Stanley Park Lodge, a property dating back to 1868, was the site of numerous reported paranormal experiences for a family living there in the early 1980s, according to author John Reppion's book 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool.
Wendy Sullivan and her husband moved into the abandoned and boarded-up lodge as newlyweds in 1980. Wendy was pregnant with their first child, David, at the time. Initially, she noticed nothing unusual about the home, but that changed one night when she was woken by a terrifying noise.
Strange Noises and Ghostly Visitors
Wendy described being woken in the middle of the night by a deafening mixture of a howl, a moan, and a scream that seemed to bounce off the bedroom walls. When the noise stopped, the bedroom door began slowly opening. Her husband was sleeping downstairs, while she had David in the bedroom with her. Her daughter Jenny was in her cot in another room, and her grandparents were staying across the landing.
Wendy later discovered that her grandmother had heard the noise too and had come to investigate, believing it came from Wendy's bedroom. Her husband, however, had heard nothing. Wendy's grandmother stayed with her for the rest of the night, but this was only the beginning of a series of strange experiences.
Children's Encounters
Over the following years, the children began describing things they claimed to have seen around the house. Jenny spoke about the painted murals on her bedroom walls “dancing” for her and became upset after telling her mum she had seen a woman walk across the landing and “disappear through a wall”.
Wendy said she never encouraged conversations about ghosts with her children, preferring not to frighten them. However, a story David told when he was around four years old left her particularly unsettled. He told his mum he was sad because an elderly man and woman were no longer allowed to visit him and tell him stories. According to David, the couple had been coming into his bedroom every night, entertaining him with stories before disappearing through the wall.
The 'Bad Lady' and the Fireplace
David also described seeing a little boy and a little girl playing with a stuffed rabbit in the bedroom. The children had been throwing the toy to one another and laughing when it accidentally landed in the fireplace. Although the fireplace was boarded up and unusable, David described how the little boy reached into the flames to retrieve the rabbit and burned himself. The children began screaming before a woman rushed into the room and told them off.
David described this woman as the 'bad lady'. He claimed she had told the elderly couple they were no longer allowed to visit him. According to Wendy, they never returned.
Family Revisits the Past
Years after the family had moved out, the Sullivans revisited their experiences at Stanley Park Lodge. David repeated the story of the elderly couple and the children, while Jenny became noticeably anxious. Eventually, she revealed that she too had heard the children giggling and screaming. But she had been told she must not tell anybody about what she had experienced. If she did, she had been warned, she would have to stay in the house forever and play.
The family eventually left the lodge, but questions about the mysterious figures they claimed to have encountered remained unanswered.
