Channel Islands Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Helper
Location: St Peter Port - Private flat over a shop, Mansell Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century?
Further Comments: An unseen spirit at this home was said to help with the housework and help move furnishings around when required.
Wailing
Location: St Peter Port - Private residence (since demolished) along Smith Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: Another phantom locked in a cupboard was released when the owner Mrs de Jersey refused to believe local superstition and forced open the doors. The noise the entity made was so frightful the servants fled, and de Jersey had to call in the local clergy to lock the ghost back up.
Wailing
Location: St Peter Port - Private residence around Tour Beauregard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: One of several phantoms said to have been bound in the cupboards of the properties they haunted, this ghost could be heard groaning and wailing. Occupiers had tried to force the cupboard door open but failed.
Katherine Cawehes
Location: St Peter Port - Tower Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A floating black figure of a woman is thought to be Katherine Cawehes, who was burnt as a witch along with her two daughters in 1556. One of the daughters is said to have given birth during her execution, although the child was thrown back into the fire.
Headless Dog
Location: St Peter Port - Ville-au-Roi
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large black headless dog was said to patrol this road at night. Those brave enough to strike out at the hound hit nothing but air.
Homeless Ghost
Location: St Peter Port? - St. George House (original building pulled down)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: A ghost was locked in a cupboard in the old St. George house, but when the building was pulled down the entity escaped and took to wandering the garden at night. An attempt was made to rehome the ghost in the basement of the replacement building, but it is unclear whether it was successful.
Gateway to Fairyland
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Creux es Faies (megalithic tomb)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Tomb still present
Further Comments: Legend names this site as an entrance to fairyland, with the little people being seen milling around the doorway. If one left a bowl of porridge by the doorway with unfinished knitting overnight, by the following day the bowl would be empty and the knitting complete.
This Little Piggy...
Location: St Pierre du Bois - House at Le Lorier
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A sow and her litter were said to pass through the house, in protest of food to the poor being withheld.
Sitting the Shoulders of Giants
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Lane, Le Coudre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: A woman walking down the lane was escorted by a giant figure who carried another giant figure upon his shoulders. The figures both appeared and vanished without warning.
The Birds
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Les Jaonnets Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A flock of screeching invisible phantom birds apparently attacked a witness walking along this lane.
Strong Woman
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Menhir
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local man hid behind a hedge after spotting a short woman walking up the hill towards him. She was knitting while carrying something in her apron. She suddenly stopped and removed a five metre tall stone from her garment and planted it in the earth. The Menhir has remained there ever since.
Calf Sized Hound
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Road leading to St Saviours from L'Eree
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: This large black dog was said to have caused one man to die of shock after it sat in his cart.
Howling Creature
Location: St Pierre du Bois - Rocquaine Bay
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: prior to a storm
Further Comments: Heard but never seen, a creature was said to howl close to the reef when a storm was due.
Horse and Cart
Location: St Saviour - De Garis house (no longer present)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sounds of a horse and cart unloading stone has been heard around this former house. Another story says it is haunted by a sow and her piglets.
Headless Horseman
Location: St Saviour - Road between Le Gron and Les Piques
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Moonlit nights
Further Comments: The reason for this horseman dashing along the road is long forgotten.
Funeral
Location: St Saviour - Road leading to the parish church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Although not seen recently, a phantom funeral procession which passed along this road would be spotted during the day, making its way towards the church before vanishing.
Old Woman
Location: Torteval - Beach
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Looking for her son, a ghostly old woman wearing dark clothing is said to walk along the beach.
Le Tchan de Bouole
Location: Trinity - Bouley Bay
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Prior to a storm (last seen 2008)
Further Comments: This dog, sometimes dragging a large chain, is said to appear before the area is hit by bad weather. Writer Linda Corby claimed that three of her friends had seen this large black hound a few hours before the Great Storm of 1987 (although there may be a more mundane explanation), while in 2008 a car full of people were chased by a black shadow accompanied by the sound of dragging chains.
Fire
Location: Vale - L'Ancresse Bay - large stone (no longer standing)
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown - pre twentieth century
Further Comments: Despite dire warnings from locals, Mr Hocart of Belval had workers cut this former monolith into stone for his new house. The day the building work had finished, a fire broke out, killing two servants. Two ships which carried spare stone to the UK sank within the year, and even though Hocart moved into a second house to Alderney, the fire curse followed him, destroying that dwelling also. Hocart finally returned to Guernsey, but just prior to landing, some rigging fell and landed on his head, killing him instantly.
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