Have We Disturbed "Fred"?

This is an account of the happenings in my boyfriend’s mother’s house in Rhyl, North Wales, a 1930’s three bedroom semi.

When the house was first purchased in 1972 it remained empty for some time as a lot of work was required to be done to it before it was habitable, especially for a two year old as my boyfriend was then.
Work was carried out on weekends and in the evenings by my boyfriend’s mother. Whilst this was being carried out, she was aware of a male presence on the stairs and landing area. She is not the sort for any nonsense and used to shout out “Oh go away, Fred, I don’t have time for you”.

Whilst the house was coming along but was still unoccupied, my boyfriend’s uncle was courting at the time and he and his girlfriend used to go over there to spend some time alone On one occasion they both heard what sounded like footsteps and furniture being moved around directly above them. They were so startled by what they heard and, knowing that no-one else was in the house and there was no furniture upstairs, they fled and never went back on their own.

Fast forward to 2006. My boyfriend’s mother has been suffering from poor health for some time and has had to come and live with us in Manchester because she can no longer live on her own. In light of this, her house is being put up for sale but, beforehand, all her belongings are having to be cleared out and the house done up in the hope of attracting a quick sale. As my boyfriend is an only child, this task has been left to him, with myself helping out where possible. Because of the distance between the two houses (Manchester and North Wales) visits are limited and, on occasion, my boyfriend has stayed the night to try and get as much done as possible.

This is where “Fred” comes into it again. The first time my boyfriend spent the night, he felt the presence of “Fred” so strongly that he ended up sleeping in his car because he felt so uncomfortable in the house. I would add that he is not someone of a nervous disposition and I know he had a very uncomfortable night in the car. He also told me that he was very nervous of getting up in the night to use the toilet because of who or what might be waiting for him on the stairs/landing. After this occasion, he told me he was never going to spend the night there again on his own.
The second time he was going to spend the night, he took one of our German Shepherds with him for company and, for this reason alone, slept in one of the bedrooms (with our dog lying next to him). On this occasion, neither he nor our dog picked up anything.

My boyfriend is fitting a new kitchen and, due to lack of time, is going down on a week night after work to try and get a few hours in so the house will be completed as soon as possible.

The following happened last Wednesday (30th August 2006). He had finished what he was doing and went upstairs to one of the bedrooms to get changed. There is a pendant light fitting on the ceiling with no shade. There used to be a strip light but this has been removed and a pendant put in its place. Each time he turned around to get changed the light kept flickering as if someone was cutting off the power but then putting it back on quickly so, instead of going on and off, it was flickering. Each time he turned around and looked at the light it stopped flickering but when he went back to getting changed it happened again. This happened several times. He also told me that, whilst he was working in the kitchen, he kept hearing what sounded like small objects being dropped on the floor. There is no carpet upstairs as this is going to be replaced once the rooms are painted so it is bare floorboards and the sound was very distinctive. I asked if he had the boiler on and it was possibly the pipes and floorboards creaking but he said the boiler was not on and it was not that kind of noise in any event.

On his way out of the house, he set the alarm and, as he was locking up, it went off. He went back inside to re-set it and stood there and it did not go off. As soon as he went to leave it went off again. He again re-set it and waited to see if something was triggering the motion sensor. Nothing. Then, once again, as soon as he went to leave, it went off. By this time he was getting annoyed as it was late and the drive home takes 90 minutes so he stepped into the hallway and said out loud “OK, I know you are there but I don’t have time for your silly games so can you please stop”. At this, he re-set the alarm, locked the door and went down the path. The alarm didn’t go off.
My boyfriend thinks that “Fred” has been disturbed by the house being cleared out.

When they first moved into the house in the 1970’s he recalled feeling a presence and seeing a shadowy figure on the landing at night when he was in bed. This happened for about a decade and then, all of a sudden, it stopped. His grandmother, who was very superstitious, did not like the house and tried to talk her daughter out of buying it. She also always used to enter and leave by the same door to avoid taking whatever was in the house with her (not something I have ever heard of).

Also, back in the 1970’s, one of his mother’s friends once said that he felt someone push him down the stairs.
The house is hopefully being put on the market within the next month or so and, if anything further happens, I will of course keep you posted.

By: Wendy Taylor
wendy.taylor@fdl-law.co.uk