Enfield Poltergeist

This month Minnie is exploring the alphabet by digging out the unusual, often unexplained and alternative way of thinking. Stories of creatures, places and mysteries that have been passed down to us through centuries tease our imagination, live in our dreams and dare us to explore the impossible. Join Minnie each day as she discovers something unusual in the alphabet.

"They're Here.....yesterdays TV people are todays PC people"

A scene from the 1982 film Poltergeist. Photograph: Allstar/MGM

One of the most spectacular Poltergeist cases ever recorded took place in Enfield, London from August 1977 to September 1978. During this time a woman and her four children who were living in a council house in Enfield experienced almost every single Poltergeist phenomenon ever identified.

Over 1500 separate phenomena were recorded. Among these were objects being thrown around and materializing out of thin air, as well as loud knocking sounds. Many items were found to catch fire on their own accord while metal items seemed to bend and twist out of shape. Researcher Maurice Gross spent a considerable amount of time researching the case and stayed with the family while these events happened. His testimonies have helped add considerable weight to the reports and experiences there.

On many occasions it appeared that the activity was focused on 12-year-old Janet. In a series of well-known photographs journalist Graham Morris photographed her being levitated out of bed by an unseen force while her sister looked on. In other occasions Janet would begin to speak in a very deep, manly voice that seemed impossible for a child. The occurrences became more and more chilling until finally it stopped as abruptly as it had started. The case of the Enfield Poltergeist remains mostly unsolved, the types of phenomena which appeared at the home and the period of time for which they continued helped make this one of the most chilling cases of its kind.