All language subtitles for Borley.Rectory.2017.1080p.BluRay.x265-INFINITY

[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.