Ghoslty Folklore for Halloween - The Spectre of the Flying Monk

Eilmer prepares for lift off... Chocks away!

My ghostly Halloween journey continues, today I will be looking at the spectre of Malmesbury Abbey.

       Malmesbury Abbey is located in Wiltshire, in England.  It was a former Benedictine Monastery first built in the 7th Century, it was finally closed at the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th Century. It is home to the ghost of Eilmer. The monk who flew.

       Eilmer’s story is an unusual one, he is said to be one of the first people to fly-or glide. His story was recorded in, The Chronicle of the Kings of England, by William of Malmesbury, a medieval historian, in about 1125 AD. Here is what he writes of Eilmer’s exploits.

       He was a man learned for those times, of ripe old age, and in his early youth had hazarded a deed of remarkable boldness. He had by some means, I scarcely know what, fastened wings to his hands and feet so that, mistaking fable for truth, he might fly like Daedalus, and, collecting the breeze upon the summit of a tower, flew for more than a furlong [201 metres]. But agitated by the violence of the wind and the swirling of air, as well as by the awareness of his rash attempt, he fell, broke both his legs and was lame ever after. He used to relate as the cause of his failure, his forgetting to provide himself a tail.

       If the story is true then brave (or foolish, depending on how you look at it) Eilmer glided about 201 meters, meaning he would have been in flight for approximately 15 seconds. But it is possible he is not the first person to fly!

       It is said in 559 A.D, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi province, China, forced his prisoners to attach themselves to kites, then throw themselves from a tower, most died. Later, in the 9th century, the Andalusian Abbas, Ibn Firnas attempted the feat with wings covered with feathers, launching himself from the Tower of Cordoba, he too was injured.

       However, this is Eilmer’s story, and it is his ghost we are interested in. Witnesses who claim to have seen his spectre, talk of a hooded, ghostly monk drifting amongst the tomb stones in the Abbey graveyard, at twilight. He seems to be searching for something, and after a while he stops, throws back his head and raises his arms high-in what could be a eureka moment. Then slowly he sinks into ground, leaving a light mist behind him, which gradually dissipates. There are other reports of his spirit being seen climbing the stairs in one of the Abbey towers.

       The Smithsonian channel did a short video on our man Eilmer, it is worth watching. The link is given below.

        I hope you enjoyed this little bit of spooky history, I will be back with another creepy Halloween tale next week, till then, stay safe, stay spooky.