Ep 119: The Black Monk of Pontefract Part 3

Above image is the house at 30 East Drive, from the East Drive Paranormal Facebook page, associated with caretaker and lead paranormal investigator, Carol Fieldhouse.

“Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today, I wish, I wish he’d go away…”

— Poet and Educator Hughes Mearns, from his poem, Antigonish, Published in 1922

The Black Monk himself as seen from Phillip’s bedroom or some other entity? One Medium who has examined the photo believes there is a spirit of a woman and also a dark entity that is perhaps not human. Photo from the 30 East Drive website, taken by visitor Andy E.

Image of a “blacker than black” shadow on the stairs of the house, from the 30 East Drive website. Photo taken by visitor Craig L.

Two images taken in sequence, the bottom shows a shadow some think is responsible for the occasional shove down the stairs. From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Andy E.

Two sequential images, the right showing a shadow anomaly. From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Steven J.

The shadow in Diane’s room. The baby stroller, snow globe and ball if taken elsewhere, end up back in this room. From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Steven J.

Notice the shadow outside of the French Doors leading to the kitchen. It appears to be a figure reading. Bottom right is the chair that it would’ve been sitting in. From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Andy E.

The house sits where the Civil War of Royalists vs. Parliamentarians battle took place near Pontefract castle. Some believe the shadow could be a soldier carrying a Axe Pike. From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Andy E.

“He’s at the bottom of the stairs, watching you.” From the 30 East Drive website, photo by Andy E.

Some think this may be the image of a little girl named “Emma” a victim of the Black Monk. Or could it be the Monk himself? From the 30 East Drive website, photo from Amanda M.

The previous image outlined by an illustrator that may define what looks like a young girl’s dress and visage, except for the hideous face. From the 30 East Drive website, original photo by Amanda M.

 

Location: 

30 East Drive, Pontefract, England.  Where a 1950s style, 3-bedroom "Council House" was home to the Pritchard family, along with a very active poltergeist spirit Jean Pritchard eventually named "Fred" or as he is more notoriously known, "The Black Monk."

Background:

You might not believe in ghosts, but it would be difficult to ignore all the furtive and orchestrated actions that were going on throughout the years at 30 East Drive, which continue to this day. Certainly, in some famous poltergeist cases, incidents could have been manipulated to gain attention for the prankster. However, unless you're contending that pre-teens have somehow gained Hollywood Special Effects level skills in every case, then some of the more bizarre and baffling examples of poltergeist activity would be worthy of investigation. Then what exactly, are the defining factors between a run-of-the-mill poltergeist and other types of spirit activity? Is a poltergeist more paranormal than supernatural? What are the rules? There are theories that poltergeist activity may be a physical manifestation of intensely directed energy emanating from people, mostly youth. As "fringe" as that may seem, then in some cases it might possibly be explained by science one day, that is, if enough scientists would be willing to endure the ridicule and ensuing damage to their reputations from their peers. However, the strange activity at 30 East Drive seems much more than that, not only because it continued long after the Pritchards left the house, but also because this energy appears to have a personality behind it, and there are indications that there's more than one spectral personality residing around the property. Whatever you think The Black Monk or "Fred" is, whether disembodied spirits or mischievous kids, this "Mr. Nobody" might not be anybody, but it sure seems like it's something.

Reference Links:

• The Paranormal Investigation group associated with Carol Fieldhouse, East Drive Paranormal

• The official Facebook page for the 30 East Drive property

• 30 East Drive – The official site for "The Most Haunted House in Britain"

• 30 East Drive and The Black Monk on the Haunted Rooms website

• "Ghost hunters capture the eerie moment chair is pushed down the stairs by the 'Black Monk'" from The Express

• Poltergeists on Wikipedia

• The Enfield Poltergeist

Suggested Listening:

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Related Books:

Poltergeist: A Classic Study in Destructive Hauntings

By Colin Wilson

Buy on Amazon

Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained

Chambers

Buy on Amazon

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The Dark Myths Collective  

http://darkmyths.org/

CREDITS:

Episode 119: The Black Monk of Pontefract Part 3.  Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2018 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.