CHAPTER 184: BLACK MONK OF PONTEFRACT – ENGLAND’S MOST VIOLENT POLTERGEIST

ORIGIN: England

The Black Monk of Pontefract is one of the most violent and terrifying poltergeist cases in England, haunting 30 East Drive in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. 

The legend gained popularity in the late 1960s when the Pritchard family— Jean, Joe, and their two children, Diane and Philip— moved into the house. 

Almost immediately, they started experiencing strange things in their new house, such as objects levitating (rising in the air), furniture being overturned, and pools of water appearing on the floor without any source of water leak.

The entity, referred to as "Fred" by the family, was later linked to the spirit of a black-robed monk. 

Local legends say that in the 16th century, a Cluniac monk was executed in Pontefract for a heinous and outrageous crime; the rape and murder of a young girl. 

The monk was then hanged near where the house now stands, and his restless spirit was to be the source of the evil activities in Pritchard family.

The haunting became worse, and even started targeting Diane, the teenage daughter, who was dragged all the way from the ground floor to up the highest point of the stairs by an unseen force and then slapped by an invisible hand. 

To this day, paranormal investigators say the house remains haunted.