The Highgate Vampire
Issue #7: July 1979
For over a decade, Highgate Cemetery in North London has been the focus of one of the most controversial supernatural investigations in modern British history. Witnesses have reported encounters with a tall, dark figure that stalks the overgrown grounds, and a fierce debate continues over its true nature.
Is Highgate home to a genuine vampire? Or is something else entirely haunting this magnificent Victorian necropolis?
The Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery opened in 1839 as part of the “Magnificent Seven,” a ring of private burial grounds built to relieve London’s overcrowded churchyards. Its Egyptian Avenue, Circle of Lebanon, and Gothic architecture made it the fashionable resting place for Victorian society.
By the mid-twentieth century, however, the cemetery had fallen into decline. The western section became a wilderness of ivy and bramble, paths disappearing into undergrowth, monuments crumbling beneath vegetation. It is this atmosphere of romantic decay that forms the backdrop to the reported haunting.
The Sightings
Reports of something unusual at Highgate began circulating in the late 1960s. Witnesses described a tall figure, preternaturally still, dressed in dark clothing or a long cloak. Its face, when glimpsed, appeared pale and gaunt, with eyes that seemed to emit their own faint light.
The figure has been seen both within the cemetery grounds and on Swains Lane, the narrow road that runs between the western and eastern sections. Witnesses describe it appearing suddenly in the headlights of passing cars, only to vanish when approached.
In December 1969, a young man crossing the lane near the cemetery’s north gate was knocked to the ground by an unseen force. He was found dazed but uninjured, with no memory of how he had fallen. The incident attracted local press coverage and brought wider attention to the case.
The Investigators
By 1970, two men had emerged as the principal investigators, their bitter rivalry becoming nearly as notorious as the haunting itself.
Sean Manchester, who describes himself as an expert in vampirology, became convinced that Highgate harboured a genuine undead: a medieval nobleman of Eastern European origin whose remains had been transported to London in the nineteenth century. He claimed the creature had awakened and was preying upon the living.
David Farrant, president of the British Psychic and Occult Society, took a different view. He acknowledged the sightings but interpreted the figure as a supernatural entity of unknown nature, not necessarily a vampire in the traditional sense.
The two men’s conflicting accounts and public accusations have done much to complicate objective investigation of the case.
The Events of 1970
On Friday 13 March 1970, following extensive press coverage, a crowd of several hundred people descended upon Highgate Cemetery armed with crucifixes, stakes, and garlic. Police were called to disperse the mob, but not before numerous individuals had climbed the walls and entered the grounds.
The incident brought national attention and forced authorities to improve security at the cemetery. It also polarised opinion, with sceptics dismissing the affair as mass hysteria while believers saw confirmation that something genuinely dangerous lurked among the tombs.
In subsequent years, Manchester claimed to have located and destroyed a vampire through traditional means. He has provided few verifiable details. The cemetery authorities deny authorising any such activities.
Continuing Reports
Despite claims that the vampire has been destroyed or exorcised, sightings continue. Witnesses report cold spots, the sensation of being watched, and fleeting glimpses of a dark figure moving through the older sections of the cemetery.
In 1977, a woman walking along Swains Lane reported seeing a tall man in Victorian dress step from behind a tomb and dissolve into mist. Similar accounts have emerged from cemetery staff and volunteers, though most prefer not to discuss their experiences on the record.
Analysis
The evidence suggests that something unusual is occurring at Highgate Cemetery, though its true nature remains unclear. The vampire hypothesis, while dramatic, raises obvious objections: if a blood-drinking revenant truly stalks the grounds, where are the victims?
Alternative explanations have been proposed. Some researchers suggest the cemetery, saturated with decades of death and Victorian mourning ritual, has become a focus for residual haunting. Others propose that the intense belief and attention focused on the location may have somehow catalysed genuine phenomena.
Whatever the truth, Highgate Cemetery remains one of the most active paranormal locations in Britain. The Friends of Highgate Cemetery, formed in 1975, continue their restoration work, but the reports persist.
This magazine will continue to monitor the case. We encourage readers who have experienced unusual phenomena at Highgate to contact us with their accounts.