Woman forced to move home seven times in two years because of underwear-stealing ghosts

When Hull woman Pauline Hickson's underwear started going missing, little did she know it would signal the start of two years of hell. Because what could have been dismissed as a slight annoyance, was actually the work of forces beyond this world and one of many paranormal pranks that would ruin Pauline Hickson's life. The 58-year-old says she was forced to move home seven times in two years because she has been followed around by two ghosts, who would steal her bras, take her jewellery and even use the shower. But now, after a so-called "hypno-exorcism", a little-known ghost busting technique, she says she is free of the mischievous spirits and finally living her life. "I thought I was going crazy," said Pauline, currently living in west Hull. "I didn't know why it was happening to me, it was like living through hell and I had no one to turn to."

The spooky happenings started two years ago, after she moved into a bungalow in north Hull. Within a few weeks of living there, Pauline felt a presence she could not explain and strange things would happen while she was out of the house. Pictures started slipping off the walls, the shower room was being used and there were scratches left up and down the doors. She would come in from a day out and be greeted by the mess left behind by the ghosts, who she says would also rifle through her belongings, send the temperature either soaring or plummeting in her home and even leave her a cup and spoon out ready for a hot drink. Pauline, who was living with her nephew at the time, said: "One day me and my sister came back from the shops and the kitchen looked like someone had wiped it down with dirt and then freeze-dried it. There were scratches up the walls too."



It was the final straw for Pauline, who packed up her belongings and moved to Cambridge – but she was followed and the same spooky pranks started happening again. Within a few months she returned to Hull, this time to live with her niece, but it was not long before her clothes, including her bras, went missing again. Then, an old doctor's note in her name from when she lived in the bungalow was placed mysteriously on the table. Terrified, she moved into a hostel and then into another house, but there was no escaping the ghostly presence. "All the way through, the exact same things were happening. I ended up staying in hotels because I was too scared to go home," she said. "I thought my family were doing it to me. I didn't believe anyone and I started to lose people from my life. I would spend all day just wandering around the streets, trying to stay out of the house."

She moved into her current home, but when things started going awry again, she sought help from medium Anita Gordon, who led her to ghostbuster Steve Kneeshaw. He put her under hypnosis, which he combined with an exorcism, and the results were instant. He reported feeling a "blast of cold air" and then saw an old, large man and a 14-year-old boy, fly past him. Since then, Pauline has not experienced a hint of paranormal activity in her home. She suspects the ghosts are associated with an old dressing table she bought before she moved into the bungalow, in which she found a ruby wedding anniversary card and other personal items. Now she feels she has had a spiritual awakening and is looking to move out of Hull and start a ghost-free life. She said: "If Steve hadn't come along, I would have been gone. It was taking my soul and spirit away. It was like I was dead inside, but now, my eyes are sparkling, my spirit is back, I look around and all I see is colour."