The Moss, Middleton

In 1983, Mrs Margaret Barlow of The Moss, Alkrington, reported violent disturbances in her home soon after moving in. Furniture was piled into the centre of rooms, beds were repeatedly stripped, and loud bangs echoed through the house. The activity reportedly intensified when her 15-year-old grandson, Paul Carrington of Lorton Close, visited. Police investigations found no intruders, and a priest’s blessings failed to stop the disturbances, which Mrs Barlow believed to be caused by a poltergeist.