The Case that Foiled Fabian: Murder and Witchcraft in Rural England
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- Create Date：2021-04-08 12:00:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Read
- ISBN：0752493574
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Summary
The first book to examine the last ritual witchcraft murder in Britain
On Wednesday， February 14， 1945， the body of Charles Walton was discovered beneath a willow tree in the sleepy village of Lower Quinton， his torso pinned to the ground by a pitchfork that had been viciously driven through him。 Walton， a life-long resident of the town and a retired laborer， was believed by many to be a clairvoyant who could talk to birds and exercise control over animals。 Indeed， with the vast majority of villagers believing that Walton's death was carried out according to ritual witchcraft， such was his unusual past， the most famous police officer in Britain， Robert Fabian （Fabian of the Yard）， was promptly dispatched by Scotland Yard to help solve this increasingly peculiar and foreboding mystery。 Fabian was not a man prone to superstition and he had dealt with some of the most notorious killers of his time。 However， there was something in the Walton murder that proved to be unnerving。 Moreover， with all the clues continuing to point towards ritual witchcraft as the modus operandi and faced by a wall of silence from the villagers， Fabian faced， for the first time in his glittering career， the daunting prospect of failure。
On Wednesday， February 14， 1945， the body of Charles Walton was discovered beneath a willow tree in the sleepy village of Lower Quinton， his torso pinned to the ground by a pitchfork that had been viciously driven through him。 Walton， a life-long resident of the town and a retired laborer， was believed by many to be a clairvoyant who could talk to birds and exercise control over animals。 Indeed， with the vast majority of villagers believing that Walton's death was carried out according to ritual witchcraft， such was his unusual past， the most famous police officer in Britain， Robert Fabian （Fabian of the Yard）， was promptly dispatched by Scotland Yard to help solve this increasingly peculiar and foreboding mystery。 Fabian was not a man prone to superstition and he had dealt with some of the most notorious killers of his time。 However， there was something in the Walton murder that proved to be unnerving。 Moreover， with all the clues continuing to point towards ritual witchcraft as the modus operandi and faced by a wall of silence from the villagers， Fabian faced， for the first time in his glittering career， the daunting prospect of failure。
Reviews
Abigail
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Another true crime - and a touch of the supernatural！ In 1946， an elderly farm labourer named Charles Walton was found murdered in a field in Lower Quinton， Warwickshire。 His body had been pinned to the ground with a pitchfork， and his neck was slashed open。 The local police called in Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard - but the investigation was surrounded in mystery and rumours of witchcraft。This book explains the crime alongside an exploration of witchcraft and the outlining of Robert Fabian's ca Another true crime - and a touch of the supernatural！ In 1946， an elderly farm labourer named Charles Walton was found murdered in a field in Lower Quinton， Warwickshire。 His body had been pinned to the ground with a pitchfork， and his neck was slashed open。 The local police called in Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard - but the investigation was surrounded in mystery and rumours of witchcraft。This book explains the crime alongside an exploration of witchcraft and the outlining of Robert Fabian's career - all of which made this a very intriguing read。 Local stories of ghostly sightings， folklore， and superstitions （and a general belief in witchcraft） were laid out alongside the more sinister world of mid-20th century cults。 Just as Fabian found the contrast between central London and rural Warwickshire， it felt as though there was a great gulf between the two spheres of supernatural beliefs。The writing flowed very well。 Although that seems simple， several of my recent true crime and non-fiction reads have seemed disjointed or overly-written。 This was quite the opposite， and being a short book it was succinct and easy to follow。 Its length reflects a little on the lack of evidence， but there's plenty to unpack regarding witchcraft， police procedure and Fabian's career before and after the Lower Quinton case - all of which the author does quite well。Obviously there is no solution to the crime， and although the author puts forward some hypotheses， none truly convinced me。 Perhaps this is why the final chapters felt weak， though perfectly coherent。 The investigation seemed to tail off without any formal closure。Overall: a quick， interesting read which， despite the subject matter， never felt too heavy or laborious。 。。。more
Xanthi
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Not a long book - I read it in one day。 The focus is on the Pitchfork Murder but there is more to the book - the supposed witchcraft element， local folklore， the detectives background etc。 Easy to read， though of course this isn't a comment on the murder itself， which was horrific。 Instead， the book flowed well and was easy to follow。 Not a long book - I read it in one day。 The focus is on the Pitchfork Murder but there is more to the book - the supposed witchcraft element， local folklore， the detectives background etc。 Easy to read， though of course this isn't a comment on the murder itself， which was horrific。 Instead， the book flowed well and was easy to follow。 。。。more
Lisa *OwlBeSatReading*
，
This was a fascinating read about an unsolved murder case that took place in Lower Quinton， a sleepy little Warwickshire village back in 1945。Chief Inspector Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard was sent in to solve this grisly crime， as he was considered the best man for the job。 But as the title suggests， it completely foiled him， and to this day， it remains unsolved。Rumours of witchcraft and satanic worship in the picturesque village played a part in this real life murder mystery and the locals rem This was a fascinating read about an unsolved murder case that took place in Lower Quinton， a sleepy little Warwickshire village back in 1945。Chief Inspector Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard was sent in to solve this grisly crime， as he was considered the best man for the job。 But as the title suggests， it completely foiled him， and to this day， it remains unsolved。Rumours of witchcraft and satanic worship in the picturesque village played a part in this real life murder mystery and the locals remained tight-lipped throughout the investigation。 Nobody knew or saw anything。 In such a small farming community， somebody somewhere must of seen or heard something， surely。 Fabian spent countless police hours trying to fathom out why Charles Walton was viciously attacked and killed with a pitchfork， his torso left pinned to the field where he was working that February morning。 Who would do such a thing to this elderly gentleman？What I enjoyed most of all about this fascinating book by Simon Read， wasn't the main crime story itself。 The author incorporated a thoroughly interesting insight into the early workings of police procedural and the establishment of the CID into the police force in early 1900's England。It's incredible to think how the police themselves would completely ruin a crime scene， because their knowledge of forensics were somewhat limited。 Filling a footprint with cement and examining clothing fibres was about as technical as it got back then！ Luckily， Fabian was a breath of fresh air for our police force， and quickly made a name for himself as Scotland Yards most successful Inspector， with a habit of locking up countless criminals for murders， robberies and suchlike throughout his career。 The book covers various other crimes that Fabian was involved in solving， as well as very interesting chapters on Witchcraft and ancient Pagan traditions。 In addition， there's black and white photographs of the village of Lower Quinton， including the church and graveyard， as well as a macabre photo of the ACTUAL murder scene！ I gave this book 3。5 stars rounded up to 4 because it was a very different read for me。 I'm always reading crime fiction where the murder gets solved， forensics have all the tech and gadgets， and it's a complete story。 This non-fic， however， left me with lots of questions， and the fact that Fabian was foiled by whoever committed this gruesome crime， and actually got away with murder makes a real change。I also liked the chapter about 'The Beast'。 And by that， I don't mean Mark Labbett from The Chase！ This is the original Beast， the one and only Aleister Crowley， the infamous occultist and ceremonial magician who reeked havoc and mayhem with his crazy， but rather intriguing beliefs！ Overall， this book was enjoyable because it was so educational， and the photos enhanced the experience。 I learned a lot about the history of the police， it has reminded me that true crime is a great genre and I must read more of it。 （Oh my poor TBR！） 。。。more
Deanne
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