Zowie Swan

Pendle is well know for its witches, quite literally overlooking Burnley. In fact the town has rich folklore of its own with ancient monuments, demonic pigs, satanic burn marks, haunted churchyards and skriking hell-hounds. We find out all about them on the 16th day of Hallowe’en Tales. On the outskirts of the borough of Pendle sits the town of Burnley. The town lies in a natural three-forked valley where the River Brun meets the River Calder. It is surrounded by open fields, with wild and windswept moorland above it. Today we know it as a relic of the Industrial Revolution,…

A grand house in Wesham was one of many secret refuges for priests following the dissolution of the monasteries but Father George Haydock met a brutal end when he was given up by a Fylde Coast resident. We find out more day 15 of Hallowe'en tales. The once great manor of Mowbreck Hall was built in the 12th century in the old parish of Wesham, near modern-day Kirkham. It was later rebuilt in the Georgian period and, interestingly, local entrepreneur Basil Newby grew up there. He's shared very fond memories of the hall, saying it was like living in Narnia,…

How did a Blackpool peasant woman manage what many doctors of the time late 1800s could not? On day 14 of spooky season, we serve up another slice of local folklore One of the main roles of healers through the ages has been to control blood loss. A person need only to lose 20 per cent of their blood to potentially end up in haemorrhagic shock. When 40 per cent is lost, organs begin to shut down, and in most cases, this is fatal. Over the war-torn centuries, many a battlefield surgeon had to think on their feet to try…

On Friday the 13th we release our 13th Hallowe'en Tale, and it's one of the most gruesome yet, featuring an adulterous woman who commits a terrible act to hide her sin. In a series of articles from The Fleetwood Chronicle noting the history of certain Fylde Farmsteads, I came across one of particular interest from 1st January 1926. This report contained some interesting information about old Boggart House Farm, near Warton. There are a number of strange tales associated with this little thatched farm. Firstly, on stormy nights a great phantom ship could be seen surging out of spectral waves…

A fascinating blend of history, folklore and ghost story awaits you on day 12 of 31 Days of Hallowe’en Tales, as Zowie Swan takes us to the Fylde Coast's northern peninsular Growing up on a council estate in Fleetwood, I was always a little curious about the big old private boarding school just down the road from where I lived. But when I heard about the ghost of Lady Fleetwood, I was absolutely hooked. Rossall School itself is located in what was once Ross Hall. It's much older than you may first expect and has a very interesting history. Pre-conquest…

Cleworth Hall no longer stands and the strange happenings within it have faded from memory, until now. On day 11 of our spooky tales we learn about a mass possession that lead to the hanging of a cunning man. A black and white timbered, moated manor house named Cleworth Hall once stood in Tyldesley, near Leigh in Lancashire. Between 1594-1597 it was the scene of a strange and vast possession which affected seven people within the household. This unusual possession was ultimately responsible for taking the life of local witch and cunning man, John Hartley. In 1594 Nicolas Starkie was…

Usually associated with Celtic folklaw, how did a banshee come to herald the death of a resident of the Fylde Coast? We find out, on the 10th day of our spooky local tales. During my research, I came across a singular account of a banshee type spirit that haunted a family in Poulton-le-Fylde. For those unfamiliar, a banshee is usually an exclusively Celtic haunting, associated chiefly with Ireland, but also with Scotland and Wales. A "woman of the fairies”, these supernatural beings' mournful wails or lamentations at night are believed to foretell the death of a member of the family…

An ancient body of water that once dominated the landscape, the black pool of Marton Mere gave name to the town itself. It seems fitting that it is still haunted by the monsters of yore. Zowie Swan reveals more, on the ninth day of tales inspired by local folklore. A very curious article was published by the Fleetwood Chronicle on Friday 20th January 1933. This article describes the ghosts of the Fylde Coast and is a very interesting read, but one part in particular was incredibly intriguing. It refers to two boggarts or spirits who were known to haunt the…

This October local writer Zowie Swan is drawing on local folklore to give us 31 days of spooky stories. Today, we learn about Sarah Siddons whose captivating Lady Macbeth still haunts theatre goers today. Lancaster's Grand Theatre was built in 1781 and was one of the first permanent theatres in Britain. Today it is the third oldest theatre in England and has number of spooky residents that still tread the boards. Most famous of all its spectres is that of the legendary Sarah Siddons. Sarah was the premier actress of Georgian Britain and cut a mesmerising figure on stage. "She…

A historical gem is crumbling and sinking into a boggy Lancashire hillside, abandoned by its owners who were too frightened to return. On day seven of our Hallowe'en Tales, drawing on local folklore, we find out more about the rotting remains of Extwistle Hall. Extwistle Hall in Briercliffe, is one of the oldest buildings in the district of Burnley. It lies in withering ruins, empty since 1975, it sits alone on a bleak hillside, with only its memories and spirits for company. This land is old. The hills and valleys are littered with cairns, standing stones and remains of old…