Number 333: A Terrifying Twenty-Year Haunting in a Typically English Suburban House

The story of Number 333, a semi-detached house somewhere in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, is the story of William C. Grave, the man who bought the property in the mid-2000s and was then witness to some of the most intriguing, frightening, and bone-chilling paranormal events on record. Grave would document the encounters in his book The Lady in the Bay Window: A True Story of a Haunted Sheffield Home, and the incidents, to the best of our knowledge, continue there today.  

In 2004, William was still only 19 years old and lived with his parents in the family home in Sheffield, which allowed him to live a “more than comfortable” life. He earned good money as a salesperson at a local car dealership which was building up in his bank account. Despite this easy lifestyle, though, he and his fiancé decided to look for a house of their own, and toward the end of the year, they actively began looking at properties for sale. They eventually happened upon a typical semi-detached house in the south of the city near Charnock and quickly arranged a viewing.

William, however, was eager to see the property and drove to it the day before to view it from the outside. Writing in The Lady in the Bay Window, William described the house as a “semi-detached property situated quite high up from the roadside (with) bricks (that) looked dark and weatherworn!” There were also “two bay windows, one above the other that overlooked the front garden”, which was overgrown, to say the least. Generally speaking, though, William came away from the impromptu external viewing impressed. By the time he and his fiancé had viewed inside, they were ready to put an offer to the seller, an offer that was quickly accepted, although it would be several weeks before the pair could pick up the keys.

Around a week or so later, on a cold December night, while on his way to a Christmas works night out, he decided to drive past his newly bought property with his friend, Craig. The pair remained in the car, with Craig leaning toward the car window to get a better view of the property that William had pointed out to him. He agreed that it looked like a “lovely place” before going on to ask, “Who’s the old lady in the bay window?” William turned his attention to the house, looking at the bay windows, unable to see anyone in any of them. He asked his friend what he meant to which Craig pointed up eagerly toward the top bay window, insisting, “There, in the top window. The old lady staring down at us!” William looked up at the house once more, still unable to see anyone standing at any of the windows.

At this point, he double-checked with Craig that he was looking at the correct house, elaborating that his property was Number 333. Rather than correcting himself, though, Craig remained quite insistent that he had the right house and he was certain somebody was standing at the window, continuing that “she’s looking at us now; you must be able to see her!” Despite staring up at the house for several moments, William was unable to see anyone looking at them from the windows. After an awkward moment, Craig simply shrugged his shoulders, and the pair set off to the Christmas bowling night. On the way, though, unable to forget Craig’s claims, William asked him what the old lady had looked like. He responded that she was “quite a small old lady – probably in her eighties” and was “wearing a darkish colored cardigan over a white blouse!” He further offered that she had “short, grey, permed hair and quite a piercing stare” and that she “didn’t look happy with us parking outside her house!” Despite his seriousness, William eventually convinced himself that Craig had been “joking around” and that no one had been standing at the window at all. The incident, though, would prove to be the first of many in this otherwise non-descript semi-detached house.  

Around a week or so later – on December 18th, 2004 – William and his fiancé finally got the keys to their new home. At this point, all William knew about the house was that the previous owner had purchased the property for his mother, but “she hadn’t taken to the property and wanted to move out after only two months!” He didn’t question why this elderly lady had seemingly rushed out of the house. However, when he ventured to his new home for the first time as the official owner, before he could open the front door, he could hear voices coming from inside. He opened the door and stepped inside, immediately finding himself looking at a “large, bald-headed man” who offered his hand as the previous owner, Nick.

Nick apologized for still being at the property, stating that he had returned to retrieve a bag of tools that he had left there. A moment later, an elderly lady entered the room. She introduced herself as “Nick’s mum” and stated that she had lived in the property around six months ago after Nick had purchased it at a property auction. She then went on to say that the house had only one previous owner – an old lady who “had the house from new in the 1930s when it was a council house”. She had, however, passed on, leading to the property being put up for auction. Perhaps rather ominously, the old lady also offered to William that “something (in the house) just wasn’t right!” Before William could ask the old lady to elaborate, however, Nick interrupted their conversation, and before he knew it, both of them were gone, leaving William alone. He later wrote that despite this bizarre conversation with the previous tenant of the property, he “still didn’t put two and two together!” Instead, he put the conversation out of his mind.

To begin with, while waiting for their carpets to be fitted, William’s fiancé remained living with her parents, meaning William was alone in the house for several days. With this in mind, he invited several of his friends over for an unofficial housewarming to celebrate his first night in his new house. Five friends arrived, each bringing with them beers and sleeping bags. They decided to sleep in the living room, but before turning in for the evening, they enjoyed several beers and played the board game Monopoly. However, a couple of hours into the evening, one of William’s friends – Greg – suddenly screamed in panic before running out of the room, as William wrote, “…knocking drinks, hotels, houses, cards, and playing pieces all over the place” as he did so. He eventually stopped at the far side of the room. When the rest of those in the room looked at Greg, he was simply staring at the small Christmas tree William had set up earlier.

The room erupted into a cacophony of shouts and protests as the game they had spent hours playing came to a sudden and abrupt end. William asked Greg, “What the hell happened?” However, instead of answering, Greg simply stood there, staring straight ahead at the Christmas tree. Whatever it was, William could see his friend was truly terrified over something. With the rest of the room returned to chatting between themselves, William took Greg into the kitchen. After he calmed a little, Greg asked William, “Did you not see her? An old lady, sitting on an invisible chair next to the Christmas tree. (She was) just staring at me – hovering on nothing!”

Now, immediately alert and with Craig’s claims of someone standing at the bay window flooding back into his mind, William asked Greg to describe the old lady. His friend responded that she was “probably in her eighties or nineties, with short, curly, grey hair, with a long skirt (and) white blouse, and a dark-colored cardigan!” He then offered, “She was staring right at me!” Needless to say, this description shook William internally, although he kept his concerns to himself. He eventually convinced Greg to stay, and they returned to the living room. Although there were no further incidents that evening, William later wrote that he was “glad I wasn’t home alone” in the house.

As 2004 gave way to 2005, and with his fiancé now moved in with him, William was more than relieved that he witnessed no further strange events. He did, though, learn more about the house’s original owner from the man who lived next door but one to him whom he knew as Tezza. According to Tezza, the lady had indeed lived in the property since it was a council house in the 1930s. It was well-known that the lady – Mrs. Tompkins – had taken great pride in her home, specifically, it seemed, in ensuring her windows were sparkling clean. Although Tezza himself hadn’t seen anything strange since she had passed away several years previously, William was now – for the first time – beginning to wonder if the person his friends (Craig and Greg) had seen was Mrs. Tompkins.

By the summer of 2005, William was once again living alone at the house after he and his fiancé had broken up. Given that he was completely alone and had two spare bedrooms, he decided to seek a lodger or two from among his friends, one of whom was Doug, whom William had known since they were children and whom he had always got on well with. Doug would take the second-largest bedroom that overlooked the rear garden. It was as they agreed on the terms of the room that William asked Doug if he might know of anyone who would be interested in renting the third, smaller room at the front of the house. To William’s surprise, Doug did indeed know a person, and several hours later, he introduced William to Dan. As soon as he saw the room, despite its size, Dan was eager to move in.

To begin with, William didn’t mention anything about the strange events to his new lodgers. However, they got on so well that one evening, after several beers, he told them of the bizarre experiences when he first bought the property. To his surprise, both of them were more than interested, with Doug eventually asking William if he had looked in the loft to see if there was anything spooky in there. William realized that he had not yet ventured into the loft, and although it was already 10 pm, the three men agreed to go and investigate.

Once upstairs, William and Dan hoisted Doug up toward the loft. Once he had his head through the loft doorway he took out his mobile phone and used it as a torch so he could look around. A moment later, he suddenly jolted in fright and dropped the phone, kicking it away from his friend’s grasp at the same time and falling to the landing floor. He took a moment to come to his senses before telling William and Dan that the loft was empty, all except for a single wooden stool in the middle of the room, something which, for reasons he couldn’t explain, had immediately unnerved him. However, after taking a few minutes to calm down, Doug went back into the loft, where he sat on the stool and recorded several minutes of footage on his phone.

Following this, the three friends returned to the living room, discussing why someone had left the single wooden stool in the loft. Incidentally, although they didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary in the video footage, Doug captured in the loft, when a mutual friend of the housemates watched it several weeks later, they claimed to see several strange orbs of light moving around the loft. Orbs, the friend explained, were often signs of a spirit or presence manifesting.

These strange events would continue sporadically for the next few years, with the three housemates regularly hearing “heavy footsteps” coming from various parts of the house, as well as occasionally seeing a “shadowy figure” out of the corner of their eyes. William later declared that just about everyone who came to the house during this time witnessed some kind of paranormal activity. During these years, William found himself working 70 and 80-hour weeks, and as such, would spend the weekends letting off steam with Doug and Dan, usually enjoying several beers and ordering takeaway food. One particular weekend, however, was stranger than most.

It was a Saturday, and the big Manchester derby football match between Manchester United and Manchester City was being shown on television. The kick-off was at 5:30 pm, and the three housemates, as well as two other friends – Ben and Brad – enjoyed several beers at the house during the afternoon as they waited for the kick-off. A third friend, Bungle (so-called as he, according to his friends, had a resemblance to the character from the children’s television show Rainbow) also joined them later in the evening. As all six of the friends were enjoying the game and chatting loudly, something strange changed the entire evening.

William and two of the others were sitting on a settee in front of the television. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the settee lifted into the air on William’s side, almost as if a pair of invisible hands had hoisted it up. After several moments, whatever force was holding it up released it, and it crashed back to the living room floor. All six of the young men were stunned into the silence, the only sound coming from the football match on the television, which played on indifferently. After a moment, William blurted out, “What the hell was that?”

Speaking up from the other side of the room, Brad nervously offered that he had “seen what happened”, elaborating that the settee suddenly “lifted a good five inches into the air at one end then fell back to the floor!” In fact, so unsettled by what he had seen, Brad excused himself and left the house to return home. Although the other friends remained at the house, the atmosphere was now far from joyous. William later wrote that whatever was going on at Number 333 it “wasn’t normal!”

Although it wasn’t related to the strange activity in the house, by early 2008, Doug and Dan had both moved out, meaning William was living alone at the property once more. This also meant that he was paying for all the bills by himself, something that was beginning to put a bit of a strain on his finances. By pure chance, his brother, Darren, had recently gotten engaged. He and his fiancé were living in a small apartment behind their parents’ house. Darren asked if Willam wished to temporarily move into their apartment and they lived at Number 333 until the wedding, after which, they would have their own property to move into and he could move back. Of course, this also meant a break from paying the bills and upkeep of the house for several months so William agreed. Incidentally, during their time at the house, Darren and his fiancé witnessed much of the same paranormal activity as William and his housemates had over the previous years.

As the winter of 2008 unfolded, and with Darren and his fiancé now married in living in their own house, William moved back into Number 333. He would write that upon returning, as soon as he walked through the door of the house, he could immediately tell that “something didn’t feel right!” He elaborated that there “seemed to be a presence in the room” with him and that although this presence was undoubtedly the same as had always been there, “this time it was stronger than ever!” It was so strong that he almost had the feeling that someone was physically standing right beside him.

At this point, we should mention that several months previously, Dan had tragically died. Now, confronted with this heavy presence in the house, William spoke out loud, saying, “I can feel that you are here with me. Is that Dan or some other spirit in the house with me?” Not getting any kind of response, he then reached for his mobile phone and took a picture of the space directly in front of him, again stating out loud that if someone was there, they should show themselves. He then turned slightly. He was now facing the television (which was switched off) and took another picture. A moment later, he viewed the two photographs. When he viewed the second one, he was stunned at what he was looking at.

He began looking at his reflection that he had inadvertently captured on the television screen. He began to zoom in more and more until, finally, the image on the screen became clear. There, standing over him, was a dark, shadowy figure. He was now certain this presence was not Dan. Although his friend had been slim and around six feet in height, this figure was much taller and “towered over me as I sat on the sofa!” He further stated that the figure was “just a black mass” and while he couldn’t see or make out any finer details, he was definitely a “bulky-looking guy!” In complete shock, William rushed out of the house and made his way to his parents’ home, where he stayed for several hours. Incidentally, several weeks later, William lost his phone at a house party and, along with it, the photograph, which is, most unfortunate, not only for William but for researchers into this fascinating case.

Several months later, in the summer of 2009, William had found two new housemates. Paul had agreed to rent the larger bedroom, while Matt rented the smaller room that overlooked the front of the property. It was during this time that Darren often arrived at the house on Sunday afternoons to sleep off the several drinks he had in the pub. He would often stay the night, returning home the following morning. One Sunday, though, stood out from the others.

After he arrived from his usual Sunday session, Darren, along with William, Paul, and Matt, were sitting in the living room watching television. Suddenly, Matt blurted out for William to pause the television with the remote. He did so and then turned to face Matt, who was staring at a small gap below the living room door, under which a slither of light was visible. William asked Matt what he was looking at, to which he answered that he had “just seen a shadow move slowly past the bottom of the door!”

William kept the television on pause, and a moment later, all four of the men heard footsteps coming from outside the living room. William later wrote that “the footsteps sound like a heavy-footed person with boots on” who was “walking slowly away” from them in the direction of the staircase. They then proceeded to go up the stairs, becoming a little less audible with each step as they seemingly climbed the stairs. If there was any doubt as to the direction the footsteps were headed, it was removed when the loose floorboard at the top of the stairs creaked loudly as if someone – or something – had stepped on it as they made their way to the bathroom. Then, even more surreal, they heard the handle of the bathroom door being turned, followed by the squeak of the hinges as it was pushed open. The footsteps then stopped, and a few moments of silence hung in the air. This was then harshly broken by the sound of the bathroom door slamming shut before the heavy silence returned once more.

All four of the young men felt a mixture of fear and fascination at these events. After much discussion, William reluctantly agreed to go upstairs and investigate. He paused for several moments before arriving at the bathroom door, reaching for the handle, and pushing it down. Much to his relief, when he pushed the door open, there was no one there. He returned downstairs, and the four men returned to watching the television, certain that the strange events were done for the night. However, several hours later, Darren suddenly urged William to pause the television again. As soon as he did so, all four of them could hear the footsteps once more. This time, they appeared to be pacing back and forth on the landing. The group listened to the footsteps for several moments before Darren suddenly called out, “Stop this now – you’re freaking me out!” To everyone’s surprise, the footsteps stopped immediately.

As the years went on, several different people lodged at the house with William, and the strange events continued. By 2012, Alan was renting the smaller bedroom, and Brunden was renting the larger back bedroom. Darren was now working most weekends and would spend his only day off – Friday – playing golf with his dad in the day before meeting friends at the Beauchief Hotel in the evening. It was during one of these Friday evenings at the Beauchief that he met his future wife, Grace, who was the manager of the bar. They began dating shortly after, and after having been a couple for several months, Darren invited them for a night out at a new casino that had just opened nearby with him and his wife Lisa. The two couples enjoyed a great night, but as they returned home, things turned strange, at least for Grace and William.

After getting into a taxi, it was agreed that as William lived nearer, they would drop him and Grace off first. When they arrived at Number 333, while William was still paying the driver his share of the fair, Grace got out of the taxi. As she did so, she happened to glance up at William’s house. A moment later, she asked William, “Who’s the lady in your house? I thought everyone was out for the evening!” William stepped out of the taxi and asked what she meant. She pointed to the upstairs front bay window and said, “Who’s the old lady in your bedroom window?” Try as he might, William couldn’t see anyone at the window, but he was more than familiar with who Grace had likely seen. He did his best to dismiss the incident, and when Grace looked up at the window again, she said the lady was now no longer there.

Once inside, and without sounding too excitable, William casually asked Grace what the old lady she thought she had seen had looked like. She offered that she was “quite old, with a short, grey perm, (and) a cardigan on, and her arms stretched out leaning on the windowsill!” She then added that “she was looking directly at us as we got out of the taxi!” Of course, William could have guessed what she looked like. He knew exactly who Grace had seen – the apparent presence of Mrs. Tompkins.

As the couple’s relationship developed, William would spend several nights during the week at Grace’s house, which she shared with her seven-year-old son, Elliott, while Grace would usually spend the weekend with William at Number 333. By this time, Grace had returned to her first trade as a hair stylist, which meant that she had almost all of her evenings free. On one particular Friday evening, she had arrived at William’s house after working late, and the couple decided to share a bottle or two of wine and order pizza. They eventually made their way to bed, where William quickly fell asleep. An hour or so later, however, Grace woke him. It was clear to him immediately that she was panicked over something. She then stated that there was “someone downstairs” and that it “sounds like more than one person!”

William quickly reached for his phone and texted Alan and Brunden, wanting to ensure that they had not returned home early and that it wasn’t one of them downstairs. Both text him back immediately. Alan was still at the bar where he worked, enjoying an after-hours staff-only drink, and Brunden was spending the night at his girlfriend’s. William then peeked out of the front window to see if there was any type of activity outside the front of the house. Then, the sounds of footsteps returned.

William would later write that these footsteps “sounded like two people in heavy boots pacing from the kitchen into the front room and back again!” They were so loud and clear that William suspected that those making them wanted to be heard. Cautiously, William made his way out of the bedroom and onto the landing. He was careful to step over the loose floorboard to not alert whoever was downstairs to his arrival. Then, when he had reached the living room, the footsteps suddenly stopped. He reached for the handle of the living room door, and after taking a breath, he held it down and pushed the door open.

As soon as he did so, he could sense the “buzzing sound” in the air before he heard it. He quickly realized that the plasma television was on, even though he always switched it off before coming to bed, something he was certain he had down that night also. He quickly made his way to both the front and back doors – both were locked and secured. He returned to the living room and switched off the television. He then returned to bed and told Grace what he had discovered. Although she was happy there was no one downstairs, she was deeply disturbed by the footsteps, as well as the fact that the television had seemingly come on of its own accord. Neither slept much for the rest of the night. It wouldn’t be the last strange experience Grace would have in the property, nor would it be for William.

Alan and Brunden had both moved out as 2013 unfolded and William, once more, was the sole person at Number 333. It was also around this time that his relationship with Grace came to a temporary end. William had purchased a hair salon and installed Grace as the manager, although he was still working at the car dealership. He found himself, though, spending more and more time involved with issues with the salon, which, in turn, compounded any problems he and Grace were having.

By the end of the year, William had yet another housemate at Number 333, a 25-year-old woman named Sadie, whom he had been introduced to by a mutual friend. She moved into the larger room at the back of the house, and not long after, William and his friends decided to have a small welcome party for his new lodger. This gathering progressed without incident and went on until the early hours of the following morning, at which point only William, Sadie, and a friend of William’s friend, Seth, left the party. Seth, however, was unable to obtain a taxi and eventually asked if it would be OK if he slept on the settee for the night, which William agreed to. He told Seth that he wished to have a lay-in in the morning, so he would leave the keys in the door so Seth could let himself out and not have to wake him up.

The following morning, at around 9 am, William heard Seth slam the front door shut. A moment later, he returned to sleep. When he next awoke, it was gone 11 am, and he immediately felt the hangover that seemed to permeate his entire body. He got out of bed and set off to the bathroom. As he did so, he happened to glance down the stairs and immediately noticed that the front door was slightly open. He immediately ran downstairs, fearful that they had been burgled or that an opportunist might have let themselves in and stolen his car keys and, ultimately, his car. He looked outside and could see his car was still there. However, on the pathway was Sadie’s handbag, its contents strewn around it. He ran back upstairs to wake Sadie, telling her that her bag was on the path and that she should check straight away that nothing was missing.

Despite her handbag containing her phone, money, and a packet of cigarettes, nothing had been taken from it, and all the contents were accounted for, which only made the discovery even more perplexing. Why had someone seemingly entered the house, removed her handbag, and then emptied the contents on the floor without taking anything at all? William took the blame for the incident, stating that he should have gotten out of bed when he heard Seth leave and checked that the door was locked. Eventually, Sadie calmed down somewhat, and the pair returned inside the house. What awaited them, however, only disturbed them even further.

Almost as soon as they entered the house, they saw five sharp knives sticking out of the wooden floorboards in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. What’s more, the knives had been driven into the floor and were a “good two inches deep into the floorboards!” Stranger still, and all the more disturbing, the knives were lined up in order of size and evenly spaced. Whoever – or whatever – was responsible for this, the act was very purposeful. Telling Sadie to remain in the living room, William carefully stepped over the knives and entered the kitchen. He could see immediately that the knives had been taken from the block on the kitchen side. Making the entire situation even more surreal, one of the kitchen drawers had been pulled open, as had two of the cupboard doors.

He returned to the living and immediately called Seth, angrily asking if he had played some kind of joke on them by lining the knives up in the living room and emptying Sadie’s handbag on the path outside. He insisted that he hadn’t, stating the handbag was not on the path when he left, nor were there any knives stuck in the floor, even going on to stress that he had purposely made sure the door was shut when he left. Wiliam recalled that it was the slamming of the door that had awoken him, and he apologized to Seth, realizing he wasn’t responsible. These were, to this point, some of the most disturbing occurrences at Number 333, of which there was no doubt.

Sadie remained at the property for around six months. Then, in early 2014, she simply left without warning. William had arrived home from work one evening to discover she had gone, even leaving the majority of her things behind. What made this sudden departure all the more sour was that she had left owing several months rent. He eventually arranged for her family to pick up her possessions and once more found himself all alone at Number 333. Eventually, he found a new housemate – Timmy – a friend he had known for around 10 years. He knew about the strange activity in the property but agreed to rent the larger room at the back of the house regardless.

It was around this time that William’s brother, Darren, temporarily moved into the house, taking the smaller room overlooking the front garden. He had regularly stopped over each Sunday, but one particular Sunday, he announced that he and Lisa were having some “troubles” and that he was going to stay for the foreseeable future. The arrangement suited all of them fine – they all got on well and often spent time together enjoying a beer in front of the television. William and Darren also regularly told Timmy of the strange things they had seen in the house over the years. However, Timmy would soon find himself at the center of one of these frightful episodes.

One afternoon, Timmy arrived home early from work and found out that he was the only person in the house. After letting himself in, he rushed to the bathroom. It was as he was sitting on the toilet, staring ahead at the door that things took a strange and unsettling turn. As he looked ahead of him, he noticed the light chord that hung down just in front of the door, seemingly being pulled away from the wall as if by an invisible hand. It then began to spin around in the air several times before something sent it crashing into the wall. Perplexed and unnerved, Timmy finished in the bathroom and quickly made his way downstairs, where he sat anxiously waiting for the others to arrive. He told them what he had experienced, and, of course, neither of them doubted him for a second.

Another unsettling incident took place several weeks later, this time when Timmy was away for the weekend. While William had indulged in his usual beers and takeaway in front of the television before retiring to bed, Darren had ventured out for the evening, expecting to be home late. He eventually walked back through the front door of Number 333 a short time before 4 am. Instead of making his way straight to bed, though, he decided to get one more beer out of the fridge. As he made his way to the kitchen, however, he noticed something moving near the window. He turned in the direction of the movement and saw a “bright white shape” moving around outside in the garden. He was now fully alert, contemplating that the figure could be a potential burglar. Whatever it was, it was coming closer to the window. Darren continued to watch, moving as close to the window as he dared. Then, the figure outside became crystal clear. He found himself looking at a “ghostly apparition in the form of an elderly lady floating towards the window with an otherworldly grace!”

Darren had heard William describe Mrs. Tompkins on multiple occasions and was more than certain that this was the lady he was looking at. He continued to watch as the figure suddenly came to a stop. It then turned and looked straight at him. He would later state that he was certain that this figure was not just looking in his direction but was fully aware that he was there looking out of the window. After a moment or two, the old lady turned around and began walking once more, eventually disappearing through the wall of the next-door neighbor’s extension.

By this point, Darren found himself crouching down by the kitchen table, quite literally frozen with fear. He wasn’t sure how long he had remained there before he finally reached for his mobile phone and called William’s number. To begin with, William was annoyed at Darren for having woke him up. Darren, though, ignored his brother and simply told William to “come down here quick!” William made his way to the kitchen, fully expecting Darren to be pulling a drunken and ill-thought-out joke. When he discovered Darren crouched near the table, clearly in fright, he became immediately concerned. He eventually managed to calm him enough for Darren to tell him exactly what had happened and what he had seen. And from the description Darren gave, William was also certain that his brother had seen Mrs. Tompkins.

From this point, it seemed the curious goings-on and unsettling activity increased, both in intensity and in regularity. At around the same time, Wiliam rekindled his relationship with Grace, who began to spend more and more time at Number 333. And she would also be witness to the bizarre events.

One evening, while she and William were in bed, and with a friend of theirs – Ian – spending the evening in the living room on the settee, they suddenly heard what sounded like footsteps walking along the garden path. They both listened as the footsteps – clearly getting closer – reached the front door, at which point they suddenly stopped. Then, much to the pair’s shock, a moment later, they heard the sound of a voice whispering, “Let’s go around the back!”

Upon hearing this, William got out of bed and walked over to the window. He peered outside but couldn’t see anybody. He quickly made his way downstairs to investigate further. When he arrived at the living room, he found Ian sitting wide awake in one of the chairs, a look of sheer fright on his face. He whispered to William, “Who was that?” William responded that he didn’t know, but both men were certain they had heard footsteps and then a voice coming from outside. None of those at Number 333 slept much for the rest of the night.

Another hair-raising event occurred several months later. On the night in question, another of William’s friends – Bob – was staying over at the house on the settee. In the middle of the night, he suddenly awoke (although he wasn’t sure what woke him). A moment later, the living room door leading to the kitchen suddenly swung open. Bob nervously got up from the settee and walked into the kitchen to see if anyone was there. There wasn’t. A moment later, he returned to the living room. Then, without warning, the television suddenly burst into life. He scrambled around for the remote so he could switch it off but was unable to locate it. Then, as suddenly as it came on, it suddenly switched itself off again.  

As 2015 progressed, William found himself alone at the house once more, with Timmy having moved out and Darren returning home. However, as his relationship with Grace grew stronger, she began to spend more and more time at the property. During Christmas 2015, she happened to be on her own at the house one day while William met with some friends for a Christmas drink. After spending most of the day watching Disney films, at around 9:30 pm, she got up from the settee in the living room and made her way to the downstairs toilet. On her way, she glanced out of the kitchen window. To her shock and amazement, there outside was an elderly lady, almost glowing white, standing in the garden, looking directly at her before fading into nothing.

These kinds of encounters continued. However, Grace was seemingly undeterred by them and moved into Number 333 around a year later in early 2017. Not long after, looking to turn the three-bedroom property into more of a family home, the couple began renovations, which included adding an extension on the back. Much like in other cases of haunted buildings from around the world and across the decades, as these renovations went on, the strange activity continued to grow in intensity, as if the apparent spirits present at Number 333 were far from happy with the home improvement work. Along with the strange footsteps that were heard regularly in the house, apparitions of mysterious shadowy figures became more commonplace.

The renovations to the property took almost two years, but by 2019 they were complete. The intense activity, though, continued, with Elliott witnessing the curious goings-on for the first time. One day, out of nowhere, he burst into the living room, clearly annoyed, asking why they kept calling his name. William and Grace, who were watching television at the time, were mystified, claiming neither of them had called him. The young boy returned to his room, clearly still thinking the pair were playing some kind of joke on him. Then, around 30 minutes later, he returned to the living room, once more claiming he had heard them calling his name. Once more, the couple insisted they hadn’t called him. William, however, began to worry that whatever presence was in the house, not only had it seemingly turned its attention to Elliott, but it appeared to be purposely toying with him.

Despite the strange activity, William and Grace married several months later. As they settled into married life, these strange events continued to unfold around them. The footsteps around the property continued to be heard, but they were now often accompanied by loud bangs and thudding sounds, seemingly coming out of the walls themselves. It was these thudding sounds that eventually gave William the idea of using them in an attempt to communicate with the entity that was haunting Number 333. After hearing the strange sounds one evening, he suddenly asked out loud that if there was someone there, they should knock twice. Much to his surprise, two loud knocks sounded out moments later. There was no longer any doubt – something otherworldly was present at Number 333.

On two separate occasions in the summer of 2022, William allowed a paranormal investigative organization and a medium to investigate the property, investigations that he details in full in his previously mentioned book. One thing that was confirmed during those investigations is that there was more than one spirit present there. Of even more interest, and a detail that shows up in other paranormal cases of apparently “haunted houses” is that the location – not so much the house but the location it is built on – contains some kind of interdimensional portal that allows spirits (or at least what we would understand as spirits) to pass from their realm to ours. And this portal is not only open to the spirits that had haunted Number 333 but to any spirit.

It is the belief of many paranormal researchers and investigators that these portals or gateways exist all over the world. Indeed, I have a friend who experienced very similar incidents as those highlighted here for several years. Following an investigation of the property, it was also determined that such a portal existed on the land their property stood on and, as such, was allowing multiple entities and spirits to cross from one dimension to another.

We might ask just where else these portals might be and if they are random or if there is some kind of pattern to their whereabouts. Are certain elemental and atmospheric conditions required for these apparent gateways to be created? And, if we accept for a moment that they undoubtedly exist, is it only spirits that use them, or might all manner of creatures and entities from the paranormal world utilize them also?  

Perhaps it is fitting to let William himself have the final word here. In his book, he wrote of the bizarre and, at times, terrifying events at Number 333 that “After all this, I still call myself a skeptic with an open mind – I’ve seen and heard too much. Maybe one day Mrs. Tompkins will appear before me and fully change my mind!”