Cobbytype
Well-Known Member
I thought it would be interesting to share some spooky equestrian tales, what with Halloween just around the corner.
So, first of all, I'm not a looney
I don't read tea leaves, I don't see auras or get messages from beyond, but there have been just a few things that have happened during my life which have no logical explanation. I'm over 50 btw, so the odd things have been interspersed by many years of ordinary stuff.
I live in a tiny village, which is for the most part sleepy and peaceful. Twenty odd years ago I had 2 Jack Russells. They were young, fit and energetic. I always gave them a long walk during my extended lunch break and then a short walk last thing at night. If I was walking alone with the dogs, I'd only walk to the edge of the village and back, as once the street lights ran out, the lanes were very dark.
As usual, I took the JR's out for their evening walk on their leads. I walked down my road and took a right turn onto a road that, at that time, only had 3 houses, a village hall and a large old rambling hall which stood back about 300m from the road. I was always quite alert when walking, as on one occasion I came across some 'lampers' who fixed me and the dogs in their spotlight and for a moment I thought they were going to shoot. Instead they just dazzled us for a time and drove past with a couple of dodgy looking men sat in the back of the truck with their guns pointing out. I kept my head down and carried on walking and they carried on by. I digress...
So, I'd walked past the 3 houses and past the entrance to the hall, which is where the last village lamp post is. It was time to turn back, but I went slightly further than usual. The dogs were busy as usual, strutting out in front, enjoying their evening stroll. I had to keep my wits about me, as one of my JR's was very aggressive to other animals, so I was always on the look out for anything she might get hold of - she wasn't fussy, cats, hares, other dogs were all good game for a fight. Suddenly I noticed a large-ish white shape in the road ahead of us. It looked like a large sheep and it was looking at us. It wasn't far away, maybe about 10 metres or so. I immediately turned the dogs around - it was 11.30 at night and the last thing I wanted was the inevitable yapping, aggression and excitement that would no doubt wake the sleeping village.
I headed back home, thankful that I'd spotted the sheep before the dogs had. I thought that it was really odd seeing a sheep, as at that time there weren't any in the village; most of the land is arable around here. I had a think about calling someone to notify them of the stray sheep, but didn't know any of the farmers in neighbouring villages and it was late, so I left it at that. By the next day it was all but forgotten.
For the next few weeks all was fine and I did my usual evening walks without anything eventful happening. As I live in the middle of the village, I used to vary my routes, but each one was no more than a few hundred metres, as the village is small and I didn't like venturing out into the dark lanes. Then one night, the exact same thing happened. I walked the dogs just that little bit further than usual and the white shape was in the same spot again. It was stood still and I know it was looking towards us, so once again I turned the dogs around and hot footed it home. 'How strange' I thought; to see the same thing in the same place. I did wonder why a sheep would just stand there staring and I did think it odd that a sheep would stray so far as it's more than a mile to the next village. But soon it was forgotten.
My sister called around one evening and she stayed quite late. At that time she had a spaniel and we decided to take a walk together. I had to be careful as my aggressive JR would only just about tolerate my sister's dog and given half a chance she'd pounce and bite the unsuspecting spaniel. So, we're walking together, chatting. We walked past the hall and onwards into darkness. I spotted the white shape ahead, which was stood in the same spot as before and said to my sister 'Can you see what I can see?' A nervous voice replied 'Yes'. We did no more and turned around and hot footed it home. I told my sister that I'd seen 'it' before, but had initially thought it was a stray sheep.
A couple of days later my sister came to tell me something. She'd mentioned what we'd seen to a chap who had lived in the village all his life. She'd expected him to laugh and tease her when she told him of the white shape in the road, but he didn't. Apparently, as legend has it, what we saw was a white pony. There's a wood about another 300m up the road, which has an old ice house in it and the ponies would pull the ice from the wood to the hall. The pony looked small (apparently) because the road has been build up since the days when it would only have been a dirt track.
I have to drive along the road at night sometimes and I often hold my breath when I pass the ice house wood, just in case the white shape appears, but I've not seen it since those sightings all those years ago. But I did stop walking up there at night after my sister told me we'd seen a ghost!
So, first of all, I'm not a looney
I live in a tiny village, which is for the most part sleepy and peaceful. Twenty odd years ago I had 2 Jack Russells. They were young, fit and energetic. I always gave them a long walk during my extended lunch break and then a short walk last thing at night. If I was walking alone with the dogs, I'd only walk to the edge of the village and back, as once the street lights ran out, the lanes were very dark.
As usual, I took the JR's out for their evening walk on their leads. I walked down my road and took a right turn onto a road that, at that time, only had 3 houses, a village hall and a large old rambling hall which stood back about 300m from the road. I was always quite alert when walking, as on one occasion I came across some 'lampers' who fixed me and the dogs in their spotlight and for a moment I thought they were going to shoot. Instead they just dazzled us for a time and drove past with a couple of dodgy looking men sat in the back of the truck with their guns pointing out. I kept my head down and carried on walking and they carried on by. I digress...
So, I'd walked past the 3 houses and past the entrance to the hall, which is where the last village lamp post is. It was time to turn back, but I went slightly further than usual. The dogs were busy as usual, strutting out in front, enjoying their evening stroll. I had to keep my wits about me, as one of my JR's was very aggressive to other animals, so I was always on the look out for anything she might get hold of - she wasn't fussy, cats, hares, other dogs were all good game for a fight. Suddenly I noticed a large-ish white shape in the road ahead of us. It looked like a large sheep and it was looking at us. It wasn't far away, maybe about 10 metres or so. I immediately turned the dogs around - it was 11.30 at night and the last thing I wanted was the inevitable yapping, aggression and excitement that would no doubt wake the sleeping village.
I headed back home, thankful that I'd spotted the sheep before the dogs had. I thought that it was really odd seeing a sheep, as at that time there weren't any in the village; most of the land is arable around here. I had a think about calling someone to notify them of the stray sheep, but didn't know any of the farmers in neighbouring villages and it was late, so I left it at that. By the next day it was all but forgotten.
For the next few weeks all was fine and I did my usual evening walks without anything eventful happening. As I live in the middle of the village, I used to vary my routes, but each one was no more than a few hundred metres, as the village is small and I didn't like venturing out into the dark lanes. Then one night, the exact same thing happened. I walked the dogs just that little bit further than usual and the white shape was in the same spot again. It was stood still and I know it was looking towards us, so once again I turned the dogs around and hot footed it home. 'How strange' I thought; to see the same thing in the same place. I did wonder why a sheep would just stand there staring and I did think it odd that a sheep would stray so far as it's more than a mile to the next village. But soon it was forgotten.
My sister called around one evening and she stayed quite late. At that time she had a spaniel and we decided to take a walk together. I had to be careful as my aggressive JR would only just about tolerate my sister's dog and given half a chance she'd pounce and bite the unsuspecting spaniel. So, we're walking together, chatting. We walked past the hall and onwards into darkness. I spotted the white shape ahead, which was stood in the same spot as before and said to my sister 'Can you see what I can see?' A nervous voice replied 'Yes'. We did no more and turned around and hot footed it home. I told my sister that I'd seen 'it' before, but had initially thought it was a stray sheep.
A couple of days later my sister came to tell me something. She'd mentioned what we'd seen to a chap who had lived in the village all his life. She'd expected him to laugh and tease her when she told him of the white shape in the road, but he didn't. Apparently, as legend has it, what we saw was a white pony. There's a wood about another 300m up the road, which has an old ice house in it and the ponies would pull the ice from the wood to the hall. The pony looked small (apparently) because the road has been build up since the days when it would only have been a dirt track.
I have to drive along the road at night sometimes and I often hold my breath when I pass the ice house wood, just in case the white shape appears, but I've not seen it since those sightings all those years ago. But I did stop walking up there at night after my sister told me we'd seen a ghost!

