Borley Rectory
📅 1863–1939 · 📍 Borley, Essex, England
Once called “the most haunted house in England”, this Victorian rectory was said to be haunted by a ghostly nun, a phantom coach and writing that appeared on the walls.
What happened
Borley Rectory was built in 1863 next to a village church in Essex. Stories soon circulated of a ghostly nun walking a path in the grounds, said to be the spirit of a nun who had an ill-fated romance with a monk.
In 1929 the Daily Mirror asked psychic researcher Harry Price to investigate. During the tenancy of the Reverend Lionel Foyster and his wife Marianne in the early 1930s, there were reports of bells ringing, objects thrown and messages scrawled on the walls asking for help.
Price rented the house in 1937 and recruited volunteers to record events. The rectory was gutted by fire in 1939 and demolished in 1944. After Price’s death, a report by members of the Society for Psychical Research accused him of exaggerating and possibly faking evidence.
Timeline
- 1863Borley Rectory is built.
- 1929Harry Price begins investigating for the Daily Mirror.
- 1930–1935Wall writings and poltergeist activity during the Foyster tenancy.
- 1939The rectory is destroyed by fire.
- 1956An SPR report casts doubt on Price’s investigation.
🔍 The evidence
- Photographs of the wall writings and Price’s published investigation notes.
- Statements from residents and volunteer observers.
🤨 The skeptic’s view
- The 1956 SPR report concluded much of the phenomena could be explained by natural causes, fraud and Price’s showmanship.
- Marianne Foyster was suspected by several investigators of producing some of the wall writings.
Related reports on the map
News stories that mention this case and reports from the area around Borley.