My sincere thanks and congratulations to Jack Hastie for his excellent article, "The Haunting of Borley Village," The Paranormal Review, January 2002.
Hastie very carefully constructed his essay to include both sides of the on-going and eternal debate over the alleged haunting. For example, he is one of the few to discuss the rebuttal by Robert Hastings in 1969 (An Examination of the Borley Report) to the Dingwall, Goldney, Hall debunking of 1956 (The Haunting of Borley Rectory). Hastie briefly, but thoughtfully, included the full panorama of authors lined up on either side of the argument.
In his remarks, Hastie explicitly concludes, "There is scope for further research here."
Indeed, there well may be enough unanswered questions about Borley to justify a full-fledged, authorized, and final investigation. It would be conducted under the auspices of a prestigious body such as the Society for Psychical Research, with stringent and precise guidelines. The official study would be announced with such alacrity and publicity that researchers from around the globe would vie for seats on the committee/board. It is not beyond comprehension to envision a task-force as elite and scientific as either of the modern investigations into the Shroud of Turin (1977, 1984). Once and for all, the issues would be settled - would reflections from train headlights be seen in the exact location of the bedrooms? Do intersecting ley lines play an important role? Does the flint of the church act like a quartz radio tuner for the departed? How long were the tunnels, really? Who dug up the "treasure" but never told anyone?
It is well know the current residents of Borley have had enough attention. Not only do unschooled paranormal investigators insist their methods are somehow adequate, but the rowdy vandals willing to desecrate everything from church windows to altar chalice are legion. However, if one final, all-encompassing investigation were scheduled well enough in advance, perhaps the villagers themselves would be grateful that when "The Great Borley Investigation" was over, it would finally be over.
It might be worth consideration at some point to realize that in modern times, no person or family living in Borley Place, Borley Cottage, or the homes now seated on the rectory grounds, has ever reported anything untoward. There is no record of any of the aforementioned homes being abandoned, being exorcized, or being investigated by any paranormal researcher of any kind. The last such hint of anything even remotely amiss was from James Turner of Borley Cottage 1947-51. However, as Hastie correctly points out in his article, "it would seem that the accuracy of his recording of events did not always protect him from the creativity of his imagination."
The fact that the debate still rages over whether or not Borley was ever haunted overshadows a more interesting consideration - when does a haunting cease to be a haunting?
The "Great Amherst Mystery" was brought to our attention by Walter Hubbell in 1916. Guy Lyon Playfair revealed the Enfield poltergeist in his 1980 effort, "This House is Haunted." As far as is known, neither alleged haunting continues. Even the great "Amityville Horror" of 1977 by Jay Anson has faded, regardless of the frantic attempts by screen writers to keep the ghosts alive. Has anyone gone to these three sites lately with their EMF gauges, infrared cameras, and Ouija boards? When was the last time anyone reported seeing a specter in the Lincoln Bedroom? Has a cadre of scientists - armed to the teeth with equipment - ever descended on the Tower of London? If such a study was conducted, how recently was it done, and what were the results?
Or, if any of the above-mentioned places were ever truly visited by the departed, why would that same spirit be around today? Surely, some enlightened entity, or some member of the clergy has invited each of the wandering, troubled spirits to, "go to the light." If we accept the premise that some spirits return to deliver a message, surely all that can be said to the living has already been said over the centuries? At Borley, just the constant ruckus and hooliganism would surely convince more than one departed spirt there were better lodgings elsewhere!
If you were a ghost, how long would haunt your surroundings before giving up, or before you found something better to do?
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. . . "