Borley Rectory - cult hoax or genuine haunting? Let's settle this once and for all

I've been reading Harry Price's original investigations and I've reached the conclusion that we've been looking at this all wrong. Everyone assumes either it's the most famous hoax in paranormal history OR it's genuinely haunted. But what if it's both? What if the actual haunting attracted a cult element that deliberately faked phenomena to increase the notoriety?

Price himself documented inconsistencies in the accounts. The 'ghost' seemed to become more theatrical and less believable as the years went on. That's not characteristic of genuine hauntings - that's characteristic of performance. But the original phenomena reported by the vicar and his wife seem harder to dismiss.

What's the prevailing view in 2024? Has anyone actually visited the location recently?

There's nothing left to visit - the rectory was demolished in 1944. And Price's investigation was notoriously compromised. He planted objects, suggested phenomena to witnesses, and was desperate for a sensational narrative. Most paranormal scholars now accept it was probably 80% hoax, 20% misinterpretation. Not very exciting, but that's the consensus.

Just because Price had biases doesn't mean nothing happened at Borley. Some of the accounts predate his involvement by decades. Monks allegedly saw a phantom nun going back centuries. That's not something Price could have faked. I think something genuinely strange was happening, but Price exploited it.

What if the actual haunting attracted a cult element that deliberately faked phenomena

This is Occam's Razor in reverse, mate. The simplest explanation is that a bored vicar's wife started making things up, it gained attention, and then every creak and groan got reinterpreted as paranormal. No cult necessary. Just human psychology.

I've actually done some research on this. There's a document in the Suffolk Record Office from 1906 describing mysterious knocking sounds years before Price showed up. That's a primary source that can't be dismissed as Price fabrication. Something was definitely happening there, whether it was paranormal or just rodents and bad plumbing is another question.

The most interesting bit to me is that accounts got MORE consistent once Price started investigating, which is backwards from what you'd expect if he was just suggesting phenomena. That actually suggests people's expectations aligned with something that was genuinely happening. I think genuine + hoax is the right answer here.