The Highgate Vampire was a media sensation surrounding reports of supposed

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

activity at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, United Kingdom, in the 1970s. The most thorough account of the story is given by

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Bill Ellis in the journal ''Folklore'', published in 1993.

Initial publicity

On 31 October 1968, a group of young people interested in the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

visited Tottenham Park Cemetery, at a time when it was being regularly vandalised by intruders. According to a report in the ''

London Evening News The ''London Evening News'' was an evening newspaper published in London beginning on 14 August 1855. It was cheap, at a halfpenny per issue. It changed its name to ''The Day'' but "gave a poor news service", and had failed by 1859. Sources ...

'' of 2 November 1968: Though the identities and motivations of those responsible were never ascertained, general consensus at the time linked the

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Overview Many consider acts of desecration t ...

to events surrounding the Highgate Vampire case. Then, in a letter to the '' Hampstead and Highgate Express'' on 6 February 1970, David Farrant wrote that when passing

on 24 December 1969 he had glimpsed "a grey figure", which he considered to be

, and asked if others had seen anything similar. On the 13th, several people replied, describing a variety of

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s said to haunt the cemetery or the adjoining Swain's Lane. These ghosts were described as a tall man in a hat, a spectral cyclist, a woman in white, a face glaring through the bars of a gate, a figure wading into a pond, a pale gliding form, bells ringing, and voices calling. Sean Manchester claimed Farrant's "grey figure" was a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

and the media quickly latched on, embellishing the tale with stories of the vampire being a king of the vampires, or of practising

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

March 1970 mob

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 he would hold an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

on Friday 13 of March 1970. ITV conducted interviews with Manchester, Farrant, and others who claimed to have seen supernatural figures in the cemetery, which were transmitted 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. Some months later, on 1 August 1970, the charred and headless remains of a woman's body were found not far from the catacomb. The police suspected that it had been used in black magic. Farrant was found by police in the churchyard beside the cemetery one night in August, carrying a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

and a wooden stake. He was arrested, but when the case came to court it was dismissed. A few days later Manchester returned to Highgate Cemetery. He claims that this time he and his companions forced open the doors of a family vault (indicated by his psychic helper). He says he lifted the lid off one coffin, believing it to have been mysteriously transferred there from the previous catacomb. He was about to drive a stake through the body it contained when a companion persuaded him to desist. Reluctantly, he shut the coffin, leaving garlic and incense in the vault.

Aftermath

There was more publicity about Farrant and Manchester when rumours spread that they would meet in a "magicians' duel" on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

on Friday 13 April 1973, which never occurred. Farrant was jailed in 1974 for damaging memorials and interfering with dead remains in Highgate Cemetery—vandalism and desecration which he insisted had been caused by

Satanists Satanism refers to a group of Religion, religious, Ideology, ideological, or Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic reli ...

, not him. Farrant and Manchester wrote and spoke repeatedly about the Highgate Vampire, each stressing his own role to the exclusion of the other. Each attempted to control the narrative around the vampire, resulting in ongoing animosity and rivalry between the two. Their feud continued for decades, marked by insults and vindictiveness, until Farrant's death in April 2019.

In popular culture

*According to author Bill Ellis, the

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

film '' Dracula AD 1972'', starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

and

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

, was inspired by the Highgate Vampire. *The Highgate Vampire appears as a villain in the

Dark Horse comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine''. The Highgate Vampire is revealed to be, not a vampire, but an insectoid demon that feeds off its victims' emotional trauma.

Rupert Giles Rupert Giles () is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The cha ...

had nearly been killed by the creature in 1972. The Highgate Vampire became a minion of Drusilla when it returned in the 2010s. *''Il vampiro di Highgate'' (Highgate Vampire) is the title of 45th issue of Italian horror comic book series ''Dampyr''. *The Highgate Vampire was covered on episode 388 of The Last Podcast On The Left. *The 2021 song "Graveyard Sun" by Green Lung is based on the mythical Highgate Vampire. *When planning a witching hour visit to a grave in Highgate West, the threat of the vampire is discussed in Amelia Ellis' 2018 novel ''The Mirror of Muraro''. *In 2025, Bag of Beard Theatre Company reimagined the events in a fictionalised play, titled 'The Highgate Vampire', at The Glitch Theatre, London.

References

'' "Zzzzz London;Z is for...;A-Z;London Life" Section: Features; Page 31. * Beresford, Matthew. ''From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth'' (London: Reaktion Books, 2008), 175-92. * Campbell, Ramsey. "The Strange Case of Seán Manchester" in ''Ramsey Campbell, Probably'' (PS Publishing, 2002, ). The essay is expanded in the revised edition of the book ({{ISBN, 978-1-848639-11-9). *Ellis, Bill. "The Highgate Cemetery Vampire Hunt", ''Folklore'' 104 (1993), 13-39. This journal can be read online via the JStor site. * Ellis, Bill. (1993) ''

Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

'' The Highgate Cemetery vampire hunt: the Anglo-American connection in satanic cult lore"Volume 104; Issue 1/2; Page 13. *Farrant, David. ''Beyond the Highgate Vampire'' (London: British Psychic and Occult Society, 1991). *Farrant, David. ''In the Shadow of the Highgate Vampire: An Autobiography Volume 1'' (London: British Psychic and Occult Society, 2011) *Farrant, David. ''Out of the Shadows: An Autobiography Volume 2'' (London: British Psychic and Occult Society, 2011) *Manchester, Sean. ''The Highgate Vampire'' (London: British Occult Society Gothic Press, 1985) *Manchester, Sean. ''From Satan To Christ'' (London: Holy Grail, 1988) *Manchester, Sean. ''The Vampire Hunter's Handbook'' (London: Gothic Press, 1997) * ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' (27 April 1988) ''Observer: Missing Manchester'' Page 22. * Holly, Donald H Jr; Cordy, Casey E; (Summer 2007) ''

Journal of American Folklore The ''Journal of American Folklore'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. The journal has been published since the society's founding in 1888. Since 2003, this has been published at the University of I ...

'
"What's In a Coin? Reading the Material Culture of Legend Tripping and Other Activities"
Volume 120, Number 477, pp. 335–354. *Underwood, Peter. ''The Vampire's Bedside Companion'' (1975; revised ed., 1976). * McKay, Sinclair. (6 May 2006) ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' "The loved ones of London Sinclair McKay is beguiled by an account of how the capital once dealt with its dead" Section: Books; Page 5. * Page, Carol, "Blood Lust: Conversations with Real Vampires, (HarperCollins, 1991, Dell, 1992, Warner, ULK, 1993) * Simpson, Jacqueline. (1 April 2003) ''

'
"Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media"
Volume 114; Issue 1; Page 123.

External links

* ''The Highgate Vampire'

Archive ''

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