Category: Fairies

Holman Clavel Inn

The Black Downs are also the home of the Holman Clavel Inn, which resides near Blagdon. The Inn was said to house a spirit known as ‘Chimbley Charlie’, a kind of protective hearth spirit once thought to reside in many homes.

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Black Annis

The area around the Dane Hills in Leicestershire, (now built upon) was said to be haunted by a creature known as Black Annis, possibly the remnants of some pagan goddess in darker times.

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Cabyll-Ushtey

These are the water horses of the Isle of Man and they are said to be just as dangerous as their Scottish counterparts, the Each Uisge or the Aughisky of Ireland.

St Ethelbert’s Holy Well

Around 794AD, King Offa of Mercia demanded the head of the Christian King Ethelbert of East Anglia whilst he was making arrangements to marry Offa’s daughter. Not far from the location of Marden Church the young king was assassinated and his body hidden. After rumours of Ethelbert’s ghost being seen in the marden area, Offa asked the Pope for absolution.

Boggart Hole Clough

The clough was in former times, said to be haunted by a boggart, and there are a number of stories attached to it. Some of these tales probably became attached to the area after they had been written about other similar boggart infested places.

St Chad’s Church, Saddleworth

Saddleworth church – dedicated to St Chad – has a legend associated with its location. It is said that the original site for the church was on nearby Brown Hill, but every night the stones were mysteriously moved to their present position. Eventually the builders gave up moving the stones back to Brown Hill, and built it where the stones were placed each night.

Bincombe Down

Bronze Age barrows on the down are known as the music barrows, and are traditionally thought to be home of the fairy folk. According to folklore it was possible to hear the fairy revelry if you placed your ear to the barrows at midday.

Directions:
A public footpath runs near the down reached from the South West Coast Path.

The Black Down Hills

The Black Downs have a long tradition as a haunt of the fairies, and stories tell of many sightings as recently as a few hundred years ago, when many country folk believed we shared this land with supernatural denizens.

Kinder Downfall and Mermaids Pool

Kinder Downfall is the highest waterfall in the county, formed where the river Kinder meets the edge of the moorland plateaux. Far below the downfall, the dark waters of Mermaids Pool are reputedly haunted by a water spirit who manifests on the Eve of Easter, perhaps relating to a time of ancient worship in the area.