Key Takeaways
- The Battersea Poltergeist, named Donald, escalated activity by setting fires and engaging in communication with an investigator.
- Donald assumed numerous identities, including an 18th-century actor, a French prince, and later James Dean, creating an identity crisis.
- Investigator Harold Chibbett conducted a years-long, obsessive investigation into Donald's claimed identity as Prince Louis.
- Poltergeist activity included flying objects, daily knocks, and targeted actions preventing Shirley Hitchings from employment.
- Grandma Ethel's death followed escalating poltergeist threats and a violent incident; Donald later vanished by 1968.
Deep Dive
- Donald, the poltergeist, set 15-year-old Shirley Hitchings' bedsheets on fire in 1956 after reporters failed to appear.
- Investigators could not determine a conventional cause for the fire, leading to speculation about paranormal involvement.
- The activity was speculated to be a psychic phenomenon centered around Shirley Hitchings, potentially a Tulpa creation.
- Donald cycled through various identities, initially claiming to be an 18th-century actor who died in 1753; investigator Harold Chibbett found one name, Richard Steele, close to historical records.
- Donald later claimed to be a 15-year-old French prince who drowned in the English Channel after escaping the French Revolution.
- These claims included detailed descriptions of 18th-century France and coincided with a British TV series, 'The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernell'.
- Donald claimed to be 'Louis', a crown prince of France executed during the revolution, prompting Harold Chibbit to investigate.
- Chibbit connected this to a historical trend of individuals claiming to be the lost son of King Louis XVI, a narrative fueling 19th-century books and scams.
- The historical Prince Louis died in prison at age eight from abuse by revolutionaries.
- In 1999, DNA testing confirmed the identity of Prince Louis's preserved heart, which was then laid to rest with his parents, Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI.
- Rumors circulated since his 1795 death that he had escaped, leading to numerous imposters claiming to be the 'lost dauphin' over decades.
- Investigator Harold Chibbet's extensive research into Prince Louis became a central, obsessive aspect of his poltergeist investigation.
- In July 1956, Harold Chibbett concluded the poltergeist activity was genuinely supernatural, citing its prolonged duration over six months.
- Donald communicated in French and drew fleur-de-lis symbols, increasing the mystery.
- The poltergeist, identifying as 'Shaggy Roots', later demanded a typewriter and threatened to burn Grandma Ethel's sheets in alcohol, stating she would be dead by dawn.
- Donald claimed to possess ESP, or 'accidental mind transference', after allegedly making two correct car accident predictions.
- Shirley's autographed photo of British child actor Jeremy Spencer reportedly began to 'weep' salty moisture, a phenomenon documented by Harold Chibbett as common poltergeist activity.
- Chibbett later demanded proof Donald was Prince Louis, prompting an angry, more articulate response from the entity.
- By February 1957, Donald claimed to be James Dean, with messages displaying improved handwriting and grammar, expressing a desire to return to California.
- Donald showed jealousy when Shirley admired the James Dean persona, stating he would stop communicating with it.
- The hosts speculated the phenomena could be Shirley's latent telekinetic abilities, likening it to a 15-year-old girl's fantasy involving James Dean.
- Donald wrote letters seeking acting opportunities for Shirley, leading to escalated poltergeist activity on the night a representative visited.
- In July 1957, after five shillings went missing from her purse, Grandma Ethel experienced a violent poltergeist event, including objects flying and a butcher knife sticking into a door, which caused her to have a stroke and later die in a nursing home.
- Donald took a vow of silence after her death but broke it the next day with a note.
- Harold Chibbett spent years investigating Donald, concluding by 1963 that it was a spirit, but likely not Prince Louis.
- Shirley Hitchings married Derek in 1965, and the poltergeist activity, though lessened, persisted for some time, including unexplained TV channel changes.
- By 1968, Donald vanished without explanation, and investigator Harold Chibbett's manuscript on the poltergeist was lost by publishers.
- Donald never returned, leaving its true identity a mystery; Shirley recounted stories of its departure, including a 'goodbye' note.