Funny how one thing leads to another, isn’t it? Today as I updated the Ghost Tours and Ghost Hunting Events page, I ended up creating a new “Find Tour by” category: Outside the U.S.
It happened because of a story I came across in my Google Alerts. It was from Derbyshire Live about how the Haunted Objects Museum is set to tour across the UK.
Paranormal-Magazine.com
Well that certainly piqued my interest. The article pointed to the link paranormal-magazine.com, so I headed there and started clicking around.
Very interesting site. In addition to info about their traveling Haunted Objects Museum, the shopper in me decided to check out their Shop tab. (Because you never know what goodies you may miss if you don’t take the time to look, right? Or, as my husband puts it, “You never know what money you’ll save if you don’t spend it.” I like my thinking better.)
Anyway, instead of linking to books and ghost hunting equipment, I found links to different ghost hunting and Haunted Objects Museum events. One of them was for 30 East Drive. (And as of this post, it was nearly sold out with only two tickets left in “stock.”)
What Happened at 30 East Drive?
At first I got excited thinking the address was for the notorious Enfield Haunting house. That would be a cool place to investigate. But thanks to a quick search of past Haunted Headlines posts (because I was sure I remembered sharing a story about the Enfield Poltergeist; and I was right), the Enfield house’s address is 284 Green Street –in Enfield (Brimsdown, Enfield Town to be more precise), not Pontefract. Which is where 30 East Drive is located.
This location is possibly even more exciting –and frightening– than the Enfield House, though. It’s where you can find (if you’re so inclined) the Black Monk of Pontefract, a.k.a. Britain’s most violent haunting.
In 1966 the Pritchard family moved into the home. Mom and dad, Jean and Joe, with their 15-year-old son Phillip, and their 12-year-old daughter, Diane. It wasn’t long after that they started experiencing activity. Here’s what the Sun summarized happening:
Water pools formed, lights turned off and on again, furniture overturned, pictures were slashed, objects levitated or disappeared, foul smells travelled through the house and heavy breathing sounds were heard by the terrified family.
The spooky goings-on were coupled with a mysterious black-robed figure, whose appearances became more and more frequent.
Who Was the Black Monk of Pontefract?
Also according to the Sun article referenced above, paranormal investigator Tom Cuniff’s research led him to an interesting discovery about the house. The town’s gallows had once stood across the street from the house.
One of the people he discovered had been hung there was a Cluniac monk who had raped and murdered a young girl. A girl thought to be about the same age as Diane Pritchard, who was the focus of the spirit haunting her home at 30 East Drive.
Thus the legend of the Ghost of the Black Monk of Pontefract was born.
The Investigation of 30 East Drive
The hunt for “the most violent poltergeist in Britain” will take place on March 28, 2019 from 8:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. with Ghosts of Britain.
Before the investigation gets underway, they’ll discuss paranormal investigation methods, the equipment and how to use it.
Then you’re free to investigate at will. Any area of the house that you want to. You can put their ideas into action, or practice some of your own.
It’s limited to seven people, which ensures no massive crowds.
For more information, visit: https://paranormal-magazine.com/.
Now that you know you can investigate 30 East Drive, the site of the U.K.’s most violent haunting and where the ghost of the Black Monk of Pontefract possibly roams, the question becomes: would you want to?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.