Neither I, nor the Borley Ghost Society is associated in any way with "The Borley Project." It is not the purpose of the Borley Ghost Society or this web site to cause undue hardship, embarrassment, or discomfort to the present residents of Borley. Their rights and serenities will not be disrupted by any member of the Society. Such residents will be treated with the same dignity in which Associates of the Society would wish to be treated. - Vincent O'Neil, June 2003
|
I posted the following message into their discussion group. It was deleted
by the moderator within an hour. I was most gratified by the support of
someone called 'BorleyForReal'. Not sure who it was. He protested about the
deletion. I re-posted the message.
"The local residents have not been consulted and therefore will not cooperate or give access. Nobody likes a 'fait accomplis,' and this whole venture has been sprung on them as a surprise. Comparisons with Harry Price are ridiculous. When Harry Price investigated the Rectory he was very careful to get the consent of the Bulls, who had the living, as well as the rectors. In the end, he actually rented the rectory itself to do the equivalent of what you guys intend to do. "Nobody associated with Borley Church has been approached at all for permission to access the church or churchyard.. Not only will they refuse this permission, but are likely to use existing by-lays to prevent any 'activities' on church land. "The Bull Hotel in Long Melford know nothing whatsoever about this 'investigation' and are astonished that it should have been advertised on a website before they have even been approached. "Despite the 'puff' of scientific investigation, this is clearly a bit of Halloween 'Reality-TV' being done as a commercial enterprise. Any poor souls who part with their money in the hopes of taking part in a legitimate paranormal investigation will be cruelly disappointed." The man behind the disgraceful 'Borley Project' is a man called Jason Karl. He has set up and 'organisation of convenience' called 'Ghost Research Foundation International', which seems to have no legal standing that I can find. I will be contacting the SPR to find out more. All I know is that he has been working for the York Tourist board to drum up stories of Ghosts and hauntings for the tourists there. The Website is advertising the fact that the Bull Hotel in Long Melford will be the headquarters of their project. The manager of the Bull has no record of them. Anybody who is tempted to take them up on their offer of participation would be very advised to be extremely cautious. The C of E will be ready with all the necessary legal powers to restrain these people if they appear at Borley Church. Fortunately, these legal powers are already in place. All local people will be acting with all determination to ensure that no nuisance occurs and will take every necessary step to ensure that the the church will not be used for a cynical act of commercial exploitation. It is in all the interests of honest straightforward reserchers into the paranormal. to discourage these guys. When one looks up the CVs of these 'researchers', mediums etc, they pop up as actors. Do we have to tolerate 'mystics' and 'sensitives' trampling over graves? What do they mean by 'digging up'? John Fowler, neighbor |
As a viewer interested in ghost phenomena, I'd
certainly throw the research dollars at any number of
other haunts besides Borley. Although Borley Church
is associated with hauntings it was never in the
limelight like the Rectory was.
Also, I want to SEE a ghost and the Church's hauntings are associated more with strange sounds and you're simply not going to greatly impress people with sounds. So my emphasis on the Church would be that there are already many nice pictures of the Church and after they get finished with their little project there will be even more nice pictures of the Church. I'd inquire why they're concentrating their efforts on Borley given I'd also include places like Chingle Hall, Blueberry Hill and the Queen Mary. If they stayed six months or so in the places that claim recent sightings then they might even be able to fill a whole TV hour with their findings provided they have at least five minutes worth of commercials every ten minutes. I'd also try to get permission to sleep in St. John's(?) Chapel at the Tower of London as the chapel brags an entire procession of medieval ghosts. There's a few places at the Tower, in fact, where it may be a challenge to get a good night's sleep. No, the ghosts at Borley have historically never photographed too well in the first place, but I suppose there's a first time for everything. Borley Ghost Society associate #154 Not good news for the residence of Borley. I wouldn't disrespect the locals of Borley by being a participant of such a project. Borley Ghost Society associate #143 It does all sound like a bit of a nightmare. There is also the chance that it starts a whole new publicity chain going. You know - film crew moves in; residents of Borley get upset; news of row leaks to local paper; nationals such as the Times and Guardian follow it up; then the whole Borley thing is re-told on TV and radio; then international papers and TV stations start arriving, etc etc. That's exactly what happens in these circumstances - as a journalist, I know. There is little that can be done to stop them being in the village itself - unless their behaviour is likely to lead to a breach of the peace (not impossible, actually, if the villagers are THAT upset), then they have the right to stand and walk on the Queen's Highway just like anyone else. The village of Borley does not have a legal right of privacy, any more than central Manhattan has a legal right of privacy. . . . The church and grounds are, of course, a different matter. They are in the ownership of the Church of England, though the church rules are complex. . . As I understand it, if the rector and churchwardens refuse entry, then that's it. They don't get in. If they trespass, then that's a civil rather than a criminal offence in England, though reasonable force can be used to eject them if they refuse to go when asked. If they create any damage while trespassing - and it can be as much as chipping a gravestone or denting a candlestick - then it becomes criminal trespass and that IS a criminal offence. Borley Ghost Society associate #068 It seems their findings might well be broadcast on British tv. How on earth did they get permission to poke around Borley Village and church? Did the vicar give his consent? If the villagers don't want them and the Church of England frowns upon it, who was it who said "Come on in?" The only way I can see the people of Borley countering this is to tell The Borley Project to go and sling their hook and also the church powers that be to close off Borley Church. Drastic I know, but I think these idiots would soon get fed up if they had no site to investigate. . . . This is going to open a lot of locked cupboards, give the Borley residents sleepless nights and stir up that which should remain "unstired." Yet, it might open doors to a further understanding of the Borley hauntings. Two years is a long vigil Borley Ghost Society associate #168 |
C. 25 JAN. 2011, Vincent O'Neil