Series two of Bunkum & Ballyhoo closes out with the extraordinary story of the Highgate Vampire - a supposed supernatural phenomenon that haunted one of London's great cemeteries in the 1970s, and the ongoing feud between the two duelling occultists and vampire hunters at its heart. Are we ever really that far from the irrational beliefs and moral panics of the past?
Selected Sources:
The Highgate Cemetery Vampire Hunt: The Anglo-American Connection In Satanic Cult Lore by Bill Ellis, in Folklore (1993)
London Uncanny by Clive Bloom
The Highgate Vampire by Sean Manchester
Haunted Highgate by Della Farrant
The Vampire's Bedside Companion by Peter Underwood
I am also indebted in these episodes to the work of Anthony Hogg, Erin Chapman, and Kevin Chesham.
Audio Sources:
Penda's Fen (1974) dir. Alan Clarke, written by David Rudkin
BBC 24 Hours (1970)
One Hour with Jonathan Ross (1990)
True Horror with Anthony Head (2004)