Message About Shroudeater from "Cross and the Stake"

This message is forwarded from the "Cross and the Stake" MSN Group and is being posted in the spirit of fairness and accuracy--equal time so to speak.

"I think you are wise not to waste time on the asinine outpourings of the vampiroid clique, as you put it. I have felt for some time that it looked as if dark forces were creating all these problems in an attempt to distract your mind from more important matters,"

(Rob Brautigam, 7 April 1991)

Within two years of sending the above to Bishop Seán Manchester, Rob Brautigam was aiding the very “dark forces” to which he referred in his letter of 7 April 1991.

In June 1990, Rob Brautigam of Amsterdam, wrote to the International Society For The Advancement Of Irrefutable Vampirological And Lycanthropic Research (aka Vampire Research Society) to apply for membership. At this time he subscribed to a belief in the existence of supernatural vampires and their control. He had not yet embarked upon any newsletter or magazine production of his own. Indeed, nobody in the vampirological community (nor, for that matter, within vampiroid subculture) had ever heard of him. His letter came out of the blue and was directed to Seán Manchester at the ISAIVLR (VRS) London address. On 27 June 1990, Brautigam wrote:

“It has been with the greatest interest and admiration that I have occasionally read about your activities over the years. … It goes without saying that I would very much like to join your Society. So could you please tell me if it is possible for me to be a member of the ISAIVLR?”

Over the following year and a half, Bishop Seán Manchester arranged three meetings with Brautigam. By the second and penultimate rendezvous it was transparent that the Dutchman was not suitable membership material. In the interim Brautigam had launched a home-produced amateur magazine titled International Vampire. Notwithstanding invitations for contributions to this venture from Bishop Seán Manchester, Brautigam’s own efforts steadily metamorphosed into something recognisably more vampiroid orientated. Within a relatively short space of time the Dutchman was promoting Aleister Crowley, Black Metal groups and theatrical Satanism ~ at which point a schism with Bishop Seán Manchester had become well and truly evident. Prior to this Brautigam had gone out of his way to compliment the founding president of the ISAIVLR (or the Vampire Research Society as it is better known) on his “truly magnificent [book] The Highgate Vampire” which the Dutchman described as “a masterpiece of vamirography.” Brautigam continued: “I have been rereading the book ever since I got it. And I am impatiently looking forward to the moment when the revised edition will be on the market” (22 August 1990). When the updated and revised edition was published some months later, Brautigam enthusiastically sang its praises in International Vampire and indeed elsewhere.

Despite being refused membership of the Society, Brautigam nevertheless maintained a regular and amicable correspondence with Bishop Seán Manchester until the end of 1992. Much of this was to solicit contributions for Brautigam’s magazine, but the direction being taken by the Dutchman witnessed a certain reluctance on Bishop Manchester’s part to provide any further material for International Vampire. Thus, by the end of 1992, the relationship had begun to sour. At the beginning of that same year, Brautigam revealed an interest in someone who was sentenced to almost five years’ imprisonment in 1974 for crimes chiefly relating to Highgate Cemetery. The Dutchman would refer to his “growing [NAME DELETED] File of Shame” and attributed the adjective “simpleton” to [NAME DELETED] himself. “Devious” and “charlatan” were suggested as more appropriate descriptions of the man who had caused so much trouble with his charlatanry, and his complicating of the Highgate case by defiling the annals with his own absurdities.

The Dutchman’s exchanges with Seán Manchester ended abruptly on 20 December 1992 with confirmation that he had entered into a correspondence with [NAME DELETED], while also giving the impression that this contact was now over. Seán Manchester continued to write, but gained no response and was never to hear from the Dutchman again. The puzzle was solved some months later when it became clear that Brautigam had allied himself with [NAME DELETED] ~ an emissary of the dark forces to which the Dutchman had alluded in April 1991. Today, on his Amsterdam-based website, Brautigam makes snide and sarcastic asides about “a certain bishop.” His site also advertises illicit booklets produced by [NAME DELETED] exclusively for the purpose of defaming Bishop Seán Manchester. These poorly produced stapled pamphlets contain a liturgy of libel and well in excess of one hundred lines of stolen text from The Highgate Vampire.

The now redundant “Vampire Madhouse” website, created in the late 1990s by Brautigam, provided links to a variety of satanic groups, particularly those orientated towards Aleister Crowley. This was later replaced with a site named “Bloody Chaos” that has also become defunct. The current site is altogether more circumspect. Called “Shroudeater,” it advertises [NAME DELETED] pamphlets, and misrepresents Bishop Seán Manchester’s work. Since his ongoing collaboration with [NAME DELETED] from 1993, Brautigam took to denying the existence of supernatural predatory wraiths, ie vampires, and began maligning Bishop Manchester. [NAME DELETED] turned from promoting a belief in such things to campaigning almost compulsively to deny their existence from late 1970. This coincided with his conversion to a theatrical form of occultism. Brautigam is not forthcoming on his reasons for promoting [NAME DELETED] other than he no longer accepts that vampires exist.

Reggie Naus, also of the Netherlands, writes: “I really don’t know what to make of Rob Brautigam, the ‘only Dutch vampire expert’ [sic]. Recently I read an interview with him in a local newspaper where he spoke of his intention to ‘go to England and meet some people who live like vampires.’ About a year ago he appeared on a Dutch talk show alongside British vampiroid ‘Chorondzon Vanian.’ After Vanian told the audience he would live forever, Brautigam told them a vampire would go our at night and ‘drink fresh blood from young virgins.’ I find it rather curious that a ‘vampire expert’ would really believe a vampire can only drink virgin’s blood.”

Naus has this to say about Brautigam’s mentor: “As for [NAME DELETED], the man repeatedly denies believing in the existence of real vampires (and tries to ridicule Seán Manchester’s work), saying he’s only a researcher of occult occurrences and certainly doesn’t take the idea of a real vampire seriously. Meanwhile, he keeps posing for photographs with wooden stakes and crucifixes in his hands.”

Notwithstanding the tiny number of overtly satanic websites where [NAME DELETED] is mentioned favourably, albeit briefly, the only site on the internet where [NAME DELETED] and his illicit pamphlets are promoted is Rob Brautigam’s “Shroudeater” site. Indeed, without Brautigam, few people today would have ever heard of [NAME DELETED]. Moreover, were it not for the concerted efforts of Rob Brautigam, the VRS would have little need to publish its rejoinders and rebuttals about this most irksome of matters. [NAME DELETED] would have drifted into oblivion.

In 2001, Rob Brautigam surpassed himself by placing a link, fraudulently purporting to belong to the Vampire Research Society, on his “links” page at his “Shroudeater” website. Any unsuspecting visitor who clicks on the icon link next to the bogus “Vampire Reseach Society” title might suffer a computer crash. This was a pathetic attempt by Brautigam to discourage people from visiting the genuine Vampire Research Society website.

“Much has been written about the strange happenings in and around Highgate Cemetery. Happenings that are said to have taken place in the late sixties, early seventies … We feel that the subject of vampires should be treated seriously. And that is why we were delighted about the publication of another, less sensational, more factual, account of the Highgate happenings. David Farrant is the President of the British Psychic and Occult Society. He has been investigating the phenomena in Highgate Cemetery from the very beginning. He has written and published a short but interesting book called Beyond the Highgate Vampire in which he gives us his own views and findings on the case. I was pleased to find that, unlike ‘the other book’, David Farrant's account of the happenings in and around Highgate Cemetery is not based on fantasy, but on facts. … Fortunately, David Farrant is more serious and intelligent in his approach to the Highgate happenings. David Farrant is simply giving us the facts, offering no easy explanations, and obviously expecting us to draw our own conclusions. Which, of course, is the way it should be.”

~ Review of David Farrant's pamphlet "Beyond the Highgate Vampire" by Rob Brautigam from his Amsterdam-based website "Shroudeater" in Holland.

Perhaps we should examine what Rob Brautigam has to say, step by step? Much has been written about the Highgate Vampire case, but it is mostly derivative of Seán Manchester’s published account which even Brautigam once described as the “truly magnificent The Highgate Vampire … a masterpiece of vamirography.” He continued: “I have been rereading the book ever since I got it. And I am impatiently looking forward to the moment when the revised edition will be on the market.” (Correspondence from Rob Brautigam, 22 August 1990).

When the Gothic Press edition was published some months later, Brautigam enthusiastically sang its praises in his home spun magazine International Vampire and indeed elsewhere. By this time he had made contact with Kevin Demant of London who also admired the same author’s work. They described themselves at this time as “fans of Seán Manchester.” Until, that is, they met up with Farrant and what they thought was someone more accessible who was also involved in the happenings at Highgate.

Brautigam’s exchanges with Seán Manchester ended abruptly on 20 December 1992 with confirmation that he had entered into a correspondence with Farrant, while also giving the impression that this contact was now over. “As to my brief correspondence with Farrant,” wrote Brautigam, “you can start breathing again, for there is no point now in continuing it any longer. … I still admire you as a most gifted writer, and nothing can ever change that. I will continue to think of it as a privilege that I have had the pleasure of meeting you and corresponding with you.” (Correspondence from Rob Brautigam, 20 December 1992).

Seán Manchester continued to write for a while longer, but gained no response and did not hear from Brautigam again.

The subject of vampires should be treated seriously, but does David Farrant treat it seriously in his pamphlet Beyond the Highgate Vampire? Let us take a look at what Farrant has to say about the night of his arrest (17 August 1970) in Highgate Cemetery:

"The main evidence put forward to support the charge was that the Defendant had been caught whilst leaving Highgate Cemetery with a cross and 'wooden stake' (this 'wooden stake' was, in fact, merely a pointed piece of wood used with string to cast ~ or measure out ~ a magical Circle): his intention (according to the Prosecution) being to seek out and destroy the legendary vampire that had its lair in the Cemetery. During this process, the Prosecution claimed, coffins would have had to be opened to look for the vampire. Basically, of course, in principle some of this may have been correct, but, due to my reluctance to give details of the séance realising that these would never be understood because of their occult connotations, and refusal to name members involved in the investigation, the facts had been grossly distorted. It was not true, for example, that I had been arrested with just a cross and ‘stake’ but the other objects I had been carrying had mysteriously ‘disappeared’ and so had not been produced in evidence. … Ignorance and superstitious assumption ~ and almost certainly a desire to produce a scapegoat for all the desecration at Highgate Cemetery ~ had done the rest. … the police had brought the case to court in the first place and introduced throughout outrageous statements about ‘staking vampires through the heart’ attributed to myself which had no relation to the facts … I had been reduced to some modern-day Van Helsing-type vampire hunter."

The police had been keeping a vigil at Highgate Cemetery. Why was only Farrant discovered on the night of 17 August 1970? Why did the police only produce in evidence a wooden stake and Christian cross? Could it be that Farrant alone entered the graveyard with just a cross and stake? Could it also be that no occult accoutrements were discovered by the police because there were none to find? Would the police have invented the vampire hunting story and insert it into Farrant’s statement which was read out in court? This is what Farrant is now claiming. He also claims in his pamphlet that he was holding a séance in Highgate Cemetery on the night of 17 August 1970, and that he was not vampire hunting with a cross and stake. Can we believe him?

Farrant reconstructed the events of that night for a BBC interview in October 1970. What viewers saw was a reconstructed vampire hunt with Farrant wearing a Catholic rosary, holding a Christian cross and brandishing a wooden stake. It was reshown by BBC Choice in May 1999 much to Farrant’s chagrin because throughout that decade he had been proclaiming that he had not been vampire hunting. His pamphlet tells of casting a “magical [sic] Circle” and using the pointed stake for this purpose only. However, anyone taking a look at the BBC reconstruction in 1970 will find something very contrary to this claim.

The 1970 BBC interview with Farrant went as follows:

Laurence Picethly: “Have you ever seen this vampire?”

David Farrant: “I have seen it, yes. I saw it last February, and saw it on two occasions.”

Laurence Picethly: “What was it like?”

David Farrant: “It took the form of a tall, grey figure, and it … [pauses] … seemed to glide off the path without making any noise.”

Yet Farrant now protests that he does not believe in traditional vampires, never did, and did not hunt one in Highgate Cemetery in August 1970 with a cross and stake. Can we take him seriously? Well, not really. The evidence says something entirely different.

Brautigam states that Farrant has been “investigating the phenomena in Highgate Cemetery from the very beginning.” Is this true? Well, no. Farrant was residing in France and Spain when the phenomenon first reared its head in early 1967. Newspaper reports, court records, and various interviews on tape at the time, confirm that Farrant first learned about the rumoured vampire whilst drinking in pubs in early 1970. He claims to have seen it himself around this time, and wrote the following to a newspaper:

"Some nights I walk home 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 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." ~ David Farrant’s published letter to the editor, Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 February 1970.

Farrant wrote to Seán Manchester prior to his arrest in August 1970 and also during his remand in Brixton Prison. What he wrote is completely at odds with his later claims and certainly supports the recorded facts at the time, ie that he was a lone vampire hunter with no connection to the British Occult Society investigation into phenomena at Highgate Cemetery.

In June 2003, on a message board managed by Gareth Davies, Farrant apparently welcomed his prison correspondence being published. The actual words were that he "would be delighted that such documentation enters the public domain." Under discussion was his 1970 prison correspondence to Seán Manchester. Perhaps he had forgotten just how damaging these documents would be in the light of what is claimed in Beyond the Highgate Vampire because he was taken at his word and the documents were put in the public domain (on the MSN group board for BOS archive material) at the beginning of 2004. Someone complained on his behalf, describing the release of these documents as a “copyright violation.” Hence, due to a malicious complaint to MSN from Catherine Fearnley (not even born when the Highgate Vampire was under investigation), the managers of that board were forced to remove, under threat of closure, Farrant’s correspondence to Seán Manchester and, incredibly, two photographs that are the sole copyright of Seán Manchester and had appeared with his consent.

The documents and photographs that the managers of the MSN group board were obliged to remove are:

Prison Letter from David Farrant to Seán Manchester

Postmarked envelope for prison correspondence

Hand-delivered note from David Farrant to Seán Manchester

(This item is published in facsimile on page 110 of The Highgate Vampire.)

Photograph of Farrant wearing a large crucifix and brandishing a wooden stake, copyright © Seán Manchester

(This item was previously published in BOS / VRS journals.)

Photograph (detail only) of Farrant pointing to where he allegedly saw a vampire, copyright © Seán Manchester

(This item was first published on front page of the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 February 1970. Also published on page 62 of The Highgate Vampire, British Occult Society edition, 1985. One reproduction right was granted to the Hampstead & Highgate Express in 1970. All rights thereafter reverted to Seán Manchester.)

The Hampstead & Highgate Express, 6 March 1970, carried a full report on its front page, including the above photograph:

“The mysterious death of foxes in Highgate Cemetery was this week linked with the theory that a ghost seen in the area might be a vampire. Mr David Farrant, 24, who reported seeing a ghost last month, returned to the spot last weekend and discovered a dead fox. ‘Several other foxes have also been found dead in the cemetery,’ he said at his home in Priestwood Mansions, Archway Road, Highgate. ‘The odd thing is there was no outward sign of how they died. Much remains unexplained, but what I have recently learnt all points to the vampire theory as being the most likely answer. Should this be so, I for one am prepared to pursue it, taking whatever means might be necessary so that we can all rest.’

“The vampire theory was suggested last week by Mr Seán Manchester, 25-year-old president of the British Occult Society. … Mr Farrant and Mr Manchester met in the cemetery at the weekend. They are pictured [above], Mr Farrant pointing out the spot where he saw a spectre and Mr Manchester with prayer book in hand. Mr Manchester, when told about the dead foxes, said: ‘These incidents are just more inexplicable events that seem to compliment my theory about a vampire’.”

A photograph (first published on page 16 of Seán Manchester’s The Vampire Hunter’s Handbook, Gothic Press, 1997) shows Farrant holding “a stake to plunge through the heart” of the vampire and “a cross made from two bits of wood tied together with a shoelace.” The picture was taken prior to Farrant's collaboration with journalist Barrie Simmons in October 1970. Simmons joined Farrant for a “midnight date with Highgate’s Vampire.” The journalist featured his meeting in an article accompanied by a selection of photographs (showing Farrant stalking a vampire) in the London Evening News, 16 October 1970:

“I joined a macabre hunt among the desecrated graves and tombs for the vampire of Highgate Cemetery. … David, 24, was all set, kitted out with all the gear required by any self-respecting vampire hunter. Clutched under his arm, in a Sainsbury’s carrier bag, he held the tools of his trade. There was a cross made out of two bits of wood tied together with a shoelace and a stake to plunge through the heart of the beast. Vampire hunting is a great art. There is no point in just standing around waiting for the monster to appear. It must be stalked. So we stalked. Cross in one hand to ward off the evil spirits, stake in the other, held at the ready. David stalked among the vaults, past the graves, in the bushes and by the walls. When he had finished he started stalking all over again.”

These antics led to five columns of publicity, including a half-page feature of photographs, but little else. Farrant was something of a novice when it came to vampire hunting, but Simmons’ article attests to the fact that, albeit amateurishly, Farrant engaged in such behaviour. Today he claims that he did not, as confirmed in his pamphlet Beyond the Highgate Vampire and elsewhere.

In the Hendon Times, 25 September 2003, for example, Farrant protests: “I get so fed up with the whole thing being misrepresented and I wanted to set the record straight. I don't accept the existence of vampires. There has been so much interest in the Highgate case, when I was arrested in Highgate Cemetery for vampire hunting. In fact, it was a completely different matter.” Was it a different matter? If he cannot be trusted on something as fundamental as this, how can he be trusted at all?

However, Rob Brautigam regards Farrant’s account as being “more factual” and more “serious” than the account given by the person who led the investigation into the Highgate Vampire case from beginning to end and whose own account, moreover, won the support of accredited authors, scholars and respected researchers such as Dr Devendra P Varma and Peter Underwood.