Not the Vampire Theory (Part 1)

(Click on image to view video)

Eleven minutes into a rambling avoidance of actually discussing the vampire theory, which never seems to get examined, Paul Adams mentions in passing that the late Peter Underwood knew both Montague Summers and Seán Manchester. He falsely describes Montague Summers as a "self-styled priest" and incorrectly titles Seán Manchester as "Mister" throughout. In fact, Montague Summers was a bona fide priest and, in the last years of his life, a bishop. Likewise, the correct formality for the Right Reverend Seán Manchester is "Bishop" and not "Mister." But when was Adams ever interested in paying attention to facts that might upset his collaborator David Farrant?

Adams also intimates that without Underwood's The Vampire's Bedside Companion the public would have been none the wiser about the case as it unfolded. This flies in the face of the fact that Seán Manchester was already planning to publish his full and expurgated account as soon as the case was satisfactorily resolved. His contribution to Peter Underwood's aforementioned anthology, by far the largest section of the book, was merely a precursor to his own The Highgate Vampire which, curiously, is a work that Paul Adams does not mention or refer to in this first part of the Symposium's alleged discussion of the vampire theory. Yet the account, first published by the British Occult Society and currently available in hardback from Gothic Press, was instrumental in acquainting the wider public with the investigation from start to finish. Peter Underwood's book contained a summary of the case up until and including the exorcism attempt in the summer of 1970.

  

The vampire theory, as far as Highgate is concerned, becomes forgotten as the video progresses, but not before Paul Adams concedes that, more than anyone else, Peter Underwood believed Seán Manchester knew what really happened. A mean-spirited attempt is then made by Adams to excuse Underwood's open support for Seán Manchester's account, but it can be seen for what it is, and does him no favours. The video concludes just as Adams turns to Farrant with mention of the convent girl identified in both Peter Underwood's and Seán Manchester's book who bore bite marks on her neck. Those attending the Symposium were shown on the screen behind the panel a photograph of the girl with the marks on her neck. This is occluded in the video version because no consent was given by Seán Manchester for its use. Its use and abuse, therefore, falls foul of copyright law. No doubt the second part of the Not the Vampire Theory session will commence with Farrant making false and unsupported allegations about a person and incidents of which he knows absolutely nothing.

As already stated, Paul Adams refers to Montague Summers as "self-styled." Here are some facts:

Montague Summers grew up in a wealthy family living in Clifton, near Bristol. Religion always played a large part in his life. He was raised as an evangelical Anglican, but his love of ceremonial and sacraments drew him to Anglo-Catholicism. After graduating in Theology at Oxford he took the first steps towards holy orders at Lichfield Theological College and entered his apprenticeship as a curate in the diocese of Bitton near Bristol. A year or so later he converted to Roman Catholicism. He had been made a deacon within the Church of England, and was diaconated again within the Roman Catholic Church, but it was not until he embraced the Old Catholic Church that he was ordained into the sacred priesthood. He celebrated Mass publicly when travelling abroad, but at home in England he only performed this sacrament in private. This was probably due to the fact that he was ordained into the priesthood outside the regular procedures of the Church. Old Catholic holy orders, albeit valid, are irregular in the eyes of Rome and Canterbury (the latter, of course, being the Church of England, is not accepted as being remotely valid by Rome). Montague Summers, in whose memory Seán Manchester would dedicate the revised and enlarged edition of The Highgate Vampire, entered the Old Catholic priesthood (having been diaconated in 1908 in the Church of England, and later joining the diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church, which he entered a year later). Bishop Summers was consecrated for the Order of Corporate Reunion on 21 June 1927 by Dominic Albert Godwin. He was later consecrated sub conditione on 21 March 1946 by Roger Stephen Matthews and appointed Nuncio for Great Britain. Like Bishop Seán Manchester, he wrote books about demonology whilst placing great emphasis on exorcism. Summers' biographer is the Carmelite Father Brocard Sewell.

None of Montague Summers' close friends doubted the sincerity of his religious faith. Dame Sybil Thorndike wrote of him: “I think that because of his profound belief in the tenets of orthodox Catholic Christianity he was able to be in a way almost frivolous in his approach to certain macabre heterodoxies. His humour, his ‘wicked humour’ as some people called it, was most refreshing, so different from the tiresome sentimentalism of so many convinced believers.”

A Question of Attribution

In the conclusion of the so-called occult section, Paul Adams wraps it up quickly following a brief interaction with the audience who are barely audible and invariably comprise satanic apologists.

This video is even more tedious than the first part of the session, if that can be imagined; until, that is, someone in the audience asks a question about Welch who had already been libelled by Adams.

Forty-one minutes and thirteen seconds into the video (click on the image to view) the audience were once again treated to Don McCullen's misdescribed photo of Welch on a screen behind the panel.

Forty-two minutes and forty-four seconds into the video, David Farrant states:

"It appeared in a book called The Highgate Vampire which was written by Mr ... [Farrant is suddenly overcome by a fit of seemingly uncontrollable coughing at this point in the proceedings and takes quite a while to recover, sipping from a glass] ... Seán Manchester. Yes, they knew each other."

This time Seán Manchester's name has not been bleeped out on the video. Farrant obviously had what's left of his feathers ruffled by our comment made about its censorship in the first session.

Someone unseen in the audience asked something about Don McCullen, but it is so muffled as to be totally inaudible. Indeed, the sound quality throughout is very poor, given the controlled situation. 

Then we hear a discarnate voice ask whether Welch was prosecuted. Paul Adams turns to Farrant:

"Was he prosecuted, David?"

Farrant tersely responds:

"No!"

Seán Manchester, of course, knew M J Welch, as, apparently, did Don McCullen whose back-story to the picture captioned "The Head Hunter of Highgate" was inspired by the fabricated nonsense Farrant was disseminating at the time to journalists such as Roger Simpson, plus all and sundry. 

McCullen's photograph of Welch had various captions down the years. McCullen and Seán Manchester are photographers, and the latter had already photographed Welch in the exact same pose. Welch must have shown Seán Manchester's photographic portrait to McMullen who, more or less, copied it when he posed his subject between two human skulls in precisely the same manner.

Does the picture appear in The Highgate Vampire?

Well, yes and no.

It does not appear in the 1991 Gothic Press edition, but is a minuscule part of a composite of cuttings and images in the 1985 British Occult Society edition. Welch can barely be seen; less than one inch by almost half an inch in the bottom left-hand corner of a picture which fills the entire page.

The Vampire Hunter's Handbook, published a dozen years later, acknowledges at the top of page 10 that Seán Manchester knew M J Welch; so Farrant is hardly the master of revelation he likes to pretend to be. 

Farrant had to admit, when asked by the audience, that Welch has not been prosecuted. How could he have been? Tales about Welch originated entirely with Farrant who acted out the very things he falsely attributed to this associate of Seán Manchester. As we know, David Farrant was prosecuted and found guilty of interfering with and offering indignity to corpses at London's Highgate Cemetery.