Things You Need to Know

David Farrant was a figure of fun in and around Highgate in the late 1960s and the early 1970s up until his incarceration when his attention-seeking got out of control. Nobody viewed his publicity stunts as anything more than foolishness to attract attention to himself. There was only him. He had no members and only one associate in the form of John Pope from October 1973. Pope was the self-styled head of the Temples of Satan and successor to Aleister Crowley who, along with Farrant, attempted to raise demons when not delivering voodoo death dolls to people in the vicinity on Farrant's behalf. Though also a publicist and feeble-minded, Pope was genuinely involved in the occult on a depraved and demented level. Farrant was not and never has been. He was nonetheless the Devil's Fool from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he has given himself to the father of lies. The British Occult Society (1860-1988) was an investigation bureau which existed solely for the purpose of examining occult claims and alleged paranormal activity. It gave birth to the Vampire Research Society which still survives. Farrant, an incorrigible charlatan, has never been connected to either Society. There was never any friendship between David Farrant and Seán Manchester, but there was an acquaintanceship of sorts following Farrant's hoax ghost claims in a local newspaper in February 1970. Correspondence sent to Seán Manchester from Brixton Prison in 1970 risked Seán Manchester becoming contaminated by Farrant's publicity-seeking antics. When he would not allow himself to become involved in Farrant's schemes, the latter decided to seek revenge by falsely associating himself with the British Occult Society who were obviously quick to refute such claims. This is where the "falling out" has its origin. Farrant's tactics became ever more belligerent and a vendetta that would last for the next four and a half decades was established. The Symposium is inspired by this vendetta.

Recommended reading: