Ghostly Folklore - The Phantom Smuggler

John Smythe - The phantom smuggler.

Norfolk is in the East of England, it is a coastal county with the Sea, bordering its north and east coast. The west part of Norfolk is made up of fens, an area of gently undulating marshy lowlands.  To the east is The Broads a network of rivers and lakes that extend into the neighbouring county of Suffolk.   

Norfolk has a reputation as a haunted region with many stories of ghosts, it was a place notorious for smuggling in the 17th and 18th centuries. With crafty boatmen sneaking goods past the government excise men – officials responsible for collecting excise duty and upholding  the ever unpopular tax laws - under cover of darkness.

There is a local legend, associated with the coastal village of Weybourne. It is said to be haunted by the spirit of a former smuggler named John Smythe, who can be heard about the area on certain nights. Here is the account of his tale.

According to the legend. One night, John Smythe and his fellow crew of smugglers were “replenishing their supplies” aka smuggling goods on to the shores of the pebble beach of Weybourne. John separated from them in order to meet up with a landlady from a local inn, promising he would be back by a certain time.

While John Smythe was gone, excise officers found out about the smuggling and made their way over to Weybourne. The smugglers were alerted that trouble was coming their way and headed back to their boat, waiting offshore for John Smythe to return.

But as John Smythe lost track of time and was late, the other smugglers believing he had been caught, rowed to their ship. While the men were still rowing back, Smythe returned and whistled to attract their attention.

Instead of being rescued, John Smythe found himself cornered by custom officers who were hiding nearby. He headed into the water, knowing the Kings men would not follow, and still hoping the crew would come back to rescue him. But, unable to swim, John Smythe would drown, still whistling for help.

It is said that poor Johns ghost can be heard about the district on the nights of a full moon, still whistling for his crew. Some unfortunate people also claim to have seen his apparition stalking Weybourne’s pebble beach, appearing only once the whistling has finally faded away.

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