Borley Rectory, located in Essex, England, was constructed in 1862 on the site of an earlier monastery. The large Victorian mansion gained notoriety as “the most haunted house in England” during the early 20th century. Its paranormal reputation began in 1863 when residents reported hearing unexplained footsteps. Subsequent occupants claimed to witness various apparitions, including a ghostly nun, a phantom coach driven by two headless horsemen, and the spirit of a young woman.

The rectory’s most famous incidents occurred during the tenure of Reverend Guy Eric Smith and his wife in 1928. They reported numerous paranormal occurrences, including mysterious lights, unexplained sounds, and objects moving on their own. These events prompted Harry Price, a well-known psychical researcher, to investigate the property. Price documented many alleged supernatural phenomena, including spirit messages appearing on walls, stones being thrown, and spontaneous fires.

After a fire destroyed much of the rectory in 1939, Price conducted further investigations and published his findings in two books. He claimed to have uncovered evidence of a murdered nun walled up alive in the original monastery, as well as the ghosts of its destroyer, a monk, and the apparition of the rectory’s builder.

Despite Price’s work, skeptics have questioned the validity of many reported events at Borley Rectory. Some researchers have suggested that certain phenomena were exaggerated or fabricated. Nonetheless, the rectory’s reputation persists in popular culture as one of Britain’s most infamous haunted locations, with its story inspiring numerous books, articles, and television programs exploring its alleged supernatural history.