HANOVER, Pa. – A Pennsylvania couple say they are trapped in a haunted house that no one wants to buy, and that supernatural forces have terrorized and physically injured them.
The house has been featured on a number of TV shows and is now the subject of a book. The last time a crew from local television station WPMT visited the home, a photographer said something reached out and touched him.
When WPMT returned on Wednesday for a Halloween update, both the reporter and photographer claimed to have similarly odd experiences – including headaches, bizarre audio recordings and sudden chills.
Nestled at the corner of Maple and Monroe streets in a quiet Hanover neighborhood, it's a house that hasn't felt much like home for owners Deanna and Tom Simpson since they moved in.
It's known as Hanover's most haunted house, and it's been featured on the Travel Channel's show, 'The Dead Files.'
"As soon as we pulled up, I was just instantly drawn to it," said Deanna Simpson.
Deanna fell in love with the house's quirks and charm.
It reminded her of a childhood home in Kentucky, but that love story soon turned into a nightmare, one the Simpsons say they can't seem to escape.
"The problem is nobody wants it for a home, cause it's not safe," Simpson explained. "I've been thrown down the steps, I had a fractured tailbone. We've been bit. We've been scratched."
Tom is slightly skeptical, but agrees that something is happening.
"The thing is, I used to kid her about 'your ghosts did this, that,' and I was at the kitchen table saying that to her, and I got a burning sensation, and I got a scratch, and I said, 'there might be something to this,' Tom said.
Deanna remembered crying and asking him, "'How do you explain that? What happened there? You know, there's no cats around. We're just sitting here.'"
She said the couple have experienced mystery ailments, particularly in one room where a mounted elk has inexplicably wound up on the floor several times.
"This is where we thought we were having a heart attack. We'd end up going to the local hospital. We'd drive there, and as soon as we left the house, we felt better," said Deanna.
In another room, Deanna says she's watched by a woman outside the window, and something crawls into bed with her at night.
They've tried a number of cleanses but with no luck.
"We've had a priest, a preacher, a shaman, a reiki healer, a witch, and then, Tom and I said, 'nobody is able to do it, we're just going to do it ourselves,' but we just can't do it; it's just bigger than us," said Deanna.
For now, Deanna says they'll continue to decorate the house, making it their own. She also says they have their faith. It's just a question of how much longer will they be able to stay.
