"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.

This is an expose on the world of psychical research revealing the facts of the infamous hauntings at Borley Rectory in Essex, once claimed to be the most haunted house in England.

The definitive guide to 'the most haunted house in England', new in paperback

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.

A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining the behavior of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. "Roger Clarke tells this [the story that inspired Henry James' The Turn of the Screw] and many other gloriously weird stories with real verve, and also a kind of narrative authority that tends to constrain the skeptical voice within... [An] erudite and richly entertaining book." —New York Times Book Review No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly do those who have been haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world, from the true events that inspired Henry James's classic The Turn of the Screw right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans, and true believers. The cast list includes royalty and prime ministers, Samuel Johnson, John Wesley, Harry Houdini, and Adolf Hitler. The chapters cover everything from religious beliefs to modern developments in neuroscience, the medicine of ghosts, and the technology of ghosthunting. There are haunted WWI submarines, houses so blighted by phantoms they are demolished, a seventeenth-century Ghost Hunter General, and the emergence of the Victorian flash mob, where hundreds would stand outside rumored sites all night waiting to catch sight of a dead face at a window. Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, A Natural History of Ghosts takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.

A natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories 'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today. This is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly did the haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world from the poltergeist of Cock Lane through the true events that inspired The Turn of the Screw and the dark events of Borley Rectory right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans and true believers. His surprising castlist ranges from Samuel Johnson to John Wesley, and from Harry Houdini to Adolf Hitler. Inspired by a childhood spent in two haunted houses, Roger Clarke has spent much of his life trying to see a ghost. Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, A Natural History of Ghosts takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.