A Ghostly Folk tale for Halloween - The Haunting of Gibbet Lane.

A Gibbeted Man!

Gibbett lane runs from the small town of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, to the village of Kinver. This lonely path did not always bear this name.

Many years ago in 1812 a wealthy farmer from Dunsley Bank, who went by the name of Benjamin Robbins, had been visiting the local market at Stourbridge. He had tarried at an Ale House, The Nags Head, to enjoy its hospitality, whilst there he foolishly boasted about what a profitable day it had been for him. Unfortunately, he was overheard by William Howe, a local joiner who was down on his luck, and who fancied himself the highwayman.

When Ben finally left the public house, it was noted that William followed him shortly afterwards. Benjamin made his way down Fir Tree Lane, when he got about half a mile from his home, he was approached by William, who shot him in the back with a pistol, then stole a fine silver pocket watch and 21 shillings (a decent amount in those days.)

The Farmer must have been a hardy man for he was able to crawl home, where he was tended to by two locals doctors, sadly he lost his battle for life 10 days later.

The gentleman farmers of Kinver and Stourbridge were outraged by this crime and pressured the local magistrate to do something. He called in two Bow Street Runners to investigate the case, eventually they tracked down William Howe and he was imprisoned at Stafford.

There were two main pieces of evidence that saw him convicted of murder. Firstly William was identified by a pawnbroker, as the man who had pawned Bens expensive watch. Secondly it was discovered he owned two pistols.

He was sentenced and hung for his crimes, and then gibbeted from a tree close to the sight of the murder. When someone is gibbeted their dead body is hung in a cage for all too see, a terrifying sight for local travellers. A source of grim mythology for local boys. Ever afterwards the path was known as Gibbet Lane.

Eventually a year later his body was pulled down and his remains supposedly buried beneath the tree on which he hung.

Now Gibbet Lane is a haunted place, travellers report hearing strange noises, or of seeing odd shadows moving behind hedgerows. It was local sport amongst young men in the nearby public houses to dare each other to walk to the Gibbet tree, and see how long they could stand there in the dark. Many a brave fellow returned to the pub, shaking and unwilling to speak of what he had seen.

Here are two of the best reported encounters with this horrific spirit. Firstly, whilst he was gibbeted, two school children came along to have a look at the gruesome remains, one of them shouted up to ask William how he felt. He recieved the eerie response, “cold and clammy”.

Secondly, in the 1940’s a lady was walking along Gibbet Lane on a moonlit evening when she became aware of someone following her. It was, she said, the phantom, his neck stretched, swaying from side to side as if broken .  This terrifying spirit only vanished upon reaching the spot were William Howe’s corpse had hung in chains.

Thank you for joining me for these spooky Halloween folkstories, I do hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Next week is Bonfire night and I have found a particularly chilling tale connected to that ill fated evening which I will share. Until then, stay spooky friend.