Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology, aliens, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government conspiracies, cults, ghosts, EVPs, myths, ancient artifacts, religion, strange facts or just the plain unexplainable.
This week: Myths/The Unexplainable
The Highgate is a London cemetery with cases of vampirism often referred to as contemporary. Although a quick scour or the net hasn't shown anything implying sightings in the past 30 years or so, in the late 60s/early 70s there was an explosion of them.
Conflicting lead theories on the vampire are supported by two bitter rivals, apparently. The two men very much enjoy discrediting one another, yet both seem more than convinced there is some nefarious presence afoot.
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado may we present The Highgate Vampire.
David Farrant, one of the two mentioned highgate experts, claims to have seen the cemetery-bound vampire at least thrice. Here are two of his quotes mashed together:…
"[1]Some nights I walk home past the gates of Highgate Cemetery. On three occasions I have seen what appeared to be a ghost-like figure inside the gates at the top of Swains Lane. The first occasion was on Christmas Eve. I saw a grey figure for a few seconds before it disappeared into the darkness. The second sighting, a week later, was also brief. Last week, the figure appeared, only a few yards inside the gates. This time it was there long enough for me to see it much more clearly, and now I can think of no other explanation than this apparition being supernatural. I have no knowledge in this field and I would be interested to hear if any other readers have seen anything of this nature….[2]It took the form of a tall, grey figure, and it … [pauses] … seemed to glide off the path without making any noise."
Not only did Farrant see the entity – he wanted to kill it. According to the BBC:
"On August the seventeenth, Farrant decided to pay a midnight visit to the cemetery to combat the vampire once and for all. At the cemetery, Farrant was forced to enter by the back wall, as he still does today. He armed himself with a cross and stake, and crouched between the tombstones, waiting. But that night police, on the prowl for vandals, discovered him. He was charged with being in an enclosed space for an unlawful purpose, but later the Clerkenwell magistrate acquitted him. Now, in spite of attempts by the cemetery owners to bar him, Farrant and his friends still maintain a regular vigil around the catacombs in hope of sighting either the vampire or a meeting of Satanists."
Farrant's rival, Sean Manchester, is just as resolved to solve the Highgate mystery. Wikipedia gives us Manchester's vamp theory:
"…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."
In March of 1970 the two rivals and their vampire theories lit up the press. Enough so that a mass vampire hunt was announced for that month. Again, Wikipedia says:
"The ensuing publicity was enhanced by a growing rivalry between Farrant and Manchester, each claiming that he could and would expel or destroy the spectre. Manchester declared to his associates that he would hold an 'official' vampire hunt on Friday 13 March…. ITV then set up interviews with both Manchester and Farrant… These were broadcast on ITV early on the evening of the 13th; within two hours a mob of 'hunters' from all over London and beyond swarmed over gates and walls into the locked cemetery, despite police efforts to control them."
The media didn't say much about the mass hunt's results – at least that we can see. Manchester, on the other hand, did tell us what he did that night. He snuck into the cemetery unnoticed by police and, with some friends, went to a catacomb which he'd been earlier led to by a sleepwalking psychic girl. He and his friends lowered themselves into the structure through a hole in the roof where they found multiple empty coffins. They sprinkled these with garlic and holy water.
That's not where the rivalry ended. Since the great Highgate hunt there's been at least one arrest, jail time served, and the alleged staking of the vampire as it was found in the basement of a house. There were even rumours that Manchester and Farrant would face off in a magicians duel of sorts.
As to whether or not the vampire ever actually existed – the only direct accounts come from these two. Are they just trying to sell their books? And are those books even close to honest accounts? We have no idea.
But it's interesting.
Read More:
The Informative One says
Interloping charalatan David Farrant has apparently published a new and more miserable attempt at slandering Bishop Sean Manchester. This so-called comic book, as Farrant insists on calling it, is produced entirely by Farrant who ─ as anyone familiar with his bandwagoneering career as an interloping charlatan will know ─ has an axe to grind against the author of the The Highgate Vampire. This convicted criminal makes every use he can of the misinformation he provides, including an allegation that his is somehow not responsible for “UFO’s” seen by dozens of residents of Bournemouth, UK, when Farrant well knows he and his “helpers” engineered the display with the intention of disturbing Bishop Sean Manchester at his retreat. Farrant’s band of misguided followers have an agenda in common with Farrant to try and discredit Bishop Sean Manchester by any means necessary ─ including slander, transparent fabrication, misleading and erroneous interpretation and a plethora of false allegations. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006500393,00.html
The Informative One (genuine one) says
Whoever previously posted as “The Informative One” on August 14th, 2007 at 12:38am is certainly not me and is trying to stir up things by stealing my nick and linking it to a forum where I am a member. If their IP is checked it will reveal their identity to be unconnected to me or anyone else who owes allegiance or holds membership in the same organisation.
For those who might not have a clue what the original “UFOs” story was all about, this is what one of the many newspapers carrying the report published online:
LIGHTS IN SKY ‘LIKE CLOSE ENCOUNTERS’
IT was like a scene from the movie Close Encounters, according to at least one eye-witness.
Orange lights dancing in the night sky moved in formation, coming and going in waves.
Numerous reports were phoned and emailed into the Echo of strange events in the sky at around 10pm last night.
Dorset police confirmed they had received ‘a few’ calls and suggested it could possibly be a meteor shower. They are discounting the possibility of a military cause because, they say, the services inform them if they are conducting exercises at night in the area.
Reader Poll
Do you believe aliens visit this planet? Yes
63.4%
No
36.6%
Taxi firm boss Nicky Smith, 38, of Capstone Road said this morning: “It was an incredibly strange experience. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
“I was just turning my car around in the road when I saw a group of about 20 people from a nearby dance studio standing in the street looking up to the heavens. They seemed to be transfixed.
“I wondered what on earth they were looking at. There were about six of these bright orange lights to the right of the moon. It was an amazing sight and I was completely bemused.”
Nicky, who videoed the lights, said the episode went on for about 40 minutes as the lights moved around, formed into a line and disappeared one by one, then appeared to return in two more waves.
She added: “I called my husband Mark out to take as look and although he’s very sceptical about UFOs and stuff like that, even he admitted he couldn’t explain what it was.”
Another emailer, Michelle wrote: “We saw five or six lights in the south-south-east, initially in a wide triangle and then in wide crescent formation – then they went into a straight line.
“The movement was barely discernible and they appeared to be heading upwards. This was at about 10.20pm and at around 10.25pm a huge orange/red light rose rose up from the south horizon. It seemed to stop, moved upwards very, very slowly untill it disappeared.”
_____________________________________________________________________
“To put it another way, imagine many people in a seaside town encounter strange lights in the sky. Some feel they are alien space craft. Others feel the lights are the work of a ‘witch’ who is casting a spell from afar. The evidence:
1. Newspaper stories reporting the lights
2. Eyewitness accounts of people who saw the lights
3. Testimony of a prominent citizen attesting that the witch caused the lights
4. Newspaper accounts of the witch’s occult beliefs and practices
As you can see, some ‘evidence’ – although it may appear concrete – is simply not reliable. Even though there may be a large quantity of it, and some people are convinced by it, the evidence can’t be considered conclusive in any way. It would be irrational to conclude the lights are something fantastic like aliens or the work of a witch…when more ordinary explanations (such as chinese lanterns) are available.”
– CLD (19th June 2007, 10:34 PM – James Randi Educational Foundation Forum)
http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=2704387&postcount=41
Or, to put it another way, imagine a person with the intials “DF” noticing reports on television, in national and local newspapers, about mysterious lights over a coastal county in England. This person clearly felt there was possible mileage in these myserious lights for his agenda; that agenda being self-publicity and waging a personal vendetta against a Christian bishop. David Farrant notices that online comments in the Dorset Echo are unmoderated and alerts his two little helpers to assist. One of this cabal posts a comment claiming that the mysterious lights over Dorset have nothing to do with UFOs but are the remarkable supernatural powers of the David Farrant who is a witch. Stage one accomplished: publicity in a newspaper for Farrant. Stage two is already set in place because the original comment they posted had been fraudulently attributed to Bishop Seán Manchester, which leaves the way open for a tirade of abuse against the bishop in subsequent comments. Just three problems with their plan:
1. When checked by the newspaper’s webmaster, the IP behind the fraudulent “Bishop Seán Manchester” comment was found to be identical to that of a pro-David Farrant poster who also posted multiple attacks against the bishop.
2. The comments were removed by the newspaper editor after being alerted by Bishop Manchester’s secretary who requested that a record be kept for the police.
3. Bishop Seán Manchester does not believe (and has never believed) that David Farrant has any supernatural powers. The bishop does believe (along with most journalists, editors and especially most witches) that David Farrant is a phoney witch and has been since his pseudo-occult career began in the 1970s.
David Farrant simply could not resist exlpoiting CLD’s inane message for his own self-aggrandisement:
“By the way, I wonder who this (obviously very powerful) ‘witch’ you referred to could be!?”
– David Farrant (20th June 2007, 04:52 AM – James Randi Educational Foundation Forum)
http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=2704854&postcount=42
The Informative One (the original one) says
It has come to my attention that a new book is being published by someone claiming to be the actual Highgate Vampire. The book is entitled, “HIGHGATE: FROM THE VAMPIRE’S PERSPECTIVE”, and supposedly details this poor innocent supernatural creature’s persecution by vampire hunters Bishop Sean Manchester and David Farrant. This book purports to be a “confessional” which paints both Bishop Manchester and David Farrant as “ignorant pillocks” and the vampire as “a free spirit harming no one”. “HIGHGATE: FROM THE VAMPIRE’S PERSPECTIVE” is naturally full of lies, distortions and self-aggrandisement, the agenda being self-publicity for the so-called “vampire”. More than likely the author is in league with the criminal Farrant and his Hell-doomed band of followers. Any true Christian will acknowledge that Bishop Sean Manchester successfully staked this vampire decades ago and pathetic fabricatons such as this book are not to be believed, as they are lies and fantasies.
The Informative One (genuine one) says
So the fake “The Informative One” (August 17th, 2007 at 1:47 am) is now showing his true colours. About time. But what a shame this person has to steal someone else’s user name.
The Informative One (the original one) says
I protest, sir, it is you who are the fake and who are stealing my user name. Anyone can see that I support Bishop Manchester and decry the foul propaganda issued by carpetbaggers and blashphemers such as Farrant. If your colours were true, you would acknowledge that the Muswell Hill cabal were in collusion to disturb the Bishop at his retreat by creating false displays of lights over the Bournemouth area, as was documented in the comments section of the Dorset Echo.
The Informative One (the original one) says
And here is the proof, direct from the pages of the Dorset Echo:
Posted by: Bishop Seán Manchester, Bournemouth on 9:14pm Sat 26 May 07
I saw these lights as well, and I can tell you they are the work of Satanic forces such as those lead by cult high priest David Farrant, who, in 1969, beheaded a cat as part of a ritual sacrifice for his “witches coven”.
The Informative One (the other one) says
There are no such things as Vampires, you pair of girls.
The Informative One (the original one) says
Surely, in the Bournemouth Lights incident, one will recognize the work of the “Muswell Hill Mafia”; i.e. Farrant’s “helpers” who are invariably violently antipathetic to Christians and the Christian Church. Blasphemous and sacrilegious conduct is their credo, all incited and informed by David Farrant, who was convicted of multifarious Satanic crimes at the Old Bailey in 1974 and who, far from showing any remorse, has boasted about his crimes ever since. He crops up in vampiroid underground magazines, and has, on rare occasions, put in an appearance at their meetings as an honoured guest. To this day he continues his Satanic practises by summoning up Luciferian forces to plague and beset His Excellency The Bishop, and it is only by the Power Of Christ do we manage to fend off his efforts.
The Informative One (genuine one) says
That was exposed at the time to be you, Zane, fraudulently posting as “Bishop Seán Manchester” on that newspaper’s readers’ forum. It was quickly deleted by the editor when he checked the IP of the phoney message. It was your IP. See details of this stunt in my post above (August 16th, 2007 at 9:19 am). Just to remind you:
1. When checked by the newspaper’s webmaster, the IP behind the fraudulent “Bishop Seán Manchester” comment was found to be identical to that of a pro-David Farrant poster who also posted multiple attacks against the bishop.
2. The comments were removed by the newspaper editor after being alerted by Bishop Manchester’s secretary who requested that a record be kept for the police.
3. Bishop Seán Manchester does not believe (and has never believed) that David Farrant has any supernatural powers. The bishop does believe (along with most journalists, editors and especially most witches) that David Farrant is a phoney witch and has been since his pseudo-occult career began in the 1970s.
If you are the “original” The Informative One, why don’t you provide some evidence where you originally posted? All you will be able provide, Zane, are genuine posts made by myself. The difference being our IPs and our intent. Your posts here as elsewhere, eg posting fraudulently as “Bishop Seán Manchester,” are transparently disingenuous. Only an idiot would not see through you and your games on Farrant’s behalf. But now, Zane, your game is up.
Stick to your more familiar handles of “The Guv’nor” (which you use to administrate Farrant’s website and “official” message board) and “Archbishop Shorn Scrotum” (which you employ when moderating Farrant’s message board or posting extreme and often obscene abuse on the internet about Bishop Seán Manchester.
As an unemployed karate obsessive, Zane, isn’t it time you got a job and, while you’re at it, a life?
The Informative one (really, this is me) says
oh you wretched name stealing blowhards,
vampires are real. vampire bats, that is.
the rest are figments of your overwrought ‘maginations.
but, maybe you could try to attract them by bloodletting
on the roof – you foofs.
The Informative One (the good looking one) says
I tend to believe that the Bishop complained to the newspaper that Farrant had sent UFO’s to harass him. The reason is that the man has been proven stark, raving mad. Well and truly potty. Certifiably round the bend. Not that Farrant is without sin either. But in a contest of clinically verifiable insanity, Manchester wins the booby prize. For one thing, the Bshop actually believes in vampires of the Hammer Horror type. He claims to have staked them, and even claims to have witnessed a woman turn into a giant spider, after which he presumably sprayed her with insect repellent to stun her before planting his wooden peg right in the old girls thorax.
The Informative One (genuine one) says
Bishop Seán Manchester does not believe in “vampires of the Hammer Horror type.” This is a Farrant attribution – so we know who posted that piece of misinformation. What Bishop Seán Manchester believes in and has exorcised are the same predatory demonic manifestations clergy have been writing about and dealing with for centuries. Whether or not the modern mind can comprehend such things – much less believe in them – is another matter.
However, I note that since my idenitfying Farrant’s message board administrator (“The Guv’nor”) and its moderator (“Archbishop Shorn Scrotum”) to be one and the same person, namely Zane – someone who hates Christians as much as he despises Bishop Seán Manchester – that message board within minutes of my revealtion ceased to be public and became private. Previously Zane’s user names were visible. Now, of course, they are not.
Bingo!
The Informative One (genuine one) says
“I tend to believe that the Bishop complained to the newspaper that Farrant had sent UFO’s to harass him.” (August 19th, 2007 at 8:01 am)
That being the case (which, let’s face it, you and I know isn’t the case), I invite you and anyone else to contact the editor of the newspaper in question and ask him what transpired.
What he will confirm is that the IP address of the person fraudulently posting the phoney “complaint” was identical to someone posting malicious attacks against Bishop Seán Manchester in the same readers’ comments section. So what you are alleging is that Bishop Manchester complained to the newspaper about UFOs sent ot harass him and then went on to attack himself in the same newspaper with nasty comments. I don’t think so.
How exactly do UFOs attack anyone? The mysterious lights in the sky were just that: mysterious lights in the sky. They certainly had nothing to do with David Farrant and nobody, least of all Bishop Manchester, believed they did have anything to do with him. As it happens, Bishop Manchester was unaware of both mysterious lights and newspaper comments. Someone contacted one of his colleagues and the bishop’s secretary contacted the newspaper’s editor by telephone. The editor was asked to check the IPs of those posting and keep a record for the poilice before deleting the comments made by Zane and company.
the Informative one (the one you should trust) says
“How exactly do UFOs attack anyone?” According to the comic book, the bishop ran into his outdoor loo when he saw the lights in the sky. He must have felt he was under attack. Hey, he’s a person who believes in vampires! Why is it so strange that he might think UFOs are after him too?
http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/display_product_info.jsp?isbn=9780953948192
The Informative One (im the real bad boy, muvafukers!, SHAMOOONE) says
heeeheeee
shamooooooone
the informative one (this time it's me. honest!) says
Im not a fan of James Randi but are you saying he is somehow supporting David Farrant?
The Informative One (the original one) says
“James Randi, in all probability, has never heard of David Farrant, but some of the members of his “Educational Foundation” forum have come out and declared Farrant to be one of them.” – August 21st, 2007 at 11:35 am
Well why don’t you contact James Randi and make him aware of what his members are doing?
Victiims of Sean says
Looks like the old boy is harassing a few more folks. Hey, Sean! A few people are tired of your stalking! Rumor has it some Yanks have started a class action lawsuit against you.
Remember how you harassed Alex Lucard and friends? Well, you can’t cry, “I’m not a public figure” any more! Say good bye to your 400 large and that white SUV of yours!
Very Funny!!!!!! says
Yeah and quite a lot of us are sick to death of Farrant’s stalking as well. He’s not an angel either, more like a Fallen Angel shall we say!!!!!!!
The Informative One (genuine one) says
This has been stated so many times before, and it appears to need repeating again here; namely that Bishop Seán Manchester has not “stalked” anyone, least of all Alex Lucard whom he does not know, has never heard of, and really is not remotely interested in.
Talk is cheap. All I hear is talk about what this or that anonymous misfit is threatening to do against Bishop Seán Manchester – usually from the safety of another country. Nothing ever happens, of course, because these people are invariably non-entities trying to catch some limelight for themselves by making false allegations and fabricating nonsense in order to ride briefly on the coat-tails of someone who is not even aware of their pathetic existence.
Victims Of Sean says
Barabara and Catherine have arrived I see.
Sean Manchester's Rent Boy says
Informative One. Why can’t the good Bishop speak for himself? Is he too busy banging a choirboy?
Guardians Against Sean Manchester's Pollution says
A few of the bishop’s self printed pamphlets:
“The Highgate Vampire: The World of the Undead Unearthed at London’s Highgate Cemetery”
The world of the undead? Is there any proof of this “undead” world other than your mutterings?
“From Satan To Christ: Secrets of Witchcraft and Satanism Revealed in a Story of Salvation”
Witchcraft secrets? An alleged Catholic bishop giving out witchcraft secrets? Sounds demented.
“Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Life of Lady Caroline Lamb”
3 hours research in a library and the bishop charges £21.00? Robbery.
“The Grail Church: Its Ancient Tradition and Renewed Flowering”
Flogging the importance of his made-up “church”?
“The Vampire Hunter’s Handbook: A Concise Vampirological Guide”
Where is the proof of vampires? Other than tall tales from a delusional old fart?
The Informative One (genuine one) says
Anyone in possession of the above books will be aware that at least half are in hardcover format and the softcover titles are perfect bound. Since when did a hardback book of a couple of hundred pages with a dust jacket, or a perfect bound paperback, become a “pamphlet”? This kind of rhetoric reveals the true nature of who is misinforming – someone who has doubtless never had anyting published or even managed to write anything in their life.
Bishop Seán Manchester’s principal publisher in recent years has been Gothic Press. His religious titles are usually published by Holy Grail. He has also been published by Leslie Frewin Books, Coronet Books and Hodder and Stoughton (among others).
Is he too busy to address blogs such as these where he is mentioned (of which there are literally hundreds)? What do you think? He neither sees them nor knows about them.
Very Amusing says
Barbara and Catherine have not arrived just Catherine. So please get your facts right. I am not fighting anyone’s battle on here except my own. You think it’s right to get your mates sending death threats through my email account and yet haven’t got the courage or the guts to face me personally. Says it all. The reason why they sent the death threats through the email is because they knew damn well that the police wouldn’t do anything because it’s not face to face. Very cowardly is it not. I happen to agree with the informative one (the genuine one) however, that talk is cheap and it shows the true mentality of the people publishing these false and malicious statements. And Farrant’s books are equally delusional.
Very Amusing says
I hope that the blog owner will allow me to publish this but this should make people think or not as the case may be. Some people are incapable of thinking and just like to be obsessed with one subject ie The Highgate Vampire which may or may not exist in the first place. Farrant should know that The Highgate Vampire is a hardback book because he still has my copy of it.
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