In 1977, reports of supposedly paranormal goings-on in a north London house made headlines – and with a new TV series and play about events, they still confound, writes Natasha Tripney.
In August 1977, the police arrived at 284 Green Street in the north London suburb of Enfield. Peggy Hodgson, a single mother of four, reported that her two young daughters – Janet, aged 11, and older sister Margaret – had heard strange knocking. The source of the sound could not be determined. They called in the neighbours who were also disturbed by what they heard. Out of desperation, they rang the police, one of whom reportedly saw a chair move of its own accord.
He has his own ideas about what happened in the house. The story of the Enfield haunting can be understood on different levels, he explains. It's important to remember, he says, that the late 1970s was"quite an odd, intense period", with the UK in political and economic turmoil.
Though pre-recorded, Ghostwatch was presented as a live on-air investigation into mysterious events at the London home of the fictional Early family, with real-life television presenters including Michael Parkinson and Sarah Greene hosting the show and adding to the sense of veracity."I read everything I could get my hands on in terms of ghosts and hauntings, and formulated what I thought was a kind of an archetype of the way these things work," he says.
Paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse spent months at the house, making audio recordings among other things "Enfield is part of the cultural fabric of the UK," says Danny Robins, broadcaster, playwright and creator of the hit supernatural podcasts Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist, who is now also presenting a TV version of Uncanny on BBC2."I can't remember when I first encountered the story. I feel like it's always been in my memory," he tells BBC Culture.
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