Forget the castles. The ghosts moved to the suburbs.
Britain’s Haunted Ordinary Homes
Knives thrown in a terrace. A council-booked exorcist in Fife. Police officers watching clothes fly across a room. 26 of Britain’s most famous hauntings happened behind perfectly normal front doors. Some families ran. One house now charges £350 a night. One landlord put the ghost in the advert.
Somewhere in Britain…
26 homes
No homes match that filter.
The ghosts next door
Most ghost stories are set in castles and stately homes. But what about the ordinary British homes where things went bump in the night? We’ve found 26 of them, from terraces and semis to council flats. 9 were council or housing association homes, and in 5 cases the family packed up and left, or asked the council to move them. Others stuck it out for years. One family put up with it for 17.
9of 26 were council or housing association homes
5families left, or asked the council to move them
11cases date from 1990 or later: hauntings are not just history
1760sthe oldest case, a London lodging house that turned out to be a hoax
The stories
Showing all 26 homes
1970s
Social housingStayed, or no record of fleeing
The Enfield poltergeist
Brimsdown, Enfield, Greater London, UK
Council house. A three-bedroom 1920s council-owned semi-detached house on Green Street, rented by a single mother and her four children.
Britain's most famous council-house haunting
From August 1977 the family reported knocking, moving furniture, thrown objects and a gruff voice. Investigators also recorded claims that one of the daughters levitated.
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In August 1977 a single mother renting a council semi on Green Street called the Metropolitan Police. She reported furniture moving and knocking on the walls.
Society for Psychical Research investigators Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair studied the house from September 1977 to October 1978. They reported flying objects, a harsh male voice and claims of levitation.
Sceptics were never convinced. Video caught one daughter bending spoons and trying to bend an iron bar. Even the believing investigators accepted that a small share of incidents were trickery.
The mother remained in the house until her death in 2003. A later tenant and her sons left within two months, reporting an uneasy presence.
Where it stands now
The mother stayed in the house until her death in 2003. A later tenant moved in with her sons but left after two months, saying she felt a presence.
Council house. A semi-detached former council house on the Chequerfield estate, now owned privately and booked for overnight stays.
Council semi turned paid ghost hunt
From 1966 the family reported lights switching, furniture overturning, levitating objects and a black-robed figure. The entity is said to be a monk hanged for murder.
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The family moved into the council semi on East Drive in August 1966. Strange events began soon after, including white powder falling in the living room.
Later they reported torn bedding, flying objects and attacks on family members. The figure was nicknamed the Black Monk, said to have been hanged nearby.
The case became the 2012 horror film When the Lights Went Out.
The house sat on the market for four years before a film producer bought it in 2012 for £80,000. He has said he pays the council tax and has never slept there.
It is now let for overnight stays and ghost hunts. The owner says there is a two-year waiting list.
Where it stands now
The house sat on the market for four years before a film producer bought it in 2012 for £80,000. It is now rented to paranormal visitors overnight.
Council house. A three-bedroom council semi managed by Mansfield District Council.
Council asked for medical evidence
The tenant reported items falling off shelves, lights switching off and washing thrown around the bathroom. A figure in black was also reported.
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A tenant moved into a three-bedroom council semi in Mansfield in December 1999. By February 2000 she reported objects falling, lights going off and washing being thrown around.
She approached the housing department in March 2000. She also said she saw a man in the bathroom mirror who vanished when she turned.
The council's housing manager said staff asked for medical evidence to establish the household's state of mind. No evidence was supplied.
The tenant later moved out. Subsequent tenants reported nothing unusual, and the manager admitted feeling suspicious about the claim.
Where it stands now
The council asked for medical or psychological evidence, which was not provided. The tenant moved out months later, and later tenants reported no problems.
Council flat. A top-floor council flat in Kirkcaldy.
Council booked a spiritualist
In January 1994 the young tenant reported bells ringing at night, footsteps, missing items and a white figure at the foot of the bed.
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In January 1994 a 20-year-old tenant reported bells and footsteps at night in his Kirkcaldy council flat. He also said money went missing and a shadowy white figure appeared.
A previous tenant was reported to have backed up his account. A psychic who visited claimed five spirits were present.
The tenant left to stay with his girlfriend and asked the council to rehouse him. A Fife District Council spokesman said it had contacted a spiritualist and was arranging a date.
The story ran in the Fife Free Press for three weeks and reached national television news.
Where it stands now
The tenant moved out to stay with his girlfriend and asked to be rehoused. Fife District Council said it was arranging an exorcism with a spiritualist.
Council house. A council-owned terraced house built in the 1960s as London overspill housing.
Rapping ghost spelled messages
From April 1974 the family reported raps from a bedroom wall that answered questions in a code. The raps claimed to be a man called 'Eric Waters'.
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In April 1974 a family of eight living in a council terrace in Andover reported raps from the wall beside a daughter's bed. The raps seemed to answer questions using a simple code.
Researcher Barrie Colvin made nine visits between April and June 1974 and heard the raps himself. The local Andover Advertiser and the Southern Evening Echo covered the case.
The raps ended in June 1974 with a final message. Colvin found no trace of 'Eric Waters' in local records and favoured an explanation centred on the living family.
The case was written up in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 2008.
Where it stands now
The raps stopped in June 1974. No record of an Eric Waters was found. The family had long since left Andover by 2008.
Council house. A Woking Borough Council house the family has rented since 2000.
Trapped unless they swap
The family reported 17 years of objects being thrown, radios switching on and off, and voices on recordings. They said problems began when they moved in.
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A family renting a Woking Borough Council house told Surrey Live it had been haunted since they moved in during 2000.
They reported objects thrown across rooms, lights and radios behaving oddly, and voices picked up on recording equipment.
Mediums from a spiritualist church and investigation teams visited. Clergy declined to help, and a church advised them to pray. The family said quiet spells never lasted.
They described themselves as trapped, because the only way to move was to swap the tenancy with another family. They said they would not swap because they did not want to put another family in danger.
Where it stands now
Mediums and paranormal investigators visited, and holy water and blessed salt were used. Clergy the family contacted declined to help. The family said the only way to leave was a home swap with another council tenant.
Housing association home. A three-bedroom terraced house owned by social landlord Plus Dane, let at £91 a week.
Ghost disclosed in rental advert
A past tenant reported a door slamming and a bottle flying across a room. Plus Dane said it had received reports since 2008.
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In 2015 social landlord Plus Dane advertised a three-bedroom terrace in Toxteth for £91 a week. The advert reportedly warned that previous tenants had experienced paranormal activity.
Plus Dane confirmed it had received reports of strange events at the property since 2008. Tenants described slamming doors and objects flying across rooms.
A spokesman said the landlord did not get involved in exorcisms but advised and supported affected tenants. Telling the public was described as part of its policy of transparency.
Where it stands now
In 2015 Plus Dane advertised the house for rent with a warning about paranormal activity reported by previous tenants. It said disclosure was part of its transparency policy.
Rented house. An ordinary rented house on Wycliffe Road, home to three generations of a working family.
Twelve years of notes, then bulldozers
From January 1956 the family reported rapping, thrown objects and fires around their teenage daughter. Thousands of written notes were said to come from a spirit called Donald.
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In January 1956 a teenage girl on Wycliffe Road found an unexplained key on her pillow. The household of three generations then reported knocking, flying objects and fires.
The family named the presence Donald. Some 3,000 to 4,000 written messages were reportedly produced. Sceptics have suggested the girl wrote them herself.
The case ran until 1968. The house was demolished in the late 1960s.
Shirley Hitchings later co-wrote a book on the case and spoke about it on a BBC podcast.
Where it stands now
Activity was said to end in 1968. The house was demolished in the late 1960s.
Terraced house. An end-of-terrace Victorian house shared by a builder, his wife, their teenage son and a lodger.
Suburban terrace, flying crockery, lodger
In February 1938 the household reported glasses flying, coal hitting walls and coins thrown at the lodger. Researcher Nandor Fodor investigated until July.
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In 1938 a 34-year-old housewife, Alma Fielding, shared an end-of-terrace Victorian house in Thornton Heath with her husband, son and a lodger.
From February the household reported glasses splintering against walls, a lightbulb vanishing and coins pinging at the lodger. The Sunday Pictorial covered the story.
Nandor Fodor of the International Institute for Psychical Research investigated from March to July. He came to see the events as trauma rather than ghosts.
Kate Summerscale retold the case in her 2020 book The Haunting of Alma Fielding.
Where it stands now
No record was found of the family moving or the house changing hands. Fodor came to see the events as the wife's psychological trauma rather than ghosts.
Terraced house. A small terraced house lived in by a young couple and their small child, known only by pseudonyms.
Two-up two-down, knives and texts
From late 2005 the couple reported objects moving, knives thrown, coins appearing and threatening text messages. Two local investigators documented the case through 2006.
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The full story
From December 2005 a young couple in a small South Shields terrace reported doors opening, taps turning on and possessions vanishing.
Investigators Darren Ritson and Mike Hallowell began working with the family in July 2006. They reported knives thrown, coins appearing and sinister text messages.
The family are known only by pseudonyms. The investigators say activity stopped in late 2006.
The case became a 2008 book, reissued by The History Press in 2020.
Where it stands now
The investigators say activity stopped in late 2006. No source says whether the family moved or the house was sold.
Family house. An uncle's family home where a newly arrived 11-year-old girl from Ireland shared a bed with her young cousin.
Crowded home, witnesses by the dozen
From November 1960 the household reported knocking, a sideboard and linen chest moving, and rippling bedclothes. A teacher reported a desk rising at school.
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In 1960 an 11-year-old girl moved from Ireland to Sauchie. Her mother worked and lived at a boarding house a few miles away.
She lived in her brother's house, sharing a bed with a young cousin. From November the household reported knocking and furniture moving.
Witnesses included a minister, doctors and a teacher. Investigator A.R.G. Owen judged the events incompatible with trickery.
The reports faded after ministers became involved. The case remains one of Scotland's best-documented poltergeists.
Where it stands now
Ministers intervened and the reports faded. What became of the house is not recorded.
Willington Quay, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, UK
Family house. The mill owner's house beside Willington Mill, home to Quaker miller Joseph Procter and his family.
Quaker family home, later flats
From about 1840 the family reported apparitions and noises. A surgeon who sat up overnight in 1840 reported seeing a female figure in grey.
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The full story
Willington Mill was an early steam-powered flour mill owned by two Quaker cousins. Joseph Procter lived with his family in the house next to it.
From around 1840 the house drew public attention for reported hauntings. A visiting surgeon spent a night there in July 1840 and described a grey female figure.
The Procters left in 1847 after 11 years. By 1890 the house was divided into apartments.
The house was later torn down. Newcastle University's special collections hold an 1842 pamphlet on the haunting.
Where it stands now
The Procters moved out in 1847 after 11 years. The house was later split into apartments and eventually demolished.
Family house. A family home in the Lower Falls area of west Belfast that no longer stands.
Crowds pray outside a family home
In 1989 the family reported a flickering TV, footsteps, then a woman in black. The father said she attacked him.
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In 1989 a family in west Belfast reported a flickering television and footsteps on the landing. The father then described attacks by a woman only he could see.
Over 100 neighbours gathered outside and some prayed in the street. A priest was called to reassure the family.
The community split. Some said cynically it was a ruse to get out of the area and into a better house.
The family left and the house has since gone. The father later wrote a book, and BBC Radio Ulster revisited the case in a podcast.
Where it stands now
The family left the house to escape the reported haunting. Some locals claimed it was a ruse to get a better house. The house no longer stands.
Rented house. A modest three-storey lodging house near Smithfield, where the parish clerk let rooms.
Landlord, lodger and a fake ghost
In 1762 knocking and scratching were reported around the landlord's daughter. They were said to be the ghost of the lodger's dead partner, accusing him of murder.
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In 1760 a young stockbroker rented rooms in a modest Cock Lane lodging house from parish clerk Richard Parsons. He also lent his landlord 12 guineas.
The two fell out when Parsons failed to repay. The lodger sued and recovered the debt by January 1762.
That winter Parsons's household reported knocks said to be a ghost accusing the lodger of poisoning his partner. Crowds blocked the street.
An investigation exposed the hoax. Parsons was pilloried and jailed for two years, and his wife for one.
Where it stands now
The haunting was exposed as a hoax. The landlord was pilloried and jailed for two years, and his wife for one.
Family house. A twelve-roomed early Victorian house on the edge of Aspley Guise, whose landlord said it was hard to let.
Haunted house, lower rates?
The owner said tales of a phantom horse, galloping hooves, a white lady and a Dick Turpin legend made the house hard to let.
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The full story
In 1947 the landlord of an old house in Aspley Guise appealed against its rating assessment. He argued its haunted reputation scared off tenants and cut its value.
The local legend involved a couple locked in a cupboard and Dick Turpin using the house as a hideout. Hoofbeats and a white lady were also reported.
Farmhouse. A remote farmhouse in the Brecon Beacons, converted from an old barn in the 1950s.
Seven years, repeated exorcisms
The family who moved in during spring 1989 reported footsteps, a sulphur smell, cold spots and a tall dark figure. They also described an old woman's face at the nursery window.
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A family moved from London to Heol Fanog, a remote converted barn in the Brecon Beacons, in spring 1989. Soon after, they reported footsteps upstairs, a sulphur smell and sudden temperature drops.
They said their first quarterly electricity bill came to £750, and an inspector could find no explanation. Later they described a figure about seven feet tall and an old woman's face at the nursery window.
A priest from Brecon Cathedral, the head of a Cardiff spiritualist church, two other clergymen and a well-known spiritualist all tried to clear the house. The family left after about seven years.
The case became a Channel 4 documentary and inspired BBC paranormal coverage and the BBC drama The Witch Farm. The Brecon and Radnor Express reports that the house is occupied again and reportedly no longer troubled.
Where it stands now
Clergy and spiritualists carried out several exorcisms and blessings. The family eventually left after about seven years. Local papers report the house still stands, is occupied and is said to be peaceful.
The numbers
First-quarter electricity bill the family reported
Farmhouse. An old farmhouse in rural Flintshire, home to the family who reported the haunting.
Writing appearing on walls
The family who moved in during 1997 reported more than 300 incidents. These included words appearing on walls, moving objects and sightings of a hooded figure and a girl.
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The family moved into Penyffordd Farm near Treuddyn in 1997. Over the next few years they logged more than 300 events, including Welsh words and pictures appearing and vanishing on the walls.
Family members said they saw a hooded figure and the ghost of a girl. The disturbances were linked locally to an old gravestone moved from against the house.
Dr Michael Daniels investigated the case for the Society for Psychical Research from 2000.
The parents later moved to Eastbourne. In 2023 BBC Three and BBC Wales broadcast Paranormal: The Girl, The Ghost and The Gravestone, which reopened the family's case files.
Where it stands now
The parents moved away in 2002, while a daughter's household stayed until the activity reportedly stopped around 2010. A 2023 BBC Three series revisited the case.
Family house. A family house built in 1860 in Cheltenham's Pitville district, now divided into flats.
Victorian widow on the stairs
Between 1882 and 1889 family members and visitors reported a tall woman in black, holding a handkerchief to her face. She was said to walk the stairs and vanish when approached.
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Garden Reach was built in 1860. From 1882 an army captain's family lived there, and his daughter Rosina began to see a tall woman in widow's black on the stairs.
Several people reported the figure over seven years. She was said to cast no shadow and could not be touched.
Frederic Myers of the Society for Psychical Research visited from 1886. He called it one of the best authenticated hauntings on record.
The family left in 1892. The house was later a school and a nunnery, and it has since been converted into flats.
Where it stands now
The house was vacated in 1892. It later served as a school and a nunnery before being converted into flats.
Family house. A family house outside Henley-on-Thames, bought by TV presenter Julia Kendell in the early 1990s.
Sold without mentioning ghost
Kendell said toys left on the lawn were found tidied into the playroom. Baby mobiles also spun with windows and doors shut.
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TV presenter Julia Kendell bought a house outside Henley-on-Thames in the early 1990s. She has spoken publicly about odd events there.
She said toys left strewn on the lawn were found tidied away in the playroom, and baby mobiles spun with the windows shut.
When she sold, she did not tell the buyer. She told the Daily Telegraph that disclosure was probably the responsible answer, but wondered if everyone would experience the same.
The same Telegraph piece notes there is no specific UK legal requirement to disclose supposed hauntings when selling.
Where it stands now
She sold the house without disclosing the activity. She told the Telegraph the responsible answer might be to reveal it.
Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, UK
Cottage. A three-room farmer's cottage, with a kitchen between two bedrooms.
Professor hears the raps
In 1877 the family reported raps and scratching, falling stones, and boots and candles thrown out of the house. The raps reportedly answered unspoken requests.
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In 1877 a farmer near Derrygonnelly reported nightly raps and scratching in the room where his daughters slept. Stones fell, and boots and candles were thrown out of the house.
Professor William Barrett, later a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, visited with a local clergyman. Barrett said the raps answered numbers he only thought of.
The clergyman read Scripture and the Lord's Prayer. The family reported the knocking faded during the prayers and never returned.
Barrett published the case in 1911 in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research.
Where it stands now
Professor William Barrett witnessed the raps. A local clergyman prayed in the cottage and the family reported no further disturbance.
Family house. An ordinary three-bedroom house built in the 1980s, on a quiet cul-de-sac on a Norwich estate.
Haunting on a cul-de-sac
In 2004 a couple reported tapping at night, duvets pulled off the bed, a garage door that would not close and apparitions. Their dog refused to enter the bedroom.
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In 2004 a couple on a Thorpe Marriott estate told the Norwich Evening News about knocking at night, foul smells and objects going missing.
They said duvets were pulled off their bed, the door to the garage would not close and the family dog refused to go in. Family members reported seeing apparitions.
A medium told them the presence was a late relative by marriage. The couple considered having the house exorcised.
The reporter later wrote that there had been no recent reports of activity at the house.
Where it stands now
A medium claimed the spirit was a dead relative. The couple considered an exorcism, and the paper later knew of no recent activity.
Family house. A house in a working-class street in central Hull.
Policeman dodges flying pots
In September 1908 a grieving mother reported broken windows and furniture, pots and china moving across the room. Missiles reportedly flew past a police constable sent to investigate.
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In September 1908 a young man died of consumption at a house in Sykes Street, Hull. That weekend his mother reported windows broken by stones and crockery moving across the room.
Hull police sent a constable. The Yorkshire Herald reported that more missiles crossed the room as he arrived, and he narrowly missed being hit.
He found no explanation. One constable told the paper he believed a supernatural agency was at work, and the street was left in great excitement.
The report was later reprinted in the Folk-Lore Society's County Folk-Lore volume on the East Riding.
Where it stands now
Police were baffled and one constable said he believed something supernatural was at work. Neighbours became convinced the house was haunted.
Cottage. A small two-bedroom cottage in St Osyth, Essex, that began life as a medieval lock-up.
12 years to sell
In 1582 it is said to have held women accused of witchcraft. Its owner from 2004 reported blood spatters, a dark figure by her son's cot and a goat-like figure, and moved out in 2008.
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The full story
The Cage was used as a prison until 1908 and is best known for holding the women accused in the St Osyth witch trials of 1582.
Its owner bought it for £148,000 in 2004 without knowing its history. She described being pushed and haunted, left in 2008, and tried to sell for years. Asking prices included £290,000 in 2016 and £240,000 in 2019.
The agent who finally sold it said most agents had advised auction at very low prices or refused the listing. He marketed it to paranormal tourists instead and found a cash buyer.
Where it stands now
It took about 12 years to agree a sale. The listing that worked sold the haunting as a feature and found a cash buyer who did not believe in ghosts.
Compiled by Bettermove from published sources: national and local newspapers, books, and the Society for Psychical Research’s Psi Encyclopedia. Every case was checked against its sources by a second researcher. Hauntings are reported claims, not facts, and several cases were challenged or exposed at the time; we say so where they were.
These are private homes, and many are still lived in. Pins mark the town or district, not the house. We use illustrations instead of photographs, and we do not name families or give addresses for recent cases. Please do not visit.
Outcomes describe what the sources report. “Stayed, or no record of fleeing” means the family stayed, left years later for unstated reasons, or the sources do not say.
1970s
