Five ‘haunted’ homes in Yorkshire that resulted in owners selling following alleged paranormal activity

Whether we believe in ghosts or not, paranormal stories elicit our curiosity and Halloween is one of the most popular holidays of the year.

Yorkshire’s history spans 10,000 years so naturally there are plenty of historical figures and characters to make for some interesting ghost stories and haunted happenings.

Wetherby-based business, The Property Buying Company reveals five ‘haunted’ homes belonging to owners who are selling because of alleged paranormal activity they have experienced.

Property expert, Olivia Ball, said: “We all know someone who has experienced something spooky, but at The Property Buying Company, we haven’t heard of anyone selling their house because of paranormal activity, which made us wonder: has anybody?”

Home in Thirsk

The homeowners of this property were so spooked by the supposed paranormal activity they experienced, they brought in a priest to bless the house.

A member of the family living in this house, who has chosen to remain anonymous, said: “We had noticed spooky things happening before, such as the cellar door locking and unlocking itself and things moving around the house, but we didn’t think too much of it.

“Then one morning, my sister and I were playing with a ball in the living room when we were called into the dining room by our parents. We put the ball down and went through.

“As we sat at the dining room table, all of a sudden the ball we were playing with came flying through from the living room despite all four of us being in the room together.

“From there more spooky occurrences would happen, we even went as far as to get a priest in to bless the house.

“Turns out the house was haunted by the previous owner who had lived and died in the house. Despite the blessings, the cellar door will still open by itself and the occurrences have not died down at all.”

Home in Rawdon

The homeowner at this property was convinced that something was ‘attached’ to their brother’s ex-girlfriend as they claimed to have experienced ‘strange’ things.

They said: “We were convinced something was attached to my brother’s ex-girlfriend. Whenever she came over, strange things happened, and they continued to happen when they moved out together.

“My brother was once grabbed by the legs and physically pulled out of bed when he was around 24 years old, we woke up to him screaming the house down.

“On another occasion, my brother and his ex-girlfriend both woke up and saw the same little girl standing in the corner of their bedroom.

“We’d have the loudest bangs coming from his room and someone walking up and down the stairs when there was only one person in the house. I remember my mum and I were in the bathroom one day and we heard loud banging, we went into his room and every single wardrobe door was wide open. As soon as she moved out after they split up everything completely stopped.”

Home in Harrogate

“My great-aunt owned a big three-storey terraced house, she was extremely old fashioned and didn’t own a TV so she would sit and read or listen to the radio,” the homeowner said.

“One time, we went to visit her, and my brother was running up the stairs whilst looking down at the stairs as he was running so that he wouldn’t trip, and he stopped dead in his tracks because he saw two old ladies’ legs stood on the next step up, wearing patent shoes with gold buckles, he looked up and no one was there, so ran back down absolutely terrified.

“My mum said she could always sense that there was a presence too and it made her really uneasy about going to visit. I also didn’t like it either because it gave me the creeps.

“Flash forward a couple of years when my great-aunt unfortunately passed away, my mum went round to clear her house out, and she was sorting through some drawers in her room she felt a massive gust of wind go through her and then the bedroom door slammed, there were no windows open. After this, the radio would play on its own accord. We put the house straight on the market.”

House in Harrogate

The supposed spooky happenings occurred when the homeowners were moving house.

The proprietor said: “We were moving house, and following this event I’ve heard that moving house can be quite triggering for spooky activity, which may explain this one.

“The house was completely empty, not one piece of furniture left, and everyone had left for the last time except for myself. I was the last person to walk around the house, check all lights were off, check all belongings had been picked up, before handing the keys over to the next residents.

“This is where I began to do my checks, and I really mean it, the house was empty. It was an old, three-floor terrace house, so it was quite creaky, so much so that you could hear footsteps on the landing above you if you were downstairs, this was very normal.

“This particular day, once I’d checked the house, I made my way downstairs to leave one final time. This is where I heard the creaking of footsteps in the hallway directly above my head, it stopped me in my tracks. I looked above me and could make out the steps heading towards the top of the stairs that were leading down to the room I was standing in, I stood frozen still.

“After a short period of silence, the footsteps proceeded to run down the stairs as fast as they could, causing me to run to the front door, and I could hear them stomping behind me as I ran. I ran out the door, locked up, and never looked back. Were they chasing me out the door?”

Home in Harrogate

This homeowner at a property in Harrogate told their spooky tales of supposed paranormal activity: “We relentlessly had spooky encounters at our old family home, we were living in a three-storey terrace house at the time. Our resident spirit would regularly do laps of the house which scared us at first but eventually we grew used to it.

“At night we would hear them walking up and down the stairs, around the landing and back up to the third floor where I would sleep. Strangely, the spirit would never be felt on the ground floor.

“One night, things took a turn where I awoke to the feeling of them perching at the end of the bed. I could feel the weight of them at the foot of the bed, and the sinking feeling you feel when somebody does sit on your bed, needless to say I was terrified at this point, and this wasn’t the last time they appeared in my bedroom at night. I could feel somebody’s presence watching me. We have since sold the home and moved on.”