Copyright dailyrecord
A paranormal investigating couple who bought Britain's 'most haunted house' say their home renovations have sparked a flurry of spooky activity. 'Ghost busters' Amy Waine and Jarrad Cutting bought The Cage in St Osyth, Essex, earlier this year after finding out it was up for sale from a friend. The two-bedroom 16th century home has a dark history as a former lock-up for women accused of witchcraft awaiting trial or execution in the 1500s. Previous owner Vanessa Mitchell witnessed ghostly figures and claims she was pushed over while pregnant before spending 12 years trying to sell the cottage. The couple, originally from Adelaide in Australia, are restoring the £230k home back to its roots and plan to run it as a holiday let. However, the couple say they've heard strange noises and had their bedroom light turn on by itself at 3am since they've moved in. Amy, who runs a blog and YouTube channel called Amy's Crypt exploring 'creepy' places , said: "Sometimes you'll walk in and think it feels strange. "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. "Our bedroom lights turned themselves on at 3am. "There is a theory in the paranormal that when you undertake a restoration, it can spike the activity. "It is interesting to feel the house shift and change. "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 was used as a prison from the 16th Century until 1908 when it became a private residence. Thirteen women accused of witchcraft were kept there before they were put on trial in Chelmsford - with the most famous being Ursula Kemp. Ursula, a healer, was hanged in 1582 after being accused by a family of being responsible for the death of their daughter. Jarrad said: "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 added: "The more you read about the history of the witch trials, the angrier you get about the injustices of women." Previous owner Vanessa claimed she saw mysterious blood spatters and ghostly figures such as a 'tall, black figure'. She previously said: "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 world exploring haunted places with their YouTube channel Amy's Crypt racking up 330k subscribers. The couple visit creepy locations, investigate the history and speak to those affected by a paranormal experience. Amy first became interested in the otherworldly when she saw a little girl in an apartment she was living in in San Francisco. She said: "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 home, which had been empty for the best part of a decade, had problems with damp and mould. Amy explained: "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 added: "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."
