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I know of at least two other Casebook members who are interested in Borley, hence starting this post.
For those unfamiliar with this fascinating mystery, some facts:
Borley is a tiny (and I mean TINY) hamlet in Suffolk, not far from Sudbury. Both the Rectory (destroyed by fire in 1948) and the medieval church were and are reputed to be haunted.
The rectory was made famous by the "ghost hunter" and para-psychologist HARRY PRICE in a book before the war. He had been called in by a daily newspaper to cover a reputed haunting.
It found that the tale of the ghostly apparations, apports, noises, bell-ringing and grey-ladies went back at least to the 1860s when a squire rector of Borley built an ugly double-fronted red-brick home for his enormous family. The Bull's who were squires as well as rectors (the local vicar) had money and the original Bull incumbent was followed by his son (we'll leave first names for the moment), so the property was occupied by the same family from the 1860s to 1927. Even then a cousin took over.
The most famous apparition is of a grey habited nin who walked a particular path in the garden. She was also said to stare through the dining room window (which was blocked up). But there was also a ghostly coach with a headless coachman; noises of crashing china, the servants bells clanged and objects appeared and disappeared.
Later, in the 1930s, the wife of one rector, Marianne Foyster, is an interesting character in herself. She appears to have married the elderly Foyster to provide a home for (illegitimate?) child; moved out and opened a florists shop in SW London; took a lover and later (having left the parish) passed him off as her husband while the real Foyster was an invalid in her home. Did she write messages on the walls of the chilly old house, calling for "light, candles and masses"? Why - was this lonely, bored, attractive highly sexed woman seeking attention? Or was the writer a nun - Marie Laire, as sessions with a ouija board or planchette suggested?
Was the destruction of the old Rectory by fire foretold by a spirit, SUNEX AMURES contacted by a medium?
Even since the rectory was destroyed the church is said to have been a focus for unexplained noises - footsteps on the gravel paths, doors opening; even sounds on a BBC tape-recorder which were heard by no one inside the church at the time.
The highly-regarded Society for Paranormal Research debunked Price's work in the 1950s (after his death) and since theyn the whole issue has remeined controversial.
There are many personalities, mysteries (possible murders), scandal and enigmas tied up in the story. No doubt all will be discussed as the thread develops.
If I have made any minor errors in writing the above (from memory) I apologise, but I know the thrust is right and I am trying to summarise a complex and many layered subject rather than provide an authoritative source.
I now hand over to those who know far more about Borley than do I (although I have visted the site, read widely on the topic and have a few thoughts and ideas to share).
Phil
For those unfamiliar with this fascinating mystery, some facts:
Borley is a tiny (and I mean TINY) hamlet in Suffolk, not far from Sudbury. Both the Rectory (destroyed by fire in 1948) and the medieval church were and are reputed to be haunted.
The rectory was made famous by the "ghost hunter" and para-psychologist HARRY PRICE in a book before the war. He had been called in by a daily newspaper to cover a reputed haunting.
It found that the tale of the ghostly apparations, apports, noises, bell-ringing and grey-ladies went back at least to the 1860s when a squire rector of Borley built an ugly double-fronted red-brick home for his enormous family. The Bull's who were squires as well as rectors (the local vicar) had money and the original Bull incumbent was followed by his son (we'll leave first names for the moment), so the property was occupied by the same family from the 1860s to 1927. Even then a cousin took over.
The most famous apparition is of a grey habited nin who walked a particular path in the garden. She was also said to stare through the dining room window (which was blocked up). But there was also a ghostly coach with a headless coachman; noises of crashing china, the servants bells clanged and objects appeared and disappeared.
Later, in the 1930s, the wife of one rector, Marianne Foyster, is an interesting character in herself. She appears to have married the elderly Foyster to provide a home for (illegitimate?) child; moved out and opened a florists shop in SW London; took a lover and later (having left the parish) passed him off as her husband while the real Foyster was an invalid in her home. Did she write messages on the walls of the chilly old house, calling for "light, candles and masses"? Why - was this lonely, bored, attractive highly sexed woman seeking attention? Or was the writer a nun - Marie Laire, as sessions with a ouija board or planchette suggested?
Was the destruction of the old Rectory by fire foretold by a spirit, SUNEX AMURES contacted by a medium?
Even since the rectory was destroyed the church is said to have been a focus for unexplained noises - footsteps on the gravel paths, doors opening; even sounds on a BBC tape-recorder which were heard by no one inside the church at the time.
The highly-regarded Society for Paranormal Research debunked Price's work in the 1950s (after his death) and since theyn the whole issue has remeined controversial.
There are many personalities, mysteries (possible murders), scandal and enigmas tied up in the story. No doubt all will be discussed as the thread develops.
If I have made any minor errors in writing the above (from memory) I apologise, but I know the thrust is right and I am trying to summarise a complex and many layered subject rather than provide an authoritative source.
I now hand over to those who know far more about Borley than do I (although I have visted the site, read widely on the topic and have a few thoughts and ideas to share).
Phil
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