The Poltergeist Prince of London

The Poltergeist Prince of London recounts the reported haunting that began in 1956 at the Hitchings family home in Battersea. The disturbances started with an unidentified silver key on Shirley Hitchings’ bed, followed by tapping sounds and objects apparently being moved. As the activity continued, attempts were made to communicate with the presence, which became known as Donald.

James Clark and Shirley Hitchings trace the case through family notes, Shirley’s recollections and the files of psychical researcher Harold Chibbett. Donald’s messages reportedly developed from knocks into written correspondence, eventually claiming an identity as Louis-Charles, or Louis XVII, whose fate during the French Revolution had long been disputed. The account also records the case’s public attention and later investigation.