GhostHidden
The Spectre Horseman
Her handkerchief was in the grave.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Suburban lanes on the edge of St Helens
- Legend from
- Angel Inn tale; Prescot Reporter (1924)
- Best time
- Night
- Tone
- Gothic
A dead lover rode through the night to bring her home, and his grave held her handkerchief.
In 1924 the Prescot Reporter printed a tale said to have been told in the 1700s by the landlady of the Angel Inn. A rich farmer at Giller's Green in Eccleston broke off his daughter's engagement and sent her away to relatives. The young man died of a broken heart, though she did not know. One night he came riding her father's horse, carrying her mother's hood, and brought her home behind him. He complained of a headache, so she bound his head with her handkerchief. Her parents did not believe her story. When the farmer opened the young man's grave, his body lay there with her handkerchief round his head.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.