The Enfield Poltergeist

Would you like to talk to me? Don't forget.

One for no and two for yes.

284 Green Street.

Inexplicable events personally experienced by Maurice Grosse.

One. Marbles and plastic pieces seen in high-speed transit.

And there was a chest of drawers moving towards the door.

Two. A chair in the bedroom…

A chair which was standing by Janet's bed appears to have moved.

I went up the stairs, and as I went up the stairs, this knock followed me.

Banging on the side of the walls and on the ceiling.

On the floor.

You know, I'm sure there's something in this house trying to kill her. I swear it.

We have got

some entities here.

And we shall have to consider seriously the possibility

of matter other than normal,

sources of energy other than normal,

and perhaps even creation ex nihilo and a fourth dimension.

LBC on 261. Pass it on.

We're talking about poltergeists

because rather a spooky story about the family

who's living in fear of strange goings-on that are driving them from their home.

With me is Mr. Maurice Grosse.

And you're at pains to mention that it's not an evil spirit,

but do you believe in the fact--

I mean, I'm thinking of films like The Exorcist where an evil spirit

can get into a child and make it do the most extraordinary things.

Does that sort of thing happen?

Round about the 1970s,

there was a gradual buildup of interest in these phenomena.

On the entertainment side, the subject was becoming more topical.

Somewhere between science and superstition,

there is another world.

The world of darkness.

It was The Exorcist movie that's directly related,

I suppose, in some sense, to Enfield.

Something beyond comprehension is happening

to a little girl on this street, in this house.

-No! Please, don't! No, please! -Do it!

I wouldn't tell me wife to go and see it anyway.

Well, I just found it really horrible.

I just had to come out. I couldn't take anymore.

I believe.

But the mainstream view was still that these phenomena couldn't really be real.

Let's go back to the calls.

We're talking to the people who've been suffering from these poltergeists.

Next on the line is Hilda from Wandsworth.

When I came down the stairs, I would be lifted up and placed down.

I was absolutely terrified to mention it to--

The milk bottle lifted itself up and moved

two or three yards to the settee and stood straight up on the--

It's quite possible that disasters such as aircraft accidents could be inspired

by subconsciously wanting something to happen.

Interesting call. Maurice Grosse is with us.

He's a member of the Society for Psychical Research.

We tried to investigate it in scientific terms as far as possible.

And my personal view is that it won't be very many years now

before people begin to accept the paranormal as normal.

We're only just touching the tip of the iceberg.

What sort of a case is this in your experience?

Well, I think this is probably the best case this century.

In fact, as far as documentation is concerned,

it may be the best case of all time.

Fortunately, we have tape recorders.

Now tape recorders for the assessment of evidence

is the best instrument you can possibly have because it is non-selective.

You don't have to point it, you don't have to stay with it,

you turn it on and you leave it.

And whatever you pick up, you hope you picked up what you were looking for.

The Society for Psychical Research were interested in the possibility

that there might be evidence for some new force of nature.

Crikey!

As I asked the question, "Are you having a game with me?"

The SPR was a wonderfully-- very friendly, but very fuddy-duddy organization.

The vast majority of the people there were elderly men interested

in finding evidence of the paranormal, evidence of life after death,

evidence that spirits carry on.

When we talk about assessment of evidence,

I'm now talking about the assessment of real phenomena.

Not theoretical phenomena. Real phenomena.

Because that's what I specialize in, the real stuff.

Maurice was absolutely committed.

He really wanted people to know.

You might imagine there are lots of poltergeists around,

but there aren't that many.

And when one comes up that lasts more than a couple of days

and has things that can potentially be tested,

people rushed off there.

From the SPR's point of view, was this a genuine case?

November 1977.

Visit by Tony Cornell, Alan Gauld, and Bernard Carr, of the SPR.

I'm not particularly psychically sensitive,

so I'm not like a medium that would go into a building

and immediately feel, "Oh, there's something here."

I wasn't even an experienced investigator of poltergeists.

I was very young. I was just a beginner.

On the other hand, Tony Cornell and Alan Gauld

were the most experienced ghost hunters, if you like, in the world.

Anyway, let's go upstairs, shall we?

Yes, you come up, boys.

As time went on,

you got this complete thoroughfare of people coming to your home.

Tickets, please.

What do all these men do?

Well, you've got some fairly eminent scientists here tonight.

Are they all staying?

No, they're not staying.

You got lots of people judging you.

Questioning you. Criticizing you, maybe.

"Well, you didn't see that." "How did that happen?"

"You sure that happened?" Questioning. That's gonna be wearing on anybody.

This is for the benefit of my tape, if you don't mind.

So, you've got here--

you've got an infrared recorder you've got a VHF recorder

and compasses put around the room.

and also a mirror for reflecting.

Now this can really go anywhere.

We could, in fact, put this here.

Now everybody keep absolutely still.

Try asking for a big movement.

Will you try a big movement for me on the needle?

Come on. One, two, three.

Three big movements on the needle.

Come, you've done other things for me.

Try and move the needle quite far.

It's moving. Look at it.

It's Bernard hopping from one foot to the other.

Is it? I see.

I think it's being a little bit inhibited at the moment.

I'm fairly certain if we go out the room and go downstairs, it'll start.

Now, you two gentlemen go into the other room then.

And listen and see what happens.

You go to sleep, Billy.

Right.

What's happened then?

The pillow just jumped over me.

Janet was laying…

Now how did that-- While you were watching how did the pillow go?

Well, Janet moved, and the pillow shot right over.

-Like this? -Yes.

-This? -Yes.

-We'll just go outside again… -Yes.

…and listen and see what happens.

I'll stay here.

In a minute, I'm going to ask it to have a go at me.

I like poltergeists.

They can do what they like to me.

Well here we are. There's three of us in bed.

During the time I was there with Tony and Alan, we did hear bumps.

The children were falling out of bed and things were moving around,

but only when none of us were in the room where the phenomena were occurring.

I don't believe in you.

I don't believe you can throw these girls out of bed.

And so, we couldn't be sure from the evening

we spent there, that it wasn't just the children.

I don't believe you can do anything.

See what it says…

Most of the senior members of the society were academics.

In the opinion of many, only academics

were thought capable of carrying out a decent, impartial investigation.

The academics were old money, if you like.

Maurice and Guy were, as they called it in those days, trade.

The establishment acts like three wise monkeys,

"I see nothing, I hear nothing, I say nothing."

This time it's hit the light very hard, and the light's gone out.

The reason Dad got involved

with the Society for Psychical Research

was because it was the only scientific institution

that was trying to look into these phenomena.

Dad was always very interested in science,

that's the career he wanted to follow.

And then, of course, the war took away six very important years.

He was 20 when he joined up.

He was at Dunkirk.

He never really spoke about what happened in the war.

And when he came out, he went to work in one of his father's confectioner shops.

He managed to escape that life.

By chance, he and two friends won the pools.

£3,000 each.

In the mid-1960s, it was a lot of money.

Enough for him to get out of the shop and start his own business.

And that's what he did.

The dream of all poster advertisers is to be able to sell one space more than once.

He created a poster advertising machine.

You could have 32 posters in this one box.

He's no fool.

My opinion is that,

if this was anything other than a paranormal investigation,

the verdict would be overwhelmingly in favor of activities of forces unknown.

And as this is a paranormal investigation,

we must press on for 101% proof.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear Janet

Happy birthday to you

Well, blow it out, blow 'em out.

-I saw that go. -What was that?

-I believe the kettle. -It's started.

-I'll wash out the kettle. -Enfield, November the 10th, 1977.

-It's the-- -Now the chair gone over.