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Enfield Poltergeist Case Box, 1976-1986

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS SPR/99/5/1/15

Scope and Contents

NOTE: contents are arranged in three folders; items listed below by folder
‘Enfield Poltergeist Discussion & Correspondence’ Folder
- One (1) letter from (?) Williams Marshall to Colin Wilson dated 2 January 1984 regarding a possible relation to the Harper Family
- One (1) copy of a report by John Beloff and Anita Gregory titled ‘Our visit to 284 Green Street, Enfield, Middlesex on Saturday 10 Dec. 1977’; attached is one (1) two page note from Anita Gregory dated 28 August 1978 regarding the reliability of Grosse and Playfair, one (1) note from L.E. Berger dated 18 July 1978 questioning Grosse’s objectivity, one (1) letter from Ivor and Enid Grattan-Guiness dated 5 July 1978 questioning the reliability of the Enfield case, one (1) letter from John Beloff to John Stiles dated 3 July 1978 stating that he believed the original paranormal activity may have been genuine but that the current activity is likely faked, and one (1) further copy of the 1977 December report
- One (1) letter to Eleanor O’Keeffe from Anita Gregory dated 8 April 1983 about a heated discussion between Gregory and Grosse that Gregory wanted the conversation added to the record
- One (1) letter to Eleanor O’Keeffe from Anita Gregory dated 4 August 1983 confirming for the record/Enfield file a conversation between O’Keeffe and Gregory on the telephone
- An envelope labelled ‘Enfield Poltergeist Investigation Committee Confidential Papers’; envelope holds: one (1) copy of a report from A.D. Cornell dated 15 November 1977 on the Enfield Case (Cornell’s investigation dated 12 November 1977 with Alan Gauld alongside Grosse and Playfair), report include hand-drawn layouts of the house in Enfield
- A cream unlabelled folder; holds one (1) copy of a report titled ‘The Enfield Poltergeist by M. Grosse and G.L. Playfair’ covering incidents between 5 September 1977 until June 1978
- One (1) letter from Maurice Grosse to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 4 July 1978 regarding the report made on the Enfield Case by Ed and Lorraine Warren
- One (1) letter from Maurice Grosse to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 2 April 1978 calling attention to charges of fraud made against Grosse and Playfair by A. Cornell and J. Beloff; attached to letter is one (1) copy of a two page handwritten note by Margaret Hodgson dated 1 April 1978 supporting Grosse and Playfair’s investigation and one (1) letter from Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 5 April 1978 confirming the receipt of his 2 April 1978 letter
- One (1) letter from John Beloff to Maurice Grosse dated 25 May 1978 disputing the supposed accusations Grosse claimed Beloff had made against him; folded around this letter is one (1) copy of a two page letter from Francis(?) Huxley to Hugh (Pincott?) dated 21 February 1978 in which Huxley gives his opinion on the Enfield Case
- One (1) letter from Hugh Pincott to A.D. Cornell dated 18 February 1978 regarding exchanges between Cornell and Playfair
- One (1) report by Charles A. Moses titled ‘A Report to the Research Committee – The Enfield Haunting – London’ dated 31 January 1978
- One (1) report by Charles A. Moses titled ‘The Enfield Case – England’s Most Celebrated Current Haunting’ dated 13 March 1978
- One (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Guy Playfair dated 9 February 1978 regarding Cornell’s previous desire for IQ and psychological tests for the Enfield Case
- One (1) letter to Hugh Pincott from A.D. Cornell dated 9 February 1978 regarding an undated letter from Playfair to be added to Enfield ‘confidential’ file
- One (1) letter from Guy Playfair to A.D. Cornell dated 7 February 1978 that is quite caustic on the subject of psychologists at Enfield
- One (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Guy Playfair (no date) regarding previous hope for further tests at Enfield but addressing the tension existing from Cornell’s initial visit
- One (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Hugh Pincott dated 3 February 1978 letter from Playfair to be added to Enfield ‘confidential’ file
- Two (2) letters between Eleanor O’Keeffe and A.D. Cornell dated 4 and 5 April 1978 regarding letters to be place in the confidential file of the Enfield case; attached are two (2) further letters between A.D. Cornell and A.J. Ellison dated 4 and 20 April 1978 about the formation of a committee to oversee the Enfield Case as Cornell stats that ‘it seems to me that if we are not careful Enfield could eventually become another “Borley”’
- One (1) report from Hugh Pincott (directed to John Stiles) dated 2 September 1978 covering the ‘few visits [Pincott] made to Enfield
- One (1) copy of a two page letter from Francis(?) Huxley to Hugh (Pincott?) dated 21 February 1978 in which Huxley gives his opinion on the Enfield Case; attached is one (1) note to Francis Huxley dated 16 March 1978 apologising for not having acknowledged a previous letter
- One (1) list titled ‘Enfield Case August 1977’; lists letters/correspondence and reports regarding the Enfield case during this time
- One (1) letter from A.J. Ellison to Tessa Harrow dated 15 April 1980 briefly discussing the SPR’s role in the Enfield Case
- One (1) letter from Guy Playfair to Anita Gregory dated 8 May 1980 asking her to ‘make it clear […] that my intention to write a book arose only after the lack of interest in my report shown by the SPR’
- One (1) letter from (?) Cornell to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 4 April 1978 regarding a letter to pass to the President of the SPR; attached are two (2) further letters between A.D. Cornell and A.J. Ellison dated 4 and 20 April 1978 about the formation of a committee to oversee the Enfield Case as Cornell stats that ‘it seems to me that if we are not careful Enfield could eventually become another “Borley”’
- One (1) copy of a report by Charles A. Moses titled ‘The Enfield Case – England’s Most Celebrated Current Haunting’ dated 13 March 1978
- One (1) letter from Eleanor O’Keeffe to Maurice Grosse dated 6 July 1978 thanking him for the report on the Warrens
- One (1) copy of a report by Charles A. Moses titled ‘A Report to the Research Committee – The Enfield Haunting – London’ dated 31 January 1978
- One (1) copy of a letter from Maurice Grosse to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 4 July 1978 regarding the report made on the Enfield Case by Ed and Lorraine Warren; attached is a note to John (Stiles?) from O’Keeffe asking to make Xerox copies of ‘Enfield File’
- One (1) copy of a letter from Maurice Grosse to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 4 July 1978 regarding the report made on the Enfield Case by Ed and Lorraine Warren; attached is a card addressed to John (Stiles?) and dated 6 July 1978
- One (1) letter from John Stiles to Francis Huxley dated 15 August 1978 on receipt of Hugh Pincott’s report on Enfield
- One (1) copy of a letter from John Beloff to Maurice Grosse dated 25 May 1978 disputing the supposed accusations Grosse claimed Beloff had made against him
- One (1) copy of a letter from Hugh Pincott to A.D. Cornell dated 18 February 1978 regarding exchanges between Cornell and Playfair
- A copied bundle; includes copies of: one (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Hugh Pincott dated 3 February 1978 letter from Playfair to be added to Enfield ‘confidential’ file, one (1) letter to Hugh Pincott from A.D. Cornell dated 9 February 1978 regarding an undated letter from Playfair to be added to Enfield ‘confidential’ file, one (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Guy Playfair (no date) regarding previous hope for further tests at Enfield but addressing the tension existing from Cornell’s initial visit, one (1) letter from Guy Playfair to A.D. Cornell dated 7 February 1978 that is quite caustic on the subject of psychologists at Enfield, and one (1) letter from A.D. Cornell to Guy Playfair dated 9 February 1978 regarding Cornell’s previous desire for IQ and psychological tests for the Enfield Case
‘Documents relating to the late Dr Anita Gregory’s Thesis which is deposited (7 March 1986) […]’ Folder
- One (1) receipt for the deposit of Anita Gregory’s thesis at National Westminster Bank on 4 March 1986
- One (1) notice from the National Westminster Bank dated 10 March 1986 regarding the store of Gregory’s thesis; item needed to be resealed
- Two (2) copies of a typed page that begins ‘This package is the property of the Society for Psychical Research’; lists contents and procedure; both signed by A.T. Oram
- Two (2) small bundles; each contains a copy of one (1) a typed page that begins ‘This package is the property of the Society for Psychical Research’ that lists contents and procedure and is signed by A.T. Oram, one (1) letter dated 19 October 1983 to Eleanor O’Keeffe from Philip Goldenberg regarding the legality of republishing Anita Gregory’s thesis, and one (1) draft of minutes of a SPR council meeting held 16 January 1986 discussing Gregory’s thesis further
- A clipped bundle; includes: one (1) letter to Eleanor O’Keeffe from Maurice Grosse dated 29 November 1985 regarding defamatory statements in Anita Gregory’s thesis, one (1) letter from J. Grattan-Guiness dated 22 November 1988 against proposals to amend Anita Gregory’s thesis, one (1) letter from A.T. Oram to Donald (West?) dated 30 October 1985 regarding the removal of Gregory’s thesis from the library to avoid any legal action, one (1) letter to A.T. Oram to D.J. West dated 2 November 1985 discussing the legal issues around Gregory’s thesis, one (1) letter from A.T. Oram to Donald (West?) dated 10 November 1985 deciding that the thesis must be kept ‘locked up for now’, one (1) letter from A.T. Oram to Donald (West?) dated 15 November 1985 proposing a draft procedure for dealing with Gregory’s thesis, one (1) letter from John Beloff to D.J. West dated 15 November 1985 stating they should not let a threat of libel ‘interfere with the free expression of opinion and with criticisms made in good faith’, one (1) letter dated 19 October 1983 to Eleanor O’Keeffe from Philip Goldenberg regarding the legality of republishing Anita Gregory’s thesis, one (1) letter from Mary Rose Barrington to Eleanor O’Keeffe dated 20 November 1985 stating ‘I thought that the Enfield chapter of Anita’s thesis was entirely unsuitable for publication’, and one (1) letter from Eleanor O’Keeffe to Maurice Grosse dated 15 January 1986 informing him that Anita Gregory’s thesis had been removed from the SPR library
‘Anita Gregory’s Account of Enfield Poltergeist Case – July 1983 – Copy 2’ Folder
- One (1) copy of Anita Gregory’s Account of the Enfield Case dated July 1983; account is 65 pages in length
- One (1) copy of Anita Gregory’s book review of Guy Playfair’s text This House is Haunted, An Investigation of the Enfield Poltergeist in the SPR Journal, Vol. 50, No. 786, December 1980
- One (1) response to Anita Gregory’s book review by Maurice Grosse in the SPR Journal, Vol. 51 (1981)
- One (1) response to Maurice Grosse’s response by Anita Gregory in the SPR Journal, Vol. 51 (1981)
- One (1) further response from Maurice Grosse to Anita Gregory in the SPR Journal, Vol. 51 (1981)
- One (1) copy of ‘Investigating Macro-Physical Phenomena’ by Anita Gregory in Parapsychology Review (1982)
- One (1) copy responses from both Guy Playfair and in turn Anita Gregory in Parapsychology Review (1983)
- One (1) copy of another response from both Maurice Grosse and Anita Gregory in the SPR Journal, Vol. 52 (1983)
- One (1) copy of ‘A spirit of mischief’ regarding critical attacks such as Anita Gregory’s on the Enfield case found in The Unexplained No. 141, Vol 12

Dates

  • Creation: 1976-1986

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Extent

1 archive box(es) (1 box, paper) : paper

Language of Materials

English

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
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Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom