The Tape Library - Archive of the Paranormal & the Unexplained - The True Horror of Lindley Street & the Bridgeport Poltergeist

Episode Date: February 9, 2024

Join us as we revisit the bone-chilling saga of the Bridgeport Poltergeist. A paranormal event witnessed by dozens of emergency service operatives and crowds of thousands of onlookers. Discover the spine-chilling encounters that rocked a community, the controversial role of Ed and Lorraine Warren, and the perplexing twist of official declarations conflicting with the testimony of police officers. Uncover the truth behind the Lindley Street Haunting in this nerve-wracking, must-listen episode. Do you have a supernatural story to share? Drop me an email at [e-mail] You can check out The Tape Library in video form at www.youtube.com/thetapelibrary Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thetapelibrary Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Tape-Library/100094332411836/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thetapelibrary Archive of the Paranormal, the strange and the unexplained. The Tape Library brings you the creepiest stories, to keep you horror junkies up all night. True scary stories of ghosts, cryptids, UFOs and true crime. Additional footage and audio from Evanto, Singularity, Midjourney and Pexels. All other footage used under fair use. CHAPTERS 00:00 Lindley Street Ghost 03:46 The Goodin Family 09:25 The Haunting Begins 13:21 Escalation 15:20 The Weekend From Hell 35:54 The Warrens 46:00 The Bridgeport Hoax 52:03 A Paranormal Investigation 57:14 Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 18, 1974, Jerry Solfin was sitting alone in the police station office late one evening. He had been asked to wait in there, tucked away from prying eyes. After some time an inspector clerk entered the room, holding a large box of documents under his arms. Clark gave Jerry a warm smile and welcomed him, apologising for the wait. Jerry had not expected such a warm welcome from the Bridgeport Police Station, but it quickly became apparent that he had friends in the force that were just as keen to get to the bottom of what was going on as he was. Clark slid the box over the table to Jerry.

As Jerry started to flick through the pages and pages of reports, Clark told him that while the official declaration had been convenient and even necessary to get the community back under control, he in fact thought the case had been dismissed too quickly. And in fact, since going through the many reports that had been submitted by his colleagues, he didn't think what was going on in his city should be so easily dismissed as a hoax. Jerry listened intently. Clark said he would set up a room where Jerry could interview.

the officers who witnessed the going zom personally. But they would have to be discreet. Clark had but one request for his help. You can help me by keeping the press away. Let's call it case closed, and we'll do this very quietly. With that, Jerry Solfyn, a parapsychologist, had been given full access to the department. Despite the case being declared a hoax, the police department were just as secretly keen as everyone else to get to the bottom of what was happening in that small bungalow on Lindley Street.

Welcome to the tape library. I'm going to keep this intro short because I think I've got a really good one for you all tonight. This wasn't a case I was super familiar with before I started piecing this video together. and what I took as just being another haunted house tale ended up being so much more. This story has been dismissed by many as a hoax, but there is so much interesting information, so many credible witnesses,

and so many possible explanations that it was such a joy to delve into. What makes it so interesting is not just the quality of the witnesses involved, but the sheer amount of them. police officers, priests, firemen and a crowd of onlookers all witnessed varying degrees of paranormal activity in this small normal looking home. I think this might genuinely be one of the most convincing paranormal cases I've ever had the pleasure to research. If you haven't already then please do hit the like button. Click subscribe and once you're ready we can get into it. Make yourself all.

drink, dim the lights and get comfortable. It's time to jump into one of the most well-documented hauntings of all time. This is the Bridgeport Hortigergeist. The year was 1960, a newlywed couple Jerry and Laura Gooding had just purchased their first home, a small bungalow-style house in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Measuring 738 feet, the house was modest, but the perfect starting place for what they hoped would be a long, happy future together. And in the beginning, it was. Jerry had grown up in the Catholic faith, with aspirations of becoming a priest, but the Great Depression saw Jerry put aside his dreams to get to work as quickly as possible, starting out in the Air Force, and then becoming

a maintenance man, the role he continued in for decades. By both his family and the members of his community, he was seen as a kind, generous and supportive figure. His wife, Laura, on the other hand, was a little less outgoing. She grew up in a loving Native American family, but didn't spend too much time surrounded by other children, growing up a quiet and shy child as a result. Just one year after moving into their new home, the Goodins were blessed with the birth of their baby son, who they named Gerard Goodin Jr. Everything seemed to be a new home. Everything seemed to be a gooding's Everything seemed to be fitting into place. Jerry's job was keeping them comfortably afloat. They loved their new home and the couple doted over their son. They were loving attentive parents.

It wasn't until one day when a neighbour asked why Jerry Jr. appeared to always have his head hung low, that they grew concerned. When he was six months old, the couple took him to a doctor, who unfortunately diagnosed the boy with him. cerebral palsy, while a shocking and obviously challenging change to their life. The Goodins dedicated every aspect of their life to looking after their son. Jerry Jr. would go everywhere with the Goodings, who would never hire a babysitter. They would scrimp and save to get him all the resources he would need to live a more comfortable life. Despite his disability, Jerry Jr. was often described as a very happy child,

full of life and always laughing. However, tragedy struck in 1967, when Jerry Jr. caught a cold. He quickly began to deteriorate and unfortunately passed away at such a young age. Losing their son who had been their entire world had been a horrifying shock for the good ins. The couple had a photograph taken of the boy in his casket and took home the artificial flowers that saturday. top his coffin during the funeral service. At the burial, in what some would consider a rather rash question, local priest, Father Grimes, asked a couple if they would ever consider adopting.

The question has an almost haunting quality to it, because just one day after they buried Jerry Jr. Laura found herself in hospital. She was forced to have a hysterectomy due to the discovery of a tumour. The operation would save Laura from cancer, but obviously took the couple's ability to have their own children away from them. For six months, the grief was overwhelming, and the couple would visit Jerry Jr's grave daily, even creating a little shrine in their living room, with the casket photo of the young boy. However, the couple stayed strong, and after some months, they approached Father Grimes and asked about the prospect of adopting. There was such a love for the good-ins at 25 separate people,

Neighbours, friends and family members all wrote to the adoption agency, telling them what great parents the Goodins would make. Eventually, in May 1968, they received a call telling them there was a four-year-old Native American girl who was currently living in Canada, looking for a home. The Goodings didn't think twice and travelled straight to Ontario, an 18-hour drive, to meet her. that was when they met Marcia. Marcia ran straight into the Gooding's arms, and the couple instantly fell in love with the young girl. Apparently Marcia's birth family already consisted of nine children, and there were reports of neglect,

including that Marcia had been tied to a chair for long periods of time. Due to the fact that Laura had a Native American heritage, the adoption agency decided it would make a nice match. They brought her home straight away, and Jerry even converted the large wardrobe in their bedroom into a separate bedroom for Marcia. However, as much as the couple loved Marcia, a combination of their experience with Jerry Jr., and likely Laura's own upbringing, led to them being particularly overprotective parents. Laura would only allow Marcia to play with other children if they came to their house, a fact that Laura later herself claimed, was an issue due to a lack of children Marcia's age in their neighbourhood. Laura walked her to and from school.

Marcia quickly became quite a lonely child, who would often be seen playing monopoly alone, against herself in the family's living room. Laura wouldn't let the girl out of her sight through fear that something might happen to her, and she would lose another child to tragedy. Soon after Marcia was welcomed into the good, home, they started to notice the odd strange occurrence. Nothing that would make you overly concerned.

Small items would disappear and then later reappear in unexpected places, something that over the years was chalked up to simple absent-mindedness. A year after Marcia moved there, Rosemary, the young daughter of the Hoffman's, who were close friends of the Goodins, would come to play with Marcia. One day the pair had been sat in the living room together when suddenly Rose Marie ran into the kitchen to tell the adults the sofa they had been sat on and started to float. The adults laughed it off

and asked how Marcia had reacted to this. Rose Marie said she had just sat there, smiling. Often Rosemary would come round to find Marcia sat alone talking to her large collection of teddy bears. one day Rose Marie asked who Marcia was talking to, to which she replied it was her grandfather. She could talk to him whenever she wanted,

but he was not happy that she had been taken away from her birth home. In November of 1971, the Goodin's phoned the local police lieutenant to complain that something strange was happening in their home. They had begun to hear a strange pounding against the walls of their house as though someone was throwing rocks at the walls. But any time they went to investigate, there would be no one outside. The pounding would start off slow and quiet, but gradually build over time.

They didn't believe anything supernatural was the cause here. They simply wanted the city to step in and figure out what was happening. The sound would continue for several weeks before stopping. But then, exactly one year later, in the world. November of 1972, Lieutenant Coco would receive another call from the Goodin's. The sound was back. One of Jerry Gooding's neighbours was a police officer named John Holsworth, who agreed to come round one night and record the sounds to let the city hear exactly what was going on. So many possibilities were explored. Jerry at one point thought the neighbour was pranking him,

but they moved away and the sound continued. Fire departments, city officials and police officers all got involved in the case, but could find no explanation for the banging. There was some suggestion that nearby construction could somehow be at fault. That was also ruled out. The noises would occasionally stop for a couple of weeks before coming back with a vengeance though. After several months it would finally stop, before starting all over again the next November, like clockwork.

At times it would sound not like it was coming from outside, but instead was originating from inside the walls themselves. Despite going on for several years, no one could explain it. Meanwhile, school was not proving to be the happiest of places either for Marcia. She suffered viciously at the hands. of bullies. When one boy attacked her, she was left in a back brace and forced to take a significant period of time off of school.

The Gooding's quickly decided she would not be going back to that school and arranged for her to start being homeschooled, at least temporarily, while they looked for an alternative. That is when everything in the Gooding's life changed. It started simply enough. Early one autumn night, as they were being plagued by the banging on the walls, Laura heard three distinct knocks on their front door. She opened it to find no one there. Simply thinking she must have mistaken the wall banging for a knock,

she turned to head back inside, before noticing a series of wet footprints on the porch. leading up to the door. Strangely, it was a dry night. Then more strange things began to happen. Doors would open by themselves. They would turn away and turn back to notice the kitchen chairs weren't quite in the same place they had been moments before.

And strangest of all, Jerry became convinced that when he entered one of the rooms, he had seen a person's hand pressed up against the glass of the window. What made this so unsettling was even in the briefest of glimpses before it moved away. He was sure there was no arm or body attached to the hand. On November 21st of 1974, the Gooding family had the Holsworths round for dinner. when everyone suddenly heard the sound of glass smashing. They all rushed on the master bedroom

to find the inside pane of glass had been smashed, leaving broken glass all around the bedroom. The outside pain, however, was untouched. That night the pounding on the walls grew to a volume it had never reached before. But it would be the following day when the Bridgeport haunting would really kick into gear.

Friday, November 22nd, 1974. Day one of the weekend from hell. Jerry returned home from a long day at work and joined Laura and Marcia at the dinner table. After they had eaten, the three headed to the living room to relax, with Marcia sitting on the floor and beginning a puzzle. The door to the master bedroom was closed,

but Jerry noticed something. He turned the TV down. He was sure he could hear something. I wasn't sure what it was. When they entered the master bedroom, the window shade on the broken window had rolled up on its own. Knocking the curtains down in the process,

Jerry hung the curtains back up and turned to leave. When this time, the entire curtain rod fell to the floor. They returned to the living room, an unspoken but seemingly mutual confused look, was passed between Laura and Jerry. Just half an hour later,

the same thing happened, only this time in the kitchen. Then the knocks started up again, gentle, slow, rhythmic knocks on the wall, building up until they got faster and faster and louder and louder. almost as if something was growing angrier Marcia was frozen to the floor becoming increasingly aware that despite these sounds being quite common in their home her parents were

obviously beginning to become afraid then it just stopped the entire house fell into an almost eerie silence all three went to bed that night uneasy but hoping things would be clearer in the morning. Saturday the 23rd, day two. The family spent most of Saturday out of the home, visiting family and attending mass. They returned about 4.30 in the afternoon. Marcia was asleep and Jerry carried her to her bedroom. Jerry immediately noticed something amiss in Marcia's room.

The television that was kept on a high-up shelf in her room, was laying face down on her bed. It hadn't been like that when they left. Jerry placed Marcia in her bed and put the TV back in place. As he went to the kitchen to tell Laura what just happened, he saw the dishes floating up, out of the sink, before flying across the room, smashing themselves on the walls of the kitchen.

Laura screamed out in confusion. Jerry crouched down to pick up the broken plates when suddenly a knife block flew across the room, narrowly missing him. The pair retreated to the kitchen doorway and stood in silence. Nothing further appeared to be happening. Confused and more than a little scared, they began to tidy up the mess.

When Jerry headed back to the car to grab the remaining groceries, Laura witnessed the kitchen table. slowly rise up off the ground, and then flip over, throwing groceries everywhere, before resting itself upside down on the chairs. As she backed away, the refrigerator behind her did much the same thing, slowly rising up a good six inches off the ground, before turning a few inches to the right and returning to the ground. Again, moving away from the fridge,

Laura found herself standing directly in front of the television in the kitchen, which proceeded to also flip over. Crashing into Laura's right foot and smashing two of her toes in the process, Jerry returned into his home to the sounds of his wife screaming. He helped to lift the TV, freeing Laura's now blood-soaked foot. The couple bandaged Laura's foot and waited. What they were waiting for they couldn't say. Maybe just to see what would happen next.

But seemingly whatever had caused all the items in the kitchen to fall, it stopped. They spoke of a potential earthquake, or maybe the ground underneath their home shifting. It didn't feel like random objects falling, felt controlled, deliberate, and timed. Later Jerry entered the kitchen on his own to turn the light off. when he felt a presence. As he followed with his eyes where he had the vague sense of where this presence was, he noticed the kitchen table move again slightly, almost as though someone had bumped into it.

He quickly turned off the light and returned to his family in the living room. The remainder of the evening was relatively peaceful, until it came time to go to bed. Jerry was in the bathroom, shaving, when Marcia let out an almighty scream. He rushed into her room to find the TV had fallen back onto her bed, landing straight on her ankle. Terrified of what was going on,

the family decided to stay up later and watch TV in the living room. At one point during the evening, Marcia plucked up the courage to head to the bathroom on her own. Again, Jerry and Laura quickly heard the screams of their daughter. They rushed to the bathroom, to find it completely trashed. The rod that held up the shower curtain had come crashing down, narrowly missing Marcia's head.

Sunday. November 24th. Day three. Upon waking, Jerry once again found the kitchen in the mess. The table had been flipped in the refrigerator, heavy dragged to a point where it covered the back door. He hadn't heard anything all night. Jerry headed to the bathroom to talk to Laura

when a crucifix and picture of Jesus they were both nailed to the walls ripped off before his very eyes and fell to the bedroom floor this was quickly followed by another crash in Marcia's room where a large piece of furniture had fallen on her bed narrowly missing her as she slept they followed the crashing and bang into the living room where they saw all three recliner seats moving around

even floating at times before their very eyes. The television was turned on, tuned just to static, but strangely appeared to be playing the distorted sound of a doorbell, ringing over and over again. In the cold light of day, seeing all of this before them, it wasn't as easy to dismiss as explainable as it had felt the previous night. Laura quickly phoned their friends the Hoffman's and cried down the phone that

strange things are happening here. Jerry walked Marcia and Laura out to the front porch while they waited for Harold Hoffman to arrive. They spotted Janet Holesworth walking her family's dog. Before they could call out to her, Laura let out a blood-curdling scream that drew Janet's attention. There on the patio, The green sofa they left out there was hovering a foot in the air just for a moment.

Before slamming back into the ground with force, Jerry yelled for Janet to go get her father, and Officer John Holsworth was soon stood on the porch with the family. Jerry, saying words that he couldn't quite believe were coming out of his mouth, told John there's some kind of evil force wrecking at home. John told the family to wait outside while he went to investigate. He was inside for just a few seconds before he lit a cigarettes and asked Jerry, What the hell happened here? The entire living room was an estate.

Furniture was flipped. Dishes smashed. He walked around the house, realizing every single room had been totally destroyed. Jerry shouted for John's attention. As he turned, he noticed the TV he had done. walked past was now at a different angle. He inspected it but couldn't find anything unusual. But as he turned away the TV shifted back into its original position. Moments later when in the kitchen the fridge jumped nearly two feet, hitting John in the

arm. Harold Hoffman arrived at this time and his wife had put a call into the police which saw officers Carl Leonezzi and Joe Tomek arriving at the scene a little after 10am. They were welcomed into the house by a crying Laura, but the pair made a mental note that their couple's daughter seemed to be quite happily watching cartoons in the living room. The officers assumed they were dealing with a burglary, but the good ins quickly explained otherwise. Officer Tomek, listening to their story,

picked up one of the fallen TVs, but less than a minute later, he saw it was lying face down again. He then placed it on the wooden unit it originally sat on. Tomek couldn't believe his eyes, when he witnessed the TV, lift off the unit, and hang there in the air. He walked over, gobsmacked, looking around it for any signs of wires or anything that could be holding it up. He suddenly stepped back when the TV began to swing from side to side, before turning and slowly returning back to its original place. That was when Officer Tomek radio back to the station, informing them that they were going to need backup.

Next, officers George Wilson and Leroy Lawson arrived at the scene. While Tomek was explaining what he had seen as the four men stood in the kitchen, the two new officers witnessed the fridge behind Tomek moving. They said it floated about six inches off the ground and then just dropped. Weirdly, it had done so without making a single sound. Jerry and Laura were terrified and absolutely distraught that so many of their belongings had been destroyed. But Marcia, she displayed no emotions at all in the eyes of Officer Tomek.

Tomek called an ambulance crew to come and look at Laura's injured foot. He also asked for a fire crew to come and inspect the building itself. As soon as he was off the call, all four men rushed to a crashing sound in Marcia's room. Another piece of large furniture had been tipped onto the floor, but no one had been in the room at the time. As they backed into the hall, a golden crucifix that hung on the wall, suddenly flew off, hitting Officer Lawson in the chest. This was enough for the young police officer, who announced that he had had enough, took himself off to him. his patrol car and locked the doors. Quickly, three fire units turned up the property with

ten men in total. The house was quickly becoming very full of people. Assistant fire chief Paul McKenna said the family could stay at a Red Cross shelter overnight while they got to the bottom of what was going on. But Laura said they would stay with family instead. It didn't take long for the fireman to witness the television full face down once again. Then Jerry spotted the pink plastic roses that sat in a vase in the kitchen, moving around. The same flowers that had sat atop, Jerry Jr.'s coughing. That was when he noticed it for the first time. The smell of sulphur, filling the air.

The arrival of fire crews, ambulances and police officers had obviously not gone unnoticed, and a small crowd began to gather outside the home. Deputy Fire Chiefs Zweilin phoned the station's chaplain, Father Doyle, and explained to him what was happening, starting the story by convincing the priest that he was not drunk. Marcia was sitting in one of the recliners when in front of multiple witnesses

it forcefully and with speed began jumping between sitting and reclined, shaking the poor girl until she leapt from the chair screaming. leading Laura to cry out to no one in particular. Evil spirits are trying to kill us. Father Doyle arrived and the first thing he did was tried to force the recliner back while sitting in it. He was found he was unable to do so without using the handle on the site. He then claimed he felt a heaviness inside the house,

claiming he was convinced there was an evil presence in the home. He began to perform a blessing, only to see his holy water move away. from where he was sat by an unseen force, something that was also witnessed by Officer Tomic. He quickly got on the phone to her father, Tribo, an exorcist. Laura was taken off to hospital to have her foot looked at. Meanwhile, police officers were starting to convince each other that they were all losing their minds, when they started to claim that they had heard the family's pet cat talking. several of the officers were now leaving and refusing to re-enter the property

Marcia, on the other hand, was becoming quite popular with the officers, though, and she was enjoying the attention as they chatted and joked around with her. One even convincing her to pull a prank on another officer by claiming her cat had told her the officer's brother's name. Things would begin to get out of hand, however, when the good inn's neighbour, Mary Pascarella arrived. She had an interest in the world of the unexplained and said she had knowledge around the subject of poltergeists, which she was convinced could explain the events that were taking place.

After a failed attempt to see if Marcia was somehow causing the events using psychic powers, Mary returned home and placed a phone call to a couple whose lecture she had recently attended. That couple was Edel Lorraine Warren. Now, before we go any further, yes I know. Every time we feature the Warrens, I get a slew of comments, either condemning them as charlatans, who shouldn't be treated seriously, or I get told off by people who think they are experts, who should be treated with the utmost respect.

If you are not a fan of the Warren's Obe, please don't give up on this one. Their involvement is minimal, and this case really does not paint them in a great light. I'd also hate for you to miss out, and some of what comes next. Ed, Lorraine, a priest they worked with named Father Bill, and a 21-year-old seminary student named Paulino, all arrived together at the Gooding's property by lunchtime. On top of this, Barbara Carter, Marcia's tutor, had arrived, and the crowd outside the property had grown larger and larger, as news had began to spread about exactly what was happening. Laura had returned from the hospital as the family got the warrens up to speed on what was going on. Jerry and Laura had never heard of the warrants, but were thankful that so many people were taking them seriously. Ed asked Paul Wino to stay at Marcia's side the entire time they were there.

He said children are often the people to watch when it came to poltergeist cases. Either they were responsible for faking the entire thing, or they would be the focus. of the entity's plans. Paul found her in the basement. To his surprise, he found her with two police officers who were trying to get her to admit that she was behind the entire thing. Meanwhile, upstairs, police officers, firemen and priests were all witnessing more and more items falling to the ground at random intervals. One of the officers asked Ed Warren to talk on the phone with police superintendent Joseph Walsh, who was becoming increasingly agitated. that whatever nonsense in his eyes was taking place there was eating up his valuable resources

Once again Marcia was sat in the recliner when a number of police officers Saw the chair start to rise up towards the ceiling before crashing to the floor Marcia smacking her head as it did so It took two men to lift the heavy seat back into place more and more items toppled over Nox were heard on the front front door when no one was there, and the familiar banging began to be heard once again in the walls. The fire department had checked the foundations, the cellar, joists, and even the window seals, but could find no faults with the property. They even went to the nearby construction site at St Vincent's Hospital,

but that offered up no explanation. A pair of plumbing and electrical inspectors arrived. They too could see no faults, but became witness to the phenomena when they saw the refrigerator glide some six foot across the kitchen. One of the police officers turned to them and said, Leave now and keep your mouth shut about what you just saw. This is a police matter. By mid-afternoon, at a loss thought they could actually do, the police began to leave. Officer Tomek saw all the opportunities that slip into Marcia's bedroom. on his own and used it as an opportunity to perform a test. He thought to himself,

if you can hear me, move something. Immediately, multiple items in the room began to shake. For some reason, this was the event that he felt he couldn't explain to anyone. He thought it would be a career ender to claim that he had somehow communicated with an unseen entity. So he kept this story to himself for nearly four decades. Meanwhile, Ed Warren had been busy. Unknown to the Gooding family at the time, he had been making calls to news stations all around the country. By 4pm, television news crews were starting to camp up outside the Gooding's home, and their story was being featured in news programs nationwide. The media frenzy saw the crowd outside grow to 2,000 people, forcing the police to set up crowd control and have men stationed

there at all times. The crowd at times apparently growing to as large as 10,000. Murmars rippled through the crowd of talking cats, a little girl being thrown around a room, and furniture magically flying through the air. Many claim to actually see furniture moving through the windows. Others saw the ceramic swans outside the house move. even claimed they heard voices coming from the garden ornaments. The Warrens left a family alone early that evening, but Ed had been successful in whipping up, yet another media frenzy. Later that evening, fireman Paul McKenna returned with his three step-sons, who did not believe a word their father had said about what happened that day. They were all witnessed

to the plastic roses moving around again, and the television shifting forward and falling into the ground. canned goods fell down the basement stairs. It was getting to the point where picking items back up was becoming pointless for the goodings. But regardless, for some reason Ed Warren had asked them to leave any items that fell. The Warren's pool when Father Bill returned the following evening. The crowds continue to grow, especially now that the news was starting to go worldwide. A fact that must have pleased the warrants. Initially, the Goodinns did allow reporters into the home, but this soon stopped when one spotted an old prayer book that they mistook for some kind of occult material.

Soon the story that the 10-year-old Marcia was somehow practicing the occult quickly spread. As the Warren's crew, Laura and Jerry were discussing last night's events, Marcia sat in the recliner and repeatedly pushed the handle, forcing the chair backwards, seemingly trying to copy what. had happened to her the day before, in an effort to get the attention of the adults in the room, Laura told her to stop messing around. This wouldn't be the only time Marcia was seen to be playing on the events that were taking place. Items including the shower rail continued to fall to the ground throughout the morning. Father Bill and the Warrens were sat down in the basement, talking to Marcia, who seemed to retreat down there with her cat, when she wanted to be away from the growing busyness of her home. Mid-convered,

All the lights went out in the basement. Marcia went to the top of the stairs and after flicking the light switch a number of times, power returned to the lights. When she came back down to continue talking with Father Bill, a metal rod shot out from underneath a pile of tools, narrowly missing the priest. It was as if the metal rod had been shot out of a cannon, directly at him. Shortly after this, Marcia went upstairs, stairs. And Ed Warren claimed he heard Sam the cat say, jingle bells. Now, a number of witnesses claimed to have heard the cat talk. But Marcia was prone to holding the cat up and pretending to talk in his voice. So how many of these accounts were just a girl playing around and have been

twisted with time is unclear. Others claim to hear voices around the home, including those in the crowd outside who thought they heard guttural voices coming from the ceramic swans. It's possible that voices were in fact heard, and the fact the cat was nearby led to some claiming that Sam was the source, although we obviously have no way of knowing this. Lorraine Warren entered the kitchen shortly after this and claimed she had felt nauseous as she walked around the property. It was at this point Paul noticed the burn had appeared on Lorraine's wrist. Ed asked Lorraine to leave the property, apparently claiming he was worried about spontaneous combustion. Whatever the cause, Lorraine's burn was very real and witnessed

by the Goodins as they saw it blistering. That night the Warren stayed late, so they could all watch the story being featured on the 11 o'clock news. Throughout the evening, furniture continued to be moved around throughout the house. Whether anyone was there, or not, including a TV falling on Paul's leg, leaving a gash. The entire time they were there, Paul, as Edd had instructed, tried not to leave Marcia's sight. He was very quickly becoming attached to the young girl and seemed to be genuinely worried for her safety. Edd had put the idea in his head that the possibility of Marcia becoming possessed by whatever was in the house was a very real possibility. But the following morning the crowds were reaching a whole new level of

intensity. The police made it so you had to prove that you lived on an Indley street to be able to drive down it. Father Bill received a call from Laura Gooden. They had suffered another night and mourning of intense activity. She claimed that the destruction was worse than before. Father Bill and Ed Warren began contacting the church to request nexus. But much like we saw in the smell case, if you have watched that episode, the church seemingly were hesitant to get involved, although I am unsure if this was down to them not being convinced by the case, or that once again, the fact that so much media attention has sprung up, they were nervous about adding to the spectacle. Meanwhile, life didn't stop for the good ins just because there was potentially a poltergeist in their home.

Jerry still had to put food on the table, so he was back at work that Monday morning. He was greeted by ridicule from his colleagues. He accused him of wanting the city's attention on him. His workplace had become hostile towards him. The streets he lived on had become full of thousands of people, gulking at him in his family, like they were zoo animals. And inside his house, the chaos was continuing all day and night. Neither Jerry or Laura even believed in ghosts.

He couldn't quite wrap his head around how their life had been turned up. upside down so quickly, the Warren's involvement was increasingly becoming a source of speculation for the onlookers and press alike. Rumors began to spread that they were given the family's sweets, they were laced with drugs, inducing hallucinations. Throughout Monday, the activity actually seemed to calm a bit, but the crowds were becoming increasingly rowdy, banging on doors and windows and yelling for the good ins to come out and talk to them. A local report, from the Bridgeport Post arrived. The family welcomed him in and he got to witness first-hand some of the activity when the dish rack on the counter slid towards them before launching itself

at Jerry. Later that afternoon the family apparently experienced their first concrete visual phenomena, or at least the first since the glimpse of a hand at the window all that time ago. Laura Paul and Marcia had been playing a game of Monopoly When a yellow mist started to form around them in the living room. It began to take the shape of not one but four loose outlines of figures. The smell of sulphur once again hung in the air. All of a sudden Jerry entered the room and in a voice that didn't sound like his own, began to chant and sing in Latin, something he hadn't done since he was an altar boy, some 40 years prior. Marcia cried and clung to Paul's waist as he prayed with Jerry.

Paul sensed that the entities, whatever they were, were growing angry. When one made contact with him, he was shocked to feel it actually had some kind of substance to it, describing the feeling as a bird-like bony structure, despite the fact that the shadowy figure was virtually transparent and smoke-like in appearance. One of the entities apparently picked up Marcia and threw her across the room. Paul shouted for the family to leave the house, and all four of them rushed out into the rainy afternoon, standing in front of a crowd of confused onlookers. Father Bill returned with the Warrens later that night to attempt to bless the house once again. While performing the ritual in the basement, the regular hangout spot for Marcia,

Father Bill and the Warrens claimed to see a black shadow figure, hiding in the darkened corners of the room. They were sure they saw, horn like stubs on the top of its head, a fact that they decided not to share with the Goodin's. Seemingly Edd had put another call into the press, and by 9.45pm, two reporters from the WNAB radio station,

named Tim and Bob, were at the Goodin's door. It took until midnight for the activity to start up again. A table fell in the living room while the reporters were in the kitchen. Again, the reporters caught objects moving out of the corners of their eyes. The plastic flowers would move around as though someone was brushing against them. Marcia was once again sat in the recliner, when it suddenly shifted back and then forwards again, with such a force that the reporters were convinced Marcia couldn't have done it. The pair did find it odd, however, that Marcia seemed so calm after each instance of seemingly paranormal activity.

Later, Jerry told Marcia to go to bed. As the girl stood there, she was seemingly thrown backwards across the room, smashing into a wall with considerable force, as they all rushed to check on the crying girl. Bob was convinced he heard the cat say, help. The activity continued with both reporters, witnessing various items moving, and random drops in temperature as the evening progressed. Marcia was seemingly at breaking point and was begging her parents to get out of there and go someplace else. Tim and Bob left just after 1am, feeling very conflicted about the entire thing. They had gone expecting to be covering something of a novelty story, but after what they had witnessed, in the clear, mentally drained state the family were in, they felt an overwhelming sense of empathy for them.

Plus, neither one of them could explain the events they had seen. in the house that night. As Father Bill left that evening, he offered to bless the various police officers who were stationed outside the house morning, noon and night. He claimed it would stop any of the entities from following them home. All took the blessing,

with the exception of Officer Frank Del Toro, who was convinced the entire thing was a hoax, although he was one of the few who had not directly witnessed the activity himself. Back at the station, Superintendent Walsh, had had enough. After multiple days of chaos on Lindy Street, he decided he needed to regain control over the situation. The following night, Officer Mike Costello, who was working crowd control that night, was approached by a visibly shaken Jerry. The living room had once again

been demolished and there was broken glass everywhere, while surveying the damage Officer Costello also became witness to Marcia sitting in the recliner and moving it back and forth herself. Laura once again told Marcia to stop messing around. She then went to the bathroom and yet again a loud crash was heard. Objects had fallen in the bathroom. Officer Costello was becoming increasingly suspicious of the 10-year-old girl. Two more police officers arrived, one of whom was the previously skeptical Del Toro. As they were talking in the living room, Officer Costello spotted Marcia slyly pushing the television with her foot.

They moved a few inches and tapped into Jerry's leg, who hadn't seen her do this. After some further investigation, Officer Del Toro had a conversation with Marcia. He then told the other officers that she had confessed to moving the TV, pretending to make the cat talk, and even causing the refrigerator door to open the previous evening. The girl was in tears as she said she was responsible for these incidents. Del Toro did have one specific question about the warrants. Marcia explained to him that she saw Lorraine Warren, placing her wrist under hot water, causing it to blister.

She also categorically stated that her parents had not put her up to any of this. When they asked her why she was moving at least some of the items herself, she said, I just wanted to see if the demon would do anything. It was quickly reported back to the station that the entire thing had been a hoax and that the warrants had been responsible for stoking the fire, coming in to save the day and improving their reputation to the public. Shortly after the call was made and Inspector Philip Clark arrived,

he spoke with those involved for only a few minutes before declaring the case should be closed as a hoax. It was also suggested that Marcia should be sent to a mental health clinic, which she was. However, she was cleared with no clinical medical issues, apparently being present. The goodings were distraught. They couldn't believe that Marcia could have possibly been behind everything they had witnessed. Their anger then turned to Walter Warrants, who they immediately cut contact with. Once the story about Lorraine's Byrne's burn had come out,

they were even more displeased when they discovered. Edd had been making long-distance calls on their phone to various press outlets. Laura and Jerry were distraught, that while it appeared Marcia had been faking some of the incidents to gain attention. Everything else that had surrounded them was now being dismissed. Back at the police and fire stations, word was quickly spreading about the Lindley Street hoax. Many officers becoming increasingly disgruntled that what they witnessed was being passed off as the simple pranks of a 10-year-old girl.

After telling the Warren's on the phone, they didn't want anything more to do with them. Paul Eno rushed to the Gooding's home, but he too was turned away by the couple. Police Superintendent Walsh announced the press, There are no ghosts in Bridgeport. They were victims of the power of suggestion. Even some of my own men were taken in, before going on to say that Ed Warren, should stay out of Bridgeport.

Jerry Gooding tried to defend his daughter in a public response, as too did some of the police officers who had attended the scene, pointing out that at times Marcia wasn't even in the room when events were taking place. The press and crowds outside were becoming even more ravenous than before, forcing the goodings to literally carry Marcia and run through the crowds to try and get her to the mental health appointments. but according to the good ins, the activity didn't stop. The crowd still hung around outside their property,

although they had been somewhat reduced by the apparent revelation of the hoax. The family spent the day away for Thanksgiving on the Thursday of that week, but once again returned home to find multiple items in our home disturbed. Later that evening, Jerry smelt smoke. He couldn't find a source, so he went to tell the on-duty police officer outside. It turned out that a group of men had been attempting to burn down the Gooding's home with them inside. The two men who were charged claimed they were trying to rid the home of the evil that had been brought into their neighbourhood. Activity continued into December, with new police officers being still stationed to control the now dwindling crowds, becoming witness to the events in the home.

Officer Summons, who entered the home on December 10th, claimed he saw multiple instances of objects moving, when Marcia was nowhere around. On December 14th, after spending the night with family, the Goodin's returned home to find their entire home once again trashed. Jerry even went as far as to cement their Christmas tree that year, into a bucket, to stop it from falling. And it began to use wires to attach larger items to the walls.

Father Doyle had been keeping in touch with the family and was still offering support, as best he could. But on Monday the 16th of December, a new person would get in touch with the Goodins. This was Boyce Beatty, who told the family he had some expertise in dealing with poltergeist. The family were finding themselves increasingly having to spend the night away from their home for their safety, and welcomed anyone who could possibly help them. On the 18th of December, Beatty arrived at the home, accompanied by Jerry Solfin and Keith Harari from the Psychical Research Foundation. The trio then embarked upon a serious scientific study of the family and the events that had gone on. Jerry Solfin was very surprised when the local police turned out to be very accommodating,

allowing him not just access to their records, but also being given access to multiple police officers who witnessed the phenomenon. themselves, many of whom were very happy to do so, and voiced their displeasure that the case had been closed as a hoax. The investigators witnessed incidents themselves within the first couple of weeks of visiting the property, the kitchen table flipping, items falling off walls, and even the sounds of heavy footsteps being heard in empty rooms. Their work recording events and interviewing the many, many witnesses for hours, has led to the Bridgeport Poultergeist case, being one of the most well-documented apparent hauntings of all time. On the eve of the investigators leaving, Boyce and Father Bill, who the family had welcomed back into the fold, sat down with Laura and Jerry to have a conversation about their findings. Both suggested that the family should get counselling

to help them get over what they had to deal with. Laura saw this as yet another person claiming it was all in their minds or a hoax, but Boyce made it very clear that he believed the family and that he believed the witnesses. Telling Laura if he thought it was a hoax, he would not be here. Laura and Jerry told them that once the investigation was over, they would be leaving the property. weeks of unexplainable horrors and thousands of dollars worth of damage had left a couple at breaking point.

But Father Bill did stress that whatever was causing the activity might just follow them to a new home. It was at this point that both Father Bill and Boyce tried to explain to the couple that while they didn't believe Marcia was responsible for faking all the events that took place, that it was likely she was the cause, even if it was inadvertently. They believed that the couple, particularly Laura, wasn't allowing Marcia to live a proper childhood, that they were being far too overprotective of her

due to what happened to their son. Maybe this wasn't the result of a ghost at all. Maybe this overprotective smothering of Marcia and her general unhappiness has somehow led to an explosion of energy that we can't possibly begin to understand. One of the most common explanations given to why people make up stories of hauntings is apparently to make money. In the case of the good ins, that really doesn't seem to be the case.

They were left with nothing but public ridicule and extensive property damage. In fact, they even sunk more money into a lawyer once the investigation. investigation by Beatty was over. The primary goal being to try and repair the damage that had been done to their daughter's name and reputation. The lawyer suggested that it would be some money to be made from interviews, but the couple turned this down, with Jerry instead agreeing to do one free interview with WNAB, where he reiterated that Marcia was not responsible for what had happened in their home. The family would never speak publicly about the events again, and he even went as far as instructing the warrants that they could not use their case in any of their lectures. The lawyer also sent Ed a bill for those phone calls he made to the press.

The Gooding desperately tried to sell their home, so they could go start a new life somewhere else. But with its reputation, they were never able to sell the property in their lifetime. Instead being forced to remain in the bungalow. As she grew into her teens, if anyone asked Marcia about the events of her childhood, she would simply pretend that she had no idea what they were talking about. If any activity took place in the house in the following years, then the Goodin's never spoke about it publicly. When she reached 18, Marcia informed the Gooding she would be leaving

and returning to Canada to find her birth parents, which she apparently did, leaving Laura and Jerry Derry. distraught. Laura was unfortunately killed in a crash in 1993 at the age of 68, and Jerry followed a few years later of natural causes. Marcia pretty much dropped off the radar when she returned to Canada, but in recent years it appears she has also unfortunately passed away at the age of 51. And that concludes the story of the Bridgeport Poltergeist. I really love delving into this. this one. I think one of the most interesting aspects of it is that this can't so easily be passed off as just a ghost story. While there are some claims of visions of apparitions,

these mostly happened around the Warren's involvement and can be maybe taken with a pinch of salt. The vast majority of witnesses instead saw objects floating, moving, being smashed, all by some sort of unseen presence. The idea of this somehow being some sort of energy being emitted from Marcia is super compelling. There are so many theories on this one. Obviously the Warrens believe it's all the work of demons, but Paul Eno suggests the idea of it actually being

a sort of bleeding of different realities, somehow converging on this property. The obviously most compelling part of this case is not just the quality of the witnesses involved, but the sheer amount of them. My main source for this episode was William J. Hall's book, The World's Most Haunted House, and I strongly recommend checking that one out if you want to learn more. Not only does it go into painstaking detail about every event that took place in that month-long span in 1974, but it also features transcripts of interviews, and even the original reports,

that the police witnesses typed up. It's absolutely fascinating to read official documents referring to spiritual presences and unexplainable events. This case shares so many similarities with the Enfield haunting and what's happened with the Smell family. But I don't know, there's just something about this one

that is just so much more compelling to me. I think more so than any other case, I am really, really interested to hear what you all make of this one. There are so many possible theories for what's happened in that house in Linley Street. If you have any thoughts or maybe questions that others could potentially answer, then please do drop them in the comments below. I don't always get time to respond to everyone, but I do at least read every single comment that gets left.

If you've enjoyed this episode, then please do click the like button. And if you haven't already, then please you subscribe. I know it gets boring hearing everyone on YouTube say that, but just clicking those two little buttons really does help boost these videos. That means I can keep bringing you more and more deep dives into the paranormal. This has been a bit of an intense one to put together again, so please do let me know if you enjoyed it. Until next time, Pleasant Dreams.