The Cage, St Osyth

The following article by Sam Balls was published in the Essex Chronicle, 1 February 2016. It is entitled ‘Britain’s most haunted house and former medieval prison is up for sale in Essex for £180,000’

Ghost hunters can snap up Britain’s most haunted house after the Essex-based creepy cottage was put on the market for £180,000.

Vanessa Mitchell, 43, from St Osyth, near Clacton-on-Sea, claims her house is haunted by a satanic goat among other ghouls and now wants rid of the property, also known as The Cage.

Vanessa, who works in sales, revealed she has seen blood spatters appear on the floor of the house, which was formally a medieval prison and hosted one of England’s most famous witch hunts, in which eight women died.

“I honestly believe the house is cursed, I have lived there for years but for me seeing a tall dark figure standing between me and my son’s cot was the final straw for me,” she told the Daily Mail.

“Footage from the past couple of weeks shows a satanic goat, which just reaffirms that the place is haunted by something malevolent.

“There’s something evil there in there, something demonic, whatever it is that’s keeping the other spirits trapped inside.

Vanessa first bought the Cage for £148,000 in 2004, when she was unaware of its haunted history.

She added: “Another incident happened while I was brushing my teeth something gave me a hard smack on my backside when there was just me in the house.

“It wasn’t a tap it was a full blown whack, it was such a vicious act and there wasn’t a person in sight.

“While I had company with me in the house I felt safe but when I was left on my own I couldn’t stand it and never wanted to go home; it was truly ruling my life.

“Some nights I was so scared that I’d sleep with my head under the bed sheets and all the bedrooms lights on.”