Monday November 5th 2018

In my youth, I was prone to wandering certain parts of the general Black Country region - with a group of friends, as you do! - and we would frequently 'discover' little corners of the region that subsequently became fairly 'familiar' to us through subsequent, sporadic, visits and related, teenage shenanigans..... 

One such location was the 'Coseley Tunnel', situated on the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Canal, between Bilston and Dudley.  At around 330 meters in length, this is an imposing and 'creepy' location, even on the brightest of days, but - I'm a little embarrassed to say - it became a firm favourite of ours.... especially during night-time walks.... and especially so when we happened to have groups of 'jumpy' young ladies in tow; the sort of young ladies who would need to hold onto a hand or youthful, brawny arm for comfort while passing through!!  Chuckle!!  (Ahh - the childhood innocence of yesteryear, eh!?  We took our - wholly wholesome - pleasures where we could back then!!  Laugh!!)

At this point in time, the spot was nothing more than a fairly 'cool' and spooky location for our juvenile adventuring... and, as far as I can recall, we had never heard of any associated 'ghost stories' whatsoever back then?

Subsequently, throughout my adult life, I'd often thought back on visits to the tunnel - re-living old capers in my mind, or reminiscing with childhood friends, etc - though I had little cause to 'physically' visit again, as, at least as far as my life has gone, the location itself has always been a little 'off the beaten track' as far as I was concerned and Coseley itself was not an area that I had any real cause to visit.  One of the very last times I saw the place was a particularly 'icy' period one Winter, around 15 to 20 years back and, just taking a few minutes to simply go and view the Bilston-end entrance to the tunnel, 'something' had sufficiently leaked above the mouth of the opening, resulting in masses and masses of immense icicles hanging down over the frozen canal!!  It was an absolutely mind-blowing sight, I must admit, but, typically for me, I didn't have a camera with me at the time!!
      

Anyhow, moving forward a handful of years or so, and I suddenly hear of a couple of local ghost clubs supposedly conducting 'investigations' there?  Intriguingly - at that point in time - there were never any details or stories given to account for this interest, so I had naturally been led to wonder whether the groups themselves had actually heard of any data to lead them to believe the location was supposedly 'haunted'.... or, as does frequently happen in this day and age, whether some form of ghostly activity / presence was a pure matter of 'presumption', simply because the place concerned happened to simply be a little eerie in itself!?  It has to be suggested that, purely logically speaking, such locations can easily generate so many different sensations and impressions, even in the mind of the most level-headed visitor or passer-by - for completely obvious and naturally occurring atmospheric / sensory reasons, I guess!?

In spite of the above-mentioned considerations, a couple of years further along and I suddenly came across a reference to a real-life occurrence at the tunnel, which certainly constituted an affair that a great many people would - given popular, paranormal culture - certainly suggest was conducive to the development of a 'ghostly situation' of some kind?  It transpires that, In 1901, a woman named Hannah Johnson Cox had murdered her two youngest, female children in the canal here, by tying them together with an apron - face to face - and 'slipping them into the water'......

This horrific act carried out by Cox - while heinous in the extreme - wasn't entirely without mitigating circumstances.  The woman had previously been greatly neglected by her cruel husband who had finally left her and their five children in a situation leading them to be thrown out of their home and, if not for the kindness of a neighbour, destitute and 'on the streets'.....  As a result of this, Hannah was said to have fallen into a considerable depression, leading her to this terrible, desperate act.....

At her trial, it was revealed that she had been assessed by more than one authority and it was clear she was suffering from 'temporary mental aberration'.  As a result, directed by the judge, the jury had returned a verdict suggesting she had not been responsible for her actions at the time of the crime and she was sentenced to be detained at his majesty's pleasure.....

As a result of the above, a ghostly legend had quite naturally 'developed', associated with the site, in the form of a fairly typical, 'white lady' style ghost.  However, such suggestions do still very much seem to be little more than a matter of pure 'legend', resulting from the crime in question... as it is never reported or recorded anywhere that the 'ghost' in question has actually 'been seen' by anyone at first-hand!?  If anything, a lot of written sources still seem utterly baffled as to 'who' the ghost actually is, or precisely 'why' she might be there?  Despite seemingly knowing her name, one account - published in book form - reports her as nothing more than the 'shrieking phantom of H.J.C.', who, we are bafflingly informed, 'stabs passers by.... the same as her husband stabbed and murdered her'!?!?   That local bastion of misinformation and frequent 'dubious reference material' - The Black Country Bugle - had also carried articles on both the murders and the ghost itself in more recent years..... all of which had served to spur me on towards another visit to the location.

As an ending to this somewhat rambling post...  I eventually took the time to pop along and finally visit the tunnel again in late September this year.   For the first time ever, I entered and traveled along one bank - crossed the canal at the far end - and exited (back in the direction of Bilston) on the other side.   This latter stretch of my walk wasn't without interest, as the initially distant lights from a party of (middle aged) people on bicycles - passing along on the opposite side of the pitch, black tunnel - did afford me a bit of a 'what the hell is that?' moment, before I caught any tell-tale sounds from the party concerned! Laugh!

Moving on to finally exit the tunnel and I realised where all of the 'pouring water noise' was coming from when I had initially entered, on the - in comparison - bone-dry opposite bank!  Yes - there were a couple of, completely unavoidable, 'mystery showers' that had to be dashed through on the way out.....  I sincerely hope that it was probably just seeping ground water of some description, but, if I'm honest, you really have no idea at all what you are running through!?  Shudder!

Monday November 5th 2018

Well.... I had thought that I'd be sitting at home on Halloween evening - as recently predicted - but I ended up being kindly asked to pop along to the site of a 'strange experience' by my old mate Wayne Pickrell instead...!!

One February evening in 2006, Wayne was making his way to a UFORM meeting at Stourbridge - around 7 pm - and was, at the time of 'his encounter', traveling along the A449, just outside Himley, South Staffordshire.  As he approached the entrance to the village Cricket Club - situated on his right-hand side - he suddenly spotted what appeared to be a 'figure', standing on the grass verge, a short distance in front of him to his left......

Now, the verge on that side of the busy thoroughfare is quite steep and narrow..... bordered on one side by the high wall of Himley Hall grounds and sloping quickly down to the road on the other, with no pavement.  The night was dark, overcast, and it had been raining most of the day, so Wayne had instantly though:  "Look at that fool.....!  If they slip, I'll have no chance of avoiding them....!!"

As he was traveling around 60 mph at the time, he conscientiously checked his mirrors.... slowed down.... and - when he looked back - the figure had now gone!?

Within a matter of a second or so, he had covered the distance to where the figure had been standing and, as he reached the spot, what he describes as a 'persistent knocking sound' - like knuckles rapping hard and repeatedly - suddenly began on the windows of the car around him!?!

Wayne readily admits he is no mechanic, but he certainly knows his way around a car..... and no simple explanation for what he was now experiencing was forthcoming!?  Amazingly, the noise continued until he reached a point some distance further on - as he approached the traffic lights in Himley village itself.... where the sounds stopped as abruptly as they'd begun!?!

A rational thinker, Wayne instantly pulled onto the forecourt of the nearby Himley Hall Hotel and, exiting the vehicle, checked the car over.... but to no avail!?  Continuing his journey, he had no further issues of any kind and the rest of his journey - to attend a talk on 'Shadow People' by Russell Kellet - was completely uneventful.......

To this day, he has not been able to find a rational explanation for the events of that evening.... but, remaining open minded, this strange encounter potentially seemed to presage a brief series of other, 'peculiar' happenings that subsequently occurred in his own home!?

Moving on briefly to a wider view of the area in which Wayne had his strange experience, it should be mentioned that a great many would not regard such an encounter as 'anything out of the ordinary' for the location in question.  To say Himley is regarded as something of a 'haunted area' is a considerable understatement and the ghostlore of this - rather small - region is VERY rich and varied indeed!

Referring to the satellite map above, the majestic Himley Hall is said to be haunted, as are a number of sites that fall within the confines of the Hall grounds.  The area around The Great Pool, for example, were long believed to be haunted by the apparition of a Grey or White Lady.  Needless to point out - as the crow flies - the site of Wayne's encounter, just opposite the entrance to Himley Cricket Club, lies just a stones throw from the Western edge of the lake in question.  The woodland to the immediate North of Himley Hall has long been regarded as having a strange reputation and it was here, some years ago, that a couple of walkers saw a somewhat unusual, dark, human-shaped figure which - on being spotted - was said to have 'taken off' vertically and 'flown' up into the tree canopy above them....!!    

To the South East of Himley Hall lies the aptly named 'Crooked House' pub, which has previously played host to investigations by both Wayne's 'Black Country Paranormal Society' and The West Midlands Ghost Club.... as well as a number of other, local paranormal groups.  However, it's not only the pub itself that is said to be haunted, but some of the grounds surrounding the location too.... including the nearby woodland and the drive leading to this fairly secluded watering hole as well!?  In fact, most of the nearby roads and trackways have some form of spooky reputation associated with them, with a number of supposed 'apparitions' - figures in 'Cavalier-style' garb and so on - being encountered by numerous, passing motorists over a considerable number of years.....

Moving back into Himley Village itself momentarily, Himley House Hotel, the Dudley Arms public house opposite and the nearby crossroads all have some form of ghostly reputation attached to them, it seems.  With regards to the latter, pale, indistinct figures - frequently crossing the road in front of passing traffic - have been reported on numerous occasions.... similar incidents also being recorded as occurring along the stretch of the B4176 leading to the entrance to Himley Hall grounds too.

To the South and West of the village are two sites linked by a particular aspect of our tumultuous history.... namely the 'Gunpowder Plot'.  Holbeche House is the location where fleeing members of the conspiracy finally held out against pursuing government forces and were (mostly) caught.  Not only is the historic structure itself said to be haunted, but, supposedly as a result of the aforementioned siege, a 'phantom horseman' has supposedly been seen galloping through the general region.  His presence is also supposedly felt in Himley Plantation - off to the North West - as well as a number of the fields and roads surrounding this heavily wooded area.......

While only giving a brief 'taste' of some of the associated hauntings and legends here, readers are urged to check out the work of local paranormal researcher and author, Andrew Homer, who has covered a number of the locations mentioned here in much greater detail in his numerous works.  We have mentioned a couple of Andrews publications (mentioning such cases) on this page previously - HERE and HERE - but a further article on the ghosts associated with Himley Hall itself can also be found via this LINK.   

Monday 5th November 2018

Every July for a number of years now, the town of Middleham in North Yorkshire has actively celebrated the once close relationship between King Richard III and this most historic region.  The fortress of Middleham Castle was, for many years, the home of this controversial monarch... so it is only fitting that what remains of this impressive fortification should rightly play host to this annual revelry in the form of the popular 'Richard III Festival'......   

This year, however - amid the throng of historical encampments, demonstrations, crafts and related talks - our good friend Susan Lamb, and fellow author, Joanne Larner, 'set up stall' to display their related wares!  As regular visitors to this page will know, the ladies concerned are passionate 'Ricardians', who have turned their 'love for everything Richard' into a brace of humorous publications, telling of the fictitious shenanigans of their favourite king at 'his castle of Muddleham'...!

The popular volumes concerned - 'Dickon's Diaries: A Yeare In The Lyff Of King Richard The Third' and 'Dickons Diaries 2' - have been mentioned on this blog previously and are available through Amazon HERE and HERE.

Sunday November 4th 2018

In 2004, I visited a particular spot - on the West Midlands / Staffordshire border - that had been of passing interest to me, for a couple of reasons, for some time.  I initially came across the place while searching for local examples of 'deviant burial sites'... i.e. places where, in previous centuries, 'undesirable types' like suicides and murderers were sometimes buried.  The lore surrounding such matters is varied and long, so, suffice it to say, such places as crossroads, gibbet sites, or perhaps the area where a particular wrong-doing was perpertrated, were often utilised for these interments.

The location being discussed in this post was a rural crossroads in Codsall Wood - a few miles outside Wolverhampton - formed by the meeting of Husphins Lane and County Lane.  It is known locally as 'Deadwomans Grave' and, if that monicker isn't sinister enough for you already, there is a boulder situated at one side of the crossroads that is widely said to be the 'grave marker' itself!? 

As often occurs in these matters, however, this is pretty much all that is known of this intriguing subject.  Exactly 'who' the 'Deadwoman' is - if she ever existed, of course - is a detail lost to history.... but one local legend suggests that this is actually the grave of a 'witch!?  Another story claims it is the last resting place of a 'murder victim'... while yet another says that the woman concerned was some poor, unfortunate, soul who was 'hanged for stealing apples'!?  Needless to say, we sincerely hope that this latter was not the case..... and it is more likely that the spot probably serves as a grave for some unfortunate local who simply 'took her own life' and was dispatched according to the rather unfeeling, superstitious laws of the time...... probably?

Also, as often occurs with such places, the spot has also attracted something of a 'haunted' reputation over the years.... though, it has to be said, the details of the matter have always seemed to fall into the category of 'legendary haunting', records mainly consisting of a 'the location is said to be haunted by...' suggestion, rather than anything more substantial?

During my early-January, 2004 visit, however, I happened to cross the path of 2 locals who rode their horse regularly through the crossroads and (it goes without saying) I couldn't resist asking them if they knew anything of the sites more 'spooky' reputation?  One told me that she had passed through the locality at all times of the day and night for many, many years and had never seen anything untoward.  However, she added, her horse had previously shown unrest at 'approaching the crossroads' along Husphins Lane, for whatever reason, for some time......?

Moving forward in time to more recent months now and I happened to find myself in conversation with a number of people who knew the Codsall Wood area rather well on a social networking site.  Having raised the subject of The Deadwomans Grave with them, I was surprised to find that many - mostly long-standing residents of the region concerned, who actually knew the crossroads in question - had never actually heard of the 'grave' association at all!?  

Contrary to what I had been told previously, one woman said that she had ridden a number of horses in the region for many years and could pretty much 'never' get a mount to pass by the location involved!  "Never could get a horse near it!" she said.  Another informed me that the site had caused many horses to shy and play up over the years.....

One story - of course a 'missed opportunity', given the date - says that the ghost of the graves occupant is said to appear 'sitting on the marker stone' at midnight, on Halloween!  Others spoke of seeing 'mists' around the crossroads.... but this was something they had generally put down to early-morning atmospheric conditions in frosty weather, perhaps?

During some renovations to the crossroads a number of years ago, the local council actually removed the stone and are said to have unceremoniously dumped it in a marl-hole known as The Black Pit.  Subsequently, there was uproar over the act and it was suggested that 'the ghost of the deadwoman had been released'!?!  Whatever - the Council are said to have quickly retrieved the stone and replaced it in its former resting place..... where it has stayed - unmolested - ever since!! 

As a parting note on this particular subject, it's interesting to note that a 2nd 'Deadwomans Grave' appears for the general Codsall region..... this latter example appearing on the Oaken Tithe Map, located at the crossroads formed by Heath House Lane and the A41 Holyhead Road at Wrottesley......

Sunday November 4th 2018

Not exactly 'ghost-related', but certainly an aspect of local, historical 'lore' that might interest many of our visitors....?

As most will know, the name Wednesbury comes from the Saxon God 'Woden' and the term 'BURY' derives from the Anglo-Saxon BURH or BYRIG..... meaning a fortification or fortified settlement.  Of the many thousands of name places in Britain, less than ten have the name of Woden associated with them and, of course, WE happen to have 2 such names within a very few miles of one another... Wednesbury / Wodensbury and Wednesfield / Wodensfield. 

Unlike Wednesfield, however, Wednesbury has always seemed to maintain at least tentative links with it's Pagan heritage, mainly in the form of - albeit small - tantalising references and tributes to such matters:  'The Woden' public house, for example, with it's ceramic plaque on one of the walls showing 'Sleipnir', Odins 8 legged mount;  an immense, metal sculpture of 'Sleipnir' again, erected on a hillock overlooking the town in the late 1990's, and even a stained-glass window in the Parish Church of Saint Bartholomew, depicting the hill-top, 'Pagan fortress' that once occupied the same site........

As a previous Vicar of St Bartholomews mentioned about the latter a few years ago:

"On the lofty hill, raised above all the surrounding country, rest our Parish Church, the glory, the ornament and the beauty of the town.  It stands as a beacon visible for many miles around it, its spire pointing towards the heavens, thus teaching, by mute but significant sign, where our thoughts and final hopes should tend.

This hill, with its spire crowned Church, was not always the teacher of heavenly things.  There was a time when Woden, the fierce and sanguinary idol of the Danes and Norwegians, stained this hill with the blood of human beings offered in sacrifice to him.  This Woden is supposed to be the same as Odin, on whom our poet Gray has composed a wild and beautiful ode, entitled The Descent of Odin.

This 'devil worship' passed away as the light of Christianity arose and spread on our island; but the foundations of the material building were not yet to be laid".

Some readers may well recall the furore concerning the erection of the aforementioned statue, back in 1998, most of which boiled down to church-related moaning about 'being reminded of our Heathen past' and so on!!  Rolls eyes!!

While not a practicing Pagan myself - I'm not a 'spiritual' person at all and find that I cannot invest 'faith' in any form of religious belief - I have held 'sympathies' for certain, related subjects and systems for many years now... and find a strong affinity with certain motifs and symbolism.  As a result of the latter - and basically cutting a long story short - I had been meaning to go along and actually 'visit' the 'Sleipnir statue' for a very long time now..... but, for a variety of different reasons, had just never got round to it! 

Frequenting Heathen-related pages on social media, I had seen that, in the past, a great many followers of such beliefs had indeed taken the time to visit the site.... as had some friends of mine who, while not actually holding any interest in such quasi-religious topics, had merely 'spent some time at the spot', due to it being a local landmark and slightly 'out of the way' for such a busy, little town!  I must admit that one of the reasons I'd dragged my feet about going there over the years was that I'd long though - simply given its location - the statue would have been tightly and safely 'fenced off from the public'.... but it isn't, apparently!?!

Anyway - a few weeks ago - I finally took the time to make the (albeit relatively small) ascent up to the statue.... and what an absolute bloody disgrace the site actually is currently!!  Rolls eyes!! 

First of all, any romantic notions that old Sleipnir was basically 'watching over Wodensborough from his lofty position' - the actual 'meaning' of the statue, I've always presumed - were immediately dispelled, as, with all of the industrialisation of that part of the town over recent years, you can barely even 'see' the poor bugger from literally anywhere in the region now.... because of the multitude of factories and office complexes that surround the site!  From anywhere within a few hundred yards of the spot, the statue is almost invisible and could simply be 'missed' or 'over-looked', if you're not specifically keeping an eye open for it!  Having not attempted to get close to the site before, I had a hell of a time keeping it in sight and ended up doing a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in an endeavour to even find it at relatively close quarters, amid the surrounding properties.....  Rolls eyes!!  The overall situation - visually speaking - is made all the worse by the simple fact that the local Council presumably haven't been bothered to visit the spot for a long time now, meaning that the shrubbery surrounding the structure itself is, literally, almost as tall as the statue these days!!  Seemingly some - though I'd hazard to suggest a 'bare minimum' - of maintenance has possibly been given to the location, so that Sleipnir is still 'slightly' visible from the direction of Wednesbury itself.... though I'm quite open to the thought that this is actually just a 'happy coincidence', given the otherwise disgusting state of the overall location?

Actually coming to get 'up close and personal' to the statue was not only a terrible anti-climax, but was also... well.... basically an 'unsavoury' experience!!  After trudging along an overgrown, barely visible trackway - strewn with everything from the expected beer cans, to discarded items of clothing, to copious amounts of excrement - you finally reach the statue to see that the surrounding foliage is right up to its base on 3 sides.... making the only point you can even get close to it these days from the 'rear end'!!  (I did, however, find this quite fitting, given the overall experience!!  Laugh!!)  To add to the delight, even this - less than salubrious - approach is completely strewn with general 'crap' left by the local drunks and junkies!!  Being modern Britain, the former opportunities afforded by a nice, quiet, 'remote spot' clearly hinge entirely around 'getting out of your tree' currently.... and the resident ne'er-do-wells certainly haven't missed an opportunity here!!  There are clear and copious signs of 'revelry' of different kinds at the base of the statue, including 'druggy paraphernalia', literally tons of 'beer cans' - more excrement, that I'm presuming isn't 'canine' in origin - and camp fires!!   

Having said the latter, I was musing elsewhere that I didn't suppose the 'Old Gods' would actually be bothered by a bit of 'partying' - in fact, they might actually appreciate or even encourage such things? - but the remnants from such revelries are, basically, not at all nice for people interested in just visiting the statue, of course!! 

Personally speaking - as a by-product of all of the above - I had been recently wondering exactly 'who' would need to be contacted re. suggesting a 'move' for the statue... perhaps 'into' the town centre, or, at least 'nearer' the town, so that people could actually 'see it' again!?  There is a sizeable, open 'green' area - grass and park-like land - at the base of the hill that holds the aformentioned St. Bartholomews Church and Woden public house.  The area concerned is more than suitable in size and historic location to perhaps play host to a re-sited 'Sleipnir'....?