Welcome to the twenty-fourth edition of the Borley Ghost Society Newsletter. Today is the 100th anniversary of the appearance of the nun to the Bull sisters. An Essex resident has sent me the following.
"There has been an upsurge of problems in Borley churchyard recently. We've been getting carloads of couples charging round the churchyard at night 'grunting, screaming and yelling obscenities'. They've been causing quite a bit of damage both in the churchyard and across the road in the Coach House. This is very distressing to people who have their family, friends, relatives and ancestors buried in the church. You can imagine their feelings. The police are increasingly unwilling to respond to requests from the villagers to evict the revelers from the churchyard. These upsurges in nuisance, trespass, and vandalism always correspond to some new uncritical publication about the haunting of Borley Church. As there has never been any such haunting, every local resident, and those who have family associations with Borley Church would wish they would stop. The subject of the Borley Rectory Haunting is an interesting and amusing one, but it is interesting only as an object lesson in gullibility and credulity, and its exploitation by cynical journalists (including Harry Price). The church should be left out of it since, if it really were haunted by anyone other than trippers larking around, we would certainly know about it!"

Sad to hear about such things. But, I have seen this pattern before. When a place becomes known as "Haunted' Teenagers will break in and do mischief in a desire to 1) Prove their machoness in facing a ghost or 2) try to encounter a phantom. These excursions are linked to the consumption of beer and as such leads to vandalism. Respect (or even fear) of the dead or sacred areas has gone in our secular and 'feel good' age, it should be no surprise that such things happen. It is for this reason that haunted places do not wish to be known as that--and why so many haunted places are torn down! My advise is to put up lots of lights--that can be turned on--then get video cameras to record the car numbers and faces of those who break in. Sad that these things happen at all.
Richard Senate

I quite agree. The loutish element can always manage to spoil the pleasures sane and law-abiding people enjoy - and used to be able to take for granted.
Richard Lee-Van den Daele

The bizarre saga of Borley Rectory rolls on Here are my comments:
1) Why on earth would 'couples' "charge around the churchyard......."?
2)Why, if these people are causing(criminal)damage,are the police unwilling to take action?
3)Why would the publication of a new article about the haunting always cause such mayhem to follow?
4)Do you know what this new uncritical publication is, and what it says?
5)Why is this 'Essex resident' so certain about the alleged haunting being a result of 'gullibility and credulity'? Why is he/she so anti Harry Price?
It is all very odd-but then, is there anything connected with Borley that is not contradictory,confusing, and odd??
All the best
John Lane

Wouldn't this fall under a "sacrilege of holy ground"? As I am unfamiliar with the laws in Great Britain pertaining to such an atrocity, I would think that someone would be able to get the local Constable involved utilizing such a law.
Evelynne Ritter

I just cannot understand the mentality of the mindless vandals whose main aim in life is to create havoc and destruction where ever they go. They are the same idiots who yell loudest when caught in action by the police, of injustice and persecution. They are the same ones that decent people have to pay for either in taxes or insurance premiums. They are the first to yell if they are unfairly treated or their possession's destroyed. Yes they live by double standards. What is mine is mine and what is yours is mine, that is their motto, I am sad to say. They have no thought for others. It is even worse when Churchyards and graves are desiccated, that really show how insensitive these idiots are. I really do feel sorry for the people of Borley, no-one deserves that type of attention.
Maureen

[This is extremely unfortunate, and something that concerns me greatly. It is my intention to do all that is in my power to dissuade such unfortunate behaviour. Please refer to my comments for visitors. Meanwhile, if you have seen any publications or broadcasts dealing with Borley, please let me know.]

I don't recall a demon making itself known in the book or movie. The demon in the Exorcist identified itself as Legion, but I'm not really sure about the Amityville one.
Joanne

I don't have the slightest idea as I know the whole Amityville thing was a hoax and I try to separate myself as way as from that joke as possible.
Dale Kaczmarek
Ghost Research Society

I'm not sure. I don't think I know that one--unless it's the movie Amityville II: The Possession.
Nikos

This passage is in the first 'Amityville' book, towards the end. I don't think that the demon identified himslf to an exorcist, I think he showed himself to one of the occupants of the house. This section of the book was never shown in the original film. Instead, a scene depicting a black slime-like substance that issued from the walls was filmed, which was never written about in the book.
Patsy

I know that happened some what in the movie Amityville 2 - The Possession. The demon show itself to the priest, when he's in jail for the murder of his family. I'm not sure about the book, I haven't read the second book yet and I don't remember it being in any of the others.
Linda Suchovic

This website shows a period when a priest is called into the house and the demon says "Get out." That is from the first movie. But there is also a true account which occurred when the Warrens went there and a psychic woman fled the house and would not return. That being because she was asked to communicate with the spirit who had incited the crime and the spirit brought on physical suffering to the woman and heaven knows what else. She fled the house and refused to return. And that event is recorded on the Warren's web site. The demonic power did manifest itself to Lorraine Warren and the documentation of those events is certainly true. And not a site to take lightly which would most certainly bring on another event of grave consequence. The demonic powers once they receive attention like that are not likely to diminish.
We just recently investigated the Bell Witch haunting in Adams, Tennessee which is historical to the time of Andrew Jackson, Seventh president of the United States. The energy there is extraordinary. We used infrared equipment which the cameras recorded miners and donkeys, Indians, and demonic spirits thrashing about in an ectoplasmic area above an Indian grave box. I would not spend too much time in the area of the Lutz house investigating that. But that is what I find about the incident of which you are speaking.
Take care, nice to hear from you!
Carol Guess

Sorry I don't recall the section. Many believe Amityville was a fake - not just debunkers but real investigators. [By the way] if you like ghosts you might want to check out the new feature on my web site called haunted radio.
Richard Senate

I don't remember if it was the book or the movie. I sort of lost interest in it when it was proven to be a hoax. I'll ask a few members of our group to see if they know.
R Beach

I'm sure the demon IDing himself is in the movie. I'm less certain it's in the book, where the poltergeist aspect gets more emphasis. Seems like it happens by mid-movie?
Pat Cody

Sorry I can't recall offhand the bit you're asking about. The actual Amityville story was "contained" in the book and the first movie. The subsequent films (and books) were spin offs (and I don't believe any attempt was made to say they were "true"). You might try Stephen Kaplan's book THE AMITYVILLE CONSPIRACY.
Loyd Auerbach

"Father Ralph Pecararo sued the Lutzes and [the publisher] for invasion of privacy and distortion of his involvement in the case, and he received an out-of-court settlement. . . . .[the murderer's lawyer] claimed the whole 'horror' was cooked up around the Lutzes' kitchen table over several bottles of wine."
Rosemary Ellen Guiley
p. 8, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits

I stumbled on your web site late last night and was instantly hooked and upon reading decided I wanted to congratulate you on the information you have made available to the public. I, myself have had a few strange happenings and sometimes wonder if I am not a little over imaginative. Whether or not Borley was really haunted will probably never be explained. The effect you must have had when you visited Borley must have been extremely emotional. Well done for making this interesting reading and keep up the good work. Maybe one day you'll learn the truth behind Borley.
Yours sincerely,
Jo Phillips

Your web page about the rectory has made me shiver!!!! Do you know the story about Castle Selsoe in Denmark, .....Same story Ghosts everywhere?????
Costume designer in Denmark
leif drews

I live in Liskeard, Cornwall. I have been following the story of Borley ever since I read it when I was much younger and followed it ever since. I was wondering if you heard that a farmhouse had apparently been built on the site of the Rectory or grounds, and had recently caught fire? Unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw this, it was either a national newspaper or in Fortean Times, (of all places!), or may have even have an April Fool's joke.
Matt Daley
[Not recently - that I am aware. There were rumours that buildings put up with the left-over bricks had some odd happenings, but that was decades ago.]

I've just found your site on Borley. I was born and brought up in Haverhill, Suffolk, not far from Sudbury (and Borley). I've never been myself, but my mum lived in/near Sudbury during her childhood in the mid-late 1940's, and had to cycle through Borley on the way home from Sudbury school, past the site of the burnt Rectory. (Her older sister was supposed to wait for her and make sure she didn't go through alone - she was only 11-12 years old - but the older sister invariably couldn't be bothered to wait. Consequently mum used to pedal past 'like a bat out of hell'.) She's always been interested in the site, and often talks about it - she worked with many people from the area that had experienced strange goings on in the village. She always says that there was a distinct chill when you went past the site.
Anyway, I've found the web site, and all its links, fascinating. I've promised to take her back to Borley some time - she still lives in Haverhill, but has no way to get to Borley herself as my father died a few years ago, and she doesn't drive. I think mum is quite excited about the prospect of seeing the village again, as she used to know it so well.
Is 'The Ghosts that will not Die' published yet? I'd love to read a copy - I've a general interest in the paranormal - again from my mother - but because Borley has family and geographical links, this more than anything has always held a fascination for me. If you could let me know if / when its available and how I could purchase a copy I'd be very grateful.
Thank you for your time,
Kind regards
Nerina Onion
[If your mother has Internet access, I'd love to chat with her. Since The Ghosts that will not Die changes from time-to-time as I learn more, I've made it available on-line to those who join the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY.]

Very many thanks for the BGS Newsletter 23 - excellent as always. May I comment on two of the letters - S. Pecchia on the Borley church tape recordings. I included the full story of those tapes recorded by Denny Densham, Geoffrey Croom-Hollingsworth and others, in Hauntings and the fact that in the company of a BBC producer I located, within moments, objects inside the church that made it possible for every noise recorded to have had a natural explanation.
Secondly, Steve Stanley mentions the haunting of Langenhoe church. I explored this case in considerable depth in my Host of Hauntings where I devote a whole chapter of 38 pages to the case and specifically say, "What better place to steal out of the country than Langenhoe?" So 25 years ago I was well aware that Langenhoe was ideal for entry or exit to or from France - and published the fact.
Peter Underwood

I have been interested in the Borley story from a very early age, and have read quite a few books on the subject. I am lucky in that I live about half an hour away, and I have spent several sunny summer's afternoons walking around the local footpaths and lanes. In one book I was reading, the topic was not Borley, but the small village of Langenhoe, near Colchester, Essex. There seems to be similarities between the two cases: The Church at Langenhoe was subject to a list of strange phenomena which began in the twenties, and lasted some thirty years. There was a smell of violets noticed completely out of season, and a girl was heard singing plain song in French by a group of workmen when the church was empty. Actually I can't remember enough to be of any use now, but the haunting may well be worth looking up on, as for a period in the seventeenth century, the "Living" was shared with that of the church at Borley [about forty minutes away -by car!] and the land and much of the village, including the manor house, where a rector at Langenhoe in the twenties walked in to the sensation of an embrace from an invisible naked young woman, was owned by, guess who.... the Waldegrave family! Now I'm just a thirty something house-husband, and my time is very tied up, but I think this link could be worth considering. I cannot remember the name of the book, but I believe it was by Peter Underwood. Happy hunting, if you feel so inclined!!
Regards
Richard Tofts
[Please see previous note! :) ]

Hello! I've really enjoyed your website and visit from time to time. Just had a couple comments. First, I noticed on your Captain Gregson page that you had a sketch by Alan Gregson. In the darkened window to the right, I notice something that looks like a face. Do you think this was intentional, or am I just seeing things? Maybe something he saw when he lived there? Second, I really enjoyed Things My Mother Tried to Teach Me, and Things I've Tried to Teach My Children. Great clip art! The Robert Kennedy quote you used was a paraphrase from a George Bernard Shaw play though. Not that it makes it any less a great quote, but I thought that was interesting.
Kara Garland
[While I cannot see anything "different," in the picture, that doesn't mean it isn't there. I don't believe Gregson was the type of person to leave out such a detail in his narrative, however, as he was very outspoken. I have changed the Kennedy quote to reflect the Shaw influence - thanks for the prompting!]

I saw a very interesting TV programme this evening on our BBC2 called 'Brain Story'. As part of this, some research seemed to show that particular patterns of magnetism applied to the temporal lobes of the brain may produce sensations of the presence of 'outside entities'. Obviously, my 'ears pricked up' at this when I thought of a possible connection with Borley! Is it at all possible, I wonder, that the Borley area might be underpinned geologically by significantly magnetic material? It sounds a bit like 'pseudo-science' but it also sounds-at least to me-of sufficient interest to find out more. I am trying to contact Prof. Susan Greenfield, who presented the programme; and I will see if I can find a map of the geology of the area. I might even contact the Geological Museum here in London. What do you think??
John Lane
[Elaine Warren has proposed during a television programme, that the church acts much like a radio receiver as it is made of flint. In one of his magazines, Wesley Downes pointed out Borley Church is located on the junction of three ley lines. In another magazine article, an unnamed contributor wrote, "I personally believe there is some kind of energy force as yet unrecognised by science and that the incidents at Borley have physical causes. 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."]

I think your site is outstanding and very interesting. I didn't find out about Borley Rectory until about 10 years ago when I visited my local library and found some literature on the subject of ghosts. Since then I have been hooked on the subject of ghosts and Borley Rectory ...keep up the good work. By the way, I believe that my local radio station did a live broadcast at midnight with special permission back in the eighties from within Borley Church which again I found very fascinating. :) I would love to find out as much as poss bout this phenomena :)
cheers
Mike Gibbons

I'm 13 years old and I like studying the Borley Rectory. In one of my ghost books a photo was taken of writing which clearly said 'Marianne, get help'. I hear that the Borley Rectory is now just a field but it would be a good idea to drive there and put a webcam there to see if you can spot a ghost because there are still sightings today.
J.S.
[Actually, the grounds are now occupied by three homes, and the residents are very much opposed to any further paranormal investigations.]

Have John Saul or Dean Koontz ever written vampire stories? You would think that will all the monsters they write about they would have hit in a vampire at least once. I can't find any mention of one.
Does Llewellyn have a any more recordings of this caliber? (Ghosts) I can't found any listed under Amazon. I would buy more of his. Is that a first or last name?
I went to the library and ordered "The Most Haunted House in England" It was missing from our library so they are doing a search in other libraries for me.
[A copy was sent from www.ghostbooks.com]
What a shame [about the irresponsible visitors at Borley]. That is what commercialism leads to. I would rather visit with the blessings of the residents. I love old cemeteries and would love to read the epitaphs. My cousin in Mississippi researched the cemeteries in Amite County and wrote a nice large book full of pictures and listings. I have bricks from the two old theatres that were demolished in Baton Rouge. Someone actually gave them to me as Christmas Gifts.
Would you believe that as I started to read [The Most Haunted House in England], I actually got scared enough to put it down and pick up a fantasy? I had my cat with me and I thought that if she went nuts over nothing, I would probably have a heart attack. And I was afraid to look at my bedroom door, for fear of seeing and dark shadow. I was reading the part about the nun. The point that was made about carriages not being in use at the supposed time of the nun's death was a point that I have often pondered. Sometimes there are things that just don't fit. I have read other places about walling people up. But maybe that was just Poe. It would not be unbelievable.
Nothing has ever affected me like that before, and I have read plenty.
I read a lot of the book last night. There seems to have been too many unrelated observers to dispute too much of it. It bothers me that all these people will admit to seeing this that or the other, but always end their thoughts with. "Of course I don't believe in Ghosts..." Duh! I guess that is right up there with seeing little green men. LOL
Did you actually ever live in the house? So far there seems to have only been that 3 1/2 year old girl. But I am not finished yet.
It seems like to me with the mention of the fact that carriages were not in use when the Nun story happened, that maybe the carriage incident was totally unrelated to the Nun story. Something that was more contemporary with carriages must have happened, and maybe the info was just lost in history. Perhaps at the time that whatever-it-was happened, there was no thoughts of ghosts or hauntings so the incident was not worth committing to memory. The book mentioned that The Rectory was the site of - I think - 3 previous structures. Who is to say that something could not have happened during one of those other periods. Maybe if observers could try and block out a possible time period for the coach...when they were in use, and research that time period, something might come up. It also seems odd that the Nun haunts the Monastery and not the Convent where she was "walled up." Maybe the "love" story is totally unrelated to either haunting. Then I wonder about the carriages from another angle. If the story was told about a Nun and a Priest running off in the night, everyone would assume that there was some sort of Conveyance, if only a flat wagon and a mule. But as the story is passed on and the "Ghosts" are seen, maybe they have to be "seen" in what ever form the observer can best relate. Are the ghosts showing themselves in a way that we can understand, or are the "sightings" created in the eyes of the observer?
I was surprised by how much more there was in the book. Seems that the disturbances went on quite often, for days on end. But it seems that the little girl was usually safely asleep in bed and not disturbed by any of it. Have you met that child? The 3 1/2 year old? Maybe that unidentified baby picture is of the little boy that they said was visiting in the first part of the book. Maybe the parents were close enough to swap baby pictures. Can you tell if it is definitely and boy or a girl?
Kathy Rageur
[Llewellyn has a couple more CDs offered on the New World Music web site. No, I never lived at the Rectory. I've talked to, but never met, Adelaide. I don't know if the unknown baby picture is of Francois d'Arles jr. or not. It would be great if someone could track down the photographer and the number!]

I 've been many times to your Borley site. I really like the things according to that mansion, 'cause when I was a child French TV showed a film called "Who Haunted Borley Rectory?" (Translation is mine. The French title was actually "qui hantait le presbytŠre de Borley?" I was around nine years old and that movie really terrified me, with all its population of headless men, ghost-convent girl, ringing bells and dark corridors. I myself did a site about a fictitious haunted house from which I set a link to your Borley pages. Hope it's not a crime
Regards
Michel Moatti

Listening to Radio Four's "Home Truths" programme on Saturday morning last, they featured a very interesting story about the Gower family who live in Wales. They have started to discover odd things happening in their old house - namely words appearing on the walls - but these are carved into the plaster (something which they have found extremely difficult to replicate!). The words, in an echo of Borley, call for "Love, peace, faith & healing". Also the owner's PC, in a high tech twist, started e-mailing of its own accord at 1 o'clock in the morning to his address list. Usually a single word - the old Welsh for "monk". The lady of the house has seen a shadowy monk-like figure both in the garden and in the house. The radio investigator received a phone call after his visit to say that the owners had found his outgoing rail ticket (which he hadn't realised had been taken from his bag) tucked behind a wall clock and on it was etched a word in old Welsh!
The investigator said, amusingly, that he had been hoping for a Scooby-Doo style denouement, with one of the family leaving the house on spurious grounds, only to re-appear in the distance in monk's garb, thus enabling him to expose the person as a fraud. This didn't happen and he was convinced that the couple were genuine.
I e-mailed "Home Truths" about the similarities between the two cases and received the attached response.
Thanks for your email. It will be read by the Home Truths producers, and they may contact you to see if you'd like to take part in the programme.
I don't know, but a report may appear sooner or later on the Home Truths website.
I am sure you will find this case of interest.
Cheers for now.
Richard Lee-Van den Daele

I had been surfing the net today for "ghost-stories" and by chance I came across your website.
I could deduce from the all the material I had the luck to read that mostly the ghost encounters and supernatural experiences are the figment of people's imagination and have very little to do with fact. You see, even I can make up a few stories, conjure up some evidence in support and convince some credulous ones about their truth. It would have been smooth-sailing for me had I been living during the first half of the 20th century.
I wonder how you could have come to know about your mother's past only after her death when, even I, living in India, had read in a Readers' Digest book about the concerned haunted house and the scrawled messages for Marianne at the age of 10 or 12.
There are still some questions of mine which remain unanswered [and they are not just related to the supernatural; more related to finding out how I would spend the rest of my life] and I hope I will be able to find an answer to them before it's too late.
Regards,
Shambhavi
[My mother tried everything in her power to keep it from me - because of all the adverse publicity. Our life was a very hard one, and she did not want reporters and the curious poking into ever cranny of our personal lives. Since I have always been in the media, she figured I might "spill the beans" and all that crap from back in Essex would be trotted out again. One particular researcher was extremely persistent. Much of this is explained in the two books posted on my site.]

"I found a really good ghost hunting guide to Great Britain if you are planning on a vacation or business trip to the Emerald Isles. This book is called Collins Ghost Hunters' Guide to Britain and was written by John and Anne Spencer. The Distributor for this book is Trafalgar Square Publishing at www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com and telephone 802-457-1911.
"Now this is why I love this book...each area that it describes as being haunted also has a road style map showing the location in relationship to the surrounding area. Each description of the haunted site is numbered and correspond to the same number on the road style map so someone can find it without problems.
"I also has a Ghost Calendar showing which days of the year the ghosts have been seen on their anniversary, along with a listing of the anniversary ghosts by months. They have even included an index to the Haunted Sites at the back of the book.
"So if you are planning a trip to Scotland, England or Wales, don't leave home without this book, else your haunted trip will not be fulfilled."
From the International Ghost Hunters Society Newsletter July 8, 2000
"Yes, [there is] a full page, (p. 88) on the Borley Rectory and July 28 as the anniversary ghost date with info about the Borley event."
Dr. Dave Oester

Jamas Enright typed in an entry from The Times, UK: THE WORLD ONLINE. Right after listing the Fortean Times web site, it lists www.borleyrectory.com

The World's Strangest Mysteries has two separate mentions of Borley within its pages. It appears each was taken from a different volume on the paranormal published by the ubiquitous Octopus Publishing.

Jamas Enright was kind enough to send a copy of The Giant Book of Mysteries by Colin, Rowan, and Damon Wilson. This is one of the very best condensations of its length available! Free of errors from the information available - it is very refreshing to read a report that relies on previously published material instead of straying off course. It is also delightful to read their reliance on the research of Peter Underwood. It would be nice if this work were more readily available.

Somewhere along the line, I came across the title Ghost Hunters Guide to Essex by Jessie E. Payne. One has to assume it mentions Borley - has anyone seen a copy? Please let me know.

BOY!
Name: Ryan Michael Hutchinson
Date: 15th July 2000
Time: 4:07pm (GMT + 1)
Weight: 7 pounds 13 ounces (3540 grams)
Place of Birth: Harrogate, England
Tom & Carmen Hutchinson

John and Anne Spencer "have been active researchers of the paranormal for over twenty years."

David Nash Ford is an accomplished historian with several prominent articles published. His web site introduces the visitor to David's own history.

Kritsin Rathbun contributed an excellent article on Borley, and is working on her own web site.

Everyone with a profile should look it over to see if it is up to date.

If you would like a profile page made especially for you, just tell me a little about yourself and attach a JPG photo to an e-mail.