Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Apparitions / Hauntings

St Mary’s Church, Prestbury

The church of St Mary in Prestbury may be as old as the 12th century, though it was largely rebuilt in the 14th century and then went through a period of thorough restoration in the 1860’s. The church is associated with one of Prestbury’s ghosts, the Black Abbot.

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Apparitions / Folklore / Hauntings

Church Lamb, Sweden

‘Another form of spectre animal is the kirk-grim, which is believed to haunt many churches. Sometimes it is a dog, sometimes a pig, sometimes a horse, the haunting spectre being the spirit of an animal buried alive in the churchyard for the purpose of scaring away the sacrilegious.

Apparitions / Hauntings / Road Ghosts

Radiant Boy

‘There is the popular legend of the ‘Radiant Boy’ — a strange boy with a shining face, who has been seen in certain Lincolnshire houses and elsewhere. This ghost was described to Mr. Baring-Gould by a Yorkshire farmer, who, as he was riding one night to Thirsk, suddenly saw pass by him a ‘radiant boy’ on a white horse.

Hauntings / Poltergiests

Sykes Street, Hull

The following account appeared in ‘County Folk-Lore Volume VI – Examples of Printed Folk-Lore Concerning The East Riding Of Yorkshire (1911)’ edited by Eliza Glutch.

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December / Festivals

Christmas, Yule and the Winter Solstice

The 25th of December is associated with the birth of Christ and the celebration of the nativity, but it is also an amalgamation of pagan festivals and traditions dating back before the birth of Christ.

Ancient Sites / Festivals / Folklore / Giants / King Arthur / Legends / May / Wells

Giant’s Cave, Edenhall

At Giant’s Cave, near Eden Hall, it has been the custom from time immemorial for the lads and lasses of the neighbouring villages to collect together on the third Sunday in May, to drink sugar and water, when the lasses give the treat: this is called Sugar-and-Water Sunday. They afterwards adjourn to the public house, and the lads return the compliment in cakes, ale, punch, etc.

Ancient Sites / Wells

Holwell Holy Well

"HERE was a holy well or spring in the village of Holwell, on the borders of Bedford and Hertfordshire; unfortunately both history and site have been forgotten by the villagers at Holywell.”—A. C. G. Cameron, H.M. Geological Survey. [The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England by Robert Charles Hope (1893)]

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Folklore

Feather Death Related Folklore

According to The Ghost World by T. F. Thiselton Dyer (1893) ‘The presence of pigeon or game feathers is said to be another hindrance to the exit of the soul; and, occasionally, in order to facilitate its departure, the peasantry in many parts of England will lay a dying man on the floor.

Ancient Sites / Wells

Old Brine, Nantwich

On Ascension Day, the old inhabitants of Nantwich piously sang a hymn of thanksgiving for the blessing of the Brine.