Original subtitles

[prayers, indistinct]

[Narrator] Borley Rectory, lying on the periphery of the tiny hamlet whose name it bears,

was once christened by paranormal investigator Harry Price

"The Most Haunted House in England".

A wealth of people, including five successive rectors,

their wives, their families, as well as a group of select paranormal investigators,

all claim to have experienced paranormal activity within the house and its grounds.

So much has been published about Borley Rectory,

that it seems almost inconceivable that anything new could possibly be unearthed.

Surprisingly, this is not the case.

This is a genuine photograph taken in 1937, of Harry Price's ghost hunting kit.

Among the numerous items included in his equipment

were felt over-shoes, steel tape for measuring room dimensions, drawing materials,

flashlights, a bowl of mercury for detecting tremors,

filaments, for detecting movement,

thermographs to measure any temperature variants in any of the controlled rooms,

tapes for sealing doors and windows,

and first aid supplies, including a flask of brandy in case anyone fainted.

Price was also in the habit of taking a considerable amount of photographic equipment into an investigation.

Whilst Price's still photographic studies of the rectory have been widely circulated,

not a single frame of film shot on any of the movie cameras has ever been seen.

The rectory had been built in 1863 by the Reverend Henry Bull,

a man regarded by his parish as something of a spiritualist,

who had oft recounted seeing the ghost of a nun, rumoured in local parts

to have been buried alive within the walls of a monastery that had once existed on the site.

Indeed, it was said so influenced was he by the beliefs,

not only had he built an octagonal summer house for the sole purpose of spying upon the phantom,

but in time, that he had been driven to brick up a dining room window,

to prevent her from looking in on family meals.

[scream]

His four daughters recounted a variety of alarming experiences, inside and outside the rectory.

— Ethel, look! It's the ghost. — Ghost? What nonsense.

I'll go and speak to it.

[birdsong]

I've had many communications with the spirits.

Indeed, one can hail a spectre here as easily as one can hail a friend.

The only way for a spirit, if ignored, to make contact with the living,

is by means of some violent manifestation.

I do declare that...

upon my death, were I discontented, I would adopt such a means of communication myself.

[laughs and coughs]

[Narrator] With its legend now firmly established,

and with such reports going undenied by the Reverend Bull,

indeed, he had, on numerous occasions, even threatened to return and haunt the place himself,

the rectory's reputation as a haunted place became firmly entrenched.

At the age of forty—nine, Harry Bull marries Ivy.

And the Bull sisters, who expected to spend the rest of their days at the rectory, are forced to leave.

Upon Harry's death, whispers begin that the rector was murdered by Ivy.

However, suspicions abound that the rumours may have originated from the Bull sisters...

trying to discredit Harry's will.

In 1949, a book was privately published by A.C. Henning, last rector of Borley.

It was called "Haunted Borley", in which he stated his belief that the phenomena at Borley were due to either

the celebration of the Black Mass, or to witchcraft. Or possibly to both.

An elderly parishioner reported that when she first came to Borley, there was said to be a witch.

Not a woman, but a man.

Two decades later, it was the turn of the Reverend Smith and his wife.

During the first weeks of their tenancy, Mrs Smith made a gruesome discovery in the library.

Finding no reason why the skull should be preserved or hidden in the library,

Smith reverently had the relic buried in the churchyard.

[church bell chimes]

Soon after however, Mr and Mrs Smith became aware of "certain phenomena".

[muffled whispers]

These whispers were heard several times afterwards, although no actual words were distinguishable.

Other phenomena experienced included mysterious bell ringing,

keys continually falling from their locks,

and slow deliberate footsteps, patrolling the passages and upper rooms.

As with the Bull sisters, apparitions too were witnessed,

by both Mrs Smith and maids in her employment.

The sight of this figure so disturbed one of the maids, that she left the household after only two days of service.

[knocking]

Mrs Smith? V.C. Wall, your husband contacted my editor.

[Mrs Smith] From the Psychic Research Society?

— Err...Daily Mirror. — I think there's been some misunderstanding?

Mrs Smith, I believe you've been at the mercy of ghosts?

[loud knock]

[door creaks]

[Narrator] But the story of Borley Rectory's notoriety begins a little later, in 1929...

with the Daily Mirror journalist, Mr V.C. Wall.

[Mr V.C. Wall] Ghostly figures of headless coachmen.

A nun, believed to have been bricked up in the walls, that appears and vanishes mysteriously.

[loud knock and scream]

A screaming girl at the window of the blue room, and dragging footsteps in empty hails.

The scene of the ghostly visitations is the rectory at Borley, a few miles from Long Melford, Suffolk.

It is a building erected on part of the site of a great monastery which,

in the middle ages, was the scene of a gruesome tragedy.

The present rector, the Reverend G.E. Smith and his wife,

made the rectory their residence, in the face of warnings by previous occupiers.

Since their arrival, they have been puzzled and startled by a series of...

peculiar happenings, which cannot be explained

and which confirm rumours they heard before moving in.

The villagers dread the neighbourhood of the rectory after dark, and will not pass it.

Daily Mirror, June 1929.

[owl hooting]

[Narrator] Mr Wall subsequently spent the weekend at the rectory

and sent a further breathless report of his experiences.

[Mr V.C. Wall] With a photographer, I have just completed a vigil of several hours

in the haunted wood, at the back of Borley Rectory.

This wood, and the whole neighbourhood of the rectory,

is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of a groom and a nun,

who attempted to elope one night, several hundred years ago,

but were apparently caught in the act.

Although we saw only one of the manifestations which have,

according to residents, occurred frequently in recent years,

this by itself was peculiar enough.

It was the appearance of a mysterious light, in a disused wing of the building.

An appearance which cannot be explained, because on investigation of the deserted wing,

it was ascertained that there was no light inside,

although the watchers outside could still see it shining through a window.

[door creaks and closes]

[telephone rings]

[Narrator] It began innocuously enough for Harry Price, with a phone call.

[Harry Price] The news editor of a national newspaper telephoned me,

saying that the Reverend G.E. Smith had appealed to him for help.

When I replaced the receiver, I little dreamt that there was ten years work ahead of me,

probing the mystery of what was to become the best authenticated case of haunting

in the annals of psychical research.

[Narrator] Price travelled to Borley the following day.

Let me assure you, you'll get your report on the ghostly activity

which you may then present to the bishop.

I'm well versed in dealing with delicate situations such as these.

[Narrator] The rector and his wife, says Price, confirmed the strange events and added numerous other details.

What is Psychical Research?

A popular opinion says that it means going to séances,

holding hands in the dark, singing hymns and perhaps getting in touch with your dead relatives.

[Narrator] Harry was a former engineer, whose marriage to a rich wife

meant that he could spend his time

— and, some rumoured, her money — investigating the paranormal.

Psychical Research is a science, and is rapidly becoming an exact science.

Initially, his focus leant towards exposing psychic frauds.

If he initially had any doubts, Price soon experienced strange events first—hand

and convinced of the haunting's legitimacy, told his story to the world.

[owl hooting]

[Harry Price] After tea on the day of my first visit, and after another search of the house and grounds,

Mr Wall and I arranged that when it was dusk,

we would take up our vigil in the garden for a long observational period.

[whispers] There she is...

[owl hooting]

[glass cracking]

[glass shatters]

[rain]

[Harry Price] The evening continued with further phenomena.

A candlestick, hurled down the stairwell...

later followed by a rain of pebbles.

Bells rang of their own volition.

Even some of the bell pulls could be seen swinging of their own accord when we visited them.

[bell rings]

Hmm...

[loud thumps]

[distant footsteps]

Hmm...

[loud thunderstorm]

[thunderstorm continues]

[Harry Price] After supper, it was suggested by the Misses Bull that a séance should be held in the blue room.

Although it was late, I consented.

Harry assured us that he would make provision for us in his will but... he never did, Mr Wall.

I suspect he was not given the chance.

They still see Harry, wandering the halls in his old plum dressing gown,

clutching the small wallet to his chest.

You suspect... murder at the parsonage?

We wish to converse with our brother and clarify some... private matters.

If any entity is present here tonight, will it please make itself known.

[faint knock]

[Mr V.C. Wall.] Our first attempts were naturally to ascertain the identity of the rapper.

We asked it if it were the nun in the old legend, or one of the grooms.

And a single rap, denoting "No", was the reply.

Thank you, for revealing your presence to us.

Will you answer some questions that we put to you?

Three taps for Yes, one tap for No,

and two taps if the answer is doubtful or unknown.

Do you understand?

Three tapsA

Might I ask if perhaps you're the nun of the old legend?

[one tap]

Very well. Might you be one of the grooms?

[one tap]

Hmm...

Is it your footsteps one hears in this house?

Three tapsA

Do you wish to... worry or annoy anybody here?

[one tap]

Do you merely wish to attract attention?

Three tapsA

If we had a medium here...

do you think...

you'd be able to tell us what the matter is?

Three tapsA

Perhaps we should ask whether it were the late Reverend Harry Bull?

[three loud knocks]

[Harry Price] At this juncture, I asked the Misses Bull

whether they might wish to question the entity, the alleged Harry Bull,

as to certain private affairs of the family.

The questions asked by the Mrs Bull cannot be printed here.

Hmm...

[glass shatters]

[distant crash]

[rapid knocking]

[floorboa rds crea k]

[Narrator] Shortly after Price's first visit, the Smiths left the rectory.

There were suspicions that their reason for abandoning the house were the unquiet spirits.

The Smiths stated that it was the property's lack of amenities.

For a while, the house stood empty,

leaving whatever walked the corridors at Borley Rectory, to walk alone.

Several vicars refused the post before a new reverend could be found for the parish.

The Reverend Lionel Algernon Foyster arrived in Borley in October 1930.

His wife, Marianne, was young enough to be his daughter.

[music: Me and the Man in the Moon] fJfJ

[Narrator] After the society life of London,

the backwater parish of Borley must have seemed decidedly provincial.

The intrigue of the rectory's reputation, however, must have had its charms.

[door creaks closed]

[whoosh]

[Lionel Foyster] October the sixteenth, 1930.

First experiences of anything out of the ordinary.

A voice, calling Marianne's name.

Footsteps heard by self, Marianne, Adelaide and... man working in house.

Harry Bull, seen at different times by Marianne, between study and bedroom above.

[Narrator] An astonishing new series of phenomena began, reaching their apex in June 1931.

The focus appearing to be the rector's wife.

[faint knocks and whisper]

[door creaks]

[scream and crashing]

[Lionel Foyster] November the fourth.

Report that a shadowy form, said by visitor to the house and

by former occupants to be seen in room over kitchen, is true.

[clock chimes]

[door creaks]

Something nasty behind the curtain gave it to me.

[Narrator] Price stated that between October 1929 and January 1932,

over two thousand paranormal phenomena occurred in the rectory,

including: voices, footsteps, production disappearance and transference of objects,

bell ringing, and the throwing and dropping of bottles.

Most infamous however, were the messages written on the rectory walls.

In 1935, the Foysters left Borley.

Harry Price seized his chance.

The rectory's reputation well established, Price took out a twelve-month lease on the property

while simultaneously placing an advert in the Times

inviting people of leisure and intellect to assist in his investigations.

[Harry Price] Haunted House — Responsible persons of leisure and intelligence, intrepid, critical and unbiased are invited

to join a rota of observers in a year's night and day investigation of alleged haunted house in Home Counties.

Printed instructions supplied.

[Narrator] With forty—eight unpaid volunteers from a variety of occupations,

Price drew a strict set of guidelines,

issued to each volunteer in a volume christened "The Blue Book".

According to these rules, a number of controlled environments were established.

[horse neighs]

[door creaks]

[footsteps]

[thudding on door]

[Narrator] Although minor phenomena were recorded by the investigators,

Nothing occurred during Price's occupation comparable to that during any previous consistent tenancy.

[door creaks shut]

[radio static]

[Narrator] During this time, Price's mind was almost certainly elsewhere.

With his chosen investigators monitoring the rectory,

Price was courting Bonn University and the Ministry of Propaganda,

in the hope of selling his laboratory and, by setting up shop under the Third Reich,

gain the academic credibility in Germany that the British establishment had so long denied him.

During this period, there was however one new development.

The daughter of S.H. Glanville, Price's leading investigator,

obtained hitherto unknown information about the supposed murdered nun, via means of a planchet.

Who is there?

What is your name?

How old were you, when you passed over?

Were you a novice?

When did you pass over?

Are you under the wall?

Are you at the end of the wall?

[whispered] Yes.

Where did you hear Mass?

Do you have a message?

[whispered] Chant... light... Mass.

Do you want it for yourself?

[whispered] Yes.

Why?

[whispered] I can't.

Whose fault was this?

[whispered] Waldegrave.

Were you murdered?

[whispered] Yes.

When?

[whispered] 1667.

HOW?

[whispered] Strangled.

Will our Mass be sufficient?

[whispered, louder] No.

[Narrator] Further readings also gave insight into the rectory's future.

Does anyone want to speak to us?

Who are you?

"Sunex Amures. Mean to burn the rectory".

Go to the rectory, and you will see us...

[echoed] enter into our own time.

Under the ruins...

you will find bone of murdered wardens.

Under the ruins is proof of the haunting.

Understanding tells the story of murder that happened there.

In which room will the fire start?

Why can't you give us proof here?

[Narrator] On February the twenty-seventh 1939, a year to the day of the séance,

Borley Rectory burnt down.

Throughout the immolation, apparitions were reported by several witnesses.

— The end of Borley Rectory? — Not likely.

You don't need a house to be haunted.

[Narrator] In 1943, Price dug up the floor of one of the cellars.

Portions of a skull were discovered. They belonged to a young woman.

When Harry Price died in 1948,

he had presented one of the best ghost stories of all time.

Yet following his death,

the debate upon the legitimacy of the haunting, and Price's investigation of it, have raged.

On one side, Price was criticised for tampering with, at times even manufacturing, some of the phenomena.

On the other hand, many reports aiming to discredit Price

surpress a wealth of testimony, independent of the investigation,

which support the legitimacy of the haunting.

It has been said that any ghost story tells more of its teller than of the ghost,

that perhaps these tales of supernatural beings invading our lives

are actually solemn meditations of what may be missing from them.

Fears and longings called to life.

Emotions projected and printed upon stone and timber.

Borley Rectory certainly seemed to draw eccentric characters into its fold.

Were they drawn to its energies, or did they merely feed upon them?

Perhaps the combination of local reputation and eccentric behaviour

was too good an opportunity for a lover of publicity such as Harry Price to resist.

But beyond the notoriety, beyond the legends and the debate,

the inevitable question remains:

Was Borley Rectory truly "The Most Haunted House in England"?

Subtitles by Marc Morris © 2019 Nucleus Films Ltd

Thanks to Rachel Knightley.