An extract from author Rob Kilburn's Tyne and Weird II, detailing mysterious events in Nile Street, Sunderland.
Watch a feature-length look at Curious Sunderland at www.shotstv.com, Freeview channel 276, or on the Sunderland Echo's YouTube channel.
Watch a feature-length look at Curious Sunderland at www.shotstv.com, Freeview channel 276, or on the Sunderland Echo's YouTube channel.
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00:00 In the summer of 1949, Mrs. Harriet Clark of 51 Nile Street, Sunderland was plagued
00:24 by a bizarre offence taking place at her home.
00:28 Harriet explained that she witnessed two men in sand shoes climbing into her house during
00:34 the early hours of the morning.
00:37 If that isn't menacing enough, she found a note composed of newspaper headlines that
00:44 had been stuck to an upstairs window that read "I will get you's all".
00:50 "It all began about a month ago," she said.
00:53 "At about 1.30am we heard the back door creaking, one of the family ran out and found
01:00 the back room light on and the key from the door lying on the floor.
01:05 There was no one there."
01:08 Since then, the home had windows broken five times and their daughter had become too scared
01:13 to stay the night.
01:15 Mrs. Clark became even more terrified after catching a glimpse of the face of a man through
01:20 the window behind her bedhead.
01:24 Marks left on the kitchen window, which appeared to be made by cigarettes, had also been found.
01:31 As this menacing campaign of harassment progressed, Harriet Clark found a parcel in the outhouse
01:37 near the property.
01:39 When the parcel was opened, a blood-soaked shroud was found inside that appeared to be
01:45 of an expensive quality, Harriet put the parcel back where she found it and it vanished before
01:51 the police arrived.
01:54 Harriet's son-in-law, William MacDonald, then began house-sitting in the hope of catching
01:59 the perpetrators.
02:03 After one of the incidents, William ran out of the house and witnessed a man in sand shoes
02:09 climbing out of the window of an empty house next door.
02:12 He chased the man and his accomplice down, eventually catching him, but the man, who
02:17 was described as being well-spoken, explained that he had been taken lead from the roof.
02:24 William was knocked down and the two men escaped into the darkness.
02:28 The family continued to be tormented and the culprit's ability to avoid the police led
02:34 some to believe they knew when they would be there.
02:37 Something strange going on soon captured the public's imagination and it was reported
02:42 to have drawn hundreds of people to the property, all desperate to have a look at the unexplainable.
02:49 Harriet's daughter, Ava Clark, received a letter after the publication of the original
02:56 article in the Sunderland Echo that read, "People are wondering about the mystery of
03:03 number 51, but there's no mystery about it.
03:07 We've been watching you for some time and we are out to get you."
03:15 Eventually, the family vacated the house to stay with relatives.
03:21 No more seems to have been reported on these events, leaving them unexplained.
03:26 Was it malicious thieves?
03:28 Was it something paranormal?
03:29 Or was it something else entirely?
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