The "unfortunate" and "coincidental" deaths of Rev. John Avery and a local village fellow do not excite any suspicion in locals until Inspector Pointer gets involved in the case! Excerpt: "The rector got up from his writing table and laying his pipe down, stood a moment as though collecting his thoughts. A distinguished-looking man of around forty was John Avery, with his tall spare figure, his clever, scholarly face. He was frowning as he absent-mindedly straightened a yellow china jar on the corner of the mantelshelf. Then he returned to his knee-hole table, and, taking an apple from a plate which always stood on the corner, began slowly to eat it, still with a look of abstraction on his face, still with some inner discomfort marking a frown on his fine forehead. The apple automatically disposed of, he drew out his watch and looked at it. Four o'clock. His sister-in-law would probably be in her own sitting-room."

Murder casts a dark shadow over the christening of Lady Lucy and Major Sir Robert Kurland's daughter Elizabeth—even more so when Lucy's own father, the rector, falls under suspicion for the crime . . . Lucy and Robert’s joy in christening their new daughter, surrounded by extended family and loved ones who have gathered in the village of Kurland St. Mary, is only enhanced when Robert’s aunt Rose—now the second wife of Lucy’s father Ambrose—announces that she is with child. However, not everyone is happy about the news, in particular Rose's adult daughter Henrietta and her husband, who fear for their inheritance. Following the christening, Rose’s disagreeable son-in-law Basil Northam threatens to turn afternoon tea in the rectory into an unsightly brawl. The next morning, he is found in the rector’s study, stabbed through the heart with an antique letter opener, clutching a note that appears to implicate the rector himself. As the local justice of the peace, Robert has an obligation to remain unbiased in his investigation of the ghastly crime, even though his prime suspect is a man of the cloth and his wife’s father. But Lucy is under no such obligation. As snow traps the members of the christening party in Kurland St. Mary, she vows to clear her father’s name and bring the cold-blooded culprit to justice. Someone had better start saying their prayers . . .

"Borley Rectory was the house that gained infamy as "the most haunted house in England" after its ten-year-long paranormal investigation by the psychic researcher; Harry Price. Price dedicated his life to uncovering the truth behind the paranormal, leading him to become one of the most well-known psychical researchers of all time. It was his investigation into Borley Rectory which by far became the most famous case in Price's long career, eventually leading to the Victorian house being crowned the 'most haunted in England'. This book ... document[s] his ten-year investigation into exploring the nature of paranormal phenomena surrounding Borley Rectory. The rectory was attributed to classic poltergeist activity, wall-writing, mysterious fires and supernatural manifestations. Most notable of these is that of the figure of a nun, known for walking across the garden. Also appearing was a spectral carriage and team of horses driven by a headless coachman. It could be said that the story of Borley Rectory is as much a story of a haunted house and ghosts as it is about the living. Borley's saga includes sensationalist tabloid headlines, a scandalous affair and a captivating investigator whose discoveries are still questioned to this day"--Amazon.com.

'The Ghosts of Borley' (1973) was the first complete record of the unique Borley Rectory hauntings, detailing all the evidence known about this notorious haunted house from the early days of the Rev. H. D. E. Bull who built Borley Rectory in 1863, through the incumbencies of the Rev. Harry Bull, the Rev. Guy Eric Smith and the Rev. Lionel Foyster, to the investigations by Harry Price and other members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR).Reports of apparently paranormal activity - including appearances of the famous phantom nun - were still being received from the now desolate site of the rectory, its immediate vicinity and the church just across the road where many of the people who figure in the story now lie buried. Underwood studied and investigated the Borley case for thirty years, personally meeting and interviewing practically everyone connected with it.Originally intended for publication in the 1950s, Underwood's 'Borley manuscript was shelved due to the release in 1956 of the 'The Haunting of Borley Rectory' (also known as the 'Borley Report'), which was severely critical of Price's investigation. However following the publication of 'An Examination of the 'Borley Report'' (1969), a defence of Price by Robert J. Hastings, the foundations were set for Underwood's 'Borley Dossier' to finally be released a few years later.Tabori was literary executor to the Harry Price estate with access to all relevant material. Underwood then took over as executor, and in recognition for his work was presented with the famous Great Bell of Borley that hung in the courtyard from 1863 to 1943 and at Price's home from 1943 to 1973.This is a classic account of a mystery that over the decades has continued to fascinate anyone with serious interest in psychical research, 'ghost hunting' and the paranormal in general.

Bell strokes toll out the death of an unknown man, and summon Lord Wimsey to East Anglia to solve the mystery.

This antiquarian volume contains a fascinating monograph on the infamous Borley hauntings, being a discussion and analysis of the 'most haunted house in England'. This text contains a wealth of information on almost innumerable instances of hauntings at this location, along with a description of the last days of the rectory, interesting theories for the causation of the manifestations, and much more besides. This text will appeal to those with an interest in Borley rectory or the supernatural in general, and it would make for a great addition to any personal collection. The chapters of this book include: 'The Story of the 'Most Haunted House in England'', 'Priests Versus Poltergeists: Some Attempts at Exorcism', 'An Exciting Night', 'Another 'Cloud of Witnesses'', 'The Enchanted 'Tea-Garden'', 'A Century of Evidence', 'Some Reader's Queries Answered', and more. We are republishing this vintage book now complete with a new biography of the author.