She Bought a House and Something Drove Her Out

Vanessa Mitchell had barely moved into her new house when she saw a tall, dark figure standing inside. She didn’t recognize the man, and she was certain he wasn’t supposed to be there.

It was an unsettling welcome to a home she had been excited about buying. But the strange visitor was only the beginning.

The House Had a Dark History

Mitchell bought the small house in St Osyth, Essex, in the mid-2000s. It stood on Colchester Road, beside a pub and across from the old priory.

From outside, it looked like an ordinary village home. But locals knew it by another name: The Cage.

The building had once served as a village lockup, where people could be held overnight or while waiting to appear before a magistrate. It was also linked to stories about the St Osyth witch trials of 1582.

One of the women accused during those trials was Ursula Kemp, a local healer who was eventually executed for witchcraft. According to local tradition, she had been held at The Cage, although exactly where she was imprisoned has never been confirmed.

Mitchell knew the house had a frightening reputation when she bought it. She liked the property anyway and hoped to make it a comfortable home.

That proved much harder than she expected.

Footsteps Came From the Stairs

At first, Mitchell noticed strange noises. She heard footsteps on the staircase when nobody was walking around and doors opening or slamming without anyone touching them.

Sometimes the door handles rattled violently. On other occasions, doors that had been properly latched suddenly burst open.

She also began seeing figures inside the house. One looked like a woman carrying a wooden bowl filled with herbs, while another was a tall, dark man whose face she could make out clearly.

Friends who visited started having strange experiences too. One reported seeing a woman standing in an upstairs window, while three other people heard a tremendous crash coming from the same area.

Mitchell found herself constantly checking rooms and trying to work out where the noises were coming from. She never knew when something else might happen.

Things Started Flying Around the Kitchen

Before long, the disturbances became more physical. Mitchell and her visitors described objects suddenly moving across rooms. Soft drink cans and packets of sugar were among the things that reportedly flew through the kitchen, and one incident involved an object striking Mitchell’s cousin on the head.

There were also reports of people being scratched, pushed or poked by something they couldn’t see. Mitchell said she had been knocked to the floor, and on one occasion she was pushed while pregnant.

Something even stranger reportedly happened in the hallway. Mitchell discovered spots of what appeared to be blood on the floor, with no obvious source.

The house was becoming frightening enough that she dreaded being there alone. Having friends around helped, but eventually those friends moved out, leaving Mitchell to deal with the activity herself.

She had already experienced enough to make most people want to leave. But it was something involving her young son that finally changed everything.

A Man Appeared Beside Her Baby

Mitchell had a baby boy, and his safety became her biggest concern. The strange activity had continued throughout her pregnancy, and she was increasingly worried about what might happen around him.

One day, she entered the room where her son was sleeping and saw a male figure standing over his cot. Mitchell was terrified. She had endured years of footsteps, moving objects and frightening encounters, but seeing something so close to her child was more than she could accept.

She decided they had to leave.

Walking away wasn’t easy. Mitchell had bought the house because she wanted to live there, and leaving meant giving up the home she had worked to own. But she no longer felt safe raising her son inside it.

Other People Had Strange Experiences Too

After moving out, Mitchell tried renting the property to other people. That didn’t work out particularly well.

Two sets of tenants left after relatively short stays, and at least one reported experiencing unusual activity. Mitchell eventually decided she couldn’t keep renting the house as an ordinary family home. Instead, she began allowing paranormal investigation groups to spend nights inside.

The arrangement attracted people who were eager to experience the activity for themselves. Investigators brought cameras, recording equipment and other devices, hoping to discover what had frightened the previous occupants.

Some reported hearing footsteps or watching doors open unexpectedly. Others described being scratched or suddenly overcome by powerful feelings of fear or anger.

One experienced investigator said he became so frightened inside the house that his legs seemed unable to support him. After his team left the building, he broke down crying. The accounts soon caught the attention of researcher John Fraser.

A Researcher Collected the Witness Accounts

Fraser, a member of the Society for Psychical Research, began a detailed investigation in 2015. He interviewed Mitchell, former residents and people who had visited the property.

His report gathered accounts from roughly 25 witnesses. He was interested in finding out whether people who had visited at different times were describing similar experiences.

Several details kept appearing in their stories. The staircase was frequently mentioned, as were doors suddenly opening and people feeling that something had touched or scratched them.

Fraser also examined reports of figures appearing around the house. The descriptions varied, but some witnesses had reported similar sightings without being present for each other’s experiences.

By then, The Cage had attracted enough attention to become one of Britain’s best-known haunted homes. Television crews had visited, paranormal groups were booking overnight stays, and Mitchell had even written about her experiences. Yet she still owned the house she couldn’t bring herself to live in.

The House Went Up for Sale

In 2016, Mitchell put The Cage on the market for £290,000. By February, it had already been listed for six months without attracting a suitable buyer.

Mitchell told the BBC that she had experienced physical attacks and seen ghosts regularly while living there. She had reached the point where she wanted someone else to take over the property. But she had one firm condition.

She refused to sell the house to a family with children because she believed it was too dangerous.

The estate agent began looking for someone in the paranormal business instead.