Not the Vampire Theory (conclusion)

Patricia Langley, an accomplice of David Farrant, claims "I had a friend, I still have him, I still know him. His name is Roger" whose surname has conveniently been bleeped out on the video, so we cannot even begin to trace him. Anyone would have thought that "Roger" is a vital witness Langley would have wanted present at the Symposium to lend weight to her allegations, but no sight or sign of "Roger" was evident except on the lips of Langley. Had she have produced a willing dupe to be a false witness, of course, his claims could have been challenged and eventually revealed to be lies.

"[In the year 1990] Peter Underwood was completely dismissive of the whole phenomenon of vampires." - Patrica Langley (forty-seven minutes into the video)

This attribution by Langley about the late Peter Underwood, now no longer able to defend himself, claiming that by 1990 he would not have entertained the idea of vampires, does not accord with the known facts. In that year he published his book Exorcism! where Seán Manchester's vampire account up to the year 1970 is retold in Underwood's own words in Chapter Six, which is given the title Exorcism and Vampires. It is clear, reading this chapter where a full page photograph of Seán Manchester with accompanying accoutrements appears, Peter Underwood supported vampire belief.

Seán Manchester can be seen (above and below) attempting to exorcise the suspected tomb at the heart of Highgate Cemetery in 1970. The exorcism was covered by the BBC and also in the Hornsey Journal which had earlier reported on a satanic outrage close to the same sepulchral location.

David Farrant attributed words to Seán Manchester which anyone examining the programme (Today, Thames Television, 13 March 1970) will find he did not actually utter. Farrant can also be heard in the video denying that he intended to hunt out the cemetery vampire even though, when interviewed by the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 March 1970, he is quoted as saying: "I for one am prepared to pursue [the vampire], taking whatever mean might be necessary so that we can all rest." 

Farrant follows this by claiming at the Symposium, "Mr Manchester was nowhere to be seen on that night." The night he is talking about, of course, is 13 March 1970 when a massive public vampire hunt took place at Highgate Cemetery. How would Farrant know? He did not venture anywhere near the graveyard himself, and spent most of that evening in the Prince of Wales pub which is where history teacher Alan Blood discovered him before Blood proceeded alone to Swains Lane with its gathering throng. David Farrant, needless to say, stayed away from Highgate Cemetery that night.

By which time, Seán Manchester was already inside the cemetery with his hand-picked assistants. Some of that account can be read by clicking on the newspaper headline from the following day:

"We were also honoured with the presence of Dr Jacqueline Simpson. Dr Simpson first became aware of the case of the Highgate ‘vampire’ through the work of her American colleague, Professor Bill Ellis. The ostension approach posited by Ellis is postulated by Dr Simpson, with consideration of the Highgate ‘vampire’ flap." - Della Farrant aka Anna Hinton (18 November 2015 )

Enter Jacqueline Simpson twenty-four minutes into the video. Simpson is dismissive of ghosts, vampires and all things supernatural. When Langley started bleating on about ley-lines, which she explains has no supernatural aspect, Simpson's facial expression turned quite sour as eyebrows raised and eyes rolled in a most disapproving manner. Simpson rambles on with her historical folkloric anecdotes until we reach the question period with those posing questions anonymously.

"In 1993 we [Folkore Journal] got sent a very interesting article on the Highgate case by a man called Bill Ellis who came to London specially to research the Highgate story and he met David [Farrant], interviewed David, took lots of notes from David, and he wanted to interview Seán but Seán did not wish to be interviewed, got on his high horse, and said he had put all that behind him and needed the time to devote to his Church. As a result, Bill Ellis' article is full of references to David, and full or quotations from newspapers [provided by Farrant], and does quote from Manchester's published book, but he has no interviews with Manchester. Consequently, as those of you who know the man will readily appreciate, in a few months there was an explosion." 

FACT: Bill Ellis was given a clear choice to either interview David Farrant or Seán Manchester. It was widely known and appreciated at that time that the latter would not participate in any project which involved the publicity-seeker Farrant. Ellis knew this, and chose to involve Farrant. When the article was published Seán Manchester contacted Folklore to point out some serious errors which were acknowledged by both the journal and Ellis who omitted the most offensive material in his article when he regurgitated it as a chapter about the Highgate case in his book Raising the Devil.

There was certainly no "explosion." Such a term is Simpson's way of currying favour with her host, David Farrant, at the Symposium. Seán Manchester and Bill Ellis had a very convivial correspondence throughout the entire episode. Jacqueline Simpson was rather more abrasive - and economical with the truth! By the time she co-wrote The Lore of the Land and long before she spoke at the Symposium, she was in possession of a CD (The Devil's Fool) on which Farrant can be heard being interviewed across the decades. When interviewed in the 1970s he makes clear that he hunted a vampire at Highgate Cemetery and is quite unapologetic about the fact. Details of his attempt are provided by him when interviewed. Simpson knew this, but remained tight-lipped when Farrant denied having any part in this ambition. It did not suit her anti-Seán Manchester agenda to rock the boat.

This is Bill Ellis' correspondence of 22 February 1996 to Seán Manchester:

(click on image to read letter properly)

In his correspondence, Bill Ellis writes:

"We agree that the contemporary press handling was often inaccurate, and most subsequent discussions were even more distorted. Mr Farrant, since he brought the matter to the papers and was repeatedly arrested for his activities in and around Highgate, clearly was 'central to events' in this sense. Credible, I don't say: I give his explanations for what they're worth and expect that most readers would also recognize that a judge and jury found them unconvincing."