The Storyteller: The book that inspired me

On a recent visit to my mum, in Bristol, I reconnected with an “old friend”...

Something that came into my life when I was ten years old...something that kindled a flame in me that burns even brighter today...that’s my love of ghosts, and all things weird and wonderful. I’m talking about the Reader's Digest “Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain” tome. It was published in 1973, and dad was a regular subscriber to their publications, filling our house with many fabulous books to feed the young, enquiring minds of myself, and my siblings.

I’ve always coveted that particular addition to the collection, citing it as one of my earliest exposures to the subject, as many others of a similar age do too. So when I was drawn to it, on the shelf, the other day, mum said I was welcome to take it, and I didn’t lose any time in diving into its wondrous pages, revisiting the various descriptions of haunted locations, that I begged my parents to take us to, whilst on our family holidays, during those precious, formative years.

My re-examining of the section that covers the counties of Devon, Dorset and Somerset...or The Summer Land, as this part is sub-headed...couldn’t be timelier, for, as you read this, we are currently celebrating my brother's 60th birthday, on a family holiday in Dorset, somewhere we visited a lot, back in the day. So this is going to be very much a nostalgia trip. Filling my head with the local ghost stories, beforehand, will, hopefully, spur me on to revisiting some of them, if we have the time...but more of that upon my return...for now, I want to share with you some of the magic that the book contains...

The first thing that greets the young explorer, is the front cover, an embossed, golden image of a figure that resembles The Devil...it isn’t, but this introduction to devilish ideas, at such a formative age, might go a long way to explaining why I’ve got such a strong fascination with The Devil’s antics on Dartmoor...and now give talks about him. This is actually a depiction of The Dorset Ooser...how apt, considering where I am right now...

Which was used, in similar rituals, as the ones still re-enacted today, involving the Padstow ‘obby ‘oss, and the Welsh Mari Lwyd, symbols of good luck and fertility. This mask, representing a pagan horned god, would have been processed around villages, demanding refreshments from anyone it met, in return for its blessing...very similar to the Dark Gathering event we used to attend, in Boscastle, at Halloween.

Inside, is an introductory section covering a vast array of esoteric subjects, including mysteries of nature; the study of witchcraft; weird creatures; and ending with a study of various folkloric heroes...but, in-between, lies the true meat of the sandwich, a portrait of Britain, broken up into sections, each one containing an A to Z of its towns and villages, noting its relevance to the paranormal history of the country. Not everywhere gets a mention, Bristol, my home, doesn’t, but, oddly, the Bristol Channel does.

Many of the more local tales I’m  aware of, but this one is new to me, referring to a mysterious fairy island, lying between England and Wales, that can appear and disappear, on a whim. Sailors, who traversed those waters, would often talk about making landfall on this island, that wasn’t on their maps, getting caught up in some fairy revelry, and when they departed, the island could no longer be seen. I wonder if seafarers still have that experience today?

The part of Bristol I’m from, is just above the town of Keynsham, and not far from Bath, both worthy of a mention. Keynsham, for the fact that it’s named after St Keyne, who appears to have had a similar gift to St Patrick, in that they were both able to rid the land, they chose to live in, from venomous snakes. In St Keyne’s case, she turned them into fossils, a form of ammonite, which can still be found in the area to this day. Meanwhile, Bath, which is famous for the healing properties of its Roman Baths, owes this claim to the fact it was originally found to cure leprosy.

Another mention, that lies close to my family home, is of a little village called Stanton Drew, famous for its standing stones and circles, known as “The Devil’s Wedding”. It is said that the stones represent a bride and her guests, unwittingly duped into dancing on the Sabbath, by The Devil himself, disguised as an old man playing the pipes. In those days, the punishment for dancing on a Sunday, was to be turned to stone! When I was younger, my friends and I, would often cycle the lanes, near the village, but those stones never registered with me, not even after scouring the pages of the book! It was only when I arrived in Torbay, and started researching the subject in more detail, that I discovered their significance. Suffice to say, I then visited them at the first opportunity I had, during a visit back home.

Other places mentioned, that lie not far from the place of my birth, include Wookey Hole, with its tales of witchcraft, and more turning to stone, plus the filming of scenes from one of my favourite Dr Who stories, featuring the indomitable Cybermen...so a must visit place many times over the years...and the mysteriously magical town of Glastonbury, somewhere else that’s significance didn’t hit me, until I moved away from it, but I’ve had cause to visit the place many times since.

Shepton Mallet, also crops up, which has significance to my childhood, as we always drove through it on the way to our caravan in Weymouth, and my siblings and I, always had a competition to see who could be the first to spot the huge figure of Bambi, on top of the Babysham factory! Sadly, the figure is no more. The area boasts two reasons for its entry in the book, one for the fact it has the ghost of a Giles Cannard, often returning to the inn he used to run, before he took his own life, for fear of being attacked by a mob of angry locals, that he had wronged.

This is another case of a suicide being buried at a crossroads, and the pub that was built at the site was always known as Cannard’s Grave, complete with corpse swinging from a gallows tree on its sign, something else we always liked to spot on our journey to Weymouth. Sadly, the name, and sign, have been changed, in more recent times, to prevent any distress to those of a more sensitive nature! The second story, is similar to my favourite Dartmoor story, regarding Jan Reynolds and his pact with The Devil. In this instance, it refers to a cave, in the hills above the town, that still bear the signs of his visitation, to claim the soul of an innocent. A Nancy Camel, used to live in the cave, due to her lowly status. The Devil took pity on her situation, and offered her a life of riches and prosperity, in return for her soul.

It would appear she gave in to temptation, for, although she continued to live in her cave, she never wanted for anything, until the end of her days. Having been allowed to live longer than the seven years that Jan Reynolds was allotted, it was finally time to make her journey to Hell, to which end, The Devil provided a horse and cart, one dark and stormy night...Nancy was seen no more, but hoof prints on the walls, and cartwheel tracks, served as testimony, that something had carried her away...

Closer to home, in Torbay, Berry Pomeroy warrants a mention, with its spooky ruins, as does nearby Totnes, with talk of Brutus the Trojan, landing there, leaving his stone as a memorial to this fact, and his taming of two giants, Gog and Magog...giants being prevalent in the country at that time...who he took to guard his palace in London...statues of which can still be seen in the Guildhall, to this day.

Mention is also made of Kingsteignton’s famous Ram Roasting Fair, that celebrates the time a ram was sacrificed, resulting in the return of water to the stream that flows through the churchyard, after it had dried up. Likewise, Marldon’s Apple Pie Fair features.

Finally, the only area of Torbay that is included, is Brixham, and not because of its Haunted Harbour, as featured in my Ghost Walks, but because of a well-documented UFO sighting, back in 1967. The coast guard, at Berry Head, first reported it, and then it hovered over the town, in broad daylight, for all to see...

As I mentioned earlier, I’m currently in Dorset, and the book will be accompanying me, as it contains write ups of places we visited during those childhood holidays, and, as dad is no longer with us, I hope to rekindle some of those memories, and, possibly, report back next time...