Reading time: 5 minutes
Borley Rectory is known as the most haunted house in England. MARK HOPPER unveils a rare letter from Marianne Foyster, a central participant in the case, in which she shares her thoughts on life after the terrifying
Mary Anne Emily Rebecca Shaw was born on 26 January 1899 to Anne and William Shaw in Stockport, Cheshire. In 1914 she married a clerk, Harold Gifford Greenwood. Although she was only 15, her marriage certificate stated her age as 17.
In 1915 they had a child together, Ian Greenwood, but just six weeks after his birth Harold left Marianne and Ian was partially raised by Marianne’s parents.
In 1922 Marianne married the Reverend Lionel Algernon Foyster and in 1930 they moved to the dilapidated and extensive Borley Rectory.
Marianne would become an integral part of the lore surrounding Borley Rectory, dubbed ‘the most haunted house in England’ by legendary ghost hunter Harry Price.
About five years ago, Barry Roper, a bookseller friend, entrusted me with some research files collected by his recently deceased brother Alan Roper.
Alan was a respected member of the Ghost Club for fifty years and more, a friend of Ghost Club President Peter Underwood and a tenacious investigator. In these files I found a letter written to Alan by Marianne O’Neil, nee Foyster.
The letter was not dated, but she stated her age as 74, which would mean that the letter was written around 1974.
The Marianne Foyster letter begins
Dear sir
As you say, we’ve never met, so I’m wondering where you managed to get my address. As you say, my life has been made hell by people from old England.
I have no information to give you. I think you have pushed your questions to the limit and there is little I can add. As you say, many people are losing contact with their loved ones during this unfortunate time due to the war.
The letter continues with:
Adelaide was not yet three when we lived in Borley, and yet there were those who pointed out that she was RESPONSIBLE.
The phenomena experienced by the Foysters during their stay at Borley were the most intense and remarkable recorded during the parsonage’s 122-year history.
In his 1946 book The end of the rectory of Borleywrote Harry Price of his visit to the parsonage in 1931 during Foyster’s term of office: “Not only was there a revival of all the old phenomena (in a much more violent form), but the poltergeists invented many new ‘manifestations’, all designed to to bewilder, annoy or injure the unfortunate inhabitants of the parsonage.
Rev. Lionel Foyster wrote an unpublished book about his and Marianne’s experiences at Borley Rectory, Fifteen Months in a Haunted House. The phenomena listed are wide ranging and intense, from the classic poltergeist stone throwing, the laundry being taken from cupboards and scattered around the parsonage, to seizures such as small piles of stones appearing on Marianne’s pillow in the morning.
She also reported seeing “a monstrosity” touching her shoulder with “an iron-like touch.” It is known that messages also appeared in pencil on pieces of paper and on the walls of the parsonage asking Marianne for help and urging her to “Candlemas, prayers”.
The letter continues:
I am sure, Mr. Roper, that you will understand my position. My life has been made a living hell by people I have never met, never harmed and still don’t know. They didn’t know me either. The invasion of my privacy has been piracy and at 74 years old it sickens me to think that people are still lying and trying to poke and prod at something I never understood, but I don’t understand the atomic bomb either. and yet it is a fact.
I’ve cut myself off from the old England. I am a naturalized American citizen and have very little contact with my former home country. My only regular correspondent died last March.
I trust that you will refrain from further introspection. ESP is real and should not be treated as sensational, sensational or sentimental. I would like to point out that Borley had a long history, long before my time of trouble.
Marianne here demonstrates a knowledge of the rectory’s haunted history that was indeed long.
History of the Pursuits at Borley Parsonage
In the early 20th century, daughters of the Reverend Henry ‘Harry’ Bull reported seeing a ghostly nun in the grounds of the parsonage. Harry Bull himself often sat in the Summer House grounds waiting to catch a glimpse of the ghostly nun.
After Bull’s death in 1927, Reverend Guy Eric Smith and his wife Mabel moved to the parsonage. They soon began experiencing poltergeist phenomena such as mysterious sounds of footsteps, throwing stones, and ringing service bells, despite being disconnected. Harry Price called for help and at this time became involved in his investigation into the Borley Rectory chase.
The letter concludes:
Thank you again for your letter. As I said before, what’s over is over. If you study philosophy in depth, you have probably heard of the Golden Rule. I wouldn’t dream of prying into your affairs, past or present, and I don’t see what exactly you have to gain.
I’m sorry if I sound negative. It’s just that I’m tired of people asking me questions and asking and asking.
Very truly yours.
Marianne O’Neil
The ‘Golden Rule’ that Marianne is talking about is of course the principle of treating others as you would like to be treated. It seems that Marianne lived up to this ideal admirably in her later years, when she received the papal award for ‘dedicated services to humanity’. She died in 1992 at the age of 93 as a respected member of her community, having spent much of her time caring for the elderly.
Image of the Marianne Foyster letter
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