Whats up people hope youre having an awesome day, Im your host Ayman Hasan and welcome
back to another video here at most amazing top 10.
Now growing up I loved reading about myths and legends, both are stories you grow up
half wishing they were true half wishing they werent.
In school I thought myths were reserved to Ancient Rome and Greece only but as I grew
up I realised each country has so many of its own its ridiculous.
So dim the lights, get cosy, and lets get into it.
This is the Top 10 Scary British Myths.
Starting us off with number 10 is The Beast of Bodmin Moor.
Located in Cornwall, the Beast of Bodmin Moor is said to be a black panther looking cat
thats meant to be 3-5 feet long with glowing yellow eyes.
A total of 60 sightings of the beast have been reported as well as people having found
a bunch of mutilated slain livestock with no explanation for their deaths.
The evidence was so abundant that the government actually launched an investigation looking
into the beast but found no further evidence for the cat but also no evidence against it
either so.
Many assumed it was an escaped cat from someones private collection and it wasnt reported to
authorities because its obviously illegal.
But things really got wild when less than a week after the investigation a boy was walking
along River Fowey (foy) when he found a huge cat skull.
The lower jaw was missing but it had 2 massive canines implying it couldve been a leopard.
So what kind of 3-5 foot cat is lethal enough to kill a leopard?
After a lot of investigation they found the skull was from a leopard but it had been imported
as part of a leopard skin rug.
It had cuts on it showing the flesh had been scraped off with a knife not another cats
teeth.
So that was a dead end but it still excited people enough to reignite the myth.
Not that it really died to begin with.
Coming in at number 9 are Boggarts.
Not the ones from Harry Potter what a time and a half that would be, no these ones are
either household spirits or they live in fields and marshes.
The ones found in houses are known to just cause a lot of chaos.
They steal things, they make dogs go lame, they can turn milk sour.
Sometimes they crawl into your bed and put their hands all over you and despite sounding
annoying as hell they are very loyal to the family theyre with.
A household boggart follows its family everywhere so at least itll annoy you for life.
Like a sibling.
Boggarts found outside are a lot more dangerous, theyre known to abduct children, kill animals
and all around cause harm.
To protect yourself and keep them away you can hang a horseshoe outside your door or
leave a pile of salt outside your bedroom but the biggest warning is that you should
never name a boggart.
Once you name it thats it, youre done, it cant be reasoned with, you cant persuade it,
it just becomes uncontrollably destructive.
Lookswise they look like mini humans with beastial features, their arms are extremely
long and despite being small theyre still as strong as a full grown horse.
At number 8 are the Chime Hours.
This one got me excited so you guys better be too.
Now this myth originated in Northern England and its referring to the time of someones
birth.
Its believed that people born during particular hours of the day and night have special abilities
and are referred to as a chime child or chime children.
Based on what source youre reading from the abilities you gain when being a child child
really varies and the hours that are considered chime hours also vary.
According to Charles Dickens its 12am exactly, others claim its at the hours of monastic
prayer s o8pm midnight and 4am.
Either way regardless of the hours the abilities are pretty Xmen esque.
Some people become super perceptive with animals and become able to communicate with them,
some become able to see and speak to ghosts and fairies, some gain healing abilities,
but most of all being around chime children causes you to lower you guard and speak super
openly so these people know a lot.
Chime children definitely aint playing around.
But there is a catch.
Its said that if these people use their powers selfishly instead of to benefit others, they
will perish.
Id love to be a chime child honestly, i need to whatsapp my mum and ask her what time i
was born now.
Filling our number 7 slot we have The Ratman of Southend.
And its a pretty straightforward myth honestly.
Now this one is more of an urban legend than a myth but i feel like in some cases both
of those things are synonymous so shh.
The myth of ratman goes like this, years ago an old homeless man was seeking shelter in
the winter and decided to sit in an underpass.
A group of teenagers came from nowhere and started beating up the man nearly killing
him.
It said that as he was dying a bunch of vermin living in the underpass started eating his
face.
After he finally passed, many people have reported seeing a ghost in that underpass
whereas others have heard very loud ratlike squealing and large claws moving across the
walls.
Too big for a normal rat, but the right size for a ratman.
Now at number 6 is Wayland’s Smithy.
Now Waylands Smithy is a neolithic chamber tomb and long barrow in Oxfordshire.
Archaeologists say it was built soon after agriculture was introduced to Britain from
Europe.
But post 1738 it was believed that the site held more than what met the eye.
Francis Wise, whoever that is, said that a long time ago an invisible Smith used to live
at Wayland Smith as he called it.
If a travellers horse ever lost a shoe on the road all they had to do was bring the
horse and a small bit of money to Wayland Smith and leave both there for a while.
Upon their return the money would be gone and horses shoe would be back on.
Ever since the myth started circulating there have been countless coins left at the site
with people literally shoving them in there in any crack they can.
These days people from The National Trust remove the coins from the site and donate
them to local charities but the myth lives on.
Coming in at number 5 is Drake’s Drum.
Now this is more of a historical myth surrounding Sir Francis Drake and if you dont know who
he is, he was basically an explorer, sea captain, and slave trader during the Elizabethan era.
I feel like most people have heard of his name but a lot of people dont know what his
story actually is so there you go.
Now it was said that he used to take a drum with him on his voyages around the world.
The drum was pretty boujee, it had his coat of arms on it, some silver studs, it was decorative.
Either way the drum was with him on his last voyage and as he was laying on his deathbed
his last wish was that the drum be returned to England and in times of trouble it should
be hit in order to call him back from heaven and rescue the country.
Heavy words really.
The drum was then given back to his family but its become a huge icon in english folklore.
Many say theyve heard the drum beating during times of conflict like when World War I began
or when Napoleon was brought to England as a prisoner to name a few.
Despite it being hit a bunch, a resurrected Sir Francis Drake is nowhere to be found.
At number 4 is Reynardine.
This was originally an old ballad called The Mountains High which basically said Reynardine
was a werefox that could attract all beautiful women to him and when they did come to him
he would kidnap them and take them away to his castle.
One day he encounters a girl in the wilderness and abducts her.
What happens after that point is left open ended but im sure you can all imagine what
kind of horrors would be taking place.
Probs netflix and chill.
Either way the myth first started going around as a warning to young girls to not trust charming
strangers.
Which is fair enough, we still shouldnt do that now just making it clear.
Either way as time went on the myth became a lot more magical and a lot less rational
so this one is most likely untrue but its still a good story to tell when you want to
get some morals across to children.
Filling our number 3 slot are Brownies.
Not the chocolate kind but im really hungry right now so i totally wish it was.
Damn my bad lunch planning.
Either way like Boggarts, Brownies are also household spirits but theyre surprisingly
a lot nicer.
They usually come out at night and actually perform chores around the house and farming
tasks.
What more could you ask for honestly.
To keep them happy all you literally have to do is leave out a bowl of cream or milk
for them by the hearth of your house and theyll be happy chappies really.
Thats like the best trade deal in the history of trade deals, to wake up and have your house
cleaned all for a bowl of milk im not even mad at that.
I wouldnt even ask the brownie to pay rent, like sleep in MY bed if you want to just please
clean the house.
But its not all rainbows and butterflies.
If a brownie thinks youve offended it or taken advantage of it in any way itll leave your
house forever and will pull pranks on you.
Again if you anger them theyll turn violent and malicious like Boggarts.
Are they distant cousins or something?
Looks Wise theyre described as ugly, which is just rude, covered in hair, and brown skinned.
In olden times they were said to be human sized but nowadays the myth is that theyre
a lot smaller more like an elf.
They can even turn invisible and are usually wearing rags or are naked.
Which sounds very dobby like.
Now at number 2 is The Highgate Vampire.
This myth was huge in the 70s im talking proper media frenzy.
So in the late 60s a group of occult enthusiasts visited the Highgate cemetery in London.
according to them there were arranged flowers taken from graves and put in circular patterns
all pointing to a new grave that was uncovered.
The coffin was open and the body inside had a huge iron stake in the form of a cross driven
straight through the lid and into the corpses chest.
David Farrant, a journalist claimed he had seen a grey figure in the cemetery one night
and 13 other people responded to him saying they had seen something similar.
The accounts kept saying it was a tall man in a hat, a figure going into a pond, others
said it was a woman in white.
And then Sean Manchester whoever that is claimed it was a vampire.
So the media went between Seans story and Davids both competing to see whod get to the
bottom of the story first.
Sean hosted an exorcism in the cemetery and a bunch of hunters showed up swarming the
gates.
A few months later headless charred remains of a woman were found close to where the open
grave was.
Most believed it was the vampire doing black magic but no one knows for sure.
Regardless of which side of the myth you believe for the past 25 years numerous numerous people
have claimed seeing a vampire in the cemetery.
Are you one of those people?
Let me know below.
And finally at number 1 we have Longleat House.
The 1000 acre home is home to one of the longest mazes in the world, one of the best safari
parks in Europe and gardens for days.
But it has a dark past.
Back in 1733 the estate was owned by Viscount Weymouth and he soon married Lady Louisa who
moved into the house with him bringing with her a bunch of servants.
She was quite fond of one of the servants in particular, a footman.
Her fondness created jealousy among the other servants which caused them to tell the Viscount
that he was having an affair with Lady Louisa.
And its said that wasnt true but i have my doubts.
In a fit of rage he wanted revenge and the next events are a bit contested.
It was said he either hired someone to ambush the footman and throw him down the staircase
or he did it himself.
Either way the footman got royally screwed because he ended up dying from a broken neck
and was buried in the homes cellar.
The next day the viscount told Lady Louisa that the footman had left in the early morning
but she got the feeling something wasnt right.
She spent all her waking hours searching the house for him which took a major toll on her
body causing her to die from pneumonia mid birth.
She died never knowing the true story behind the footman and so people claim they still
see the ghost of her on the estate looking for him.
Many have reported seeing a lady in grey in the corridors of the house and near the stairway
he died near.
Despite this sounding completely made up they actually found a body in the cellar of the
house and it was a male dressed in period footman uniform.
So the story checks out and so does the ghost.
Why couldnt the Viscount just have asked his wife about the situation like why did the
footman have to die?
And thats it for todays video guys!
I surprisingly learnt a lot in this video, usually with myth and legend videos i know
a couple of the stories on the list already but with this one i really didnt know any
of them and thats what i wanted.
I wanted to do ones we hadnt done before so hopefully i did i havent confirmed it though
so dont come for me.
Anyway peeps im your host Ayman Hasan and ill see you next time.
Byee.