Response to Patrick Sean Manchester's Remarks About My Political and Religious Views, and Purpose of My Facebook Group

The author posing with Drew Sinton (left), former proprietor of The Haunted Bookshop, Melbourne, at The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melbourne, on September 21, 2019, posted on The Anthony Hogg Fan Group. Patrick Sean Manchester pinched this photograph for an overtly hostile diatribe against me on his Facebook group, The Cross & the Stake. Picture: Anthony Hogg/The Anthony Hogg Fan Group.

I would like to take this opportunity to address several remarks made about me on Patrick Sean Manchester's Facebook group, The Cross & the Stake.

Anthony Hogg supports the Marxist terrorist groups Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA, and, while unconvincingly pretending to be a non-conformist "Protestant," is actually an atheist sympathetic and supportive of Satanists, eg Drew Sinton and others. Sinton was a senior member of the Church of Satan, but resigned because it was not extreme enough. 

Lots to unpack here.

First, I don't support any terrorist groups. I support the Black Lives Matter movement and I support anti-fascist movements. Who wouldn't? Mr. Manchester, unfortunately, mischaracterizes both: neither Black Lives Matter or ANTIFA are "terrorist groups"; they are decentralised movements that, yes, have extremists within them. Like any movement. 

I suspect Mr. Manchester's remarks stem from his own extremist, far-right nationalist leanings and Nazi fetishism.

On the claim that I am atheist; that is false. I am a non-denominational Christian. Mr. Manchester would do well to remember Exodus 20:16: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

Regarding Mr. Sinton, Mr. Manchester has taken the matter out of context: the "support" I gave him were multiple efforts at averting the closure of The Haunted Bookshop, an establishment Mr. Sinton ran in Melbourne for twenty-two years (closing in 2019). I supported him for two main reasons: 

1. nostalgia: my non-fiction vampire book collection was stocked by many books purchased from Mr. Sinton's shop many years ago, even though I had since moved onto buying books mostly online
2. principle: after facing closure from higher rent, Mr. Sinton pursued another prospective shop front in Melbourne, only to be turned away on religious grounds (citing his his Satanist beliefs). In our home state, Victoria, turning away prospective tenants on religious groups is illegal. I'm Christian, but I'm also an advocate for social justice.

I know little of Mr. Sinton's background with the Church of Satan, so I'm not sure where Mr. Manchester has gotten that information from, or whether it is accurate. Regardless, unless Mr. Sinton was engaging in illegal activity, I don't see the relevance: I was trying to help prevent the closure of a Melbourne institution, not summoning the Dark Lord with him.

The other support I gave Mr. Sinton (represented in a photograph I did not give Mr. Manchester permission to reproduce) was attending "Tonight! Haunted Bookshop Wake + The Narcoleptor 12" launch," an event held at The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melbourne, on September 21, 2019 to commemorate the closure of the shop. 

Before the shop closed, I also bought a batch of books for my non-fiction vampire collection, for old time's sake and to give a little financial support for the shop's closure.

But why Mr. Manchester conflates support and Satanism to me may be a switch and bait tactic intended to distract group members from Mr. Manchester's own background with Satanism—for a "spell" in the 1970s, Mr. Manchester dubbed himself "Lord Manchester" and identified as a Satanist, as documented in Jean-Paul Bourre's Messes rouges et romantisme noir (1980).

Hogg of Melbourne, Australia, is also an infamous troll, as well as being a Facebook friend of Jamie Farrant, the latter being a member of Hogg's FB group Did A Wampyr Walk In Highgate, which exists for one purpose, ie to stalk and troll †Seán Manchester. The group's title is poached from a newspaper headline, 27 February 1970, featuring †Seán Manchester. Hogg was not born at the time of that headline. Jamie Farrant would have been less than three years' old when it was published.

While it's true I have a reputation as a "troll" in some circles (specifically among people who's views on vampirism and politics I have criticised), the remaining portion of Mr. Manchester's post is a pitiful attempt at orchestrating a conspiracy.

I am a Facebook friend of Jamie Farrant, the late David Farrant's son, but his membership on my group—and Mr. Manchester's characterisation of the group itself—is patently false. 

My Facebook group, Did a Wampyr Walk in Highgate? (https://www.facebook.com/groups/awampyrwalks), is an offshoot of my blog of the same name (the one you're reading now). Its intent is the same as this blog's: to provide a neutral platform for those interested in the Highgate Vampire case, and to critically examine and discuss the events documented and claims made by people associated with it. Indeed, I have invited Mr. Manchester to join on multiple occasions—an offer that does not extend to me. 

In fact, Mr. Manchester claims that not only am I banned from his Facebook groups (which doesn't stop him from repeatedly making hostile, negative remarks about me), but anyone who is also my friend on Facebook is also banned—further evidence of Mr. Manchester's extremist leanings.

As to the group's/blog's title it is, indeed, a reference to the headline article, "Does a Wampyr Walk in Highgate?," Hampstead & Highgate Express, February 27, 1970. Which, sadly, is only one of two accurate statements made in the post. 

The other accurate statement is the timeframe of my birth; it is true I was not born at the time the event was reported, but I also wasn't born when the Titanic sunk. That doesn't stop me from being aware of it or commenting on it. Indeed, Mr. Manchester does not seem to level this criticism on people who believe his claims about hunting a vampire at Highgate Cemetery (for which there is no reliable evidence), suggesting this reference was intended to be an attempt at undermining my research and commentary on the case, but only succeeds as an own goal.

Notes

several remarks made about me on Patrick Sean Manchester's Facebook group: Manchester [pseud. The Cross & The Stake], "Anthony Hogg supports the Marxist terrorist groups," Facebook, December 24, 2020, https://www.facebook.com/VampireResearchSociety/posts/2173670736097715.

neither Black Lives Matter or ANTIFA are "terrorist groups": See Ashley Cole, "Black Lives Matter: Decentralised Leadership and the Problems of Online Organising," The Conversation, July 15, 2020, https://theconversation.com/black-lives-matter-decentralised-leadership-and-the-problems-of-online-organising-140897; and Stanislav Vysotsky, "What – or Who – Is Antifa?," The Conversation, June 9, 2020, https://theconversation.com/what-or-who-is-antifa-140147.

far-right nationalist leanings and Nazi fetishism: As documented in "Kevin Chesham - The Autobiography - First Extract," Kevin Chesham - Triathlete, accessed December 27, 2020, http://kevchesham.blogspot.com/p/kevin-chesham-autobiography-first.html.

turning away prospective tenants on religious groups is illegal: For further information on this case, see Josephine Winter, "Melbourne’s Haunted Bookshop Lease Not Renewed Because of Landlord’s ‘Spiritual Beliefs,’” Wild Hunt, July 11, 2019, https://wildhunt.org/2019/07/melbournes-haunted-bookshop-lease-not-renewed-because-of-landlords-spiritual-beliefs.html.

an event held at The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar: Hogg, "Went to Tonight! Haunted Bookshop Wake + The Narcoleptor 12" launch yesterday," Facebook, September 22, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnthonyHogg/permalink/2410407639202469. This is the post Mr. Manchester took the photo from, sans credit.

but anyone who is also my friend on Facebook is also banned: Manchester [pseud. The Cross & The Stake], "IF ANYONE IS FOUND TO BE A FB FRIEND OF ANTHONY HOGG," Facebook, December 25, 2020, https://www.facebook.com/VampireResearchSociety/posts/2174647759333346.

for which there is no reliable evidence: Erin Chapman, "5 Reasons Why a Wampyr Didn't Walk in Highate," Vamped, February 27, 2015, https://vamped.org/2015/02/27/5-reasons-why-a-wampyr-didnt-walk-in-highgate-cemetery.