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David Farrant/Highgate Vampire

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G

Gil Bavel

Guest
I was listening to a recent show the other day and I heard somebody say something about the Highgate Vampire case, and that someone else had brought it up and increased the interest from general UFO phenomena to including that as well.

I know David Farrant, who wrote "Beyond the Highgate Vampire", as well as "Dark Secrets", as well as other books on the paranormal, witchcraft and vampires, and is the foremost authority on the Highgate Vampire case.

I've always been interested in Farrant's work, and would like to suggest him as a guest on the Paracast. As usual, I should be able to dig up his contact information (he does have Internet access, but usually emails through an intermediary) if it's decided he should be a guest.

It's a really interesting case, and one that most American listeners just aren't familiar enough with. Farrant is also the founder and president of the British Psychic and Occult Society, which have their own message board for members.

More can be found here:

http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/darkthot/highgate.html

And you can visit Farrant's own web site here:

http://www.davidfarrant.org/

The Highgate Vampire case is extremely interesting, and Farrant's body of work, background and upbringing are intriguing and worth hearing about.
 
Thank you for bringing up this fascinating subject gilbavel. I had never heard of the Highgate Vampire and just read the Wikipedia article about it. Incredibly interesting. Would definitely make for a great show.
 
I have an article on my paranormal blog about the Highgate Vampire. I scoured Flickr for images of Highgate Cemetery, and added some to the article, under a Creative Commons license. If you look at the images (I've linked back to the photographers, so you can check out all their Highgate pics), you can imagine just how scary a walk around the place can be, with or without some eerie apparition popping up in front of you. It seems to be a contentious issue. Some people say the vampire is still active, others say it was exorcised. I disabled comments on the article, because the two factions tried to start a war on my blog, LOL.

http://sianikatt.blogspot.com/2007/09/highgate-vampire.html
 
Yeah, there seem to be two competing factions. By the way, that is a fantastic article you've put together Siani. Very well done.
 
Thanks, ABR486. Flickr is well worth checking out for pics of the cemetery itself - it really puts the whole thing into perspective and gives a sense of how eerie and overgrown that place is, vampire or no vampire. The area of the cemetery where the vampire is said to lurk, is now only open to visitors via a guided tour, and I may join one of those tours when I'm in London next month. Don't think I'm quite brave enough to take an evening stroll down Swain's Lane, though. It's certainly an intriguing tale, and it seems there might be a bit more happening at Highgate than just people getting freaked out by the location.
 
Siani:

If you're going to be in London, you might want to look up Farrant himself. I would definitely encourage you to check out the cemetery; not only is there a tour, but Highgate Cemetery was a location for one of the Hammer/Dracula films with Christopher Lee--The film Dracula A.D. 1972 was inspired by the events surrounding the Highgate Vampire case. So if you're a Hammer Horror fan, you have a double reason to check it out.

Let me know if you want to visit with Farrant while you're in London and I'll see if I can arrange a meeting for you.

--Gil
 
Thanks Gil - that's very kind of you. Alas, I'll only be in London for about 10 hours, to meet a friend who'll be over from Italy, so I'll be on a fairly tight schedule, and may not even be able to fit in a visit to Highgate Cemetery. But thanks for the kind thought - I truly appreciate it.
 
Vampires, like so many other things simply do not exist. No matter how many Anne Rice books are sold.
 
Tommy Allison said:
Vampires, like so many other things simply do not exist. No matter how many Anne Rice books are sold.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's David Farrant's opinion, too. That's why the case is so fascinating--the Highgate "Vampire" was dubbed so by the press. The first "victim" fell unconscious at the fence of Highgate cemetery, and upon waking up said that she felt that she had been "drained" of energy. Some sort of psychic attack. It's really some sort of paranormal phenomenon that's heretofore unexplained.

In any case, it's not a sanguine vampire. If you are interested in checking out the case, there are lots of resources available, including links on the board we've left during this discussion. That way you can make informed decisions and make posts about the case that aren't based in ignorance.

It's hard to do, because David Farrant's books are mostly rare and out of print; I had to go through him directly to get copies for research on a screenplay based on his work. They're nearly impossible to find and incredibly expensive when you can. They're self-published and in high demand.

But it is a VERY interesting case... unfortunately, the waters got muddied by another person that wanted to make a name for himself as a vampire killer, and exploited the whole stake and cross thing; that's not what this case is about.

The Highgate Vampire case has nothing to do with Anne Rice-type vampires.

The reason the case was brought up is that Farrant has done some fascinating interviews, most Americans aren't familiar with the case, and he would be a really interesting guest for the Paracast. He's in semi-retirement now, and as the case happened in 1968, anyone that's interested in getting his side of the story is racing the undertaker, to borrow a phrase from Stanton Friedman.
 
I don't believe in vampires either, but something strange seems to have happened at Highgate, possibly involving some kind of paranormal entity. On the other hand, the location itself is so eerie, I guess people could be getting spooked by something a bit more mundane. I don't know enough about it to take a definite stance either way. I would love to read some of Farrant's works on the subject, but apart from the limited materials he has made available online, I've not been able to get hold of them.
 
I first heard about the "Highgate" vampire back in the early 1980's while investigating two cattle mutilations as a criminal investigator. Yes, I found it very strange and unbelievable, but I wanted to follow up on it later. A number of years passed and life intruded and the case was stored in the back of my mind.

I was again confronted about the case in the 90's, and now with the internet I was able to do a little more checking. I have a buddy who is a very well known investigator in the UK, John Spencer, who also did some checking on his end for me. I attempted to contact the primary name associated with Highgate, Bishop Sean Manchester. Later John got back to me and told me that they (for whatever reason) did not wish to speak to me. I was intrigued enough to look for a copy of Manchester's book, "The Highgate Vampire" published in the UK. When I found it on Amazon, UK, I ordered it along with Manchester's "The Vampire Hunters Handbook." A week or two later they arrived and I read them immediately. Now, being a medically retired cop, I decided to try to investigate this just like I would have if I were still active duty. One of the "vampire victims" according to Manchester was a young woman he called "Lusia." Okay, first order of business was discovering just who she was. Manchester refused to ID her so I contacted my buddy John Spencer. (At this point, I was still open to the possibility that something very strange had happened.)

David Farrant was another name associated with this case and Spencer was able to put me in contact with him. Farrant knew my name from my UFO research and agreed to talk to me. I called him, exchanged emails with him and got a very good handle on this case.

Farrant was part of this story since the late 1960's. Sean Manchester and David Farrant have had a bitter feud going for over 35 years. I still have megabytes of information on this case in my database. I ended up interviewing Farrant on my radio show Dark Matters, and the FOBSM (or the Friends of Bishop Sean Manchester) went bonkers on me. I tried time after time to get Manchester to agree with an interview, but he refused. I am convinced the entire case is "Total bullshit. I could go on and on detailing why, but I am not writing a book here. However, in full disclosure, I did reference this case in my supernatural horror novel Past Sins.

If you have any specific questions regarding Highgate, I will be happy to attempt to answer them.

Don Ecker
 
After posting my note about the Highgate case, I have received a number of private notes that pretty much cautioned me about any further posts where I have named some of the principal players in the Highgate Vampire case.

When I first heard about this I was sufficiently intrigued enough to wish to pursue it. I did. I now know why so many folks are somewhat afraid to discuss this case in a public forum. Last year, here on the Paracast, I detailed some of my investigation including my radio interview with David Farrant. The other side of this case went wild and Gene and David ended up having to ban them. However, if Gene and David do not mind and IF ANYONE is interested, I will put together a file of my research and lay out what I found. However this will be a bit time consuming and I will not do it if there is no real interest. I guess it is up to you all.

Decker
 
I would absolutely love to read it. I've only read the opinions of the two feuding sides, and would appreciate a fresh and impartial perspective.
 
Well, greatly honoured to see someone has started a Highgate 'vampire' thread in my name! Believe it was you Gil. How are you by the way? Haven't heard from you for a little while.

Yes, the Truthis certainly 'out there' Siani. I should know - I was caught in the middle of the whole thing.

I read your account also, Don. Very informative and accurate I thought.

What you have been subjected to about this case, especially by someone calling themselves "Katrina Garthforth-bles" ("KGB" for short!) is not so accurate, however, and some of it (well most of it) amounts to gross distortions or down-right lies. There is not politer way of putting it.

Anyway, this is really just to say hello everyone. I'm kept pretty busy with my main website and own Blog (not to mention all the BPOS work) but I will certainly answer any questions if anyone has any. Just ask away. Don't be shy or embarrassed about the case 'cause I haven't done anything to be embarrassed about!

Anyway, for the moment,

David Farrant
 
Nice to see you here, David. I know you were never convinced of the presence of a vampire at Highgate Cemetery, but do you believe a genuine haunting may have been at the heart of the vampire myth? People have contacted me, after reading an article on my blog, to say they have seen an apparition in the cemetery, and Swain's Lane, even in very recent times.
 
vampires,

according to some sources ive read the theory is practitioners of astral projection can form an astral body whose function is to sap the energy of others, and in doing so enhance and or prolong their own life.
young women and boys according to the story are the best sources of this life energy and so are the primary targets, getting sicker and sicker as time goes by as the essence is drained by means of this specific astral body.

the suggestion is that the vampire story grew out of that reality

just what ive read and heard , ive never seen any evidence that astral projection works in any form exploritory or predatory
 
Thank you for that Siani,

(I'll come back to you a little later on astral projection Mike; rather, this being a possible cause for stories of vampirism).

I am certainly convinced Highgate Cemetery (indeed the immediate area) is haunted by some genuine psychic phenomenon, Siani. But it was not - and is not - a 'blood-sucking vampire'. This was the invention of a handful of people who chose to 'cash in' on reports of the genuine haunting.

There have been more reports very recently. Two positive ones from people actually encountering a figure, occurred in 2005 and I have these reports on record.

More recent reports come from people who - although not actually having seen anything - have encountered sinister 'atmospheric centers' in the cemetery itself and outside in Swains Lane. One man experienced a 'time lapse' in Swains Lane and was unable to eat anything or sleep properly for two days.

This has happened to a few independent people (that I know of) and would suggest that some form of earthbound psychic energy is still present.

So no 'vampire', definitely 'no'.

Some unexplained psychic entity, most definitely 'yes'.

But the 'staked vampire' story and the one about its disciple turning into a 'giant spider', is most definitely a concocted hoax.

For the moment,

David (Farrant)
 
Thanks for the response, David. It's much appreciated. I was never taken in by tales of staked vampires and giant spiders, and you've confirmed to me what I've always suspected - that reports made in good faith, by members of the public, were exploited, mixed in with local legend and turned into something they weren't.
 
Darn tootin'.

I stand by my previous position that I think David would be an excellent choice for the show.

Will anyone second my motion?
 
gilbavel said:
Darn tootin'.

I stand by my previous position that I think David would be an excellent choice for the show.

Will anyone second my motion?
Click to expand...

I will. I'd be interested in hearing about the Beaumaris 'vampire' as well as the Highgate apparitions.
 
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