A simple Yea or Nea is not sufficient. She may have written it, Yes, but she may not have done it under her own power or knowledge. How does one think that a "spirit" could hold a pencil? And anyone being used as the vehicle of a spirit might not be totally aware of their surroundings. If Marianne did the writing then it was probably lost moments in time for her. I have had a few of those moments myself but I am sure, not for the same reason, (and scary enough, these moments usually happen in the car). Have you ever found your self in front of a house or a store and have no memory of how you got there? I have, or am I just off the wall here, I don't remember if there was any mention of the anyone actually seeing the words being written by no apparent hand?? - Kathy Rageur
Was Marianne responsible for the wall writings? She replied, but did she also set the pleas? I accept there are similarities between the two sets of handwriting. yet that doesn't prove that Marianne faked the contact she had with a spirit, entity or the Borley nun.
If we accept that the centre, focus or basis for the haunting of Borley rectory lies with the probable murder of a Sister of Mercy who later yearned for lights, mass and prayers, is it not feasible that her spirit or ghost would try to contact another female resident in what ever way she needed, in the same place many years later to help in such a request?
Could Marie Lairre see a kindred spirit in Marianne? I believe so.
If Marianne's hands were responsible for all the writings, it does not prove they were the means to gain her kudos or the congratulations of Harry Price.
There are many ways of communication within the spirit world. Yet, it is odd, as many sceptics have said, that a French nun from the middle ages would choose to make known the agony of her purgatorial limbo to the residents of her former abode in 20th century England?
Again, they miss the point. Perhaps it wasn't the nun contacting Marianne, but Marianne contacting Marie Lairre.
The wall writings, although seemingly in the hand of Mrs Foyster, are the product of that communication. - Eddie Brazil
Nay. - WJ Cornelius
Sidelight by Andrew Clarke. "Although there is a remarkable consensus that the handwriting is that of Marianne, it is curious that Lionel Foyster, her husband, did not recognise it as such. It is even more puzzling that Vince O'Neil, Marianne's son, is sure that the handwriting is not that of Marianne."
Regarding Andrew Clarke's comments about the "Marianne" signatures:
Although I see some similarities between the two columns of Marianne signatures on this page, I also see many differences. Indeed, I am a bit surprised to notice that the a's of all the Mariannes in the left column are never connected to the letter in front of it. (The bottom signature shows a connection at the second "a" but that's because the "a" crowds the character in front of it, not because it is cursively connected to it.) So all the Marianne's in the left column are actually written as three separate groupings of characters:
M ari anne
On the other hand, all the letters of the Mariannes in the right column are cursively connected to each other. The top signature appears a bit faded but it looks like the first "a" is still cursively connected to the "M" in front of it. So, unlike the first column, the Mariannes in the right column were written as one continuous group of letters.
Given there are other differences between the cloumns as well, I have to agree with you that the two columns were probably made by at least two different people. - SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
Did Marianne write the messages on the walls at Borley? This is something I've pondered for a long time. Let me give my best answer, by relating an experience Shirley Jackson had while writing her masterpiece, The Haunting of Hill House. She went to sleep one night after working on the book into the wee hours. Upon returning to her desk the next day, on a pad of paper next to her typewriter, she found written in her own handwriting, "DEAD, DEAD." She found this to be frightening, because she had no memory of writing those words.
I do think the Borley wall handwriting is similar to Marianne's. However, upon considering all she has had to say on the matter in the years since, I don't think she deliberately wrote those words. In the first place, it would be rather foolish for her to name herself in the writings if she *had* written them, because she would immediately spring to mind as the most likely culprit in the matter -- which is of course exactly how it turned out. Marianne, as you know, was a very intelligent woman -- she would have foreseen this.
Automatic writing? If Marianne did write the messages, then I am willing to accept that she did so in some sort of "altered state," as Shirley Jackson must have done. Was a supernatural entity controlling her actions? There does seem to be a body of evidence in support of this theory of automatic writing. I don't know for sure, of course. I do think it is more likely that Marianne -- or some other person -- actually held the pencil, as opposed to the writing "just appearing," or a ghostly hand lifting an actual pencil. And, I do think Marianne is the most likely candidate for the pencil-wielder, considering the handwriting similarities.
Did she write the messages in a trance, caused by stress, illness, or some supernatural entity? Unless the people who knew her well are totally mistaken about her character, this is more likely than the "prank" hypothesis. I cast my vote for automatic writing, by Marianne. - LINDA CODY