Legends
At nearby Spinney Abbey Farm once stood an old priory. Local tales tell how monks can still be heard chanting in the still of the night, and that their ghosts have been seen. Strange lights are reputed to be visible, which could be either ghostly or just natural Will o' the wisp. These lights can be seen wandering from the farm to Spinney Bank, which is a bank now between Spinney Abbey and Wicken Fen. The most well-known legend is of the phantom black dog, sometimes known as Old Shuck or Black Shuck. This legend is a common one across East Anglia and is applied to many locations. The dog is said to have eyes the size of bike lamps and it is also said that, if anyone is unfortunate enough to meet the demonic dog and happens to look into its red/orange eyes, that are described as "burning like fire", then their death will soon follow.
The Fen is thought to be the resting place of PC Richard Peake, a policeman who disappeared on 18 August 1855, aged 24. He went missing from his beat at Wicken in the early hours in suspicious circumstances, having earlier been involved in a disturbance. It was suspected he was murdered by a local gang and hidden on the Fen, but his body was never found.
Read more about this topic: Wicken Fen
Famous quotes containing the word legends:
“Therefore our legends always come around to seeming legendary,
A path decorated with our comings and goings. Or so I’ve been told.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“a child’s
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Of sunlight
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“Farm boys wild to couple
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—James Dickey (b. 1923)