在二十世界二十年代和二十世纪三十年代的时候，鬼魂常出没的borley rectory，毫无疑问是英国最著名的地方之一，也成为最值得争议的话题之一。个别的目击者做看到的大量的景象和经历表明虽然大多数的现象可以用理性的术语来解释，但是一种比例仍然表明在目前这段时间里，由于难以理解，这种现象还是可以看到。
borley rectory was reputed to be the most haunted house in the uk. the rectory was built by the rev. henry d. e. bull in 1863 near the river stour, essex, to house himself, his wife and their 14 children. however the rectory burnt down in a fire started in mysterious circumstances in 1939.
it's thought that the rectory was destined to be a haunted house from the start due to the events that had occurred on the site many centuries before.the foundation was an age old priory on land that contained a 12th century church, caretaker's house and other buildings. a.c. henning, the rector in 1936, discovered that the doomsday book told of a borley manor prior to 1066, so he concluded a wooden church was probably also built around that time. the foundations contained underground tunnels and a complex of vault rooms. the rectory had 20 rooms, was about 3 stories high.
the most popular story to the background of borley was that in 1362 benedictine monks built a monastery on the site which would later hold the rectory. legend told of a nun from the bures convent, 7 miles southeast of borley falling in love with a monk from the monastery. they had decided to elope to be together, but the elders discovered their plans. a friend of the monk was to drive a carriage to help them escape. on the fateful night they were captured by the elders. the coachman was beheaded, the monk hanged and the nun was bricked up alive in the walls of the vaults beneath the rectory. their ghosts have haunted the site ever since.