Last March I had posted a story about an Irish family who had fled their Council house (public housing) because of paranormal activity. The family had left the home, claiming that the spirits were threatening and asked for government reassignment for a new home. Not believing in their claims, the Irish government offered to refurbish and repair the house, but that wasn’t enough. The family actually moved in with a relative, while still making payments on their rent of the supposed haunted house.

Many of the locals have come forward to proclaim that to their knowledge, there were never any “incidents” reported in the property before. Even local “ghost hunters” had visited the house in order record any paranormal activity, only to come out disappointed.

When I read the initial report, I thought it was just a family trying to get a different house or trying to get out of a contract. The follow up story became interesting to me because of the fact that the family actually moved out while still making payments, showing that money is not really a factor here. Although many locals say that there were no problems reported in that property before, we all know how poltergeists supposedly operate. It’s not the home, but a person that is influencing the environment. A poltergeist is said to be the product of high levels of psychokinetic energy by an unstable individual, or a young girl going through the first stages of puberty.

The fact that the local “ghost busters” went in there for a night and expected to see ghosts furthermore exemplifies my position that modern reality television shows about the paranormal are misleading the public. What did they expect? Slimer to come out of a closet with a mouth full of hotdogs?

I’m not at all shaming the local government for not believing this family, but it would be ideal to have a psychologist talk with the family to try and dig deep into this claim.

Full source: Independent.ie

Sunday October 10 2010

A YOUNG couple who are refusing to live in a council property which they claim is haunted by an evil spirit now face the threat of having the property repossessed.

Laura Burke, her partner Ritchie, and their son, Kyle (4), are refusing to live in the three-bedroom house at Hollywood Estate in Hollyhill on Cork’s northside after a bizarre series of events between December and March of this year.

The couple are still paying rent to Cork City Council on the property — but they are refusing to live there and currently reside at the home of a family member.

The house has now effectively being lying empty for the past six months.

The couple are pleading with the council to be re-housed, though locals in the Hollyhill area have become increasingly sceptical of their supernatural claims.

Cork City Council warned last week they have no way of verifying the couple’s claims and will not be providing them with an alternative property.

However, the council has offered to refurbish and repair the property, but stressed that, because the house has effectively been abandoned, it is now within their right to repossess it unless they take up occupancy.

Last March, a special ‘cleansing’ ceremony was performed on the house — with one spiritualist claiming he could sense “an angry spirit” in the property.

The young couple, who only moved into the house in August 2009, insisted they are too afraid to remain in the building after the unexplained incidents.

“I really can’t [go back]. We don’t want to go near the place,” Laura said.

Special prayers were said at the house to placate the spirit earlier this year, and a ‘New Age’ shaman even performed the ‘cleansing’ exorcism there.

Laura told the Sunday Independent that holy pictures were routinely knocked from the wall, screams were heard in the dead of night, their son was once flung from his bed, and both furniture and furnishings were discovered re-arranged despite being left in an empty room.

The family received their greatest shock when they spotted what they described as “glowing orbs” hovering in mid-air in certain rooms in the house. Their son claimed he could see ‘eyes’ following his every move in his bedroom.

“It’s an evil spirit — I just get the feeling that it is something evil. Whatever it is, I don’t believe it means us well,” Laura said.

The publicity surrounding the haunting attracted hundreds of curious onlookers when the story first hit the headlines last February and March.

Clairvoyant John O’Reilly was invited to inspect the house and he said he immediately felt “a presence”.

“There is someone here. I am getting [a feeling] of a younger man who would have hung himself,” he said.

Spiritualist and shaman, Paul O’Halloran, said he felt there were numerous spirits in the house, and believed they may be from children who were buried in unmarked graves in Cork.

However, locals are increasingly dubious about the haunting claims — and pointed out that no one recalls previous incidents at the house, or any tragedy fitting the descriptions being cited.

A group of local children who at one point mounted a vigil to watch outside the house earlier this year for ‘ghost-busting’ activity gave up in disgust after four hours of seeing nothing unusual.

“A dog fell asleep on the front doorstep — and animals are supposed to be the first to sense spirits and ghosts,” one local girl said.

– Ralph Riegel

Sunday Independent