Recollections of the Late David Farrant (continued)

"We do not have any relation or contact with Della and David Farrant, and we don't want to be associated with these two persons in any way, shape or form, because they have a sulfurous past, they have a reputation of being Satanists, and they are acquainted with people like Jean-Paul Bourre." - (Extract from an official statement made by Isaac Ben Jacob regarding David Farrant and the person variously calling herself "Della Maria Vallicrus," "Della Escarti" and "Della Farrant" - 2012).

Notwithstanding the combustible public relationship I had with David Farrant, in private we were very civil. There was no reason not to be, as he knew I could not be duped in the way so many others had been. He didn't even try to convince me that he was any of the things he claimed. All his talk of witchcraft was a means to an end. We privately discussed this and he frequently poured scorn on those who subscribed to such things. He certainly bore malice toward the self-proclaimed "King of the Witches," Alex Sanders. I had spoken to Sanders on a London radio station when he was planning to summon a demon on the stage of a Hendon cinema, and found him most respectful toward me. I also later came to personally know his wife, Maxine (to be styled "Queen of the Witches"), plus Janet and Colin Bord (who had been initiated into Alexandrian Witchcraft). These people were friendly toward me. Then again, I gave them no reason to be hostile. Farrant let it be known that he resented them.

I was extremely busy in the 1970s, but managed to stay in touch with Farrant from time to time. He even invited me to be present at some of his stunts, twice incognito. He made no pretence to me that they were anything other than photo opportunities. No genuine ceremony or ritual ever took place, and he could barely keep a straight face when he acted out something whilst being photographed. When I tape-recorded him, however, it was a different matter. He assumed a serious persona because he knew others would hear the recording for which he had given his full consent. I had to talk to him in the third person; otherwise all sense of reality would have flown out of the window.

Despite his incendiary media outbursts, invariably confined to tabloid and local newspapers, to fuel the notion of some fearsome feud, when alone he was cheerful in my company. Naturally, there were exceptions when he overstepped the line, and I took umbrage with good cause, but we were civil privately. Three events would change all that, as the 1970s reached midway and finally drew to a close.

The first was the effect prison had on him. We stayed in touch following his incarceration by corresponding via a third party, a lovely girl by the name of Elspeth who sometimes attended the Old Bailey during his trials and sat in the public gallery. As did I, of course. He wanted me to use a code name; so I did. He wrote care of Elspeth who forwarded his letters to me. I used her address and the code name provided when writing back. When he was eventually released on parole, however, he did not alert me, or tell me where he might be living. This I found strange, to say the least, and, had I not been travelling from Highgate through Muswell Hill to my destination further north, I might never have discovered his new address. It was a multi-occupied house facing Highgate Wood in Muswell Hill.

It was only a matter of time before we made contact, but something had changed about him. I bumped into him on one occasion, as he was walking along the dirt path that runs from Muswell Hill Road to lower Muswell Hill. We spoke for some time. It was during this conversation that he finally opened up about orchestrating "black magic telephone calls" to the Bradish household. This was a major stumbling block between us. It was, for me, why we couldn't be more than acquaintances.

“Self-styled witch king David Farrant – the man jailed for desecrating a tomb and threatening detectives with voodoo – has a new shock in store. What’s more, Britain’s best-known Prince of Darkness is dreaming of a traditional white wedding” (Sunday People, 16 April 1978). The article quoted Farrant saying: “I want to put my ghoulish past behind me now. Either I give up witchcraft or Nancy.” This sounded too good to believe, and, of course, it was. Soon after the story was printed, Farrant gave up Nancy O’Hoski, a speech therapist (Farrant suffered from a nervous stammer). They did not get married. This was a cruel stunt played by Farrant on his fiancée.

I met Nancy O'Hoski on a number of occasions, and found her to be open and honest. If only Farrant had genuinely turned over a new leaf, but she had no idea what was going on, any more than did I.

In the autumn of 1977, she heard Farrant on the telephone to a newspaper reporter where, between them, they conspired to frame me injuriously. The telephone was a house 'phone on the ground floor, just outside Farrant's room. He would later move to the attic on the top floor where he lived until the end of his days. Nancy O'Hoski heard enough of what Farrant was saying to be shocked. She told me that his disloyal and unacceptable behaviour toward me meant that she had seen his real colours, which meant he had not changed one jot or tittle, and was still a wrong 'un. When she read what he had done in the newspaper concerned, their engagement was over and she returned to Canada.

It left a nasty taste in the mouth, of course, but two more events were about to occur that would make any future goodwill impossible. The first was his marriage to Colette Sully at the end of that decade, and his alliance with Jean-Paul Bourre soon afterwards. Bourre, a French Luciferian with a predilection for killing defenceless animals, and Farrant became close friends from December 1979.

What do we know about their brand of Luciferianism? David Farrant informs us in a magazine article called “Witch Report” (Penthouse [UK], Vol. 8, No. 8, 1973, page 19): “Satanists worship Lucifer, the supreme power of evil, whereas witchcraft is a neutral thing — it’s only evil if practised for an evil purpose.” Like several of his Luciferian acquaintances, Jean-Paul Bourre amongst them, Farrant, who had stated that he abandoned witchcraft in 1982, described himself as someone who “accepts Lucifer as an important deity” and that he “worships Lucifer.” He made a video for YouTube where he and a small handful of others, including a naked Colette Sully, went through the motions of a "Red Mass" à la Bourre. We hear Farrant mumbling incantations throughout the ritual, but it is pure gibberish.

And what of Jean-Paul Bourre? Farrant is quite explicit in his earliest self-published pamphlet from which the photograph and caption, below, appear. According to Farrant, his longstanding friend Jean-Paul Bourre is “a leading Satanist” and in the picture Bourre is seen attempting “to invoke the Devil.” 

Colette Sully (sometimes known as Colette Gee) became Colette Farrant in 1979. It was a rumbustious union, and they fought like cat and dog. Whether this was due to infidelities on one or both sides is difficult to ascertain (Farrant had a very poor record in that department), but he was not infrequently seen with scratches and cuts to his face that he chose not to explain. It was not long before they divorced. Yet they stayed in touch with Colette living at a different address in Muswell Hill. I do not doubt that she continued to assist his schemes for some time. Her sympathy for the dark occult was apparent from the start, and, being a graphic artist, she designed posters to that effect.

There is a school of thought that the person calling herself "Della Farrant" is Colette's daughter, but not necessarily with David Farrant as her father. Colette came to England from Australia, which is when Farrant met her. She was on a short stay visa. More importantly, she has Italian/French heritage. When "Della" first emerged on social media she went under the name "Della Vallicrus" and, less frequently, "Della Escarti." This could be homage to her origin whilst retaining her anonymity. From the moment she came out the shadows and started posting provocatively on occult and paranormal platforms, she hid her face from view. However, on those rare occasions where a glimpse was caught, it struck many people how similar she looks to Colette; some believing they are one and the same person. "Della" was conceived, however, after Colette Sully and David Farrant had separated.