Wiles, White, Blood, Farrow (aka Farrant) and Isaaman

 “Seán Manchester’s Vampire Research Society grew out of his previous leadership role in an occult investigation bureau [the British Occult Society]. The society investigates all aspects of ‘supernatural vampire phenomena,’ a task that has led to a variety of research projects, including the famous Highgate Vampire.” — J Gordon Melton, chronicler of vampire topics, Santa Barbara, USA

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Gerald Isaaman, editor of the Hampstead & Highgate Express in those far off distant days, much later recounted his meeting with Seán Manchester in February 1970: "Manchester arrived at the office wearing a black cloak lined with scarlet silk and carrying a cane." He forgot to mention the top hat and tails that were included with the opera cloak and cane. There was also an accompanying young lady, also not mentioned, who was equally formally-attired. It was late in the afternoon and Seán Manchester had no idea how long the interview would take. He and his lady friend were dressed ready to go on to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from the Hampstead offices of the Hampstead & Highgate Express. He frequently attended the opera in those days and continued to do so whilst he lived in London. The now deceased editor reminisced in Jauary 2009:

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"The story of the Highgate Vampire [in a recently published book about London's folklore] is attributed to 1970 reports in the Ham & High, where I was then the editor. It recalled the fantastic events of a few months that year and the following one, which culminated in a TV programme inviting people to decide for themselves what was going on. That resulted in three hundred people, allegedly armed with home-made stakes and Christian crosses, storming the cemetery that night to kill the demon vampire lurking among the decaying tombs."
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The mass vampire hunt at Highgate Cemetery on 13 March 1970, following reports in local and national newspapers, plus a television interview with various witnesses earlier that evening on British television, led to a spate of amateur vampire hunters inflicting themselves on Highgate Cemetery with home-made stakes, crosses, garlic, holy water, but very little knowledge about how to deal with the suspected undead if they encountered it. The president of the British Occult Society had made an appeal on the Today programme at 6.00pm to request the public not to get involved, nor put into jeopardy the investigation already in progress. Not everyone heeded his words. Over the following months a wide variety of independent vampire hunters descended on the graveyard — only to be frightened off by its eerie atmosphere and what they believed might have been the vampire. Some were quickly arrested by police patrolling the area. The public were advised that a full-scale investigation was taking place. Individual efforts by those merely seeking thrills, however, served only to endanger all concerned and frustrate the official hunt.

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Simon Wiles and John White armed themselves with a crucifix and a sharpened stake, and set off to see if they could locate the vampire’s tomb. Like others who followed in their wake, they were arrested by police who found their rucksack and its contents: an eight inch long wooden stake, sharpened to a point. White later explained at Clerkenwell Court: “Legend has it that if one meets a vampire, one drives a stake through its heart.” He was wearing a crucifix round his neck and Wiles had one in his pocket. They were eventually discharged.

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Thus began a trend. A 25-year-old history teacher from Billericay, Alan Blood, also descended on Highgate after seeing the Today report, but he, at least, had the good sense not to enter the infamous graveyard. Though described by the Evening News, 14 March 1970, as a “vampire expert,” Blood, in a later interview given to the Hampstead and Highgate Express, 20 March 1970, admitted that he was no such thing. “I have taken an interest in the black arts since boyhood, but I’m by no means an expert on vampires,” he told them. Following a drink in the local pub, Blood joined a crowd of onlookers outside the cemetery’s north gate, but he did not enter.

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The British Occult Society's president (on the Today programme, 13 March 1970) warned one particular amateur vampire hunter, who had appeared on the same programme as one of several witnesses, to leave things he did not understand alone. Apparently he had received “a horrible fright” a few weeks earlier when he allegedly caught sight of the vampire by the north gate of Highgate Cemetery and immediately wrote to his local newspaper about the experience, concluding with these words: “I have no knowledge in this field and I would be interested to hear if any other readers have seen anything of this nature.” (Letters to the Editor, Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 February 1970). In the following month he revealed to the media that he had seen something at the north gate that was “evil” and that it “looked like it had been dead for a long time” (as told by him to Sandra Harris on the Today programme). Seán Manchester gave a warning on television that this man’s declared intention of staking the vampire alone went “against my explicit wish for his own safety.”

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Police searching the cemetery arrested the amateur vampire hunter five months later. He was found to be in possession of a wooden stake and a crucifix. Charged with being in an enclosed area for an unlawful purpose, he was later released because, in the strict sense of the wording, Highgate Cemetery is not an enclosed area. The lone intruder had made his television debut five months earlier, employing on that occasion the name on his birth certificate. Now he adopted a pseudonym which appeared in many (but not all) of the newspaper reports covering his arrest and court appearance. When the American vampire aficionado Donald F Glut came to write his book True Vampires of History (1971) he referred only to "Allan Farrow who was arrested for trespassing in a London Graveyard." Others also innocently employed the "Farrow" nomenclature until it became clear this was not his real name. Ironically, the genuine surname of the lone would-be vampire hunter of 1970 has the same first four letters as "Farrow" and is, therefore, remarkably similar. "Allan" is not even close to his real forename. Even so, forty years ago, he was known locally by the name "Allan."

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There exists a letter on headed prison notepaper from Farrow, prisoner number 087665, which he sent to Seán Manchester. The letter contradicts much later claims made by Farrow whose lone antics heralded worse days ahead for the amateur vampire hunter. It should have ended at that point. Several people had either been cautioned or arrested in the area when discovered to be engaged in freelance vampire hunting. Nothing more was heard of them once they retreated into their former obscurity, but some persisted. Farrow belonged to the latter category. Had he heeded the public warning given by Seán Manchester on Thames Television's Today programme, and also in the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 13 March 1970, he could have probably avoided many of the problems that would blight his life in the following years, including a four years and eight months jail sentence.

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The Hampstead & Highgate Express, 13 March 1970, under the headline "The Ghost Goes On TV," reported: "Cameras from Thames Television visited Highgate Cemetery this week to film a programme ... One of those who faced the cameras was Mr [Farrow], of Priestwood Mansions, Archway Road. ... 'It was tall and very dark grey. But it didn't appear to have any feet. It just glided along.' He intends to visit the cemetery again, armed with a wooden stake and a crucifix, with the aim of exorcising the spirit. He also believes that Highgate is 'rife with black magic.' ... Mr Manchester is opposed to Mr [Farrow]'s plans. 'He goes against our explicit wish for his own safety,' he said. ‘We feel he does not possess sufficient knowledge to exorcise successfully something as powerful as a vampire, and may well fall victim as a result. We issue a similar warning to anyone with likewise intentions'."

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Farrow's arrest in Highgate Cemetery on 17 August 1970 by police searching for black magic devotees was the beginning of the end for him. What the police discovered was a would-be amateur vampire hunter stalking the graveyard with a crudely fashioned wooden stake and a cross. He was acquitted on this occasion because Highgate Cemetery was demonstrably not an enclosed area, but by the end of the year he had abandoned his predilection for hunting the Devil’s undead and adopted what ostensibly appeared to be the trappings of black magic; entering the graveyard again in 1971 to raise the vampire by conducting what to all intents and purposes was a necromantic occult ritual with a naked female in a mausoleum. Photographs discovered by police who raided his flat led to a long trial at the Old Bailey and a prison sentence of almost five years which included such crimes as tomb vandalism and offering indignities to remains of the dead, as well as making black magic threats to witnesses who had received from Farrow voodoo effigies impaled with pins. It was quickly deduced by those close to the case that Farrow was an inveterate attention-seeker who would do absolutely anything to attract publicity to himself. Everyone else reached a similar conclusion.

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Allan Farrow at Highgate Cemetery in 1970.

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Farrow's absurd claim that he was somehow part of a serious investigation into the supernatural goings on at Highgate Cemetery is exposed to the light of day when anyone who actually knew him at the time is heard. His first wife gave testimony under oath at her husband's notorious trials at the Old Bailey, as recorded by The Sun newspaper's court reporter on 21 June 1974:

"The wife of self-styled occult priest [Allan Farrow] told yesterday of giggles in the graveyard when the pubs had closed. `We would go in, frighten ourselves to death and come out again,' she told an Old Bailey jury. Attractive Mary [Farrow] - she is separated from her husband and lives in Southampton - said they had often gone to London's Highgate Cemetery with friends `for a bit of a laugh.' But they never caused any damage. `It was just a silly sort of thing that you do after the pubs shut,' she said. Mrs [Farrow] added that her husband's friends who joined in the late night jaunts were not involved in witchcraft or the occult. She had been called as a defence witness by her 28-year-old husband. They have not lived together for three years."

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"Mr P J Bucknell, prosecuting, said Mr [Farrow] had painted circles on the ground, lit with candles, and had told reporters and possibly the police of what he was doing. 'This appears to be a sordid attempt to obtain publicity,' he said." — Hampstead & Highgate Express, 24 November 1972
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The concensus view forty years ago was that this man amounted to nothing more than a lone publicity-seeker in search of a convenient bandwagon to jump on. This widely held opinion was arrived at due to the plethora of first-hand evidence from his contemporaries who knew his claims to be bogus. His publicity stunts nevertheless landed him in jail with a prison sentence of four years and eight months.

"[Farrow] was a fool. Fascinated by witchcraft ... he couldn't keep his interests to himself. He was a blatant publicist. He told this newspaper of his activities, sent photographs and articles describing his bizarre activities." - Peter Hounam, Editor, Hornsey Journal, 16 July 1974

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“I cannot believe for one moment that he is a serious student of the occult. In fact I believe him to be evil and entirely to be deplored.” — Dennis Wheatley, Daily Express, 26 June 1974

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“I think he’s crazy.” — Canon John Pearce Higgins, Daily Express, 26 June 1974

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The jury were shown folders of pictures of naked girls and corpses, and told about a black-clothed altar in [Farrow's] flat with a large drawing of a vampire's face. When questioned, [Farrow] said: 'A corpse was needed to talk to spirits of another world'.” — George Hunter & Richard Wright, Daily Express, 26 June 1974

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“The judge [Michael Argyle QC] said any interference with a corpse during black magic rituals could properly be regarded as a ‘great scandal and a disgrace to religion, decency and morality’.”  — The Sun, 26 June 1974

David Farrant

 

This is the first photograph I took of David Farrant (following his letter to the editor of the Hampstead & Highgate Express, published 6 February 1970). Publicity had already caught hold of him at this point, and it would soon carry him off in a direction few would want to emulate. In those months I suppose I came to know him; as well as anyone could, that is, which was probably not particularly very much. But certainly a great deal more than those who would attach themselves to him over the next half century. I was flattered that he would want to mimic me, well, at first, but by March 13th I was already questioning the wisdom of him doing so and strongly advised against his amateur vampire hunting antics. I need not have been concerned about him taking a brief ride on my coat-tails because he had other plans which took him about as far away from imitating me as he could get. I took it upon myself to look into his claims (outlined in his letter to the editor of the Ham & High on February 6th), and met him close to the North Gate, but still within the cemetery.

Having ignored my advice and warnings on Thames Television and in the Ham & High, David Farrant was arrested around midnight in Highgate Cemetery on August 17th; to be held on remand at Brixton Prison. It was from that point that relations between us seemed to deteriorate considerably. He became increasingly paranoid. I did not dislike him, and tried to understand him. Until, that is, he set into motion all the elements of a public feud, which could not be ignored, try as one might.

This photograph, and the one immediately above it, first appeared on page 62 of the first edition of The Highgate Vampire (published by the British Occult Society, 13-15 Pond Square, Highgate, N6).

Jean-Paul Bourre

Jean-Paul Bourre at Highgate Cemetery in 1980.

Jean-Paul Bourre with David Farrant at Highgate Cemetery in 1980.

Jean-Paul Bourre with David Farrant in the latter's home in 1982.

The Highgate Vampire (BOS, 1985), first edition, page 86.

Jean-Paul Bourre captioned by Farrant: "A leading Satanist attempts to

invoke the Devil." It is a full page photograph in Farrant's self-published 

booklet "Beyond the Highgate Vampire" (1991).  Farrant, in an article he

wrote for  New Witchcraft magazine, had already confessed to summoning 

the Devil at Highgate Cemetery with girlfriend Martine de Sacy in 1971.

Tony Hutchinson

Tony Hutchinson is one of the more shadowy figures in the Who's Who chronology of characters to play a part, albeit at the periphery, in the nuanced and complicated Highgate Vampire tale. He is referred to on pages 112-113 of the hardback edition of The Highgate Vampire (Gothic Press, 1991). Seen on the far right in this extremely rare photograph of him with David Farrant in front of the North Gate, Hutchinson is the man who photographed David Farrant in the terrace catacombs and elsewhere in the western cemetery nocturnally in early 1970. The borrowed double-breasted jacket worn by David Farrant in the photographs taken in the catacombs belonged to Tony Hutchinson.

Tony Hutchinson comments briefly on the Quantum Queries video that contains interpolated commentary. Hutchinson's use of the initials "UA" indicates "Useless Article," a term of abuse he used (and still uses) exclusively when referring to David Farrant. Click on his e-mail to view the video:

David Farrant wearing Tony Hutchinson's double-breasted jacket, as the latter takes photographs in the catacombs at Highgate Cemetery in 1970. David Farrant shines his torch on a damaged coffin.

Dennis Crawford

Dennis Crawford, a founder member of the Vampire Research Society and former member of the British Occult Society, belonged to that early team that investigated the Highgate Vampire case in the 1960s. He eventually became the International Secretary of the Vampire Research Society. In the beginning, when the VRS was not yet an independent organisation and was known only as a "vampire research unit" within the British Occult Society, Dennis Crawford was acquainted with M J Welch and Steve Howe (of Yes fame) who both participated in visits to haunted places in London. Dennis Crawford studied the works of Montague Summers, as did, of course, †Seán Manchester, founder and president of the Vampire Research Society, and also president of the British Occult Society from 21 June 1967 until 8 August 1988 when he formally dissolved the society owing to it having outlived its usefulness and being mistaken for something that it was not. Its explicit purpose was to study and research hidden (occult) phenomena, not engage in occult practices, which it openly criticised.

Rare photograph of Dennis Crawford (left) taken in the dead of night at Highgate Cemetery.

Jacqueline Beckwith

 

Unlike Elżbieta or Lusia, Jacqueline Beckwith did not suffer from aversion to crosses or suffocation during her sleep. Her testimony, although different, has some similarities to the previous victims. In her testimony, Jacqueline recalls how she “was drawn into the old graveyard [Highgate cemetery] alone on some occasion and experienced the sensation of being mentally directed by unseen eyes” (The Highgate Vampire). The trance-like sleep-walk experienced by Elżbieta and Lusia was similar to Jacqueline’s strange compulsion to enter the cemetery.

During one particular night Jacqueline recalls being awakened by an icy cold grip. She described being “paralysed with sheer terror” (The Highgate Vampire). The unseen intruder had left her with a wound on her hand, which left her bleeding. The wound looked as though it may have been caused by “long fingernails or sharp teeth” (The Highgate Vampire). The previous two victims differ from Jacqueline. She could recall her unexplained allure into the cemetery, and the attack in the night. She was conscious of her experiences.

The phenomena surrounding the Highgate Vampire truly fall in line with what is known about demons. In their book The Dark Sacrament: True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism, co-authors David M Kiely and Christina McKenna record various forms of demonic activity. By comparing some of the phenomena between my collection of testimonies to those compiled by Kiely and McKenna, vampirism is easily recognised as demonic to its core.

The aversion to Christian symbols and objects conditions were experienced by Elżbieta and Lusia. In one chapter from The Dark Sacrament known as The Pit Beneath The Heathstone, the demonic manifestation directed its hatred towards Christian symbols and objects: “The repeated hurling of the Bible onto the floor, the broken crucifix […] the Sacred Heart being dashed to the floor. All these things pointed to the likelihood that an evil spirit [demon] was at work.” The aversion and hostility towards Christian symbols and objects is perhaps the clearest expression of demonic activity.

The trance-like conditions experienced by Elżbieta, Lusia, and Jacqueline can also be compared to the demonic assaults described in The Dark Sacrament. In the chapter Heather: A Case of Ancestral Evil, the young woman, Heather, was struggling to overcome powerful demonic assaults. During one incident her boyfriend Joe noted, “She seemed in some kind of trance.” The trance-like condition experienced during demonic molestations is closely associated to cases of possession. Here, the victim loses part or all of their bodily and conscious control.

Elżbieta and Lusia also experienced suffocation. Not surprisingly, The Dark Sacrament identifies this same phenomenon in the chapter entitled, The House Wife And The Demon Dubois. The victim of this particular case was a woman named Julie. During the night she was violated in various ways. During one episode “she felt a man’s body pressing down on her […] almost suffocating her.” Elsewhere, Julie was attacked by an unseen hand, similar to the assault experienced by Jacqueline in The Highgate Vampire. In this case, Julie experienced a hand “tightening about her throat; she could barely breathe.”

Regardless of how demonic manifestations occur, the phenomena are strikingly similar. What makes the experiences of Elżbieta and Lusia distinct from other forms of demonic manifestations are the bite marks on their necks, followed by loss of blood. Vampirism is made apparent by this one circumstance thereby distinguishing itself from other forms of demonic manifestations. What should be kept in mind is that although other varieties of demonic activity do not include the distinctive bite wounds on the neck, vampirism remains demonic to its core.

Lusia

 

Another victim of the Highgate Vampire case was a young woman identified only by her first name, Lusia. Much like Elżbieta, she suffered from various disturbances in her daily life. Lusia’s sister, Anne, contacted me in 1970. Anne explained that her sister had begun sleep-walking, among other strange problems. During one evening when I was present, I found Lusia “with a vacant expression – staring out of her bedroom window […] Half an hour passed before she returned to her bed, totally unaware of our presence” (The Highgate Vampire). In one of Lusia’s sleep-walking episodes she went to Highgate cemetery. Unlike Elżbieta who merely went as far as the north gate, Lusia entered the cemetery itself. Anne explained that Lusia never had such problems as sleep-walking in the past. This suggested that she was being compelled by something other than her own free will.

The similarities between Lusia and Elżbieta were many. Lusia also had an aversion to crosses and crucifixes. During her sleep-walk into the cemetery, she tore the cross from around her neck. There were also the “complaints of being suffocated while she slept” (The Highgate Vampire). She also bore two marks on her neck, like those found on Elżbieta. Here, the two women suffering from similar conditions – conditions comparable to demonic activity – demonstrate that their experiences were not isolated incidents. It would be easy to rationalise the experiences through psychology had there only been one victim. However, two women who did not know each other, fell victim to similar, almost identical, circumstances, and somehow they were connected by Highgate Cemetery.

Lusia is someone who is identified photographically for the first time on this page. A model who was a close friend, and later still an actress, portrayed Lusia in public representations of her. This was due to the outcome, and a need to preserve her identity. After all this time, I now release two images of Lusia.

“Among the many people who contacted me,” I recounted in the first complete account of the case, “was the sister of a beautiful twenty-two-year-old woman, whom I shall call Lusia.” [The Highgate Vampire (British Occult Society, 1985) pages 45-46]

The picture (below) shows the actress who represented Lusia in some of the publicity for the 1991 enlarged and revised with fresh photographs hardback book, and pre-production stills of the cinema film that was doomed following one of its directors meeting with an horrific and untimely death. 

Below is the model and close personal friend who portrayed Lusia in the first edition of The Highgate Vampire (1985), appearing seductively on its front cover. She was perfect for the part.

 

There is no denying that Lusia was special. There has been a great deal of speculation about her because, in the aftermath of the Highgate exorcism, her story evolved into one of the more extreme metaphysical outcomes that will not surprise the seasoned demonologist, but it is still a difficult area.

My initial discovery of her was one of sheer delight tinged with a terrible sadness that grew stronger until it finally eclipsed her. Within the sombre tones of an apt piece of music she became enshrouded. I wrote: “Her cascading flaxen tresses caught the dull illumination of the moonlight in their pale reflection. Somewhere, in the background, I could hear the dying pulses of Strauss’ solemn orchestral work, Metamorphosen. It haunts me to this day.” [The Highgate Vampire (Gothic Press, 1991, pages70-71)]

Lusia entered my life as an attractive young virgin of Nordic extraction, living in north London, who, being touched by what lies beyond earthly confines, became part of the nightmare of nightmarish visions and visitations associated with Highgate at that time. I glimpsed an indistinct figure toward the end, a figure swathed in a white cerement, her face the colour of marble save for her mouth, which seemed full and wanton. This was not the Lusia I had first known. It was something else. A shade of something sucked almost dry of life.

The seventeenth century alchemist, Michael Sendivogius, wrote some fitting words: “All these things happen, and the eyes of ordinary men do not see them, but the eyes of the mind and of the imagination perceive them with the true and the truest vision.”