Ep 117: The Black Monk of Pontefract Part 1
Above image is from the 30 East Drive website, showing a dark shadow outside of Phillip's bedroom, some think might be the Black Monk himself. Photo by house visitor Andy E.
“You’ve got the Devil in this house!”
– Maude Peerce, Joe Pritchard’s sister after spending one night at 30 East Drive. From the book, Poltergeist: A Classic Study in Destructive Hauntings by Colin Wilson
Location:
30 East Drive, Pontefract, England. Where a 1950s style, 3-bedroom "Council House" was home to the Pritchard family, along with a very active poltergeist spirit Jean Pritchard eventually named "Fred" or as he is more notoriously known, "The Black Monk."
Background:
The quote, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days" is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. We assume the esteemed Mr. Franklin was speaking only of human guests, but it could also apply to the subject of tonight's show. Because the uninvited guest of 30 East Drive in Pontefract, England would prove to be more than an annoying visitor oblivious to hints or uncaring that they'd overstayed their welcome, it would show itself as a threat to the family's safety and sanity. In the mid-1960s and 70s, the Pritchard family who lived at that address experienced a visitor who was not only unwelcome but unseen, a capricious prankster whose sense of humor was offset by its sometimes vicious and violent power. Human beings have an astounding ability to endure hardships they are powerless against and eventually, this poltergeist presence came to be somewhat accepted, with the mother of the family, Jean, giving it the nickname "Fred." But what was this force in supernatural terms? Was Fred merely poltergeist energy in the general definition, a collective of entities, a demon, or the vengeful spirit of a condemned man? A local legend that a 16th century Cluniac Monk was tried and executed for a horrific crime on those grounds is the source for that last idea. Some have seen a dark, shadowy figure wearing a black monk's robe around the property and it has reinforced that notion. If that is the case, perhaps the Pritchards were the unwelcome visitors to the home of "The Black Monk."
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CREDITS:
Episode 117: The Black Monk of Pontefract Part 1. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Scott Philbrook; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2018 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.