Borley Rectory in Essex, built in 1862, should have been an ordinary Victorian clergyman's house. However, just a year after its construction, unexplained footsteps were heard within the house, and from 1900 until it burned down in 1939 numerous paranormal phenomena, including phantom coaches and shattering windows, were observed.

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Product Description

Borley Rectory in Essex, built in 1862, should have been an ordinary Victorian clergyman's house. However, just a year after its construction, unexplained footsteps were heard within the house, and from 1900 until it burned down in 1939 numerous paranormal phenomena, including phantom coaches and shattering windows, were observed. In 1929 the house was investigated by the Daily Mail and paranormal researcher Harry Price, and it was he who called it 'the most haunted house in England.' Price also took out a lease of the rectory from 1937 to 1938, recruiting forty-eight 'official observers' to monitor occurences. After his death in 1948, the water was muddied by claims that Price's findings were not genuine paranormal activity, and ever since there has been a debate over what really went on at Borley Rectory. Paul Adams, Eddie Brazil and Peter Underwood here present a comprehensive guide to the history of the house and the ghostly (or not) goings-on there.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120467 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-09
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

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Customer Reviews

It went bump in the night...
...when I threw it across the room in disgust. This book appears to be mostly unquestioning, and as intellectually rigorous as "Noddy Paints the Policeman". Apart from being poorly designed, typeset and randomly indexed, the book is for Borley zealots who want to believe, as evidenced by the comment on Chris Ryder's assessment. I'm very sorry, but in this day and age, this tome is a dubious use of scarce trees. Local historian Andrew Clarke's effort on the excellent Foxearth & District Historical Society website remains the definitive (tree-friendly) work on Borley.

'Continually condescending, arrogant, irritating'
I couldn't resist starting my review with an extract, from their book, about me and my book. "One might be able to take the 'Bones of Borley' more seriously if its tone was not continually condescending, arrogant, irritating, full of 'nudge nudge, wink wink' innuendo and one man's personal interpretation of events". These guys are definitely up for some pretty robust reviews, one would imagine. They can certainly dish it out.

Actually, I've counted Paul and Eddie as friends for some years, and you will see from the Acknowledgments that I helped them with materials and advice. It is rare to find other people who share my fascination for the history of Borley Rectory. I found the book interesting, and it is a useful guide for the study of the history of the Borley Rectory affair. I only rate it four-stars despite the enormous work that Paul and Eddie have put into the book because it is not really an introductory book and the history of the affair that occupies the first part of the book adds little new. The research into all the characters and incidents that make up the bulk of the book is useful, but occasionally confusing, as it does not always sift speculation from hard fact and it misses out some of the absurdities of the case, such as the presence of the largest lavender oil manufacturers in Britain (Stafford Allen) being situated just over the brow of the hill, and obviously accounting for the incidents of 'paranormal smells of lavender' and 'perfumes'.

I'd say it was essential reading for the Borley Rectory buff, along with such literary curiosities as 'The Final Analysis', 'The Widow of Borley' and 'We faked the ghosts...'. I wouldn't suggest it for anyone new to the saga: for that, I'd recommend Harry Prices's two books, taken with a glass of Whiskey and a very large pinch of salt.

A missed opportunity
A timely companion to the Borley Rectory investigation this may be (it is 60 years since the death of its proponent Harry Price) but it misses the wood for the trees. Like so many writers, Underwood et al, miss the real story. Price was socially isolated by various societies (including the SPR) at the time of the Borley investigation. He needed money as well as academic and public recognition and hoped Borley would be the key. Repressed at home, and cold-shouldered in the world of psychic research he found solace in the drawing out of this mad drama. Unfortunately for this book, Andrew Clarke's The Bones of Borley is still the best Borley resource because it actually tests Harry Price's investigation, points out discrepancies, solves mysteries and challenges readers to accept that Borley Rectory was the backdrop to a well-told ghost story. They should re-read Harry Price's own books to tell them this. I'm rather excited to learn that Richard Morris, the author of the first independent biography of Harry Price, is writing an unauthorised biography of Peter Underwood. I look forward to this immensely.