G is for... Green Children of Woolpit

This strange tale takes place sometime between the years 1135 and 1154, in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk, UK.

It is said that during one harvest the villagers of Woolpit came across two children who appeared to be lost.
The children had green skin, wore strange clothing and only spoke in an unknown language.

The mystery children were taken back to one of the villagers houses where they refused all food except raw broad beans, which they gobbled down quite happily.

The children stayed in the village where they slowly started to eat a more normal diet and gradually lost their strange, green colour.

Once they had learned to speak English, they explained that they had come from a land where the sun never shone and the light was always like twilight. It is also said that everything was green in their homeland and that they said it was a place called St. Martin's Land.

The children couldn't quite explain their arrival in Woolpit, as they didn't fully understand it themselves. They were apparently herding their father's cows which they followed into a cave, where they became lost. They followed the sound of the cows bells and eventually emerged right where they had been found by the villagers.

The two children were eventually baptised, however, the boy became very sick and died soon after.

The girl went on to be employed for many years as a maid in a local house, but was often described as being '"wanton" and "impudent". 
It is thought that she eventually married a man from Kings Lynn, which was 40 miles away from Woolpit and had taken the name of 'Agnes'.

The village sign for Woolpit,dating from 1977, still stands today and depicts the two green children. 

B is for ... Black Shuck

Good old Black Shuck!
He's a demon dog that's close to my heart *sigh*

We both hail from the area of East Anglia in the UK and I grew up hearing his stories.
He's a bit of a celebrity around here. 
A terrifying, demon celebrity. 

If you didn't grow up with Black Shuck like I did, then you might not know too much about this scary, phantom hound.

Black Shuck was said to terrorise the area of East Anglia in the 16th Century.
He is described as a HUGE, black, ghostly dog with a single, firey eye in the middle of his head. His howl is said to make the hearers blood run cold, yet his footsteps make no sound at all. He is said to be an omen of death and you should squeeze your eyes tight shut if you think he might be close.

In a pamphlet from 1577 a terrorfying attack by Black Shuck is described as happening at St Mary's Church in Bungay:

"This black dog, or the devil in such a linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) running all along down the body of the church with great swiftnesse, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible fourm and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them bothe at one instant clene backward, in somuch that even at a mome[n]t where they kneeled, they stra[n]gely dyed."

*shudder*

A similar attack also is said to have happened in Suffolk and there are even burn marks left on the church door that were apparently made by Black Shuck as he made his exit.

Burn marks made by Black Shuck on a church door in Suffolk.

 The word 'Shuck' is thought to come from an old English word meaning 'demon' - scucca.
Or possibly an old local dialect word that meant 'shaggy' or 'hairy' - shucky

More recently in East Anglia, the bones of a very large dog were discovered in the ruins of an Abbey. This Abbey is only a few miles away from where the Black Shuck attacks were said to have taken place!

The remains of a large dog found in the ruins of Leiston Abbey, Suffolk.

The skeleton that was uncovered is thought to belong to a male dog who would have stood at 7 foot tall on his hind legs, and weighed in at 200lb!
What a monster!
Pottery fragments found alongside the skeleton date from the time of Black Shuck's alleged rein.

Do we need more proof that Black Shuck is real?
I. THINK. NOT.

Books featuring Black Shuck:

A is for ... Alderley Edge

The area of Alderley Edge in Cheshire, England, is steeped in anchient myths and folklore.

This part of England is said to be the home to King Arthur and his men, who are thought to be sleeping under the sandstone cliffs.
It also has strong links with the wizard Merlin.

The legend of Alderley Edge tells of a farmer who was on his way to market with the aim of selling his horse.
As the farmer passed the sandstone cliffs that make up Alderley Edge, he came across an old man with a long white beard who was wearing strange, dated clothes. The old man asked to buy the farmers horse, but he refused as he was sure he would be able to get a better price if he sold the horse at market
Once the farmer reached the market, however, not a single offer was made on his horse so, feeling rather sorry for himself, he set off back home.
The old man appeared to him again and asked if he could buy the farmers horse. This time the farmer agreed and the old man asked him to follow him through some trees. 
The pair came to the foot of the sandstone cliffs and the old man touched the rock with his staff.
There was a deafening rumble as the rock parted to reveal a huge, dark cavern.
The old man told the farmer not to be afraid and asked him to follow him inside.
Once the farmer's eye adjusted to the dark he was amazed to see that the cavern was full of hundreds of warriors all in a deep sleep, each with their own horse asleep next to them.
The farmer suddenly realised that the old man must, in fact, be a powerful wizard.
The wizard explained to him that all the sleeping warriors were ready to awake and fight for their country, should they ever be needed. He then led the farmer further into the cavern and showed him a large pile of jewels and gold, telling him to take as much as he wanted as payment for his horse.
The farmer picked up handfuls of gold and coins and filled up his pockets to bursting. He then walked back outside and, feeling overwhelmed, took off running for home. 
The cavern closed behind him with a thud and was never seen again.

In the area where this magical tale takes place there is a well. And near this well there is the face of a man carved into the rock, above an inscription which reads:

"Drink of this and take thy fill, For the water falls by the wizard's will"

The date and origin of this carving is unknown.

Could it be one of the sleeping warriors, keeping watch over the land?
Or maybe it's the mysterious wizard himself? 

The Treasure Of Callow Pit.

I have recently resolved to read more local folklore - folklore from the places close to home, so that I am able to visit the sites where they took place. One such story which I happened across is 'The Treasure Of Callow Pit', which is a piece of folklore from Norfolk UK - the place I call home.

"The village tradition states that an iron chest, filled with gold is engulfed in Callow Pit. Many years ago, two adventurous men, availing themselves of an unusually low state of the water, determined to obtain the treasure. Having formed a platform of ladders across the pit they inserted a staff through the ring in the lid of the chest, and bore it up from the waters; and placed the staff on their shoulders, preparatory to bearing off their prize... Unluckily, however, one of them triumphantly exclaimed: 'We've got it safe, and the devil himself can't get it from us.' instantly the pit was enveloped in a 'roke' (reek, or cloud of steam) of a strong sulphureous smell and a black hand and arm - no doubt belonging to the personage thus gratuitously challenged - emerged from the water, and grasped the chest. A terrific struggle ensued: one party tugging to secure, the other to recover the prize. At last the contest ended by its subject parting, being unable to bear the enormous strain on it. The chest, with the treasure, sank beneath the water, never again to be seen." 

- from 'The Lore Of The Land'

At the end of the tale we are told that all the two treasure seekers managed to walk away with, was the ring from the top of the chest. The ring was placed on the door of Southwood church and apparently 'the incredulous may convince himself of the truth of the legend by beholding it.' Southwood church fell into ruins in 1881, and the ring was moved to the neighbouring village of Limpenhoe, where it was fixed to the church's north door there. The north door of a church was commonly known as the Devil's Door, so this placement seems very appropriate.

Limpenhoe Church.

So off I went with my story and my sat-nav (a modern treasure seekers must-have item!) and had a lovely drive to Limpenhoe. The day was extremely misty and it only got worse as I drove deeper into the countryside. I took this as a very good sign indeed! The devil must have known I was coming and was either warning me away or trying to hide his treasure - obviously my reputation as a world-class treasure hunter proceeds me.

I tried not to get my hopes up too much as I walked towards the church - there was no guarantee that the ring would still be there. As I drew closer I let out a squeal of delight. There is was! In all its ring-like glory!

The Devils ring on the door of Limpenhoe church.

Theres only so many photos you can take of a ring and a door...

I can quite believe that this is a ring off of an ancient, lost treasure chest. It certainly looks old enough, and the surroundings were perfectly spooky enough. Nothing weird or suspicious happened when I touched the ring, which I was quite disappointed about, but for my first little 'Folklore Tour' I couldn't have asked for better! Unfortunately I could not go on a search for Callow Pit and the treasure itself due to the fog, and the fact that I was alone. I certainly want to have someone with me if theres a chance I might meet the Devil! I will definitely be looking for it when the weather brightens up a bit though and I'll let you know if I ever find that chest full of gold. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

This little trip has certainly made me want to delve further into my local folklore. Being able to actually visit the places I read about, and touch the relics from the stories is bringing a whole new depth to my obsession!