David Farrant (1946–2019) was a British occultist and self-described psychic investigator, best known for his central role in the Highgate Vampire case of the early 1970s and his decades-long public rivalry with fellow investigator Seán Manchester.[1]
Early life
Farrant was born and grew up in Highgate, North London. He developed an interest in the occult and paranormal in his teens and twenties, and in 1967, following a trip around Europe, became a founder member of the British Psychic and Occult Society (BPOS), an organisation he went on to lead for the rest of his life.[2]
The Highgate Vampire
On 6 February 1970, Farrant wrote to the Hampstead and Highgate Express describing a "grey figure" he had glimpsed near Highgate Cemetery, which he believed to be a genuine supernatural presence — though, unlike his rival Seán Manchester, Farrant never characterised the figure specifically as a vampire.[1] His letter prompted a wave of public responses and national media coverage, and he went on to conduct organised investigations of the cemetery with BPOS members throughout 1970, including a ritual attempt on 17 August 1970 that was interrupted by police, resulting in his arrest on a charge of being in an enclosed area for an unlawful purpose.[3] He was acquitted that September, after the court determined Highgate Cemetery did not legally qualify as an "enclosed area."[3]
Later convictions
In June 1974, Farrant was convicted at the Old Bailey on a number of charges connected to activities at Highgate Cemetery and elsewhere, including damaging memorials to the dead and interfering with buried remains, alongside separate charges relating to possession of a firearm and threatening witnesses.[1] He was sentenced to four years and eight months' imprisonment, though accounts of his actual time served vary, with some contemporary sources citing a shorter custodial period.[1][2] Farrant maintained throughout his life that the charges and press coverage surrounding his trial had been sensationalised and unfair, a position he set out at length in his later published memoirs.[4]
Later life and continued rivalry
Farrant continued to lead the BPOS and publish books on his paranormal investigations for the rest of his life, including two volumes of autobiography, In the Shadow of the Highgate Vampire (2009) and Out of the Shadows (2011).[5] His public dispute with Seán Manchester over the true events and legacy of the Highgate case — including a proposed but abandoned "magical duel" on Parliament Hill in 1973 — continued in print and online until Farrant's death in 2019.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "David Farrant."Grokipedia.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Occult Investigator — David Farrant."David Farrant — Psychic Investigator.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Portals to the Truth: David Farrant."Fact or Fiction? The Seance and Bloody Mary.
- ↑ "Reality of the 'Highgate Vampire' affair."Shields Gazette.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Interviews: David Farrant."Andrew Gough.