The solicitor who interviewed a ghost

SHORTLY after Richard Grosse qualified as a solicitor, he undertook a unusual assignment — interviewing Britain’s most famous modern ghost.

From August 1977, the Enfield Poltergeist haunted the young Hodgson sisters Janet and Margaret, over the course of 18 months.

The solicitor used to accompany his father, the late Maurice Grosse (above), who was lead psychic investigator on the case, to the house and conducted a lengthy interrogation of the spirit.

It spoke in an old man’s growl, seeming to come from behind Janet, and identified itself as Bill Wilkins, a former resident who died in the house.

Mr Grosse junior, recalling his experiences in Radio 4’s The Reunion last Friday, dismissed any idea that the girls could have acted as ventriloquists.

“The voice talked incessantly for two or three hours,” he said, and it would have been impossible for either of the girls to speak without clearing their throat or damaging their vocal chords.