The Storyteller: More creepy anniversaries

Earlier in the year, I wrote about some anniversaries that I’ve got noted down in my diary, which form part of my paranormal calendar.

Events which I’ve used to base my Ghost Walks around, or that I include in the talks that I give. As we are now well into Autumn, the spookier part of the year, with Halloween only just behind us, I thought I would dip into my diary again, and see what the months of October and November have to offer, and I wasn’t disappointed...here are some of the highlights...

Back in October 1641, on the 11th to be precise, tragic Mary Whiddon was murdered on her wedding day, by a jealous former lover. Being young and pretty, and from a wealthy family, she played the field, moving from one beau to another, until she found one that she wanted to marry.

The date was set, and plans were made, but as she exited St Mary’s Church in Chagford, opposite her family home of Whiddon House, now The Three Crowns Hotel, her ex stepped out of the crowd of well-wishers, and stabbed her in the heart, leaving her to die in the arms of her new husband. History doesn’t tell us what happened to her murderer, or Mary’s husband, but her memorial can be found in the church, where she wed, right in front of the altar. 

In 1971, another bride was looking forward to her big day, and when she woke up, in one of the rooms of The Three Crowns, she found the ghost of Mary Whiddon standing over her, in her blood splattered dress. Having been told the story of her spectral visitor, the newly wed bride, placed her bouquet on Mary’s memorial, as a tribute to the wife that never was. Ever since then, other brides to be, have been encouraged to do the same, and leave an offering to the unfortunate girl. 

Chagford is a town where I host one of my Ghost Walks, and each time I’m there, I always take my guests into the church to see if any flowers have been left, from a recent wedding. A few times, over the past couple of years, there have been, and, as a folklorist, it’s heartening to see these traditions upheld.

Fans of the novel, Lorna Doone, by R D Blackmore, will be interested to learn that the story is inspired by Mary’s tragic tale, and readers will know that in Lorna’s case she survives the murder attempt, as she walks up the aisle, on her wedding day, inside Oare Church, which can be found on Exmoor...apologies for the spoilers!

Still in October, on the 21st, we have the very date when The Devil himself actually did come to Dartmoor, back in 1638. If you were to pay a visit to St Pancras Church, in Widecombe in the Moor, and take a look inside the bell tower, you will see two wooden plaques, written in olde English, telling you about the day that the tower was struck by a thunderbolt, sending one of the spires crashing down through the roof, killing four people and injuring around sixty.

However, folklore tells us that this is the day that the pact Jan Reynolds, a tin mining resident of Widecombe, had made with The Devil, for seven years good luck as a gambler, came to an end, and he had come to claim his due. Upon hearing that Jan was often to be found in the pews, at the back of the church, playing cards with his mates, during a Sunday Service, The Devil thought this would be an apt place to snatch away a Christian soul, from under the nose of the vicar! Not being familiar with the location of said church, even though Dartmoor is full of traces of his presence, a holy site is the last place you would expect him to go, and he was forced to ask for directions, choosing to enquire at The Tavistock Inn, in Poundsgate.

 Dismounting  his flying horse outside the pub, he strides up to the bar and asks the innkeeper for the information he needs, which he duly receives, but, before leaving, he decides to have a pint of ale. The innkeeper serves him, The Devil pays him, and downs it in one, and, as it disappears, the liquid can be heard frothing and bubbling in his throat. By this time the pub has fallen silent, all eyes on this weird stranger. To tease them even further, The Devil exits, with a swish of his hooded cloak, revealing a pointed tail and cloven hooves.

The locals then knew exactly who had come amongst them. When he next checked his money pot, the innkeeper found that the money The Devil had paid with, had turned to a dried-up old leaf...so the crafty old devil had even got himself a free drink! Armed with the directions, he flew off, through the sky, heading towards the church. Reaching it, he harnessed his horse to one of the four spires atop the tower, swooped down, and made a grand entrance at the back of the pews. Sure enough, there was Jan, playing cards with his mates. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, he dragged him outside, and up on to the back of his horse.

With Jan clinging on, The Devil hastened away, but didn’t untie the reins properly, which wrenched the spire loose, causing it to crash down through the roof, killing and injuring members of the congregation. So, dear reader, you have a choice, was the Widecombe tragedy caused by a thunderbolt? Or by a visitation from The Devil? I know which version I favour!

Something did happen there, on the date commemorated on the plaques, and last year I honoured the anniversary by hosting an evening of storytelling at The Tavistock Inn. Whilst there, I pointed out the scorch mark, still visible on the bar top, where The Devil slammed his tankard back down, after sinking his pint. Sadly, I couldn’t repeat the event this year, as the inn suddenly closed back in the Summer. Hopefully it will reopen again, and I will approach the new owners, with a view to once again celebrating one of my favourite Dartmoor stories, which is the inspiration behind my Devil’s Quest Tours. Or should I rename it the Devil’s Pub-crawl?

Talking of The Devil, there is a very ancient ceremony, said to be the oldest in Europe, that is carried out on the 5th of November every year, which has nothing to do with burning guys on a bonfire, at precisely 8pm, by the locals of the North Devon village of Shebbear, and that is the turning of the Devil’s Stone.

The stone is located in the centre of the village green. No one is sure of how it came to be there, or how it is connected to The Devil, but tradition states that it must be turned over every year, at that precise time, in order to keep him away for the next twelve months, otherwise some disaster will befall the village, and, understandably, no one is prepared to take that risk. As yet, I haven’t visited Shebbear to witness the ceremony taking place, but maybe one day I should. 

Later in November, on the 15th, is the anniversary of the murder of Emma Keyse, back in 1884. Her body was found, with her throat slit, in the burnt out remains of her home, in Babbacombe. John Lee, her manservant, “The man they couldn’t hang”, was accused of the crime, and sentenced to death by the scantest of evidence.

We all know the outcome of those attempts to hang him, but what you might not know, is the role his grandmother possibly played in those events. She was a white witch living in Ashburton,  who might have had a local policeman in her thrall. The night before the execution, she made a prophecy, that they would never hang her grandson...

If you want to know more about that story, you will need to join me on one of my Ashburton Ghost Walks...until next time...