The ghosts of Borley;: Annals of the haunted rectory

by Peter Underwood

'The Ghosts of Borley' (1973) was the first complete record of theunique Borley Rectory hauntings, detailing all the evidence known aboutthis notorious haunted house from the early days of the Rev. H. D. E.Bull who built Borley Rectory in 1863, through the incumbencies of theRev. Harry Bull, the Rev. Guy Eric Smith and the Rev. Lionel Foyster, to the investigations by Harry Price and other members of the Society forPsychical Research (SPR).

Reports of apparently paranormal activity -including appearances of the famous phantom nun - were still beingreceived from the now desolate site of the rectory, its immediatevicinity and the church just across the road where many of the peoplewho figure in the story now lie buried.

Underwood studied andinvestigated the Borley case for thirty years, personally meeting andinterviewing practically everyone connected with it. Originally intended for publication in the 1950s, Underwood's 'Borley manuscript wasshelved due to the release in 1956 of the 'The Haunting of BorleyRectory' (also known as the 'Borley Report'), which was severelycritical of Price's investigation.

However following the publication of'An Examination of the 'Borley Report'' (1969), a defence of Price byRobert J. Hastings, the foundations were set for Underwood's 'BorleyDossier' to finally be released a few years later. Tabori was literaryexecutor to the Harry Price estate with access to all relevant material. Underwood then took over as executor, and in recognition for his workwas presented with the famous Great Bell of Borley that hung in thecourtyard from 1863 to 1943 and at Price's home from 1943 to 1973.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

(1923/2014): Author, broadcaster, historian of the occult; investigator of the paranormal.

Born in Letchworth in Hertfordshire, Underwood wrote prolifically on ghosts and haunted places within the United Kingdom, and was a leading expert on ‘the most haunted house in England’, Borley Rectory.

An early formative experience came at the age of nine, on the day he learnt of his father’s death; that night, he awoke to see an apparition of his father at the foot of the bed.

Around the same time, he was fascinated to learn of a ghost story associated the old house at Rosehall - where his maternal grandparents lived for a time; it contained a bedroom where guests claimed to see the figure of a headless man..

It was at this young age that Underwood's interest in hauntings and psychic matters began to take root.

On January 1942, Underwood was called up for active service with the Suffolk Regiment. After collapsing at a rifle range at Bury St Edmunds, a serious chest ailment was diagnosed. He was discharged, and returned to his employment at the publishing firm J.M. Dent & Sons.

One of his early investigations was the Borley Rectory haunting, where, over a period of years, Underwood traced and personally interviewed almost every living person who had been connected with the mysterious events surrounding the place.

Underwood built upon the legacy of the work of Harry Price, who had investigated Borley before him. Together with Paul Tabori (literary executor of the Price Estate), Underwood was able to publish all his findings in The Ghosts of Borley (1973).

In his autobiography No Common Task (1983), Underwood remarked that ”98% of reported hauntings have a natural and mundane explanation, but it is the other 2% that have interested me for more than forty years”.

Having joined The Ghost Club back in 1947 - at the personal invitation of Harry Price, Underwood was to become its President for over thirty years: from 1960 to 1993.

Underwood was a long-standing member of the Society for Psychical Research and the Savage Club. In 1976, a bust of him was sculpted by Patricia Finch - winner of the Gold Medal for Sculpture in Venice.

In recognition of his more than seventy years of paranormal investigations, Underwood became the Patron of The Ghost Research Foundation (founded in Oxford), which termed him the King of Ghost Hunters.

Reviews

[Jennifer Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really informative and interesting and very enjoyable read.

[Hollis Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know how to write a ghost story, read about real ghosts. There's no better place to start than one of the most famous in the UK.

Important safety tip: Don't read when alone in a hotel room, in a foreign country, with no other distractions. You will not sleep for days.

[Nicholas · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting, if dry, history of the hauntings at Borley Rectory. Although the abundance of names and zipping back and forth in chronology gave me a headache, some of the imagery described in this haunting book was enough to have made it worth reading.

[Deanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting place to visit, though sadly the rectory burnt down. Do find it hard to believe that this is the most haunted house in England, surely there are other contenders.