Alan Burnett-Rae

Born: Unknown.

Died: Unknown.

Alan Burnet-Rae was a young Oxford man in whose house on Welbeck Street in London, Crowley leased a flat in 1936-37. Burnet-Rae left behind a memoir chronicling his dealings with Crowley during this period.

In the Mayfair Hotel one Sunday afternoon in 1934, a lecture and demonstration on hypnosis was given to a carefully invited audience, many of whom were Harley Street physicians. During the question period, a large man with a heavy face, graying hair, clad in a brown tweed knickerbocker suit rose to ask a question in a contentious voice. The lecture answered abruptly and the crowd began to shout the man down. A writer, Alan Burnett-Ray, puzzled over the crowd's rude reaction while his mother and sister rose to leave, stating they could not stand the proximity to this man.

About two years later, Burnett-Ray acquired a rental income house. One day, a West Indian man who claimed to be an Adept brought along a friend who was seeking a flat. This friend was described as a "highly evolved personality." He was the same man to whom the lecturer at the Mayfair had been so rude.

This "highly evolved personality" turned out to be the tenant from Hell although Burnett-Rae did feel kindly disposed toward him. Other tenants complained of massive burning of powerful incense. Strange noises were heard during the night. Female visitors came and went. The incense burner, a lot of books and a machine for when the tenant had asthma attacks, plus the brown suit, were the chief possessions in the flat. Eventually, Aleister Crowley had to be asked to leave because he didn't pay the rent.