The South Shields Poltergeist: A Terrifying Haunting
The South Shields Poltergeist case is very well known to me because South Shields is my home town. I have never written about it on here before, but as its Halloween month I thought I would share the story for anyone who has never heard of it before.
Back in 2006/7 I had heard rumours of a house that was being terrorised by a poltergeist in my home town but not many people knew of the location of the house or who lived in the house, including me, it was being kept a secret to protect the privacy of the family. It wasn’t until many years later that I did find out the location of the actual house and it was the nothing like what I was expecting!
I was expecting some big old house, something like a big old vicarage or an old town house, there is a good few of those in and around South Shields, but it turned out it was just an ordinary small terraced house on an ordinary housing estate that was built in the late 1970’s, and it wasn’t too far a walk from where I was living at the time.
South Shields is a relevantly quiet coastal town in the North East of England, situated at the mouth of the River Tyne, and in my home town is where an ordinary family home became the stage for one of the most disturbing modern poltergeist cases ever recorded.
The chilling story unfolded during the summer of 2006, and what investigators uncovered made even the most hardened sceptics terrified.
An ariel view of South Shields seafront
A Peaceful Home Turned Nightmare
It began when a young couple, Marc and Marianne (their names were changed to protect their privacy) and their three-year-old son were living a normal life at 42 Lock Street (the address was also changed to protect their privacy, there is no lock street in South Shields) until one night in December 2005 strange noises began echoing through their house.
At first they thought little of the noises, creaks, noisy neighbours, the usual noise in a terraced house, but soon things escalated into something far beyond explanation. Toys started moving on their own. Chairs shifted across the room. Lights flickered violently. Then came the messages, terrifying notes written on their son’s chalkboard, “You’re dead.” And another taunted: “Just go now.”
The Poltergeist Makes Its Presence Known
Before long, the couple reported being physically attacked by an invisible force. Marianne described that she had been dragged from her bed and thrown across the room by unseen hands. Marc, also terrified, witnessed toys and other objects hurling themselves through the air, including knives and heavy furniture.
The poltergeist seemed to focus on psychological torment. Toys, especially their sons dolls and stuffed animals were often found arranged in grotesque, threatening poses. One teddy bear was discovered hanging by its neck from a light fitting. Another time, a toy was placed in bed with a knife propped against its stuffed arm.
The haunting had a cruel intelligence. It appeared to communicate, manipulate, and even anticipate the family’s actions.
The Investigators
In sheer desperation the couple reached out to paranormal investigators Michael Hallowell and Darren Ritson, who are both well respected paranormal investigators in the North East of England. The pair visited the house regularly and documented the events over several months, experiencing many of the disturbances themselves.
According to their book, The South Shields Poltergeist: One Family’s Fight Against an Invisible Intruder, they witnessed doors slamming with enormous force, toys being thrown around and objects vanishing and then reappearing moments later in different places.
Also two programme makers for Orion television who visited the house witnessed a speaking toy parrot mysteriously croaking words out with which it had not been programmed.
The entity also seemed capable of using technology by sending text messages to the family and investigators from unknown phone numbers, threatening them and mocking their attempts to seek help. One of the investigators received a text message reading: “I’m watching you.”
Paranormal Investigators Mike Hallowell and Darren Ritson
Psychological Warfare
What made the South Shields case so remarkable was the sheer intelligence and malevolence of the haunting. It wasn’t just random banging or flickering lights. This force targeted its victims physically and psychologically, using fear as its weapon.
Experts who reviewed the case found the consistency of witness reports striking. The investigators were considered credible, the activity was extensively documented, and even sceptics admitted that some of the events defied any explanation.
The Aftermath
Eventually, after months of being terrorised, the phenomena seemed to just fade away as quickly as it began. The family, emotionally shattered, eventually moved away from the house.
The investigators concluded that the entity was a classic example of a poltergeist, possibly generated by intense emotional energy but with a level of awareness that hinted at something far darker.
Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, after almost 20 years, the South Shields Poltergeist stands as one of the most disturbing and well documented hauntings of the 21st century
About the Author: Paranormal Globe - Paul
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