Latest news with #paranormal
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Touring ‘evil' Annabelle doll is blamed for bizarre fire and prison escape that both happened in Louisiana
A tour featuring the famously haunted Annabelle doll has sparked theories that the Raggedy Anne figure's responsible for a number of chaotic events - fiery claims its keepers have rebuked. Since early May, Annabelle's headed to different parts of the U.S. ahead of a Psychic Festival, with stops in West Virginia, Louisiana, and Texas. Theorists blamed the mannequin presence for a fire that broke out in Louisiana and escaped inmates in New Orleans. On the move: The doll made stops in West Virginia, Louisiana, and Texas, but what followed her visits was a series of unfortunate events that were linked to her The doll's famous history began in 1970 after she was gifted to a Hartford nurse and then began moving on her own and, in one instance, allegedly attacked the owner's fiance. Lorraine and Ed Warren, renowned paranormal researchers and founders of Warren's Occult Museum, investigated the doll's paranormal activity and gave her a permanent spot in their museum. Annabelle was displayed in a protective case, fitted with carved prayers and crosses as well as a sign made by Ed, which read, 'Warning: Positively Do Not Open.' The Warrens had always warned about moving Annabelle but for those who took the doll on tour, they vehemently defended doing so and said it is what the owners would have wanted. Paranormal investigator Chris Gilloren, who was part of the tour team, said: '[Annabelle's] not a spectacle, but it's a great way to get people talking about evil. That's what Ed and Lorraine wanted to do. They wanted to expose the devil, and tell people, advise people that the devil is real.' Ryan Buell, a paranormal investigator who also joined the tour, agreed that it was about education and continuing to spread the Warrens' work. Buell said: 'We keep the legacy and name of Ed and Lorraine alive. That they devoted their lives to this work, that there are people our there who still dedicate their own lives to helping people who are having these experiences. 'It's not that people just went in and saw a doll and they're like, "Oh cool!" We sat there and we talked to people. We talked about the dangers. We talk about the precautions.' However, the tour was not without it's strange and creepy moments that fueled wild online speculation on Annabelle's ability to leave a path of destruction as she moved around the country. On May 15, as the doll left Louisiana - her second tour stop - the historic 166-year-old Nottoway Plantation was destroyed in a blazing fire. Online speculation quickly turned to the doll's close presence as the reason the historic site went up in flames, but her caretakers are not convinced. Gilloren said: 'I don't know where these people come up with these... I mean, it's taken off, it's got a mind of its own. 'We don't think it has anything to do with us, of course, or Annabelle.' One post on X said: 'Three days ago they moved Annabelle, one of the most haunted dolls from Monroe, Connecticut, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and now the largest sugarcane plantation in Louisiana burned down AND 11 inmates in a New Orleans Prison escape... 'Didn't the Warrens say she should never be moved?' Another comment said: 'Taking her down here where there's voodoo and spirits everywhere is actually an idiot move I have to say.' Many other social media users worried about their own cities, and even contacted those monitoring Annabelle. Gilloren said: '...the amount of messages, emails that I received through our websites and social medias... they truly believe Annabelle did all this, which makes no sense to me personally... You know, why would she burn it down?' Gilloren believed that the events were purely coincidental. Theories that blamed Annabelle for the fire and escaped inmates were just the tip of the iceberg of the strange goings on during the doll's time on the road. 'To our knowledge, it's the first time we brought Annabelle to another haunted location, especially that far out,' Buell said, of their first tour stop in West Virginia State Penitentiary, a famously haunted building. 'What was weird - and I've been to the penitentiary many, many times - when Annabelle was in the prison, the activity around the prison was low.' Buell added that they had psychic mediums with them in the prison who said that other 'spirits' were 'staying at a distance'. Despite having worked with Annabelle many times before, Buell still found himself sensing a strange energy surrounding the doll. He said: 'In New Orleans, myself and Wade, who is a member of NESPR, were mainly the ones giving the talks about the Warren's... and so we would have to stand in front of Annabelle for hours,' he said. 'And the first day, Wade and I looked at each other and we're like, the energy is so off, like it feels so weird and he totally agreed.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Paranormal experts DEFEND taking 'evil' doll Annabelle on tour and reveal new strange encounters
The Annabelle doll's tour across the country sparked theories that the famously haunted relic was responsible for chaotic events that followed, but Annabelle's keepers have rebuked the fiery claims in exclusive interviews with Annabelle, a famously haunted Raggedy Anne doll, started a tour earlier this month ahead of a Psychic Festival, making stops in West Virginia, Louisiana, and Texas. The doll's famous history began in 1970 after it had been gifted to a Hartford nurse and then began moving on her own and, in one instance, allegedly attacked the owner's fiancé. Lorraine and Ed Warren, renowned paranormal researchers and founders of Warren's Occult Museum, investigated the doll's paranormal activity and gave her a permanent spot in their museum. She was displayed in a protective case, fitted with carved prayers and crosses as well as a sign made by Ed Warren, which read, 'Warning: Positively Do Not Open.' The Warrens had always warned about moving Annabelle but for those who took the doll on tour they vehemently defended doing so and say it is what the Warrens would have wanted. NESPR Lead Investigator into the paranormal, Chris Gilloren, who was part of the tour team, told '[Annabelle's] not a spectacle, but it's a great way to get people talking about evil. That's what Ed and Lorraine wanted to do. They wanted to expose the devil, and tell people, advise people that the devil is real.' Ryan Buell, a paranormal investigator who also joined the tour, agreed that it was about education and continuing to spread the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren. 'We keep the legacy and name of Ed and Lorraine alive. That they devoted their lives to this work, that there are people our there who still dedicate their own lives to helping people who are having these experiences,' Buell said. 'It's not that people just went in and saw a doll and they're like, 'oh cool.' We sat there and we talked to people. We talked about the dangers. We talk about the precautions.' But the tour was not without it's strange and creepy moments that fueled wild online speculation on Annabelle's ability to leave a path of destruction as she moved around the country. On May 15, as Annabelle left Louisiana - her second tour stop - the historic 166-year-old Nottoway Plantation was destroyed in a blazing fire. Online speculation quickly turned to the doll's close presence as the reason the historic site went up in flames, but her caretakers are not convinced. Gilloren said: 'I don't know where these people come up with these... I mean, it's taken off, it's got a mind of its own. 'We don't think it has anything to do with us, of course, or Annabelle.' One post on X connected the dots on May 19 and wrote: 'Three days ago they moved Annabelle, one of the most haunted dolls from Monroe, Connecticut, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and now the largest sugarcane plantation in Louisiana burned down AND 11 inmates in a New Orleans Prison escape...' 'Didn't the Warren's say she should never be move,' the post concluded. Another comment said: 'Taking her down here where there's voodoo and spirits everywhere is actually an idiot move I have to say.' Many other social media users worried about their own cities, and even contacted those monitoring Annabelle. '...the amount of messages, emails that I received through our websites and social medias... they truly believe Annabelle did all this, which makes no sense to me personally... you know, why would she burn it down?' Gilloren said. Gilloren said he believed that the events were purely coincidental. Speaking to Buell, pointed out the route Annabelle took as she left Louisiana. He examined the route through the state and said: 'This is the first time I've ever looked. Okay, yes, I can confirm we were within five miles [of the plantation] on the freeway. And, yes, it was on the same day. 'So, I mean, yes, that is a very bizarre coincidence.' Yet, Buell said there was an even stranger occurrence before they left New Orleans - a voodoo Priestess who 'challenged' Annabelle. 'We were like, 'wait, so we're being blamed for what? A plantation? Somewhere in Louisiana? Louisiana, okay, well probably coincidence,' But I mean, I kind of thought, well, there was this voodoo priestess who challenged Annabelle when we were leaving,' he recalled. 'We were packing up and all of a sudden we heard tambourines and someone's screaming, 'Go to hell, Annabelle,'' Buell said. 'She laid holy water down and said, 'In the name of New Orleans voodoo, I rebuke you.'... but I mean, there was the thought of, yikes, this priestess just challenged Annabelle. It was almost like voodoo versus the demonic,' he continued. 'And so... there was that creeping thought of, 'what if,'' Buell said. Theories that blamed Annabelle for the fire and escaped inmates were just the tip of the iceberg of the strange goings on during the doll's time on the road. 'To our knowledge, it's the first time we brought Annabelle to another haunted location, especially that far out,' Buell said, of their first tour stop in West Virginia State Penitentiary, a famously haunted building. 'What was weird - and I've been to the penitentiary many, many times - when Annabelle was in the prison, the activity around the prison was low.' Buell added that they had psychic mediums with them in the prison who said that other 'spirits' were 'staying at a distance'. Buell said that he had visited the West Virginia State Penitentiary numerous times before, but that Annabelle's presence had quietened other spirit activity he had experienced before. Pictured: Ryan Buell in front of the WV State Penitentiary '[The spirits are] just kind of watching. A couple were saying they felt uneasy,' Buell said. 'They didn't know what that meant. Then when we took Annabelle out, you know, we're wrapped up... Then the activity picked up. 'And the two employees who were there, who regularly witnessed the activity, they pulled me to the side and said, 'look, they don't like it that Annabelle is here. They don't like its energy, so they're hanging back.'' After Annabelle had left, other activity picked up again. Buell recalled his previous experiences at the prison, without Annabelle. 'You'll hear whispers. You'll hear footsteps. And then especially in the infirmary on the second floor. That place is so active,' he said. 'You'll literally hear bangings if you say, hey, knock for me. You'll hear intelligent responses, you know, knocking back.' He described his experience within the infirmary as feeling like 'prey'. 'You're very well aware of the fact that you're being watched. You feel like something is literally following you and you start to feel a sense of danger,' he added, recalling that he heard bangs and the slamming of doors around him. Annabelle's presence at the penitentiary was not only felt by the spirits within the building, but also those who came in for the tour. Buell recalled how things got 'aggressive' as they used a spirit box to communicate with the doll, who inspired The Conjuring and Annabelle movie franchises. He said the process involves one person listening with noise cancelling headphones, only able to hear what's going on inside the box, while those outside ask questions. 'It's pulling from like public radio stations, right? The spirit box. It just randomly jumps from station to station and pulls sounds and voices from it,' Buell said. 'People would ask questions, 'who's here with us? Is the entity around Annabelle here?' and suddenly the answers.. suddenly it started to turn to like, 'You b***. I want your body.' Some other stuff.' '...I remember at one point I was like okay, I'm done. This energy is getting a little too weird. And so we had another person do it and then they got very emotional,' he continued. Despite having worked with Annabelle many times before, Buell still found himself sensing a strange energy surrounding the doll. 'In New Orleans, myself and Wade, who is a member of NESPR, were mainly the ones giving the talks about the Warren's... and so we would have to stand in front of Annabelle for hours,' he said. 'And the first day, Wade and I looked at each other and we're like, the energy is so off, like it feels so weird and he totally agreed.' 'I started getting really intrusive thoughts, and Wade had to remind me that the demonic often use psychological tactics, so we just doused ourselves in holy water and kept going,' Buell recalled. But even with Annabelle's unnerving presence, her keepers defended the doll against the spiral of rumors that Annabelle had caused the chaos along their route. 'I mean, she was down in San Antonio and I really haven't heard of anything happening in San Antonio. She was in West Virginia. I haven't heard anything up in West Virginia happening,' Gilloren said. 'She's in Connecticut. I mean she's been in Connecticut for 50 years. We don't blame every kind of disaster on Annabelle,' he added. Anabelle's tour continues in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 11-13 and then in Rock Island, Illinois, from October 4-5.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Chilling history behind the haunted Annabelle doll as its tour across the US sparks frenzied panic
Most people have heard of the haunted Annabelle doll from the wildly popular horror flick The Conjuring. And while a tale of a possessed doll wreaking havoc on an innocent family seems like one that was cooked up for the big screen, it's actually said to be based off of true events. In fact, the Annabelle doll has its own long and twisted history... from claims that it 'physically attacked' someone to rumors that a man died in a horrific motorcycle crash after he taunted it. Famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren came into possession of the doll in the 1970s after two young nurses reached out begging for help. They claimed the doll, which had been a birthday gift, was wreaking havoc on their lives, placing handwritten eerie messages around their home, moving on its own, and even leaving horrific scratch marks on one of their boyfriends. The Warrens took it off their hands, and upon investigating, the couple became convinced that a 'demonic' force was possessing the doll. According to a biographer who studied their case files, the Warrens claimed to have witnessed frightening and even life-threatening mishaps whenever it was around. Eventually, they deemed it so dangerous that they built a special case to store it in, and warned that it should never be opened again. In the years since then, it has sat behind glass in the Warrens museum, but some horror fans who traveled just to get a glimpse of the infamous doll have claimed that weird stuff started to happen to them afterwards. Now, the allegedly paranormal doll is in the midst of a tour across the globe... and it may be coming to your city soon. That's right, the doll was recently removed from its sacred case - despite previous warnings from the Warrens - and will be making its way around the country, and the news has launched massive panic online. To make matters worse, rumors recently erupted that the doll went 'missing,' and some have pointed out that bad stuff happened in the towns she visited - like a fire breaking out and inmates escaping from a local prison. It's certainly up to you whether or not you believe the stories that surround the child's toy... but amidst the tour, we figured it would be best if you were informed on the Annabelle doll's dark past. Here's everything we know about the supposedly haunted toy. Two nurses claimed the doll wreaked havoc on their lives in the 1970s before turning to the Warrens for help According to biographer Gerald Brittle's book The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Warrens first came across Annabelle in 1970 after a priest called and asked for their assistance. They were told that two young nurses believed a human spirit was possessing their doll and were desperate for help. During a taped meeting with the Warrens, one of the nurses, named Deirdre, explained that the doll was gifted to her for her 28th birthday by her mother, per Gerald's book. She told the couple that it started 'moving around their apartment by itself' soon after, and leaving eerie, handwritten notes that said 'help me.' 'She moves. She acts alive,' Deirdre said. 'When we'd come home from work it would never be quite where we left it.' Her roommate, Lara's boyfriend, Cal, even alleged that he had been 'physically attacked' by the toy. He said during a taped interview with the Warrens, 'As I got close to the doll, I got the distinct impression that somebody was behind me. I swung around...' Lara interjected, 'When Cal turned around there wasn't anybody there, but he suddenly yelled and grabbed for his chest. 'He was doubled over, cut, and bleeding when I got to him. Blood was all over his shirt. 'Cal was shaking and scared and we went back out into the living room. We then opened up his shirt and there on his chest was what looked to be a sort of claw mark.' The women said they had hired a medium who told them that a little girl named Annabelle had died on their property years prior. They came to believe she was possessing the doll, but after investigating, Ed said they had been 'duped' and that there was no Annabelle. He believed the doll was 'taken over by something inhuman' and 'demonic' instead. According to the book, Ed and Lorraine brought in a priest who performed an exorcism, and they took the doll to their house to investigate further. Terrifying near-death experience led to the Warrens locking Annabelle up for good in a sealed case... warning that it should never be opened again But the hauntings allegedly didn't stop there, as they claimed that their car continuously 'stalled' and the steering and breaks 'failed' on the drive home, per Gerald's book. They said they had to throw 'holy water' onto the doll in order to get home safely. They also alleged that they called in a man named Father Daniel to help, but that he nearly lost his life after he didn't take the doll seriously. He reportedly 'picked up the doll' and said, 'You're just a rag doll, Annabelle, you can't hurt anything,' before he 'tossed it back on the chair,' according to the Warrens' biography. That night, he is said to have called Lorraine and told her, 'The brake system failed [on my car on the way home]. I was almost killed in a traffic accident. My car is a wreck.' Ed also claimed the doll levitated in front of him and constantly moved around their home before they decided to lock it up indefinitely. They had a special wooden and glass case constructed specially for the doll, and stored it away in their Occult Museum in Monroe, warning that it should never be opened. Visitor who 'taunted the doll' while visiting the Warrens' museum allegedly died in a horrific crash on the way home It wasn't until decades later when The Conjuring was released in 2013 that the world's fascination with the doll erupted. The creepy toy was featured heavily in the horror flick, and it was so successful, it ultimately inspired the spinoff Annabelle series that contained three more films. Immediately, the public became fiercely intrigued by the doll and its history - and some would even travel far and wide to get a chance to see it at the Warrens' museum. But according to a family member of the Warrens, tragedy struck when one visitor didn't treat the doll with respect. It's been said that the guest knocked on the glass case and taunted the doll before he was thrown out of the museum. But on his way home, he got into a fatal motorcycle accident, per the Warrens' son-in-law Tony Spera. 'It's probably the most dangerous artifact we have here in the museum. It's responsible for we believe the death of a young man who came on a motorcycle and challenged that doll to do its worst and it did,' Tony told WTNH in 2016. The name of the alleged crash victim was never shared so we weren't able to verify Tony's claims. One horror buff wrote in an essay in 2019 that her life turned into a 'nightmare' after she met the doll and 'mocked it' in her head. 'It was surreal to be standing next to her. At this point, I was on cloud nine at the idea of being in the same room with such an infamous object,' she wrote on the site 'But somehow, my mind slipped into a dark place and I mocked her. In my mind, I thought about how hideous she looked inside her box. 'However, it never occurred to me that I could bring something home with me. And for the next year and a half, I was stuck in a living nightmare.' She claimed that for months afterwards, she had a string of bad incidents plague her life and that she would wake up with unexplainable pain in her stomach most nights. 'I heard constant creaking. I was regularly sick. I heard noises coming from inside my walls. My eyes played tricks on me in the dark,' she continued. 'How can one person have this much bad luck? The only thing I could think of to explain my string of misfortune was Annabelle. It had to be her.' She warned, 'Tread lightly, and whatever you do – don't mock her.' Panic erupted as Annabelle 'headed out on a tour' across the US, with some claiming a fire broke out and inmates escaped from prison after she visited the city Due to her popularity, the Annabelle doll was recently removed from the secured case she was displayed in for years so she could be included as part of the travelling US exhibition Devils on the Run. The tour kicked off earlier this month, but things to a dark turn when visitors at a recent stop on the tour claimed the three-foot-tall doll wasn't anywhere to be found, sparking a panic and fear online. Terror grew when a fire broke out the historic Nottoway Resort in White Castle, Louisana, and 10 inmates escaped from a prison in New Orleans just days after Annabelle was displayed in the state. However, after countless rumors and terrified fans, New England Society for Psychic Research's lead investigator Dan Rivera came forward to debunk the theories in a TikTok video earlier this week. 'I'm here at the museum right now, and I just wanna show you guys that Annabelle is in the Warrens' Occult Museum. Let's go inside and let's check,' he began the video. As he weaved his way through he exhibits, he approached the doll sitting in her secured wooden case. 'Annabelle is not missing. She is not in Chicago. She has never been missing,' he added. The tour is still underway as he ended the video by reminding horror fans that they would get the chance to see the 'possessed' toy at the Rock Island Roadhouse Esoteric Expo in Illinois on October 4. She will also be on display in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 11-13.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Paris Hilton announces she has a GHOST in her Beverly Hills mansion that is 'spooking' her kids
Paris Hilton feels 'spooked' after her son Phoenix told her he saw a ghost in their house. The hotel heiress - who is mother to Phoenix, two, and daughter London, one, with husband Carter Reum - has shared a video on her social media accounts which shows the toddler pointing out a 'ghost' to her. And she's asked other mothers to get in touch and tell her whether they have ever experienced anything like it. She posted the clip online and wrote: 'Well, I'm spooked ... To all my #SlivingMoms, has this happened with your little ones? Would love to know … for research purposes.' The video is captioned: 'Phoenix saw a ghost in our house' and it shows the little boy pointing and telling his mom: 'There's a ghost in there ... There's a ghost in there and there.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Paris is head off-camera asking him: 'Where's the ghost?' and Phoenix replies: 'Ghost this ...' before pointing towards a door and saying: 'Ghost!' She added in a note on the video: 'So cute, yet so scary I can't'. The socialite continues to ask her son about what he had seen and he said: Mama's room,' and she said: 'What's in Mama's room?' Phoenix went on to say: 'Ghost indoor ... Ghost in… store. Ghost in this door!' The video ended with the words: 'Okay, need to move now.' Paris previously opened up about her own brush with the paranormal in an online interview with her pal Nicole Richie for British Vogue. In the question and answer session, Nicole asked Paris: 'Never have I ever had a paranormal experience' and Paris revealed she had a spooky encounter during a visit to her grandmother's house. She said: 'My grandma's old house. We're just like in the playroom, and a crown, like, started floating across the room ... 'Because, supposedly, a girl who had lived there before, something happened in like the driveway, like a hundred years ago. And people would see her in the mirror, brushing her hair ... ' Nicole said: 'Sick! Oh my God!' and Paris concluded by adding: 'So scary.' In an episode of her 'This Is Paris' podcast, the socialite revealed there was another spooky event at the house when a Ouija board was used. She said: 'One night we were in the playroom and literally a crayon, like I'm not joking, you know those old school crayons, was floating in the air, went like this and flew up. We were doing the Ouija board thing, which I am never doing again.' Hilton also said this week that she does not miss anything about her days on 'The Simple Life'. The heiress shot to fame alongside Nicole Richie in 2003 on the iconic reality show series, which saw the pair move in with the Leding family in Altus, Arkansas, to learn how middle-class families live. But Paris - who is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels - has since distanced herself from that life. She explained to HELLO! magazine: 'I feel as though I've lived that life and done it all. I love my life now. 'I love just being at home with my family, with my babies. I'm still working a lot, but my children are my priority. 'Just seeing them wake up in the morning is so sweet. And reading stories to them at night and cuddling them is just so magical ... 'I remember when the very first 'Simple Life' aired, my mom [Kathy Hilton] took me aside and told me that my life was about to change forever, but that I should never stop being the same down-to-earth girl I am. 'I've never forgotten that.' The 'Infinite Icon' singer feels grateful for Carter lifting her and their bundles of joy 'every day'. Speaking about her 'kindest, sweetest man', she gushed: 'He's just the best. He's so incredible. He really lifts me and our two beautiful little angels every day. 'I feel so grateful for my family, my fans and my fur babies. They all make me feel so happy.' The 'Stars Are Blind' singer loves 'making entertainment' and products, but she says her and Carter's children always come first before any projects. Paris said: 'I don't like to be put in a box and only be able to do one thing. I've always been like that. 'My babies come first, but there are so many things I'm passionate about. I love making entertainment. I love making products. I just love being creative and making people happy. That is what I've tried to do my whole career. 'I feel lucky that I've been able to do everything and be successful at it at the same time.'
The Sun
26-05-2025
- The Sun
We live next door to infamous Fred and Rose West ‘House of Horrors' – we're haunted by ghosts of evil couple's victims
A WOMAN living two doors away from where Fred and Rose West carried out most of their infamous murders says she is being haunted by the ghosts of their victims. Maria Lupu claims to have experienced some terrifying paranormal activity in their rented home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester. 10 10 The 39-year-old, speaking the day after a new Netflix documentary series about Britain's most notorious serial killers was launched, lives a few yards from number 25. That end terrace was demolished in 1996 as the authorities sought to discourage so many people from coming to the scene of the horrific events. But while the building has gone and the bones of the Wests' female victims have long since been removed from under its back garden patio and cellar by the police, Maria believes their spirits may remain in the street. She said: 'I do believe in ghosts and stuff. I do think they're stuck in the house. 'Somebody was coming at me in my sleep one night. After that, the cat wouldn't go into the bedroom. 'When we went back in, the clothes' horse had moved from the back of the door to the middle of the bed.' Maria said this happened about two years ago and, separately, her partner told her he had also seen a ghostly figure in the house. She added that, even now, the bedroom is strangely cold and she believes it is linked to the murders that happened so close by. 'So many women died there,' she said. Originally from Romania, Maria moved from her previous home in nearby Cheltenham to Cromwell Street five years ago. She didn't know about the awful crimes that had taken place until she informed her English mother she was moving there and she then told her daughter about the road's horrendous history. Maria said her flat, within a three-storey building, was very cheap to rent at the time - but that the ghostly activity had made her nervous. She added: 'I do want to move away because there's a bad energy here. 'Maybe not straight away but just some time when I can.' Polly Lowthian, who lives in a flat right next to where number 25 was, said her greatest worry about living in Cromwell Street was being haunted by ghosts. 10 10 The 27-year-old said: 'That's what I'm most scared of but, touch wood, nothing has happened to me so far.' Originally from the Forest of Dean, she moved into her new home three weeks ago. She knew about the infamous past of the street but needed somewhere to live in Gloucester to be close to her workplace and friends. Polly said: 'A flat came up. What happened here was years ago now. If it had been nearer the time, I probably wouldn't have come. 'With housing now, you can't be too picky.' 'Hairs on my body stood up' One couple who moved into their flat in Cromwell Street 30 days ago were stunned to be told by The Sun about the murders that took place just across the road from their new home. Lucian Gheorghe and Corina Stan, from Romania, said they had never heard about the notorious serial killers. Lucian said: 'It's good to learn something new about history and places. I like to visit places but this is not an attractive thing.' He added that the hairs on his body stood up when he was told what went on at number 25. One property owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the street had been spruced up a bit since the furore over the Wests in the mid-1990s. The local council had put new railings in but it still had problems like many others in British towns and cities, he said. Graffiti on the walls of two homes and fly-tipped household goods were evident when The Sun was there. Police, in three cars, moved slowly in and out the area as well. Another resident on Cromwell Street, aged 54, was in his early teens when the chilling case happened. He remembers seeing Fred in his working clothes as he was the local builder in the street working in "many houses". He was friends with Fred and Rose' s son Stephen and said it was a "shock" when the mass murders were exposed. He said: "I knew the family, I've lived in this street for 40 years. I knew the son as he was a friend in the street. "The children of the family grew up here and most of us played in the street. "They seemed like a tight-knit family. They would go to the park to play as a family with the kids. "It was a complete shock. At that age you don't think what people might be doing behind closed doors." The man he would play with on the street - Stephen West - was jailed in December 2004 for nine months for sex with a girl of 14. The resident said since the case took place it has had a "massive impact" on the people that still reside on the street. Chrysoula Koutsogranni, 40, said she was not aware of the crimes committed on the 25 Cromwell Street when she moved in four years ago. She said: "I have learnt about it a couple of years ago after Covid when a couple came here and they were asking questions about it and then I went online and I found out. "You can't predict what your neighbour is. You don't know who lives next door - even now someone could be doing something behind closed doors and you wouldn't know. "The area is mostly an immigrant area and one-bed apartments. It is not the best but I've not experienced any real incidents like crime or anything like that." She admitted that despite the horrors that happened in her street she is "not scared" of living on the notorious road. Who were Fred and Rose West? By Holly Christodoulou BEAMING in front of the fake autumn foliage, hand rested lovingly on his wife's shoulder, Fred and Rose West looked like any normal couple. But lurking beneath their plastered-on smiles was a pure evil that continues to horrify the nation. Thirty years ago, Fred and Rose West were arrested - bringing an end to a gruesome crime spree that lay undetected for decades. But even as the pair sat in custody, no one was aware of the true horror buried beneath the garden and in the walls at 25 Cromwell Street. Between them, Fred and Rose West raped, tortured and killed 12 women and girls between 1967 and 1987. The killing spree came to light after the couple's children discussed their sister Heather being "under the patio" with social workers. At first the comments were dismissed as off-hand remarks but by February 1994, there was no trace of Heather and a warrant was obtained to search the family home in Gloucestershire. Fred chillingly told officers his daughter was in the garden but they were searching in the wrong place. He and Rose were arrested on suspicion of murder and police began the grisly task of digging up the back garden.
