"A strange book. Everybody is puzzled by his motive in writing the thing. [For him] to suggest
everything was a hoax is absurd."
Rev. John C. Dening
Borley researcher/author. Published The Restless Spirits of Langenhoe, 2000.
"Far from Borley Rectory being Mayerling's second home, one has to consider if he ever went
there, in view of the glaring errors in his book."
Edward Babbs
Borley researcher/author, and nearby resident. "Never Mind the Ghosts, What About the
Facts?" Suffolk Free Press. January 25, 2001.
"....it seems fairly clear that the book is intended either as fiction or as a hoax."
Colin Wilson
Review for the Daily Mail, 3 January 2001.
I am sure you are right and Mayerling's book is far, far more fictions than fact. The Harry Price
Library at the University of London has no information, and Alan Wesencraft tells me that over
42 years he almost certainly never met and conversed with every person who has done any serious
investigation of the Borley mystery and he is positive that there was no mention of Mayerling or
George Carter. Also, he has examined the files of Harry price, Mrs Baines, Eric Dingwall and
Trevor Hall. This is, I am sure, a novel and should be treated as such.
Peter Underwood
I enclose [the Colin Wilson] article in the Daily Mail
dealing with the Mayerling fantasy. . . . it is useful as a corrective to anyone thinking the book by
Mayerling in any way throws doubt on the Borley Haunts. I have heard from many people on the
"expose'," and they all say it is absolute and clearly demonstrable nonsense.
The hoo-ha over the Mayerling affair has now died a natural death and he has been exposed for what he really is, i.e. a rather clumsy and unintelligent fraudster. One almost feels sorry for him. I have spoken to people who have read his book, and the general opinion is that his command of English is so poor, and his meaning so often unclear, that no reputable publisher whould have wanted to risk its reputation by publishing such a farrago of nonsense.
Alan Wesencraft
Long-time curator,
Harry Price Library
I think it is now generally agreed that Louis Mayerling's work on Borley is 90 percent fiction. He
'phoned me. . . . . and I could not understand what he was talking about!
BGS associate 005
I have never heard of him in connection with Borley - his name has never surfaced, and this is
surprising, as so many other facts and people are known. Marianne never mentioned him to me,
or anyone else as far as I know. Was he really as involved as he says, or is he just making some of
it up and jumping on the band wagon? There are some anomalies in his accounts. And some
questions to ask. . . . . I have never seen any indication that Lionel was a drug addict and I find it
hard to believe that he could have concealed the fact in such a small place as Borley was. . . . "
Iris Owen
Borley researcher and paranormal author. December 21, 1995
In his latest letter, Father Brian (Sampson) relates how Halloween had been bad up at Borley, due
to the publicity from the Mayerling book. There were only four genuine investigators - the others
were vandalistic yobs running across graves etc. He also had to stop one lad from kicking in the
priest's door. As he says, they have to open the church on these dates otherwise folks would break
in. Quite shameful. . . . He says that not even the locals who may be glad of such a book do not
think much of the book - surely there may be someone there who would remember him - there is a
lady in the next village, I believe, who is about 103!!! . . . . I have to admit that I don't think much
of the Mayerling book either. I am sure that many of the BGS members, as well as myself are
pulling their hair out at Mayerling. It's certainly vanity publishing. I hope that you will be writing
to the publisher to tell them. I thought something was strange about that amazing memory!
Perhaps the investigators should have spent seventy years looking at Mayerling's head as well as
Borley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BGS associate 0075
Fear not the truth will surface.
BGS associate 0065
I've read the latest on the Louis Mayerling book. In view of all that's been said I am left
wondering WHY he wrote the book at all. What was he trying to achieve?
I'm also wondering what more there is to say or do about the Borley saga. After all, all the people
involved are now dead and the rectory itself is long gone. The residents of Borley have had quite
enough of the whole thing for years, and even 'visitors' are clearly unwanted.
All that seems left now is your own personal search regarding your mother.
It it obvious that no-one will ever know what really happened, if anything, regarding the alleged
ghostly phenomena. But let's face it, 'ghosts' don't exist except in imagination and superstition.
There has never been a single case where such a 'thing' as a 'ghost' has been proven to exist. There
have been unexplained happenings, however, which is not the same thing at all.
BGS associate 0110
Sue his butt!
BGS associate 0073
One thing is certain, it will be as useful to reason with him as it would be
to try to persuade the odd patient that he is not a teapot.
BGS associate 106
I am pleased to know that you are able to demolish the Mayerling
book. It neither rang true nor read well.
BGS associate 0024
I think he has
lived with his fantasies while he believes them!
BGS associate 0080
I saw the
Mayerling interview on TV. . . . totally
unconvincing. The book is a fraud if ever there was one.
BGS associate 002
Sounds like Mayerling did
this for publicity. Either someone paid him to bring
back all the publicity, or to squelch it. I don't know
what his motives were. Maybe he was paid by someone,
perhaps a relative, to discredit the whole business so
that the publicity would stop. But it is hard for me
to believe that at this late date, publicity, and
curiosity seekers, would still be an issue. And would
he still be grasping for notariety at his age? Maybe he was looking for some quick
retirement $$$
BGS associate 0090
[He paid to have it published.]
I'm afraid it seems shameful to me to think of the way Louis Mayerling appears to be behaving
towards somebody who had taken him into their confidence.
As you yourself say, you'd supplied him with a steady supply of your work and thoughts on the
Borley legend and he appears to be trying to use it to discredit your Mother and you, not to
mention hundreds of witnesses who would appear more reliable than he is.
This may be completely unfair on the locals of the village, but I'd imagined a scenario that has
Mr. Mayerling approaching the quite understandably exasperated residents to discuss writing a
book which would pour scorn on the entire subject of the Borley hauntings from their outset.
Hence his claim to have been there to have perpetrated these "pranks".
If this were true, who's to say that far from persuading people not to visit the site they may feel
more inclined than ever to do so in order to try to prove that some sort of paranormal forces are
at work there?
Something that I do find intriguing about his claims is this ( and I imagine this has been asked
before, several times). If he was there in the 30s to have been involved in the hoax why has he left
it over half a century to bring it to light? How many of the original witnesses are still with us to
argue his claims? Witnesses you will recall that were from what was considered to be the more
intelligent end of the scale: scientists, engineers, officers of the armed forces. We were not talking
about a randomly selected group of village idiots. Why did Mr. Mayerling not see fit to challenge
the testimony of these witnesses at the time? And why when it seems that the names and in most
cases a brief outline of even the most infrequent visitor to the Rectory were supplied in some
report or other does L.M. ( to my knowledge) not receive a single mention? Strange Methinks for
a man who was by this point pretty well part of the furniture.
Pete Hodkinson
Mayerling's book is just an another example of the nonsense that has
prevented any serious investigation ever being carried out of the Borley
phenomena.
I am sure that there was some hoaxing and practical jokery, from the
Edwardian period to today, but some of the reported occurrences were worth
checking.
Unfortunately, because the Rectory no longer stands, it cannot be examined.
The main participants are no longer alive. If any phenomena are still
happening, the local people will not report them, for the entirely justified
reason that they have had enough of 70 years of harassment from ill-mannered
ghost-hunting visitors (I know that you have spoken out strongly against
such behaviour).
In my opinion, the Borley Rectory case must regretfully now be written off
as "not provable", and the case closed. I don't see how it can be
investigated properly now.
Best wishes,
Alan Fisk
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1869/
Just read the article in The Mail today and was prompted to visit your site.
I may be telling you something that is common knowledge, but an ex partner of mine (now aged
50) who came from Norfolk was born on the 1st of May and once told me that his grandmother
(very rural Norfolk upbringing) had told him that if you were born on that date you were called a
Mayerling and ought to be drowned at birth as you would cause nothing but trouble to your
family. Could this be a joke of some sort?
My memory may be wrong of course as I am going back more than 20 years to when he told me
this story, it may even have been Mayling.
One other point; the grandmother was a bit eccentric to say the least. On one occasion, she
produced a meal consisting of a live hedgehog surrounded by roast veg to my ex and his brothers
and sisters, (she was babysitting,) so she may even have made it up. She apparently had a
malicious sense of humour.
Anyway, for what it's worth...
Wendy Swain