Borley Rectory was once known as the most haunted house in England. A rectory is a home for a priest or clergyman, and this one was built for the Anglican parish of Borley, Essex, specifically for Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bull along with his wife and 14 children. Built in 1862, Borley Rectory was the home of four different priests, three of them from the same family. For the entire 80+ years the rectory existed, it was the scene of supposedly paranormal encounters.
These encounters included ghostly apparitions, poltergeist activities, strange sounds, fires, written messages, and spirits contacted by seances. These tales were first just spoken accounts, but with the rise of radio and other technology, Borley Rectory became famous. That was due to paranormal investigator Harry Price, who began looking into the rectory in 1929 and followed through for years, going as far as renting the house after the last priest left. The story sparked a new media sensation of paranormal investigation as entertainment. Dr. Emily Zarka tells us everything we need to know about Borley Rectory.
Monday, October 26, 2026
The Haunting of Borley Rectory
Miss Cellania's Links
Mitchcraft! A Halloween song parody about the undead from Randy rainbow.
In 1976, a college paper blamed the Salem witch trials on moldy bread. It wasn’t true. (via Strange Company)
Ivan the Terrible Wanted to Marry Elizabeth I. How Did England’s ‘Virgin Queen’ Reject the Russian Czar Without Souring Trade Relations?
Atlas Obscura’s Guide to America’s Most Haunted Cemeteries.
We're Still Talking About David S. Pumpkins, Ten Years Later.
Coffin Torpedoes: The Explosive 19th-Century Answer to Grave Robbers.
Florence Thompson, the Subject of Dorothea Lange’s Iconic 1936 Photograph Migrant Mother. (via Nag on the Lake)
1915: Bill Nichols, the Cat Who Could Have Been a Rikers Island Hero. (via Strange Company)
Sunday, October 25, 2026
The Bogeyman
It's sad that so many generations of children were threatened into obeying their parents with terrifyingly vague stories of supernatural punishments. And then parents wondered why their kids won't go to sleep. The scars those stories left became a legend.
Dogs Look for Invisible Human
Her dogs love to play hide and seek, but how good are they at it? Mom put on a skin suit the same color as the very white house and stood behind a shelf. When Dad brought the German shepherd home, they didn't know how long it would take him to find Mom.
"Where is she? Is she in here? No, in here? No. I know she's in here, I can smell her! Dad, give me a hint! Maybe I missed her the first time around. No, but she's got to be here. It's time to put my nose into high gear and find Mom!"
When the dog finally finds her, he's not at all bothered by the odd way she's dressed. Maybe she dresses oddly all the time. This couple also has two golden retrievers, so they tried the same trick on them, one at a time.
It took them longer to find Mom, with more confusion and some barking involved. You can see more of the dogs Leo, Tiger, and Nala at Instagram.
Back to Bones
In this spooky cartoon, an evil necromancer raises an army of the dead to go to war with his enemy. As most of the skeletal soldiers trudge off to battle, there are other tasks to be done. Two castle guards are left behind, and they are quite surprised to find themselves reanimated. One of them decides he wants to go back to resting in peace, and enlists the help of his comrade. But they find it's not a simple thing to die when you're already dead. That's when it starts to look like a Looney Tunes story, with various methods of destruction that just don't work. However, there's a secret to the spell, which eventually makes sense. Or does it? (via the Awesomer)
Owl Pun
you know you were thinking it
— Marjorie James Keenan (@unenthusiast.com) October 20, 2026 at 9:05 PM
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Saturday, October 24, 2026
Trilogy of Terror
Trilogy of Terror is a 1975 made for TV movie starring Karen Black in three different story segments. In the middle segment, she plays two roles. While Trilogy of Terror was a hit and still is highly rated, it generated mixed reviews at the time and typecast Black forever as a scream queen. (Thanks, WTM!)
Improving, Not Ruining, "Ghostbusters"
Dustin Ballard of There I Ruined It brings us his Ghostbusters Super Mashup Party for a quick giggle. You have the unmistakable beat from Ray parker Jr's "Ghostbusters" with vocal clips from a variety of other songs. The secret is in the clip selection. Many of them rhyme nicely, which is funny enough, but you also get different clips quoting the movie together, and a tribute to the best Halloween trick-or-treat candy you can receive. Even the way Ballard labeled the clips is designed to bring out the funny.