The Cage – Essex
When I first saw this story I thought I recognised the haunted house. It’s already had ghost hunters find evidence of it’s haunting. Not to mention the owners own CCTV covering the house (with a monitor screen in the kitchen). And those ghosts are there to stay – the owners have brought in whoever they thought might be able to finally cleanse the house of it’s violent and disruptive spirits. But so far nothing has worked.
1)It occurred to me that perhaps someone looking for a business venture, in the paranormal industry, could convert this lovely home into an overnight ghost hunting experience for small groups. And the owners themselves have decided to market to the paranormal industry as the house hasn’t sold in the usual way and it’s proving popular with ghost hunters. The property is already available for paranormal investigators to experience ghost hunts.
2) The damned place is really haunted..evidence and experience has proven it – or has it? There are still those that are sceptical. The current owner has experienced plenty of occurrences, but she’s not the only one. Investigators have spent time in the haunted property and recorded evidence to verify the presence of the paranormal. The homes CCTV recently picked up an image that finalised the decision to sell. Ghost Hunter Micky Rawlings has spent time living there whilst investigating the haunting and helped set up the cameras in an attempt to catch the activity and prove its haunted.
3) It has a long and sordid history that adds value to the potential of the property. It’s known as The Cage – a former medieval prison that once held witches.
Ursula Kemp, was imprisoned for witchcraft in 1582 before being hung. Only two witches -Ursula Kempe and Elizabeth Bennett- were hung out of the 13 held for trial. Much more recently two female skeletons were uncovered in a garden in Osyth and briefly became a public attraction. One is said to be Ursula.
Behind the house is a narrow road known as Coffin Alley. Once used for taking the dead to the nearby church – the two women accused of witchcraft had committed a crime & would not be buried in the church grounds (probably something to do with the witch thing too) and as a result would have been buried beyond the wall surrounding the church and graveyard. This could explain why they were found in a garden of a newer property. The building was last used as a gaol in 1908.
4) The current owner is not the only one to experience the haunting. Other occupants have felt unsettled and previous owners have either sold it after a few years or come to the end of their life in the property. Adding to the number of possible resident spirits. It was also used for plague victims, perhaps explaining the spirits of children.
5) It has the history to inspire movies, and the potential to give evidence to those doing serious scientific experiments into the unknown and paranormal . You can find more of the current owners story here.
There have been a spate of movies and television shows set around real life hauntings of late. Including The Enfield Haunting, The Conjuring (2013), The Amityville Horror. I think The Cage definitely has the history and the activity to produce a scary film.
6) Places that are reportedly this haunted are few and far between and offer two whole realms of possibility. If only I had the money….
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I can’t help thinking that taking everything out (like copper pans that could be conducting energies), leaving the bare bones of the home, to study the property through video cameras for a week would be an interesting thing to do. It would at least eliminate any spirits attached to objects rather than the property.
And I think if you want to buy it for the purposes of ghost hunting experiences, you should be able to bring in your own team to verify the manifestation claims before you hand over any money.
It’s not the only haunted home in the UK though, and should you be looking, haunted houses go up for sale more often than you’d think. Although perhaps not all as reportedly haunted as this one. But it’s not that surprising really, given the disruption spirits that stick around can cause. I hope the current owner finds the buyer she’s looking for soon and that the next owner is less effected by the antics of the spirits that remain stuck within it’s walls.
Kate xxx
P.S. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this property on a Ghost Hunting TV Series, if anyone knows which show and episode please let me know 🙂
Horror and Fantasy Author – Also writing as K.T. McQueen. Love Western Horror, cowboy boots, my cactus Collin, & my Demon Cat.
Moths – I hate moths, the way they flutter at your face!
