Thursday, 11 April 2019

David Farrant Dies

I'm very sorry to report that David Farrant has died. David was a well-known character in the scene of occult studies and paranormal investigation. He is best known for being one of the principle figures of the "Highgate vampire" scandal. On Christmas Eve 1969 he was riding his bike past the famous Highgate Cemetery in London when he saw a mysterious entity that led to a mainstream media sensation about a "vampire" haunting the classic necropolis. As always, the misrepresentation of the phenomenon went viral before anybody heard the truth; and this led to endless trouble for David and many other people, as well as the cemetery itself. Also, apart from Helen Duncan he is the only person in the twentieth century to be jailed for witchcraft. I met David in 2016 and spent a happy day with him and his wife Della. I also met him at the Highgate Vampire Symposium which is also where I first met Gareth Davies face-to-face. I visited Highgate Cemetery and wrote an article about it, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2016/08/my-trip-to-highgate-cemetery.html. I also interviewed David for HPANWO Radio, see: http://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2016/06/programme-192-podcast-david-farrant.html. Rest in peace, David. Deepest condolences to Della and the rest of his family. See here for David Farrant's website: http://www.davidfarrant.org/.
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous12 April 2019 at 13:00

    I must disabuse you of any notion that the late David Farrant, whom I knew better than most, ever rode a bicycle. He did not. Nor was he convicted of any witchcraft offences during his trials at the Old Bailey in the summer of 1974. At a time like this it would be singularly inappropriate for me to list such crimes for which he was charged and convicted, but none included witchcraft. You are placing too much reliance of the scribbling of newspaper hacks who are invariably incapable of getting their facts straight on anything of this kind.

    I, too, offer my condolences to whom it might concern with regard to David Farrant's demise.

    https://davidfarrantobituary.blogspot.com/

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  2. Ben Emlyn-Jones13 April 2019 at 18:08

    Hi Anon. I'm well aware of the controversy surrounding David. I see you have written your own obituary to him. Also you offer your own condolences to his loved ones. Good for you! Then perhaps you will see that now is not the time to reignite any debate. Save it for later. Thanks.

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  3. Anthony Hogg16 April 2019 at 10:53

    I'm not going to comment on whether or not David Farrant ever rode a bike (mainly because I don't know), but following Mr. Manchester's comments, I thought I would help clarify the matter by recounting the circumstances of David's visit to the cemetery in 1969, from David's own letter, titled "Ghostly Walks in Highgate," to the Hampstead & Highgate Express, February 6, 1970:

    "SOME NIGHTS I walk past the gates of Highgate Cemetery.

    "On three occasions I have seen what appeared to be a ghost-like figure inside the gates at the top of Swains Lane.

    "The first occasion was on Christmas Eve. I saw a grey figure for a few seconds before it disappeared into the darkness. The second sighting, a week later, was also brief.

    "Last week the figure appeared, only a few yards inside the gates. This time it was there long enough for me to see it much more clearly, and now I can think of no other explanation than this apparition being supernatural.

    "I have no knowledge in this field and I would be interested to hear if any other readers have seen anything of this nature." (26)

    Farrant's later accounts of the sightings do not mention the use of a bike, either. Example: David Farrant, "The Highgate Vampire – How It All Began," Mysterious Britain & Ireland, March 15, 2009, http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/hauntings/the-highgate-vampire-how-it-all-began-by-david-farrant/.

    My apologies, in advance, for the pedantry of my post in light of the circumstances. But I also feel it helps honour his memory by being faithful to his own accounts, too. I suspect that was Manchester's intent, too.

    Indeed, Manchester is correct; David was not charged or prosecuted for witchcraft offenses, but two charges related to tomb desecration (a very wide net was cast for these), one on being in possession of an unlicensed firearm (his dad's) and stealing hospital bedsheets during a brief spell as a hospital porter (he claimed he was covering someone else's theft). These charges, combined, earned him just over a four year stint (shortened to about two).

    David and I admittedly rarely got along (I have been one of his staunchest critics), but I do miss him and feel quite saddened by his passing. Indeed, I plan on writing my own obit, too. RIP David.

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  4. Ben Emlyn-Jones19 April 2019 at 19:18

    Thanks for the information, Anthony.

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  5. Anthony Hogg22 April 2019 at 21:32

    Anytime, Ben.

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  6. David14 September 2019 at 10:08


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