Spooky Running Story

[Stolly]

Well as Hallow'een is almost upon us, my first ever head torch run just last night seems appropriate.

Three of us (well four at the start but one was obviously too scared and feigned injury after a mile or two ) ran up Sharp Haw (a volcano shaped hill near Skipton). We started at 6:30 but it soon became dark, although it was clear and the moon was up, and hacked up Sharp Haw without too much trouble. At the top we headed down towards Flasby - a small hamlet where, co-incidentally, someone was stabbed almost fatally on a couple of days before......

At this point our head, head torch meister Dermot started to remember that he wasn't quite sure of our route and, surprise, surprise, we missed a 'planned' turn off. We had been hoping to avoid Flasby itself and cut through a field and hit our path back up but instead journied on into...... peril. Dun.... dun.... dun....

We reached a farm track (by this time thoroughly plastered in mud) and decided to follow it but as we neared the farm itself, we started to have rabid dog attack thoughts and it, well, didn't look a wholesome place. There was also a little red light on a post that might of set off a security light or..... open up a spiked trap even . So we 'bravely' back tracked and followed the path through the woods down to Flasby itself.

Here we headed south along...... another farm track! And yep, after about half a mile, came across another farm. We now knew where we were though and Dermot remembered another previously unmentioned point; this farm did have a dog, a "beast of a dog" quoting Dermot's exact words.

It was now totally dark, apart from the (blood red ) lights eminating from the barn nearby and another building off to one side. All we could see was our cubicles of light from the torches and our breath steaming....... and two green specks of light 100 metres away.

We started to walk here, in case of startling anyone (or thing), but these two green lights remained fixed and completely still as we got nearer. Just as I was relieved to think that they were security sensors or something, the lights moved and turned into a f**king great Alsatian, who thankfully was behind a garden fence, but less thankfully not a big one. He sure didn't much like us though and barked his head off. We kept on moving, keeping Dermot 'dog side' and managed to not be at all killed or eaten and could then after a nervous, neck prickling 50 metre walk with the dog going beserk behind move on and start running..... a bit faster than before.

We still had the return journey to do, maybe another 5 miles, through the darkest part of the woods and back over Sharp Haw again but no hound of the Baskervilles or werecows or sheep attacked and we returned to base after a just brilliant 1 hour 40 or so run. All the cows and sheep also had green eyes by the way and it was totally surreal going through a herd or flock. T'was the reflection of the head torches y'see!

Next time, no farms!

[#bob#]

Where's the ghost/ghosts? I was expecting from your title...
You should have put one in ..............'kin rubbish.
2/10

[Ady In Accy]

I remember being on a fairly modern camp site in Frejus in the south of France around 1980. I was only 11 or 12 and did a little bit of running at the time. I decided it would be a good idea to have a run around the perimeter of the site so off I trotted. I did not know where I was going, I just decided to try for a big circle. At about the half way point I noticed the surroundings changed quite a bit, the caravans were much older & smaller and there were lots of billboards up with war propaganda images on them but they were torn and dirty. I just thought it was an old section of the site as further on all the vans and surroundings were normal. Later that day I mentioned this to my dad and he thought it was odd. When we came back from the beach he decided to drive around the site to take a look - guess what? We drove all round more than once (not a massive site) and saw no old vans or tatty billboards whatsoever................Mmmmmmmmmmm.

[Alf Tupper]

Anyone done much running on Ickornshaw Moor? A spooky place. Had a few strange experience there whilst walking the Pennine Way a few years ago.

[Joliver Jim]

Elaborate.

Had a few strange experience there whilst walking the Pennine Way a few years ago.

[IanDarkpeak]

We were out last night above Bradfield running back through a wood when the trees seem to be shaken like a Silverback was charging through them We reckoned it was a badger but it was a bit shocking at the time.

[Margarine]

Anyone read Earth Lights by someone Deveraux? Interesting - it gives a (kind of) scientific explanation for 'supernatural' phenomena, and a lot happens round resers e.g. ufos, strange animals etc round Longdendale. One of his theories is about how large masses of water have such an effect on underlying rocks as to cause a piezo electric effect, resulting in atmospheric lights etc. Seems quite plausible (to me anyway), but he just doesn't dismiss the supernatural element, he discusses how these effects might interact with our brains/culturally acquired thought processes e.g. so that we would see an unexplained light as a flting saucer but Medieaval peeps would see a demon. He also talks about how some rocks may have similar properties to magnetic recording tape and so record images or sounds from the past.

[Alf Tupper]

Well............... Towards the end of the day heading towards Cowling. I was walking uphill towards the crest of the slope. I noticed a fellow walker walking at right angles to myself ahead. I waved but no response. He can't have seen me. When i got to where he was walking ,in the soft peat , there were a few sheep tracks, no footprints, not one!
I thought it was a bit odd but thought he must have found a way of walking without leaving footprints on the morass of peat.
I arrived at the pub straight off the Pennine way. After a pint the Landlord asked me what i thought of Ickornshaw Moor. I replied ok . He then asked if i'd 'felt' anything? I got his gist and recounted the mystery walker .
The Landlord said he'd not been there that long but he'd had a few people come off that moor petrified. One girl said she'd never go up there again.
I stayed in the pub that night. A few locals said much the same, the moor had a strange feeling about it;odd sitings of strange people etc.

[Margarine]

Blimey! I'm glad I er... I mean Grouse didn't read this post before he did the PW. Worst thing that happened was that I err.. he pulled his hamstring after he stood up from answering a call of nature.

[Margarine]

Is it where all the shooting huts are?