Hi, this is Maureen Nelson from the Washington State Ghost Society, and I know that you have just won our Harry Price award, but, we would also love to present you with our other award for Paranormal Excellence in Research. Henry Bailey speaks very highly, and it would be our honor to send this.
Maureen Nelson
[I am humbled and gratified you have chosed the BORLEY GHOST SOCIETY for the first ever Harry Price Award as well as the award for Paranormal Excellence in Research. On behalf of all the associates of the Society, the awards will be displayed prominently on the web site, with a link to the appropriate page of the Washington State Ghost Society web site. Thank you very much.]

It is very atmospheric -- I especially like the shadows from the trees on the roof, like smoke. It captures the mood of the Borley mystery beautifully, with a smiling Marianne posing, unknowing, while Henry Bull looks out from the "cold spot" on the second floor. I love the colors, the moon -- not the usual "ghostly" picture at all, but one that could pass as a simple sunlit picture of a pretty house -- unless you know the history. Well done! Thanks for sharing it with us. . .
Linda Cody

The following memory has been added to The Most Haunted Woman in England.
"Having her take me to a rock concert may have astonished me, but she was always doing unexpected things with her friends. She tried her darndest to enjoy life! She wanted to live 100 years and soak in everything she could. She shocked me again in October of 1987 as the Minnesota Twins played in the World Series. I stopped by during a business trip, and we watched as many games as we could on her old black-and-white television set. The reception was lousy, but she didn't care - and she actually knew what was going on!"

Stephen D. Smith chimes in with "Action + Result = Value?" as well as a response to the Clarke ghost stories; "Cyced up."

In turn, "Cyced Up" produced a response from Scott Cunningham on "Seeing a Ghost."

Having lain dormant for years because of the difficulty maintaining relevance, the links page has been revived.

Three new inquiries have been added to the Frequently Asked Questions section.

The "home page" has been modified.

Trow, M.J. Lestrade and the Sign of Nine. Washington D.C., Regnery Publishing, Inc. 200. pp. 122-143. Romford, Ian Henry. Fiction. (Trow has great fun as he warps time and language to his own design. It takes careful reading to catch all his tidbits, nevermind balance them against history. For example, he mentions Gloria Swanson who was born in 1899 (the same year as Marianne), although this book takes place in 1865. Another twist is giving the Borley gardner Amos the last name of "Flower." Amos figures prominently in the plot, and Chapter 6 takes place mainly in the Rectory where we meet Henry, Harry, Millie, and Ethel Bull. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson also make an appearance at Borley. Very humorous.)

Williamson, Chet. City of Iron. New York: Avon Books, 1998. Fiction. First part of The Searchers Trilogy. "The basic premise of the series is that three CIA operatives, who, unbeknownst to themselves, are asked by a rogue CIA director to investigate paranormal activities and claims and not to find out the truth, but to debunk them and send him reports regarding these claims. . . .Famous cases, such as the investigation into the Borley Rectory hauntings, are discussed. . . ." - Review by Timothy Binga ("The buildings had sat vacant now for nearly three months, while the tabloid press [referred to them as] 'Melton's Madness - America's Borley Rectory!'" p. 108. "You know, this very well might be America's Borley Rectory, like the Inner Eye said. Because what people tend to forget is that Borley - the most haunted house in England - was a total hoax. Even the Society for Psychical Research said that there wasn't a thing that happened at Borley that couldn't have a rational, non-supernatural explanation. And all the things that couldn't be explained were probably done by Harry Price. He was the ghost hunter who built his reputation on Borley." p. 112. "No, I believe Melton when he said they investigated the light. They just didn't do it the right way. . . Borley Rectory. More so than they think?" p. 119. "The comparison to Borley made me think of the train. That's how I figured out the lights. . . .There were lights in Borley, too. . . .and no one knew ehere they came from, either. It turned out they were the reflections of the headlight of a train that wasn't really visible from inside the room, and not at all from down on the ground. That's why they appeared about the same time every night." p. 184. In The Ghosts of Borley, Peter Underwood wrote about "a strong white light" witnessed by two members of the Ealing Society 20 August 1949: "There were no trains passing at the time nor any traffic on the road past the rectory site." p. 176.) **

My name is Duncan Allcoat, I am currently working to create a website of Haunted buildings in Britain. Obviously, I can't have this type of website without mentioning Borley Rectory. However, I am contacting you to ask about gaining permission to use two or three pictures from your own site to include in my own. If I can assure you that this will be a purely factual, non-profit making site, and I am quite prepared and happy to reference your site, with an active web hyperlink to your site attached to each photo, also a paragraph of thanks in my site About section. I can also keep your e-mail address as reference and mail you a link when the site is "Live" and you can check to see if you feel my reference to your own site is adequate. If you agree with this or I need to supply a list of required pictures, please don't hesitate to either e-mail me by return, or ring me on 0000 000000 after 4:00pm
Thank you for your time
Duncan Allcoat

I am in the process of creating a website about the most haunted places in the world and I would like to do a section about Borley as I believe it to be one of the mot fascinating hauntings I have read about. I am writing to ask your permission to use some of the pictures from your site on my site. I will, of course, give you and your site full credit and I am planning to put a link to your site on my page. Your help would be much appreciated.
Sincerly,
Amy Evans
[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.

Is this borley rectory really haunted?? If so how do u know?? If it's not how do u know
SoccerDevil96@aol.com
[In the first page of my book, The Ghosts That Refuse to Die, I wrote - "In presenting the following information, I make no judgement as to what is true, what is legend, or what is imagination. Because I have such close family ties to Borley, I have dedicated my life to researching and gathering as much information as possible - Borley is all I do. Every piece of evidence available is presented - pro and con. It is up to the reader to decide what to believe and what to discard."]

I'm a researcher at Thames Television in London England and I am desperately trying to track down some case studies for a proposal for one of the main 5 terrestrial channels, and I was wondering whether you would be able to help. I need to find some nice people, who are suffering some sort of domestic haunting. Ideally these people would not yet have had any psychic investigations done on there property - they would also be a bit cynical. At this stage in the game I really just need to speak to people who are experiencing haunting - they don't need to appear in front of the camera. If you know of anyone or would like to discuss if further please don't hesitate to call me, my number is 0207 691 6481. If you are able to pass my email onto anyone who would be able to help or is experiencing some sort of disturbance I would be hugely grateful.
Many Thanks
Sue Venables

Tacky! Clive Barrett web site.
Andrew Clarke

Looking at your photos, I came accross the Portrait of Harry Bull. Look top left, and tell me if you see any faces, in the wallpaper! I see a bald man and a woman with a little nose!
Tim Griffin
[I do not, but that does not mean it is not there. However, you must understand, this is a copy of a print - not the original. It is a scanned copy, meaning any number of things could have happened in the process. Your comments are always welcome.]

I have just completed reading Harry Prices book, The End Of Borley Rectory. In it the name of the nun is stated as, Mary Lairre, although she is also called Marie Lairre, During the Plantchette writings. But the name given more often than not is Mary, and Harry Price himself also uses this to refer to her. Can I assume that the nun of Borley is Mary and not Marie.
Adelaide Liney
[In the seance of 31 October 1937, the first name given is Mary. Imediately thereafter, it comes through as Mary Lairre. See pages 161-63 of The Most Haunted House. In almost two dozen discussions about her in The End of Borley, Price uses the spelling Marie, except for one of the very first references on page 106. Price uses the quotation from the seance, and thereafter uses Marie. Since he was trying to identify her as a French nun, we can only speculate that might be his reason for changing it in subsequent references. Price never explained.]

Hello. I read your article [about James Edward and James Van Praagh] with interest. However, just because charlatans have been exposed doesn't mean that everyone is faking it. Eh? Just as we have doctors without licenses, doesn't mean every doctor is a fake. Think on that. Just because you don't agree with EVERY single thing a book has to offer, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I loved John Edward's books, I wasn't that crazy about Jame's, but that doesn't mean he's a fake. Actually there is NO evidence (as you said "as the evidence would indicate)that either of them are charlatans. There have been MANY people on those shows, and only ONE of them has "exposed" John. (And even then as I recall, something was fishy about that - in John's favor.) Perhaps part of the problem is we...who don't recieve as they might, want the channel to be concrete. We don't understand the process because we have never done it. Both of them, and John moreso because he's been on longer, have tried to explain the process, and the "reason/why" some comes clearer than others. It's a"channel"...and it's somewhat like the phone. Sometimes the connection is clear, and sometimes it's not. (At least it wasn't years ago. Think of cell phones and thatmight help more.) In any case, keep your mind open and watch more/. It's OKAY to believe init. We believe what we want to believe. Period. If we are set NOT to believe,we will get information to back that up. Oh, and btw, I have noticed that John IS and does seem to be getting more "sure" and better. If you have watched more than a coupleof times..he will even aruge with people that the information he's getting is correct. No. I don't think they are trying to "fit" the information to meet the reading, but theyhave just forgotten about "Great Aunt "Billie") Anyway, just my two cents. P.S. Skeptical by nature, but not about this. re: Spirit Photography....I happen to have one of those pictures. (Me and ???) that is on the negative. Never touched, altered and (also on negative) and inspected by several pros. Anythingis possible. :) Have no idea when you wrote this, so hope you don't mind the timing. :)
Zammi
[I became even more skeptical after the 13 October 2002 promotion for James Edward in the Sunday paper. The audience is in there for eight hours - plenty of time to find out lots of stuff with hidden microphones and cameras. BUT, that is just MY view. I appreciate and understand your view as well! I wrote the article in September 2001.]

I am interesting in reading "The Most Haunted House in England" in association with some research that has little to do with Borley Rectory. When I went searching for the book on-line, I stumbled upon your website. Has "The History Channel" or any other such producer of documentary films approached you to do a show about the Rectory? Indeed, have there been any films on the subject?
Curious,
Sarah Kate Baie
[I have several copies of the book available. No full-blown movies have been made. Although I have an unpublished script ready, I am not anxious to promote it out of deference to the current residents. The rectory HAS been highlighted in several documentaries, and talked about in a few movies, as indicated in my Bibliography. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.]

If my e mail sounds challenging or confrontational, I do not mean it to; please be assured that I am asking my question in the most civil and respectful of tones. You state in the "mistakes" section 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!
NATKESTY@aol.com
[Thank you for getting in touch, and 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."]

I was just browsing through your site when I saw the French thank you letter from Marianne's papers. I noticed you had a question mark beside the 'thank you', which was what made me look at it. It's in fact a request for donations for victims of a recent flooding of the Nile from a rescue committee presumably set up to help the victims. The reason given for sending the letter is the recipient's 'well-known munificence' or words to that effect. I thought you might like to know if you don't already.
Best wishes
Kenna Bourke

I hope this e-mail finds you well 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 ? i would be thankfull for any info you can provide
yours
MICHAEL BARNES
[Thank you. Those 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.

Your latest newsletter was fascinating, as usual. Thank goodness for your newsletter, I love it and look forward to it every month.
Barbara Clements

Wow. Big Newsletter. I enjoyed all the pictures, The B & W ones were unique. I was not aware that Your Mother lived in Canada before she moved to Borley. I must have missed that point. That was a lot of moving around, and not an easy move. I assume they had to go by boat. We didn't have passenger planes that early did we. I can't remember. After reading, I went to the forum and I was glad to see the note from someone who knew present residents of the site and none have ever reported any hauntings. Interesting.
"Come on Members. Lets fill-up the Guest Map. It would be interesting to see how wide spread the BorleySociety reaches. It is a cute Idea. I bet I am the only one from Louisiana, or even the 'Deep South'. We have our share of Hauntings here. I wish I could 'scare' up a few more members from my area."
Kathy Rageur

I just finished reading your "from time to time" essay. . . . I, for one, am not about to say that mortals will "never" be able to time travel. I think it is entirely possible "someday" using technology that we have yet to dream of today.
Bill Vicars

In Newsletter #50, the thing that most grabbed my attention was Barbara Clements' lovely description of her dream, "Ghosts Are Like a Fan." If our dreams are truly as "real" as our waking life, as some claim, then perhaps Rev. Bull was giving us the key to understanding ghosts. It's certainly intriguing to think so! If there truly is another dimension which overlaps with ours, in which the spirits of the dead can be seen or heard for brief periods by the living, it would explain a great deal, wouldn't it?
The second thing that really excited me about Newsletter #50 was Andrew Clarke's discovery of the Henry Dawson Bull diary, the maps, and his usual careful research. Mr. Clarke is a gem -- his intellect, the pains he takes to be as objective as possible, and his generosity in sharing his findings and conclusions with the newsletters -- I really look forward to seeing what he has to say each month. Thank you, Mr. Clarke!
I'm always glad to see your thoughtful questions and responses to statements made regarding Borley's haunting, and your reply to Jack Hastie's Paranormal Review article is a good example. You summed it up well in your final sentence: "Of course, even if 'The Great Borley Investigation' were conducted, it would only settle the question of whether Borley has even the faintest glimmer of a ghost today. It would not - could not - answer the debate first stirred up by the Daily Mirror on that fateful June 10, 1929, when V.C. Wall reported, 'Ghostly figures of headless coachmen and a nun, an old-time coach. . . .and dragging footsteps in empty rooms. . . .are awaiting investigation by psychic experts. . . '." Your question of the wisdom of beating a dead horse, figuratively speaking, is one worth considering -- no one can authoritatively claim to know if Borley Rectory was indeed haunted or not. All we can do is speculate on the reports and testimonials we do have.
I am quite saddened by the demise of ghostbooks.com. Will you be dissolving the stock of books you had for sale, or are they available through an alternate means that you have set up?
In Newsletter #51, I especially enjoyed the account regarding the Pentlow Bull folly-tower, which Stewart P. Evans shared. A classic account of a supernatural experience, or perhaps a case of some folks letting their nerves get the best of them. I wonder if we can ever settle the question of whether a particular subjective experience is of supernatural or psychological/physilogical origin?
Your essay on "Time to Time" was playful and entertaining. You're absolutely right about time travel for solid matter, however. How sad -- think of how many mysteries we could clear up, if we could just go back to Borley and experience the rectory for ourselves? Thanks again for your writing!
Your response to Andrew Martin's inquiries on behalf of the Daily Telegraph, were as usual informative, thoughtful, and well-reasoned. I'm glad he contacted you first, and got a few more facts before he wrote the article. If he does write it, I hope he'll share it with you.
Regarding Mr. Clarke's reading of MR James' "Count Magnus," and Peter Underwood's mention of Robert Aickman's ghost stories -- did Mr. Aickman ever write about his experiences at the Rectory, or contribute to articles or books written by others about the haunting? I've read a couple of collections of his short stories, and they are remarkable pieces of fiction, though I find some of them somewhat disquieting. Has anyone written a biography of Mr. Aickman, and mentioned any influence Borely Rectory might have had on his short fiction? I've often wondered why he seems to have been so silent on the subject of Borley.
Thank you so much for including the photos of the skull fragments found at Borley. I've often wondered how complete they were, and the photos show them nicely.
Congratulations to Sean O'Neil on his United Health Care program work. They are my insurance carrier. He can be proud that he has helped create something that will be very valuable to a great many people. Thanks, Sean!
And thanks again, Vince, for your work on the Newsletters and the website. Reading the latest Newsletter is a highlight of my month.
Take care,
Linda Cody
[Thank you for your excellent feedback. That is what the Society is all about, associates sharing with each other. The Borley related books that used to be displayed at ghostbooks.com are still available from BorleyRectory.com All will be liquidated, with unscheduled offerings at reduced prices to Borley Ghost Society associates. Other ghost books from my collection are available at half.com/eBay]

Last night [23 October] Art Bell announced his is retiring on December 31st, because of his back problems. He even went off the air early due to this problem. Believe it or not it has had me in a blue funk ever since I heard it. I can't believe how emotional I'm reacting to it, there's just no one like Art. . . .his show is so much more than just a show. It is a way of life. Pulling the plug on that show is to leave us all to the rest of the crass media, because really that is all there is out there.
Barbara Clements

Hi Vince, I'm hoping that you might be willing to speak to my Parapsychology class . . . .Wednesday, October 30. The class meets from 10:00-10:50. I've always found your presenations fascinating. . . . .
Thanks for your help!
Richard ATKINSON
Weber State University

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