In the small hours of October 31, 1968, the grave of a recently dead individual was unearthed in Tottenham Park Cemetery. Fresh flowers were arranged in a circular pattern around the site, and the coffin was opened. Then, a stake was driven through the heart of the corpse within. Those responsible for the desecration were never identified, but their message was clear: Vampires were afoot in London.
The local press was quick to take up the story, sensationalizing the crime. Soon after, a rash of strange animal mutilations occurred, in which exsanguinated foxes were discovered with punctures in their necks. This was followed by numerous reports of shadowy figures with glowing red eyes lurking near graveyards. Vampire hysteria swept through the city.
Enter David Farrant and Sean Manchester. In November 1969, while walking by Highgate Cemetery, Farrant, a paranormal investigator, spied a gray spectral figure skulking about the tombs. The press latched onto the story immediately, inspiring Manchester, a self-proclaimed bishop and expert on the supernatural, to declare that Farrant’s gray figure was indeed a vampire. This would ignite a bizarre series of events and spark an infamous rivalry between the two men.
Highgate Cemetery opened in 1839 and is one of London’s “Magnificent Seven.” This neo-gothic necropolis is the final resting place of some 170,000 souls, including Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, and George Michael, among countless other famous internments. Highgate also has a long-established reputation for hauntings and the paranormal, making it an ideal location for the story to unfold.
Farrant and Manchester were convinced that Highgate was home to a powerful vampire. However, that was the only thing they agreed on. Each had their own theories and methods for combatting the fiend and vehemently renounced each other’s tactics. They participated in vitriolic debates, published slanderous articles about each other, and insulted each other in television interviews. So fierce was their rivalry that they dominated the narrative, so the question was not “Is there a vampire?” but rather, how to defeat it.
The public was convinced. Amateur vampire hunters descended on Highgate by the score, frustrating local police. Tombs were opened, vandalized, and desecrated. Stakes were driven through the hearts of long-dead corpses, heads were removed, and numerous other perversions were committed. The entire cemetery was awash with garlic and holy water. In one instance, two young girls walking in the graveyard discovered the decapitated and burned body of a woman lying in the path. Fortunately, the woman had been dead for more than a hundred years, so no murder was committed.
Meanwhile, the feud between Farrant and Manchester raged. Each swore they would be the one to destroy the vampire, conceiving increasingly more elaborate schemes to one-up each other. During one of his vampire hunts, Farrant was intercepted by police and arrested carrying stakes, crucifixes, and other anti-vampire paraphernalia. Manchester and his psychic assistant succeeded in tracking the vampire to its suspected tomb. Upon breaking in and unsealing the crypt, his assistant convinced him not to decapitate and spike the corpse there. Manchester agreed but slathered the place in garlic and incense instead.
On March 13, 1970, tensions came to a head. Manchester declared he was going to hold a séance at the cemetery to expel the demon once and for all. Several television stations dispatched reporters to cover the event live. Also in attendance was a mob of hundreds who proceeded to overrun police barricades and lay siege to the vampire’s home. The damage was formidable. In the aftermath, a preservation group called “The Friends of Highgate” was formed to protect the grounds from further vandalism. Vampire hunting was now forbidden.
Farrant and Manchester were not deterred. Even if their foe was a protected species, they still had each other to fight. Consumed with their disgust for each other, the two men scheduled a “magical duel” to be held on Friday, April 13, 1973, on Parliament Hill. Unfortunately for the eager spectators, this highly publicized contest did not occur.
Both Farrant and Manchester went on to write several books on the subject, ensuring that the legend of the Highgate Vampire never be forgotten. Their rivalry lasted fifty years until April 2019, when David Farrant passed. As for the vampire? Sean Manchester still believes.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
