not long before. They were a family of four – Jean, Joe, and their children Philip (15) and Diane (12).

It was Philip and his grandma, Mrs Kelly, that first witnessed strange occurrences. Jean and Joe had taken Diane on a trip, leaving Philip to be babysat.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, that fateful day. Philip had been out playing on the estate with some friends while his grandmother sat at home knitting. When he arrived home, he brought with him an icy blast of air that was unseasonably chilling. It caused the door to slam sharply behind him. This would have been a strange occurrence in isolation, but that was just the first hint that something was very wrong.

Strange & Unexplainable Things Start Happening

The first instance of something remarkably odd was a fine powder, like chalk dust, falling from mid-air with seemingly no source. Then they noticed that water had begun to pool on the kitchen floor too, causing puddles that refilled after being mopped up. At this point, they got the council out to investigate. The council couldn’t find the source of the leaks, so they brought in more people to dig the kitchen floor up. However, they still found no explanation for the water. That same night, a heavy chest of drawers began to move on its own, pulling away from the wall and wobbling forcefully backwards and forwards.

Mrs Kelly had had enough of this, so she packed a couple of small bags and took Philip off to spend the night at a relative’s. Jean and Joe were welcomed home from their trip by a weird tale of wonder. They were unimpressed. Neither of them believed in the supernatural and this sorry story seemed very far fetched. There must be a logical explanation for all of this.

Nonetheless things only seemed to escalate. Green foam started oozing from the taps. Family photographs were slashed. Furniture began to move and bang around. Doors slammed. Random objects would fly through the air. At one point, a heavy old grandfather clock fell over and came crashing down the stairs.

After this, Jean and Joe’s scepticism began to waver. There was a constant loud, aggressive knocking on walls and doors inside the property. Bed sheets were torn off the bed. Furniture would crash around on its own.

Ghost Hunters Step in the Lend a Helping Hand

Eventually, Joe confided in neighbours and friends. He was recommended a ghost hunter who had all kinds of fancy equipment for detecting spirits. Feeling at a loss, Joe agreed to contact the man.

When Mr O’Donald, ghost hunter extraordinaire, arrived at 30 East Drive, he was met with the very worried Pritchards. Stories of things that go bump at all times of the day came tumbling out of their mouths and he took it all very seriously.

It was clear to Mr O’Donald that this poor family had a poltergeist in its midst. In his expert opinion, a poltergeist was neither ghost nor demon, but a build up of uncontrolled, psychic energy. Entities of psychic energy like to throw household items and ruin photographs, he explained to the family. However, he reassured them, this would eventually wear itself out and dissipate, leaving them in peace.

Shortly after Mr O’Donald’s departure, Jean and Joe heard an almighty crash from upstairs. They raced to see what had caused the disturbance, only to be greeted with the sight of their wedding photograph on the floor. The photograph itself was torn down the middle, and the frame was smashed.

Much like Meta, it seems that poltergeists can listen in on conversations. The realisation filled the Pritchards with fear. All sense of scepticism vanished.

It Became Apparent that this Was One Very Violent Poltergeist

In the weeks that followed the ghost hunter’s visit, the family went to hell and back. Pictures would leap off the walls. Sofas would slide across the room, even if people were sitting in them. Their belongings were constantly under threat of being dashed to pieces. Plants jumped out of their plant pots, and the tea dispenser in the kitchen would open and dump tea leaves all over the work surfaces

Another Case of Poltergeists Haunting young Girls

It was the daughter, Diane, who was the focus of this particular poltergeist. We’ve seen this before, in the Enfield haunting. Girls on the cusp of puberty seem to be fascinating to evil entities. I have no idea why they’re so obsessed with periods. Other than archaic, religious beliefs about menstruating women being unclean. But that feels like a whole different rant about the systematic devaluing of all things relating to women and people who have periods…

The first assault happened one night as Diane lay in bed. She was suddenly pulled from her bed and thrown to the floor with some force. As she tearfully told her parents what happened, Diane was standing at the bottom of the stairs. She suddenly felt her hair stand on end. Confused, she went to turn around, but before she could, she was thrown to the floor and then dragged violently up the stairs. Not long after that, red welts and bruises started to appear on her neck.

When Exorcism Seems Like The Only option, You Know It’s Bad

Frightened out of their wits, the Pritchards went to see a priest. They begged him for an exorcism. But the father was sceptical. It was a very unusual request and required special dispensation from the Bishop. Nevertheless, the Pritchards were adamant that he must help them. And immediately.

He called at 30 East Drive to perform the sacred rite. Still very suspicious of the whole thing.

Immediately after the priest had performed the ritual, the house became a cacophony of noise. It sounded like bowling balls were cascading onto the roof. A candlestick rose into the air and hung motionless in front of the priest. He ran screaming into the night shouting that there was an evil spirit in the house.

The Haunting Continued for Quite Some Time

This wasn’t the first exorcism that was attempted. And it seemed like the ghost had a sense of humour. With each exorcism, it would create yet more mayhem in different ways. At one point, disembodied hands wearing furry gloves appeared and conducted as Christian music was sung. Holy water ran down the walls. People had their faces slapped and were pushed roughly downstairs. In one instance, Joan’s sceptical sister had a full jug of milk poured over her head, much to the amusement of Philip and Diane.

The council were unwilling to move the family, despite all of the first hand accounts that it was haunted. And the poltergeist, it seemed, was in it for the long haul. The family named him Fred. The ghost would happily respond to his new name.

Fred was also known as The Black Monk, after Jean and Joe were awakened one night to see a tall figure in a black hooded robe standing over their bed. Fred would be spotted in this get up regularly after that.

The Black Monk of Pontefract

Several years after the poltergeist activity started, a paranormal investigator began digging into the history of monks in Pontefract. He found that there was, indeed, a monastery nearby that was part of Pontefract Priory. It was founded in 1090.

Over the years, several urban legends have circulated about the origin of the supposed monk at 30 East Drive. One in particular seems to have stuck. A monk called Brother Michael (from back in ye olden days) had murdered a young girl. He was then hanged for the crime outside of the cursed council house.

The Ghost of a Little Girl Named Emma

The ghost of a young girl is said to haunt 30 East Drive as well as the Black Monk. There is no mention of this child ghost in any of the original reports and she fits just a bit too neatly into the urban legend for my liking. The murderer and the murder victim bound together for all eternity.

However, visitors to 30 East Drive have reported sensing more than one entity, with one being obsessed with dolls and other toys in the house. There have also been several videos of two orbs that move together around the property.

The UK’s Strangest B&B

You can visit 30 East Drive for a ghost hunting session, if you want to see for yourself. There’s also the option to stay over for a whopping £300 / night. To stay in a council house in Ponte [shakes head]. This is big business.

As far as I’m aware, you can’t visit the site of the Enfield Poltergeist at 283 Green Street. However, this being the UK, if you want to purchase the property, you’re looking at a 50% markup. Unlike in the US, where properties have to be listed as haunted if there have been reports of ghosts, us Brits like a good haunted property.

I believe Bil Bungay is the current owner of the house, but refuses to stay there. And I’m under no illusion that it’s because of the ghosts… it’s a council house in one of the less desirable parts of West Yorkshire.

Scaredy Cat Skeptic Take

Hoax. More hoaxy even than the Enfield Poltergeist. Although, undoubtedly the inspiration behind the Poltergeist at 284 Green Street.

I believe that maybe a couple of things happened at 30 East Drive that were unexplained at the time, but then it was all built upon to create the urban legend we know today. What happened in that house, we’ll never really know, because it’s all become too warped now. I mean, where are Diane and Philip now? Unlike Janet from the Enfield case, you never hear from them.

The History of the Violent Poltergeist Has No Basis in Reality

In terms of the murderous monk story, I can’t see any evidence whatsoever anywhere for any of this. I’ve dug around online, but the stories are all quite vague. And like with most ghost stories, I suspect that a bad case of exaggeration and addition has happened to warp the story into something more frightening. This is what happens with conspiracy theories too – people take the initial sentiment, add their own spin or interpret it wrong, then pass it on, where the spin and interpretation happens again (sometimes to suit a personal bias) until it’s so far-fetched that none of it makes sense. If anyone can tell me the origin of the Brother Michael story, then please let me know.

Photographs and Videos of the Entities at 30 East Drive

There’s a plethora of media supposedly showing the ghosts at 30 East Drive. What began as one poltergeist has morphed into the black monk AND a demon AND a little girl AND two sets of different orbs (one pink, one white) AND one single orb (blue) AND a ghost dog. And those are just the ones I know of.

I’ve studied the photographs that are available online and all of them look like photoshop jobs, camera errors or pareidolia.

This Violent Poltergeist Has Become a Cash Cow

For me, the fact that 30 East Drive is a fully fledged business that makes money exclusively through the supposed haunting is enough to discredit absolutely everything that happens in that house now. Carol Fieldhouse, who lives next door and just happens to be a paranormal expert, corroborates all claims of the hauntings. She is often seen at 30 East Drive and actually works for Bil Bungay, who directed the film, When the Lights Went Out. The movie is based on the violent poltergeist case at 30 East Drive. It’s not a bad film with a great English cast and some good Yorkshire accents – check it out if you get chance.

But naturally, Carol is going to make sure people are scared of the place. She also shares a wall with the haunted property, giving her the ability to make some noise. I also don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that there is a way to access 30 East Drive from Carol’s house.

I have no doubt that people have experiences there and I have no doubt that they are 100% made by living human beings.

I’m going to see if I can pay a visit to the house and see for myself, and maybe I’ll eat my words. Who knows? It’s not high up the agenda, though, hence the blog post. This place has a lot of attention and I think there are far creepier stories to hear about than this.

When The Lights Went Out

For me, the fact that 30 East Drive is a fully fledged business that makes money exclusively through the supposed haunting is enough to discredit absolutely everything that happens in that house now. Carol Fieldhouse, who lives next door and just happens to be a paranormal expert, corroborates all claims of the hauntings. She is often seen at 30 East Drive and actually works for Bil Bungay, so naturally, she’s going to make sure people are scared of the place. She also shares a wall with the haunted property, giving her the ability to make some noise. I have no doubt that people have experiences there and I have no doubt that they are 100% made by living human beings.

Your Thoughts

Have any of you ever visited the house in Pontefract? What was your take? Did you see anything?