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Paranormal record / 2005

The South Shields Poltergeist

December 2005 · South Shields, South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
22Thinly documented Paranormal Other 23 sources 1 videos

December 2005. In an ordinary house in South Shields, a young family began to notice small things. Taps running on their own. Doors left open. Belongings vanishing and turning up in odd places. Then it grew. Toys spoke in a low voice. Knives were thrown. A rocking horse was found hanging from the loft hatch by its reins. Marc, one of the householders, felt something rake his back, and thirteen scratches appeared within moments. By summer 2006, two investigators, Michael J. Hallowell and Darren W. Ritson, were in the house. They say they saw it too. Their book made the case famous. Twenty years on, it is still argued over.

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Context

An ordinary house in South Shields. A couple in their twenties, known in print only as Marc and Marianne, lived there with Marianne's son Robert, who was about three years old. Their real names have been kept private ever since.

Sources (23, most influential first)

  1. The South Shields Poltergeist · The History Press · Press, book, documentary · book
  2. The South Shields Poltergeist: One Family's Fight Against an Invisible Intruder (2008 edition) · Amazon · Press, book, documentary · book
  3. Twenty Years of the South Shields Poltergeist · The Ghost Geek (Hayley Stevens)· 2025-12-04 · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
  4. Fortean Times #465 · Fortean Times· 2025-12 · Press, book, documentary · news
  5. Uncharted features and dynamics of the South Shields poltergeist · ResearchGate (JSPR 86(3))· 2022-07 · Academic / paper of record · academic