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  The beeping noises were very strange, and seemed to follow Neil when he went to the toilet, or outside for a cigarette. I remember at one point there was a loud yelling noise as Neil and Lee walked in the door. I thought there was a fight breaking out before I realised there was nobody behind them.

  The energy or ‘ghost’ seemed to have a distinct personality. It could be quite funny with its responses, and was able to do things such as count how many fingers we held behind our backs. It also demonstrated it could become quite angry and agitated. This was shown to us when Mike, the investigator, telephoned and it responded by pinning us against the wall with the table. We tried to push it away but it would not budge. Minutes later it was free. That night was amazing, and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

  Caroline has since kept me updated with the other occurrences in her home. I’ve listened to several of the voice recordings, and they certainly do not sound human. I had the misfortune of listening to them with headphones, and the growling noises made a shiver run down my spine. It made me feel for Caroline and her family; I cannot imagine what it has been like for them, living with it night and day for the last few years.

  I’ve attended Caroline and Neil’s home to witness other things. I have seen a pair of heavy boots walk across her living room floor, and I’ve heard noises I cannot explain. I know Caroline and her family very well and there is no way they could have made any of this up, and certainly no reason why they would want to. My greatest wish would be for them to find a way to rid themselves of it for good. I am happy to see that things are manageable for them now, and I pray it stays that way.

  Paul Brassey

  I refer to an incident, which occurred on 25th September 2010. I have worked alongside Caroline and chatted with her during tea breaks. She has always struck me as a genuine person, and I have the same opinion of her husband Neil, whom I’ve met on social night outs.

  I heard she had been having problems with ghostly occurrences in her home, but I’ve never been what you would call a believer. I mentioned to her that I would be interested in seeing it for myself, but was surprised the day she called me on my mobile phone, asking if I could attend her home. Caroline sounded very distressed, and mentioned there had been fires in the home, and that she was on her way there with another colleague.

  I entered the home not long after them, and could see the family was very upset. Neil was mopping up a pool of yellow liquid on the floor, which had a faint smell of urine. My attention was drawn to wet footprints going up the stairs, about three quarter ways up. They were round in shape and did not appear to be caused by a human. I was shocked to see liquid dripping from the direction of the ceiling and hitting the wooden floor below. Upon examination, it became apparent the liquid was not coming from the ceiling, but a couple of inches below it. This meant it was literally coming from thin air. I have no explanation for this, and there is no way this action could have been orchestrated by anyone present. The drips began to move, down the hall, and strangely into the downstairs bathroom, back out again, then towards our heads where it stopped. The pattern of drops could plainly be seen on the floor. After the dripping stopped, a series of bangs and footsteps could be heard upstairs. I was told there was nobody upstairs, and went up to check rooms for myself, which were empty. As we proceeded up the stairs, the banging noises ceased. When we returned downstairs they started up again.

  This occurred several times until Caroline announced she was leaving to stay in Clacton, and the banging noises stopped. I went home to ponder on what I had witnessed. As I said earlier, I have been sceptical of supernatural occurrences in the past, but since that day I now know there is an afterlife. I cannot explain what I have seen any other way.

  Stafford

  I have never experienced anything like the day I visited Neil and Caroline’s home in January 2010. I remember it very clearly. I had just finished my shift when Caroline said Neil had been worried about something going on in the house.

  I was curious when she mentioned a ghost, and said I would meet her there. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as I walked in the door behind her.

  Things happened from the offset and I was shocked to see cups and plates being smashed, a glass of milk being thrown, pictures being moved from the walls and loud noises coming upstairs, as well as the mess it had left behind from a whole day of throwing things around.

  Neil looked very shook up, and he told me how he had to run from the house earlier in the day to get the children to safety. I was not surprised. Whatever it was, it was very strong.

  I stayed for several hours, but was at a loss at what to advise. Caroline tried looking for help on her computer, but it kept cutting out on her. She tried telephoning for help several times, and the phones stopped working. I remember as she put the phone on speaker and instead of hearing the dialling tone, all we could hear was static. She tried turning her camcorder on, but that stopped working too. I was in the living room talking to Caroline when we heard noises in the hall. We went out to see what was going on, and a plate came flying down the stairs from the upstairs landing. Nobody was touching it as it hit the steps. I picked it up, and was at a loss for words. I had no idea who she could ask for help. All I could do was to tell Caroline I would back her up 100% when it came to telling her story.

  I spent about three hours in the house that day, and consider myself very privileged to have witnessed something so amazing. As I said to Caroline and Neil, it’s certainly given me something to tell the grandkids about some day. Having said that, I was very glad to leave it all behind me when I went home afterwards. I feel sorry for Caroline and her family, who have really been to hell and back these last few years. I hope they get the help they need.

  Chris Botragyi

  Anyone who has ever encountered, or witnessed a paranormal event in their lives is unique. Most will say on the surface that it was an amazing experience. Yet deep down inside, I defy them to say that they were not unnerved or threatened to some degree by such inconceivable, invisible forces.

  If one looks up the definition of the word ‘empathy’ it clearly states in part: ‘The ability to understand and share the feelings of another’. With this statement in mind I truly empathise with Neil, Caroline and their children for the grinding tribulations they have been forced to withstand over the last three years have been nothing short of horrendous.

  Having believed in this phenomenon myself, I still find it difficult when trying to comprehend the events that occurred. When you are pitted face to face with such an oppressive, invisible, tornado-like force, it can be hard to get your head around the situation. This is due in part to the magnitude of fear and wonder that accompanies such experiences. Add these to the scientific aspects concerning the properties of sound and gravity, which bewildered us all on numerous occasions and still continues to do so today.

  I feel privileged to have witnessed some of these profound, life-altering events from another plane; I know these are extremely rare occurrences, especially at the intense level that was frequently recorded in this case. At the same time I felt constant sadness at the distress that my friend and his family were afflicted with, and sadness that I couldn’t do anything to rid them of the malevolent force that that plagued their lives. I believe that I have gained a deeper insight into the realms of paranormal activity, along with a greater respect for the unknown forces that roam our worldly shores.

  People, who like myself, beg for answers to the marvellous mysteries of our universe can at least take a small shot of solace from the fact that some of the phenomena I witnessed quite possibly answered some of my own personal questions and beliefs regarding life – and the grander scheme.

  In retrospect, the way I see it is simple. I refer to it as being an entity or force, but in all honesty we have absolutely no idea what it was, or even where it came from. All we do know is that it was intent on causing misery and harm. The way that my friend and his loved ones were intimidated, threatened, and in so
me cases physically attacked by this unearthly thing, the nature of which was obviously by no means good, suggests that it must have come from some bad preternatural place of origin. If this is the case, then there has to be an equal opposite – a preternatural good place must exist. And if it does, surely it has to be something bigger, something better.

  Valerie Coughlan

  I still think about what Neil, Caroline and kids have been through. It’s played on my mind from the start. Every time he calls me, I worry if things are getting bad for him again. God knows it’s been a tough few years for them. It’s been hard on us too, having to watch things go from bad to worse and not being able to help. All along I would worry he would get seriously hurt, or worse.

  It was very hard as we did not know what to make of it. It seemed like a spirit or something much worse, but we couldn’t understand what it wanted with Neil. It started off breaking just about everything in the kitchen, and I remember having to move out of the way as a fork flew past my head. Spoons and coins were thrown, and it made such a mess with glass and cups broken on the floor. The knife in the cupboard worried me. I knew there was no way I could allow them to stay in the house that night.

  We live in a lovely flat, but it was not made for eight people. The neighbours could hear every time one of the kids jumped around. I know it was hard on them, having to keep quiet all the time. They never complained, even though they had to share one bedroom. I enjoyed their company, although it could get stressful at times, when things got bad for Neil in the house. The fires were very frightening, and sometimes Neil would come home with bad scratches where he had been attacked.

  Sometimes it seemed like there would be peace. I found it very strange that it could go for weeks or months, and then come back again.

  It was very upsetting watching Neil and Caroline trying to cope with it all, when everyone seemed against them. We spoke to the priests so many times, but it seemed to take forever to get help. Lots of different people came and went to the house in the meantime, but nothing really changed until the exorcism.

  I was not happy about Neil and his friends carrying it on when they went out. I know it wasn’t their fault, but it made me feel very uncomfortable. Ben (my husband), did not want to talk about it at all, although he did the best he could, speaking with the priest as often as he was able. I’m glad things have died down. Sometimes when I go to sleep at night I think about it, and the worry all comes flooding back again. As a mother you never stop worrying about your children, but I can’t imagine too many mothers have the same worries as I do.

  John F. Triplow

  When my colleague Mike Hallowell invited me to investigate the bizarre occurrences in Neil and Caroline's home, I jumped at the opportunity to study a case which – even at first glance – had the potential to outdo the South Shields Poltergeist's reign of terror in 2006. At that time, I was a relative newcomer to the world of preternatural research. Next to my colleague's forty-odd years researching the unknown, I admit that I was a wet-behind-the-ears investigator with very little idea about what I was letting myself in for.

  For the best part of my thirty years on this planet I was brought up to believe that ghosts are the spirits of the dead – disembodied incarnations of our former human-selves – bound by motives prerequisite to their eternal rest, thus compelling them to walk the earth until their otherworldly missions are complete. I once adhered to the theory that poltergeist phenomena was a force born out of an overload of stress and negativity within a person, which when released produces a series of frightening 'haunted house-like' effects whenever the host or 'focus' is around. This case changed that. This case changed everything I once believed – or, more accurately, what I was comfortable to believe. Just like the crockery the entity shattered in Neil and Caroline's home, this case shook my beliefs to their core. It literally smashed them to smithereens – and it's only now, over three years on, that I'm beginning to pick up the pieces.

  During our research for this case, Mike and I were astonished to discover that the phenomena in Neil and Caroline's home was synonymous with a malign and extremely dangerous elemental-type creature from English folklore called a brag. The name 'brag' originates from the northern-counties, but the phenomenon itself is global – every culture around the world has different names for these creatures, and that breaks down further depending on the country and their colloquial languages. Moreover, we discovered that there was a cluster of paranormal researchers within the field coming around to the idea that all paranormal phenomena stems from a race of supernatural creatures which – for the most part – are hidden from our sensory perception, and who have the ability to appear in human and animal forms, not unlike what was witnessed in this case.

  Although the family didn't always see eye-to-eye with us regarding our theories, one thing we did all agree was that this thing was not human, and it never had been. I'll leave you, the readers, to make up your own minds about what this thing was – is. I say is because, at the time of writing this piece, Mike and I have had several strange voicemails and text messages left on our phones; I've had paperwork removed from my pocket at work, and stuffed into a trolley door in the matter of a split-second; and an empty teacup moved the full length of a windowsill while my back was turned less than two minutes ago. I often wonder if it will ever end – hopefully one day it will.

  I have no doubt that the sceptics will be loading bullets into their proverbial pistols as they read this very sentence. But, you know what? I don't care. I know what I saw in that house, and no matter what anyone says they will never be able to convince me otherwise. Like Mike says: “They weren't there. And so they don't know”. It really is as simple as that.

  John F. Triplow

  Freelance writer and paranormal investigator.

  November 2013

  Lee Lough-Atkins

  I could not believe my eyes the day I visited my friend Neil’s house. I have known him for several years now and to this day I do not understand how this paranormal entity has attached itself to Neil and his family. This was the most unusual and dramatic day of my life. I was before a sceptic to the paranormal world, but from that day my views have most definitely changed. I saw so much happen that day, from as little as car keys moving to horrific threatening phone calls and growls within Neil’s home. This was very disturbing and frightening for Neil and myself. When these occurrences kept happening, Neil and his family would have to move out of their home and stay with relatives. This entity was very powerful and strong and could be noticed outside Neil’s home as well as inside.

  These occurrences would stop from time to time or be very mild, which was a relief for Neil and his family. It was at its strongest when Neil and I were together in the house or outside. We have never understood why. I was very on edge at these times as we did not know what the entity was capable of. As time went on things became really frightening and disturbing for Neil, Neil’s family and myself. Neil got in contact with Mike Hallowell for help and answers. The first time we met Mike and his team we warmed to them and they were comforting when the bizarre occurrences were going on. Mike made many visits since then and has seen many unusual happenings within Neil’s home. We have had many witnesses to this case, and Neil and myself are trying to come to terms with it all.

  From this day we still have no answers. Although being able to move on from this would be beneficial for Neil’s family and myself, we both feel there is still so much more to learn and grasp from this matter. We realise we might have to come to terms with never finding the answers we need to these frightening and strange happenings.

  As from the very first day I have become very open minded and my views towards the paranormal world have changed. This has opened my eyes to things I could never imagine witnessing.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Caroline lives with her husband, four children and two dogs in a pretty village on the coast of Essex.

  Her search for answers continues. If you are interested in f
inding out more please visit her website.

  www.caroline-writes.com

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