Scaredy Cat: Phantom Felines and Cursed Cats

With so many types of ghosts out there, would it surprise you if I told you that some of them were animals? Not all places are haunted by spectral monks and sad ladies in white flowing gowns. Over the years there have been many reports of ghostly animals; I've covered the Black Shuck before and even touched on the Tower of Londons resident Bear, but other than that I haven't really covered any other creepy critters. So let's remedy that situation with some Phantom Felines.   

Photo by OliBac, CC BY 2.0

Killakee House, Dublin, Ireland.

Probably the most well-known ghost cat on this list. The Black Cat of Killakee House is incredibly angry and has every reason to be so, as it may have been a victim of the infamous Hellfire Club, who were active in the area during the 1700s and were responsible for the ritualistic death of a black cat. But the cat's story doesn't really start until 1968, when a young couple bought the house. It was a bit of a fixer-upper, but they had big plans for their new home and put the initial strange happening down to it being an old building in need of a lot of work. Then, in the 1970s, they bought in builders and things turned a little sinister. Eerie noises, doors opening on their own and temperature drops were only the start of it. The spooked builders found themselves stalked by a massive, terrifying black cat with red glowing eyes. They had had enough. They fled the house and refused to return. And although the family had originally believed the men were just being superstitious, they soon started to encounter the aggravated beast themselves and, in the end, had to call a priest to perform an exorcism on the property.

While this seemed to work at the time, it was only a temporary fix. A group visiting the house decided to hold a seance for fun and this started up the hauntings again. 

Short Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

Short Street is a narrow, cobbled street that runs along the back of a derelict pottery works and is home to a small collection of traditional workers cottages. These cottages are the haunt of one very shy little ghost. Often spotted sitting on the doorstep of one of the cottages, this friendly seeming puss is fond of disappearing into thin air when approached. Many people have been surprised by this and the ghost has been witnessed by multiple people at a time. Why it haunts the cottages is unknown, maybe it was just happy there in life and is unwilling to leave.

King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge, Somerset.

Built in the 1400s as a wool merchants house, King John's Hunting Lodge is now a museum and is home to more than one ghost. The one seen most often, by staff and visitors alike, is that of a friendly tabby cat. This benign little soul is often found hanging around in a wood-panelled room on the first floor and people have often fully interacted with it, talking and petting it, before having it pull a ghostly vanishing act on them. You're more likely to come across this spirit if you don't actively look for it, so enjoy the exhibits the museum has to offer and maybe you'll make a spooky new friend.

The Nutshell, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The Nutshell is a beautiful little pub, dating back to the 1800s, known as Britain's Smallest Pub. And while it's decorated by many interesting objects, what I'll be writing about is hanging above the bar; the resident mummified cat.

Hiding a dead cat in the walls of your house for good luck was a gruesome tradition that was common back in the 15th to 18th centuries, when people believed that it would protect the home from bad luck and evil spirits. And it would appear that this cat is happy to do so, providing you don't touch it. Invading this cat's personal space gets you cursed with some incredibly bad luck. A landlady once attempted to clean the cat, accidentally snapping off part of its tail. Soon after she lost her job. Following this, the cat was kidnapped (catnapped?) by a group of mischievous servicemen from nearby RAF Honington. Their amusement soon turned to horror, as they found themselves experiencing an unusual steak of accidents and fires, and they quickly returned the cat. 

So buy yourself a pint and have fun, but stick to admiring this cat from a safe distance.

The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire.

The Ancient Ram Inn is home to so many spirits, both good and bad, that it's worthy of a blog post of its very own. And with so many ghosts haunting one place, does it surprise you that a cat is lurking among them? It's said that, in the 16th century, a woman who was sentenced to be burnt at the stake managed to flee and took shelter in one of the rooms at the inn. She, like many innocent people during those times, had been accused of witchcraft. Despite her bid for freedom, the poor thing was recaptured and burnt at the stake with her familiar, a cat. This cat now haunts the inn, roaming the bedrooms and has a nasty habit of peeing on the beds. Charming.

As for the Ancient Ram Inn's other ghostly inhabitants? That's a blog post for another day.

So, those are our five paranormal felines. Have you ever visited any of these locations and experienced anything? Have you seen or heard about a phantom feline anywhere else? I'd love to hear your story. Let me know in the comments below or tag me in a post on Twitter.

Saint Guinefort, the Goodest of Boys.

No matter where you come from, you'll be familiar with the idea of Saints. Men and Women, of all ages, who have done much good in their lives and have usually died horribly for their faith. Even today, the Pope still canonizes new Saints, though the process can take years and there are strict guidelines to follow. As of writing this, the most recent of these new Saints would be Nunzio Sulprizio; in life a poor and gentle blacksmith, in death immortalised as patron saint of blacksmiths, those with disabilities and workers. Personally, I find the idea of Saints fascinating. There's so many of them that I could write about the subject for hours. Need a patron Saint to protect you from explosions and lightning strikes? Then you want Saint Barbara. Keep burning yourself on the stove while cooking? Then you're better off with Saint Lorenzo, Patron Saint of Cooks, who was martyred by being roasted alive over a large fire by angry Romans. Being quite the badass, it's said that while undergoing this ordeal that he turned to his captors and said "Turn me over, I'm done on this side." A chef to the last and an utter legend. But you're not here to read about them, you're here to read about something a little different. You're here to read about Saint Guinefort.

Hailing from 13th Century France, it was here that Saint Guinefort was venerated as a saint, although not one officially recognised by the Catholic Church, but a Folk Saint. He was also a greyhound. Yes, you read that correctly. No, I am not insulting a religious figure, he was literally a greyhound and a saint. His story is near identical to that of Gelert, a heroic hound from Welsh folklore.* It's one of those tales that, although most likely untrue, makes you wonder what humans have done to deserve dogs; they are known as mans best friend, yet time and time again they are let down. Guinefort, before his sainthood, is said to have been the loyal pet of a nobleman or knight and lived in South-Eastern France, in an area known as the Dombes. One day this man left his castle, leaving his baby son under the watchful eye of his loyal hound, sure that nothing could go wrong. Yet when he returned to his home he found the nursery in chaos, the crib overturned and Guinefort sitting next to it, his muzzle covered in blood. Overcome by grief and rage, convinced the dog had slain his child, the nobleman drew his sword and killed Guinefort on the spot. He only realised his mistake when seconds later he heard a babies cry. His child was alive and well. Finally taking the time to investigate the scene, the frantic father found the baby on the floor behind the crib without a scratch on it. Below the crib he found the mangled remains of a poisonous snake. Too late the nobleman realised his mistake, that the blood around Guinefort's mouth was that of the snake, which surely would have killed the child had the loyal hound not been present to stop it. The heartbroken nobleman buried Guinefort in the traditional fashion for that time, in a well near his home, which was then filled in and covered with stones. After this, trees were planted around in the dogs honor, creating a grove.** 

Saint Christopher

It wasn't long before this tale spread. People from all over the area began to visit Guinefort's grave. It went from burial mound to shrine. People believed the dog was still able to protect children, even in death, and that sick children and infants could be healed if bought to Saint Guinefort's shrine. Rituals there included laying babies on the shine, lighting candles, leaving offerings and passing the children bought there between two of the trees. Though there is no written evidence for it, it's said that miracles occured and it's popularity grew until Saint Guinefort had what has been referred to as a cult. The whole situation sounds surreal and wonderful, but there is a possible explanation for it. Saint Guinefort the greyhound may have been confused with Saint Guinefort the human, an earlier saint who was martyred when he was shot full of arrows. It's also possible that Saint Christopher might have had an influence too, as he is often shown as having the head of a dog. Whatever the reason, Guinefort was respected in death as he should have been in life.

By this point you're probably wondering why you can't find any sign of the shrine online, why isn't it on any maps? The explanation is a simple one; the Inquisition. Not the Spanish Inquisition***, but the one founded in 12th century France by the Catholic Church. Their job was to investigate and combat anything they considered heresy. Sometime around 1261, an Inquisitor by the name of Etienne de Bourbon was visiting the area. He was initially delighted to find out that the locals were worshiping what he understood to be a much respected healer. His enthusiasm soon dwindled upon discovering that the healer was a dog. Despite being upset by the shrine, Etienne de Bourbon shows pity for Guinefort in his writings, referring to the dog as both noble and innocent. However he was horrified by what he saw as acts of Pagan worship and in his writings talks of demon summonings and infanticide. 

"They were seduced and often cheated by the Devil so that he might in this way lead men into error. Women especially, with sick or poorly children, carried them to the place, and went off a league to another nearby castle where and old woman could teach them a ritual for making offerings and invocations to the demons and lead them to the right spot."

He visited the shrine, where he had poor Guinefort's remains dug up and burnt along with the grove. The cult was broken up, it's worshipers were dispersed and threatened with punishment if they continued. 

I could end the blog now, but I'm pleased to say that it didn't end there. Etienne de Bourbon achieved nothing at the Shrine of St Guinefort, other than making a mess and upsetting quite a lot of people. I believe it's highly likely that veneration of this unofficial saint never ceased, it's just that those involved are keeping quiet about it. There's even some evidence to support this theory. In the 1800's a folklorist claims to have found the burial place while out walking, the site was intact. Much later a historian found evidence that worship of Guinefort had persisted right into the 1930's. To put that into perspective, that's not long after World War One and roughly around 89 years ago. Not even threatening his loyal worshipers could make them stop, it just made them more careful about how they went about it. The unofficial Patron Saint of Children and official Good Boy persists to this day and will never be forgotten.

*If you're ever in North-West Wales, you can visit Gelert's grave. Information can be found here.

**I'm not an expert on 13th century burials in France, but something about this has a distinctly Pagan air about it, reminding me very much of the pagan burial mounds we have here in England. Judging by his reaction, Etienne de Bourbon felt the same way, only he saw it as something sinister.

***NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

The Road Less Traveled

At 05:00 I leave for the Lake District and, although it's a long journey, I can't help but wonder what possessed me to leave so early. I should be packing my things, as I haven't even started and so I'm likely to forget something, knowing my luck my phone charger. But I'm a lazy traveller and a night owl, so instead I'm here writing this blog. Inspired by travel of course. Superstition, folklore and travel have gone hand in hand for hundreds of years. I present to you my Top Five Travel Superstitions.

Leave no sheet unturned
This was one superstition I encountered years ago, while working as a cleaner at a hotel. If you're traveling alone and end up in a room with two beds, then either use the bed you're not sleeping in to store your luggage or mess it up completely; pull he sheets out, throw the quilt and pillows on the floor, go nuts. Basically do anything but damage the hotel.
"Why the hell would you do that?" You might be wondering. Well it turns out that an empty bed can be an invitation for unwanted guests of the ghostly variety. The more uninviting you make the bed, the less likely you are to end up with an evil spirit as a roommate. Anyone who's ever read an M.R James story will tell you how unpleasant an aggravated sheet ghost can be.

Carry Protection
Stop laughing. I meant a St Christopher's Medal.
The Catholic Church might have removed him from the Roman Calendar in the 1960's, but that hasn't stopped people believing that carrying one of these little charms will ensure safe journeys. St Christopher's story is one of legend, although there's very little evidence to prove he actually existed other than these stories; he kindly carried a small child across a river, once they got safely to the other side the child was revealed to be Jesus. As a result Christopher became the patron saint of travel.

Pick your dates
On the subject of Christianity, a lot of people consider traveling on a Friday to be unlucky. We're not just talking about the 13th here, we're talking about any Friday. Supposedly this is down to the crucifixion of Jesus taking place on a Friday. Sunday, on the other hand, in considered a luck day to travel on.

Beware the Willow
Willow trees are truly beautiful, nothing could beat a riverside picnic under those gracefully drooping bows on a hot summer's day. But at night this folklore laden tree is far from welcoming. According to old Somerset lore it's best to avoid Willow trees whilst traveling at night, as they are prone to uprooting themselves so that they may stalk unwary travelers, creeping along behind them and muttering. What do they mutter? Find out if you dare.

And finally...
Who's a good boy?
If you come across a stray pooch whilst on your travels it's considered to be good luck, even more so if it follows you home (congratulations on your new dog) and especially if the dog is black. Which is nice, since black dogs tend to get the rough end of the stick when it comes to folklore. There is a but though, there always is. If the dog follows you home on a rainy night it is a sign of bad luck. Although this is presumably because your house is going to stink of wet dog and you just know your new friend is going to shake itself dry them moment it gets through the door.


So what do you think, what do you believe and do you have any favourite or unique travel superstitions of your own? Feel free to drop a message in the comments with your opinions, you know I'd love to hear them. Myself, I don't really follow any travel superstitions although I do find them endlessly fascinating. I have been known to use a spare bed to store my luggage, but that's more because it's practical than because of ghosts.
Keep your eyes peeled for more blog posts coming soon. As I said, I'm visiting the Lake District, a place rich with folklore and hauntings, and I just can't wait to share them with you.