In October 1970, Chapel Street briefly became the centre of one of Billericay’s strangest modern ghost stories. A 17‑year‑old resident claimed that a child’s ghost appeared in her garden at night, drifting from a tree in the centre of the yard while singing the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful. Her mother reported seeing the same figure, and even the family poodle refused to enter the garden after dark.

​

The girl sought advice from a practising witch and prepared a midnight Halloween exorcism, warning that the ritual was dangerous and refusing to reveal the details of what she had been told to do. She planned to mark a pentacle over the “haunted spot” and use prayers to drive the spirit away. The Southend Standard covered the story in detail, though no follow‑up was ever published. Later accounts suggested the tree was eventually cut down, and the haunting faded with it.

​

Whether the ritual succeeded or the ghost simply passed out of local memory, the Chapel Street story remains one of Billericay’s most unusual hauntings — a modern tale of a singing child, a frightened dog, and a Halloween exorcism carried out under the midnight sky.

​