Directed by Steven M. Smith, Borley Rectory: The Awakening takes us back to the year 1888 and introduces us to Harry Bull’s family, who had started to experience the presence of evil entities around them. It can be said that the film is partly based on a true story, or maybe it would be more apt to say, a real-life local legend. So let’s find out what the true story behind the Borley Rectory is and what exactly happened to the Bull family in the film.
Spoiler Alert
Is the film based on a real-life story?
The mere idea of a horror film based on real events is chilling, and lovers of this genre would tell you how it hooks the attention of the viewers and brings real spice to it, more than anything. The Borley Rectory is a real-life mansion located in Essex that caught the attention of local people when a famous psychic researcher named Harry Price called it the most haunted house in all of England. But then the Society for Psychical Research did not find any evidence that could corroborate the claims made by Harry Price, henceforth questioning the credibility of his findings. But did that stop people from believing in the horrifying folklore of Borley Rectory? I guess not. So the story was that, back in the 1860s, a reverend named Harry Bull (who we see in the film) moved into that house with his family. After that, people began reporting supernatural occurrences, claiming to have heard footsteps and all kinds of strange, eerie sounds coming from the mansion. It was said that back in the 1300s, a monk from the Benedictine monastery had a secret relationship with a nun from a local convent. Once the people got to know about it, the monk was killed and the nun was walled in alive, making sure she died in the most horrifying manner. But that was just folklore, as no evidence was ever found that could prove the story to be true beyond a reasonable doubt. Now, generally what happens is that even if such stories do not have a factual basis, they have an impact on the minds of the people residing there. Even if they are people of scientific temperament who don’t believe in such supernatural occurrences, there is a part of them that harbors a certain degree of fear. Also, a mansion like Borley Rectory, with its high ceilings, long corridors, and multiple chambers, serves as the best playground for an evil spirit, if not in reality, then in films for sure. If you ask for my personal opinion, if somebody goes to such a place, their mind starts playing tricks on them, and there is no denying that even if ghosts and spirits are figments of the imagination, some places have a very negative energy. It doesn’t necessarily have to be because of an evil spirit lurking in the shadows, but it is an undeniable fact that we all have felt that gloominess, that negativity, at some point in time at certain places. The Borley Rectory reminds me of a few haunted places in India with similar folklore, such as Shaniwar Wada in Pune and the Bhangarh Fort in Rajasthan, which is often regarded as the most haunted place in the country. So to conclude, one can say that the mansion that is shown in the film existed in real life, but there is no evidence to prove that the ghosts of a nun and a priest linger there.
What did Henry Bull reveal before dying?
Harry and Constance Bull were devout Christians, people of faith, and they always told their kids that evil spirits, ghosts, and all the other supernatural entities in stories didn’t exist in real life. But Harry kept the truth to himself, as he wanted to protect his family. Often, the Bull family was visited by Harry’s close friend, Reverend Shaw, and the irony was that, being an officer of the church, the man had a deep fascination with the supernatural. But at the end of the day, even he pretended that there was no truth behind the stories, and it was all made up for entertainment. Years passed, and Harry realized that his days were numbered and that he needed to pass the baton to the next generation. Harry had one son (Henry) and four daughters: Caroline, Kitty, Freda, and Mabel. Harry called his son to his chamber and told him that he needed to protect his family from the evil spirits that were out there. He told him that the stories he had told him about the nun and the priest were not myths. He said that a nun was actually murdered at the same place where their mansion stood, and that her spirit was still around as it sought vengeance. Harry passed away soon after that, and Henry was left with a lot of questions for which he didn’t have any answers.
What did Henry and his family experience?
Constance was not happy with Kitty’s behavior and her lifestyle, and she wanted to get her married before the society labeled her a spinster. Constance seemed to be a really strict mother, because she believed that that was how she could inculcate good moral values in her kids. But her kids had grown up, and they had their own sensibilities and their understanding of what was right and what was wrong. Still, being the matriarch, Constance wanted to look after her family and make sure that everybody was settled and happy at the end of the day. But then, one day, something unprecedented and terrifying happened that turned the life of the Bull family upside down. Kitty was the first one to see the ghosts of the nun, and for a moment she froze on the spot, not knowing how she should respond. After that day, the occurrences increased, and almost every member of the household saw them. Even Uncle Somerset experienced an eerie presence when he first came to the castle to meet the kids. What Henry didn’t understand was why the spirit had started to trouble them all of a sudden. Even if a nun had been murdered on the same land by a priest, it had happened hundreds of years back, and so there was no reason for them to make their presence felt all of a sudden. It was only after Reverend Shaw arrived at the scene that the family realized that the occurrences had started to happen because Kitty and her sisters had taken out their father’s mystery box, which had a lot of haunted objects stored in it. Also, I believe talking about the spirits and not doing anything to contain them or keep them trapped might have been the reason behind the increased occurrences. The family doctor, who came to check up on Constance, told Henry and Kitty that their father went to the church regularly because he wanted to keep his family safe. Nobody knew what Harry did there, but apparently he was able to keep the evil spirits at bay.
How did Kitty get rid of the evil spirits?
Reverend Shaw came to help the Bull family, and he told them that the late Harry Bull confided in him often, and told him a great deal about the nun’s story. Back in the day, the nun, Marie (who, according to folklore, had an affair with a local monk), was physically abused by a priest, Sebastian, who had his way with her, absolutely against her wishes. Then one day it was found out that Marie was pregnant, and so she was labeled a sinful person who had committed blasphemy. A child was conceived, but it was taken away from Marie, and nobody knew what happened to it. The priest was burnt alive after the monks from a local monastery got to know about his misdeed, and I believe that Marie succumbed to her injuries and mental trauma. But what that pain and suffering did was it tied the spirits of Marie and Sebastian into a duet from which Marie couldn’t seem to escape. Marie’s spirit didn’t have the strength to fight against the priest’s evil energy, and so the cycle of torture and trauma kept repeating itself.
Reverend Shaw’s plan was to let the spirit of Marie possess one of them so that she’d have the power to break the cycle of suffering. It was a dangerous plan, and Henry was not in favor of doing something so reckless, but they didn’t have any other option. During the ritual, presided over by Reverend Shaw, Marie used Kitty’s body as her vessel. The spirit of the nun felt Kitty’s bloodline, and she got enough strength to break out of the cycle and free herself from her tormentor, i.e., the priest.
At the end of Borley Rectory: The Awakening, we got to know that Kitty was adopted by the Bull family, and she was, in reality, Marie’s descendant. What that meant was that Marie’s kid that was taken away from her had survived. Kitty belonging to the same bloodline as Marie was one of the reasons why Marie’s spirit possessed her out of everybody and also why she was having those visions more frequently than her family members. Things finally went back to normal in the Bull family, and they were grateful for what Reverend Shaw had done for them. The cursed cycle was broken, but Kitty still felt overwhelmed by the surreal experience she had had, something that I don’t think she will be able to forget in her entire lifetime.
