Welcome to the thirty-fifth edition of the Borley Ghost Society Newsletter. Watch for changes in the website over the next few months. The most obvious change has been the removal of the on-line books, photos, and documents. This has been done for two reasons -
* to raise money for the Borley Church Preservation Fund.
* to provide associates with a more secure, faster loading access to more pages than currently being offered. This expansion also allows for more compact packaging in a convenient format suitable for gift giving.
Associates are entitled to a 20 percent discount on these CD-ROMs, and half of all profits will go to the church.
The Bibliography is another area that has been modified, showing minor changes to some of the entires. This editing will continue in the future as updates are entered. As the Bibliography is a constantly changing - constantly growing document - it will not be included in any of the CD-ROMs unless you request it.

My name is Sam Kew and I just want to say how much I am fascinated by Borley Rectory and it's history. I have visited many sites on the net, and have also read, 'the Ghosts of Borley', by Wesley H. Downes. I would appreciate it if you could send me any info you have on Borley hauntings, or anything to do with ghostly 'happenings' around the Essex and Suffolk region. I am very interested in this area, and it would be nice to hear from other fanatics, hearing their views and experiences. I would be extremely greatful!
Keep up the excellent work! and dont forget to reply to me!!!
yours sincerely,
Sam Kew

I am 15 and I love reading about haunted houses. I just wish I could take one or a couple of people into a real haunted house and spend the night. I like them because they give off a challenging feel. I have been reading about how to bring ghosts to you. But it does not work. Could you help me out in anyway.
Torrie Stone
[Most people try to get away! First, you have to make sure the place is haunted - someone must have died in a dramatic way. Then if they are still around, simply talk to them. Sometimes, you might use a tape recorder. As you talk, wait for them to answer. When you play the tape back, turn up the volume and listen carefully.]

I am a 14 yr old boy in london and recently found out about borley rectory. i would like to know what happened to marianne's son adelaide just out of curiosity. some people also say she may have started the mysterious fires. do you think that may be true?
Gary Steaggles
[Thank you for your interest. Although she was accused of starting a fire in one room, there was no evidence to support the claim, as she was very young at the time. She later became a nurse.]

Our recent trip to Borley ended in a bit of a disaster! We was able to put 3 matchstick mics into the church that connected to three separate mini disc recorders and in all 3 machines the batteries failed after just under two hours! This has never happened before (the batteries usually least at least 8 hours) All batteries were brand new one pack was duracell another was a lithium battery. There was something different about Borley that night, the place was charged! whether the full moon had anything to do with it or not, we not sure, also my watch which is one of those p.c link Casio things, malfunctioned and reseted itself losing all its data! when I got home I tried to transfer all the data back on the watch that is stored on my p.c but it didn't want to know. It said 'watch has no name' I phoned up Casio and told them and they said it has never happened before. Anyway Ive sent it back for repair! We are planning another trip to Borley shortly and I'll be wearing a cheaper watch!
Darren Jarvis
[As always, my main concern is for the villagers. Did you seek permission prior to your vigil?]

this may sound stupid but me and a few friends decided to go and see if the stories were true. i had heard of the wonders of borley many a time but never had anyone to go with. now a few friends decided they wanted to go and after lookin for ages we finally found borley town and thus borley ectory, or at least the house that is built on the foundations of the rectory. we walked round the outskirts of the church makin sure we did not walk over grave stones because i feel respect for the dead. anyway we walked round and two of the girls went for a wander. they went to the surroundin field (not to far in though). they suddenly ran back to where we were and promted us to get in the car. the time was around 10:15 and they said they had heard breathing and it was getting more intense till they heard it direct behinde them. so we all got in the car feeling that this was somewhere where we were not wanted. that was when we heard someone hitting metal and i mean really poundin it but there was nothin nearby for us to think of. admittedly we got to scared and decided we should drive off. as we did we got about a quarter of a mile down when with a quick birst of speed from the accelerator, what looked like a dead pidgeon fell off the roof. we vowed never to go back again.
hope this means somethin to you. if so can u email back and tell me exactly what the occurances meant
much appreciated thank you.
from
Brad Grimson
[Neither sound is common to Borley. Have you considered the possibility the locals may have been nearby? Either working, or some other activity? I'll ask around.]

I have been interested in Borley for over 10 years. But I couldn't buy any book about it without the Internet. And I didn't know the word, "rectory". I could't find the word in Korean-English dictionary. Now I know the word and the site, "www.borleyrectory.com" and your [ghostbooks.com] site. Do you have any books that you want me to read ??
Hee Bom Yang
[Fascinating. Thank you for your answer. Read the Bibliography first - it will explain several books. Then, consider those I have marked in the dropdown menu at ghostbooks.com.]

I have been reading about borley rectory and it must of been a terrifing experence not knowing what to expect at any time.
98meeke

I'm just wondering who belongs to the face apparation in the trees to the left side of the house - it appears to be that of a young man - early to mid twenties. Your story really intriges me. Its a site I will visit again, thanks for sharing it.
TJS
[Thank you for your interest. I appreciate hearing from you. You will be interested to know you are not the only one who sees people in the various Borley photos.]

Can you explain poltergeist to me?
Anthony Tillery
[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.]

Here's a new web page that I have made today. "This page shows photographs I took at a recent trip to Borley. It was quite a nice day and the pictures came out ok but unfortunately there isn't anything strange on them. Borley Cottage stands across the road from the church. It was an outbuilding of the rectory and was used as a coach house. There hasn't been a lot of phenomena reported at the Cottage, which isn't surprising as the owners would be reluctant to give the haunting of Borley anymore publicity than it already has. The photo on the right shows the surrounding fields and farmland to the east of Borley Church and indicates how remote the haunted hamlet is. The nearest village is Sudbury and is about two miles away and to get to Borley from there you have to drive along very narrow country roads. This photo was taken near the church gate and is also the same place the photo of the cottage was taken. This is an interesting feature on the church tower, some sort of gargoyle that was presumably to ward off evil spirits! There is one on each side of the tower. We have noticed that the Graves of the Bull family are becoming more overgrown while the rest of the graveyard is being well kept. This is sad as they had such a big part in the history of Borley, maybe this is why its being left, perhaps taking some of the blame for all the problems the publicity that the haunting brought to the area."
Darren Jarvis
[Thank you for sharing. The gargoyles are probably waterspouts for the rain that falls on the roof.]

Sara Garner; Thank you for sharing your report. It shows a tremendous amount of work. :) It has been posted in the Bibliography. As I pointed out earlier, not everyone agrees Mayerling told the truth. I am not saying the haunting was completely factual or not, only that Mayerling's account has been challenged by many people - including me. Again, congratulations on your hard work, and thank you for sharing.

The Internet Links web page has some more additions.

I got something from Colchester Library and it's a little confusing as, (although it's just a photocopied page, it was written in 1768) from History and antiquities of Essex Vol. II. A passage reads; "The church of Brundon was fmall, of one pace with the chancel, but now lies in ruins. The remains of it are in a little enclofure, about a mile on the left hand of Ballingdon-ftreet, directly opposite to Borley Church. The Rectory was appendant to the maner." As you can see, the 'F's must be 'S's. It is almost definitely from the date it's source says (1768) and not the 1940s as a result of all of the old English spelling. I think that it must be referring to one of the buildings that stood on the site, ie a former rectory before the Herringham - maybe the one with those old smaller-than-modern bricks.
I've found the Hall stuff and will photocopy it very soon - there's his picture from 'History of the Leeds Library' by Frank Beckwith, and also his obituary along with his entry in Who's Who? I have also managed to gain a census form of the Rectory in 1881 giving even the names of the servents as well as the family.
Hopefully I should be going to Borley in July - this will include the 28th, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Joe Olding

Something I was waiting for the moderator of the group to bring to your attention, but he hasn't for half-a-year. There's an online discussion group for Borley Rectory [on Yahoo!].
Jamas Enright
[Excerpts from the group follow.]
Date: Tue Nov 28, 2000 6:41 pm
Subject: Welcome
Hello Jamas,
Thank you for your mail! You are the first member of the group, which I only set up a short time ago. . . .
I have been reading up on Borley for over ten years and have visited the village on a number of occaisions. I am looking forward to hearing your opinions on the case. I have also set up a Harry Price group at egroups.com which you may, or perhaps, may not be interested in joining. . . . I have not looked at [Vincent O'Neil's] site for a while, so you have also reminded me to go back and take a look!
I look forward to hearing from you!
I first visited Borley many years ago after reading several of Harry Price's books (I am a collector of books on Ghosts and the Occult etc.) and I have been hooked ever since.
Craig
founder and moderator of the Yahoo Group.
www.forteancentral.org.uk

I have been to borley rectory on many occassions and did see something but it scared the shit out of me and my friends i have joined thid list but i thought there would be more responce but not yet keep it up.
Mandie

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.