Emmie Brookman, 28, from Barrowford, Lancashire, uncovered a shocking find when transforming her recently bought 16th-century farmhouse. In August 2024, Brookman kicked off a years-long renovation journey alongside new fiancé, Norton Johnston. To her surprise, she found human remains interred deep inside the walls of the estate. The couple had initially aimed to restore the home sympathetically while addressing the pink mold that had overtaken several areas.
Brookman and Johnston bought the three-bedroom house in February 2023 for $413,000. After uncovering the pink mold, they decided to take on the renovation themselves, opting out of professional help to save costs. Instead of paying what would have amounted to $23,000 for professional services, Brookman only paid $400 by hand-chiseling the render off the walls.
In the first wave of renovation efforts, Brookman found four of the bones stashed in the walls of the building’s south facade. They further discovered two additional bones within the premises. She believes that one of these bones is indeed a human finger bone, the others being from animals. Her find recently led her to a fascination with studying the history of these practices, putting bones in buildings. She discovered that during the 1500s, it was typical practice to place bones in walls to protect against bad spirits.
As Brookman and Johnston searched for more information, they began to find local histories that connected their property with some of the worst actors of that era. In doing so, they found that a notorious local killer, James Hargreaves, had lived in the main house next door. This confluence of fate only deepened the sense of mystery and foreboding within their renovation saga.
To date Brookman has personally and privately invested between $13,000 and $20,000 into the renovations. From there, he’s devoted to keeping the farmhouse’s original character intact during the process. She expressed her relief at not hiring professionals, stating, “If we’d have had professionals we’d be at £50K ($66,565) to £60K ($79,878).”
For the enterprising couple, the years-long journey has been a work of love and labor. It has equally brought them on an illuminating plunge into the history of their own home. Brookman noted, “We found an article on magic in Kendal and read that they really believed in witches.” This discovery is indicative of our ancestors’ intuitive use of superstitious practices and places the findings in a broader interpretive framework.
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