Nanny Rutt - The Story

The Story

The story of Nanny Rutt, being an oral tradition, varies depending on who is telling the story. There are, however, some features that are common to all versions of the tale. The following is the central parts of the story, supplemented by additional details that may or may not be included, depending on the individual story teller.

The story begins with a young girl, given different names in versions, who had arranged to meet with a lover at the well in Math wood. The girl sets off into the wood in the early evening, but on her way, meets an old woman wrapped in a shawl that casts a deep shadow on her face in the evening light. A conversation between the old woman and the girl ensues, and she is warned about the dangers of the wood at night, as well as those of eloping without the permission of her parents. Ignoring these warnings, she continues on her way, and finds her way to the source of the well, deep inside the wood, where she had arranged to meet her lover. Here she waits for a long time, and by the time she realises he is not coming it is very dark. Tears from the rejection in her eyes cloud her vision which already poor due to the darkness of the woods, and she soon become hopelessly lost. Eventually, she stumbles upon a clearing in the woods, which holds an overgrown stone building, little bigger than a small shack. In the doorway stands the old woman, her shawl now pulled back to reveal a hideous face lit by the ghostly moonlight. As she turns to run she stumbles and falls. The old woman’s shadow falls on her as she advances, freezing her body with a paralysing chill, and her throat goes dry as she tries to scream. The girl is never seen again.