According to local folklore, before 1715 there were no venomous snakes in the Derwent Valley, but after the execution of the Earl of Derwentwater an abundance of adders started to appear along the length of the river Derwent.
There is a tradition in the North of England and Scotland pertaining to special stones brought over from Ireland that have the ability to heal snake bites on cattle. In Irish Charms in Northern England, Denzil Webb referred to an article by William Morley Egglestone, which appeared in the March 1889 edition of the Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend.
31 December – A version of burning out the old year, locals walk down the street with blazing tar barrels on their heads. Some of these are then thrown to light a bonfire.
4 July – Whalton Baal Festival is a traditional Midsummer fire festival, probably deriving from Celtic times. Baal derives from an old word for light.
Vampire folklore within the British Isles is surprisingly scarce, this is mainly due to the fact that the contemporary image of a vampire (a charismatic bloodsucker with a black cape, a mesmerising stare, and a penchant for nubile young women; plus an aversion to holy water, garlic and crosses.) is relatively recent, being the result of Hollywood portrayals of vampires, and the gothic Hammer House
In a wood near to the town of Longwitton there are three wells reputed to have healing powers. The waters were used far and wide for healing purposes.
In 793AD monks at the monastery of St Cuthbert witnessed ‘dragons’ flying in the sky and other strange sky-bourne portents. Shortly after the sighting in January, the monastery was attacked and razed by Viking invaders. The dragons were seen as an evil omen. (This is taken from the Anglo Saxon Chronicles).
September 1942, Cresswell radar base near Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Albert Lancashire (then 27), was on duty when he spotted a light source in the sky that went behind a cloud (or a dark mist in other versions). Then a yellow beam about a foot wide shone out of the object and moved to shine directly in Albert’s face.
The Laidly (Northumbrian for loathsome) worm was once a beautiful princess named Margaret, who lived in Bamburgh Castle. Her stepmother was a witch who, due to jealousy, cast a spell changing the princess into a huge worm. The worm’s breath caused vegetation to shrivel, and it demanded the milk of seven cows every day.
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