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But first, should you so desire, you can learn something of
Highgate Cemetery one of the places where these vampire
hunters plied their "trade".
Founder of the Vampire Research Society, Manchester claims to be a
lay priest of the Celtic Catholic Church, a direct descendant of the
poet Lord Byron and that he grew up in Sherwood Forest. He also
claims to have saved a girl who was exhibiting the symptoms of a
vampire victim by following the "Van Helsing formula" garlic,
silver cross etc.
Naturally, when rumors that a real vampire was haunting Highgate
Cemetery reached Manchester, he was quick to act.
Leading a crowd of about 100 people to a burial vault within the
cemetery that he suspected contained the vampire, and gaining
access through a hole in the roof, Manchester and his assistants
found three empty coffins. They conducted a purification ceremony
using "garlic, salt, holy water and all the usual vampire repellants".
This took place on Friday 13th March 1970.
However, despite his best efforts, reports of the vampire-like creature
persisted. Manchester decided that the vampire must have de-camped
and set up house elsewhere in the cemetery.
Along with his assistants and armed with his vampire hunting kit, he
returned to Highgate and found another likely looking tomb which
contained, by his calculations, an extra coffin. Since it was still
daylight, Manchester concluded the vampire must be asleep. Here, in
his own words, is what happened next.
"My torch lit up in unnerving revelation the sleeping form of
something that had long been dead; something nevertheless gorged
and stinking with the life-blood of others, fresh clots of which still
adhered to the edge of the mouth whose fetid breath made me sick to
my stomach. The glazed eyes stared horribly--almost mocking me,
almost knowing that my efforts to destroy it would be thwarted.
Under the parchment-like skin a faint bluish tinge could be detected.
The face was the color and appearance of a three-day-old corpse."
Deciding to forego the purification ritual this time, Manchester opted
instead to go straight to the act of disposal. Hammer and stake in
hand, he was about to drive the stake home when a timely reminder
from one of his assistants that he was about to desecrate a body and
thereby commit an illegal act stayed his hand. Not wanting any
trouble with the law, Manchester put his hammer and stake away and
resorted to the purification ritual once more. He later claimed that he
had the door to the vault sealed using garlic-laced cement.
As might be expected, none of his efforts to contain the vampire were
successful. But Manchester did not give up. He pursued the Highgate
vampire for three more years, eventually tracking it down to a
deserted mansion in north London. The fact that the locals called this
place "the House of Dracula" was proof enough for Manchester that
he had once again found his elusive prey. Arriving at the house one
afternoon, he and his assistants broke in and went in search of the
vampire. What they found in the basement, sleeping in "an enormous
black casket", is again described by Manchester..
"Burning, fierce eyes beneath black furrowed brows stared with
hellish reflection. Yellow at the edges with blood-red centers, they
were unlike any other beast of prey. Flared nostrils connected to a
thin, high-bridged nose. The mouth still set in its cruel expression,
with lips drawn far back, as if unable to contain the fangs."
This time there would be no purification ritual. Manchester went
straight for the hammer and stake and, "with a mighty blow", drove
the stake into the creature's heart causing it to bellow then it "just
collapsed and melted into a puddle of brown slime". Having spent so
much time chasing this particular creature, Manchester was not about
to take any chances on its surviving his attentions this time. Before
leaving, he and his assistants burned the remains.
Obviously his attempts on this last occasion were a success as the old
house has since been pulled down and replaced with public housing,
and not one of the elderly occupants has complained of vampires
lurking about the place.
Working as a hospital orderly, and living in the Highgate area, Farrant
was naturally attracted by rumors of a vampire residing in the
cemetery. During the early 70s, Farrant was seen so frequently in the
cemetery at night that people began to believe he was the vampire.
Obviously, Farrant was no vampire, but having spent so much time in
the cemetery, it was only a matter of time before he caught sight of
the creature. Here is how Farrant himself recalls the encounter.
"I was investigating reports of a tall, mysterious figure at Highgate
Cemetery in London and, late one night, saw this entity myself. It was
indescribable....about seven feet tall and with two orange specks I
took to be eyes. This convinced me the reports were genuine."
Unfortunately for Farrant, the law took a dim view of his
"investigating" activities, and he was arrested on several occasions
with one judge advising him to see a doctor. Choosing to ignore the
good judge's advice, Farrant returned to Highgate and, "armed with a
stake and hammer, he led TV reporters on tours of suspected vampire
lairs" within the cemetery. The police, however, were more interested
in Farrant's activities when there were no reporters around. They
suspected he was involved in black magic rituals and this time when
he was arrested, the charges were much more serious.
The resulting trial, which began in June 1974, was dubbed "The Nude Rituals Case"
by the press. In his defense, Farrant stated
that others were responsible for the satanic rituals which, he claimed,
had raised an evil entity within the cemetery. The nude rituals, he
said, were merely his attempt to rid the cemetery of this evil force.
Sadly for Farrant, he was not believed. Convicted on a variety of
charges, he received a "hefty fine" and was sentenced to four years
eight months in prison.
After serving two years of his sentence, Farrant was released on
parole in 1976. Eager to regain his standing within the vampire
hunting community, Farrant laid claim to the title of High Priest within
Sean Manchester's organization. However, not even Manchester
wanted anything to do with Farrant, and denied his claim. This
angered Farrant to the point where he challenged Manchester to a
dual, which never eventuated. And it was around this time that even
the British tabloids, which had been following his exploits closely, lost
interest in Farrant and his activities.
Is this connected to the entity at Highgate Cemetery?
DF: We found inverted pentagrams and black candles there, so I think Satanists had
summoned up some kind of malignant force, and it remained earth bound.
What happened at Highgate Cemetery?
DF: I was investigating reports of a tall, mysterious figure at Highgate Cemetery in London
and, late one night, saw this entity myself. It was indescribable...about seven feet tall and
with two orange specks I took to be eyes. This convinced me the reports were genuine, so
BPOS decided to make contact with it.
We had a medium turn up at the cemetery, but before we even started, the police turned
up, and I was caught with what they claimed was a stake and a crucifix. In fact, I was going
to use the stake to inscribe a circle on the ground, where we wanted the entity to
materialize. The police charged me with 'being in an enclosed area for an unlawful
purpose', claiming my intention was to seek out and destroy a vampire.
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