QUESTION
We would be thrilled if you could lend us any advice or tell us whether or not it will be possible to film on location.
ANSWER
The rectory burned down in 1939, the ruins were removed in 1944, and in recent times, new homes have been built on the property. None of the new residents have made any claims of anything unusual. In fact, tourists, vandals, and assorted louts have often made living in this peaceful valley uncomfortable. Not only is filming discouraged, but any extended visits "in search of ghosts" are met with resistance. In retrospect, the alleged hauntings happened a long time ago, and there might be far better locations sought elsewhere. Please refer to my appeal to visitors.
QUESTION
I am writing to ask your permission to use some of the pictures from your
site on my site.
ANSWER
I appreciate your interest in the subject, and hope you understand how impossible it is to respond individually to the multitude of requests I receive. I have dedicated my life to this study - Borley is all I do. My web site is the end result of years of research and effort. I have traveled thousands of miles and spent a great deal of money gathering resources. Some of the photos are my own, others were donated with the understanding I would be the exclusive exhibitor. In some cases, I had to pay a fee to obtain them. Other are "family photos" and remain my exclusive property. While providing your viewers with links to my pages is welcome, the various pictures and text remain the property of the individual copyright owners. If you let me know the URL of your Borley page(s), I will add a link to your site from my own. You are welcome to search out and use the same resources available to me. Your main sources are:
Curator, Harry Price Library, University of London Library, Senate House, Malet House, London, WC1E 7HU; Mr. Hilary Evans, Mary Evans Picture Library, 59 Tranquil Vale, London SE3 08S, and Janet and Colin Bord, The Fortean Picture Library online.
QUESTION
You state. . . .that your mother and "stepfather" left Borley due to ill health and not fear. I find this very difficult to believe, especially in light of the act that you mother was once struck. This makes her something of an aberration re: poltergeist phenomena, because by and
large, poltergeists have drawn aline in the sand when it comes to physical
injury. Could you possibly elucidate? Thank you!
ANSWER
I understand your consternation. Let's see if I can help. First, you state, "By and large, poltergeists have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to physical injury." That does not exclude ALL contact in EVERY case studied through the ages. Second, was it a poltergeist who hit my mother? Other alleged paranormal phenomena were reported there over the decades, and it was not all poletrgeist-related. Third, as the title of Lionel's journal explains, the main events took place during the first "Fifteen Months. . . . " they lived at Borley. They lived there a total of five years, and as my mother wrote in Chapter 13 of her notes, "They later held a seance upstairs. . . . When we got up in the morning, it was like a new world all washed clean. The medium told us we would not be really bothered again. . . . that there would never in our time be much trouble. There wasn't." Finally, in Chapter 22, my mother wraps up both discussions when she reports, "Then one Sunday he collapsed in church and the doctor said no more preaching. The house had been quiet for over three and a half years when we left Borley."
QUESTION
I have just become interested in the events at Borley Rectory and have been told that the church is now the site of some hauntings. Can you give me any more insight in to the church ie: how many of the bull familly are in the graveyard and was the underground crypt ever found?
ANSWER
Reports [at the church] are now less frequent, and are fading quickly with time. It is a very small churchyard, and only a very few of the BULL family are there.
By looking at the Bull genealogy page - we find the following names: Caroline Sarah FOYSTER Bull, Henry Dawson Ellis Bull, Caroline Sarah Elizabeth "Dodie" Bull, Cyril Garwood Bull, and Henry "Harry" Foyster Bull.
By using the google search engine on the first page of the web site I found the following [about the crypt]. An entry for July 6, 1988 in chapter four of The Ghost That Will Not Die,
an entry for Downes, Wesley. "The Secrets of Borley Church Revealed," and an entry for Downes, Wesley. The Ghosts of Borley: Legends, ghosts, hauntings, intrigues and unsolved mysteries.
QUESTION
I am an Australian student who wishes to write an essay on the haunting and related history of Borley Rectory and other places in Great Britain that have been haunted in a similar manner to the Borley Rectory. If you know of any other places in Great Britain or know where I may find resources relating to my topic on the Internet I would greatly appreciate the help.
ANSWER
For the Borley portion of your paper, please consult my Report Guide. When you are finished, please consider sending a copy for inclusion in my Bibliography. My studies are devoted exclusively to Borley, but there are MANY allegedly haunted sites in Britain. Use a good search engine like google.com and you will find scores of web pages.
QUESTION
Is there anyone still alive who has actually been to the rectory when it was still 'alive'? Also, does anyone know is any more stuff being done with the tunnel?
ANSWER
Peter Underwood knows of a few people still alive who personally lived at or visited the rectory. They wish to remain anonymous The tunnels have long since caved in or been filled in.
QUESTION
I was wondering if u could send me some info on the paranormal! I'm asking this because I have recently gotten into the paranormal.
ANSWER
My sole - and dedicated - interest is the alleged haunting at the former Borley Rectory, where my mother lived for five years. You will find thousands of files devoted to that study on my web site. At one time, I kept a list of links to other allegedly paranormal phenomena, but could not keep it current due to the rapid changes. Still, you might find something worthwhile on that web page. Good luck!
QUESTION
Would it be possible to stay in the house or camp around by the house. If so
what would the cost be to stay?
ANSWER
Borley rectory was burned out in 1939, and razed in 1944. None of the neighbors have provisions for guests, and campers are not welcome.
QUESTION
As to the various messages and scripts which would appear on walls and so forth during investigations - Has any graphologist ever compared the formation of characters with Marianne's own handwriting? And if so, what were the findings? I cannot recall if it were deemed impossible for Marianne herself to have produced the messages in the given circumstances. But it occurs to me how the two styles might be compatible if Marianne were using her left hand for the messages (should she have been right-handed, and the right hand if vice versa.)
ANSWER
"Certain of the detached letters appear to have been made by a left handed person; or, more probably, by a right-handed person using his left hand." [emphasis added] Harry Price. The Most Haunted House in England. p. 147
"Although no 'messages' were written during my lease of the Rectory [1937], many new pencil markings were noted by my observers - some of them appearing spontaneously in their presence. . . .Rev. F.A. Heaton [says], 'They strike me as being written by someone either (a) when they were not looking at what they were doing; or, (b) in the dark.'" Harry Price. The End of Borley Rectory. p. 196
"No one has yet given a satisfactory explanation of why Marianne did all this - if we accept the fact that she did it." Peter Underwood. The Ghosts of Borley. p. 73
". . . .[the wall writings] continued in partial form after the Foysters left, though later mainly in the form of squiggles and scrawls. . . .Peter Underwood, in a letter to the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, confirmed that when he submitted samples of the messages to a graphologist the opinion was that, except for one word, they all seem to have originated from Mrs. Foyster." Ivan Banks. The Enigma of Borley. pp. 48-9
"Dr. Phythian-Adams suggests that the 'entity' responsible for the appeals borrowed the hand and arm of Mrs. Foyster to write the messages, and that she was quite unconscous of the actions. . . . In his analysis of the wall-writings prepared for Price's intended third book on Borley [never published], Mr. Lewis T. Ackerman states with conviction that in his view, that of a professional graphologist, all the Borley scripts wiith the exception of 'Edwin' were executed by the same personality." Dingwall, Goldney, Hall. The Haunting of Borley Rectory. p. 112
"The first writing that appeared was like m's and u's, loops and letters. It could have been Marianne, but I thought that it might have been some little girl that had used our bathroom facilities. Edwin said that it was a spirit, trying to get in touch with me. He wrote "What do you want?" I washed it from the wall and was very annoyed at Edwin, because I had to wash the walls and I didn't like it at all. There were two others times that it appeared. Edwin said that he saw it written on the wall, without a hand as he was passing. He told everybody this; I discounted it. Some of the writings on the wall mentioned Mass and Prayers. I did not write them nor did I see them written on the wall, but Edwin Whitehouse said, to the best of my ability to remember, that as he was going up the stairs, suddenly these writings appeared on the wall. . . . There's a lot of things that happened that I don't know, and I used to ignore them because then if you don't talk about it, things don't get any worse. They go away. . . . I have never written on walls, and when the wall writings appeared, I thought it was the children who did it. . . . I had nothing to do with it. I saw them, surely did, but I had nothing to do with them. [emphasis added] Robert Swanson Interview, Gladstone Hotel - February, 1958.
"[Marianne] felt the wall writing originated in some way from [Edwin Whitehouse], although they would all "reply" to the comments and questions - she specifically said she herself wrote, as did Lionel and Ian, when he stayed with them on holiday. . . .The wall writings were an example of phenomena that puzzled them. These would initially appear, apparently from nowhere, although she admits that she herself, and other members of the family "answered" the remarks by writing underneath them. But she denies responsibility for initiating them, and remarked that she was mad when they first appeared as the wall had been recently redecorated and it took her hours to clean it up. But she says the writings only appeared when Edwin Whitehouse was in the vicinity, and she felt he was in some way responsible, either deliberately or unconsciously. . . .Marianne herself confirms that the events of the bottle, tumbler and stiletto happened as described in the SPR report, but with the exception of the wall writings, which she definitely attributes to Edwin's conscious or subconscious self, she still thinks there is a possibility that it was trickery." Iris Owen. Marianne's Story.
QUESTION
Has anyone done any research into the existence - or not - of ley lines close to the site of the former building? I believe I have read that a larger coach road used to run at 90 degrees to the present minor road throught the village.
Also, has the possibility of a link between the hauntings at borley, and Langenhoe, ever been considered. Were the two churches not at one time served by the same rector, and did the Waldegraves not own much of Langenhoe also?
ANSWER
An annonymous writer told the editor of The Unexplained periodical, "If it could be proved beyond doubt that Borley was a megalithic site on a line of seismic stones, this could go a long way to explaining the paranormal events that so many people have witnessed there." Wesley Downes devoted one paragraph pointing out Borley Church is located on the junction of three ley lines in his periodical. "Borley Church." [Essex]Ghost and Hauntings. Issue 1, Spring 1994. p19. In his book Poltergeist - a study in destructive haunting, Colin Wilson describes a visit by Stephen Jenkins in 1977; "Jenkins saw four men 'instantaneously' appear, carrying a coffin on the road north of Belchamp Walter Hall. His wife provided a sketch of what she also clearly saw. Jenkins connected this event to Borley, as both were related to the same ley line." Terrance Dicks speculated in The Borley Rectory Incident, "According to several sources, it's almost as big a ley line intersection as Stonehenge." However, the "several sources" are not named in this work of fiction. John C. Dening writes in The Restless Spirits of Langenhoe, "Merryweather. . . . had learned of the very interesting connection between Langenhoe and the celebrated Borley, by virtue of their common ownership over a period of some 200 years by the Waldegraves, a well known Roman Catholic family."
QUESTION
I'm hoping you can or would answer a few questions for me.
My name is Cheryl and I'm doing an APAStyle paper on paranormal. I'm trying
to find information on how many years of college needed to work in this
field. Intership, how much money they make and who do they work for and who
is their clientele. Also would you consider this is typically though of as a
traditional or non-traditional psychology career-why?
ANSWER
Vincent O'Neil forwarded you message to us. I would suggest that you have a look at the SPR website where you will find a page called Research Directory. I also attach a document giving a standard reply to your enquiry, which we do (encouragingly) receive regularly. I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Johnson
Secretary to the Society for Psychical Research
49 Marloes Road, London, W8 6LA
ANSWER
A career in parapsychology generally entails research in the field under the guidance of a professional parapsychologist; that is, someone who is a member of the Parapsychological Association (the professional organization of parapsychologists). Jobs are few and traditionally parapsychologists work in other fields, typically academia -- professors of psychology philosophy, physics, religious studies, etc. Those who work in parapsychology full time are few and wages are usually quite low.
You mentioned the "paranormal" in your letter. That is a very general term and there are many people who would qualify to fit in that category, for example, psychics, amateur investigators, intuitives, etc. Those people have no professional credentials and are unregulated. For more information on these distinctions you can take a look at my book, Shopping for Miracles: A Guide to Psychics and Psychic Powers.
I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have,
Joanne McMahon, PhD
Parapsychological Consultation Service, Inc.
QUESTION
Regarding the floating brick, would you happen to know
if the brick is basically centered in the original
photograph? Or do the books essentially show the
brick/workman photograph in its entirety?
ANSWER
The End of Borley Rectory by Harry Price shows both photos - the brick centered, and the entire view. The wider view shows a workman facing away from the brick at quite a distance to the left. It has been suggested a second workman may be just out of sight somewhere closer to the brick in question.
QUESTION
We are a company which produces and publishes educational coursebooks for students who study English as a second language in schools in Europe and in Israel. In one of our current books we are writing a text on Borley Rectory . On your website it states that it is considered the most haunted house in Britain. Why is it considered so?
Can you answer that question briefly? Hoping to hear from you
ANSWER
When the text is finished, I should very much like a copy so that I can add it to my ever-growing Bibliography. Borley Rectory WAS thought to be the most haunted house in England by the residents in the surrounding area when paranormal investigator Harry Price came calling in 1929. ". . . as I swung my car into the market square at Sudbury. . . I inquired from a bystander how I could get to Borley Rectory. 'Oh.' he said, 'you mean the most haunted house in England.' And that is how and where I first heard the phrase." Harry Price. The End of Borley Rectory. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 1946. p. 15. A newspaper reporter visited the house in 1929, and the publicity never stopped after that. Price later gave credence to the moniker when he wrote, "From Mr. Foysters records and from my own observations and inquiries, I have estimated that at least two thousand Poltergeist phenomena were experienced at the Rectory between October 1930 and October 1935, the period of his residence there." The End of Borley Rectory. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 1946. p. 47. The rectory burned down in 1939, and although the sightings have dwindled proportionately over time, the REPUTATION of being the most haunted house in England still "haunts" the area - much to the chagrin of the quiet villagers who live there.
QUESTION
Can you explain poltergeist to me?
ANSWER
At the time my mother lived at Borley, the poltergeists were thought to be "noisy ghosts." They differed from "regular" ghosts because they moved things about and created mischief. Regular ghosts do not move things.
Andrew Lang traced poltergeists back to 856 BC. In the years since the alleged Borley haunting, parapsychologists have identified such happenings with the fancy term, Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis, or RSPK. The general idea is that a person under stress (usually a teenage girl) creates the activity by the force of her mind, either consciously or subconsciously. The theory also believes ghosts can use RSPK to move objects, but not as frequently.
QUESTION
Have you noticed the faces in the lower right window, and the upstairs left window? Were they there when the photo was taken?
ANSWER
Over the years, many people have reported seeing different images within the various photographs taken at Borley, including people in the windows. The Henry Bull family was a large one, with up to 14 children, servants, relatives, and constant visitors. It would not be unusual to see faces at the windows.
QUESTION
I am enjoying your site, but I cannot set my bookmarks or create shortcuts to your page as you
have taken away the ability to right click on your page. This is unfortunate I am an avid Internet
user and like to have open many pages at the same time. I also like to right click on new links so
that I may be able to open a link in a new window and not "forget" what I was doing. As a fellow
Programmer I feel that you are doing to an extent the right thing in protecting your pictures, but
this is very unfriendly user interface practices. Please if you can and will, change your site so that
the pictures cant be saved to disk, there should be a way to do this, if the function is there in the
first place to disallow the right click function, then it should also be further isolated to the Pictures
or copyrighted information only.
ANSWER
Thank you for your concern. I appreciate hearing from visitors. Having my material saved to
disk and used on other web sites is the main reason I had to resort to protective measures. My
material has been stolen and re-used any number of times, and as a fellow programmer, I am sure
you will appreciate how frustrating that can be!
:)
I've consulted with my technical advisors, and their response follows.
If she wants a "bookmark" of your page, all she has to do in Internet Explorer is drag the "E" icon
in the address bar to her favorites folder. In AOL, just click on the heart. In Netscape, just drag
the "bookmark" icon (found to the left of the location/address bar) to the bookmark quickfile
icon--one inch to the left. It is faster than right clicking.
She can press "Ctrl-d" and it will place a bookmark for her automatically.
In Internet Explorer after she "right clicks" she can keep holding down the right mouse button
while simultaneously using the left button to click on the "okay" of the alert box which makes the
alert box disappear...then when she releases the right button it will bring up the menu with which
she can "Open in New Window."
Alt-G in Netscape Navigator will bring up the "Go" menu for her to "keep track of where she has
been" quite easily without needing to open up extra windows.
QUESTION
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!
ANSWER
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.]
QUESTION
I am principally interested in the passage by Captain Gregson which contains these words:
'It is on record that on the Dissolution of Monasteries, the Vessels and huge treasure then held by
the Priory were not confiscated, nor accounted for, and this was because they had been too
skillfully concealed about the precincts by the Prior and his Monks.' Clearly Captain Gregson had
seen some records of these artifacts and I would very much like to know if you have any further
information as to the nature of the 'Vessels' or 'great treasure' or references to his sources.
ANSWER
It appears none ever existed. If Gregson had a record, he would have used it to find the
"artifacts."
Subsequent extensive and repeated digs have produced nothing from treasure hunters, historians,
and the curious.
QUESTION
How could Price ignore that Marianne was having something that sounds like a nervous
breakdown? Even worse, he screwed the children's bedroom doors shut and, on the same page,
says the phenomena had recently included spontaneous fires! He must never have heard the one
about Safety First.
ANSWER
Harry Price was on the cutting edge of parapsychology - in fact, he was the first to develop many
of these study methods. Whilst alternative methods have been developed over the years since
1929, his pioneer efforts set the standard at the time.
QUESTION
On viewing the . . . . photograph of the Borley "flying brick"
scene in your Borley Rectory website, I saw no workman where
your caption indicated there should be one visible in the photo. I
asked my husband and daughter to open the site on their own
computers and see if they could find the workman or any human
form whatsoever. They saw nothing except the flying brick. Would
you please indicate more precisely the location of the workman?
I noticed in your list of communications from involved persons that
the photographer later was quoted as saying that he saw a
workman tossing bricks and that the photographer himself simply
angled the photo so as to exclude any view of the workman tossing
bricks and leave visible only the flying brick as a harmless joke.
Yet the accounts of eye witnesses reported in your caption
indicate otherwise--that they saw the brick rise from the ground
rather than fly from a direction as if tossed; that it arose directly
upward unaided and that they saw it hovering motionless in the air
for some little time before falling back to the ground; and that they
saw a workman standing nearby but that he was not doing
anything at the time the brick rose directly upward from the ground.
I would be interested in the resolution to the quandary--do you see
any workman just above the board and almost level with the brick?
Because the three of us can't find any human form anywhere there.
ANSWER
Look at the brick. Now move your eyes exactly left to the very far edge of the photo. You will
see the top half of the man behind a pile of dirt. The white plank resting on the pile of dirt is
angled to the left, and would point to his waist, if the dirt wasn't in the way.
He is looking to the left (causing some challengers to assume he couldn't be the one throwing the
brick and still have time to turn away - standing up).
QUESTION
I am trying to prove that paranormal phenomenon really does exist. Could you send me some
information??
ANSWER
Unfortunately, I am not in a position to prove -- or disprove -- the paranormal.
Many others have tried with various degrees of success, but for every person who claims to have
"proved" something, there is at least one other person ready to "disprove" those findings. Many
people have devoted their lives to this search, and not all have been convinced one way or the
other when their search was over. Arthur Conan Doyle, for example, started out as a complete
skeptic, and then became an enthusiastic supporter. When it is all over, it is a decision each
individual has to make for themselves. The best I can offer is an opportunity to study what has
been claimed -- and counterclaimed -- at Borley. Best of luck in your search.
QUESTION
One thing that puzzles me is that you mention "Borley Rectory was located in Essex, England
near the Stour River" I distinctly remember the village of Borley, the church, and site of the
rectory being at the top of a hill some one and a half miles from the village of Long Melford in the
county of Suffolk. The site of the rectory was also listed as being in Suffolk in an old copy (since
lost) of the Guinness Book Of Records as the site of the most haunted house in England - It was
this entry that prompted us into visiting the site. - Please could you clarify this for me?
ANSWER
Borley is indeed in Essex - the Stour is the border at that point - and many books - including
those with solid reputations - have reprinted error after error from previous publications. None
have apparently bothered to look at a map! Price had it right when he said on page one of The
Most Haunted House in England, "Two and one half miles from Long Melford, Suffolk (and the
same distance from Sudbury), but just within the Essex border." Long Melford is in Suffolk, and
so is Sudbury, but if you read the paragraph carefully, which MANY writers/editors apparently
fail to do, Borley is "just within the Essex border." Perhaps they fail to read the entire sentence?
I purposely do NOT give explicit directions to Borley on my web site in consideration of the
current residents. Please see my request to visitors.
QUESTION
I think this house is really interesting but I cannot get any info by copying to MS Word because
it is copyright, if you get the time can you please send me some useful information that I can use
for a school project?
ANSWER
Thank you for your interest.
When I started this work, there were only two other sites on the Internet with the same subject --
both dealt with genealogy. Since that time, the number of sites has mushroomed.
Many of these sites have "borrowed" my material without asking.
I get many requests every week claiming the writer needs material for a class project. Each time,
I ask for a copy of the report in return. Only one student has sent me a copy of the finished
report.
It is perfectly acceptable to use my information as the basis for a report, and put it in your own
words. Copying large portions of original text is against copyright laws. Your instructor will be
much more impressed with your own story -- including excerpts -- if you do not plagiarize any
other author. Make the proper notations for the source of each quotation.
It has been the actions of many others before you that have made this move necessary.
I'll be most interested in noting your report in my Bibliography, so please be sure to send me a
copy.
QUESTION
If Borley Rectory was built on ghostly ground, which had slight manifestation on it, and then
there was great manifestation, it would suggest that the land is pretty ghostly/cursed. There are
three new houses that have been built there. What is happening to them? Are they haunted? Have
the owners experianced anything? I don`t understand how there has been nothing to report about
these houses! Surely the disturbance of the fire couldn`t have completely got rid off everything?
As there were ghosts before the rector was even built there !
ANSWER
The grounds stood empty from 1939 to the 1980s. That is over 40 years.
IF there were ghosts to begin with, they may have left. Some believe they went across the road to
the church. Over the centuries, the ghosts may have "found their way" to the light.
The people of Borley are very fed up with ghost stories, and probably wouldn't admit it if a ghost
did show up. They surely wouldn't want a repeat of the 1930s when tours went by the "haunted
rectory."
I was told in no uncertain terms by the church warden, 'This place is NOT haunted."
QUESTION
Why has the activity lessened?
ANSWER
The source for many of the
alleged spirits go back hundreds of years.
It seems possible that over the course of several centuries, they have moved on.
(Ghosthunters I have talked to say the most common way to get rid of a ghost is to simply talk to
it in a calm way and say it is okay to move on.)
Also, there have been so many tourists and rude vandals that even a ghost wouldn't stick around
any more! No, I am very serious.
In addition, much of the activity was attributed to poltergeists, which are definately "attached" to
a specifc person - usually a young girl - living in the house. When the girl grows up, or leaves, so
does the poltergeist.
QUESTION
Has contact been made with anyone in the Borley area which has lead to resolution of troubled
spirits in recent years?
ANSWER
Not that I am aware of. The curent
residents are loathe to talk about it. They are not fond of the vandals and tourists.
I should think if the hauntings still remain, the residents would leave, and I have not heard of any
mass migrations.
QUESTION
I just finished Price's "Most Haunted House in England" and I would like to
know if anything supernatural continues to happen in Borley Village--or at
the site of the Rectory? Does the Nun still walk? Does the coach still
rattle down the lane?
ANSWER
The current residents are loathe to discuss it -- they are fed up with tourists and vandals.
However, I have heard of no one leaving -- being frightened away. The most dramatic
contemporary phenomena was tape recordings made in the church in the 70s. I have a copy of it, and it is the
most eerie thing I have EVER heard! Other than that, things have pretty much dissipated, except
for an occasional odd happening, and not many reports of the nun.
QUESTION
I finally finished reading "The most haunting house in England" about five
minutes ago. It seemed like your mother was sick a lot was that only when
she lived in Borley?
AMSWER
She was, in fact. Before, and after. All in all, though, she lived to be 93, and would have kept on
going if she had been given the proper medication!
QUESTION
Have you ever experienced seeing someone after they have passed away?
ANSWER
Unfortunately, no.
QUESTION
We did find Borley Church and village hall but could NOT find the rectory, is it close to the
church?
ANSWER
The rectory USED to be across the road to the southeast, but it was burned in 1939, and razed in
1944. Three bungalows - private homes - now occupy the spot, and the residents are loathe to be
connected to the haunting. Please see my
comments about visitors.
QUESTION
Do you have any photos of Borley?
ANSWER
Many known photos, plus many from my private collction, are included in my CD-ROM The Ghosts That Will Not Die.
QUESTION
Wasn't there a movie produced about this home a couple of years ago? Big
actors in the movie... I remember the scene when the wine cellar was on
fire.
ANSWER
You are probably thinking about Haunted starring Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, and John Gielgud in 1995. It is not based on Borley in any way. It is about a haunted hall somewhere in Great Britain. Different movies have used different parts that are familiar, but no movie has covered just Borley.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson was made into a movie. It was
called The Haunting. It was directed by Robert Wise, who also did "The Sound of
Music," and the first "Star Trek" movie. Parts of it are familiar to Borley, but Borley did not have
as elaborate a wine cellar as shown in the movie.
My script is about finished, and I hope to have it produced some day.
QUESTION
Would you also happen to know of any "haunted" places (inns & hotels) that
I can stay at near Borley? Are there any books in print on this subject?
ANSWER
1. Borley Rectory no longer exists, and should not be a priority.
2. Guide books by Peter Underwood and Andrew Green are excellent.
Mr. Green has a Shire publication called "Haunted Houses" and another called "Haunted Inns and
Taverns." He also wrote "Our Haunted Kingdom." Two of these can be ordered from www.ghostbooks.com
Mr. Underwood has several books to choose from including "The A-Z of British Ghosts."
You will find his long list of resources at
www.ghostbooks.com as well.
QUESTION
One wonders whether the houses now occupying that land have uninvited guests?
ANSWER
They wouldn't tell us if they had! They would not wish to attract even more attention. If even
ONE resident said something, well, you can imagine - 1929 all over again!
QUESTION
Dear Sir ;
Please could you try and convince me of the existence of ghosts; as I never experienced
the "phenomenon" to date.
ANSWER
I can convince you of nothing you don't already believe. I can share with you only some of my
observations, and you will have to draw your own conclusions.
Various writers, including Lloyd Auerbach, suggest that if you are not "in tune" you never will see
a ghost. It takes effort from a spirit to project an image into your mind - usually a photograph.
Most writers agree there must be a purpose for the appearance, such as a relative letting you
know where an update will is located, or some family message. Having delivered the message,
they leave permanently. If they do stick around, they frequent places like hotels and restaurants,
where people are. Graveyards are too gloomy, even for ghosts.
At Borley, the ghosts may have hung around for so many years because there are so many people
who have died unhappy there. There are at least 20 possibilities, according to my
calculations. Perhaps
some have delivered their message and passed on, while others stick around because their
message has yet to be delivered.
I saw nothing during my visit because I was too anxious. Some friends saw an aura about me, but
I felt nothing. These friends were not able to go grave side with me, but they probably would
have see something where I didn't.
In conclusion, I think anyone who enters with a skeptical mind will see just what he is prepared to
see - nothing.
QUESTION
Hi,
I'm writing to you because some things that have been happening in my house
that have made me nervous. Things like lights turning
on and off when I leave the room , and door that I close I later find open
often occur.
But by far the most vivid account was when I was home alone and heard
this whistling , like a humans whistle, and it stopped than began again. Once
again no one was home. The house is 40 years old.
ANSWER
You may not need professional help. Go to your neighbors and get a history of the house and
determine if it really might have an unhappy spirit. Quite often, all you have to do is talk to the
departed and reassure them things have been taken care of. Tell them in a natural voice to
continue the journey to the other side because loved ones are waiting. Offer to set things right if
you can - so they won't worry any longer.
If this doesn't work right away, try again with someone of a spiritual nature who agrees this is the
way to go. If you both believe, you can convince the departed this is best for him/her. If it still
doesn't work, have a religious person do the same. We aren't talking exorcism here, that is very
seldom used. Most often all is needed is a friendly voice genuinely interested in helping.
Almost always these are explained naturally - loose wiring, wind - creaking timbers, etc. Rule out
all natural cause before you get too concerned. Have a friend go with you, as you inspect the
house throughly, as he or she may notice something you will overlook, and vice versa.
QUESTION
Is there a family tree for the Borley's?
ANSWER
Here is the e-mail address and link for Martin Borley.
QUESTION
I looked at the pictures of the writing on the walls of Borley - how
terrifying. Did your mother ever find out what the phantom needed "help"
with?
ANSWER
My mother did not get involved in the analysis of the writing.
There were others, however, who made extensive studies of the writings.
If it was Marie Larrie - a nun from France, she had probably been murdered - strangled by a
Waldegrave who impregnated her. "Light, mass, prayers" have a Catholic tinge to them,
including lighting candles for the dead.
"Please help get" seems to support the idea the writer was of foreign extraction and therefore not
familiar with English syntax.
Harry Price (MHH, p. 144) said, "The messages seemed to be appeals directed to [Marianne], and
to no one else. That may have been because she was young and sympathetic, and most likely to
help - whoever wanted help." This was in keeping with my Mother's character in later life as she
first helped unwed mothers, and then the aging. As a social worker, she was always trying to help
someone else.
QUESTION
I recall reading somewhere that the Bull family was interested in the occult and in some ways
wished to believe their home was haunted?
ANSWER
About half and half. We are talking about roughly 20 people, plus assorted servants and guests.
QUESTION
One theory I think bears checking out is the
possibility the Bull family so wanted (consciously or not) to believe they
lived in a haunted house (very romantic Victorian) that their collective
psychic energy created the ghosts, which were then observed by others.
This would account for the "classic" appearance of the ghosts (headless
horsemen, nuns etc) which have more foundation in gothic fiction than in
real life.
ANSWER
Half the family wanted it, the other didn't, so the energy would have been
canceled. The seven sisters all lived there, but the brothers did not. The
brothers are on record as declaring it all folderol. The four who initially
saw the nun were all women. Harry Bull was very much in favor of it, and
declared he would come back and throw moth balls. (The actual objects thrown
later were small stones, etc.) The sisters at various stages denied he built
the summer houses to watch for the nun, but he did, in fact, spend a great
deal of time by the nun's walk.
My mother tried her darndest to remember everything for three
different investigations, and her testimony is not consistent due to time and
the influence of other people's opinions. Same for the Bull sisters and for
Mrs. Smith. Conflicting testimony abounds, and we can find sentences to
support any view we want over the years. That does not negate the feeling of
the witness, who is trying to recall - AT THE MOMENT IN TIME - what he or she
felt 20, even 40 years earlier.
QUESTION
Possibly there was something about the construction of Borley or about the
site itself which lent itself to retaining the memory of the psychic energy
created by the Bulls, resulting in continued "haunting" after they had
left-even possibly being reinforced by the psychic energy and expectations
of those coming after the Bulls.
ANSWER
The place has a lot of flint around. Lorraine Warren suggests flint is much
like quartz - a well known receiving medium in radios, etc. If the receiver
is available in such abundance, perhaps those best "tuned in" can get a
message?
QUESTION
I meant inconsistencies with historical fact,
such as the story of a nun and monk who were going to elope in a coach at a
time when coaches were rare if not unknown in England, the claim of nuns
being bricked up in walls (cheaper and easier to just turf recalcitrant
nuns out to starve, and keeping their dowries), etc.
ANSWER
Newspaper clippings from the 30s discussed this subject at length.
See the bibliography
QUESTION
Also, something bothers me: how in the 1920s did Mrs Smith know the skull
she found was female?
ANSWER
Do not confuse the skull of Mrs. Smith with that of Harry Price.
No one studied the Smith skull. It was buried too quickly.
The Price fragments WERE studied, and that is where the female theory was
proposed.
BTW, you may be interested to know that Louis Mayerling claims the Smith skull was
nothing more than a teaching model made of composite materials.
(He is a total skeptic, and some claim also a total fraud. I had long
discussions with him, but he suddenly cut them off.)
QUESTION
If the spirits in Marianne Foyster's time seem to have been able to act on
her spoken thoughts (the ghost returning items asked for and attacking
Marianne after she made disparaging remarks about it), then why did they
have to communicate with the "writing" ghost by writing back? Wouldn't it
have been sufficient to simply voice their questions and wait for a response?
ANSWER
"Different strokes for different ghosts" - may be one answer. I've come
up with at least 20 possible
entities.
QUESTION
I feel there are a few inconsistencies in both the legends and in the
documented hauntings.
ANSWER
At the time Harry Price wrote about Borley, he had testimony from over 200 different witnesses
from all class structures.
It would be amazing if the stories didn't vary.
After Price left the scene, witnesses still come from all walks of life and tell different stories of
their visits. Indeed, I have been amazed at the HUGE number of different phenomena alleged to
have taken place at this site.
Most other hauntings I have read about confine themselves to a handful of repeated similar
events.
I have been able to come up with at least 20 different sources for the ghosts at
Borley. Andrew Green
says 200. Which ever number is correct, each ghost apparently has his/her own bag of tricks!
QUESTION
I have just finished reading the first of the 4 chapters of "The Ghosts That Will Not Die." One
suggestion as to why the unexplained events kept on
occurring after the Foyster's left could be that the past reputation of
the site being haunted and the contribution of Lionel Foyster in adding
to this combined to actually create a set of phenomena that continued
long after they left.
ANSWER
Lionel did not get an opportunity to print his diary - an omission I am currently striving to correct
- but Harry Price did quote from it extensively. Price also published articles throughout the world
about Borley, so you are absolutely correct in observing that the "pump was primed."
Mass hysteria - even if only two people are visiting - is a related possibility.
Desire is another. If we want something badly enough, we can "see" just about anything.
On a personal note, during my visit in 1997, I wanted desperately to feel and or see
ANYTHING. It was vital to me. Perhaps I tried too hard, for nothing happened.
Yet, I am as convinced as I can be that my course from youth to Borley has been guided. But
that is another topic!
QUESTION
As Marianne Foyster's son, how do you feel when people like the
authors of the "Haunting of Borley" try to discredit your mother's story?
ANSWER
Trevor Hall was a mean spirited person who attacked people, not phenomena. Skeptics like him
are often overbearing, and not willing to examine all sides of an issue. Thank goodness for
open-minded people like Peter Underwood and Ivan Banks who at least try to present both sides
of the story.
QUESTION
Did your mother ever talk at great length about her Borley experiences?
ANSWER
Never.
QUESTION
Do you feel she may have been a focus for paranormal activity?
ANSWER
In that particular place and time, yes. Borley had a unique history and I
believe she was sensitive to it.
QUESTION
Did anything paranormal happen to you when you lived with
Marianne?
ANSWER
Ghosts are territorial. If there were any at Borley, they stayed there
when we moved to the United States. We never lived in a haunted house in America.
There were a couple of unique experiences, however.
A guest started speaking in tongues once while in our home. I thought she was possessed, and
shouted loudly for her to "shut up." The room was deathly quiet and very "heavy" for several
minutes after that.
After my father died, my mother was literally haunted by him, telling me over and over, "He's
calling me. It's my turn next." We moved out of that house as quickly as possible, and she
worked very hard at packing, etc. She was 82 at the time.
QUESTION
Have you yourself ever experienced any sighting or paranormal
phenomena at Borley or indeed anywhere else?
ANSWER
Not at Borley - I was way too nervous for any phenomena to present
themselves if they had been there!
While I was growing up, I wanted to "turn myself in" to some paranormal laboratory for psychic
and telekinetic study, but I never followed through with the idea. There was some brief
exploration while in college, and I believe I could have developed a latent psychic ability if I had
concentrated on it.
QUESTION
In one of the extracts from your book "Borley Rectory - Ghosts That
Will Not Die" you compare the wall writings with your mother's signature. Do you
think she may have been responsible for the wall writings?
ANSWER
Initially I wondered about it, but after studying her testimony I believe
that she was not responsible -- at least consciously. Many of the marks on the walls appeared
when neither my mother nor Harry Price were present. Some appeared even as observers were
watching.
QUESTION
From what you know do you believe Harry Price faked some of the
events at Borley?
ANSWER
He may have thrown a pebble or two, but I am convinced he did nothing
of a serious nature. I am not sure about the water turning to wine - I know my mother DIDN'T
do that one!
Too many creditable people have given testimony before and after the Harry Price visits as well as
the Foyster tenancy for it to be all fraudulent.
QUESTION
From the reports that you are gathering is there still a high number of
sightings at Borley or have they diminished?
ANSWER
They have diminished considerably, which is understandable. The
Rectory is gone, and over the decades any real ghosts would have probably moved on. None of
the current residents have made any claims, and they are more concerned about thoughtless
tourists and vandals than they are about ghosts.
QUESTION
Do you think that some of the current sightings may just be "wishful
thinking"?
ANSWER
Absolutely. Some - but not all.
QUESTION
I have been having some strange things happening to me over the last couple of weeks. I am a 60
year old man who has been married for over 40 years and has 4 children and 9 grandchildren. I am
fairly content with my lot in life and take things as they come, trying to take everything
perspectively. I work from the hours of 5:30 pm to 2 am and have my own bedroom so as not to
wake my spouse when arriving home in the middle of the night. Well, about a week or so ago I
was awaken by the movement of the covers down around the bottom of the bed. I thought maybe
the dog was in my room and was moving either under the bed or at the bottom, but this did not
turn out to be the case. I laid there wide awake and checked myself as to see if I there was some
kind of twitching thing going on or whatever. Not to be. After a short while everything seemed
ok, back to normal. This happened twice that week and I had no idea what was happening. So I
just let it go by. The following week (2 days ago) I was awakened by the same motion plus a
movement of the covers up around my arms. I, being drowsy, thought the same thought as before,
maybe some kind of twitch or something. I looked around the room to see if anything sinister was
going on and I thought I saw an image of a person over by my closet. I thought at the moment it
was just a shadow from the street light outside the window, but when I turned to the window I
seen that the blinds were shut. What is going on, is someone trying to contact me? Am I just
imaging things? I don't know. - Troubled Sleeper.
ANSWER
You need to do a little investigating and ask a couple of key questions. Has anyone close to you
died recently? If so, what reason would they have for wanting to contact you - what unfinished
business or unhappiness? Does the house - that room - have any history of violence? In other
words, you have to ascertain WHO and WHY. Activity does not happen without a reason. You
may be uncomfortable asking questions of neighbors and family, but you would be surprised at
how easily people will accept your topic. You don't have to go into detail, just explain you have
had an uneasy feeling lately. IF you determine WHO might be bothering you and WHY they
might have a problem, then you can go to the next step. It is often easier than you might think -
just try talking to them in a comforting voice. Explain to them that you understand the problem,
that you have done whatever is necessary to fix it (you will have to try and correct whatever your
detective work discovers may be wrong), and it is now time for that individual to move on. If you
have lived in the same home for a number of years, this work should not be that difficult -
especially if it is someone you used to know. Your conversation with someone you knew can be
quite comforting to them. If it is strange/new home, your detective work may take a little longer,
but you can still make initial contact by speaking comforting words like, "I'm working on it. I
understand your discomfort."
c. 25 January 2011, Vincent O'Neil