The Saturday Strangeness

By NeilA Last edited 177 months ago
The Saturday Strangeness

Scary house 114. Mystery House

Mystery House is the actual name of a haunted house that once stood in a by-road close to old Crystal Palace. It was called Mystery House because it had its fair share of bizarre incidents, which plagued every tenant that moved in, beginning with the Trent family.

Haunted houses seem quite common in the world of the paranormal, but this place had consistent levels of high strangeness which seemed to begin one morning when Mrs Trent walked into her bedroom and saw the pillows moving and the bed shaking. The woman remained unphased and put the incident down to hallucination until the following night when her husband, sleeping in a separate room, was awoken by a piercing wail. Mr Trent rushed to his wife's aid and saw her struggling to stop an invisible force which was attempting to suffocate her with the pillow.

Strange smells filled the rooms on occasion, and then it seemed as if something was occupying the basement. Shuffling noises, objects moving and footfalls, which also travelled through the kitchen. Even in his scepticism, Mr Trent wondered just what was going on, especially when on one occasion it appeared as if someone was chasing him through the house. And there was the strange presence, as if someone unseen had walked into the room. Finally, the Trents decided to move out.

When the place was rented by a woman of the name Cattling, who owned several dogs, little did she realise what she was letting herself in for. At first she simply put her peculiar feelings down to the feel of the new house, until she found one of her dogs dead upstairs in the bedroom. Looking round the room she saw the pillow begin to move and take on the form of a ghastly face with a huge, pointed noise and two glaring eyes.

The woman was plagued by mysterious occurrences: the night when the gas went out; in the darkness a box of matches was gently slid into her hand; and the laughter ringing out through the rooms. Even friends saw the phenomena, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin that forced the woman to leave.

The place remained empty for a while until a Mrs Eveley took it for six months, with her daughter and two servants. The spirits never let up and tormented the occupants from the very first night, the beds shaking and shadowy figures looming over those sleeping, who awoke in terror. With loud hammering noises, footfalls and shuffling again in the basement, once again, the residents moved out.

History suggests that the original owner of the house had committed suicide, so maybe this tortured soul still roamed the structure, or maybe the house had been built on evil ground, but this is something we'll never know, hence the immortal name, Mystery House.

Photo by randy son of robert on flickr

Last Updated 27 June 2009