| Archive for Ghost Hunters Extraordinaire paranormal investigations ghost and ufo forum |
| Antnicuk |
In search of the Highgate VampireI visited Highgate Cemetery in August. It's an amazing place. Some of you might be familiar with the tale of the Highgate Vampire. In a nutshell, in 1969, David Farrant kicked off the tales of the paranormal by saying he'd seen a grey figure in the cemetery which he considered to be paranormal. Soon, other people were saying they had also seen something odd either down Swains Lane, the long winding road that runs down the side of the old graveyard, or in the graveyard itself. Interestingly enough though, no two stories reported were the same.But anyway, I've borrowed the following from Wikipedia seeing as they had the info ready to go: "A second local man, Seán Manchester, was just as keen as Farrant to identify and eliminate what he and Farrant believed was a supernatural entity in the cemetery. The Hampstead and Highgate Express reported him on 27 February 1970 as saying that he believed that 'a King Vampire of the Undead', a medieval nobleman who had practised black magic in medieval Wallachia, had been brought to England in a coffin in the early eighteenth century, by followers who bought a house for him in the West End. He was buried on the site that later became Highgate Cemetery, and Manchester claimed that modern Satanists had roused him. He said the right thing to do would be to stake the vampire's body, and then behead and burn it, but regrettably this would nowadays be illegal. The paper headlined this: 'Does a Vampyr walk in Highgate?' (Manchester has claimed, however, that the reference to 'a King Vampire from Wallachia' was a journalistic embellishment. Nevertheless, the 1985 edition of his book also speaks of an unnamed nobleman's body brought to Highgate in a coffin from somewhere in Europe.) In his interview of 27 February, Manchester offered no evidence in support of his theory. The following week, on 6 March, the same paper reported David Farrant as saying he had seen dead foxes in the cemetery, 'and the odd thing was there was no outward sign of how they died.' When told of this, Manchester said it seemed to complement his theory. In later writings, both men reported seeing other dead foxes with throat wounds and drained of blood Farrant was more hesitant in identifying the phenomenon he had seen. In some interviews he called it simply a ghost or spectre, sometimes he agreed that it might be vampiric. It is the 'vampire' label which has stuck." Thank you Wikipedia. I have read both Farrant's book and Sean Manchester's account. You can get them from Amazon if you're interested in seeing what they got up to during their little adventure: Sean Manchester - hardback book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Highgate-...oks&qid=1228076735&sr=8-1 David Farrant - a pamphlett: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Hi...oks&qid=1228076735&sr=8-3 Apparently these two gents have spent the past goodness knows how long arguing about what happened. The two accounts were so fantastical it's impossible to take either Farrant or Manchester seriously. Attached are a few photos from the oldest part of Highgate Cemetery (accessible only by tour. Tour details available at http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/index.asp). The tours are brilliant, given by people who really know the history of the place. It's cheap too, but bear in mind the tours fill up very quickly so get there early if you're going. 
Click to see full size image This is the gatehouse entry to the old part of Highgate Cemetery. 
Click to see full size image Beginning of the old cemetery where the first grave was placed. 
Click to see full size image The first grave. 
Click to see full size image The Egyptian Avenue leading to the Lebanon Circle (reputed home of the Highgate Vampire...) 
Click to see full size image One of these tombs has been blocked up with breeze blocks and it is said that this tomb is the one where the Highgate Vampire liked to hide. 
Click to see full size image A touching epitaph. |
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| Waffle King |
*removes false vampire teeth*
Damn foiled again! those rotten kids! But seriously now (yes me serious, end of the world next week, you watch) that is actually very informative, nice one Nic 
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| Raymond |
We had this already in the Phantasmagoria section. | ||
| Samjaza |
Went there recently myself, didn't like paying to get in though.
Anyway, last time you was on here Antnicuk I offered to take you over there at midnight, climbing over the walls, which you refused because you couldn't climb walls with your high heels ? 
No vampires gonna come out in broad daylight are they. I see a photographic assignment coming up....... |
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| Antnicuk |
Yeah, well you were making me feel short in my trainers. It is a shame they have to charge but then I suppose if they want to keep the place open they've got to. People are always in there landscaping (although I should think they are volunteers) but there are always overheads, as Kieron will tell you from his experiences of running the Fort. You'd think it would be cheap to run but apparently it's not (or so the old dame on the front gate told us. She reckons it cost something like £2,000 a day just to keep Highgate Cemetery open!) |
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