The Storyteller: Walking with ghosts

David Hammond and I always have a most interesting time together whenever we head off on one of our trips to make recordings for our South Devon Folklore segment, on his Thursday morning radio show on Riviera FM and the other week’s jaunt was no exception.

On this occasion we started off by making a return trip to one of my favourite Dartmoor towns, one that can lay claim to having not one, but two of the more famous ghosts that  local folklore has to offer. 

It’s therefore no surprise that it makes a perfect location for one of my Ghost Walks. That’s what our recent segments have been about, updating the listeners on some of the research, and stories that have been shared with me over the past year since launching this new branch of my Moors and More Tours business.

Last time we went around Okehampton, following the route I took my guests on, this time it was Chagford.

Whenever I visit, I always make a point of popping in the church and inspecting the memorial stone to Mary Whiddon, the tragic bride who was brutally stabbed to death by a jealous, spurned lover as she exited on the arm of her newlywed husband. 

Over the years, other brides have been encouraged to leave a flower from their bouquets as a tribute to the young girl and I like to see if the tradition is still being upheld. 

Over the past year, there have been some when I’ve looked, but not on this occasion. Similarly on recent visits, Jay’s Grave hasn’t had many displays of flowers present either. Maybe it depends on the time of year?

One of the new things that I was able to show David, something that I only discovered recently myself, is perched high up on the apex of the church roof. 

It looks like the figure of a horse, sadly minus its head, and possibly a rider, which put me in mind of the figures that the writer, Stephanie Austin, pointed out to me during our walk around Ashburton, ahead of our joint venture at Halloween last year. They date from the time of the English Civil War and allegedly announced the fact that the building upon which it stood was a safe haven for any supporters of the Royalist cause, fighting for their king. 

This makes sense, for it was to Chagford that the comrades of Sydney Godolphin, brought him after he was badly wounded during a skirmish at nearby Blackstone Brook. sadly, he never made it to the sanctuary of the church, dying from his wounds in the porch of The Three Crowns, instead. A place he is still said to haunt to this day.

Exiting the churchyard, where, one evening we were met by a herd of ponies grazing around the tombstones, we entered a little alleyway between shops and houses that is said to be the haunt of the Chagford Strangler. 

Once, a young girl’s body was found at this spot, having been strangled to death. Ever since then, certain sensitive people have picked up on the sensations of hands around their throat, and a tightness in their chests, as though they are reliving the victim’s last moments. As my guests pass through this spot, I ask them if they can sense anything, and on occasions some of them do.

As we approach the public toilets at The Pepperpot in The Square I always like to point out that the town once received the accolade of having the most irradiated public conveniences in the world, thanks to the Radon being produced by the granite they are constructed from...I’m guessing that prize must go to the toilets in Dartmoor Prison nowadays?

Heading next to the Helpful Holidays offices, based in a converted Methodist Chapel, we make use of the benches positioned outside whilst I regale my audience with tales shared with me by guests at previous events. 

One of them was an ex-postman, whose patch once included Chagford. He informed me that, whilst doing his rounds, over the years, it wasn’t unusual to get a fleeting  glimpse of figures walking through walls in certain areas, one of which was the Helpful Holidays offices that we were now sitting outside. 

His story was corroborated by a lady who rang me up, wanting to share some disturbing experiences, one of which was her sighting of a figure walking through the same wall of the former Methodist Chapel; one concerned friends of hers, who claim they live in a house haunted by the ghosts of some English Civil War Cavaliers; but the best story was where she recalled a close encounter with a phantom monk, walking the lanes, near to her home just outside of Chagford during the Covid lockdown. These last two accounts, involve areas that David and I went on to visit next, so they could well form the basis of another article, at a later date...

For now, we headed back up to The Square, where Chagford boasts three pubs, all in a row, each with its own ghost stories to tell. I’ve already mentioned the middle one, The Three Crowns, which not only hosts Sydney Godolphin but Mary Whiddon, too, as it was her former home, Whiddon House. 

The first one we reach is the Ring O Bells. This is said to have had outbreaks of poltergeist activity over the years and some friends of mine, who formed their own paranormal investigation group, once had the opportunity to check it out but it’s the story of an old lady gazing out of the windows that I like to share. 

This was told to me by one of my guests last year. She, and her husband once lived in Chagford, in a house she knew to be haunted, but it was her first visit to the Ring O Bells that took her by surprise. 

Inside, sitting in a window seat, was the spirit of an old lady, that as it soon became apparent, no one else could see, so she decided to communicate with her to find out why she was there. 

Opting to do some dowsing, for yes or no answers, she used her wedding ring, on her necklace as a pendulum. The story she then got was most interesting...

The woman had committed suicide, for reasons not revealed, and as a suicide just like Kitty Jay, her body wasn’t allowed a Christian burial. Instead she was condemned to be,  unceremoniously, dumped in a hole in the ground at a local crossroads so that her spirit wouldn’t return and haunt the living. 

On the day this was due to happen, the burial party stopped at the Ring O Bells for a drink, before carrying out the arduous task, and the old lady’s spirit followed them inside. 

When she realised there was a view of the church opposite, from the pub window, the place where she would have preferred to have been buried, being a very Christian woman, she opted to stay behind, when the men left, so she never knew her body’s final resting place. Instead she remains quite content, just gazing out of the window...

Finally, we come to The Globe Inn, at the other end of the street, which is home to the spirits of two of its deceased chambermaids. 

One died after being accused of practicing witchcraft, when a customer of hers passed away after she gave him a healing remedy. She was taken to be tested on a local ducking stool where she drowned proving her innocence, but sadly too late for the  poor girl! 

The other died from injuries she sustained when her dress caught alight, warming herself by the fire...both have chosen to remain at their former place of employment, making their presence felt from time to time.

It’s on this rather sad note, that I end my Ghost Walk around Chagford, encouraging my guests to join me for a drink in one of the cosy pubs where the storytelling can continue. On this occasion, David and I opted to go for lunch at the Northmore Arms, in Wonson, on the trail of a ghostly sailor (or perhaps his wife), and some spectral Cavaliers, often seen playing cards in the manor house nearby...but these are tales for another time...

If you missed my recent walks around Dartmoor towns, or Brixham, don’t worry, there will be plenty more opportunities to catch up with me throughout the year.