A ghost hunter has revealed a terrifying picture captured in a house thought to be the site of the most violent poltergeist haunting in Britain.
The image appears to show the ghostly shape of the infamous ‘Black Monk’ peering out of a mirror.
Pete Boulton and Rob Hughes of Ghostnspectors Paranormal Group visited 30 East Drive in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, in June to investigate.
The house was the site of one of Britain’s most notorious alleged hauntings, which saw the Pritchard family subjected to years of torment by the so-called Black Monk of Pontefract.
Boulton’s picture of the hallway shows a mirror with what appears to be a face staring out of it, with either black hair around it or a black hooded robe – though there was no one near him at the time.
The ghoulish apparition appears in the same spot that the Black Monk, also known as Mr Nobody or ‘Fred’, was said to regularly stand and was where 14-year-old Diane Pritchard was dragged by an invisible hand.
Boulton, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, said: “We arrived around 7pm in the evening and began wandering around the house.
“I began taking photos like I usually do at a new location and I took quite a few of the hallway near the stairs. I was just snapping away at random at the house, not at anything in particular.
“I took three or four pictures and one was particularly dark so when I got home I put it on the computer to brighten it up.
“[It was as I brightened it up that] I noticed there was a weird shape in the mirror. No one from the group was downstairs [at the time]. So it couldn’t have been anyone from the group.
“To be honest I was a bit reluctant to share it as it seemed too good to be true. It looks like a figure. But that was it, as soon as I saw it I shared it on social media.
“It wouldn’t have freaked me out if I had seen it there and then [in the house]. But it might have freaked a few of the others out. I would have got quite excited by it as that’s why we are there.
“It came as a surprise. It’s difficult to say what it is. There’s still a chance it is just pareidolia [seeing faces in shapes] however I asked other people what they could see but I didn’t tell them what I had seen.
“Most saw what I did. With pareidolia, people usually see different things – that’s why you can dismiss stuff usually. But not this one as everyone saw the same thing.
“I haven’t dismissed it due to this and certainly to me it’s unexplained.
“There is no evidence it definitely is paranormal. I hope that it’s a genuine capture [of something paranormal]. I would love that but I’ve been doing it that long I am realistic about my expectations.”
Jean and Joe Pritchard moved into 30 East Drive with their two children Phillip, 15, and Diane, 12, in August 1966 and allegedly began experiencing paranormal occurrences almost immediately.
The inexplicable events were said to include green foam flowing from the taps and toilet, objects being thrown around and levitating, photographs being slashed with a sharp knife and even family members being slapped and pushed downstairs.
It is said that later on in their occupation of the haunted house, Diane’s hair stood on end and she was dragged upstairs by an unknown entity – the same stairs that can be seen in Boulton’s picture – which left finger marks around her throat.
Boulton added: “It’s a fascinating location, very atmospheric. It’s an iconic place – that’s why [ghost hunters] want to go.
“The poltergeist case there is very famous and that’s what attracted me to it, but I didn’t expect much.
“There are films about the house, though I didn’t experience anything on that level. I would have left pretty sharpish. It’s only interesting up to a point.”
The haunting at 30 East Drive was the subject of the 2012 horror film When The Lights Went Out and was investigated for the Halloween special of Most Haunted Live in 2015.
The house remains open for bookings – though Ouija boards and exorcisms are banned on the property.