Violent thug Roy Barclay developed an obsession with the occult before leaving a pensioner fighting for his life following a brutal attack and later battering a dog walker to death.
The 56-year-old, who was convicted on Wednesday of the murder of mother-of-six Anita Rose, 57, was a follower of the late David Farrant, the President of the British Occult and Psychic Society, the Mail can reveal.
Farrant was best known for helping to spark panic in the 1970s about the sightings of alleged vampires in Highgate cemetery, north London.
Barclay was a keen amateur artist who drew cartoons satirising the rivalry between Farrant and self-proclaimed exorcist Sean Manchester, which once made tabloid headlines.
But he apparently broke off links with Farrant's supporters at least 20 years ago, leading to rumours that he had 'disappeared in mysterious circumstances', according to one blogger.
