An NHS trust called in an exorcist after staff at a Norfolk hospice complained the site was haunted, including by the spectral figure of a girl in a red dress. Workers said they had experienced a series of “paranormal incidents” at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge, which was previously used as a children’s hospital.
To address their concerns, the lodge’s chaplain contacted the Diocese of Norwich and requested the assistance of ‘deliverance ministers’, commonly referred to as exorcists. The Church of England is believed to have more than 40 deliverance ministers who conduct religious services, including the use of holy oil, to address spiritual distress.
From Hollywood horror to regulated pastoral practice
Exorcists became a household concept in the 1970s in the wake of the horror film The Exorcist, about a young girl possessed by a demon.
The incidents at the Unthank Road hospice, run by the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, and the request for church support, are outlined in emails from the hospice chaplain to the Diocese of Norwich, obtained by the Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act.
The emails were sent in 2023, shortly before the hospice relocated to a purpose-built site at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
In one email, the chaplain described a “difficult time” at the site and said staff were “awaiting advice/support from the deliverance team [regarding] some ‘paranormal’ incidents which have been really upsetting staff”. The chaplain also requested holy oil from Norwich Cathedral to be used as part of a service for patients and staff concerned the site was haunted.
A week later, the chaplain thanked the diocese for its “kind support”, adding: “I am in conversation with a member of the deliverance team which is aiding the care and ministry I’m offering.” The chaplain said that once staff had left the site, they would walk round the building “blessing and sprinkling all areas in respect of the memories the [sic] hold and the new future they will have”.
Trust confirms blessing took place but denies exorcism
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust confirmed that a “blessing of the building” took place, but said no exorcist had visited in person.
The Unthank Road site remains part of a health complex, including the Colman Hospital. The former hospice building is no longer in use.
A little-known corner of church practice comes into view
The incident has shone a light on the lesser-known work of the Church of England’s deliverance ministry. While the Church has historically taken a cautious approach, formal guidance introduced in the 1970s requires consultation with medical professionals and stresses the need to avoid sensationalism.
An NHS expert said hospitals may contact deliverance ministers on behalf of patients or staff.
A Church of England spokesman said: “Deliverance ministry is a specialist form of pastoral care … rooted in the church’s commitment to healing, wholeness and peace for those experiencing distress, whether physical, mental or spiritual.”
The Priscilla Bacon Lodge, the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust and the Norwich Diocese have been approached for comment.
A charity setting alongside NHS clinical care
While clinical care is provided by the NHS, the hospice itself is a registered charity delivering specialist end-of-life care. At the time of the incidents, Rev Helen Garrard was hospice chaplain. She previously spent 10 years as a specialist palliative care nurse at the lodge before completing her ministerial training.
While the incident may sound unusual, it is not without precedent. The Church of England has formally recognised deliverance ministry for decades, with strict safeguards in place. Similar low-key pastoral interventions have been requested in hospitals and care settings when distress is expressed in spiritual terms – usually quietly, and rarely attracting public attention.
What makes this case notable is not belief in the supernatural, but the way public institutions continue to navigate fear, grief and distress at the edges of medicine, where emotional and spiritual needs still sit alongside clinical care.
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