Copyright dailystar
A couple who specialise in paranormal investigations have claimed that their home renovations have stirred up a host of eerie occurrences. Amy Waine and Jarrad Cutting, originally from Adelaide, Australia, purchased Britain's " most haunted house ", The Cage in St Osyth, Essex, earlier this year after learning it was on the market. The 16th-century two-bedroom cottage has a chilling past as a former prison for women accused of witchcraft , awaiting trial or execution in the 1500s. Vanessa Mitchell, the previous owner, spent over a decade trying to sell the property after experiencing ghostly apparitions and even claiming she was pushed while pregnant. Now, Amy and Jarrad are restoring the £230k home to its original state with plans to operate it as a holiday rental. However, they've reported hearing unexplained noises and even having their bedroom light mysteriously switch on at 3am since moving in. Amy, who runs a blog and YouTube channel called Amy's Crypt exploring 'creepy' locations, shared: "Sometimes you'll walk in and think it feels strange." She added: "We've heard strange noises and had strange smells. "Doors open and close on their own - I've had a speaker come off a shelf." She also noted: "Our bedroom lights turned themselves on at 3am." Amy further explained: "There is a theory in the paranormal that when you undertake a restoration, it can spike the activity." She observed: "It is interesting to feel the house shift and change." She admitted: "It gets a bit creepier at night and I try to get to bed before Jarrad so I don't have to be alone downstairs." The Cage served as a prison from the 16th Century until 1908, when it was converted into a private dwelling. It once held 13 women accused of witchcraft before they faced trial in Chelmsford - the most notorious among them being Ursula Kemp. Ursula, known as a healer, was executed in 1582 after a family blamed her for their daughter's death. Jarrad stated: "We're looking for ways to preserve and honour those women's legacies for what they went through. This house has become the home of the witch trials. "We are here to show the house and any ghostly residents respect and share the history." Amy chimed in: "The more you read about the history of the witch trials, the angrier you get about the injustices of women." Vanessa, the previous owner, claimed she witnessed eerie blood spatters and spectral figures such as a "tall, black figure". She had previously declared: "The house is absolutely haunted. "There is no doubt in the world that this house is a very haunted house. It always has been. "It started off with smaller things that nobody really cared about. The doors would open, the kettle would turn itself on, the implements by the fire would swing back and forward, the doors would open and shut. "All of the sudden the room would go freezing cold and you could see the black thing there." Amy and Jarrad travel the globe investigating haunted locations, with their YouTube channel Amy's Crypt amassing a following of 330k subscribers. The pair venture to spine-chilling locations, delving into their histories and chatting with individuals who've encountered supernatural phenomena. Amy's fascination with the paranormal began after spotting a young girl in her San Francisco flat. She revealed: "We never really looked for or considered a haunted property. But when speaking with friends about The Cage, we were told it was actually up for sale. "We loved the house and the claims about it - a couple of months later we were the owners. It came to us rather than we went looking for it." The property, which had sat vacant for nearly 10 years, was plagued with dampness and mould issues. Amy disclosed: "There were problems with it as it had been unoccupied. "There was no central heating, the kitchen was rotting. We wanted to bring back the originality. "We're restoring the floorboards which had been layered with carpet. We're buying period furniture. "We want to make it a period home but still functional and modern. Our grand plan to open it for the public overnight stays - hopefully by next October." Jarrad mentioned: "This is the first time we've worked on a property restoration and we want the house to tell its story accurately. We have blown our 50k budget and we're winging it now." For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
