THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN ENGLAND – BORLEY RECTORY
(Built in (1862-1863) – burned down in 1939 – demolished in 1944)
‘What would be the use of an old lady like me, waiting to meet her maker, telling a whole lot of fairy stories?’
The simple, clear and convincing words of Ethel Bull at 93 years of age, when questioned about her previous home being the most haunted house in England…Borley Rectory…
In 1892 Ethel’s father, the Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bull died, leaving his son, Reverend Harry Bull in the care of the family and to deal with the paranormal phenomena which would soon manifest itself in greater proportions.
The first major sighting at Borley Rectory – the most haunted house in England – located nr Sudbury on the Suffolk-Essex border – built by Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bull:
On a late afternoon (July 28th 1900), Ethel Bull and two of her sisters, having just spent part of the day at a party, strolled idly through the grounds of their home. In the distance (about 40 yards away), they all became aware of what seemed to be a nun materializing before their eyes. The girls recoiled as they watched the ghostly apparition of the nun move in an eerie gliding motion by the stream.
Another sister who was watching her sister’s strange behaviour from the rectory hurriedly joined them. On noticing the phantom, she seemed unfazed – bravely approaching it, but then paused in her stride as the misty spectre faded into nothingness.
Some say the apparitions are linked to a murky and sad tale. It was thought that the rectory was built on the site of a thirteenth century monastery and was interconnected to a nearby convent in Bures. Legend has it that a nun had fallen in love with a monk, but they had both been killed before eloping.
This story does tie in with the unearthing of part of the walls of an earlier building dating to the time of the monastery.
Although later accounts add more confusion, as they state that the discovery of another house once standing on the site of Borley Rectory was revealed along with a female skull and jawbone. It is believed the skull belonged to a nun of French origin named, Marie Lairre, who had eloped to England with her lover, only to have been betrayed by him and murdered. He had then buried her in the cellar of the house.
Further sightings of the nun were reported on many occasions. One of those times began as the night was breaking when Ethel and the family cook were chatting outside. All of a sudden, the apparition of the nun appeared leaning on the gate before fading and disappearing.
Ethel also described a particularly terrifying experience which took place in her bedroom. This time she awoke to find an elongated man in a tall hat looming down on her as he stood over her bed. As soon as Ethel reacted to the spirit, it disappeared.
The Bull’s paranormal experiences came to an end when Harry Bull died on June 9th 1927, leaving Borley Rectory vacant for over a year.
On October 2nd 1928, the Reverend Guy Eric Smith moved into the rectory with his wife. After experiencing a considerable amount of paranormal phenomena, including servant bells ringing by themselves, the Smith’s contacted the Daily Mirror newspaper and asked if they could be put in touch with the Society for Psychical Research.
On June 10th 1929 the Daily Mirror sent a reporter to interview the Smith’s and on June 12th 1929, Harry Price was asked by the Mirror to investigate Borley Rectory. Price visited the Rectory and was impressed and convinced by the paranormal events at the rectory (most he associated with poltergeist activity).
Borley Rectory would remain an obsession in Price’s life…believing he thought – a genuine haunting.
Harry Price died in 1948 at the age of 67 years, but not before conducting further experiments into the most haunted house in England.
Part two – The Psychic Investigation Of Borley Rectury – click on this
Read the Enfield poltergeist – click on this
Back to home page click on this NB: You can buy Harry Price’s book, ‘The Haunting Of Borley Rectory’ by clicking on the amazon link, which is located bottom right of the home page.
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By J Reynolds (aka eyepriestess)
(Copyright 2009, J Reyonlds @ World Mysteries And True Ghost Tales)
Good story!
I noticed that Europe has a lot more haunting than we do in the USA. Probably because Europe is a lot older Country.
We don’t have a lot of castles !
This would be a good place for Ghost Hunters International to check out
Ha ha, the castles, they’re nothing at the side of the tower of London, or the London dungeons which will be posted hopefully in the next few days.
How are you going on Nancy with the activity in your home? I meant to ask my brother the other day about the possibility of electrical faults in your home as he is a certified electrician amongst many other things.
Hi eyepriestess,
It has been pretty quiet lately. My husband returned to the bedroom and he hasn’t seen any women ghost lately. I think they are gone., since I threw the dream catcher and candles out.
He is begining to think that he was only dreaming. He was a non believer before this all started happening. I had things happen before I met him and after my former husband died, but I never told him. I didn’t want to scare him off. LOL
I think I might have had poltergeist activity for a long time., even before I met him.
By the way, what is the difference between a poltergeist and a Ghost.
What I see is completely different from what my husband saw.
A poltergeist is considered to be a noisy ghost who likes to draw attention to itself, a bit like a teenager does whom a poltergeist seems to be attracted to. However, it is not always teenagers who are the attraction for poltergeist activity. People under considerable stress are also targets as you are in a weakened state and this is desirable as the poltergeist can easily drain energy from you.
A ghost can be either a spirit who is involved with/or referred to as a residual haunting (a playback of an energy which is imprinted into a building of say a major event, or even just a normal every day event, a bit like a video recording). The memory of this event is imprinted for ever maybe. For instance, maybe Anne Bolyn who was one of King Henry VIII’s wives could probably haunt the room in which she was housed before her execution. This is because there would most likely have been intense fear emanating from her which seeps into the stone surroundings and causes a great and powerful energy build up resulting in a residual haunting playback. This might be seen as her pacing the room. Have a look at the thread, ‘The stone tape theory’ in the forum – click on this
Or the ghost could be a visitor to our realm, for instance if someone has died unexpectadly and is unaware of this and has not moved on yet. Also, people who have died in terrible circumstances (like murder, or an accident) and are not able to move on without answers. They then remain in order to discover the reasons behind their death and ignore the ‘light’ so to speak.
What my husband saw was women in long gowns with long hair. He said that they kind of floated.
He said it looked like they were sorting through bundles of clothing. He said at first he only saw two and when he sat up to wake me. It looked liked there was a third by the door. It was almost like the one by the door was in charge, because the two closest to the bed turned and looked at her and then they sort of floated away through the door.
Another night it was a woman and Child. Another night it was a woman and it looked like she was putting a gown on over her head. At first he thought it was me and wondered why I was changing clothes in the middle of the night, but then noticed I was sleeping on the other side of the bed.
I had seen misty images that looked like they were levitating, but I never saw them take form. I kept it to myself, until my husband told me what he saw. I was so relieved when he told me what he saw, because then I knew I wasn’t going nuts LOL
This started happening two years ago, after I brought the Dream catcher home .
“Native Americans are big believers in the inspirations that dreams can hold, and they use intricate webs of wood, threads, and feathers, called dream catchers, to capture all dreams, good and bad. According to legend, bad dreams get trapped in the web and eventually burn up. Good dreams are stored in the dream catcher’s feathers, where they stay until they can be dreamed again”.
Dream catchers are considered by many to be toys of the occult, similar to taro cards and ouija boards and i would not recommend them to anyone.
Did you buy the dream catcher as second hand by the way?
I bet you were relieved to have your husband witness the paranormal, but many do put it down to imagination in the end. I wonder if they think that their last phone call was also imagination – if you get my point, lol.
My brother gave me the dream catcher. I think he bought it at a swap meet
My brother is really into the Indian culture. He has been searching our ancestry. My grandmother was Oldsage Indian, but we haven’t been able to trace her tribe. I think she was half Indian on her Mother’s side. She never admitted her Indian blood until late in life.
I kind of drew it out of her.
The way my husband discribed the women, he didn’t think they were Indian. He said that it looked like they were sorting through clothing and they would hold each item up, as to inspect it. He said it looked like undergarment women wore in the 1890s.
He was so shook up the first time he saw them, he woke me up and we sat in the living room the rest of the night.
[...] Read part one – click on this [...]
Why are some people more receptive of seeing ghosts then others?
Malinda,
I know that alot of people mess around with ouija boards and other forms of the occult and then ask for trouble by not protecting themselves first. But some don’t know that you have to do this, i understand that. Then these people experience the paranormal, usually the bad side of it.
As for people who see and communicate with ghosts, well you are either born that way or some are able develop their psychic abilities through meditation, but again this has to be done with care. And ‘closing down’ methods should be used.
Hi Nancy, I ‘m not sure if it really is more haunted here in comparision with the U.S.. New orleans is supposed to be very haunted also Boston. Actually I’ve known more people including myself who have seen ghosts in the U.S. I’m not talking for all of Europe,but here in France they are kind of skeptical.
The story behind the skull that was found is so sad. I wonder, was her lover deceiving her from the beginning, or did something on the property cause him to go mad?
Nobody really knows what happened for sure, but it was a bizarre find after the ouija had told them it was there…wow!