150 Reports Of UFOs, Ghosts, Witches, And Other Paranormal Activity Haunt West Midlands, England
The West Midlands area, deep in the heart of England, has thousands of years of haunting history, mystery, and paranormal happenings. Judging by the many calls to police by West Midlands’ residents making paranormal reports of ghosts, witches, and UFOs, that West Midlands’ haunting history and mystery seems to continue.
In just the past five years, the West Midlands Police have responded to over 150 calls from frightened residents claiming ghosts, witches, and UFOs are in their midst, reports the Daily Mail.
While many of these calls have left police stumped, with no ghosts, witches or UFOs to confront, pursue, or arrest, at least one report of a witch did lead to an arrest. Whether it was the witch who was arrested or the reporting party wasn’t made clear, however.
But the police in West Midlands do take resident reports of ghosts, witches, and UFOs very seriously, often offering advice and explanations regarding any paranormal activity when possible.
At the same time, bogus reports of ghosts, UFOs, witches, zombies, or anything claiming to be a paranormal encounter are taken equally serious.
“While the figures can seem amusing, behind some of these ‘supernatural’ calls may be a deeply troubled individual or a person wasting valuable police time, which would be better spent preventing real crimes,” said a West Midlands police spokesman. “West Midlands Police always take action against those found to be knowingly making false and malicious calls to the emergency services.”
While 911 is the emergency number to call in the U.S., in West Midlands and elsewhere in England, it’s 999, and 999 has been used surprisingly frequently by terrified West Midland residents calling police regarding the paranormal.
Forty of those 999 calls were to report ghosts, with UFO calls numbering about 30. But it’s the witches that seem to be the most unnerving for the people of West Midlands, with nearly 80 calls coming in to either report a witch or someone dabbling in witchcraft. The majority of these witch reports were deemed credible, or at least legitimate, with only eight turning out to be hoaxes.
The Birmingham Mail, caught up with local ghost expert, Nick Duffy, leader of paranormal group West Midlands Ghost, to get his thoughts on the high number of ghost, UFO, and witch reports received by police in West Midlands.
According to Duffy, the relatively high 150 ghost, witch, and UFO sightings are a recent phenomenon driven by an increased interest in the paranormal.
“When we started in 1989 we were the only (ghost hunting group) in the Midlands. Six years ago there were 70. I stopped counting after that. If you call a paranormal group, they will not come out of your house without something happening – and that is the real problem. These figures are also a by-product of (the television program) ‘Most Haunted’ and all the American rubbish.”
Duffy also isn’t surprised people call the police during or after a paranormal experience. While the number of reports seems to have increased, calling the police is nothing new.
“For people who experience things like poltergeist activity, the police have always been a go-to source,” he added.
So if you’re ever in West Moreland, keep your eyes to the sky for UFOs and witches, and don’t be surprised if a ghost or zombie creeps up on you in the night.
[Image by Mark Wilson, Getty Images, and the Telegraph]