Fred and Rose West’s “House of Horrors” at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, was demolished in 1996 and the land was turned into a walkway, but locals say they still feel a “strange energy”
The site where Fred and Rose West’s infamous “House of Horrors” once stood has been transformed, but locals say they’re still too petrified to go near it.
Notorious English serial killer Fred West committed at least 12 murders between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, along with his second wife, Rose West. As the scene of many of the gruesome killings, their house – 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester – earned the chilling nickname the “House of Horrors”.
In 1996, the house was demolished, and the land was converted into a walkway. However, nearly three decades later, locals claim to still sense a “strange energy” when passing by.
Patsy Dooley, who resides just a five-minute stroll from Cromwell Street, admits she steers clear of the path. “It feels very strange there,” Patsy said. “There’s a very eerie, strange energy, almost cold.
“Everyone I know says the same, I haven’t met one person who doesn’t feel strange walking past or down the walkway.
“Everyone knows what happened there, so I think it naturally makes you feel uncomfortable when you walk past or walk down there. I personally don’t like to walk down it, I walk around instead.”
Between 1967 and 1987, the depraved couple tortured, raped, and murdered at least 12 young women, including two of their own children.
The disappearance of their daughter Heather led police to secure a warrant to search the garden of the Cromwell Street house in 1994.
Further excavations at the site revealed multiple bodies buried beneath the patio and cellar.
In 1994, the infamous duo was apprehended. Fred West faced 12 murder charges, yet cheated justice by taking his own life in his cell prior to standing trial; while Rose received a lifetime jail sentence in 1995.
Patsy recalls growing up hearing whispers about the notorious House of Horrors and the couple’s heinous acts. The chilling tale has resurfaced on screens through the Netflix documentary ‘Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story’, which dropped last week.
Now 34, Patsy shared: “I watched the documentary on Thursday, but I’ve always been familiar with the story as I have lived here all my life and we all knew the story about it growing up.”
Meanwhile, one of the few people to visit Fred and Rose West’s home after their brutal murders has shared her horror upon stepping inside the infamous property.
Acting as West’s appropriate adult, Janet Leach was required to attend police interviews alongside him, as he was deemed to be vulnerable due to his learning difficulties and inability to read or write.
Janet could be seen watching on as Fred West tried to show police where he had buried some of his victims, she shared the lasting impact of bearing witness to the surreal ordeal: “It was awful, I could smell it.”
And she couldn’t escape the ghastly odour when she returned home later that day, with it still playing on her mind as she tried to sleep: “When I went to sleep at night, I could smell it.”