The Enfield Poltergeist case took place between 1977 and 1979 at 284 Green Street in Enfield, North London. What makes this case stand out is the sheer number of credible witnesses: police officers, neighbors, journalists, photographers, social workers, and investigators. Over 1,500 incidents were documented. This wasn’t a one-night scare. It was a two-year ordeal.

The haunting began when Peggy Hodgson, a single mother, heard her daughters Janet (11) and Margaret (13) screaming. When she entered their room, she saw a chest of drawers sliding across the floor on its own. The girls were pressed against the wall, terrified. Peggy pushed the chest back, but it moved again as if someone was pushing from the other side. That moment marked the start of the activity.

Two police officers responded to the home. While inside, they witnessed a chair slide several feet across the floor without anyone touching it. They inspected the chair and the floor, found no explanation, and filed an official report stating the event was unexplainable. This remains one of the few paranormal cases with documented police testimony.

One of the most disturbing aspects was the “Bill” voice — a deep, gravelly voice that came from Janet. Her mouth barely moved, yet the voice spoke clearly. It claimed to be a man named Bill who died in the house. Years later, a man named Bill Wilkins was confirmed to have died there, matching details the voice gave. Speech experts said Janet’s vocal cords could not physically produce that tone for long periods without damage. She suffered none.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing Janet lifted off her bed, thrown across the room, or suspended in mid-air. A Daily Mirror photographer captured images of Janet airborne. Skeptics claimed she was jumping, but the photographer insisted he saw her levitate. Neighbors also witnessed her being lifted and thrown by an unseen force.

Throughout the two-year period, objects moved constantly. Toys flew across rooms, spoons bent, books fell off shelves, marbles shot across floors, and furniture tipped over. Investigators noted that objects moved in ways that defied normal physics, including sudden acceleration and changes in direction mid-air.

Knocking sounds were heard throughout the home. They responded to questions, formed patterns, and came from walls, floors, and ceilings. Investigators asked how many people were in the room, and the knocks answered correctly. These knocks were loud enough to shake the house.

The Society for Psychical Research sent Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair to investigate. They spent hundreds of hours in the home documenting voices, levitations, object movement, temperature drops, knocking patterns, and Janet’s trances. Grosse stated he had never seen anything like it. Playfair later wrote a book calling it one of the most extraordinary cases in psychical research.

Janet often entered trances where her eyes rolled back, her voice changed, and she seemed unaware of her surroundings. She answered questions she shouldn’t have known the answers to. Doctors examined her and found no neurological or psychological disorder that could explain her behavior.

Some skeptics claimed the girls faked certain events. Even Janet admitted years later that a few incidents were staged, mostly out of boredom or to test investigators. But even skeptics agree that many events were impossible for children to fake. The police chair movement, the knocking patterns, the voice, and the levitations remain unexplained.

By 1979, the activity slowed. Janet was evaluated at a psychiatric hospital, but no abnormalities were found. The family eventually moved. Janet later said, “It wasn’t all fake. Some of it was real. I couldn’t control it.” She never sought fame or money from the case.

The Enfield Poltergeist remains one of the most documented paranormal cases in history. It involved police officers, journalists, photographers, neighbors, and investigators who all witnessed events firsthand. With over 1,500 logged incidents, it stands as one of the strongest multi-witness cases ever recorded.

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