Motorbikes can take you to some interesting and sometimes uncanny places. This is one of the latter, and is almost on my own doorstep - just a couple of miles from where I live. Here is my trusty Triumph posing in front of the Ghost Tree. I apologise for the length, but it's a story worth telling. The tree stands silhouetted against the sky on a windswept hillside, looking out across the Solway Firth towards the mountains of the Lake District. About half a mile from the village of Auchencairn, in the parish of Rerrick, it is the last survivor of a clump of oak trees which stood on the site where there was once a small farm called the Ringcroft of Stocking. In the 1690s, the farm was occupied by an Andrew Mackie and his family. In March 1695, they were suddenly visited by a violent poltergeist. It started by hanging cattle from ropes in the byre, and went on to shout and roar, hurl stones and rocks at people, beat them with sticks, pull and push them about, and start fires in the house. This went on for weeks. The frightened Mackies called in the local minister, Mr. Alexander Telfair. He was equally alarmed, and called in reinforcements, in the form of five more ministers from neighbouring parishes, plus a few respectable local landowners. They all witnessed and suffered from the attacks of the poltergeist. The earnest prayers of the ministers made no difference. Eventually the poltergeist decided of its own accord that it had had enough, and roared that it would cease the next day. It did so, and, as far as we know, plagued the Mackies no more. The following year, Mr. Telfair published an account in Edinburgh describing the happenings, signed by himself and the other five ministers. Because of the number and eminent respectability of these witnesses, the Rerrick Poltergeist remains one of the country's best-attested and most famous hauntings. It is said that when the last of the trees on the site – the present Ghost Tree – finally dies, the poltergeist will return to trouble the neighbourhood once again. Whenever I ride or drive past, I always look up the hill to reassure myself that it's still standing. As I live so nearby, I wish the tree a long and healthy life....
Can't say I believe in ghosts or into ghost stories but there is quite a well known one here, the Cooneen ghost house, I went past it a few years ago and had a dander round and went in the house too. http://northernirelandghoststories.com/ghost-stories/cooneen-ghost-house-3/
Sounds like a confused sort of poltergeist at Cooneen: rapping out the tunes of The Soldiers' Song and The Boyne Water...
Heh. Some force threw me out of an Irish bar in Coventry once when I did a rendition of "Kevin Barry" to the tune of the "Sash My Father Wore"
As frenchman I've always been surprised how much ghost are so popular in Great Britain/Scotland. All castle has their own ghost, York is supposed to be haunted by roman soldiers ,etc etc. I slept a few times in Lumley Castle in Durham County, and was so surprised to have some work colleagues not really confident to stay there because of lady Lumley Ghost That's a main cultural difference between UK and France I guess.
There are more differences than that. I’ll have to lend you my 15 volume encyclopaedia (abridged) entitled “The French’s major mistakes and why they are so weird”.
Well, my english workmates could have written some of your encyclopedia books based on nearly 2 decades working along with me . So far I bring them fine cheese and some fine wine they forgive a lot.
'Poltergeist' is a German word, so I suppose they must have been invented there. Perhaps the French ones are scarce because they don't meet EU standards?
I didn't intend to lead that post into cultural war. My grand father was in the 2emeDB and did the south landing and crossed the whole country in a Sherman IV to free Paris and his country. My father had the rare right to have the national flag on his coffin as war veteran (Algerie as he was 18, several war times in Africa). I know that white flag and surrender stuff is a common joke but it's not the case of everyone. German are not all nazi, and Italian are not all mafia, etc etc.
The trouble with starting a thread on here is that it usually goes off-piste (or pissed off) rather quickly! Has anyone else been to any ghostly places on their bike?
Sorry - the derailment was probably my fault with the lame (stereotypical) friendly banter/joke playing on the traditional Rosbif vs Froggies jibes. I’ll not do it again - until next time. I am also very keen on French cheeses and red wines, and absolutely no idea why Cheddar cheese is apparently so popular - probably because it’s getting near impossible to buy anything else in British supermarkets. Catch-22... We did visit Leeds Castle which is supposed to be haunted (uniquely with a ghost dog too!). I heard a lot of rattling and clanking that sounded like a ghost rattling their chains but turned out to be a mate’s Harley Davidson.
My ex wife was a psychopath who could speak to the sasquatch's in our backyard in their native language. Does that count as ghosts?
I didn’t know if to put a laughing emoji or not. I remembered how you had such a torrid time and that it certainly wasn’t a laughing matter. Hopefully you are in a better place now and the laughing emoji is acceptable.
There is no problem to do it again My answer was not to complain or whatever, but tried to keep it friendly.
I haven't been stabbed lately As a male victim I'm only going to lose about 75% of my $ assets in divorce Happiest I've ever been in 27 years now. Getting laid 16+ times a week now Cheers are in order
