Today I want to talk about one of the most famous and well documented hauntings here in the state of Connecticut. This state has a very rich history of paranormal activity and this house leads the pack. In November of 1974 Lindley Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut went from a quiet little neighborhood to the place where nightmares are made. One house there which was owned by Gerard and Laura Goodin became the target of a reported Poltergeist or at least Poltergeist like activity. The story states that furniture began to move on its own, objects flew through the air or levitated and the house-cat, a perfectly normal kitty began to speak perfect English. Here is an excerpt from the site DamnedCT.com
"As the situation seemingly increased in intensity, police and firefighters were called in, as were news reporters, priests, paranormal investigators and of course, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Thousands gathered in the street to try and glimpse the unexplained phenomena that was supposedly besieging the house, and an international haunting sensation was born.
What made this case was so compelling and drew so much attention as compared to other "hauntings" was the high number of reputedly reliable witnesses who reported experiencing the unusual activities firsthand. Beyond the Goodins and their friends, more than two dozen firefighters, police officers and other investigators on the scene saw all sorts of bizarre happenings, including couches and chairs spontaneously moving across the floor, tables and a refrigerator levitating, paintings and crucifixes falling off walls and even knives flying through the air. They also recounted hearing a range of audio phenomena, from inexplicable knocks and bangings to disembodied voices; Sam the family cat was alleged to have said a number of things (including "Jingle Bells!" and "Bye bye"), while the decorative swans in the front yard were also accused of making unearthly sounds."
"Although events came to a head in 1974, odd things had been happening since the Goodins adopted Marcia in 1968, increasing in frequency and intensity in 1971. A year later was the first time the family officially called authorities, initially to help find the source of rhythmic pounding they had heard in the house at night. After that, more unusual events started happening—doors opening and closing themselves as well as items being found in random places around the house. The family repeatedly called in the police to search for a cause to it all, but despite thorough investigations, nothing definitive was discovered.
Activity reached a peak in November 1974, and by that time a number of investigators—including the Warrens, members of the American Society for Psychichal Research and the Psychical Research Foundation—in addition to the police, had staked out the house. They conducted interviews with family members, including Marcia, and detailed a number of seemingly inexplicable happenings. In addition to the aforementioned activities, TVs were tipping over, dressers were moving around, window shades were rolling up and wall shelves were pulling out of the wall, all without seeming provocation. The Goodins, who claimed to not believe in the paranormal, were increasingly stressed and vexed by what was going on in their home."
"It is November1974, the Warrens are called in to by the Goodin family to investigate a malevolent force that had been terrorizing the family and home. Furniture was being thrown, family members injured, even the family cat was speaking ethnic slurs. “Things were flying around in the front room when we went in there.” Gerald Goodin told a radio station, describing events of Sunday, November 24, 1974. “Whatever it was, it was acting like a demented person and I felt I had to get my family out of the house.” By November 26th, the police superintendent said the supposed haunting was a hoax by the troubled Marcia, and fed by the parents, eager to cash in on their newfound fame. Whatever it was, it made national headlines, drew crowds of onlookers and went on to become a legend that causes goose-bumps still today.
A Bridgeport patrolman responded to “trouble unknown” called to the Goodin house that November Sunday. “When I went to the door, the lady came to the door, I asked ‘What’s the problem?’” recalled the patrolman now a sergeant. “She was crying and pointed.” The lady was Laura Goodin, she pointed to a living room so disheveled it looked as if someone had thrown the furnishings about. ” I asked if she had been burglarized?” She replied “No this is always going on,” Thinking the dreadful pounding noises that echoed through the home for years and the moving objects might be caused by a “settling” of the house, the police called in the fire department. But fire officials and the city engineer found no structural problems, and ruled out the possibility of renovation work at the nearby St. Vincent’s Medical Center was causing the problem."
The house on Lindley Street still stands to this day. There has been no official explanation for the events that took place there and I believe that you can even take a tour of the house. A book was written about the house and you can see the website and find out information about this horrific place here:
http://www.worldsmosthauntedhouse.com/
This is what 966 Lindley Street looks like now: