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The Haunting of Borley Rectory

The Story of a Ghost Story

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The Haunting of Borley Rectory

By: Sean O'Connor
Narrated by: Richard Attlee
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About this listen

 Marianne Foyster, Harry Price and the most haunted house in England - the perfect read for Halloween.

In 1928, Eric and Mabel Smith took over a lonely parish on the northern border of Essex. When they moved into Borley Rectory, Mrs Smith made a gruesome discovery in a cupboard: a human skull.Soon the house was electric with ghosts. Within the year, the Smiths had abandoned it and the Rectory became notorious as the ‘most haunted house in England’.

When Reverend Lionel Foyster moved in he experienced a further explosion of poltergeist activity with an increasing violence directed at his attractive young wife. Marianne was a passionate and sensuous woman isolated in a village haunted by ancient superstition and deep-rooted prejudice. She would be accused not only of faking the ghosts but of adultery, bigamy ... and even murder.

The haunting, sensationally reported in the tabloid press, gripped the nation. It was investigated by Harry Price, a self-made ‘psychic detective’. This was the case that would make Price’s name as the most celebrated ghost-hunter of the age. He recorded the evidence of 200 witnesses to over 2,000 supernatural incidents. This surely confirmed that not only did ghosts exist but, finally, here was proof of life after death.

With the tension of a thriller and the uncanny chills of a classic English ghost story, Sean O’Connor brings the story of Borley Rectory to vivid life as an allegory for an age fraught with anxiety, haunted by the shadow of the Great War and terrified of the apocalypse to come.

‘Borley Rectory is perhaps the definition of an old haunt, still exerting an extraordinary grip on the popular imagination… Balanced, surprising and strangely moving’ Mark Gatiss Fantasy Murder True Crime Haunted Ghost Crime Paranormal Fiction Scary
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Overall enjoyable and very thorough, though at times more detailed than required even for the avid fan. With some content duplication, it would have benefited from a stronger edit. For fans of fabled ghost stories, and particularly Borley, this is definitely worth a listen.

Fascinating, worth a listen - but would have benefited from an edit

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I enjoyed this book, however it did tend to go into minute detail about the characters and their pasts. It was very detailed indeed. Narrator’s pronunciation of the Irish town land where Marianne lived made me chuckle as it was way way off. Apart from that, the narration was excellent and engaging.
Definitely worth a credit.

A very detailed and thorough analysis of the haunting

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I found it interesting and absorbing , wonderful dialogue, exceeding expectations. the background stories helped with the understanding of the history

dialogue

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I wanted to read a book about Borley Rectory, and I can’t even remember why I chose this one now but I know I didn’t read many reviews or anything before choosing.
Anyway I was well rewarded - this book goes into real detail about the lives of people connected with Borley, and I found myself getting really interested in the paths their lives took. I think originally I wanted more info on the spooky stuff, and whilst this book does do this, it’s also a fascinating delve into the historical context. Have been looking for more stuff from the author since.

Fascinating social & historical context

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Very detailed and interesting account, however there is some repetition and the author's left leaning bias comes through in places, especially in the summation section

Thorough and (mostly) interesting

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