4.1- Borley Rectory
Reputed to be the most haunted house in England, the story of Borley Rectory is filled with drama, betrayal and family secrets.
The Bulls of Borley
You might expect that the most haunted house in England would be an ancient place with a long history and plenty of gruesome deaths to its name. But Borely Rectory is surprisingly modern. Built by the Reverand Henry D. Bull in 1864, the house wasn’t even a hundred years old by the time is burned down in 1939.
The Bull family lived in Borley Rectory for most of its lifespan, with all of the fourteen siblings (expect the eldest) being born there. The children seem to have been very attached to the place, with the girls growing to women there and then remaining in the house once their brother had taken over as rector.
It is these women who perpetuate the stories of Borley, with many contemporary accounts crediting Reverend Bull’s daughter Ethel as being the one who first told the famous story of the damned nun and her monk lover, which would later evolving into the Borley poltergeist and the headless monk.
The timeline is full of confusing names and dates. There is an invaulable resource on the Foxearth Locals History website which lists all the players in the saga of Borley.
Borley Unchained
Once the second Reverand Bull had passed away, the living at Borley passed to Reverand Guy Eric Smith and his wife Mabel. It was this couple who first brought Borley to the attention of the general public by writing a letter to the Daily Mail, in which they complained of the haunting at Borley and asked to be put in touch with the Society for Psychical Research. This event can be seen as the real beginning of the Borley story. Once the article was out in the world it drew attention from all sorts of people, including the psychic researcher Harry Price.
Harry Price
Budding psychic researcher Harry PRice became obssessed with Borley Rectory and made it his life’s work to fully investigate the reported disturbances at the house. Over the course of two decades, Harry tried to discover the source of apparently supernatural happenings. Sadly for Harry, many of the later eye witnesses were unreliable and his methods were called in to question. You can read a more detailed account of Harry’s activities at Borley on the Harry Price website.