Enfield Poltergeist

In the history of paranormal investigations, it is hard to overlook the level of intrigue and sensationalized debate surrounding the occurrences at 284 Green Street in Enfield, London, from 1977 to 1979. What started off as unnerving sounds emanating from within a simple council house slowly transformed into what is believed to be one of the most documented and hotly contested cases of poltergeist activity in modern history. The narrative of the Hodgson family, comprising a single mother and her four children, has sparked the creation of films and books while also sustaining scholarly debate for decades. The narrative remains as controversial now as it was half a century ago.

The attention-grabbing event that took place in the unassuming semi-detached council house shaped its backstory as important. It was from 1960 to 1963 when a couple named William and Ethel Wilkins lived, with William passing away in the house on June 20, 1963, at the age of sixty-one from a blocked artery. Following Ethel in 1964, the Hodgson family came in and lived peacefully until the 1970s. The phenomena that emerged in August 1977 followed certain patterns familiar to poltergeist researchers: unexplained sounds, moving furniture, and an increase in activity focused on the two teenage daughters of the family, 11-year-old Janet and her elder sister, Margaret. What made the Enfield case different from other poltergeist cases was the extraordinary number of video recordings and the large number of people who gathered over the two-year period.

The shift from a private family concern to a full-on investigation happened very quickly. When Peggy Hodgson contacted ‘The Daily Mirror’ newspaper on 4th September 1977, photographers Douglas Bence and Graham Morris were already covering the story. They had witnessed some extraordinary phenomena. Spirals of Lego and marbles rigorously defied gravity to shrink and pop. Hearing this, Maurice Grosse, a member of the Society for Psychical Research and renowned for his methodical approach to documentation, took on the investigative aspect of the case. He approached the family of the children and, armed with tape recorders and notepads, attempted to document every bizarre event. He was trying to turn the disorder into a dataset. All this chaos was then processed into a coherent system by his partner, Guy Lyon Playfair. Guy contributed five weeks’ worth of sofa naps and nearly two hundred visits to record countless interactions—more than 2000—after which Grosse paired with him to form the most extensive archive of paranormal investigation documented to this day.

The sequence of events at the Enfield residence shows some supporting and some opposing reasoning for explaining what has happened. It took place over the span of twenty-six months and had separate stages of build-up, climax, and gradual reduction. The paranormal activity began in intriguing ways on August 30, 1977, when members of the Hodgson family started hearing unidentifiable thumping noises from various parts of the house. Janet, then only seven, watched her brother Billy’s bed lift, leading the family to half-heartedly joke about ghostly presences. The following evening brought the first dramatic incident when Peggy Hodgson, while trying to adjust the television, saw a heavy chest of drawers moving briskly over the carpet. The dramatic shrug, in which she made the television adjustment, was not the end of the story, as she had to call over neighbors to help her out, which served as the first glimpse to external observers of the strange happenings. The story shifted dramatically with the involvement of law enforcement on September 1, when, responding to a call from the family, two local officers arrived. Constable Caroline Heeps, during her shift, saw a chair in the kitchen moving on its own, and as a government officer, she noted this in her report. Such official documentation added legitimacy to what otherwise would have been considered family fiction.

Grosse’s poltergeist activity investigations have sparked public interest as he maintained an organized approach towards the documentation he collected. His documentation methods aligned with the increasing activity, such as loud bangs accompanied by the movement of furniture, which was seen by several people. This case became a national fascination as people began to tune in when the BBC reporter Rosalind Morris covered the live commotion of chairs sliding and beds bouncing, as if some unseen forces were occupying them.   The case was later taken up and continued by Guy Lyon Playfair on September 12, 1977, marking the beginning of a series of almost 200 visits he made. There were periods of intense activity and periods of inactivity, making it extremely challenging for both the investigator and the family. It reached the point where the family had to stay in their neighbors’ houses to cope with the activity. They were, however, very lucky, as unimaginable things, such as random occurrences, began to manifest in the Burcombe household, hinting that the phenomenon wasn’t restricted to a single location.  

The phenomenon was accompanied by a lot of activity, such as the CAD of the Burcombe family. Throughout October, the family had large portions of poltergeist activity in and around their houses. It was very impressive, as the phenomenon seemed to remain rigid, and week-long vacations for the family, such as the one to Sea Clacton in the later months, were enough for the family to fully disengage, thereby making the phenomenon absolutely detached from the house. In November, there was a notable increase in the frequency and severity of incidents. Interactive communication began with Grosse performing simple tests, such as knocking on door frames. On Janet’s twelfth birthday, physicist Eduardo Balanovski used scientific equipment, including magnetometers, which detected activity during events such as pillows flying across the room.  

There was a worrying increase in physical assaults directed at Janet. She was reported to be violently pulled from her bed, and mysteriously threatening notes began appearing all over the house. These notes warned against revealing the disturbing occurrences, fearing malevolent retaliation. Voice phenomena, as exemplified by Joe Watson and Janet from her bedload, were the defining voice phenomena. Voice phenomena swiftly blossomed to include self-identification, William “Bill” Wilkins. Furthermore, voices began providing detailed information about the life and death of the previous tenant, which was partially confirmed by family members but also contested by the family, suggesting that both parties quote selectively from factual evidence, which divides them.

One of the most well-known events of the period occurred on December 15th, when Janet was seen levitating. Photographer Graham Morris captured the famous photo that Janet is so iconic for today. In the photo, it appears Janet is floating right over her bed. Skeptics, however, have argued that she was captured in the middle of a jump, rather than levitating over her bed.

Milbourne Christopher, the stage magician, came to observe Janet on December 19, 1977, and to everyone’s surprise, he claimed to have witnessed Janet performing some form of deception. This was the first sign of serious, skeptical inquiry, though proponents of the case maintained that attempts at isolationistic trickery did not disprove the larger phenomenon.  Furthermore, the tragic elements of the case deepened as the family pets, goldfish and budgie, died owing to what the case “Bill Wilkins” voice; his voice provided specific details about his life and death, claiming he had died of a brain hemorrhage—a detail that was partially corroborated by Wilkins’s son, though medical records indicated death by blocked artery rather than hemorrhage. More worrisome, Janet underwent what she labeled as “the most terrifying” experience, consisting of a curtain somehow knotting itself around her neck 8 times. This clearly suggested the phenomenon had morphed into something insidiously perilous.

Combinations of voices alongside Janet or Margaret, and the mysterious appearance of messages written on insulating tape, continued into early 1978. Christopher Stewart Lamont of BBC Scotland provided the pivotal video footage in March, in which Janet is captured speaking in “Fred” voice with her eyes rolled back. This video transformed the case from a local mystery to a national phenomenon. In 1978, Spring was marked as the most active period of documented phenomena, as Peggy Hodgson claimed to witness 155 distinct phenomena in the month of April. These phenomena extended to include spontaneous combustion, object levitation, and excessive psychic activity, which rendered a standard family life impossible. When Ed and Lorraine Warren came in June 1978, things began to heat up. To keep Janet safe, she was placed with a convent of nuns. During this time, the house was unusually quiet. Janet’s absence and the stillness in the household activity suddenly broadened the scope of understanding the researchers had developed on the case. In July, Janet was admitted to Maudsley Hospital for neurological evaluations. Around this timeframe, some phenomena appeared to have paused, though much like many others, Janet had her own understanding of things. By September, Janet resumed some of the activities that immediately preceded a further uptick in the activity. This included previously unreported sightings of ghostly figures.

The period from 1978 to 1979 saw numerous mediums and spiritual healers, including Dono Gmelig-Meyling’s presence in October 1978, which coincided with a distinct decline in activity in the house. A priest’s blessing in October 1979 also reduced activity, although it was not a complete cessation. The phenomena that had dominated the Hodgson household for over two years began to fade. The Warrens’ final visit in August 1979 captured extensive audio documentation of continuing activity, but the intensity and frequency of incidents were noticeably reduced. The early 1980s brought the final chapter of active phenomena at 284 Green Street. The Bennett family, who moved in after the Hodgsons, experienced enough unusual activity to vacate after only two months, suggesting some residual presence remained. However, no subsequent occupants have reported phenomena approaching the intensity of the Hodgson years.

The relevance of the case does not rest in conclusively proving the existence of ghosts or poltergeists, but in attempting to unravel the enigma of belief and skepticism in perception, the conflicting sides of ordinary people receiving extraordinary fame, and the enigma of investigating the investigation itself. Regarding these dynamics, researcher Melvyn Willin, in his 2019 study of Maurice Grosse’s recordings, pointed out that the Enfield case contains not only strange occurrences but also everyday explanations, which enable readers to decide on the validity of one of the most captivating enigmas of our era. The home on Green Street remains standing and is still used as a residence. The house is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $458,000. From the outside, its brick walls give no indication of the remarkable events that have happened on the inside. However, the fascinating questions that arise from these two tumultuous years euphemistically ensure that the Enfield Poltergeist remains equally captivating to people curious to examine the spectrum of explainable and unexplainable, documented and contested elements, mundane and the extraordinary.