I think English folklore is among the most unique
this tends to be the case for island nations
many English legends were born from ancient pagan beliefs
others have emerged since and reflect their own period of history
they were enshrined in fiction during the 19th century
but the original tales tend to be a lot more dark
the first written account of this legend comes from 1595
It tells that the wealthy parents of two young children suddenly passed away
the children fall under the care of their uncle until they are old enough for their inheritance
but their uncle wanted their money
So he hired some bandits to kill them
he told the children they were being taken to London to live there
the plan was for the bandits to kill the children deep in the woods
But they didn't have the heart to do so
they simply abandoned the children in the woods
finding themselves lost and alone, the children soon died of starvation
Their ghosts are said to haunt wayland wood
looking for revenge against their uncle - who did receive their inhabitants
for many centuries, parents would leave pairs of open scissors beside their children's bed
this was thought to ward off evil fairies who were known to kidnap children
in the place of the abducted child they would leave a changeling
that's a young fairy child which has been transformed by magic to look human
so the parents would have no idea their child had been replaced overnight
and would unknowingly raise the changeling as their own
over time it will look less and less human until the parents realize what's happened
meanwhile, their child had been taken to the fairy Kingdom
where they would be forced into slavery forever
the hairy hands of Dartmoor emerged as a popular legend in the early 20th century
it's a ghost tale set in the National Park of Dartmoor
in the early days of motor travel, there were many mysterious accidents in Dartmoor roads
In 1921,
an army captain was driving through the area
when a floating pair of hairy hands appeared out of nowhere
they grabbed onto his steering wheel and forced him to drive off the road
three years later a married couple were staying in the area
they reported that a pair of ghostly hands had been scratching at their vehicle windows
the hands are said to belong to a man who once died there in a car crash
His deranged ghost now attacks anyone it can
I remember being told this legend as a child whenever on that road
I never saw the hands though
Legend tells that a creature called black Annis lives in the City of Leicester
it's never been clear what she actually is - perhaps a witch
she lives in a cave which is identified by the oak tree at the entrance
her skin is blue, and so she only leaves her cave at night
just looking directly at her can drive a person insane
Her purpose when outside is to find children
Who she will kidnap and consume
with her long arms, she would reach into houses and drag children outside
back at her cave, she would cook and eat them and wear their skin as clothing
sometimes in swamps and marsh-lands mysterious lights appear in the air
science is still unable to explain the lights, which look like balls of fire floating in the air
in folklore they are known as Will-o-the-wisp
they would appear before lonely travelers and lure them into following
they would lure the traveler away from the road and deep into the woods
Their light would disappear when they reached the center of the woods
leaving the traveler lost in the darkness
they have been described as being controlled by Robin good fellow
who was a mischievous woodland spirit
not far from London is Windsor Park
the area is associated with an ancient spirit called Herne the Hunter
On cold nights, he appears at the base of Herne's Oak
The tree on which he was executed by hanging
he can be seen riding through the shadowy woodland with his horse and owl
local people told their children to avoid him
as anyone who gets close enough to see the horns on his head will surely be killed
Herne is said to be the vengeful spirit of Richard Horne
who was hanged for poaching in the early 16th century
there was once a young girl who agreed to meet with her lover in the woods
after a few minutes of walking through the woods
she meets an old woman with her face covered by cloth
the old woman warned her against going into the woods alone but she didn't listen
she soon arrives at the well they agreed to meet at
she waited there for hours before realizing he wasn't coming
by that time it was too dark for her to find her way back
she was lost. But soon found an old stone building covered in ivy
at the entrance she sees the old woman from earlier
but her face is no longer hidden
Her appearance is so terrifying that the girl finds herself frozen in fear
she was even unable to scream as the old woman walks towards her
in medieval times it was believed that a mysterious species of human live deep in the woods
they were covered in hair and possessed great strength
they carry around big wooden clubs and are said to have uncontrollable anger
from which their name comes
they are known as wild man of the woods
parents would warn their children never to enter the woods alone for fear of the Wildman
most people don't believe in their existence today but they are still used as a symbol of nobility
in 1966,
a clergyman entered the National Maritime Museum in London
while there he took a photograph of the tulip staircase inside
nothing seemed unusual at first
but when the photograph was fully developed
He saw a ghostly figure holding onto the stair rail
the photo was examined by experts who concluded it had not been manipulated in any way
many see the photo as confirming a local legend
the national maritime museum is said to be haunted by the ghost of someone dissected there
before becoming a museum
the building was used by a medical school
the village of Lambton is home to this next tale
the son of a lord once avoided church to go fishing
he captured an eel and threw it down a well
over the next few years,
the eel grew big enough to escape
the man eventually returned to the village after seven years of military service
by this time, the giant worm was strong enough to terrorize the entire community
he takes on the task of killing it but has no idea how
a local witch told him to stick Arrow Heads to his armour, to stop the worm from crushing him
so when the worm did try to crush him, it was cut into pieces by the arrowheads
the pieces fell into the river below and the worm was dead