The Phantom Nun of Borley

The village of Borley in Essex, England, has long been associated with the ghost of a nun, a tradition that predates the famous Borley Rectory haunting by decades or even centuries. According to legend, a medieval nun from a nearby convent fell in love with a monk from Borley Monastery, and their tragic fate has left her spirit walking the grounds ever since.

The Legend

According to local tradition, in medieval times a nun from Bures Convent fell in love with a monk from Borley Monastery. They planned to elope, but were caught. The monk was executed, and the nun was bricked up alive in the convent walls—a punishment sometimes inflicted on nuns who broke their vows.

Her ghost, dressed in black or white, has allegedly walked the grounds of Borley ever since, following a path called “The Nun’s Walk” that runs through what was once the rectory garden.

Historical Problems

Researchers have questioned this legend’s historical basis. There is no definitive evidence that a monastery existed at Borley, though some medieval records suggest religious buildings in the area. Similarly, the story of a nun being bricked up alive may be folklore rather than historical fact—such punishments, while legendary, are rarely documented.

The legend may have grown to explain sightings of a ghostly female figure, or sightings may have been interpreted through the lens of an existing legend. Disentangling cause and effect is impossible at this distance.

The Sightings

The phantom nun was reported long before the Borley Rectory haunting made the village famous. As early as 1863, locals claimed to see a woman in nun’s habit walking the grounds, vanishing when approached.

During the famous Rectory haunting investigated by Harry Price (1929-1939), the nun was one of several reported phenomena. Multiple witnesses, including members of the Foyster family and investigators, claimed to see a dark-robed figure in the garden.

After the Rectory burned in 1939, excavations in the ruins uncovered human bones that Price suggested might be the murdered nun. However, the bones’ origin and identity were never definitively established.

Post-Rectory Sightings

The Rectory was demolished in 1944, but sightings of the phantom nun have continued on the site and in the surrounding area. Visitors to Borley still report seeing a dark figure walking the path where the Nun’s Walk once ran.

The Borley Church, which predates the Rectory by centuries and still stands, has its own tradition of ghostly activity, including reports of the nun appearing in the churchyard.

Assessment

The phantom nun of Borley represents a persistent local tradition that existed before, during, and after the famous Rectory haunting. Whether she is a genuine ghost, a cultural memory, or a legend that has accumulated over centuries is unknown.

What is certain is that people have reported seeing a nun-like figure in Borley for at least 160 years. The legend has become inseparable from the village’s identity, and regardless of historical accuracy, the phantom nun has become the symbol of Borley’s ghostly reputation.

She walks still, they say, along the path that bears her name, mourning a love that ended in tragedy centuries ago.