Friday 12 January 2018


Friday 12th January 2018

We reported on the release of Andrew Homers latest book - 'Black Country Ghosts And Hauntings' - just before Christmas (posted Nov. 28th, 2017).... and the 'Express and Star' newspaper has also, just recently, published a cracking article on the subject too!!

The piece concerned can be found by clicking on this LINK

Friday 12th January 2018

Over the Christmas period, I had been speaking to a number of people about 'peculiar experiences' and two of the - completely unrelated - individuals concerned happened to tell me about bizarre encounters on the same stretch of road..... outside the very same property, no less!?!  Neither of the parties are known to the other and their experiences are only related - or so we presume, of course - through the actual 'location' involved!?

The first story concerns a woman making her way to Birmingham, early one dark, foggy morning, some 20 or so years ago.....  As she made her way past the site in question, she became aware of what she took to be the figure of a girl, standing stock-still at the side of the road.  The form - wearing a long white dress - appeared to have long hair, which looked as if it was soaking wet.......?

The encounter itself IS a trifle anti-climactic, insomuch as - because of the lack of light, weather conditions and split-second duration - the above was basically ALL that could be reported.....!?

However, the witness offers the information that the dress she saw struck her as being of a white or cream, cotton-like material.... possibly a Victorian-esque night gown..... but definitely not modern in style!?  The morning was VERY cold and damp, so it was most unlikely that a 'living person' would be in that most secluded location, at that most unsociable time, with wet hair..... dressed only in flimsy night attire!?  

The 2nd experience that was reported over Christmas involved two people travelling past the very same spot / property in a motor vehicle.  This incident happened around 9.30 one evening and took place in the early 1980's..........

As the vehicle passed the building, the occupants suddenly became aware of the figure of an old man riding a bicycle - drivers side, so situated in the middle of the road - keeping up with the speed of their car!  The witnesses say that they saw the man most clearly:  elderly, with a most prominent nose.... wearing a flat cap and 'hunched over' the handlebars of the bicycle......  

Somewhat befuddled by the sudden appearance of the figure, the duo now specifically kept an eye on the situation, noting that the cyclist held pace with the car for a few seconds.... before.... well...... suddenly 'disappearing'!?!

Concerned that they had possibly hit the man, they pulled over and searched the road.... but there was no one and nothing of significance in sight!?!   No other vehicles had passed along the stretch of road during their experience and there was no sign of any other, living soul anywhere!?

While looking 'real enough' to the occupants of the car, one aspect of the encounter that was stressed by the female passenger was the simple fact that - from her position in the vehicle - the man had seemed 'unusually high up' on the road....!?  In pressing this angle, I was told that the figure had appeared 'unnaturally elevated', from her angle.... as if he were possibly riding on a much higher level than the actual road surface in question.............!?!  

While the above encounters are weird enough in their own right, it transpires that, some 10 to 15 yrs ago, I happened to be making some inquiries on the region involved and - only 100 or so yards distant from the spot mentioned above - I was told that a number of people had, some years earlier again, seen the 'glowing' figure of a woman in a long dress passing by them, some yards distant!?  Speaking to a further, completely unrelated, party on the history of the region, they admitted that they had heard stories of a 'white lady' style apparition supposedly being seen in the region...........


Friday 12th January 2018

Our 2nd, 'book-related', post of the New Year concerns the recent release of the 320 page, hardback volume 'Magical Folk'.....

Sub-titled 'British And Irish Fairies:  500 AD To The Present', this impressive volume contains a list of some 15 or so chapters, written by a host of folklorists, spanning different regions of the United Kingdom over the centuries.  Chapter two in the compilation - 'Pucks and Lights', covering the Midlands county of Worcestershire - was penned by none-other than our good friend, the lovely Polly Jones!!  (Right). 

An article on the publication, from the 'Redditch Standard' newspaper can be found by clicking this LINK 

'Magical Folk' can be purchased via most High Street stockists - such as 'Waterstones' or 'W.H. Smiths' - or, for online shoppers, through Amazon HERE