When I was twelve years old, I heard about a haunting, which sparked my love of the paranormal. The Enfield Poltergeist is probably the most well-known poltergeist case in the world. I watched YouTube videos of the haunting and was hooked when I heard Bill speaking through Janet. Was it real? Was it fake? That’s a debate that can be saved for another time. The Poltergeist became one of my special interests, and I’ve learned about some truly remarkable cases. Let’s look at some.

The Enfield Poltergeist

Let’s start with the one that kicked off my passion. From 1977 to 1979, the Hodgsons were tormented by a poltergeist that seemed to target their youngest girl, Janet, who was 11 when things started.

Things kicked off one evening in 1977 when Janet and her sister Margaret saw a chest of drawers move by itself and were followed by knocking and scratching coming from inside the walls. Police came to check it out, and the officers saw a chair move on its own. After that got out, the press was all over the house. It made national headlines, and a debate was started over the legitimacy of the case. Maurice Grosse was the lead investigator and was the one who caught the ghost speaking through Janet, where it revealed its name to be Bill Wilkins, who used to live in the house.

Janet was reportedly dragged out of bed by the ghost and was levitated, which was caught on audio recordings, and even the curtains by her bed tried to choke her. A lot of evidence is in dispute, as some photos of Janet being “thrown” out of bed can be explained as her jumping.

Janet did admit that she faked bending spoons to see if she would be caught, which she was. But she says the rest of the evidence is real.

Flocks of paranormal lovers visit Green Street in Enfield to take photos of the iconic house each year.

The South Shields Poltergeist

This one is in my hometown, and I’ve read the book countless times.

In 2006, a couple in the town noticed strange things happening. Objects moving or keys not being where they originally were put.

All this led up to one night when they got into bed when they felt a tugging on the duvet. This soon became stronger and turned into a tug of war with the unseen entity.
What disturbed them the most was that it seemed to target their young son. And once the investigators heard the boy laughing and said he was being tickled by the man.

Messages were written on a toy board. A toy rabbit was set up in the hallway holding a knife. The husband was scratched several times where it drew blood.

After 18 months, the entity seemed to dissolve.

All the details can be found in the book.

Ammons Haunting

In Gary, Indiana, in 2011, a case of poltergeist activity and reported demonic possession occurred. Layota Ammons and her kids reported that after they moved into the property in 2011, their porch would be infested with black flies.

Soon, noises started coming from the basement, which sounded like footsteps, and the kids saw a shadowy figure moving around the living room.
The kids said they had been choked and levitated by the entity.

The behavior of the kids changed so much that social services was called, and the kids had to visit the hospital, where it is reported that the youngest child walked backwards and up the wall in front of the social services.

An exorcist determined the house to be haunted by a strong demonic entity and that the children had been possessed by the demon.

Several exorcisms were carried out in the house, and the family moved states and claimed the activity had stopped.

Zak Bagans bought the house in 2014 and filmed the documentary Demon House.

The Bell Witch

One of the most mysterious cases and most disputed poltergeists in the history books. The case of the Bell Witch is one of shapeshifting, violence, and murder.

The haunting started one night in 1817 when John Bell noticed a strange creature. It had the head of a rabbit but the body of a dog. He grabbed his gun and shot at it, but it vanished without a trace. It wasn’t long before his son noticed a bird that seemed to be larger than any bird he had ever seen, and his daughter saw a girl outside their house acting strange.

The activity soon moved indoors, with knocking and scratching being heard around the house and beds being scraped along the floor. Bedsheets were pulled off the sleeping family members, all classic poltergeist activity. It then grew physical, with scratches forming on their bodies and hair being pulled. One daughter, Betsy, was slapped in the face and had pins stuck in her skin.

John reached out to his friend, James Johnson, for help, at which time the entity began to speak with them clearly and quoted the Bible to them. It showed kindness to two of the young children; however, it is claimed that the entity was responsible for the poisoning and death of John Bell.

A famous report was James Johnson wrapping the ghost up in a blanket and trying to throw it in the fire but failing.