6 Weird Supernatural Stories From 18th Century Great Britain
The so-called Century of Enlightenment was replete with superstitious supernatural episodes, some visible and others so dark that ended in tragedies.
1. Ghost Savior
The Chronicle notes that on December 21, 1783, an English drunk named John Thomas fell into a deep well. It was searched in vain and, a week later, a shepherd saw a man sitting near the well. As he approached, the figure vanished into thin air. Then the shepherd heard Thomas moaning and the drunk saved his life thanks to the ghost.
2. Ghost Crow
According to the accounts of the time, in 1751 appeared in West Drayton, England, a strange crow flying inside a church. The bird was chased and thrown to the ground with a stick, but it instantly disappeared before the eyes of its attackers.
3. The Wellington Stalker
This story refers to John and Ann Lambert, a couple from Wellington, England, who lived in 3 houses in the course of 1753 since he had to move every now and then for a spirit that did all kinds of outrages at night. The authorities could not solve anything, and in the end, the outrages were attributed to the ghost of Henry Cooke, an occupant of the first house who had died in 1752.
4. The Suffolk Sea Dragon
In 1749, the English coast of Suffolk was shaken by the news of the appearance of a marine monster within the networks of some fishermen. The creature was like a dragon and as soon as its captors opened the net escaped flying, but not before leaving lying on the ground several of the fishermen.
5. The Scottish Seer
Credits: DR JULIAN PAREN / VÍA: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
In the summer of 1745, a woman named Jane Lowe who worked as a housekeeper for the Pringle family said she had seen Mrs. Pringle, daughter of her employer, walking through a brook in Clifton Park. Her employer told her it was impossible, since the young Pringle was in France, a thousand miles away. Then it was learned that Miss Pringle had died in France just as she had been seen in Scotland.
6. The Tragic Story of Ruth Osborn
In April 1751, an old beggar named Ruth Osborn of Tring, England asked for something to eat from a farmer. The man refused, and Osborn said, “The king will take you and your pigs out of your selfishness.” Soon after, the farmer began to suffer a series of calamities and accused Osborn of witchcraft.
On April 18, 1751, Ruth Osborn and her husband John were drowned in a pond. Thomas Colley, one of the couple’s killers, was captured and hanged. Since then people say that their ghost wanders through Tring.
It seems incredible that one of these unlikely stories that mixed alcohol, superstition, mental disorders and the desire to joke has been able to end in real deaths.
