I've enjoyed looking around your website. As a piece of utter trivia/ephemera for you, I have just composed the following anagram: "Borley Rectory: The Most Haunted House in England" = "Many a ghostly-old encounter bothered us in there!" I remain highly sceptical of the entire affair, but the anagram is quite intriguing, nonetheless.
Good luck with your site!
David A. Green
I have to be honest and say that several of the pictures taken with captions stating that they could be that of the famous or indeed Infamous Harry Price are rubbish. The pictures taken of what seem to be a figure between a tree and the hedge of the church yard could be that of a man in a dirty rain coat wearing a dark hat or a women with her hair tied in a bunch. Basically they could be anything that the observer wants them to be if stared at long enough. I have to agree with Mr. David Bamber regarding the image of Harry Prices face on the gravestone close to the fence. Indeed wishful thinking sir. In-fact all of the pictures shown on the site show nothing. Indeed I also must confess that the countless hours at day and night spent there with others, all the pictures that were taken show nothing but a beautiful church and nicely kept grounds. Probably the most talked about picture in your page groupings is the one with the flying brick. From the mouth of the photographer, 'only a few feet away was a workman hurling bricks.'
However, tape recordings seem to be another matter. I know of a recording which was broadcast on the BBC way back in the seventies which produced sounds from within the church of great interest. I also have or had I should say a recording of some interesting beats from within the church.
Also I believe that the history of Mr. Harry Price should be looked at quite closely if not so already. His autobiography is interesting reading to say the least.
One thing I will concede to you is that Borley has guests from times gone by, made famous by a fame seeker. Whether there are as many as claimed to be is another question.
G. Moult
[Thank you for sharing. Several people agree with you about the photographs, especially Stephen D. Smith and Gary Cooke. I have copies of that church recording available. Thank you for your kind words.]
I have read much on the subject of the hauntings and I have come to the conclusion that Mr Harry Price has much to answer for. I have no doubt that most of the so called hauntings were made up and set up by Mr Price and now unfortunately the poor people of Borley are paying for it.
Leave the dead with the past were they belong and let this story of nuns, monks and coaches go with it.
Jane Coburn
[I appreciate your input very much, and I agree with you totally about the abuses suffered by the residents. That's why I have made a concentrated effort to not only dissuade the rowdy with an appeal to visitors,
but I also created the Borley Church Preservation Fund. My mother lived there for five years, so I understand completely what you are saying.]
Why don't someone set
up a live ghost cam in the Borley Rectory? I think it's very possible a ghostcam at Borley
might see more activity there while and at the same
time many people on the internet can watch it.
stelcha
[Borley Rectory was destroyed by fire in 1939.]
Regarding a Borley Rectory cam, it is my opinion that
although the ghost nun is alleged to have made "guest
appearances" at the rectory, her actual connection
with that spot is to have regularly walked from the
stream around whatever building was there in her day
to get to the church. Indeed, if I remember
correctly, the nun allegedly followed Rev. Henry Bull
from this main church door to the rectory at one time.
(My guess is that she wasn't interested in the
rectory; she was once again walking from the church
around the "ghost building" where the rectory was then
at and back to the stream.)
The bottom line is that I would aim a cam at the main
entry to the church, at least on the outside. But
even if cam equipment were donated there would be
internet access expenses. Would you happen to have
any idea what such expenses would be like?
Also, I understand electric/electronic devices are
known to malfunction in this area so would a cam
really be worth it?
Thank you for listening.
Scott Cunningham
[Consultation of the map showing the nun's appearances indicates almost all were on the rectory grounds - not at the church. You are absolutely right, placing a web cam at the church would be against everything the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY stands for, as declared in the Mission Statement: "It is not the purpose of the Society to cause undue hardship, embarrassment, or discomfort to the present residents of Borley. Their rights and serenities will not be disrupted by any member of the Society. Such residents will be treated with the same dignity in which Associates of the Society would wish to be treated." Such a feature would only cause MORE stress and anxiety to the already shattered tranquility of Borley. Additionally, the costs for wiring, electricity, Internet access, and maintainance would be prohibitive in this remote area. Multiple cameras would have to be set up to appease increased request, further complicating cost, maintainance, and set-up. As you point out, the images would be unreliable, if past history is any indication - plus there are the very real possibilites of hoaxes. Then there is vandalism. Such cams are traditionally placed in areas that can be monitored for trickery and theft - but the population of the area makes such monitoring impossible. In short - the residents would NOT allow such a thing - it is not even remotely financially feasible - and there are no guarantees anyone could trust the signal.]
Do you believe Harry Price to be telling the truth about Borley Rectory
Vince, or did he embellish things a lot? What's your opinion? The incident that
sticks in my mind the most is the one in which Charles Sutton of the Daily
Mail recounted a visit he made in 1929,in which he was
hit on the head by a pebble; "I seized Harry,and found his pockets
full of bricks and pebbles." Now you've got to admit that finding these items in his pocket, does not make
Price look the least bit credible or authentic, indeed, I wouldn't trust him
after finding such items. The only reason Sutton didn't push this incident is
that he was
advised not to by his lawyer, as a lible case would follow.It was some 20
years later only after Prices death in 1949 that this
incident re surfaced.
Wayne.
[You may find interesting reading about Harry Price throughout the Bibliography, as well as some of the essays submitted by associates of the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY. You might also try a search, from the Master Index page, for more on Sutton. As for Price, he did a great deal to put the study of parapsychology on the map. He was the first to use a ghost kit, and the first to use outlined criteria at a scene. His first experiences were debunking the paranormal. As a writer, I know how hard it is to keep track of the reams of research I gather for various projects, and his failure to include certain "evidence" in the Borley research may have been accidental - it may have been on purpose. Since we will never know, I have dedicated my life to researching and preserving as much of the complete record of Borley as can be discovered - pro and con. I post everything without prejudice, and then let the reader decide.]
The disks have arrived! How wonderful it is to be able to whizz around the
material at speed rather than download each page in slow agonising
succession. And the material is wonderful, and interesting (e.g. diary of
occurences, Arles is referred to as Pearless.) I recommend it to everybody.
Worth five times what you charge.
Andrew Clarke
Congratulations on a very unique website. I visited Borley a few years ago,
and noticed
how uncanny the silence predominated the surroundings. Having read a few of
the emails
you have received, it seems that people have varying experiences when
visiting the area.
Some people seem to be more receptive to paranormal experiences than others,
and the skeptics
with their blinkered thinking have all the answers. Like Borley and the
experiences it has to
offer, silence on what one may have seen or heard there remains within ones
self.
Anthony Newell, Canada
I have finished reading Borley Rectory: The Ghosts That Will Not Die.
It is a very useful and organized compilation of the reported facts on
the Rectory hauntings, and I appreciate your non critical presentation
of them, not trying to either justify or debunk what others have
experienced/theorized. I notice in the essays/letters from our Borley
Ghost Society newsletters that some associates have been critical of
your reporting, seemingly ignoring your clear disclaimers that you are
simply presenting what has been reported, and you are not claiming that
these reports are the unvarnished truth. I appreciate your integrity in
showing many sides to several issues, including those involving your
mother. I'm sure it is painful to present information which might show
your mom in a negative light, but you have done so, nonetheless.
I especially appreciate your taking the time to sum up your own
conclusions on the haunting at Borley, as well as your very touching
pilgrimage there to the conference, and to Lionel Foysters grave, in the
hopes of experiencing your mother's spirit. I truly hate that you have
experienced so much emotional pain around the topic of Borley, and that
your reunion with family members has been ambivalent at best, and that
they have largely chosen to distance themselves from you. I can't
imagine the pain it has cost you to write about all this, let alone
experience it. I am sorry -- I hope and pray that you find healing in
your search, nonetheless.
With regards to your mom's spirit -- I am sure (as sure as one can be
about such things) that part of her resides in the scapular she left to
you, which she had worn at Borley. Your instincts here, I feel, are
correct -- she is there. I spoke on the phone with a Maryland antique
dealer who has come across several "haunted" items in his career, and he
spoke at length about the positive "activity" that attaches to religious
items which were treated reverently by their former owners. His words
really rang true with me -- I have since come to realize that a cross in
my possessing, owned by a friend who died of cancer 15 years ago, had
been troubling me ever since I "inherited" it. I had always assumed that
my feelings of sadness and some distaste on handling it were the result
of having watched her slowly die over a period of fifteen months. Now,
I'm not so sure. I held the necklace, toying with a broken and displaced
link in the gold serpentine chain, and burst into tears at the thought
that a part of my friend's spirit might be unhappily connected with it
still. Despite all my efforts, the link refused to settle back into
place. Giving up on "fixing" the long broken link, I prayed for her
release from any "lostness", hoping to help any hurting part of her
spirit return to God. I finished the prayer, opened my eyes, and found
that the link had settled back into place -- it was "fixed."
Now, I'm quite aware that there could be simple non supernatural
explanations for the repair of the jewelry. After all, I had been
turning it this way and that, and simple gravity may have helped it
settle back into place. However, I think that a degree of faith is
called for in some possible experiences of the supernatural, and seeming
coincidences may mean something more. Of course, my interpretation of
this experience is quite suspect, not least because I have so
desperately wanted to have an encounter with a spirit. Nevertheless, I
will be treating the necklace with a great deal more respect now, and
will wear it to church (which I had been unwilling to do before, because
the cross is bejeweled and a tad ostentatious). I placed it near two
religious statues on a tiny shelf above my bed, and twice felt tentative
touches on my hair that night. Again, there are simple explanations for
all this which include no "taint" of the supernatural, but my instincts
tell me that my friend is still connected with her necklace.
I appreciate your listening to my story, but my main purpose here is to
share my deep instinct that your mom is still with you -- a conclusion
you have already come to, I think, based on your writing. More than a
'relic' of Borley, the scapular is a real and tangible link to Marianne.
I hope you will forgive my presumption in offering these opinions -- I
have been very touched by your story, and felt the need to offer
something in the way of validation (if that's the word) that your mom is
there with you, even now.
Thank you for all you have shared with us -- your Borley research,
research into Marianne's past, your own journey, and your honesty and
integrity. I hope you will continue to experience healing in discovering
more of your own story, and the effect your mom continues to have in
your life.
Sincerely,
Linda Cody
[Thank you very much. I am humbled. The critics are not within the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY. I print all pertinent letters/e-mail, whatever the source. I agree with you - for example, others "saw" my mother's light behind me in London, yet I felt nothing. Perhaps one of these days.... I also agree with your profile about being too eager - "I've slept in a haunted room (I saw and felt nothing), and slept in a rectory in Ireland where my best friend had a
ghostly experience -- again, I felt nothing. But, I'm also afraid that being so eager to have a supernatural experience might attract a darker kind of spirit, so I've never mucked around with Ouija boards, automatic writing or seances." Iris Owen told me strictly to stay away from such things, and it didn't take much convincing.]
You dont know me but I have read up on the article on the rectory and it is very interesting and thought this might be interesting for you.
One Halloween year me and some friends thought it would be good fun to go to the most haunted place in Britain to see if ghosts do exist, and I must say it was very scary to say the least but I can honestly say I have never felt that kind of presence before like a soft blow of wind through your hair and it was very cold and windy that night I remember, yet it seemed calm and quiet once on the land.
Anyway me and friend decided to get out of the car first and were the only ones to get out, now this only lasted for a few moments but it seemed like forever we both stood still not having walked 5 meteres from the car and thats when we felt a calm breeze not hard like the wind was that night and a dead silence, and then we saw a light in the field I believe there corn fields I think the grass was high anyway, and this was shaped round like a bycicle light which is what we thought it was but then it was bobbing up and down no bike could be doing what we were seeing and it was getting faster and closer the closer it got the more obvious there was nothing attached to this light. We ran as fast as we could and out of there as fast as we could and to this day I don't know what I saw.
Anyway I hope this may help towards your research in the future, and if not it was nice sharing that story with someone who might actually believe me.
Thanks and good luck
Jaime Dowler
I've been fascinated with B.R. for a long time (since I was about 8 when my older brother read me a story about it from a ghost book.) I was wondering if you know about the book Time-Life released called "The Most Haunted House in England" (by Harry Price, of course.) My brother has it, and it is REALLY good. Very nicely bound in black leatherette and has many photos and copies of the writing on the walls, ect. It's written as a factual documentary and I couldn't imagine a better reference for your librabry. P.S. My brother's the one who clued me in to your web site. Very well done!
Chris
[Thank you very much for your compliments.
If you look at my Bibliography, anywhere there is a double star ** that means I have a copy of that particular item. Over the years, I have also been fortunate enough to acquire duplicates of certain titles to share with other Borley fanatics. The are available from my second web site, www.ghostbooks.com.]
Between the years of 1980 to 1983 I was a resident of Borley, I lived in the cottage almost opposite the site of the rectory, right on the road and next to the pond, known as Borley Place Cottage. When I first moved there, I was unaware of anything unusual about Borley until I was told about the famous `ghosts` by other residents! I must say in all honesty that during my time living in Borley, which I really found most pleasant, I was never once, even a tiny bit ever aware of any paranormal activity. I only knew that the place inspired a gentle peace and calm, and the views across to Long Melford church, unsurpassed! During my stay at Borley Place Cottage, my husband and myself were often disturbed by young ghost hunters at night playing loud music on their car stereos, and the occasional vandalism to the churchyard, i.e. knocking down headstones.
There were occasional funny episodes such as the punk-rocker who used to cover himself with a white sheet and leap out at traffic outside the church on a Friday and Saturday night, and also the episode when one of the church ladies, on going to unlock the church doors one morning, was rather shocked to find a pair of mannequin legs hanging from the church porch, as if someone had been hung there. I will always remember my years at Borley with great affection, and truly, with no ghosts at all! I think just about all
residents of Borley at the time we lived there were very much of the opinion `no ghosts here!` and
that they just wanted to get on with their ordinary daily lives, I hope they are allowed to!
Stephanie Gould
My brother read the book The Most Haunted House in England many years ago. We visited it when I was just about 12 years old I am now 41. I have never forgotten the visit the place was so cold and eerie, and for the first time in my life I was afraid to be in a church. I am sure that the site is haunted or that there is something there that is not what we call normal.
Thank you for the most enjoyable web pages I shall visit the site
To see if anything else is happening.
Gill Edbrooke
I've been checking out your site after I read a short piece about the rectory in one of the UK's national newspapers ("Daily Mail") yesterday. It's an amazing site and you are a truly interesting person.
I actually live in Essex fairly near to Borley (About 20 minutes by car) so I've visited the place several times, read a few books and know a fair bit of it's history. Amazingly a lot of local people still think that the rectory still stands and are no doubt hugely disappointed to visit Borley and find modern houses on it's site!!
I wish I had a great story to tell you but one interesting anecdote is the non-appearance of Borley on local road signs in an effort to keep people away. You have to know where it is, it's almost impossible to find if you don't know your way around.
Also nearly a decade ago I made my first visit to the site and church one night with an old girlfriend (Who knew the place, she lived nearby) and an interested friend. When we got there it was pitch black and very, very creepy but this was probably down to us being very up for it and "Vibed" by the whole adventure. Me and my friend got out to check out the church whilst my girlfriend stayed in the car. As we approached the church some very bright security lights suddenly switched on so we darted back to the car. We would never have done anything wrong but we didn't want to cause a scene so we thought we'd just leave. The strange thing is that the car just would not start, it just turned over and over and eventually fired but not until we were all very worked-up.
The car was brand new and had never played-up before.
Interesting......
Best wishes,
Paul
I grew up very near Borley and used to visit Rupert Brown's family. Although I have no
interesting stories about Borley, it makes me proud that someone has dedicated so much to
Borley. In my childish youth, a group of friends went up and played a hoax. A girl draped a veil
over her face in the darkness and gradually lifted her arms as a car approached. She ran and hid
with us as the car turned around for a second look, they did not get out to look around though. A
childish prank, but an indication that the legends held some sway in our imaginations. Rather
devilishly we used a Ouija board in the graveyard. Both pranks I am a little ashamed of now. I
think I remember my friend and I being allowed into the church by a lady who lived at the rectory.
I think she was rather reluctant to do so, I think she may have been fed-up with the attention the
place got. I seem to remember we took our evening trips up there on a special night, connected
with the legend of the bricked-up nun. The visits were really my friends' enterprises and I was
more a 'tagger along'.
Regards,
Name on file
[We] set off for Borley from Cambridge about 11:00 a.m.
on Friday, September 1, 2000. After one wrong turning near Long Melford,
we finally got to Borley around 12:30.
This journey had an interesting little history. Borley had been in my
mind since my schooldays in the early fifties. I had a distinct memory
image of cycling by Borley with some school friends and of pedalling
furiously away in terror, mock as well as real. I had read Harry Price's
book on Borley and that too had engraved itself in memory. My friend, Ms
Cross, was interested in haunted houses and I recommended Harry Price's
book, which she found in the local library and read with mounting
interest.A little later, as we animatedly discussed Price's book, we
discovered the Borley site on the internet and worked through it, by
which stage we were both spellbound by Borley and felt that we
ABSOLUTELY MUST visit.
Therefore September 1 was a day of great expectations. We set off in a
merry mood. In a sense that mood was maintained throughout the day but
we were also acutely aware of a sort of heightened sense of the
supernatural. Our para-normal radar was working overtime, as it were.
Just outside Long Melford, we saw a man in a van parked outside a pub at
right angles to the road. "Well blow me down if" (as Ms Cross put it)
that man was not EXACTLY in the same position some six or seven hours
later when we passed him again on our way back to Cambridge.
The road to Borley was not well marked and we were lost for about ten
minutes. Finally, we crossed a wood and steel bridge, turned a corner
and drove up the hill leading to Borley. We cruised at a slow speed
right through the tiny village but there was no place we could possibly
park the car. I doubt whether a toy car could have found parking space.
So we turned round, went all the way down the hill and eventually found
a parking space near the entrance to a muddy field and across the road
from two cottages.
No sooner had we parked and gotten out than a car drove up and stopped
by me (Ms Cross had gone ahead a few steps). The front seat passenger
leaned over to ask in a distinct US Deep South drawl about directions to
Borley. There was no question at all in my mind that he was like us a
ghost hunter. Not a sign of him or the car afterwards, anywhere.
As we walked the half mile or so up the road to Borley, the weather
darkened considerably and a stillness such as one expects from huge
clouds passing across an otherwise sunny day fell upon the scene. We
walked slowly and tried to determine where the Rectory had stood. Like a
fool, I had forgotten to bring the copy of the hand drawn map taken from
the Price book. But I was certain that the Rectory was at a tangent to
the Church and across the road. There were a couple of new cottages there
and we paused in front of them. Not a soul. Anywhere. Not a sound.
So we turned into the Church. We spent about an hour and a half in the
grounds. The church itself was locked with what we thought was a tiny
lock which we were sorely tempted to break. We first walked around the
church examining the tombstones. The Bull family was the best
represented. Through the little hedge and then behind the church Ms
Cross heard distinct giggles. The silence was so overpowering that
they seemed totally out of place. Ms Cross however maintains that they
were "modern" giggles. I did not hear them. We completed the circuit of
the church and went and sat down on a tiny knoll beneath one of the big
trees. Here, we were overtaken by a sudden downpour which lasted about
fifteen minutes and left a slight haze in its wake. We smoked and talked
through the downpour, took a few photos, walked through the rest of the
village (not a sound,not a soul) and headed downhill. To our left were
open fields and the ONLY living creature we saw was a black cat staring
at us from a field. After an agonizing search for a place where we could
have lunch, we ended up at the same pub in Long Melford where the man in
the van was parked. Throughout our lunch, as we discussed our visit, a
bald man at a nearby table , slightly evil looking, was craning his neck
to listen to our conversation, even though his own party seemed quite
lively.
The most extraordinary thing about Borley was the silence. It was total.
Not a bird, not a bee, not a cricket, nothing made any noise at all. We
plan henceforth to "celebrate" September 1. And we want next time to go
into the church.
Prof. Tarif Khalidi and Alison Cross
When I was an apprentice engineer working on electrostatic precipitators
back in 1974 I was employed by a company called "Lodge-Cottrell Ltd" in
Birmingham. As a new boy one of my early tasks involved the clearing up of
a large amount of papers and letters in the cellar, boxing them up and
putting them into storage. As I was, to a large extent, left on my own to do this, naturally as I
was working I sat down to read them. They were a mixture of industrial papers
etc, and literature on Spiritualism. The older workers had teased me that
one of the former directors, a man called Oliver Lodge, haunted the place,
when I found a number of letters from Arthur Conan Doyle (who I had heard of regarding
Sherlock Holmes) to Oliver Lodge I took interest.
I have only very vague memories of most of this but the one correspondence
that really took my interest was a letter from Conan Doyle to Lodge about a
Haunted house called Borley Rectory across from Borley Church and the
visitations that the young girls living there were experiencing. Having
several friends with the usual teenage interests in "Ghosts," I thought of
this as a great piece of "insider information." I was tempted to steal the
letter but fear of getting into trouble with my new employers prevented me.
Instead we planned a visit to the rectory. Remember that this was the only information we had on
Borley, none of us had heard of Harry Price or knew of the events in the 1930`s so you can
imagine our disappointment having made the trip from Birmingham to Borley Rectory and
finding the place no longer exists!!
I cannot remember much about that first trip other than it being a let down. I am sure that at that
time the small Bungalows that were there on a later visit had not been built, and that the gateposts
were intact. Other than that there was not a lot to see. We scrabbled about on the site opposite
the Church, and my friend found a small garden edging tile which he kept (still has it).
Some time later (years?) I saw a program on the TV about Borley and this prompted a new
interest, acquiring the books of which I sent you the scans and a second trip, which was as
uneventful as the first!!
Regards,
steve
As a child in the 50s I was told by a family that on visiting the church they heard the
organ playing so decided a service was on. They walked round the side of the church & saw the
organ through a window & no body was playing it but the keys were going up & down on their
own. On the way out down the path one of the party stopped on the grass at the side to tie up his
shoe lace & while pausing he saw the grass in front of him flatten like a footprint even though
nobody was walking on that area.
Cwhitlo1
I looked at the photos showing images, and on one of them - the one where the white figure is
between the tree and hedges - I couldn't really see that one at first, but I could see another
person in it. If you stare near the middle of picture it is like misty but in the mist a face of a little
girl shows up. I was wondering if you can see it as well?
Dollybean
I think that the people who believe they can see images in these
photos have grossly over active imaginations! I myself once visited
Borley, and took photographs, no doubt these people would see
things in my pictures too!
There is no satisfactory evidence of anything supernatural at Borley
and as such I think that your sight should be more objective.
Though I feel that your very personal connection with Borley
probably prevents you from doing so.
Regards
J.Middleton
Last night (20 June 2000) me and 3 other of my mates took our second trip up to Borley, for a bit
of a laugh to see if the stories were true. We got there about 11:30 and took a walk round the
church. It was very dark and the mist was very low and light. There was quite a creepy
atmosphere around the place but after a cigarette we had relaxed and the rest of the walk round
the church was fine. We walked out of the gate and stood in the parking area, every so often
looking around and talking about the tale we have heard from others. Suddenly one of the lads
started to say how he wasen't scared at all and that there wasn't any ghosts around but he used
some very strong language to express this. As soon as he'd stoped talking the whole area went
very quite. Looking about one of them started shouting and as I turned heard one of them say
that the light inside the car has turned on. I stared at the car to see that the light was on, we all
rushed over to the car to find the light still on and all the doors still locked. It was a very strange
and scary exprience.
Ross Masters
When I was younger (about 12) I started to read true ghost books and I
found the subject very interesting. It basically went from there. I have
lots of ghost books but never managed to find a book written by a great
investigator like Harry Price anywhere.
Borley has always been the best to read, so many different things happening
in one area.
I don't for sure believe in ghosts but because of things that I have seen
and certainly what my mum had seen when she was a child, I don't rule the
idea out.
Matthew Fraser
I went to Borley last summer. Me and my husband took same pictures of Borley church. After
that we put our camera back in the car to go for a little work. We locked the car before we left.
On our return we could not find the film anywhere and looked everywhere. The film was left in
the back seat of our car. Nobody was able to get into it and we haven’t lost the film anywhere.
Looks to me as if there was something there that didn’t want use to take any pictures. Also on
that nice warm day, some parts around the church felt very cold. I had the feeling of being
watched most of the time. I felt very uneasy and I was glad when we left. But I’m going back to
Borley this summer. I’m from Norway and live in England. Im very interested in everything
which has anything to do with Borley. I also would like to join your BORLEY GHOST
SOCIETY and get to speak to other people who have had experience with Borley.
Anja Wintersgill
My Grandmother Mrs Beatrice Carter (nee Butcher) was in service at Borley Rectory and worked
for the Reverend Bull. During her time there she did not see anything unusual at all. However,
years later she re-visited Borley with her daughter and decided to visit Borley church. As she
entered the church, my Aunt (her daughter), told me that all the candles went out more or less at
the same time which was quite peculiar. It wasn't until I visited you pages on the Web that I noted
that it said that after Borley Rectory burnt down the ghosts transferred themselves to the Church!
Harry Price came to interview my Grandmother for his future book but I don't think there was a
lot for her to report. I found you web site very interesting.
Chris Chapman
I am 23 and from a little village called Lawford near Manningtree, Essex. I have been interested
in Borley for many years and I have visited the site three times but I will never forget the second
time ...
It was 15/2/1996. My friend Steven and I took two girls to Borley to show them around ( and to
also try to give them a scare! ) I think it was about 10 - 10:30 at night we had parked the car and
had walked past the church and come to the junction at the other end of Borley and at that time
our male minds had turned from ghost stories to that of our female friends!
We were walking back to the car. I was on the church side of the road ( Just passed the church )
and as we were walking I heard footsteps (Like walking on dry leaves/Twigs) beside me Right
beside me on the bank! There was no one there! I was shaking at this point and I said aloud "Can
anyone else hear it?" to which there was a pause and as I looked at Steven he was white as a sheet
and he said "YES!" We picked up the pace slightly and the footsteps followed us right down the
road for about 40 - 50 yards. We got into the car and had a chat about it and we decided to go
back, but the girls were scared so we went back in the car.
As we got to the place where we heard the footsteps I got out of the car. Thee was no dry leaves
or twigs! Whatever we heard all four of us heard it ! it was only about 2 foot away from me! I will
never forget that night!
Lee
I have been fascinated with the Borley Rectory
story since childhood, when a cousin showed me a story on the hauntings in a
children's book he purchased at school (remember those Scholastic books?).
The story terrified me, but I also took a certain comfort in it. The author was Daniel Cohen, who
wrote several Paranormal/monster-related books in the '70s & '80s for
Scholastic and other publishers. His work certainly made a big impression on
me in 5th grade! Being from
a very small town in Texas, the accounts of rural Borley struck a chord in
me. Also, like many kids in modern America. . . . the tales of spirits and netherworlds held within
them the hope of mysteries
and infinities which transcended my childhood problems.
Over the years, I've continued to research Borley (even finding a copy of
the 1970s Scholastic book that originally inspired me), and I was delighted
to find your website. As I've grown older, I've become fascinated with all
aspects of the alleged hauntings, and I'm intrigued by the social,
psychological, as well as paranormal/spiritual implications within the
stories. Your site is a tremendous addition to the investigation of this
unique saga.
This Fall, I will be visiting a friend in London, and hope to take a
day-trip to Borley. As a Christian and small town native, I understand the
desire of Borley residents to have their community and church treated
properly, and I seek to make my visit both friendly and respectful. I am, of course,
aware that the rectory itself no longer exists. Good luck with your
writing and continued success with the excellent website.
Best Wishes,
Brock McDaniel
I myself have visited Borley on numerous occasions and have been in the prescence of paranormal
activities. My friends and I have to camp on a farmers field due to their being no campsite and we
normally visit once every two months. One of the things that we uncovered was that of bells
ringing, this is odd because there are no bells at Borley Church. I really enjoy your pages, and I
will send you more facts as they come to us. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US IN OUR
QUEST FOR THE TRUTH.
andrew mills
My name is Laura and I am a young girl of 13, and I have taken a big interest in the legend of
Borley Rectory. For one year now I have been interested in Borley. It all started when I moved up
to some stables next to a wood called Borley Wood. I had heard of the name before, and decided
to investigate. I first got a few books from my local liberary on unsolved mysteries, and to my
suprise each one had a chapter on "The most haunted house in England."
I have ridden through the spooky looking wood a few times now and often wondered if this had
anything to do with the rectory itself.
About a month ago I was walking up my local high street, and came across a house called Borley
House, this was when I decided to investigate more. The other night I went on the Internet, and
typed Borley Rectory in and came across your web page. I was thrilled to bits to finaly come
across someone who shared the same interest as me.
I would love to know every thing on Borley, and the up to date news, as I an individial belive so
much in Borley.
Laura
I think it's time to tell you my opinion of the
Borley Church tape you
sent to me. It's so fantastic.
Whenever I hear the sounds it really sends shivers up my whole
body. I am sure there exists something in the area. When I spent
some hours in Borley in August 1999, especially in the churchyard,
I heard a great bang coming from inside the church as I stood in
front of the porch. I was so frightened because I knew that the
church was locked up. So nobody could be in the church. It was
nearly the same noise I heard on the tape. Well, I'm not gullible
and I'm not sensation-seeking but I could swear that this area
is not normal. My greatest wish is to return to Borley this summer.
Cheers,
Birgit Brenner
I think what you have done here is absolutly superb and think that you
should keep up the good work!
I have for a few years tried to read up as much as I can on Borley and find
it truly intriguing.
Well Done
Charles McIvor
I cannot tell you of my delight when I found your web-site devoted to Borley. Absolutely
fantastic!
I have been fascinated by the whole Borley story for about 15 years now and have visited the site on a couple of
occasions. I have also bought all the Price books on the haunting and a the one by Ivan Banks
which came out a few years ago. That is all I thought there was to be found in the world of
Borley, but no-more! With your web-site bringing everybody interested in this extraordinary place
together in one place the chance for discussion and getting to know people with the same interest
offers great possibilities!
As I mentioned, I have visited Borley a couple of times and found the whole atmosphere of the
place amazing. To be there, at the exact place where it all happened so long ago, was just brilliant.
It will always be a 'sacred' place for me, and I will continue to make 'pilgrimages' there!
Please send me details of how to join your society. Are you planning
any group visits to the site?
Very best wishes.
Simon Forsyth
I am doing a project on the Borley Rectory. I am very interested in
learning anything else about the grounds. I also wanted to let you know
that I believe the stories probably more than anyone but yourself. I
have had similar experiences in my own hometown.
Angela Dickerson
Hello! I was very interested in Borley when I was about 12. I read every library book I could
find about it. Eventually, I found another interest. Now I'm a 23 year old college student with a
renewed interest. I was looking at your list of candidates for the haunting and I'm very curious if
anyone knows more about the events surrounding these deaths. The girl who fell from the Blue
Room, for instance: did she fall, or was she pushed? Why were so many people hanged or
beheaded there? Does anyone know the names of the monk and nun who were killed for their
affair? Why did Ivy poison Harry Bull? Why was the Catholic priest crucified here? And why
did so many Waldegraves kill so many other Waldegraves? I'm doing a paper at school about
Borley that I am very excited about.
Thank you!
Mindy Emmert
I've always been fascinated by the Borley stories, and was very interested
in this web site. I visited Borley several times when I lived in Essex and
found it a very highly charged but beautiful place.
My partner and I were very excited when we visited Borley, as we located the
site of the old Rectory and had a wander around (even where we weren't
supposed to I'm afraid to say - hanging head in shame). We found a pile of
old bricks at one point and managed to convince ourselves that these were
rectory bricks, although I'm sure we were deluding ourselves!
I would love to visit again one day.
Heather Finch
Several years ago I read "The Most Haunted House in England" and was fascinated! This fall I'm
fortunate enough to be visiting [England] and would like to take a tour.
Dawn Blythe-McDaniel
I just wanted to comment on your site. Much as I thought it was very interesting, those photos
weren't very convincing, and you see what you want to see in them. I saw nothing. All the misty
graveyard photos just looked like mist or shadows. You're not fooling anyone.
Angelfish444
I see a face [in the fence of the Thurston Hopkins photo] and I
wonder if anyone else does. It looks VERY strange to me.
Michelle Maxwell
I'm a student in high school, and I'm doing a term paper on the Borley
Rectory. Our paper had to be on a mystery, and I found your site and decided
that it was an intersting topic for my report. I have looked at your site
extensively and found it to be of great help in doing my report. I was
wondering if I would be able to maybe interview you at some point in time
soon. Thank you for your time.
Kate Hurley
I have been an avid reader of the Borley Rectory stories for several years now, and have
thoroughly enjoyed your site. I was particularly captivated by David Bamber's photographs of the
white figure in the garden, but when I tried to print it, the quality was very bad. Hence, I had a go at enhancing the
images and the results are most interesting - to me, the figure seems to bear more than just a
coincidental resemblance to the image of Harry Price in his lab coat - looks a similar height and
build. With the extra contrast it is also possible to make out some facial features which in the
original appeared as just a blur. It could also easilly be a robed monk - either way, from the
enhanced quality it is safe to say that this is definately a figure. Keep up the great work with the
site.
Tim Faithfull
I am just e-mailing you to say thank you. I want to say thank you due to the following: at my
school I have to do a speech on a subject, and a group of friends and I are doing ghosts. Due to
this I went on the Borley Rectory website and found it very interesting. You will not guess how
much this website helped us writing this speech. If you are wondering where I get the website
address from I got it from a teacher at my school!
Marion Salter (Age 15)
I've been reading (and re-reading) everything in your Borley Rectory
website. Quite fascinating. Not sure what to make of it but wonderful,
nonetheless. Many thanks for the fascinating website.
Judy Noll
I lived in Sudbury for most of my childhood and grew up hearing the stories about Borley and its
famed rectory
and hauntings. I think your website is wonderful and its so interesting to me to find out things
about the story I never knew before. My last job in England before I moved [to the US] in 1998,
was working for an electrical company and one week we were assigned to Borley to work on
overhead lines near the church. I spent many hours up there expecting to see something but never
did. To my disapointment my work collegues had never heard of the Borley legend. So I had to
explain to them all about the story. They seemed to be relieved to finish working before night fell
after I told
them.!!! I actually spent a few months working on a school project on the story and always
wondered if Harry's story was a load of Bull or not! I always heard stories of people who would
never drive along that road at night. People seeing a nun walking across the road in front of
them. These stories would make my hairs stand up but would keep me fascinated then and many
years to now. So keep up the good work and lets hope people like you keep the Borley legend
alive.
All the best ,
Simon Rogers
I have just visited your site and found it to be a mixture of things, mainly fascinating,
frightening and saddening. I have
been aware of the name Borley Rectory since childhood (having an interest in all such things at
that age) but this is the
first time I have visited anything on the internet connected with it. I am from Poole in Dorset, UK
and understand that this
area is very rich in paranormal history, in particular the Crown Hotel, Badbury Rings and Corfe
Castle.
Thank you for providing an excellent source of information as
objectively as possible about a subject to which you are linked and that I hope the whole matter of
this location has
been resolved. However, a question
concerns me: why has the activity lessened? My own understanding of ghosts
(forgive me if I am wrong) is that they will continue to occupy a location after the building
associated with it has been
destroyed. Has contact been made with anyone in the Borley area which has lead to resolution of
troubled spirits in recent years, for example?
Trevor McCready
I spent a night in Borley Febuary 4, 1999, and can safely say that there are certainly some ghostly
goings on. I saw a vicar shaped object AND HAD a polite conversation with him only to turn
around and realise that he was gone. Very strange. We left some fresh fruit in the bathroom and
went to bed. In the morning it had gone stale and mouldy. Then we found a smelly old sock
which mysteriously disappeared.
96SMITHK
I went to the rectory and I have never had terror as I had that day.
JENKTEL
If you look closely at [the picture of the rectory] there seems to be a strange-looking person in
the bottom right-hand window. Do you know what this is?
Zaki Moosa
Ghosts of borley rectory indeed!
you are a sad lot try reading some of Mr Trevor Halls books on Borley and
that proven phoney Harry Price instead of that old clap trap by BUMS like
Taboori and Underwood, you may even learn something.
Yours sincererly,
JIMMIE HENSHAW
I am writing to say how mad i am at reading what Jimmie Henshaw said. Calling Harry Price a Fake! And also Calling Mr.Underwood a load of crap! He should think before he speaks....Because like you and Price...and Underwood. Who have kept the Borley legend Alive for so many years and all the hard work thats gone into it ..only to get somebody whos only just learned to read a book!! to come out with such rubbish! Well anyway keep up the good work.
Roger Flanagan
I just took a look at your web site about the Borley Rectory. I found it to be of great
interest. Although here in Australia we have only a short history in regards to European
settlement, we do have our own so called ghosts!!!
Presently I am a teacher at a high school which was once a old seminary. It is
secluded from the rest of the townships, and settled amongst the bush. When I first came to teach
here, I was told of the ghosts that haunt the school, but took no notice of it......until I stayed back
one night for a local club meeting. One of the club members came up to me and asked if our
noise was going to disturb a class that was going on in one of the very old buildings, as well as
why there was a 'lot of people' at other end of the school. I said to him that there should not be
anyone else on the school grounds but ourselves. I then took my oldest son with me to
investigate the grounds, but found nothing! Many other teachers have witnessed things at were
strange. One music teacher, during a major music presentation just recently, saw a face (with no
other parts of human anatomy) looking straight at her from the old library. Notwithstanding, she
avoids the area when she can. My first experience with these spirits came just two weeks after I
started at the school. I went into the mens toilets, which were empty at the time. I closed the
toilet cubical door, just then, I heard the chain on the urinal flush, and someone go wash their
hands and then leave. Not bad considering that the bloody toilet was empty in the first place. At
least the ghost washed his hands!!! Anyway I enjoyed your web site and hope to visit it again
some time.
Mark Egan
I am 16 years old and have been fascinated by the topic of
apparitions and ghosts since I was young and bought what remains one of
my most treasured books, 13 GHOSTS, by Will Osborne. In that book was a
story entitled The Minister's Haunted House--about Borley Rectory. It
chilled me beyond words. Especially the incident of hearing moaning
wherever the minister went, resulting in the screaming: "Don't, Carlos!
Don't!!" I love your site devoted to Borley, and will continue to
research it because it is very fascinating to me. I just wanted to let
you know that your site is great, and I will get great use of it for
more information. I printed out the
chapters from your book and look forward to reading them! Keep up the great
work!
Barry
The more I learn about Harry Price the more convinced I become that the
attributes he most admired in himself, namely care and competence, were,
instead, his greatest weakness. His archaeological exercise in the
Borley cellar was luidcrously incompetent. On the one hand his poor
secretary had to record the exact moment that each item was recovered
from the digging, but nobody made any record of the stratigraphy of the
subsoil, nor did they record the spacial relationships between one
artifact and another. Furthermore, when he recorded finding potsherds and
pieces of pottery (which are the same thing) he made no effort to find
out how old those sherds were or how the related (or not) to the skull
fragments. Similarly we read a lot about "old bottles" but nobody says
By the way, I had a letter from Alexander MacKenzie today. He's now 88
years old. It would have been so much better if he and not Price had been
called by the
Name withheld by request.
I first became interested in the story of Borley Rectory when I came across
a copy of Harry Price's book - "The Most Haunted House in England" in a
public library in Warwick, where I was working in the early 1970's.
On arriving home at my parents' house I was amazed to learn from my mother
that relatives of my father lived in the village of Borley and that during
the early 1930's my parents had regularly visited the village. I
subsequently visited the village.
I would be particularly interested in reading Harry Price's books again.
[I live in] Jerusalem, Israel.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Cook
I visited the site of the Rectory in May 1974. As I came into the
village, I asked directions to the site from a gentleman who was passing
by. He walked me to the area of the original gate, but stayed on the
other side of the road, as if pulling back. As I approached the gate,
the gentleman asked, "Are ye looking for ghosts?" I said that I wasn't
really, but that I was interested in the history of the place. He said,
"You won't find anything," and quickly turned away, walking rather
briskly, I thought.
Very interesting site, by the way.
John C. Sherwood
I just wanted to say a big thank you for the Borley info on the net. I have been a big fan of Borley
since when I was a child and my nan read me stories out of her Readers Digest book. I can not
remember what it was called but it was a big hardback with a section on ghosts etc. It was where
I first heard about SHC too. Anyway,thank you again. Oh by the way,is it possible for people
living in England too join the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY. [Absolutely!]
RDrakebub
Many thanks for the advice on the sterling cost of joining the Borley Ghost Society. I'll be calling
into my local bank tomorrow to arrange an International Money Order for £27.30 (which is
slightly over the $45 you quoted). I seem to have mislaid your mailing address and would
appreciate confirmation of that.
I'm the London Branch Secretary of the British Printing Society and we are currently producing a
small keepsake to commemorate the Borley Fire. I'll send you a copy when I forward my money
order. You'll obviously realise that 1999 is a big year for Borley, since it marks the 70th
anniversary of the first press reports on the hauntings (June 1929) and the diamond jubilee of the
Rectory's destruction by fire on the night of 27/28 February 1939. January 26th also marked the
centenary of Marianne's birth.
I've been to Borley twice in the last 10 years; once on a pleasant summer's afternoon, and once in
driving rain on a bleak November afternoon. On the first occasion I made the terrible mistake of
asking at the Rectory Cottage for the church to be unlocked. The lady who answered the door
was very angry and accused me of coming to Borley "because of those ridiculous stories". She
went on to say that the lives of the villagers had been made a complete misery by Harry Price and
"the other sensation-seeking fraudsters", and she particularly blamed the BBC for continually
bringing the case back to the public attention over the years. I'm so pleased that I didn't mention
that I've been a member of BBC staff for the last 23 years! When I showed her a guide book to
churches of England (which included Borley), she calmed down a little. I said that I simply wished
to see the Waldegrave tomb, and she unlocked the church for me. The poor lady was genuinely
distressed by the attention that the village has attracted over the years, and told me of tales
involving midnight ceremonies in the graveyard, and unwelcome visitors beseiging the church at
Halloween. Apparently she still has to call upon the local police at regular intervals to remove
unwanted visitors from the church and its environs. H.D.E. Bull's grave has been vandalised and
the continuation of the legend still causes problems for the locals - hence the regular
disappearance of directional signs to Borley. Whether these have been taken by souvenir hunters
or the villagers is not clear. One thing is certain, the Borley hauntings - real or fabricated - will not
go away.
Bob Richardson
I just finished reading your entire website and I found it to be not
only fascinating but absolutely wonderful.
I stumbled upon your website quite by accident, but I am grateful I
did.
I was truly fascinated with all of the activity at the Borley Rectory
and I studied the pictures at great length. I don't know how good the
DPI is in the pictures but I found the most intersting images in both
the enlarged photo of the Rectory and the photo of the Borley Church
that you have possession of.
In the picture of the Rectory I noticed several images in the windows
of the photo. The one that stands out most is that of a man's face in
the far right window in the low right panel. At first I though it was
part of the bush outside but after really studying it I see the large
face of a man with a black handle bar mustache and dark hair. I also
see an image in the center window upstairs to the right of the curtain.
It looks very faintly like a woman with a white scarf on her head
covering all but her face. Latly in the far right window upstairs I
see a white mist just below the curtain very small like a small child.
As for the picture of the church, I absolutely do not see the image of
the woman mentioned, but I do see the image of a nun. I wish I could
outline her for you. Just to the right of the three bushes in the
center. Very faintly if you look about 1 cm to the right of the top of
the bush on the far right I see the nuns head. The top is slightly
rounded and black with a small line of white underneath (like the
habits nuns wore eons ago..)then the face is outlined very tightly with
a white cloth (also like a nuns habit). The image is very misty
looking then I see a hand with the index finger pointing to something
to the left of the picture. Below the arm is a long loping sleeve then
it indents and flares out like a nuns clothing would. The back is
clearly defined by a difference in shading. When I printed out the
photo I could not see it. But looking at it from the computer it
stands out. It is absolutely extraordinary. To me the image stood out
like a sore thmb. The image appears to be looking down at the grave to
the left. By chance do those bushes cover up something like a well or
gravesite. She seems to be trying to point something out.....Or show
something.
I have never been compelled to e-mail anyone from the websites I have read. You are the first.
I also wanted to tell you that I was also very disappointed as I read
your account of your blood relatives not accepting you and in fact
turning you away. As for how people feel about your relationship with
your mother, no one should judge either of you it is not their right.
Just because you were adopted does not signify that she was not your
mother. Maybe not by blood but by heart. Which is more important
anyway?
The research you have done is wonderful and I wish you the best of
luck. Thank you for sharing your website with us ghost enthusiats. I
greatly appreciated the opportunity to read about and see pictures of
the Borley Rectory and Church by someone very connected to the
situation.....
In your search for the spirits to give you the answers.
If you haven't read the Celestine Prophecy try it. It is a very deep
book and requires a great deal of thought with each new insight that is
reavealed. I am not completely done reading it but I found it quite
interesting. Not the kind of material I usually read.
I am not a religious person nor am I a psychic or anything like that
but the book presents some very interesting insight and food for
thought. Nothing is a coincidence there is always foundation for who
you meet and why....
Best of Luck to you.
Sincerely,
Cindy Sparks
I am turning 15 soon. I love to write stories. Anyways I was wondering if you did not mind if I
wrote a story of these places, I have been intrested in this story for more than 3 years. I will not
publish it, so just by your permission, I would like to write a full story of it put in with flashbacks,
etc. I will write it the way it happend. Thanks for everything. The site is really helpful. Good job
on it.
Thanks
Travis Lee Palmer
I have a lump of coal from the Titanic.
I have a brick from the Lizzie Borden house.
My life would be complete if I could obtain a brick from the Borley ruins.
Peace,
Uffish
By my email address, I'm sure you can tell
what I do for a living huh? Yes, I'm very interested in joining the Borley
Ghost Society.
I am also interested in buying the two books available asap. I have been VERY interested
in Borley since I first heard of it. It's a shame to hear
that a lot of Ghost Hunters have not left a good impression with the
residents of Borley, it takes just a few to ruin it for the rest of us
legitimate ones who try not to disturb anybody. Like I said, sorry to hear
about that.
I still plan on returning to Britain and visit a lot of these places. I
will just go undercover not to make anyone angry.
Ian Dobbins
I have been fascinated by the story behind
Borley Rectory since I read about it when I was 12.
It was great to find your page on the Internet, and has told me much
more than I knew already.
I was thinking of looking into Borley Rectory and researching as
much as possible, despite the fact I'm only a beginner.
As far as I can gather, there have been houses built on the site,
have they come across any paranormal activity, do you know?
I'm considering going down there at some point to have a look around.
I live in Aberdeen, Scotland, which means I'm a bit closer than you!
I'll pass any new information I discover onto yourself, if you are
interested.
Emma Luck
I work in the television and film industry. Some years ago I was working on Lovejoy at Long
Melford, I had read Harry Price's book, and with a colleague decided to visit the church. The
church was open but empty , we entered and the first thing that struck us both was how very cold
it was (it was very hot & sunny outside.) We entered a room to the left of the entrance (I believe
it was the rectory)On the right hand wall was a photograph of the Rev. Bull. Whilst looking at it,
we both swore we could here what sounded like two people wispering at the other end of the
church. We investigated inside and out, there was nobody to be seen.
Incidently, we noticed that the house next to the church hed plastic covering the windows
overlooking the churchyard. I have since met a makeup lady in the business who lived in the
house I mentioned.and she rubbished the whole ghost thing. But we spoke to people in the small
row of houses and they also rubbished it, but then I would expect that, They are I would assume
trying to dicourage visitors.
Regards,
Len Gilbey
I am 18 years old and live in Australia. I
have however lived all over the world. My entire life I have been
facinated by the Paranormal. There is one case that I have been
particularly interested in since I first began reading about Paranormal
phenomenon, Boreley Rectory. Thank you very much for all the information
supplied here.
Peter Fitzgerald
I have just discovered your site as was very intrigued about what I had read.
Over the past few years I have read a few books about this place and have always had a good
interest in the paranormal.
I had not given much thought to Borley until a guy I used to work with had told me that he and a
few of his mates who normally spend the evenings roaring around Suffolk in their cars (loud
music and exhausts) had starting visiting Borley at night to see if anything strange could be seen.
This grabbed my attention as he claimed that the barns opposite were where murders had taken
place.
He also said that when a couple of his mates went there with some girls, they met another couple
of blokes who apparently were running around at the back of the church through some long grass,
and had some long scratches mysteriously appear on there legs although they claim to have not
felt any kind of pain which would have caused this ????
Anyway, some time in August/September 1997, myself and my then pregnant girlfriend decided to
visit on a Saturday afternoon (I was to scared to visit at night).
We arrived at Borley and I asked a local person where the church was. They advised me to
follow down the road a bit until and there it was. We went into the graveyard and looked around
a bit making sure not to get too close to the church as we did not want the baby to be born quite
then !!!
We didn't see anything strange although my girlfriend and I thought we saw something looking
out of the church window. Maybe it was our imagination running riot.....
All the best
Shaun Walsh
I am interested in finding out about Alfred C. Henning.He was the rector of
Borley Church from 1936 to 1955. He may have been related to my Mother who
is trying to find her ancestors. Any information you could give me as to
where to look would be greatly appreciated.
Nancy Klempner
I have driven past Borley on many occasions and it always sends a shiver down my spine. I
remember reading about it when I was a boy in `The Hamlyn book of ghosts`.
I heard a story recently about a group of teanagers who went there for a `laugh` but ran away
fast when one of them saw blood oozing from a wall between the church and the farm.
Could you please reply to this question `Did Harry Price admit he forged a lot of his findings in
the investigation (just before he died) ?
A very good site you`ve got there.
TONY CRUSE
I live about six miles from the village of Borley in Essex. I have
visited the Borley site on many occasions and have often had access to
the old Rectory site (which is now occupied by Three Bungalows) The old
coach house is now the only original building still standing (apart from
the church).
I have also stayed in the church over night and spent many hours
(daytime and night) in the church grounds. One experience that I had
while on a visit to Borley, was the sound of horses pulling a coach!! I
am conducting some investigations over at Borley in the Summer of 1999
and would be interested in hearing from you.
I am very interested in joining your society. I am
currently a member of the Ghost Society of Great Britain and have been
some for some number of years. As to my experiences of Borley, the site
of the old Rectory and the church and its grounds, I have a number of
interesting accounts form my visits but one that I remember the most
happened a few years ago. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, it was
June/July ( can't remember which ). It was a calm sort of day, slight
breeze, afew bird song, nothing out of the ordinary. I had a copy of an
old map of the Rectory grounds (which I aquired from the "BLUE BOOK").
This map gave the exact position of the Rectory before the fire. I
gained permition from the owner of the Farm grounds (which sits on part
of the site) and made notes, sketches and took many photos. All in all a
very productive afternoon.
A few days later I picked the photos up from the chemist and while I was
looking through them I noticed that Three photos had part of the Rectory
appearing in them. This I found quite strange as the Rectory hadnt stood
on that site for more than 40 years or more. I will have to hunt through
my Borely papers and find these photos. As soon as I have them I will
down load them to you.
Look forward to hearing from you very soon. Best Wishes
Mark Chaplin
I was very interested to find your pages and read with increasing wonder and joy that so much thought had been put into the Borley Rectory index. I was once told about 'The Legend Of The Golden Calf'. Apparently a wealthy family living at Borley melted down all the family gold and made a calf which they then buried in the grounds of the rectory. Quite why they went to the trouble I cant imagine but it had something to do with avoiding paying taxes to the then king Charles or something. Times don't change! Have you heard of this story? Apparently people have taken it at face value and had a look for it without sucess. Either because it ain't there or they dont know where to look. James Plumridge
I believe I have identified Ann Elizabeth Woodyatt but
it will require some
further work to more firmly establish this as correct. In the 1881 census
which is all on microfiche(and indexed) at the library I found the following
family which I supposed to be yours. I have not been able as yet to link
them to my other Woodyatt families. I have indexed all Woodyatt entries
from 1837 to 1980 in births, marriages, and deaths and have them in word
perfect form. The husband of Emily Dobson was probably your John Woodyatt
but he does not appear on the census. The next step would be to get the
marriage certificate for John Woodyatt and Emily Dobson which would give the
parentage of John Woodyatt. I am also going to look at the 1891 census
which is available on microfiche at the library(but unindexed) and see if I
can locate them. You may want to follow up on this further. Please let me
know if you find out any more. I believe with John's parentage I can tie
into one of the many family trees I have on my paf3 program.
Steve Kelsey
I am planning to join the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY as somone interested in the whole
phenomena purported to surround the site of the former Rectory. Perusing the site, I have
wondered if the site may be older than once-suspected. Has there ever been any documents
regarding the site being in the hands of the Templars at any time? Round foundations would
indicate this, but I am unaware of the designs and shpes of teh earlier structures. It would be
rather intriguing if this were so. The talk of there being elementals in some of the wells was
intriguing as well, and makes me wonder if there was a pagan site there originally. Perhaps this is
what the phenomena is about: long-suppressed faiths reemerging? Just a few thoughts, I don't
have access to some of the documentation you folks do! But, that is why I want to join. Thank
you.
Matt Janovic
I have been intrigued by the story of Borley since I first
read about the accounts when I was a kid. (I am 31 now). I see that a
lot of work was put into your site and I greatly appreciate it. I doubt
I could add anything since all I have learned about the happenings is
what I have read by others. It seems you have an inside view on it!! You
were adopted by Marianne, who the ghostly messages on the wall were
written to? I get chills just thinking about it!! It must have been
fascinating to grow up surrounded by this story. I am in envy!!
Of all the horror films I have seen, and books I have read, I
still get the most chills from hauntings and ghosts that you can-not
see, and I find that the Borley Rectory story is by far the most
fascinating/chilly/unexplainable out there. I have encountered two or
three unexplainable occurances in my own life, and firmly beleive that
there are forces at work that we, mortals, just can't understand.
I haven't even finished looking at your whole site yet, as there
is so much information to absorb!! I just wanted to drop you a note of
appreciation and say that I am greatly intrigued by your story. I will
have to get "the Ghosts that Will Not Die" now!!!!!!!
Robert Gaydos
I am so intrigued by this story regarding the most haunted house. I may sound daft but is this
site haunted still? Is the church haunted? What has since happened? Where is this place located
so that I may go and see for myself?
Thank you for your time and for all the great research you have done on this story. It is most
fascinating.
Ariel Palencar
I saw your web-site on Borley Rectory, and was very impressed. I had known about Borley
since I was young, but never had I seen such detail and such a collection of photographs. I run a
UK paranormal investigation service - "Ghosthunters UK," and we recently put
up a web-site. I decided to put 'Borleyrectory.com' as one of our links.
Graeme Thornhill
Before I gained knowledge if this place, I have dreamed of it.
A small garden behind the rectory in the late 1880's, I sat in the dirt while the sun shone down on
me. A fence not to far from the end of the road. I could be crazy, but when my friend saw the
same thing in one of her visions, I thought it peculiar. I am not used to these things, but in church
the other day, while I was praying, I alone heard weeping while I was praying for the souls lost
there. I admit it could be sub conscious or something, but if there are any visions that would be
helpful, I would be more than glad to help. These pictures come to me.
But the day after my dream, I saw a television program of the Borley Rectory as did my
grandmother. We called each other at once and watched in disbelief.
My grandmother also said I look much like one of the ladies that lived there long ago.
Sarah-Elizabeth
I have just read your really interesting page on Borley Rectory. I too have always had a
fascination with the stories surrounding this little village.
I visited once in 1989, the day after my birthday on February the 8th.
We took a few fotos of the church and surrounding areas etc. nothing disruptive just out of
interest really. One of the fotos when developed showed what appeared to be a figure thru one of
the windows at the back of the church, I still have this foto somewhere but I think that it was left
behind at my parents house when I moved. They still live in the property so I will do my utmost
to find it and send it through to you.
Mr. Church
I am 14 years old. I don't have any information on Ghosts or anything, but I would like to say a
big thank you to you. At school I was assigned a project to do about the paranormal, so chose the
subject Borley Rectory. I have used your net pages for the whole of my project and they have
been an excellent help. So Thank you!
Crissy Petrou
I became interested in Borley Rectory a few
years ago when I read an article about it in a book. Since then I have
tried to read as much as I can about it - but that has been quite difficult
as literature about the place is rather limited. I have read Harry Price's
books ("The Most Haunted House in England" and "The End of Borley Rectory")
and more recently one by Ivan Banks called "The Enigma of Borley Rectory."
My overall opinion is that there must have been some truth in the claims of
the strange phenomena described by the various Borley inhabitants. As I
live probably less than 200 miles from Borely I do intend to visit it
shortly. I have been meaning to go there for quite some time. My main
concern is that I will not be able to recognise the site where the Rectory
once stood as no doubt there are modern houses there now. However, the
church will be an interesting place to see.
I was very impressed when I visited the Borley web site to learn that you
are no other than Marianne Foyster's son! I bet she had some
fascinating tales to tell.
Yvonne Miller
I would Like to use your mothers house for my own book because I am very intersted in it. When
I have finished my own work I would be happy to share my views on my work. I just want to
write about and make up a back round story on the hounted house of Britain. Like a kind of
horror story if you will.
Gareth Eriksen
Great Websight. I haven't read up on Borley Rectory since seeing the
story in "Man, Myth, and Magic" magazine back in late 60's. Having
lived with paranormal experiences most my life I am still fascinated by it.
I had a couple of experiences back in 93 when visiting England and
Ireland with my father, (especially inside Blarney Castle). Being an
avid reader of Hans Holzer's books since 1966 I can't tell you what
a thrill it is for me to have found your webpage.
Patrick W Deck
I would just like to say thank you for all the help your great website has given me during my
research of the project at school. We are making a book on Borley Rectory, and your brilliant
website gave me all the information I needed.
Thanks Again,
James Wright (12 yrs)
I havn't heard about this place since I was student in England in the
70's. I'm sitting here shivering in my shoes convinced that the sudden
rush of wind on my Los Angeles balcony and freezing of my computer screen
is just SILLYNESS and not a visitation.
Whhhhhoooo-ouuuuuu-ooooooooo!!!!!!
The site is really interesting, thank you for all your hard work.
Sincere regards,
Spider Jane Fawke
Hello! My name is Viktoria and I´ve been a "Borleyghost-fan" since I first read about the
phenomena when I was 9 years old. I am now 27 yrs old.
I am glad to find more information about it on the Internet.
Viktoria Lehrberg, Sweden
Thank you so much for writing this wonderful web page! Found it very informative and
interesting.
Gregg & Laurie Erickson
I have found your Website very interesting and informative.
I have read much on the subject of Borley, and although I have no actual
belief in the existence of Ghostly pheonomena, I find the Borley story
fascinating.
My wife and I visited Borley a few years ago. I knew nothing of the
problems that Borley residents experience on a regular basis, even now.
It was a Sunday night in the Fall, and very dark. There was no
moonlight to aid in our walk through the church grounds.
As we got nearer the church doorfront, a bright light beamed down on
us. We had triggered a security light. A couple of lights around the
church were out of operation, but I put that down to lack of funding for
replacement bulbs than a spirit's mischeavous nature. The bushes in the
grounds are curiously shaped and addto the identity of the church.
We walked back to the car. As we walked a station-wagon style car
pulled up to us, and I wondered if we had disturbed somebody.
The passenger door window rolled down and a man in his late teens said;
"Have you seen anythin' mate?"
"No," I replied.
"Nor 'ave we! We're lookin' for the headless horsemen."
They drove off, and I realised, sadly, that proper, mature, research
around the Borley area would be impossible. If on one day in 365, we
stumbled across kids driving, looking for ghosts, this must happen very
often. My heart goes out to the residents. At the moment with the
Blair Witch Project, The Haunting, and The Sixth Sense, being so
popular, Borley must be getting it's fair share of Ghost Hunters.
Me? I remain a skeptic, and next whenever I visit Borley, as I did
before, I will treat the area and it's people with respect.
Skeptic? Yes. However, both my wife and I noticed something that night
on the Borley Church grounds. We could sense no active life, no animal
presence. With houses only metres from us, I would have expected a cat
or two. Nothing. No nocturnal birds, no bats, no feeling of nature.
My imagination? No? Some spitiual influence? I don't know.
Good luck in your project. I look forward to any updates on your site,
Richard Neal
My friend Karen and I found your article interesting. We are doing
a research paper on ghosts and unexplainable things so your article was
most helpful. We were wondering if in the picture in the article 'Return
To Borley' the man was a ghost because there is an outline of a figure
or is it a real person visting the Rectory.
Nicole Yee and Karen Paquin
[The picture shows Vincent O'Neil during his visit in 1997.]
Once, I had the incredible oportunity to visit the Borley rectory. I was 7 years old. I was walking
along a pathway, when something came up behind me and pushed me from behind. It was quick
and strong. I never felt it, I was just shoved forward. Extremely angry,I turned around to see who
the guilty culprit was, but no-one was there. I was so frightened, I wouldn`t let go of my mother`s
hand for the rest of the day.
Amanda Graig
I have never seen a complete list about the Most Haunted House in England like this before. I am
from Austria, and I have been very interested in haunting histories since I was a child. And one of
those histories is the Borley House. And the Pictures are fantastic. At least it is good to know that
some people take care of the haunting history of places like this.
Best regards
Ryno
Hi there my name is Danny Bradshaw and I am 18 years old. For the past 6 years I have been
interested in Borley Rectory. Until now I did not know about this web site or the BORLEY
GHOST SOCIETY. I have over 17 books on the house such as "A-Z of British Ghosts" and
"Ghosts and how to see them" by Peter Underwood.
I live in a town could Grimsby N.E Lincs and I would love some info about your society.
Danny Bradshaw
In English at school we have to do a magazine about Borley Rectory, Harry
Price and the fors and againsts about the hauntings. One on my tasks is to
write a shory biography of Harry Price.
I need to know what he did before Borley Rectory including where and when
he was born.
I also have to do a map of the house showing where the hauntings were.
The last thing I have to do is write something on the evidence for and
againsts the trueness of the hauntings.
If you could help me in any way please could you reply.
Thank you very much.
Verity (12yrs)
I am interested in ghosts, both real and fictional and I am also facinated by the story in general
regarding the ghost and your discovery of who you mother really is. I will be looking for your
books in the local book stores. Thank you for sharing this very personal information of you and
your family history. I know it must not be easy to discover such things and I applaude your
efforts.
Best regards,
Valli Stewart
We're just writing to say how much we have enjoyed reading about your mother and the Borley
Rectory history on your website this weekend. We're British and have been living in the States
since 1986. We knew the stories about Borley Rectory's ghosts, and find it extremely interesting,
so discovering your website and all the information kept us pretty much intrigued. What a
fabulous idea to write all this information down for prosperity!!!! Now we want to go to Borley
ourselves, and take along the camera. There has to be sightings still to this day, don't you think?
It's fascinating.
With our best wishes,
John & Julia McIntyre
My name is Jamie Smith me and two of my friends are paranormal investigators,we have been
interested in the paranormal since a very early age, but only been able to take things further since
we've gained transport, we are all only eighteen years of age now, but hope to investigate the
paranormal in an more in-depth level.
Yours Sincerely,
James Smith, Phil Ruffle & Kieron Shave
I'm 11 and I need to know about poltergeists for English. I was told to go 2 keyword:ghosts, but
I can't find poltergeists! My homework is in for Friday the 8th october + I have not started it yet.
I was hoping you could help me in time.
Shivvy
Two of us saw something very wierd tonight (9/12/1998). Two women came out from the back
of the church carrying a fold up table and 2 bags as if they were messing with the spirits. Then
about 10 or 15 minutes later it grew very cold and there was this weird sort of light about 10 foot
floating above the church. It then started spinning and then disapeared and reapeared 4 or 5
times. It was as if the two women had upset the spirits. Has there ever been any thing like this
before that you have ever heard of, or is it possible it was something weird - or is there a logical
answer?
Geraldine Fuller
I think you have created a great website for such an interesting subject. I'm fortunate enough to
have read Harry Price's books on Borley (which were kept under lock and key in a back room at
my local library!) and enjoyed them. I was recommended to look at the website and was not
disappointed.
I thought i'd write to see whether you have ever read any books by Michael Bentine because I
think he mentions Borley in several of his books on the paranormal. He was primarily a comedian
(I'm assuming you don't already know this) and worked with Peter Sellers and many others. He
was half Peruvian and an amazing character who was also close friends with the Prince of Wales
who was with him when he died in 1995. There is a website which his son
Richard has prepared which lists his books. I can strongly recommend them.
He had some very interesting ideas and experiences which may interest you.
All the best
Ralph Tonge
My brother died recently of cancer at the age of 39, leaving behind two small children. This has been difficult to accept, even though I believe in God and had a Near Death experience when I was fourteen years old. However, reading your chapter "The End" was very comforting. Thank you!
I've just finished reading your web site about Borley Rectory and I found it fascinating. While I have come across references to Borley over the years, it was wonderful to read the complete tale.
What a shame that Borley Rectory burned! Do you think that it was really an accident, or did the
unseen residents play a part?
Please keep me updated as to any developments in "Borleyology". And best of luck on your book!
Sincerely,
Barbara Tipton
Hello there. I just visited your web site and found it extremely well done. I am a first year fifth
grade teacher in Kansas, and one of my students read a chapter in the book Poltergeists:
Hauntings and the Haunted that deals with the Borley Rectory. He said it was good so I read
it also and found it extremely interesting. In fact, I was so fascinated I hopped on the Internet
and began searching for anything related to this topic, and I ended up at your site. Needless to
say, I used up my entire 80 minute planning period browsing through all of the different areas of
your page, and I found it so good I thought I would tell you about it!!
I am only 23 years old and have been to England once. My sister was attending school at
Harlexton, which is in a town called Grantham and is only about an hour out of London. When
we were there, we were told of many different strange happenings, due to the fact that this school
was basically an old castle (maybe manor would be a better term). Anyway, what a setting for
mysterious happenings. England that is. Dark, damp, and the people are so intriging(?). I would
love to be able to sit in the church at Borley and just soak up the atmosphere. Anyway, hats off
to an outstanding job, my friend!
Take Care,
Jason Williams
"Just came onto your web page. It is an absolutely amazing site both in terms
of its content and its organisation; has just completely blown my mind. I've
just read Robert Wood's "Widow of Borley" which I am sure you have
interesting things to say about. It seems to me that he comes up with many
unsubstantiated conclusions. Still, he has to sell his book I suppose.
Having read that, it all seems really surreal that I should bring up your
web-page almost instantaneously on doing a search of Borley.
"I'd like to order The Most Haunted Woman in England. I live
in England so let me know how you want the money to be paid. I look forward
to hearing from you.
"All the best,"
Steve Wilcockson
"I visited your site on Borley Rectory and enjoyed it very much. While
it earned a reputation for the most haunted house in England it also
launched the careers of many including the "ultimate skeptic" Harry
Price. My family has been submersed involentarily in the paranormal for
several generations now and it has become something that is second
nature to us, but it is always nice to read and see photos of others
experiences. Thanks for a nice site and a fitting memorial to 'The Most
Haunted House in England.'"
plumber2
"In 1975 - 1976 myself and two friends with the permission of the then vicar placed temperature
detectors and spool sound recorders in the church at Borley. We spent much time monitoring the
results. However we found nothing of note despite many hours of taping and measurement. At the
same time a group from Enfield in North London were obtaining amazing results using similar
tests. It is a long time ago now but I remember talking to Mrs Payne who lived next to the church
at Borley Place and ending up agreeing with her that by the '70s the only thing keeping the Borley
Haunt going - it having moved across the road from the destroyed rectory - was credulity and
wishful thinking.
"Sitting outside the church on beautiful moonlit nights with the church and the graves in deep
shadows. The only 'goings on' were the squabbling of voles and the squeaking of mice
accompanied - in those days at least - by the smooth flight of owls and the flitting of bats. By that
time at least I decided that the only happenings at Borley were natural and normal and I'm amazed
that all these years later Mr Price and his 'investigations' are still being followed up and tree
pictures invested with figures and arcane meanings.
"How Borley was in the twenties and thirties I cannot imagine. If it was haunted then, as it may
have been, I do not believe that any activities in the present will prove or disprove those events of
sixty/seventy years ago.
"Nevertheless Borley is a beautiful place and the old stories have given all of us much pleasure
and as a child in the fifties much excitement."
JEREMY AINSWORTH
"ALL the evidence seems conjectural, considering all the evidence surrounding borley before
people moved into the property no wonder they thought they saw something. As we move into
the next millennium don't you think we should put aside our petty superstitions."
Wong214946
"I just remembered another source of Borley information. When I was on jury duty in early 1998,
I was an alternate juror, and since one of the regular jurors had become ill the first day, I was the
only alternate juror. I was stuck in a room with 100 back issues of Modern Photography
magazine, and a twelve inch black and white television that hopped and skipped. My only
exercise was walking twenty feet to and from the bathroom.
"The one interesting book in there was the Book Of Lists from the
middle 1970s. The book was so interesting that when I spied a copy of the book, 1977 edition, I
bought it. In the book is listed famous poltergeist phenomena, and it discusses Borley. The book
says absolutely nothing new, but since you said you're interested in collecting everythong about
Borley, I thought you'd be interested........"
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