A man who called himself “Count Dracula” slaughtered lambs and dumped rotting deer in churches in a seven-month reign of terror in the New Forest, a court heard. Benjamin Lewis, 48, sparked fear across villages in Hampshire after leaving “maimed and disfigured” carcasses alongside occult items, including a maggot-ridden deer head on a church pew and another in a pulpit.
Occult Displays at Churches
Between February and August 2025, Lewis carried out a string of attacks after becoming convinced he would never die if he drank blood. He also believed his acts would stop him going to hell. Prosecutors said he chose dates linked to full moons and the satanic calendar.
At Christ Church in Emery Down, he dumped a headless deer in February. Later, he placed a severed deer’s head inside the pulpit on top of an altar cross. At St Theresa’s Church in Totton, he left a deer head with an inverted wooden cross and propped a dead lamb beneath a statue of Mary. At St Peter’s Church in Bramshaw, he tied a dead lamb to a flagpole. At Easter, he left a tarot card on top of a maggot-ridden deer head on a pew.
Victims Speak Out
Farmer Sarah Harrison, whose lambs were stolen from Parsonage Farm in Bramshaw, said: “It was horrific, what he did. I don’t want to talk too much about it, I just want to be done with it, but it was awful. It wasn’t about the cost for me though, it was the lives of those poor lambs, it was horrible.” She added: “I’m wondering what will it be next. When I hear a sound outside I think is that him.”
Retired teacher Roger Sloley, 87, who has attended St Peter’s every Sunday for 40 years, said: “It’s clear he’s obviously a nutjob. What he did was horrible. I don’t know why he did it but it was ghastly.”
Investigation and Sentencing
Hampshire Police launched a special probe staking out churches on full moons and “satanic holidays”. DNA linked Lewis to a slaughtered lamb. In a raid on his Totton home, officers found animal blood in his car boot, plus vampire sketches, satanic symbols and books detailing how to kill humans.
Sentenced earlier this month, Lewis was handed an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act by Judge William Mousley KC. Psychiatrists diagnosed autism, severe OCD and mixed personality disorder, warning he was a danger and could “graduate” to harming humans. The verdict was concluded after Lewis tried to attack Dr Gauruv Malhan during assessment in the hospital. The court also heard Lewis had a previous 2003 conviction for terrorising a vicar, and that aged 13 he left a dead frog on a cross in a church.
A worker at occult shop The Coven of Witches said: “He used to come in here quite a lot. He would always wear a long black trench coat.”
