Susan Hill

The truth about ‘the most haunted house in England’

Borley Rectory was once a byword for spookiness, but occasional seismic activity may explain some of the reported disturbances

Headless coachmen and nuns in dark habits were among many ghostly apparitions reported at Borley Rectory. [Harry Price/Mary Evans Picture Library] 
issue 08 October 2022

Place and story are little remembered now. The rectory in Essex was severely damaged by fire in 1939. But any old house with an unpleasant atmosphere, especially isolated, damp, dark and unmodernised, was once described as ‘like Borley Rectory’.

Judging by this long ‘story of a ghost story’, the place showed its true nature from the beginning.

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