It’s one of the most notorious poltergeist hauntings in Britain, according to paranormal investigators.
The infamous Black Monk of Pontefract haunted a family in West Yorkshire during the 1960s when it made national headlines.
The Pritchard family were terrorised by the poltergeist also named ‘Mr Nobody’ or ‘Fred’ from the moment they moved into the house in 1966.
But now ghost hunters reckon they’ve caught the face of the malevolent spirit on camera in a mirror after returning to the house where it is all alleged to have happened.
Pete Boulton, of Ghostinspectors Paranormal Group, came to investigate the property which it’s claimed has been haunted by ‘The Black Monk’ for 50 years.
The ghost hunter was taking photographs close to the spot where 14-year-old Diane Pritchard was supposedly dragged around by an invisible hand all those years ago.
But when he reviewed the images there appeared to be a face wearing a black hood, or with black hair, staring back at him from the mirror.
30 East Drive, Pontefract. Pareidolia? @chriscfrench xx
*Photo stolen from The Sun so I don't need to post the link* xx pic.twitter.com/qsPNiSqSNs— TammyWebsterX 🗨 👻🪦 (@TammyWebsterX) September 21, 2016
Mr Boulton, from Stockport in Greater Manchester, explained what happened in the Daily Mail when they arrived in the early evening and started looking around the house.
‘I began taking photos like usually do at a new location and I took quite a few of the hallway near the stairs. I was just snapping away at random at the house, not at anything in particular.
‘I took three or four pictures and one was particularly dark so when I got home I put it on the computer to brighten it up.
‘[It was as I brightened it up that] I noticed there was a weird shape in the mirror. No one from the group was downstairs [at the time]. So it couldn’t have been anyone from the group.
‘To be honest I was a bit reluctant to share it as it seemed too good to be true. It looks like a figure. But that was it, as soon as I saw it I shared it on social media.
‘It wouldn’t have freaked me out if I had seen it there and then [in the house]. But it might have freaked a few of the others out. I would have got quite excited by it as that’s why we are there.
‘It came as a surprise. It’s difficult to say what it is. There’s still a chance it is just pareidolia [seeing faces in shapes] however I asked other people what they could see but I didn’t tell them what I had seen.
‘Most saw what I did. With pareidolia, people usually see different things – that’s why you can dismiss stuff usually. But not this one as everyone saw the same thing.
‘I haven’t dismissed it due to this and certainly to me it’s unexplained.’
Black Monk House – Everything You Need to Know About The Black Monk Of Pontefract… https://t.co/xKkErCuRsF pic.twitter.com/WwGFhdZY8w
— 3xStrange (@3xStrange) September 18, 2016
The Pritchard family moved into the house at 30 East Drive in August 1966 and were almost immediately under siege with paranormal activity.
Unexplained happenings included green foam coming from the taps, objects levitating and being thrown around by an invisible force, famiy photos being slashed.
It got worse in the house with family members reportedly being slapped and shoved downstairs. Teenager daughter Diane’s hair stood on end and she was dragged up the same stairs in the photos and found to have hand marks around her throat.
The story of the haunting was turned into a horror film in 2012 called When The Lights Go Out and it even featured on a special 2015 programme of Most Haunted Live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGezl9kxTJo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6XPZdDHQq4
