Post by Vampirologist on Aug 6, 2006 9:33:24 GMT -5
The entry on Highgate Cemetery in The Lore of the Land barely covers three columns on two pages out of a book containing no less than 918 pages. This heavy tome is ostensibly an encyclopedia of folklore written by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson who are providing "a guide to England's legends." The entry on Highgate Cemetery with its misleading and erroneous content was written exclusively by Jacqueline Simpson who is an elderly "scholar" living on the Sussex coast. She is a member of the same International Society of Contemporary Legend Research as the American Bill Ellis whose misleading "Highgate Cemetery Vampire Hunt" chapter in Raising the Devil (published 2000) first appeared in Folklore journal in 1993. The editor of Folklore that year was Jacqueline Simpson.
Quotes from The Lore of the Land by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson (published 2005) found on pages 472-473 with corrections from the Vampire Research Society that are not to be found in the book:
1. "When the apparition was first discussed in the local press in 1970, it was merely called a ghost."
1. It was called all manner of things when it was first discussed, but had always been described as a vampire from 1965 locally. What Simpson is alluding to is the plethora of readers' letters in the Hamsptead & Highgate Express where correspondents spoke of a figure, spectre, ghost and vampire. The Vampire Research Society, too, often use the term "spectre" as does Seán Manchester in his published account, but this does not contradict it being vampiric. What Simpson is blurring is the fact that vampires have a spectral aspect.
2. "The publicity was intitiated by a group of adolescents calling themselves the British Occult Society."
2. An adolescent is someone aged between childhood and adulthood. Seán Manchester was twenty-six years of age at the time of the initial media interest and television interview in 1970. Most of those actively engaged or having interest in the Highgate Vampire case within the British Occult Society were considerably older. This comment is inaccurate, unfair and misleading. The offence is compounded by Simpson's next catastophic blunder.
3. "... David F------, their leader, spent the night there ..."
3. David F------ did not "lead" the British Occult Society. He owed no connection to the British Occult Society. The British Occult Society was originally formed as an umbrella organisation circa 1860. Members who were mine and Seán Manchester's colleagues included Dennis Wheatley, Peter Underwood, Devendra P Varma and similar luminaries. Prior to its dissolution on 8 August 1988 it was presided over by Sean Manchester. He featured in a programme on 13 March 1970 (Today, Thames Television) to represent the Society’s investigation into reported happenings in and around Highgate Cemetery that had been accumulating since early 1967. A number of witnesses to an alleged vampire spectre were also interviewed by Sandra Harris. These consisted largely of children and a young man who was captioned "David F------." Seán Manchester was captioned "President, British Occult Society." There was no confusion as to who "led" the British Occult Society. F------ did not claim any association at that time.
4. "Hardly two informants gave the same story."
4. What was notable, apart from one or two dubious entries that were probably disingenuous, was the similarity in the accounts recorded by the mass media, including the local press. They virtually all spoke of a tall, floating figure with evil, staring eyes.
5. "... another local youth, Sean Manchester ..."
5. The Oxford Dictionary defines "youth" as "adolescence" and "inexperienced" etc. Seán Manchester was none of these.
6. "... a 'King Vampire from Wallachia' ..."
6. The newspaper in question did not use that precise term, and Seán Manchester did not say anything of the sort. He has explained in a book of his own which Simpson read almost a decade ago, and also in correspondence concerning serious errors in Folklore (1993), that the term "King Vampire" was a journalistic embellishment falsely attributed to him.
7. "... both conducted rituals of exorcism ..."
7. Seán Manchester has only once carried out an exorcism at Highgate Cemetery. This was in August 1970 with the permission of the private cemetery owners. It was later reconstructed by BBC television two months for a documentary.
8. "... Manchester challenged F------ to a 'magical duel' on Parliament Hill on Friday 13th April 1973 ..."
8. Seán Manchester did not challenge F------ to a "magical duel" as confirmed by statements made by him at the time and coverage of this occasion in the Hampstead & Highgate Express (articles in April and May 1973) and in From Satan To Christ (Holy Grail, 1988) where the invitation to exorcise F------ was incidental to the event itself. F------ inevitably cried off and failed to appear. The Parliament Hill "Ring of Prayer" on 13 April 1973 had nothing to do with a "magical duel" though some of the tabloid media exploited it as such due to the misinformation they were fed by another party. One newspaper was obliged to publish a retraction following a complaint by Seán Manchester.
9. "... F------ ... was jailed in 1974 for damage to memorials ..."
9. David F------ was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment in June 1974 for malicious damage, ie tomb vandalism, at Highgate Cemetery by inscribing black magic symbols on the floor of a mausoleum; offering indignities to remains of the dead, ie desecration, via black magic rites in Highgate Cemetery where photographs were taken of a naked female accomplice in a tomb where satanic symbols were marked out on the floor; threatening police witnesses in a separate case where his black magic associate, John Russell Pope, was subsequently found guilty of indecent sexual assault on a minor (on his current website, Pope describes himself as a “master of the black arts”); theft of items from Barnet Hospital where F------ worked briefly as a porter in late 1970; possession of a handgun and ammunition kept at F------'s address which also contained a black magic altar beneath a massive mural of a face of the Devil that had featured in the press, not least full front page coverage of the Hornsey Journal, 28 September 1973.
10. "... Manchester also founded an Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail of which he is the bishop."
10. At Easter 1973, Seán Manchester founded Ordo Sancti Graal (Order of the Holy Grail), but he is an episcopally consecrated bishop within Ecclesia Vetusta Catholica which ordination took place on 4 October 1991. His ecclesial jurisdiction is known both as the Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail and Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi. A church is where two or more disciples (followers) are gathered in His name. Up until 1991 Seán Manchester came under an extant Old Catholic obedience. Anyone reading The Grail Church would be aware that the Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail was founded by Jesus Christ. Seán Manchester, therefore, could only hope to restore and revive this ancient jurisdiction.
Simpson, who has not met Seán Manchester or communicated with him for research purposes, published the above misleading and inaccurate allegations about him in The Lore of the Land in 2005. She places reliance on her American colleague Bill Ellis whose statements in Raising the Devil (published in 2000) are even more inaccurate. Some of the press cuttings referred to in his book are wrongly attributed. This is what Ellis wrote in response to Seán Manchester when the latter brought these facts to his attention:
"... we agree that the contemporary press handling was often inaccurate, and that most subsequent discussions were even more distorted. ... Mr F------, since he brought the matter into the papers and was repeatedly arrested for his activities in and around Highgate, clearly was 'central to events' in this sense. Credible, I don't say: I give his explanations for what they're worth and expect that most readers would also recognize that a judge and jury found them unconvincing."
A response from Jacqueline Simpson with interpolated comments in {} brackets:
[I posted information as to which of these {corrections} of {the Vampire Research Society} have already been dealt with in preparing the paperback version of 'Lore of the Land', as they know perfectly well from correspondence with the publishers and myself. ... {The thirteen year investigation of the Highgate Vampire was executed exclusively by the BOS/VRS. It has absolutely nothing to do with Bill Ellis or Jacqueline Simpson who have exploited it to sell their books which only serve to confuse and mislead readers due to a catalogue of inaccuracy and distortion}. Even when people are bending over backwards to politely accommodate his objections? I will now recap:
Points 2 & 5. Wording changed to 'young people' and 'young man'.
Point 3. Name of organisation dropped, F------ referred to simply as a 'member' of 'a group of young people interested in the paranormal'.
Point 6. Words 'which the paper called' inserted. (SM told us this 'is completely acceptable') {Perhaps, but I am not SM}.
Point 8. No reference now to who did the challenging. Instead, neutral phrasing in allusion to press reports: 'rumours spread that
a magical duel ...'
Point 10. The name I gave for SM's church was taken from SM's own headed notepaper of a few years ago (photocopy available if requested). I'm interested to see that he (or Crawford) now accepts that this is one of its names (see above), because only a few months ago he was listing my use of it as one of my errors! However, this matter is not relevant to the legend discussion, and I have dropped any mention of the church from the revised article. {So, having referred to his episcopal status in her first edition, Simpson deletes it entirely from her paperback edition. The point Seán Manchester was probably making is that his jurisdiction is most recognised by the nomenclature Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi}.
The other points are rejected, and no changes will be made there. - Jacqueline Simpson]
Quotes from The Lore of the Land by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson (published 2005) found on pages 472-473 with corrections from the Vampire Research Society that are not to be found in the book:
1. "When the apparition was first discussed in the local press in 1970, it was merely called a ghost."
1. It was called all manner of things when it was first discussed, but had always been described as a vampire from 1965 locally. What Simpson is alluding to is the plethora of readers' letters in the Hamsptead & Highgate Express where correspondents spoke of a figure, spectre, ghost and vampire. The Vampire Research Society, too, often use the term "spectre" as does Seán Manchester in his published account, but this does not contradict it being vampiric. What Simpson is blurring is the fact that vampires have a spectral aspect.
2. "The publicity was intitiated by a group of adolescents calling themselves the British Occult Society."
2. An adolescent is someone aged between childhood and adulthood. Seán Manchester was twenty-six years of age at the time of the initial media interest and television interview in 1970. Most of those actively engaged or having interest in the Highgate Vampire case within the British Occult Society were considerably older. This comment is inaccurate, unfair and misleading. The offence is compounded by Simpson's next catastophic blunder.
3. "... David F------, their leader, spent the night there ..."
3. David F------ did not "lead" the British Occult Society. He owed no connection to the British Occult Society. The British Occult Society was originally formed as an umbrella organisation circa 1860. Members who were mine and Seán Manchester's colleagues included Dennis Wheatley, Peter Underwood, Devendra P Varma and similar luminaries. Prior to its dissolution on 8 August 1988 it was presided over by Sean Manchester. He featured in a programme on 13 March 1970 (Today, Thames Television) to represent the Society’s investigation into reported happenings in and around Highgate Cemetery that had been accumulating since early 1967. A number of witnesses to an alleged vampire spectre were also interviewed by Sandra Harris. These consisted largely of children and a young man who was captioned "David F------." Seán Manchester was captioned "President, British Occult Society." There was no confusion as to who "led" the British Occult Society. F------ did not claim any association at that time.
4. "Hardly two informants gave the same story."
4. What was notable, apart from one or two dubious entries that were probably disingenuous, was the similarity in the accounts recorded by the mass media, including the local press. They virtually all spoke of a tall, floating figure with evil, staring eyes.
5. "... another local youth, Sean Manchester ..."
5. The Oxford Dictionary defines "youth" as "adolescence" and "inexperienced" etc. Seán Manchester was none of these.
6. "... a 'King Vampire from Wallachia' ..."
6. The newspaper in question did not use that precise term, and Seán Manchester did not say anything of the sort. He has explained in a book of his own which Simpson read almost a decade ago, and also in correspondence concerning serious errors in Folklore (1993), that the term "King Vampire" was a journalistic embellishment falsely attributed to him.
7. "... both conducted rituals of exorcism ..."
7. Seán Manchester has only once carried out an exorcism at Highgate Cemetery. This was in August 1970 with the permission of the private cemetery owners. It was later reconstructed by BBC television two months for a documentary.
8. "... Manchester challenged F------ to a 'magical duel' on Parliament Hill on Friday 13th April 1973 ..."
8. Seán Manchester did not challenge F------ to a "magical duel" as confirmed by statements made by him at the time and coverage of this occasion in the Hampstead & Highgate Express (articles in April and May 1973) and in From Satan To Christ (Holy Grail, 1988) where the invitation to exorcise F------ was incidental to the event itself. F------ inevitably cried off and failed to appear. The Parliament Hill "Ring of Prayer" on 13 April 1973 had nothing to do with a "magical duel" though some of the tabloid media exploited it as such due to the misinformation they were fed by another party. One newspaper was obliged to publish a retraction following a complaint by Seán Manchester.
9. "... F------ ... was jailed in 1974 for damage to memorials ..."
9. David F------ was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment in June 1974 for malicious damage, ie tomb vandalism, at Highgate Cemetery by inscribing black magic symbols on the floor of a mausoleum; offering indignities to remains of the dead, ie desecration, via black magic rites in Highgate Cemetery where photographs were taken of a naked female accomplice in a tomb where satanic symbols were marked out on the floor; threatening police witnesses in a separate case where his black magic associate, John Russell Pope, was subsequently found guilty of indecent sexual assault on a minor (on his current website, Pope describes himself as a “master of the black arts”); theft of items from Barnet Hospital where F------ worked briefly as a porter in late 1970; possession of a handgun and ammunition kept at F------'s address which also contained a black magic altar beneath a massive mural of a face of the Devil that had featured in the press, not least full front page coverage of the Hornsey Journal, 28 September 1973.
10. "... Manchester also founded an Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail of which he is the bishop."
10. At Easter 1973, Seán Manchester founded Ordo Sancti Graal (Order of the Holy Grail), but he is an episcopally consecrated bishop within Ecclesia Vetusta Catholica which ordination took place on 4 October 1991. His ecclesial jurisdiction is known both as the Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail and Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi. A church is where two or more disciples (followers) are gathered in His name. Up until 1991 Seán Manchester came under an extant Old Catholic obedience. Anyone reading The Grail Church would be aware that the Apostolic Church of the Holy Grail was founded by Jesus Christ. Seán Manchester, therefore, could only hope to restore and revive this ancient jurisdiction.
Simpson, who has not met Seán Manchester or communicated with him for research purposes, published the above misleading and inaccurate allegations about him in The Lore of the Land in 2005. She places reliance on her American colleague Bill Ellis whose statements in Raising the Devil (published in 2000) are even more inaccurate. Some of the press cuttings referred to in his book are wrongly attributed. This is what Ellis wrote in response to Seán Manchester when the latter brought these facts to his attention:
"... we agree that the contemporary press handling was often inaccurate, and that most subsequent discussions were even more distorted. ... Mr F------, since he brought the matter into the papers and was repeatedly arrested for his activities in and around Highgate, clearly was 'central to events' in this sense. Credible, I don't say: I give his explanations for what they're worth and expect that most readers would also recognize that a judge and jury found them unconvincing."
A response from Jacqueline Simpson with interpolated comments in {} brackets:
[I posted information as to which of these {corrections} of {the Vampire Research Society} have already been dealt with in preparing the paperback version of 'Lore of the Land', as they know perfectly well from correspondence with the publishers and myself. ... {The thirteen year investigation of the Highgate Vampire was executed exclusively by the BOS/VRS. It has absolutely nothing to do with Bill Ellis or Jacqueline Simpson who have exploited it to sell their books which only serve to confuse and mislead readers due to a catalogue of inaccuracy and distortion}. Even when people are bending over backwards to politely accommodate his objections? I will now recap:
Points 2 & 5. Wording changed to 'young people' and 'young man'.
Point 3. Name of organisation dropped, F------ referred to simply as a 'member' of 'a group of young people interested in the paranormal'.
Point 6. Words 'which the paper called' inserted. (SM told us this 'is completely acceptable') {Perhaps, but I am not SM}.
Point 8. No reference now to who did the challenging. Instead, neutral phrasing in allusion to press reports: 'rumours spread that
a magical duel ...'
Point 10. The name I gave for SM's church was taken from SM's own headed notepaper of a few years ago (photocopy available if requested). I'm interested to see that he (or Crawford) now accepts that this is one of its names (see above), because only a few months ago he was listing my use of it as one of my errors! However, this matter is not relevant to the legend discussion, and I have dropped any mention of the church from the revised article. {So, having referred to his episcopal status in her first edition, Simpson deletes it entirely from her paperback edition. The point Seán Manchester was probably making is that his jurisdiction is most recognised by the nomenclature Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi}.
The other points are rejected, and no changes will be made there. - Jacqueline Simpson]