The Andover Poltergeist

In the mid-1960s, a family in Andover, Hampshire, experienced a series of disturbing poltergeist phenomena that drew the attention of local investigators and the press. The case featured many classic poltergeist characteristics including object movement, unexplained noises, and spontaneous fires, all centered around a teenage member of the household.

The Family and Setting

The disturbances occurred in a council house in Andover, a market town in Hampshire. The family, whose name was kept private to protect them from unwanted attention, consisted of parents and several children including a teenage daughter. They were an ordinary working-class family with no previous experience of paranormal activity and no desire for publicity.

The council house was a standard post-war construction, identical to dozens of others in the neighborhood. There was nothing unusual about the building itself, no history of previous incidents, and no structural peculiarities that might explain what was to come. The family had lived there peacefully for several years before the phenomena began.

The Phenomena

The activity began with small, easily dismissed incidents. Objects would be found in unusual places. Kitchen items moved from their usual locations. Family members heard footsteps and knocking sounds, particularly at night. These early manifestations were annoying but not threatening.

The disturbances escalated rapidly over several weeks. Furniture moved by itself, sometimes sliding across rooms while family members watched. Small objects flew through the air, occasionally striking people. Doors slammed violently with no apparent cause. The phenomena occurred most frequently when the teenage daughter was home, a pattern common to many poltergeist cases.

Most alarming were the unexplained fires. Small fires broke out spontaneously in various locations around the house. Newspapers ignited while sitting on tables. Curtains began smoldering without any apparent source of ignition. The family kept fire extinguishers at hand and remained constantly vigilant. Investigators could find no natural explanation for the fires, ruling out electrical faults, dropped cigarettes, and other mundane causes.

Investigation and Witnesses

The case attracted attention from local paranormal investigators and representatives from the Society for Psychical Research. Multiple witnesses, including neighbors, investigators, and even skeptical observers, reported seeing objects move and hearing unexplained sounds. The consistency of these independent accounts strengthened the case’s credibility.

Police were called on several occasions when the family feared for their safety. Officers witnessed some of the phenomena themselves, including objects moving and sounds that had no identifiable source. Their official reports, while carefully worded to avoid supernatural claims, acknowledged that something unusual was occurring that they could not explain through normal investigative methods.

Resolution

As is typical with poltergeist cases, the phenomena gradually diminished and eventually ceased. The activity lasted approximately twelve to eighteen months before fading away. No clear explanation was ever established for the disturbances. Some investigators suggested the teenage daughter might have been an unconscious focus for psychokinetic energy, a theory common in poltergeist research but impossible to prove. Others proposed more conventional explanations such as overlooked natural causes or possible hoaxing, though evidence for deliberate fraud was never found.

The family eventually returned to normal life, though the experience left them shaken. They moved from the house shortly after the phenomena ended, seeking a fresh start away from the memories and the unwanted attention the case had brought them. Subsequent occupants of the house reported no unusual activity, suggesting the phenomena had been truly connected to the family rather than the location itself.