WHY IS THIS EVENT ADVERTISED AS "THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE SYMPOSIUM"?
The word "symposium" means "a conference or meeting to discuss a particular subject."
Is the Highgate Vampire the subject that will be under discussion, and, if so, why are those invited to talk at the Symposium exclusively individuals who dismiss out-of-hand the existence of vampires?
A sizeable percentage of those invited to talk are witches, mediums, spiritualists etc who do entertain the existence of ghosts, and most of the discussion will concentrate on the ghost theory.
So why not call the event "THE HIGHGATE GHOST SYMPOSIUM"?
Nobody invited to participate is a vampirologist, or remotely believes in the existence of vampires as described in historical documents, folklore and, most importantly, Seán Manchester's book The Highgate Vampire. However, most of those who will be present do believe in the existence of ghosts and will be subscribing to the Highgate "entity" circa half a century ago as being an apparition.
But, as we have already seen, there was no "ghost" at Highgate Cemetery ... only a ghost hoax!
So what is the point of this Highgate Vampire Symposium beyond what we have seen before when Farrant and his cronies get behind a microphone in front of a group of easy-to-please ticket buyers?
You will hear during the Symposium speakers not at all well disposed towards Seán Manchester. None have met him, of course, except David Farrant and that was decades ago in another century.
The one person you will definitely not hear talking about the Highgate Vampire at the Highgate Vampire Symposium is Seán Manchester, the author of The Highgate Vampire (1985; 1991) and the man who led the investigation of the case from start to finish; someone, indeed, who has talked many times about the case on radio and television, and featured in scores of professional documentary films made over a period of four decades. His bestselling book is currently optioned for cinematic treatment, and he still shares his expertise with academic audiences at private venues.
These are the people you will hear talking and sharing their views at the Symposium on July 19th:
Paul Adams - ADAMS DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
David Farrant - HE DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Redmond McWilliams - DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Fox the Rebel - FOX DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Charles Walker - HE DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Geraldine Beskin - SHE DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Jacqueline Simpson - DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Jon Kaneko-James - DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Patricia Langley - SHE DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Ken Rees - KEN REES DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
Neil Arnold - ARNOLD DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
John Fraser - FRASER DOES NOT BELIEVE PREDATORY CORPOREAL VAMPIRES EXIST
"Although the programme makes this clear anyway, there is only one session which deals with Seán Manchester's narrative. ... I am aware that you are especially interested in Seán Manchester's version of events, and to avoid disappointment I should point out that the primary focus of the day is not Manchester. There will be debate about social and psychological angles on the Highgate phenomena, but not focussed upon the Manchester narrative." - Della Farrant (26 April 2015)
"Our panel of experts upon folk and ghost lore share their views upon the Highgate case, and invite witnesses and other audience members to contribute to this long overdue debate. Can we promise answers? No." - Della Farrant (The Highgate Symposium 2015 publicity)
Finally, we feel the last word should go to the man who would like you to believe he started it all.
David Farrant's statement made five days ago about the alleged phenomenon at Highgate Cemetery:
"One night, it was the 21st of December 1969 [in his original published letter to the Hampstead & Highgate Express it was Christmas Eve], which was the winter solstice, as I passed the north gate of Highgate Cemetery, that's the top gate, I became aware of somebody standing just inside the closed gate. They were standing motionless, exuding some sort of malignancy, some sort of evil, and within a matter of only seconds I realised it was not a human being." (Farrant interviewed on BBC Radio 4, 25 April 2015)
Fortunately, photographer Gerry Wood was at hand to capture the inhuman malignant figure on film:
The only reason anyone would shell out £12.00 to sit above a pub and listen to people talk for seven hours is precisely because they would be expecting the Highgate Vampire to be the topic under discussion. But only one seventh of the Symposium's time will be addressing the Highgate Vampire and none of those speakers people will have bought tickets to hear (a) believe there ever was a Highgate Vampire, (b) participated in the case on any level, or (c) are qualified to discuss the case beyond offering their own personal opinion and speculating about it. Furthermore, most of the speakers were either not alive when the case was under investigation, or were infants.
ReplyDeleteHad David Farrant and his collaborators called it anything else, of course, it would not attract any real interest. Yet since 85% of the Symposium is not about the Highgate Vampire the charge of £12.00 per person is probably tantamount to criminal fraud.
What are you going to hear? Farrant bumbling on in a manner no more impressive than is found on the video (at the foot of the page) of him being interviewed by a Goth, and probably a lot less revealing. When Farrant (barely four minutes into the video) says "I don't know; I'd be lying if I said I could explain this stuff," the interviewer responds "Well that's sort of cleared up that mystery anyway."
Nothing had been "cleared up" apart from any pretense of Farrant knowing diddly-squat about the case, ie nothing beyond what he has read in newspapers and, of course, Seán Manchester's book The Highgate Vampire.
The most hypocritical moment comes four and a half minutes into the video when Farrant makes a reference to Seán Manchester, saying "And then he produced a stake he had stuck down the back of his trousers ... and Sandra Harris nearly jumped back a mile."
Nothing of the kind appears in the television scene where reporter Sandra Harris interviews Seán Manchester on the Today programme, 13 March 1970, and he shows her the traditional accoutrements used in the past for ending the wanderings of a vampire from its grave.
Sandra Harris remains very matter of fact, calm and collected throughout. The only time she was slightly uncomfortable was when she walked through the snow-covered cemetery to witness coffins partly open inside crumbling mausoleums. This was prior to her interviewing Seán Manchester.
3 minutes and 5 seconds into yet another video, Farrant can be seen producing a stake he had stuck down the back of his trousers and confirming that this same stake and the accompanying large cross he also had stuck down the back of his trousers was for the sole purpose of his "vampire hunting" which he was reconstructing for BBC television's Twenty-Four Hours programme, 15 October 1970: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VcUq-ohXVY
David Farrant saying "I don't know; I'd be lying if I said I could explain this stuff" is on the video found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4N82IJTcyk