I wonder if you can see the strange form in the bottom left corner of the photo? It is either a person looking down on a grave or else a figure looking left out of the picture. The churchyard was deserted at the time. In fact the whole period I was there I did not meet a living soul. If it is a illusion created by different shapes of hedge and bushes, it illustrates how our eyes can be easily decieved. I myself think it is something paranormal.
I do believe that the church was and is as much a focus for paranormal activity as was the rectory after 1939.
I have had an active intrest in paranormal reserch for over thirty years investigating many sites including Borley. I first visited Borley when I was fourteen camping in a field by the church. It is a place I feel very drawn to; a kind of mecca for ghotshunters in England.
The photo has been viewed by Peter Underwood and Simon Marsden who both thought it curious. Sir Simon even agreed with my wiew that the figure looked like a person kneeling at a grave. Peter thought it strange enough to include in his own Borley dossier.
I accept that the quality of the photo leaves a lot to be desired. . . .I can assure you it is real. It is not a copy. I still have the negative..
I arrived at Borley at about 11.30 one saturday morning in September 72. i spent about 4 hours taking photos and generally soaking up the atmosphere. Sometime after 4 pm the sky clouded over and a hint of rain was in the air. I decided to make tracks for Sudbury. However i had only gone so far when the heavens opened and i quickly got drenched. Fortunatley a passing motorist saw my predicament and offered me a lift into town.
During the journey i told him of my interest in Borley and the haunting. He in turn told me a curious tale. Some years previoulsy his father had been caretaker/ helper at the church. He would often open up in the morning and prepare the building for the day. One sunday morning he arrived early, about 7.15 and proccedded to unlock the south porch doors. As he pushed them open they were suddenly pushed back in his face. He thought they could be stuck so he tried again and once more they were pushed back.
He thought it was very strange and refrained from opening the doors for a few seconds. Yet when he tried again the same thing happened. now he was a bit perplexed. It struck him that someone might be playing a pratcical joke so he tried a third time. He pushed powerfully with his shoulder but once agian the doors were vigourously pushed back.
Eventually getting rather annoyed, he put his foot to the door and with an almighty shove flung them open. Of course the chuch was empty. He searched the entire building but all was deserted. Indeed it would have beeen imposssible for anyone to find time to conceal themselves in the moment he forced open the door.
He told me that his father was convinced that some paranormal force was baring his entry into the church that day. He added that afterward whenever his dad had to open the chuch he did so with apprehension. Although the phenomona did not reoccur his father, whenever he was in the churchyard got the impression he was being watched. He said he felt unssen eyes were burning into his back. Not the nosey eyes of a curious window watcher from a cottage but a stare coming from the direction of the church tower. I mention the last fact because it ties in with a visit my family and i paid to borley in August 1997. My wife Sue, daughter Rebecca and i were returning home from a holiday in Norfolk and on the way home decided to go via Borley.
My family knew a little about the history of the rectory but not so much about the church. I showed them the rectory site, the cottage and churchyard. The church was locked so we contented ourselves by exploring the yard. After a while i asked them what they thought about the place. They surprised me by replying that they wanted to leave, both felt uneasy. I asked why but they were already walking back to the car. I thought it strange because i felt the atmosphere to be quite pleasant, sunny and warm. As we drove away Sue and Rebecca told me they had the feeling they were being watched. I quote their words " eyes burning into our back" I asked where they had felt this they replied " by the church tower".
I would be interested to hear if others have experienced either of these strange phenomona whilst at Borley? One note of caution i would point out. The caretakers story was related to me when i was 16 years old and still finding my way in the right procedures of paranormal investigation. Unfortunatley i did not make notes of times, dates or names, so it is almost impossible to verify the incident. Yet i believe my driver was genuine. He was good natured enough to let a drenched teenager make puddles in his car.
As for my wife and daughter i can verify the look on their faces while exploring Borley churchyard. It was one of genuine unease and fear. I could ahve understood this if it had occured in the dead of night or on a gloomy winters afternoon. But on a beautiful sunny afternoon seems most odd. It seems that the ghosts of Borley do not require the wiching hour to make their presence felt.