Introduction

When my identity as "The Son of Borley" was made known to the paranormal community, many people starting sharing their experiences at Borley with me. Since establishing a "web page" about Borley on the Internet, the reports have increased. It would appear that even though Borley rectory was destroyed in 1944, the ghosts have refused to die.

It is difficult for me to share these experiences publicly, as I feel an intense link to Borley. I would do nothing to upset the people, or the community. (Request to visitors )

On the other hand, reports of odd happenings continue to accumulate, and it might be best to make them public in order to squelch rumors and to be as truthful as possible.

I can vouch for none of the stories that have been told to me, and pass them along as simply more additions to the Borley Legend.

For example, Tyrone Hopes told me of his visit in 1976:

"I went there with my Mum and Dad. It was a fine, sunny day - very hot. Their was no one else about. I have photos from this time, but their wasn't much to see as the site had been cleared. However, whilst I stood talking to my Dad at the car near the church, my mother went strolling down the lane.

"In the next few seconds, my mother hurried back, obviously worried about something. She said that she's just been showered with gravel - which hit her shoes, and she hadn't seen anyone about. She was in the middle of the lane, maybe 10 to 12 years from the coach house.

"It was rather unnerving that whatever it was could strike in the middle of a hot summer day."

Monica Brown visited Borley in October of 1990 with a tour group. They were allowed inside the church on condition they not discuss the hauntings:

"To this day, I swear it was the coldest I have ever been in my life. We were all just fine until we sat down. As we sat there, the cold seemed to roll toward us from the direction of the altar. It was a sensation I will never forget."

Andrew Collier had an experience at Borley shared by many visitors:

"About 20 years ago I paid a visit to the place one summer afternoon. It was very odd. I tired to take photographs of where the Rectory once stood, but the camera simply wouldn't work. When I turned away, it was fine. Then it eventually jammed altogether.

"As soon as we left Borley, it was fine again."

Cameras aren't the only mechanical devices to malfunction at Borley. Miles Wilson was the victim of yet another tape recorder gone "haywire":

"As a kid, I used to visit Borley with a friend of mine on a regular basis. I have always been fascinated by the place, and it has a magical draw for me.

"I can remember once we stayed late and decided to go into the church. This particular day, we took a tape recorder in and sat down near the front in absolute silence.

"We set the tape recorder going. It was a Nagra model, I think - it was not one of your cheap portables. We sat there for half an hour and just soaked up the atmosphere around us.

"When we left, we returned to the car and played the tape back. Obviously their was a lot of nothing on it, but then we heard someone open a door, move down the aisle, and rustle around us.

"Believe me, their was no one else in the church except my pal and myself. I shall never forget that experience!"

One visitor and his fiancee heard something very unusual in June of 1995:

"We sat outside listening to the very clear sounds of a church choir in full song - at 2:00 a.m.!"

People continue to be fascinated by the most haunted house in England - more than 60 years after it burned to the ground. When the original newspaper articles surfaced in 1929 about phenomena at Borley, motor tours started driving past the site. Road signs are now scarce, and the "locals" are reluctant to talk. They resent the intrusion of the constant flow of ghost hunters.

The Borley grave digger told Rob Hardy in 1990 that "he knew the people who lived in the new house set upon the site of the old rectory, and said they had never heard any unusual noise, never felt a cold spot, and never saw an ectoplasmic nun."

One has to wonder, however, if the residents of Borley have really been denied paranormal visits, or if they simply refuse to talk about them to keep visitors out? After a reporter and a psychic investigator made the place into a tourist attraction in 1929, the wife of the then rector told people the place was not haunted. Then, as now, could the denials simply be attempts to stem publicity and tourists? Perhaps we will never know the full truth about Borley Rectory - the most haunted house in England.