Secret lovers’ trysts, a deal with the devil, a vengeful ghost, pennies from heaven, the plague and killer foxes… all have been associated with one of my favourite standing stones – Churn Milk Joan. The stone stands around 7 feet tall on the outskirts of Midgely Moor overlooking the Calder Valley, and although it probablyContinue reading “Churn Milk Joan: Lonely Stone Tells her tales”
Author Archives: Paul Weatherhead
The Bradford Ghost 1868
“For the first time he then looked back and stopped. I felt the effect of that look creep over me like the feeling must be that comes over the prey of the boa-constrictor when it first knows its doom. I trembled…” (Mr Chester, 1868) In the spring of 1868, Bradford was in the grip ofContinue reading “The Bradford Ghost 1868”
Hooded Giant Terrorises Yorkshire City! The Bradford Ghost
In September 1926, fear, panic and hysteria haunted the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. A giant ghostly figure in a hooded white cloak stalked the night streets terrorising the locals and then vanishing into the labyrinthine ginnels or over the rooftops. Armed mobs of vigilantes roamed the streets hunting for the Bradford Ghost, who wasContinue reading “Hooded Giant Terrorises Yorkshire City! The Bradford Ghost”
The Deadly Embrace of the Devil Fish!
Devils of the Sea Pity the poor octopus. They only live for a year, but they have a weird alien like intelligence that’s diffused through their arms – a different way of being clever. Their weird appearance, though, engendered fear and loathing and monster octopus like creatures – Sea Devils – featured in a numberContinue reading “The Deadly Embrace of the Devil Fish!”
Russkies Zap Yank Spooks with Mind Melting Ray Gun!
Ooooh! Those Russians… (Boney M) Those nefarious Russians have been up to no good, as usual. According to a recently published joint report by US current affairs show 60 Minutes, German legacy newspaper Der Spiegel and NATO apologist website The Insider, nasty Russians have been zapping our poor freedom and democracy loving spies and diplomatsContinue reading “Russkies Zap Yank Spooks with Mind Melting Ray Gun!”
Yorkshire Serial Killer Witch’s Chicken Lays Doomsday Egg
In 1806, the good people of Leeds were preparing for the end of the world. Millenarian sects warned of the coming apocalypse and many were convinced they were living through the Last Days before the second coming of Jesus Christ. There were strange signs and wonders that portended End Times, and one of these cameContinue reading “Yorkshire Serial Killer Witch’s Chicken Lays Doomsday Egg”
Spiked or Spooked? The Myth of the Drink Spiking Bogeyman
Blurred vision and dirty thoughts Feel out of place, very distraught Feel something coming on…. ‘Somebody Put Something in my Drink’ (The Ramones) In every bar and every club they lurk, lying in wait for their helpless innocent victim. Concealed in their hands are vials of potent date rate drugs, and the minute the victimContinue reading “Spiked or Spooked? The Myth of the Drink Spiking Bogeyman”
Who Killed Navalny?
The death of Alexey Navalny in a Siberian prison on 16 February 2024 has been met with ghoulish glee by western news outlets. It’s an unmissable opportunity for an orgy of hypocrisy, sanctimony and demonisation of the Big Bad Bear. Navalny was just the kind of Russian politician that the West loved. He had allContinue reading “Who Killed Navalny?”
The Yorkshire Piper who Came Back from the Dead
On 27 March 1634, John Bartendale stood on the scaffold outside Micklegate Bar, York with a noose around his neck. Bartendale was a piper, a wandering musician who had turned to crime and been convicted of a felony. It seemed his piping days were over. The hangman pulled the lever, and Bartendale dropped through theContinue reading “The Yorkshire Piper who Came Back from the Dead”
Terror in Todmorden: Who was the Tod Shaker?
Over Christmas 1903 Todmorden was under a reign of terror, according to local and national press. For over two weeks at the end of December, a series of bizarre attacks by a strange new ‘bogey man’ created a sense of panic and alarm on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border. Just who was this bogey man, asked theContinue reading “Terror in Todmorden: Who was the Tod Shaker?”
Paul Weatherhead 