Lawless the Lodger. "Frank Pearless, self-styled François D'Arles, was a cockney fantasist who insinuated himself into the Foyster household. We would recognise him as being a small-time conman."
The High Water Mark. "The arrival of Edwin in the Borley story was the high water mark of bizarre events at Borley Rectory." (changed slightly to include Edwin's later remark that Price had lost his critical faculties when writing 'The End of Borley Rectory.')
The Borley Bellsheet. "For most of the time, it was just one or two of the bells that rang, but at the height of the trouble, it was far more spectacular, as in the night when the Marks Tey Spiritualist Circle arrived at the rectory." (amended to put in some material about the outside bell in the courtyard.)
Things that go creak in the night has been expanded with a thoughtful quote from Marianne Foyster about the way old houses occasionally give wierd creaks
The Smell of Fear has been expanded to give more examples of people noticing the 'paranormal smells', and also Marianne's heartfelt expanation that the idea of the goblins cooking in the kitchen was origibally supposed to be a joke.
Tunnels updated with extra material and also evidence that the tunnel discovered in the 1950s did not go near the rectory. The tunnel seen by Ian Shaw and Guy Smith has yet to be rediscovered.
Sidelight on the Bulls (Bullsheet) has been expanded with new materials, in the light of continuing research.
Sidelight on the Thump Ghosts expanded, including extract from Mrs Bain's interview with Mary Pearson's husband, Fred Tatum, where he expresses the view that Harry Price was faking some of the 'Phenomena', and that Mary Pearson confessed that she pretended to be the Nun by putting her apron over her head!

Annoter essay about Sacrilege and Body Stealing from the files of the Foxearth Historical Society, has been submitted by Andrew Clarke. It talks about, "Refusal of the rector to permit the disinterment of a body."

Various Borley newspaper articles, from the 1800s and newer, from the files of the Foxearth Historical Society, have been submitted by Andrew Clarke.

I have finally got around to cleaning up the recordings on my web site and turning them into MP3s. The end result is that the knocks and bangs [from Borley Church] are now much more pronounced – please take listen and let me know what you think.
Adrian Butcher

Please send more information on these types of studies or where someone might go to search for help when they have a rare gift. This gift has already been confirmed by a parapsycologist in Atlanta Ga. Thank you,
Wendy
[Try the resources listed on my links to resources page. Keep me posted on your results.]

I popped into the Essex Records Office yesterday. It turns out that there has been a lot of work in tracing the Waldegraves. There was even a journal called 'Essex Recusants' about the essex catholic families. I was just browsing in this journal and came across several Waldegrave candidates for the nun. It is a shame I'm not really interested in this line of research, but whoever is interested will find out that all the hard work has been done.-and nuns galore. I also came across a fine biography and photograph of Edward Bull, the rector of Pentlow and Harry Bull's cousin I scanned in the 1846 tithe map of Borley. I know you're short of space but it is safe here for when you want it. The version of the map in the Underwood book was a pencil sketch and has one or two mistakes in it. It shows the Rev Herringham's rectory very clearly. Is it possible to optionally switch off the irritating javascript DHTML routine which fades from one page to another? It only works properly on some screens. On my screen it takes something like six seconds to switch, and makes cruising the site an awful chore.
Andrew Clarke
[Hit the "stop" button on your browser. The time element has been reduced.]

I am going to be speaking at a lot of conferences this summer and this fall, and if you want to send me some flyers, stickers or whatever I will certainly give them out. I'll see what I can do with [this web page], and maybe make you guys some stickers.
Kriss Stephens

I need to read all of Andrew Clark's stuff as time permits, He is very interesting. I especially loved the rare shot of the front of the house. For the first time I was able to get a sense of how large it really was.
Kathy Rageur

I'm a recent graduate of Leeds University; Bretton Hall in the UK. Having now finished my course, I am in the process of setting up an audio drama production company, the medium being of perticullar interst to me. Having begun fishing for script and commission idea's I remembered how much I used to read about the rectory in my youth and thought that it would be perfect! It's a fascinating modern legend! I've recently contacted the acclaimed science fiction audio writer Rob Shearman (Dr. Who; The Chimes of Midnight) and he is very excited about working on a piece about Borley. I was wondering weather we might liase with you during the writing of the piece. It would be great to have the help of possibly the worlds foremost authority on the legend. If you'd be interested or have any advice for us, please contact me at this address.
Kindest reguards;
Tim Austin
[Thank you for your query. Are you aware of these two recordings about Borley - among others? The first is a heavy handed dramatization - "THE MYSTERY OF BORLEY RECTORY. England: Ivan Berg Associates Limited. USA: Communications Institute, Arlington Virgina. 1976. Cassette audio tape. Roughly 50 minutes long. The second is an investigation of the Church - AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE HAUNTING OF BORLEY CHURCH Blackwood audio tape, 1994. Roughly 30 minutes. If you can give me more details about the production, I will greatful.]

I received a very pleasant letter from Peter Underwood earlier this week in connection with my proposed biography of Sidney Glanville. Coming so soon after his recent bereavement I felt quite touched that he felt able to respond & express interest in my project. The exciting thing for me is that he has offered to help when he is able in connection with original correspondence from & pertaining to SHG which he possesses. Original material such as this is of tremendous importance & I have to say a big thank you for the introduction to Mr Underwood back in April. Work on the project continues slowly & it is very early days but I am hopeful of producing something of pertinence to the Borley Rectory literature some time in the future.
With best wishes,
Paul Adams

There is an interesting link here that needs chasing up. Isle of Wight Nostalgia - Memories From J.K. who spent a happy childhood on the Island during the last war. "I could go on and on but will close with the memory of the Reverend Sinclair, Vicar at Chale who would ride around on a tricycle wearing a shovel hat and a billowing black cloak. He used to frighten us terribly. (Many years later I discovered that he was one of the investigators of Borley Rectory in Suffolk - 'the most haunted house in England')."
To quote from my own sidelight about The Thump Ghosts, "Eventually, she wrote to the Church Times, and later on the Daily Mail to emphasise her side of the story. Her first letter had been inspired by correspondence about an uncannily similar haunting at Chale Rectory in 1940, which included a ghostly carriage and pair, stealthy footsteps, wall writings, and things falling off shelves. This proved beyond any doubt to be caused by rats, and the child of a sub-tenant. This obviously struck a chord with Mabel..."
Looking at the chronology, it would seem that the Chale haunting happened long after Borley, and it may be that the correspondent confused the link between Borley and Reverend Sinclair. It is also possible that The Rev Sinclair really did investigate Borley and then went on to create his own haunting. Even more lurid.. perhaps the ghosts hitched a ride and then settled in at Chale. I wonder if we could get at the Church Times to get some more details of the Chale Haunting.

This advert is very puzzling. A June 13, 1929 newspaper clipping states "The Borley Ghost returns. Eat DOVE'S Gold Medal Bread, and you will return for more." The wording is "The Borley Ghost Returns." The copy was written on the week of the fuss, and we have searched back for previous references without finding anything. Neither does the reporter mention any previous newspaper artice. So what does the advert mean by 'returns'. It implies it had been around before. all I can think of is that it is a reference to the bit in the original article where it says that the ghost was well known in the Bull's time. We only found the one letter to the editor (below). There seems to have been very little interest in the story locally at the time. What surprised me was how few letters there were in the paper about Borley Rectory. There is nothing like reading the actual paper from end to end to get a feel for what was really going on in the area at the time, and the preoccupations of the inhabitants. It was obvious that it was of very little local interest even if it was a sensation in the Mirror.

Noble, Freda, I. "The Borley Ghosts." Suffolk and Essex Free Press. 14 June 1929. Letter to the Editor. ("Sir, I have read with interest the account of the Borley Ghosts and also the traditional story relating to them. With regard to the latter, I would point out a small historical discrepancy. Somewhere between 1529 and 1547, Henry 8th surpressed all the smaller monasteries and nunneries in the land, seizing their money and scattering their communities. Had there been a monastery or convent on the site of Borley Rectory at the time, which is extremely doubtful though there may have been one there much earlier in history, there certainly would have been no resident monks or nuns after 1547. The first coach to be seen in England according to Chambers Encyclopaedia vol 3 was made by Walter Rippon for the Earl of Rutland in 1599, during the reign of Mary Tudor. Later, a more elaborate coach was made by the same man for Queen Elizabeth. The coaches were very primitive affairs, without glass and having broad wheels suited to the wretchedness of the roads at the time. Except for the more expensive kinds, many of the first coaches were roofless too. So it would seem that the nun of Borley and the coachman could never have met during life on this earth, their only appearance being a ghostly one. This does not discredit their separate appearances in the vicinity, but one belongs to an earlier period then the other two and this history would disprove the traditional ghost story. I think there must be two legends but time has interwoven them as the story has been handed down. Freda I. Noble, Bridge house, Lyston, Long Melford, Suffolk.") Courtesy Foxearth Historical Society, contributed by Andrew Clarke.

Miller, R. DeWitt. Forgotten Mysteries: True Stories of the Supernatural. New York: Grosset and Dunlop, 1947. Chicago: Cloud Inc., 1947. pp.68-70. No photos. (Focus is on Price with the exaggerated description of a "famous psychical researcher who had exposed scores of hauntings." Incorrectly states, "A special electrical contact installed by the investigators was pressed in a vacant and sealed room," which does not appear in any of the original records. The closest report was made by Dr. Bellamy during his 17 October 1937 visit when "the bell in the base-room suddenly started ringing while they were upstairs." - Locked Book, p. 84. Concludes that Price was, "convinced that the phenomena were genuine.") **

Parker, Derek and Julia. Atlas of the Supernatural. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990. pp. 45, 130-31. London: BCA, 1992. Four photos, including one of Captain Gregory in the BCA version. In the earlier version, Price is seen through the archway of his lab, next to the Borley Bell. The other three photos are of the rectory, the skull burial, and the maid pointing to the bushes. (The mention on page 45 states, "The most famous ghost-hunter. . . .Harry Price. . . .had no real success at proving the existence of ghosts, but he witnessed, and recorded many strange experiences, especially at Borley Rectory." Incorrectly states the phenomena ceased after burial of the skull, and also errors by indicating the skull that was buried was the one found by Mrs. Smith. The burial at Liston was of the skull fragments dug up by Price. Does not name Iris Owen and Pauline Mitchell as authors of 1979 interviews with Marianne, and incorrectly identifies both as members of the SPR, of which only Owen was a member. Marianne "could not account for the phenomena observed before and after her occupancy.") **1990

Lewis, James R. Encyclopedia of Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena. Visible Ink Press, 1995. p. 156. (Brief section on ghost hunting. "The Book The Most Haunted House in England, published in 1940, includes the results of the ghost investigations made by Harry Price, who was among the first to use modern technologies.")

Congrats on your piece in the June 2003 Magic Circular.
Best regards,
George Hansen
O'Neil, Vincent. "Mystico" Visits the Most Haunted House in England. Magic Circular. June 2003. (Retrospective of 1956 article. One photo of rectory substituted for three original photos by Jack Tuffs - "Mystico.") printed as submitted

I have finally finished the image and uploaded it to the contest. I send you a copy of the image in the exact same form. I also send a copy of the text file where I mention your copyrights as we agreed. I hope you like it. All comments are welcome. I know, it is difficult to make the dark images, because peoples monitors are so different. This image looks fine in print as it is, but on some monitors it probably looks way too dark. On the other hand, if I lighten it up (in the rendering) it looses the contrast I worked so hard on generating. I´m not allowed to change the image in Photoshop for the contest, the rules say it should look as it did straight from the renderer, and it does. But on your website there are of course no such rules. I [also made] a lighter version, and (just for fun) an old sepia, you know, black and white with noise, similar to the old photographs on your site. I changed the brightness of the image. It should work on most displays now.
Hildur Kolbrun Andresdottir
[Caption added by Andrew Clarke: "Later [that night], while alone in the drawing-room, L 'Estrange was making notes of the evening's events when he heard cautious but distinct footsteps apparently enter the room. He told us he felt a chill run down his spine but he did not turn round. He heard the footsteps approach him and then pause, seemingly directly behind him and close to the settee on which he sat. He turned quietly but there was nobody there and nothing to account for the sound of footsteps. Then he heard the sounds recommence and as he watched the empty area he followed the direction of the footsteps as they passed on and seemed to go through the wall at the far end of the room." Borley Postscript by Peter Underwood, page 115.]

There have been so many books about Borley Rectory that one is always surprised when another pops up. Surely, everything that could have been said has now been said? The ‘Borley Rectory, The Final Analysis’ is the latest. This is of great interest to the Borley Rectory enthusiast, has many good photographs and a few new and interesting items, but it is hardly an analysis at all, let alone the final one. One feels guilty about criticising a book that is so nicely produced and written by two pleasant and interesting people, but it really does not carry our understanding of Borley Rectory much further forward. Complete review by Andrew Clarke.

Kris Stephens will speak in Jefferson Texas, October 17, 18th and 19th at the Texas Bigfoot Conference.

sorry about being so rude but anyway... im doing borley rectory for a school english project and i thought this sight was very good, except it has one problem...everythings copyright!!! i needed to copy and paste it so that i could change the colour of the pictures and text so that it printed out properly because m,y computer has no black ink left!!! i tried emailing it to my friends computer but the pictures don't get sent!!! how annoting is that?!!! but other than that, the site was great as it was very informative!!! p.s. it is all true, believe me!!! - Katy Wixon

Top site. Very informative, excellent . - Gary Cooke - UK

Hello, just dropping by. Some new insights into Trevor Hall and Harry Price, but so many others to do........ - Joseph Boughey

Fascinating and interesting . - Ranjan Rosairo, Colombo - Sri Lanka