Couple claim ‘evil spirit’ drove them out of home

A MEDIUM has been called in to cleanse a “haunted” house after a young couple claimed that an “evil spirit” forced them out of their dream home.

Six months’ pregnant Laura Burke and her fiance Richie Hewitt vowed last night never to return to 18 Hollywood Estate, off the Blarney Road on Cork’s northside.

“I can’t move back in,” a terrified Laura said yesterday during her first visit to the house in three weeks.

“My son Kyle can’t come near the place. He was thrown out of his bed and thrown across the room. That was the final straw. He doesn’t want to come back in because he’s afraid of being thrown out of his bed again by ‘the eyes’ – that’s what he calls it. I’ll never bring a child in to this house. I really am petrified.”

The couple and Kyle, five, are now staying with Laura’s mother, Aileen, nearby. They pleaded with Cork City Council to find them a new house.

“We’ve sent 11 letters in to the council but they are not listening to us,” Richie said.

Cork City Council housing official Kieran O’Donovan was with the couple yesterday.

“We were made aware of the situation last week and because of the extraordinary circumstances, we are treating the case sympathetically,” he said.

“But there is no transfer request with the council at the moment. The volume of alleged evidence is not enough to warrant a transfer. And we don’t take alleged paranormal activity into account when deciding on such cases.”

Hundreds of people arrived in the estate yesterday to view the “haunted house”. Gardaí were on duty to control traffic.

The white three-bedroom house is the last of a terrace of four. Its ESB meter box has been vandalised and several windows smashed since the couple moved out. It has since been boarded up and made secure.

The couple moved in last August, almost two years after its previous owner Adrian Payton moved out and sold it to the council. He lived there for 26 years and said he never encountered anything unusual.

Neighbours said the house was vacant for several months before the couple moved in and they said gangs gained access and held drink and drug parties there. There are also rumours that some gangs may have used a Ouija board or held a seance inside.

Laura said the strange activity started a few weeks ago with “small things” including:

* Items like keys or clothes going missing.

* The cooker would switch itself on.

* Water would run from the kitchen tap and the sink would fill up.

* Cushions on the couch would flip over.

She said the activity became more violent in recent weeks, including:

* Glasses flying off the kitchen top.

* Cupboard doors opening and closing and the contents flying across the room.

* An ashtray flew off the mantle piece and nearly hit a friend.

* A chair began to shake violently when Richie’s mother, Imelda, prayed in the kitchen.

The couple called in two priests who have celebrated Masses in the home, and blessed the property, but the problems continued.

Adrian Payton visited the couple and said he couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Myself and Richie were in the kitchen and the next thing, a drawer flew open. There was no explanation,” he said. “Then this heavy wooden kitchen table just lifted off the ground – it was done so gently. It just came up, nice and easy, and came down very, very angry, with a big thud. I reckon what’s in here is evil. So many people have seen so many things, we can’t all be going mad.”

Richie said he and Laura fought to get the house and he insisted last night that they have no reason to lie.

“When we came in, this house was a shambles,” he said.

“The work that I and Laura’s grandfather put in was unbelievable.

“We had a grand back yard, the neighbours are lovely, the kids loved it. The school is only around the corner.”

Laura said they didn’t ask for all this attention.

“We tried to keep it as quiet as possible. But this is ridiculous. I grew up in this area. It’s heartbreaking. It was our dream house but we have been driven out by an evil spirit,” she said.