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Cardiff Poltergeist

Started by PPI Brian, February 19, 2010, 06:30:15 PM

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PPI Brian

Stumbled across this information on the Unexplained Mysteries website in the UK and thought it was worth sharing with our PPI family.  :)

The following was taken from two newspaper articles about this haunting.

Pete By Jan Brierley. Wales On Sunday Newspaper - 7/7/91

Scientists were called in to investigate reports of a mysterious apparition "seen" in a Welsh shop. Workers at the store claim a poltergeist is haunting the building. One part-time member of staff says he has seen what appears to be the ghostly image of a young boy roaming around.

He described what he saw as "a 1940's schoolboy, wearing a Cub cap, dark short-trousers, a jacket and big black boots". The man, who didn't want to be identified, said, "It was frightening. The first time I saw him he was standing in the door, waving to me. I couldn`t see a face or hands. I would never have believed it possible if I hadn`t seen it with my own eyes."

The Society for Psychical Research and experts in spirit phenomena from Brazil and Portugal have visited the shop in the Cathays area of Cardiff to examine the building. A spokeswoman for the London-based organisation, which studies psychic phenomena worldwide, said one of its investigators was compiling a dossier on the apparition.

The expert had himself witnessed the poltergeist's actions first hand while staking out the shop

Staff claim the "boy" has:

  • SMASHED dishes and then pieced them back together.
  • STARTED a lawnmower.
  • WRITTEN gobbledegook on a word processor in the offices above the shop, and
  • STARTED a small fire in the workshop.

Believers in the spirit world regard poltergeists as mischievous spirits, usually of dead children.

Cardiff historian Geoff Dart has studied the area's history in an attempt to discover the identity of the poltergeist but so far has drawn a blank.

The shop was originally part of a row of terraced houses built in 1882 which became shops in 1900. It was the home of the Frayling family but there is no evidence of the sudden death of a schoolboy.

Mr Dart said the site used to be common land, not ancient hallowed ground as is often thought. But he said the town gallows was sited nearby where two Roman Catholic priests were hung in 1679.

The shop's owner, John Matthews, started a lawnmower business in a workshop behind the shop 11 years ago(at the time of this article). Stones were frequently thrown at the shop's windows and he put it down to local vandals. Then four years ago, when the property was renovated, events turned bizarre.

"It all started with the poltergeist throwing things about" , says Mr Matthews. "He was just throwing everything around in the shop. We looked at each other and couldn`t believe it. It was the most fascinating couple of hours I have ever spent. He`s thrown things while people have been in the shop and while reps have been here".

"It seems to stem from one corner. One day I was moving things about in that particular corner and because I was disturbing him he threw two big marbles which just missed me. Sometimes you can throw stones into the corner and they will come back at you". He says, "I never believed in things like spirits before but I do now. But there`s no harm in him. We`ve never thought of trying to get rid of him. He just seems to like playing games with us".

Pennies From Heaven - Wales on Sunday Newspaper - 11/5/97

Poltergeist Pete is a nightmare turned into a dream - he actually produces money out of thin air. The ghost with the Midas touch has spooked Welsh couple Fred and Gerry Cook for several years. Pete became a family member after haunting Fred`s place of work in Cardiff. But after settling into the family home he has vanished into thin air

Retired plumber Fred and his wife Gerry whose Cardiff home Pete moved into three years ago is baffled. "He left about two months ago", says Fred. "Since then we've had no money thrown at us and no oranges pinched, they became his trademark after he moved in here".

"It was a couple of months ago when I was doing the washing-up. I'd just done the last item and there was a splash in the bowl, I put my hand in and there was an orange. That was the last we saw of him".

The police, of course have not been called. The only time they were was to investigate a break-in at the engineering firm on Cryws Road, Cardiff, where Pete first started haunting, throwing stones and pinning carburettor floats to the ceiling back in 1988. "he pelted the police with stones", said Fred. "But they had heard of him and knew what to expect. The men who came to replace the broken window weren`t too happy though. He pelted them too and they rushed the job and left in a hurry".

It was at the engineering shop that Fred first met Pete. "The boys who worked there used to say to him, 'give me a penny' and he'd make a penny appear out of thin air and fall at their feet. Then he started giving me pounds and even notes, fivers and tenners stuck to my car in the rain".
Obviously Pete had a soft spot for Fred and, in time, revealed himself to him. "I'd never been frightened until then. I looked up and there he was sitting on a shelf. He was a young boy, wearing short trousers and a peaked cap but his head, hands and legs were just outlines, there was nothing there. After that I saw him about five or six times".

When the business in Cryws Road moved to new premises in Splott, Pete moved into Fred and Gerry`s home in Llandaff. "My grandson Craig saw him here once when I was away. He said, `He`s sitting in Grampa`s chair` and the description was of exactly the boy I`d seen. He became part of our life for a few years and we enjoyed his company. You always knew when he was around. I`d feel a very cold draught and the hairs on the back of my neck would stand on end. He`d pull our hair and put a pound in front of us. It was like having a lodger". "It has been a wonderful experience and I feel quite privileged and honoured to have had him around. But we want to get back to our normal life so, in a way, I`m glad he`s gone now. As long as he`s all right".


Here is a YouTube video on the subject:

"STRANGE BUT TRUE - Cardiff Poltergeist"

https://youtu.be/DJm6VBvC0Bk
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."--Carl Sagan