The Enfield Haunting – Part 3
Next up in our series of true hauntings is The Enfield Haunting; one of the most famous hauntings of all time!
Our story concerns the Hodgson family in their rented home in Enfield in 1977. Single mother of four, Peggy Hodgson, called police to her home one night after her two daughters claimed that furniture was moving and knocking sounds were heard on the walls. A police constable arrived and witnessed a wooden chair move across the floor without being touched. This attracted press in the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. Obviously, there was little the police constable could do to help…
The knocking on the walls was so loud and frightening the family all slept in the same room. On one occasion, Peggy ran to the neighbours asking for help who then offered to take a look around the house. They could hear banging on the ceilings but found no other evidence of paranormal activity. The incidents became more frequent and much more aggressive; demonic voices were being heard, objects were being thrown, and the children were being hit, pushed, and supposedly bitten. Janet, one of the daughters, appeared to be the target of the activity. One night she began levitating off the bed (there are multiple pictures of this online), although the pictures suggest she jumped, passerby stated that she witnessed Janet floating through her bedroom window.
Numerous investigators got involved including Maurice Grosse, and, for a short while, Ed and Lorraine Warren. The spirit in the house began possessing Janet. Their are still recordings around of Janet, at just 11 years old, speaking in a voice that resembled an old man. The voice said his name was, Bill Wilkins, and that one night he went blind and had a brain hemorrhage before dying in the chair in the corner… The same chair that was still in the house. This was investigated and was proven true by Bill Wilkins’ son. These kind of indents continued for 3 years. It’s unclear how the haunting came to an end, many films that were made based on the case ended with some form of over-dramatized exorcism of the house and on Janet. However, Peggy said she still heard voices in the house and the youngest son, Billy, who lived there until his mother’s passing, said he always felt like he was being watched. The family who moved in years after the Hodgson family only survived two months after they heard voices, and one of their children witnessed an old man enter their room during the night…
