Groping Octopus Ghost

A British grandmother claimed that she cannot sleep at night as she is plagued by a groping, octopus-like ghost that is haunting her apartment.

Doris Birch, 73, said the ghost began haunting her home in Herne Bay, on England's southeastern coast, four months ago.

"It's like an octopus," she told local newspaper the Herne Bay Times. "It started four months ago. I was lying in bed when I felt this creepy pair of hands. I kicked frantically, and it went away. Next time it came, I hurled the duvet on to the floor."

She added, "But the ghost keeps coming back. I've tried sleeping without the duvet. But it started shaking my mattress. I even threw the mattress off the bed and bought a new one, but it has made no difference."

Birch has turned to her vicar and local ghost hunters to help rid her of the unwelcome guest.

"I told the vicar, and he said it is a lost spirit," she said. "What I want to know is, why has it got lost in my flat?"

She continued, "People are going to think I am [crazy], but it is as real as the day to me. I'm not lonely. I love living alone. But this is very creepy and is giving me the jitters. It's harassing me. I need to call in the Ghostbusters."

Hugh-Nigel Sheehan, Birch's local Methodist minister, said, "I was approached by Mrs. Birch, but I fear I am not in a position to help. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I have no expertise in this at all."

The 73-year-old said: `It's like an octopus. I was lying in bed when I felt this creepy pair of hands. 

`I kicked frantically and it went away. 

'I've tried sleeping without the duvet. But it started shaking my mattress. 

`I even threw the mattress off the bed and bought a new one but it has made no difference.

`This is very creepy and is giving me the jitters. It's harassing me. 

'I need to call in the Ghostbusters.' 

Mrs Birch, who lives alone, says she has consulted a vicar who believes the disturbances are being caused by a `lost spirit', according to the Canterbury Times.

The former nursing home assistant has had a promise from a local husband-and-wife ghost hunting team to send the poltergeist packing.

Spirit medium Ray Herne says he will draw the ghost into him while his wife Beryl will capture it in a `vortex of light' and send it to the `other side'. 

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Methodist Minister Hugh-Nigel Sheehan of the nearby United Church confirmed he had been approached by Mrs Birch but had been unable to help. 

Larissa Laing, head of Canterbury City Council's Head of Housing said: 'The council has a duty of care and will respond to any complaints or concerns experienced by our tenants. 

'Therefore even though we have received no similar reports from residents living in Margaret Court I'm more than happy to meet Doris Birch and discuss her situation.' 

Poltergeist activity has often been believed to be the work of malicious ghosts.

The word poltergeist comes from the German words poltern 'to make a noise' and geist 'spirit'.

The term itself literally means 'noisy ghost' and victims often report inanimate objects being picked up and thrown, noises such as knocking, rapping and human voices - or even physical attacks.


http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/offbeat/british-grandmother-plagued-by-groping-octopus-ghost-dpgonc-20111121-ch_16053588