The world's leading expert on "the most haunted house in England" has released more new information about the happenings in Essex.
Borley Postscript by Peter Underwood is just that, a collection of information not included in his 1973 effort with Paul Tabori, The Ghosts of Borley. The book assumes the reader has an understanding of the alleged activity at the former rectory. With little fanfare, it chronicles addenda not published in the original. Borley fanatics will be delighted to see the many testimonies and photographs not previously available.
The testimonies include witnesses such as Borley church organist Ernest Ambrose; Latin student to Rev. Harry Bull, J. Osborne Harley; Mark Teys Spiritualist Circle member Guy L'Strange; Borley cottage residents James and Catherine Turner; and frequent rectory visitor, Rev. Clive Luget. All report strange personal experiences at the rambling brick building, adjoining cottage, and church. Underwood masks his bias in favor of the haunting by objectively publishing the doubts as well as the events pointing toward the paranormal.
Never published before is the complete text of the 1947 BBC broadcast, "The Haunted Rectory." Participants in this broadcast included those who knew first hand the strange occurences at Borley, including former residents Miss Ethel Bull, Capt. Gregson, and the Coopers. Additional witnesses included Rev. and Mrs. Henning, plus investigator Sidney Glanville.
Lucy Kaye, secretary to Harry Price, recounts her association with the famous psychical researcher. Understandably, she supports her employer. Montague Elelman tells about the mysterious events that followed him after retrieving a charred piece of wood from the ruins in 1946. The block was borrowed and never returned, much to the relief of the owner.
Underwood spent a great deal of time interviewing many witnesses over several decades. His own memories and experiences are reviewed. He then recounts several visits with members of the Bull family, the original inhabitants of the rectory. The Bulls also received several guests, who added their odd experiences to the history. Taking up another chapter are the recollections of John Randall, who spent four years digging into the mystery. While portions of some of these reports have been published before, they all take on new life when recalled by the world's most well-known ghost hunter and author, Mr. Underwood.
While interested in the 30 photographs and reproductions of artwork, this reviewer was amazed to see a previously unpublished picture of his mother. Marianne and Lionel Foyster are seen with Rev Guy Smith, his wife Mabel, and Lionel's brother, Arthur. Taken in 1930, the photo gives an eerie glimpse into the future, as Marianne was generally accepted to be quite pretty during this time period, although in later years she had trouble with her weight. Here, the weight is starting to show, a full 20 years before it became a problem.
Of particular relevance to this reviewer is a section devoted to debunking the infamous Borley debunker, Louis Mayerling. Underwood devotes one chapter to showing up We Faked the Ghosts of Borley by Mayerling for what it is - a complete sham. Underwood contacted former policeman and Jack the Ripper expert Stewart P. Evans and asked him to interview Mayerling in March of 2001. The resulting interview published in Borley Postscript puts "The Faker of Borley" soundly to bed, and with his own words. Stewart told Underwood, "You will see there is a reply toward the end of the interview that may well be a Freudian slip that revealed his true nature." Mayerling claimed to know all the Borley residents back to the first inhabitants, and also claimed to have spent much time at the rectory starting in 1919. However, as they talked about the first Harry Price book on the subject, The Most Haunted House in England, Mayerling said, "Well it got me interested in the first place, yeah." That book was first published in 1940.
In further conversations with Evans, this reviewer also learned that Mayerling foolishly showed him an inscribed watch purportedly given to Mayerling by Vincent O'Neil's mother, Marianne Foyster. When Mayerling sent photos of the watch to O'Neil in November 2000, no inscription was evident. In his book, Mayerling said the inscription was "To Georgie, the bestest. Happy hauntings, always, Marianne. OK?" Mayerling must have rethought his submission to O'Neil, and prior to the Evans visit had the watch inscribed. Unfortunately for Mayerling, his inscriber only had room to write, "Sweet G Happy Haunting Always M". Hoisted on his own petard.
At a slim 162 pages, Borley Postscript is jammed-packed with information for the true Borley fanatic. It is now available from White House Publications at £10.
It will take weeks for this reviewer to catalog all the new information presented by Underwood. The facts will be added to his series of CD-ROM Books devoted to his mother and her allegedly haunted house, Borley Rectory; the Ghosts That Will Not Die, and Marianne Foyster: the Most Haunted Woman in England. These and other Borley related CD-ROMs are available at www.ghostbooks.com
Vincent O'Neil
www.borleyrectory.com