Dear Andrew:
Borley Rectory: The Final Analysis
We write in reply to your most recent contribution to the body of Borley Ghost Society literature and we note with massive relief that you regard us as pleasant people and bear us no malice. But you have a problem. You saw fit to publish falsehoods about the book and if that is not malice one wonders what is.
We are concerned that members of the Borley Ghost Society may be growing restive with discussion about points in a book which they can easily check out for themselves by ordering a copy. So we will cut the cackle and follow the example of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman who was known for his pithy Scottish common sense. He was a rarity -- a British politician and prime minister (1905-1908) who did not indulge in excessive verbosity and deplored the tendency in others. One offender was put down with the brusque rebuke: "Enough of this foolery!"
In the interests of brevity, therefore, we will comment on only three matters in the order of appearance:
FIRST you say, "Ted must also resent the considerable publicity he has received in the local paper over his more recent ghost-hunting activities which I am afraid I have not followed very attentively." There is no resentment whatsoever and if you had been more attentive you would have noticed that Ted wrote the article in question himself and that it had nothing to do with Borley.
SECOND, in our own initial response to your review of BR:TFA we stated truthfully that Trevor Hall claimed two academic qualifications to which he was not entitled, and that he removed by devious means valuable original Borley material from the Harry Price library which he sold to collectors to his own considerable profit. Your claim that he was a man of "immense integrity" beggars belief. It is well-known among senior members of the Society for Psychical Research that Hall wrote the more vindictive sections of the report called "The Haunting of Borley Rectory" and that eventually, even his co-authors (Dingwall and Goldney) would have nothing more to do with him.
THIRD, you quote from BR:TFA as follows: "Marianne used to visit (the village schoolmistress) frequently and the two women could be heard shrieking with laughter." You say this may not have had anything to do with the haunting but the opening passage of chapter one (which you do not criticise) also has nothing to do with the haunting: "Borley is located in north Essex . . ." Many passages in all books are not directly connected with the subject matter but they add colour. You then say, "it probably wasn't true anyway." This we dispute and we quote the source on the same page. The information was given by Alfred and Margaret Finch whose semi-detached cottage adjoined that of the schoolmistress and they heard a great deal.
The matter will be put in perspective if we quote some of the comments we have received from others:
"I have just finished reading Borley Rectory: The Final Analysis and I write to congratulate you and Mrs Mathias on a fine piece of work . . . You have managed to uncover a great deal of fresh material. You have also presented the whole story in a very clear, detailed and scholarly manner." ---- John Randall BSc(Hons), Council member of the Society for Psychical Research
"I am sure I am only the latest to congratulate you on Borley Rectory: The Final Analysis. The title may appear presumptuous in view of the number and oddness of the authors who have jumped on the Borley bandwagon but I think this must be accounted the definitive work . . . I really couldn't spot any errors, which is rather annoying for one who spent half his life as an editor correcting other people." ---- Montague Keen, former member of the Society for Psychical Research and former resident in the Borley area (Pentlow).
"I have recently finished your book, Borley Rectory: The Final Analysis, and I have to tell you and your co-writer, Claudine Mathias, that I found it an absolutely fascinating and thought-provoking work." ---- Alastair Russell, former resident of Borley Rectory Cottage.
"I am finding your book fascinating and extremely informative. It has certainly re-ignited my interest in the subject [of Borley]." ---- Rita Leek, member of the Ghost Club, London
"There is an excellent chronological 3-4 page record of salient events, 1862 - 2002. The book conveys too the atmosphere of the Essex/Suffolk countryside of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries . . . Babbs and Mathias belong to that reasonable body of thinkers who cautiously accept that some enexplained phenomena exist because they have known -- and trusted -- individuals who have experienced them personally." ---- David Christie Murray, member of the Society for Psychical Research and reviewer to The Christian Parapsychologist.
We are busy processing sales of the book and we must now consider this correspondence closed. If you listen carefully, you will hear a distant voice saying: "Enough of this foolery."
Yours sincerely
Six Martlets Publishing
sixmartlets@dial.pipex.com