| Owners | Favourites
 
| 0333 666 999 6
 
 
 

Spooky Dartmoor Tales

 
Home | Blog | Uncategorised | Spooky Dartmoor Tales

With the scariest time of the year almost upon us there is nowhere better for scary stories than Dartmoor. Dartmoor is said to be haunted by pixies, a headless horseman, a few monks who got lost in the Middle Ages, and several large black dogs! The mysterious mists that descend over the moor out of nowhere and the atmospheric locations to match – makes Dartmoor one of the beautiful yet loneliest places in the UK littered with tales of ghosts and ghouls. There is an abundance of local myths and legends that have been passed down for generations.

The Legend of Vixen Tor
If you’ve ever travelled between Princetown and Tavistock, you’ll have likely noticed Vixen Tor, it is, after all, the largest of Dartmoor’s granite tors. It is said that way back when, the tor was home to a witch named Vixana who lived in a cave at the foot of the Tor. A cave that was built by gnomes that she commanded to do her bidding.
It is said that Vixana hated people and really enjoyed making them suffer, she liked to stand on the top of the Tor looking for travellers and if one happened to be passing, she’d cast a spell on them causing them to get stuck in the boggy ground. Vixana apparently used to sit and watch them drown as her main form of entertainment, thankfully, you can get mobile and television signal on Dartmoor these days so it is unlikely that if you travel around the moor, you’ll fall foul of an evil witch.
Vixana’s reign of terror was ended when a young man with a touch of the supernatural about him used a ring which made him invisible to trick the witch into approaching the edge of Tor. As she looked over the edge, he pushed her onto the rocks below, allowing travellers to move about the moor safely once again.

The Legend of Childe the Hunter
This is one of the most famous of the Dartmoor legends and it surrounds Childe’s Tomb, which lies on the edge of Fox Tor Mire. According to the stories, Childe the Hunter was a wealthy chap who liked hunting, sometimes alone, at all times of year. Whether it was sunny, rainy or snowy, you could find him out with his dogs hunting. This would be his undoing, one day while he was out hunting, he was caught in a blizzard and with no shelter, met his demise. He was found a few weeks later frozen to death.
This isn’t the end of the tale though. At the time, there was much rivalry between the monks at Plymstock and Tavistock and as Childe’s will had decreed that his land would belong to the church at which he was buried and as his discovery was reported to the monks at Tavistock, they were delighted to be burying him at their church. However, as he had lived in Plymstock, the people of his community planned to ambush the monks and take back his body. The monks learned of this though and changed their route, building a new bridge across the Tavy which came to be known as Guilebridge as it was borne out of deception. Now, if Childe was buried in Tavistock, why is his tomb on the moor? Well, according to the locals, the tomb is where his body was found. So be on the lookout for cold looking ghosts when exploring that area of the moor!

The Legend of the Bed of Tulips
We’ve told you about witches, the devil and possible ghosts, so now let’s discuss Dartmoor’s pixies. One legend that includes pixies is the legend of the bed of tulips, which concerns some angry pixies and a man who just wanted to grow some vegetables.
It is said that in the middle of the moor there was a thatched cottage where a kindly old lady lived. She had a beautiful garden full of tulips which the pixies used for dancing and merry making, but when she died, the cottage was taken over by one of the villagers, an old man, who didn’t want flowers in the garden, he wanted a vegetable patch instead. He dug up the flowers, planted his vegetables and built a nice fence around them to keep the animals from eating them. This so enraged the pixies that they cursed the land, so nothing ever grew there and honoured their friend, the old lady, by making flowers magically appear on her grave. It is said that beautiful flowers still bloom at the site of her grave to this day.

The Legend of Bowerman’s Nose
Among the many outcrops and granite Tors that can be seen, there is one known as Bowerman’s Nose, which got its name because of how human looking it is.
According to locals, the reason it looks so human is because it once was. There was once a man that lived on the moor known as Bowerman the Hunter, he was a kindly chap who, with his pack of hounds, spent his days hunting on the moor. As we already know from the story of Vixana, the moor was home to a number of witches all of whom enjoyed scaring the locals, but the thing is, Bowerman wasn’t scared of them. Not only did he not really care about the witches, but he influenced others not to fear them too – which obviously, isn’t ideal if you’re a witch. He further upset them when he interrupted one of their rituals while chasing a hare which led them to plot revenge.
One of the witches disguised themselves as a hare and led him into a trap. The other witches all pounced and turned Boweman and his dogs into stone, leaving them to stand on the Tor for the rest of time. Shortly after this, the witches were chased out of Dartmoor over the Bristol Channel and into Wales and Dartmoor was declared a witch free zone.

The Legend of Brentor Church
Brentor Church is one of the most picturesque parts of Dartmoor, in fact the weathered old church is a firm favourite among photographers and remains one of the most famous views in the region. However, there is a story that the Devil himself liked to roam Dartmoor looking for victims and long after the witches had fled, the locals feared his presence.
One day, the devil spotted a rich merchant ship travelling along the Bristol Channel and created an almighty storm to extinguish the beacons to warn of approaching rocks and crash the ship. One of the merchants, Old Hugh, spent the night praying for the ship to arrive safely, pleading for Saint Michael to save them and in return, he would build a church in his name. Saint Michael came through for him and he and the Devil had a battle, but in the end, the Devil was no match for the saint and the ship arrived safely. Old Hugh was true to his word and built his church on Brentor, the first bit of land sighted after the storm. The issue was though, that the Devil kept appearing and delaying building works by scattering materials across the moor. Saint Michael became aware and waited for the devil to arrive one night, injuring him and allowing Old Hugh to finish the church. This is why the church is the smallest one on the moor, however, it does still remain standing and is a symbol to all those that want to defeat evil.

Kitty Jay’s Grave
Here we move away from the supernatural and into the downright weird. Kitty Jay’s grave has been a source of local stories and mystery for years.
Basically, Kitty Jay was an unmarried serving girl who was left pregnant and alone by her lover and as this frowned upon back then, she felt that she had no option but to take her own life. This was also something that was frowned upon and meant that she couldn’t be buried on consecrated ground, so she was buried outside of church grounds. Years later, her body was dug up and reinterned at a cross roads with stones to mark the spot. Nothing weird about that you might think. Well… Ever since she has been at rest there, fresh flowers have appeared on her grave and no one knows who is putting them there or why?

 

To find out more information on these spooky tales or to find out some more tales please visit the Visitor Centre at Princetown or visit here:
https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/tales-of-dartmoor
https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/learning/dartmoor-legends

Back

Book Direct With Plumlocations


Enter your email here to get discount code
and sign up to our newsletter for more details

Invalid email address

Please wait while we check your email

Plumlocations
Congratulations
Click on the offer code to copy it to your clipboard, then use it at the checkout.
10% Off Next Booking
Direct10
Plumlocations
 

What Our Guests Say

“This is our second time staying in apartment 10, the apartment is very modern and has views to die for !! Very clean with all the amenities you would need. Would not hesitate in any way to recommend these apartments, you will not be disappointed !! Excellent !!! 10/10”

 

Sign up here for the latest special deals and discount codes




 
This site uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyse traffic, enhance website functionality and improve your experience. Please let us know if you accept these cookies. You can opt out of this at any time or view our full privacy policy and cookie policy for more information.

Read our privacy policy