The Enfield Poltergeist: Complete Account

Between August 1977 and September 1978, a council house at 284 Green Street in Enfield, North London, was the site of poltergeist activity that attracted investigators, journalists, and skeptics from around the world. The case produced hundreds of documented incidents witnessed by over thirty people, including police officers, journalists, and experienced paranormal researchers. It remains one of the most extensively documented poltergeist cases ever recorded.

The Hodgson Family

The household consisted of Peggy Hodgson, a single mother, and her four children: Margaret (13), Janet (11), Johnny (10), and Billy (7). They had lived in the house for several years without incident. In August 1977, everything changed.

The activity began on the night of August 30, 1977. Janet and Johnny reported that their beds were shaking. Peggy initially dismissed this as the children playing games. The next night, the entire family heard knocking sounds. They searched for the source but found nothing. Then a heavy chest of drawers moved on its own, sliding across Janet’s bedroom floor.

Terrified, Peggy took the children next door to their neighbors, the Nottinghams. The neighbors came to investigate and heard the knocking themselves. Unable to find any explanation, they called the police.

Police Involvement

WPC Carolyn Heeps responded to the call. In her official report, she documented witnessing a chair slide across the floor approximately three to four feet with no one touching it. She could find no explanation for what she saw. Her report, filed with Enfield Police Station, represents one of the earliest official documents in the case.

The police could offer no help with supernatural phenomena. The family was left to cope with escalating disturbances.

The Society for Psychical Research

Peggy Hodgson contacted the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), and investigators Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair took the case. Grosse, a recently bereaved father who had lost his daughter in a motorcycle accident, was relatively new to paranormal investigation but would spend the next fourteen months documenting the case exhaustively.

From September 1977 onward, Grosse and Playfair were regular visitors to the house. They witnessed and documented an extraordinary range of phenomena.

Documented Phenomena

The investigators catalogued numerous types of activity:

Furniture moved on its own, sometimes violently. A heavy sofa was thrown across a room. Chairs flipped over. The heavy chest of drawers moved repeatedly despite being extremely difficult for adults to shift.

Objects flew through the air. Marbles, Lego bricks, and other small items would appear to materialize and drop or shoot across rooms. Investigators were struck by flying objects. Some items were hot to the touch when they landed.

Knocking was constant. Investigators attempted to communicate using the knocking—one knock for yes, two for no. They received coherent responses. The entity, if that’s what it was, claimed to be several different people at different times.

Metal objects bent. Spoons twisted into impossible shapes. An iron fireplace grate bent spontaneously.

Matches ignited spontaneously. Fires started without apparent cause, though none spread dangerously.

Janet as Focus

The phenomena centered increasingly on eleven-year-old Janet. She was reportedly thrown from her bed repeatedly. She levitated, witnessed by multiple people through windows. She was seen by a neighbor floating horizontally across her bedroom.

Most dramatically, Janet began speaking in a deep, gravelly male voice that claimed to be “Bill” or “Bill Wilkins.” The voice emerged from her throat but was unlike any voice the child could naturally produce. Medical examination found nothing abnormal about her vocal cords.

The voice claimed Bill Wilkins had died in the house years earlier, in the corner of the room, of a brain hemorrhage. Researchers later confirmed that a man named Bill Wilkins had indeed died in the house, in that corner, of a brain hemorrhage. His son was traced and confirmed details the voice had provided.

Media Attention

The case attracted significant media attention. Photographer Graham Morris from the Daily Mirror took one of the most famous poltergeist photographs in history: Janet apparently levitating above her bed. Morris witnessed numerous phenomena and had his camera equipment damaged by thrown objects.

The BBC sent a crew to film, but their equipment malfunctioned. Metal components bent. Tapes were damaged. They left without usable footage.

Other journalists visited. Many witnessed phenomena and reported on their experiences, bringing the case to national attention.

Skeptical Analysis

Not everyone was convinced. Magician and skeptic Milbourne Christopher visited and concluded the case was a hoax, though he witnessed nothing during his brief visit. Anita Gregory, another SPR member, was highly critical of the investigation methodology.

Janet and Margaret were caught bending spoons themselves on at least one occasion. Janet later admitted to faking “about two percent” of the phenomena, stating she did so when investigators seemed to expect activity and nothing was happening naturally. Critics argue this admission undermines the entire case; supporters note it represents a small fraction of documented incidents.

The voice phenomenon was tested. Janet was filmed speaking as “Bill” while drinking water, which should have been impossible if she was generating the voice vocally. Yet she managed it, leading to suggestions the voice emerged from somewhere other than her normal vocal apparatus.

The Conclusion

The intense activity lasted approximately eighteen months, though it tapered gradually rather than stopping abruptly. By late 1978, the phenomena had largely ceased. The family continued to live in the house until Peggy Hodgson’s death in 2003.

Janet left the house for several years during which time she reported no paranormal experiences. She later returned to care for her mother and reported occasional minor phenomena—knocks, cold spots—until Peggy’s death.

Legacy

The Enfield case became a touchstone in poltergeist research. The extensive documentation, multiple witnesses from various backgrounds, and physical evidence (photographs, bent metal, police reports) make it one of the most evidential poltergeist cases on record.

The case inspired numerous books, documentaries, and films, most notably “The Conjuring 2” (2016), which dramatized the events with considerable artistic license.

Maurice Grosse continued investigating paranormal phenomena until his death in 2006. Guy Lyon Playfair wrote “This House is Haunted” about the case and remained convinced of its genuineness. Janet has given interviews defending the reality of her experiences while acknowledging that some small percentage was manufactured.

Whether the Enfield Poltergeist was genuine supernatural activity, adolescent psychokinesis, elaborate trickery, or some combination remains debated. The documented evidence ensures the case will continue to be studied and argued over for generations.