Borley Rectory : The most Haunted House in England

Borley Rectory

Although Borley rectory was first built in 1863, it wasn't until 1927 that supernatural occurances were first reported. The Reverend Smith and his wife were now residing at the house, and Mrs Smith found a brown paper bag containing a child's skull hidden inside an internal cupboard.

As the discovery was made, the servants bells, although non functional, rang throughout the house, footsteps could be heard and strange lights could be seen at various windows.

Mrs Smith even reported seeing a ghostly carriage, complete with horses.

The Smiths were disturbed by the occurrences, that contacted a local newspaper, and then the Society for Physcical Research, who promptly sent a member to investigate.

A man called Harry Price, a famous investigator, of the time, was sent to the rectory, and as soon as he arrived, a message was tapped out on a mirror frame, stones were thrown and a vase broken.

Mrs Smith, the Reverends wife was suspicious of Price, for as he left, the new phenomena stopped.

In 1929 the Smiths left Borley Rectory, no adequate explanation had ever been reached.

The next family to live at the Rectory, Reverend Foyster and his wife and child, reported to Price, that paranormal activity had continued.

Mrs Foyster had reported strange writing appearing on the walls, and an occasion where her daughter was locked in her bedroom. She herself claimed to have been violently thrown from her bed.

The societies researchers suspected Mrs Foyster, and she later admitted to being , less than honest about the occurrences. She did however insist that some of the incidents were real.

The Foyster left the Rectory in 1937 at which point Price continued his investigations. He encouraged student to spend nights in the house, and he later used their notes and recordings to write 3 books 'The Most Haunted House in England', made the house, and himself very famous.

The house was destroyed in a fire in 1939, which an insurance investigation concluded was deliberately started.

Although the various people living in the house, claimed to be aware of paranormal activity, I would suspect that only the first family, The Smiths, had any genuine claim. They had no reason to make the accusations, whereas the following family and investigators, were already aware of the reports.

More from Witches Ghosts and Weird Stuff!