Alma Fielding and the Thornton Heath Haunting

In February 1938, thirty-four-year-old housewife Alma Fielding went to the press with an amazing story: her home in the London suburb of Croydon was haunted. According to Alma, objects would fly off the shelves without the aid of human hands, the family was constantly under assault from unseen forces, and on multiple occasions, they found a six-fingered handprint on a mirror.

It was through a local clergyman that paranormal investigator Nandor Fodor learned of Alma’s haunting and he was immediately interested in the family. As a member of the International Institute for Psychical Research, Fodor had recently come under attack from the Spiritualist community, who saw him as nothing more than a cynic, and he was looking for precisely this kind of case to reestablish himself as a believer. However, after several months studying Alma and the haunting of the Fielding home, Fodor found himself at the center of a story far more complex than he’d ever expected.

References

Crane, Lionel. 1938. "House is haunted, declare experts." Sunday Pictorial, February 27: 3.

Duchi, Shireen. 1992. "The strange case of the terrified housewife." Croydon Advertiser, August 28: 20.

—. 1992. "The strange case of the terrified housewife, part three." Croydon Advertiser, August 21: 16.

—. 1992. "The strange case of the terrified housewife, part two." Croydon Advertiser, August 14: 16.

Masad, Ilana. 2021. 'The Haunting Of Alma Fielding' Is A Ghost Story — And A Tale Of Power And Fear. April 28. Accessed October 5, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/28/991151623/the-haunting-of-alma-fielding-is-a-ghost-story-and-a-tale-of-power-and-fear.

Norwood News. 1938. "Is it an evil spirit?" Norwood News (Croydon, UK), February 25: 3.

Summerscale, Kate. 2021. The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

Thompson, Victor, and Lionel Crane. 1938. "Terror night in home wrecked by ghosts." Sunday Pictorial, February 20: 40.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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