| Carn Kenidjack (Hooting Cairn) |
Hooting Cairn or Carn Kenidjack is a rocky outcrop on rough moorland in the Penwith area of Cornwall. The area was avoided in the past by the local
population as it was believed to be the haunt of fairies (Cornish Piskies) and a place of eerie enchantment. The whole of the Penwith area is abundant with the remains of prehistoric man and subsequently with the legends and folklore which have built up around them.
There are two main tales associated with the cairn. One tale suggests there was a well next to the cairn. The well was used for by a sister and her two brothers who lived nearby. The two brothers earned their living by mining and urged the sister never to go near the well after sunset when they were away.
One evening when the two brothers were away toiling in the tin mines, their sister ran out of water. Although the sun was slowly dipping below the horizon, she decided to ignore her brothers advice and collect from the well. She hoped to return before her brothers so they would be one the wiser for her trip.
As she approached the well in the half light, she could see the bent figure of an old crone wrapped up in a red shawl. She called out a greeting but received no reply from the bent figure. The girl wondering what such an old woman was doing out so late carried on with her task of fetching water from the well. She dropped the bucket into the water and brought it up. Much to her amazement there was no water in the bucket, again she lowered the bucket into the water making sure that the rim dipped beneath the surface of the water. When she brought the bucket up for a second time it was still empty, beginning to feel spooked by the odd situation she tried for a third time and still there was no water in the bucket. She looked at the crone who had remained silent throughout the situation, and still received no response from the brooding figure.
Panicking she fled from the cairn to find her brothers frantic with worry. She explained what had happened and they told her that a witch named Old Moll haunted the cairn, they used to see her every night on their return from work. They had not wanted her to go near the strange spectre in fear of what might happen.
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| The Fairy Wrestling Match |
The second tale concerns the exploits of two miners who had to pass by the cairn every night when returning from work.
One dark moonless night the two miners were a little later in their return from Morvah, having spent some time merry making in the local ale houses. They were having difficulty finding the path past the cairn in the darkness, when a low moan rising to a high pitched howl came from the direction of Carn Kenidjack. The rocky outcrop took on an unearthly glow and all around them they could sense the rapid movement of otherworld beings, converging on the glowing silhouette of the Carn Kenidjack.(In some stories the Devil leads them to the cairn).
The two miners were compelled to follow, moving along with the strange invisible host although they tried to break free. When they reached the rocky outcrop a strange sight befell their eyes, all around a host of unworldly creatures gathered in a circle in the centre of which two wrestlers were fighting for their lives. After a gargantuan battle one of the contestant succumbed to a mighty throw and in an earth-rending crash he was thrown to the ground and mortally wounded.
One of the miners, being a lay preacher, said a quiet prayer for the
dying creature. At the word of God there was an almighty crash like thunder and the whole host disappeared before their eyes leaving only a dwindling light above the cairn.
The miners fled, released suddenly from their spell, but they could not find the path home. At last they dropped exhausted and fell into an uneasy slumber. They both awoke at the first rays of dawn and found that they were huddled in the shadow of the cairn.
The hooting cairn is one of many sites in the Penwith Peninsular that is rich in folklore. Indeed this area seems very important to early man and has featured heavily in the Dragon Project and further research into 'earth mysteries'.
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| Map ref: SW 388 329 |
| Directions: Off the B3318 on a footpath. |
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