Have you ever heard of Sean Manchester?
He is...wait for it...a vampire hunter....and he genuinely believes
he hunts and kills vampires. There are several sites and books about him
and his
"occupation", but his most famous story is the one about the vampire in
Highgate Cemetery.
http://www.mysterymag.com/theunexplained/?page=article&subID=84&artID=149
The Death of a Vampire
Author : Gareth Davies
The Cemetery of St. James was consecrated by the Bishop of London in 1839
to deal with a dreadful problem. It seemed that the city of London, which
was continuing to grow at an incredible rate, was running out of the space
needed in which to store its dead. Local church graveyards were overflowing
and this lead to some strange and unsavoury practices, such as body stacking
and grave robbing. In order to combat this problem, private cemeteries
opened and for the first time citizens could be charged for burial.
This was nothing short of a revolution in burial practices, as this, was
unheard of in Victorian society. In the true capitalist tradition it was
accepted with open arms by the rich and disdained by the poor. St. James's
was to be London's most spectacular cemetery, and was situated in the
northern part of London known as Highgate. Laid out over seventeen acres,
and built at the height of the gothic tradition, St. James's or soon to be
more commonly known as Highgate, was to be a grand Victorian celebration of
death. Highgate was and still is full of elaborately deigned crypts and
vaults, which today are encased in a jungle of overgrowth. Gravestones were
adorned with angels and life-size busts of its occupants. Along with the
spectacular design of the cemetery come some spectacular guests. Some of
Highgate's most notable residents are Karl Marx, George Elliot and Sir Ralph
Richardson, among others. It is also rumoured that Bram Stoker wandered the
overgrown paths that intertwine the maze that is Highgate, for inspiration.
Today, Highgate cemetery is divided into two halves by Swains Lane. The
eastern half of the cemetery is still in use today, with several burials a
week, while the western half is closed to the public, except for guided
tours. Guided tours, which over the last few years have become very popular,
making Highgate a tourist attraction. Despite its gothic architecture and
the icons that are buried there, something else, something sinister,
accounts for the public's interest in this now world famous cemetery.
Something Undead.
The first stirrings that something strange was afoot in Highgate began in
the winter of 1967, when two schoolgirls walking home along Swains Lane
witnessed something unearthly. As the girls passed the north gate of the
cemetery they both witnessed graves open and bodies rise from them. The
vision, which was utterly terrifying, abruptly ended when both girls broke
the deathly silence and screamed. After the encounter one of the girls,
Elizabeth Wojdyla, reported having strange nightmares in which a malevolent
presence with a white corpselike face tried to enter her bedroom. The next
report to surface also occurred at the north gate when a courting couple
witnessed what could only be described as a monster in the shadows. Standing
near the railings was a tall figure dressed in black, whose face could only
be described as a mask of evil. The girl let out a scream upon seeing the
figure, and it retreated into the blackness of the cemetery.
Soon after, rumours of a ghost in Highgate began to circulate. This caught
the attention of occult investigator and director of The Occult
Investigation Bureau, Sean Manchester. Manchester, a self styled bohemian,
who claims to trace his lineage to the romantic poet Lord Byron, was
fascinated by the haunting of Highgate cemetery and decided to investigate.
Manchester sought out the couple who had seen the figure near the north
gate. When talking to them, he discovered that the man had gone back into
the cemetery a few days later with two friends to investigate. The man
stated that they had gone in on a kind of dare and in a jovial mood, but
came out absolutely terrified. Wandering the empty grounds late at night the
three friends started to call out to the mysterious entity. After yelling
into the night air for a while, their calls were answered by a loud booming
sound. A sound that slowly but surely began to move toward them. The strange
booming was almost upon them, when there in front of them a black shapeless
cloud began to drift across their path. That was all it took to send the men
scampering out of cemetery and home. Manchester asked the man to return with
him to Highgate, and show him the spot where it all happened, but the man
absolutely refused to set foot in the cemetery again.
Highgate then fell silent for almost two years, with no reports of figures
or entities walking its grounds. But the rumours of the cemetery being
haunted still persisted, as did Manchester's quest to find the truth. It was
not until 1969 that Manchester got his real breakthrough in the case. It was
a chance meeting with Elizabeth Wojdyla, the young girl who had the initial
encounter. Manchester soon discovered that Elizabeth's nightmares had not
diminished over time, but intensified and that her heath was beginning to
suffer. A few weeks after the meeting, Elizabeth's boyfriend contacted
Manchester for help, as her condition had worsened still. The drugs that her
doctor had prescribed for her were not working and she was now frail and
weak, and two tiny puncture wounds had been discovered on her neck.
Manchester now knew with certainty that what he was dealing with was a
vampire. In Manchester's view, the vampire was a loathsome creature, the
spawn of Satan, the devil's true Undead, and it was nothing less than his
duty to seek out and destroy this loathsome entity once and for all. So with
the Wojdyla family's permission, he began to help Elizabeth. Her room was
immediately filled with garlic flowers and bulbs, and small bags of salt
were strategically placed around the room. Manchester instructed Elizabeth
to wear a crucifix around her neck at all times and to sleep with the
bedroom windows shut and locked. Over the next few weeks Elizabeth's health
improved considerably, and her nightmares subsided. But what did not subside
was the publics interest in the ghost of Highgate, which had now had become
a vampire. Soon the press latched on to the vampire angle and Highgate
became a media circus.
A local Newspaper asked the question on everyone's lips, when its headline
read "Does a Vampyr walk in Highgate". It then went on to report on the fact
that a large number of animals had been found killed, and that some were
drained of blood. This lead authorities to believe that cultists had
performed some kind of ritual; although no evidence to support this
hypothesis existed. Meanwhile, people were still reporting apparitions and
various ghostly goings on in the cemetery. It was at this time that
Manchester came forward and contacted the press. He informed them that a
genuine vampire was at large in Highgate, and that it should be dispatched
as soon as possible using the ancient and approved methods. Manchester also
revealed that another young girl had contacted him with the same symptoms as
Wojdyla. Manchester then claimed to have followed the girl one night whilst
she was sleepwalking, to a group of burial vaults. As the girl, followed by
Manchester approached the vaults, the same strange booming sound that had
been reported earlier to Manchester by numerous witnesses, began to echo
throughout the area. Manchester was now convinced that this vault was the
vampire's lair.
The newspaper article and a subsequent television spot turned Highgate into
a gathering place for the curious public. Who held nightly vigils outside
the now famed north gate, with the hopes of seeing something unearthly. Out
of these curious onlookers came a number of other so called vampire hunters,
led by a young man by the name of David Farrant. Farrant, who lived in the
Highgate area, claimed to have witnessed a large black shape, approximately
eight feet in height, gliding amongst the tombs and vaults on numerous
occasions. Interestingly, at around the same time as Farrants sightings, a
group of amateur filmmakers were working in the cemetery on a horror film
entitled " Vampires at Night", and it is possible that what Farrant saw were
actors in costume? But Farrant stood his ground, and insisted that what he
witnessed was a true supernatural entity, despite the presence of the film
crew.
So much time had passed, and so much evidence had been accumulated that
Manchester felt it was time to do something about Highgate's vampire
problem. So on March 13, 1970 Manchester led a group of about a hundred
people into Highgate and to the vault singled out by the sleepwalking girl.
Upon arriving at the vault Manchester discovered that the main entrance was
bolted and locked. Unable to free the lock, Manchester and two assistants
lowered themselves into the vault trough a hole in the roof, while the rest
of the group kept watch. Once inside they discovered three empty coffins,
which they lined with garlic and salt, and placed a crucifix into each
casket. The vaults were then sprinkled with holy water and Manchester and
his cohorts made their exit. The crowed dispersed, until all that were left
were Manchester and assistants, who kept watch until 2 am when the strange
booming sound once again manifested.
Then in August of the same year the situation worsened. Tombs and vault's
were being vandalised and damaged, by over zealous "Vampire Hunters" looking
for a late night thrill in the cemetery. Unfortunately the damage was not
restricted to the tombs, as a mutilated corpse of a woman was discovered
beside a broken vault. It had be beheaded and burned, and there was also
evidence that some kind of occult ritual had taken place. Outraged at these
atrocities, the citizens demanded that the authorities do something to
protect the bodies of loved ones from this obscene abuse. David Farrant then
once again came into prominence, when he was found "Vampire Hunting" in
Highgate armed with a crucifix and stake. He was arrested, and later
convicted of breaking into tombs at Highgate.
Manchester, disturbed by the goings on at Highgate, secretly returned to the
suspected tomb, and in the dead of night lowered himself into the vault.
Once inside he quickly realised than one of the three coffins was missing,
and concluded that due to the increased activity in the cemetery the vampire
was on the move. He then contacted the girl who had initially led him to the
tomb, and asked her to accompany him to the site during the daylight hours.
She agreed, and met Manchester and two assistants at the vault. Whilst
seated outside the tomb, she went onto a trance like state and somehow
became a host for the evil entity. She answered questions put to her by
Manchester, and unwittingly led the group to another tomb deeper into the
cemetery. Upon inspecting the door of the tomb, Manchester noticed that it
was not sealed correctly, and the door yielded easily to pressure. Once
inside the group noticed that the tomb was in a state of disarray, and was
putrid with the stench of decay. Scanning the tomb's contents, Manchester
noticed that the vault contained an extra coffin, according to the
inscriptions on the outside of the vault.
Of all the caskets in the vault, one that was situated toward the rear,
appeared to be newer than the rest. The group led by Manchester approached
the rear coffin, and slowly removed the lid. Manchester described what lay
in the casket as, "Something not long dead, with the appearance of a
three-day-old corpse". Which was strange to say the least, as the vault in
which they were standing was a hundred years old, and there had been no
recent admissions. The group stared at the vampire in silence, hypnotised
with horror of the sight that beheld them. There in the coffin was the body
of a bearded man, with eyes open and staring blankly into space. His mouth
had slivers of fresh blood at the corners, and under his parchment like skin
a strange bluish tinge could be detected. The silence was then broken, as
Manchester removed from his bag a large wooden stake and placed it on the
chest of the vampire. Manchester made eye contact with the monster, and
described the scene. "The glazed eyes stared horribly, almost mocking me,
almost knowing that my efforts to destroy it would be thwarted". His
assistants, alarmed at this and in a state of panic, restrained Manchester
before he could complete the deed. After a heated discussion, on what their
course of action should be, they decided against the staking of the
creature. As mutilating the dead is a crime in England, and carries a hefty
penalty.
It was decided that they would purify and seal the tomb, in an effort to
restrict the vampire's movements. The group then performed an exorcism in
the tomb, with the aid of holy water, incense and crosses. In an attempt to
banish the evil that infested the vault. During the ritual the temperature
dropped considerably, and an unearthly presence was felt by all. This only
strengthened their desire to leave the tomb, as it was getting late and
approaching sunset. Once the exorcism was completed the group left with
extreme urgency. So much so that Manchester barely had enough time to toss a
crucifix into the vault as the main door was sealed. The next morning
Manchester returned to the site and sealed the vault completely with cement,
cement permeated with pieces of garlic. Hoping that this would contain the
vampire, but somehow Manchester knew that he would one day be eyeball to
deathly eyeball with the Highgate Vampire again.
Over the next few years Highgate fell silent; although there were still
occasional reports of occult activity. Highgate was more or less its old
silent self. Sean Manchester on the other hand, was very active and in
search of the undead. In the winter of 1973, an old derelict gothic mansion
in north London had been reported as being haunted. In fact so many strange
goings on had been reported, that the locals had named the house, "The House
of Dracula". Manchester decided to investigate the house and entered under
the cover of darkness. Two individuals accompanied Manchester, a sceptic
named Arthur and a clairvoyant named Veronika. As the three entered the
house, Veronika immediately began to sense an icy presence, and as they
ventured deeper into the house all three began to witness strange phenomena.
Knocking began, from every corner of the house, as a strange mist from
nowhere began to encase them as they ventured on. And then a smell that was
so filthy and vile, that Arthur emptied he contents of his stomach on to the
floor without warning. Due to Arthur's condition they decided to leave, and
to return during the daylight hours for a thorough investigation of the
house.
The next morning Arthur and Manchester returned to the house. The house was
totally different in the daylight, and they felt somewhat at ease as they
ventured from room to room in search of the unknown. Soon they had searched
the entire house and found nothing. They were at a total loss to explain the
events of the previous night, as the house seemed "clean" and quite
different to the house that they had experienced the night before. They were
about to leave when Arthur began wondering if a house of this size would
have a basement. This seemed logical to Manchester as the house was over one
hundred years old, and houses built in the nineteenth century almost always
had a basement or cellar, for storage. The duo began their search, and
before long came across a doorway and steps that led down under the house.
Upon entering the basement they were confronted by icy cold and darkness,
switching to flashlights they scanned their surroundings. It was then that
they noticed the enormous black coffin, laying silently in the darkness of
the basement.
Manchester immediately took control and ordered Arthur to help him drag the
casket outside and into the daylight. With all of their strength they
managed to get the coffin outside and into the back yard. Manchester then
kicked the lid off the coffin, as Arthur rushed to fetch the stakes. As the
lid fell and revealed the contents of the casket, Manchester was taken
aback. There in the coffin was the same bearded face that he had looked upon
four years before, in a tomb at Highgate cemetery. The vampire's skin
immediately began to discolour from the sunlight, as Manchester placed a
wooded stake upon the creature's chest. Then, with one mighty blow he drove
the stake through the vampire's heart. The monster then let out a piercing
scream that echoed and then died as quickly as it began. Arthur and
Manchester then watched as the body decayed and collapsed inward, until all
that was left was a disgusting slim that sank to the bottom of the casket.
They then covered the coffin in gasoline and burned it to ashes. Amazingly,
film was taken of this event by Arthur, and stills appear in Manchester's
own account of the event. Manchester's book, "The Highgate Vampire" was self
published in 1985 and revised in 1990; although somewhat hard to come by, it
is a complete and thorough retelling of the events described in this
article, only with a greater degree of accuracy.
The story of the Highgate vampire and Sean Manchester goes far beyond the
staking of the creature in 1973. The story does not really end at all, but
concludes somewhat in 1981, with the staking of the final descendant of the
Highgate source. Sean Manchester continues his vampire exploits to this day,
and considers himself Britain's foremost Vampire Hunter. Manchester has over
the years, become more involved with the religious aspects of the undead. He
became involved with the Old Catholic church, which is a small off shoot of
the modern church that still holds to the Old Catholic beliefs and
practices. In 1991 Manchester was consecrated Bishop of the Old Catholic
church. Manchester is also founder and president of "The Vampire Research
Society". An advisory service on all matters pertaining to vampires and
vampirism. The society is not involved with vampire enthusiasts or fans of
the genre, as Manchester feels that these people are playing with fire, and
ultimately promoting evil. So what do we make of Sean Manchester and the
Highgate Vampire? Clearly something did take place at Highgate Cemetery in
the early seventies, but what? Faces in the shadows, blood drained animal
corpses and loud booming sounds are the only eyewitness reports that were
completely documented. Everything else in this case was told by many
sources, but the main body of the story was related by Sean Manchester. Was
there a real Vampire at large in Highgate?
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