Boggarts

A boggart is a creature in British folklore – a household boggart, or a malevolent boggart inhabiting marshland, sharp bends in the road, or residing under bridges. Other names of this group include bug, bogey, bogun, boggle. Derived from (or related to) Old English pucel, Irish puca, and Welsh bwg.

The household form causes mischief and objects disappear, milk will sour, dogs will go lame. It may even sneak into the bedroom at night and squeeze your toes. Although, hanging a horseshoe on the door of your house, and leaving a pile of salt outside your bedroom is said to keep a boggart away.

The boggarts inhabiting marshes or holes in the ground are often attributed more serious evil doing, such as the abduction of children and leading unsuspecting travellers to their deaths.

As to their appearance and size, many are described as relatively human-like in form, though usually uncouth, ugly and with bestial attributes. In my native county of Ayrshire, the Boggart is referenced as a type of Hobgoblin. Boggarts in Cumbria and Lancashire sometimes take the form of various animals, though they appear to favour the form of a farm animal, although their ‘true’ form is more goblin-like. One tale is of Owd Hob, who had the form of an archetypical devil – horns, cloven hooves and a tail.

Boggart of Graythwaite

A goblin inhabits the area around Graythwaite, and is known to terrify those walking the area late at night.

The Natland Boggarts

There is said to be a number of Boggarts chained to the foundations of the bridge at Natland. If you place your ear to the stone in the centre of the bridge, you can hear their chains rattling, or if especially lucky, you can hear one swearing.

Nether Bolton Boggarts

All that remains of Nether Bolton is a large stone wall on the path from Bridge End to Hawes. This wall was built by Furness Abbey to secure their grazing sheep from wolves. The Nether Bolton Boggarts are rarely seen during the day, but they are always up to mischief.

The Boggart of Leece

On the outskirts of the village of Leece, under the bridge there lived a Boggart. Perhaps linked to the tale of the White Dobbie (see below). The road and surrounding farmland was haunted by this spirit. Livestock dared not to venture too close to the bridge, and a number of sightings of strange animals, including a large black cat/dog common place. The farmer demolished the bridge, although a ‘presence’ remains around the area at night.

Lancashire Boggart Tale: Grizlehurst Boggart

Published in 1861; the author, Edwin Waugh had a conversation with an elderly couple one evening about their local boggart. They maintained that the boggart was buried at a nearby bend in the road under an ash tree, along with a cockerel with a stake driven through it. Despite being buried, the boggart was still able to create trouble. A farmer’s wife, the old couple claimed, just two weeks earlier had heard doors banging in her farmhouse at night, then loud laughter, she looked out to see three candles casting blue light and a creature with red burning eyes leaping about. The following morning many marks of cloven hooves were seen outside the house. The couple claimed that the boggart had unhitched their own horse and overturned their cart on occasion. “Never name it [the boggart]” the old man repeated, and stated that he would never dig near its grave.

References:

Heywood History. Edwin Waugh and the Grizlehurst Boggart

Lancashire Folk. The Clegg Hall Boggart, 2016

Norgate, M. and J. The tale of the Beckside Boggle, 2016

Westwood, J. and Simpson, J. Haunted England, 2010. Penguin Books

Bowker, J. 1878 Goblin Tales of Lancashire