Park Estate
The Park Estate is one of some intentional secrecy, a private estate formerly a hunting ground for nobility. It’s right behind Nottingham Castle with limited access in and out. There are traditional-style gas lamps throughout and the whole estate has a Victorian gothic aesthetic, no two buildings look alike.
The nights when the mist rolls, cloaking the streets in a cold, silken shroud. The gas lamps flicker weakly against the encroaching fog, their light stretched thin like a trembling whisper in the gloom. Somewhere in the distance, the faint cry of a crow cuts through the silence, only to be swallowed whole by the oppressive night. It’s on evenings like these—when the air seems to hold its breath—that she is said to appear.
A ghostly apparition of a Nanny. Pushing a perambulator, the Nanny has had a number of sightings, Her presence is unforgettable—not because of her faded gown or the veil of time that clings to her like a second skin—but because of the wounds that mark her as a revenant of tragedy. She appears to have been wounded, stabbed through the cheek and is missing an eye, there is also no baby in the pram.
Phantom carriage and horses, urban legend permeates that witnesses to the carriage will befall a death in the family.
A particular house was plagued by strange poltergeist activity and became the subject of numerous unsettling reports. One homeowner, who would regimentally retire to bed at 8 p.m., repeatedly found rusty nails under the covers—an occurrence that happened not just once, but several times.
The same homeowner also encountered a spectral creature with bristling, untamed fur on the upstairs floor. Disembodied growls echoed through the landing and bathroom, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Muffled voices seemed to emanate from the depths of the antique clock, further intensifying the house’s unsettling aura.
Each morning, the owners would awaken to frequently find their furniture overturned and arranged into irregular piles—quietly, while they slept. Electrical appliances would malfunction or break without explanation.
Taps would also be found to be running, despite the main water shutoff valve being turned off and the drainage point securely locked. This suggested that whatever was responsible for the water had either used the key to turn it back on or passed through the housing as only as a ghost might.
In addition to these occurrences, a white, sticky substance was found oozing from the walls of the property over a three-month period. It is not known if this was analysed to determine its composition.
To bring an end to the disturbances, clergy were called on several occasions to bless the house and banish the presence that had been tormenting the owners. Despite multiple exorcism attempts, the growling continued during the second ritual. On the wall, written in pencil, the words “Great Salvere”—Latin for “willingly I say goodbye”—were found, perhaps marking the final communication of the presence they are unwittingly sharing the property with.
A Bestwood Haunting
This case began when two friends, Mark Allchorne and Ralph Walker, contacted me. Mark’s initial words were striking: “This is the real deal!” Channelling the enthusiasm of Janine Meltz, he added, “We’ve got one!”
The subject of the case, a nurse in her late 40s whom we’ll refer to as Sue, had moved in with her daughter Louise. Louise was renting a modest three-bedroom property in Bestwood. Not long after Sue moved in, the household began experiencing increasingly strange and unsettling occurrences.
The incidents were varied but followed a troubling pattern, unexplained movement of objects. Items placed in specific locations would mysteriously move, causing confusion and frustration for both Sue and Louise. The frequency of these events only grew over time.
Both women reported feeling an unseen presence throughout the house, including private spaces such as bedrooms and the bathroom.
The Rolling Marbles
A particularly odd phenomenon involved a set of blue glass marbles kept in a bowl on the bathroom windowsill. These marbles would inexplicably roll down the stairs, even when the bathroom door was confirmed to be closed. Mark and Ralph placed sound recorders in the bathroom, and they captured the distinct sound of marbles rolling down the stairs, ending in the living room, where Sue and Louise were often seated watching television.
The family dog displayed peculiar reactions, focusing intently on an empty corner of the living room. On one occasion, I witnessed the dog barking and jumping, tracking something unseen along the wall. The behaviour escalated as the dog raced to the base of the stairs, barking fiercely toward the upper floor.
Sue’s Bedroom Encounters
Sue’s bedroom became the epicentre of unsettling activity. Figures appeared at night, sometimes reflected in the wardrobe mirrors. This sense of threat drove Sue to sleep in Louise’s room, as both women felt safer together.
One chilling account from Sue captured the escalating fear:
“One evening, I was going upstairs to get changed. As I stepped onto the stairs, I felt something—or someone—right behind me. I ran up, but it followed. I could hear its footsteps pounding behind me—boom, boom, boom! I slammed the door to Louise’s room, and it stopped just outside. We held the door shut, crying and screaming as we saw the shadow of legs and feet under the crack of the door.”
Sue’s bedroom layout may have contributed to the eerie atmosphere. A tall, full-length mirror faced the door, flanked by three mirrored ceiling-to-floor wardrobe panels all down the left side of the bedroom.
In one corner, a hat and coat stand draped with dark jackets and topped with a black bowler hat cast ominous reflections.
The bed, positioned centrally, was surrounded by 4 exposed light bulbs, one in each corner. The low-hanging ceiling light compounded the discomfort. Each with an argon gas/mercury lightbulb. Several team members reported experiencing headaches when seated in the room, likely due to these features.
The living room added to the tension: A floating staircase led to the first floor, with a landing and bannister overlooking the room.
Below the stairs, a large plasma TV and an L-shaped sofa created a small space where occupants often felt watched from above.
Our teams worked together taking a systematic approach to alleviate the distress, beginning with reconfiguring the space of the Living Room.
We rearranged furniture to eliminate the “looming” presence of the staircase and landing above and placed a cupboard in the corner where the dog’s barking often began.
Using an EMF measuring Trimeter, we discovered high electromagnetic field readings (600+ V/m) around Sue’s bed. The exposed lightbulbs—combined with her habit of sleeping with the lights on—resulted in significant radiation exposure. We replaced the bulbs with traditional incandescent ones. Additionally the television underneath the landing/stairs the EMF radiation was perhaps focused forward, as the numbers of the digital display soared into the hundreds when in and around the television.
Reducing reflective surfaces, we turned the 3 wardrobe mirrors to face inwards and moved the hat stand so it no longer reflected in the full-length mirror, coupled with a towel over that mirror.
We encouraged Sue and Louise to establish a log for tracking events, provided reassurance, and suggested reviewing any medications that might contribute to heightened anxiety.
The results were immediate and profound. Sue reported:
“That’s the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had!”
Sue
The cessation of phenomena invites further questions. Was this transformation due to the physical adjustments we made? The calming structure and routine we introduced? Or perhaps a combination of these factors? Regardless, Sue and Louise found peace, and the disturbances ceased. They moved out soon after.
Source: Nottingham Bygones October 2006
CPI and PIEM joint investigation
Haunted Nottinghamshire – Wayne Anthony
Want to continue your handshake with the mysteries of Nottinghamshire? We have a 12 part series of articles ready to roll out and a supplementary audio series.
Phenomenal Nottinghamshire #1 – The Terror of Laurie Close & The Sunken Church
Coming up! PN#3 The River That Claims Souls & Beckinghams Black Dog
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