The Haunting of Borley Rectory

‘It is not necessary to believe in ghosts to appreciate a good ghost story. We all believe in death.’ – Audrey Niffenegger‘I believe Sean O’Connor’s is the book on Borley I have been waiting for all my life. He has a perfect ear for drama.’ – Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts‘Borley Rectory is perhaps the definition of an old haunt, still exerting an extraordinary grip on the popular imagination. In Sean O’Connor’s meticulous and revelatory book, however, it comes up as fresh as paint. Balanced, surprising and strangely moving, this is the definitive account’. – Mark Gatiss‘I thought I knew all there was to know about this legendary haunting. It turns out I have been sitting in the dark. Sean O’Connor’s book bursts open the doors of Borley Rectory and turns the lights on. Arresting and full of remarkable details, this investigation of an investigation is vividly compelling.’ – Reece Shearsmith

SEAN O’CONNOR is a writer, director and producer working in theatre, radio, television and film. He has worked as showrunner on severalmajor TV series including EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Footballers’ Wives and Minder. He produced Terence Davies’ film version of Terence Rattigan’sThe Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston. He was also editor of The Archers for BBC Radio 4. For the theatre he adapted Boileau and Narcejac’s Vertigo and Winston Graham’s Marnie. His adaptation from Shakespeare, Juliet and Her Romeo, marked the re-opening of Bristol Old Vic, directed by Tom Morris, and was published by Oberon. Handsome Brute, a study of the 1940s murderer Neville Heath, and The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury were both published by Simon & Schuster. The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award in 2020.