A mum who says she was haunted for two years by a deviant spirit believes bringing a new baby into her home finally rid her of the sinister presence.
Mum-of-six Charlene Smith, 36, claims she had her first encounter with the ghost in October 2015, when she was roused from her sleep by someone - or something - touching her in intimate areas, initially believing it was her partner at the time getting 'frisky'.
But she soon learnt that it was actually the work of a spectre, which had entered her house in Harlow, Essex, which resulted in her calling in ghostbusters, mediums and even a priest to try and help remove the spirit.
Charlene, who said she was forced to flee her home on two occasions due to the presence, recalled: "The attacks had become daily, after a priest came to the house and sprinkled it with holy water in April 2016.
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"It had made the haunting 10 times worse. The kids were also seeing things and feeling spirits brush against them. They were as distressed as I was."
She continued: "The first night I fled, it had attacked me in my bedroom. Shadowy arms rained down on me as it scratched and pulled at me. I was terrified and decided to record it on my phone, to prove what was happening.
"I called my mum and sent her the video. She came right away and knocked on the door telling us to get out of the house - so we all rushed out.
"She took us to the council that morning to try and find a new house and from that moment on, she completely believed that what was happening at home was supernatural."
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A second attack not long after left Charlene so scared that she scooped up her children and ran out into the street.
But the most disturbing revelation came when a medium visited the house in July 2016, telling Charlene that she was the centrifugal force causing all the upset.
She recalled how the unwelcome events were triggered after her uncle died tragically at the age of 48 after falling down the stairs in September 2015.
Charlene, who is mum to Courtney, 17, Chanel, 15, Charlene, 13, McKenzie, 12, Chloe, 10, and Chardonnay, three - said: "The circumstances around his death were traumatic and we struggled as a family. I started lighting candles and asking for a sign from him.
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"It was after this that strange things started happening."
She added: "Objects would move around the house and cupboards started to bang. At first, I thought it was my nan communicating with me, as I see her face in the house sometimes.
"But when I started to feel tickles against my leg and feel someone touching me in more intimate places, I realised something more sinister was in my home."
The abuse - which took place in daylight as well as at night - would often leave her with scratches and bruises, as the 'obsessed' spirit grabbed her and clawed at her clothes.
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Charlene added: "I couldn't sleep, as I was so scared it would touch me.
"I was so anxious I was jumping off the walls. For nine months, in which the haunting was at its most intense, I was living in fear of the spirit, I had no idea how it had manifested or what had caused it to invade my home."
She turned to help from a priest, who blessed the home with holy water, and ghost hunters, saying: "They never picked up any activity until I came into the house. The moment I walked in the door all their machines lit up."
Eventually, Charlene found answers when a medium visited the home in July 2016 and advised her to emit some positive energy to banish it for good.
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"I thought it was connected to the house, but the reality is that it had latched onto me and no matter where I went it would follow me," she said.
She then signed up to learn about mediumship, throwing herself into meditating alongside her classes in a bid to control the energy her uncle's death had unleashed.
However, the hauntings 'lingered for two years', although they were 'nowhere near as bad' as they had been before.
Much to Charlene's surprise, it was after giving birth to her sixth child, Chardonnay, in April 2018 when the spirit seemed to have been banished for good.
She now calls her daughter - who was born at just 34 weeks - her 'guardian angel', as she is certain it was her positive life force that helped shift the ghost.
"It was instant - the moment I returned home with my little girl, the spirit disappeared," she said.
"I call Chardonnay my guardian angel because she saved us. She is a miracle and is so pure and loving."
Charlene has since channelled her psychic gift to help others, giving readings to family and friends and also teaching her children how to keep their inner demons at bay.
Featured Image Credit: PA Real Life