On the other end of the social spectrum from Gervase of Tilbury’s tales for the entertainment and edification of the emperor and his courtiers were the local yarns about unruly ghosts in the Yorkshire countryside recorded around the year 1400 by a Cistercian monk of Byland Abbey. Montague Rhodes James, who was equally authoritative as a medieval scholar and an author of modern ghost stories, brought this modest collection of tales to light in 1922. He described them as “strong in local colour, and though occasionally confused, incoherent, and unduly compressed, [they] evidently represent the words of the narrators with some approach to fidelity.” Nearly all of these tales described supernatural encounters that happened to normal people: rural laborers, artisans, and pilgrims, both men and women alike. The ghosts themselves are eclectic in their appearance and unpredictable in their behavior until the living “conjured” them, which forced them to reveal their identity and the reason for their return.
Concerning the ghost of a man-for-hire from Rievaulx, who helped a man to carry beans.
A man was riding on a horse that carried upon its back a measure of beans. The horse stumbled on the road and broke its leg. When this became apparent, the man carried the beans on his own back. And as he made his way down the road, he saw something that looked like a horse standing on its hind legs with its front legs raised up in the air. Terrified, he kept the horse at bay in the name of Jesus Christ so that it would not hurt him. Once he had done this, it went with him just like a horse, and after a little while it appeared in the shape of a bale of rolled hay and there was a light in the middle of it. The living man said to it, “God forbid that you do me any harm.” After he had said this, it appeared in the form of a man and he conjured it. Then the spirit revealed its name to him and the reason for its unrest and the remedy it sought and added, “Allow me to carry your beans and to help you.” And it did so, all the way down to the river, but it did not wish to cross over. And the living man did not know how the sack of beans came to be placed once more on his back. And afterward he had the ghost absolved and had masses sung for it and the ghost found the aid that it required.
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Concerning the astounding confrontation between a ghost and a living man in the time of King Richard II.2
It is said that a certain tailor by the name of Snowball returned one night on horseback to his house in Ampleforth from Gilling East, and on the way he heard a sound like ducks bathing in a stream and a little while later he saw something like a raven flying around his head and then landing on the ground, its wings beating the earth as though it was about to die. The tailor dismounted from his horse to seize the raven and he saw sparks of fire scattering from its sides. Then he made the sign of the cross and forbade it for God’s sake to inflict any harm upon him at that time. The crow flew with a great cry about the length of a thrown stone. Then the tailor mounted his horse once again and a little while later the crow opposed him in its flight and struck him in the side and threw the tailor to the ground as he was riding on his horse. Thrown to the ground in this way, the tailor lay prone as though in amazement or dismay, for he was overcome with fear. At length, rising and remaining steadfast in his faith, he fought with the crow, sword in hand, until he became exhausted and it seemed to him as though he struck the turf of the moor and he warded the crow off and he forbade the bird for God’s sake, saying, “God forbid that you have the power to harm me at this time; instead, depart!” Once more it flew away with a terrible cry about the length of an arrow-flight. In truth, it appeared for a third time to the same tailor, who was holding the hilt of his sword like a cross over his chest out of fear and it blocked his way in the form of a chained dog. When he saw this, the tailor pondered his situation, courageous in his faith. “What will happen to me? I will command it in the name of the Trinity and by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ from the five wounds” so that the crow might speak to him and do him no harm, but rather stand without moving and respond to his questions and tell him its name and the reason for its punishment with a fitting remedy. And he did just that.
Once the ghost was conjured, sighing frightfully and moaning [it said], “Such and such have I done and I was excommunicated for this deed. Therefore, go to the priest seeking absolution for me. And it is necessary to complete twenty masses that should be celebrated on my behalf on nine occasions and from these two options you may choose one. You must either return to me alone on such a night, bringing back a response concerning these things that I asked of you and I will teach you how you can be healed [from the injury inflicted by the ghost in the form of a crow] and in the meantime you should not fear the sight of any man-made fire. Or [if you refuse] your flesh will rot and before long your skin will wither and peel from you. Therefore, know that I was able to hinder you just now because today you have not heard the Mass nor the Gospel of John, namely, ‘In the beginning,’ nor did you witness the consecration of the body and blood of the Lord; otherwise, I would not fully possess the power to appear to you.” And while the ghost was speaking to him, it was as though it was made of fire and the tailor could see its insides through its mouth and the ghost formed its words in its guts and did not speak with its tongue. Then the tailor sought permission from the spirit to be able to have another companion return with him. The ghost responded, “No, but you should carry the four Gospels of the Evangelists and the title of triumph, namely, ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ because two other phantoms linger in this place.3 One of them cannot speak when conjured and takes the form of a fire or a thornbush and the other assumes the form of a hunter. They are both very dangerous to encounter. You must further swear on this stone that you will not defame my bones except to the priests celebrating Mass for me, and to any others you consult on my behalf who can help me.” The tailor swore on the stone to keep this secret exactly as expressed above. At length, he commanded the ghost to go all the way to Hodge Beck until his return. It wailed in response, “No! No! No!” The tailor replied, “Then go to Brink Hill.” The ghost was pleased and this came to pass.
Indeed, the tailor was sick for several days and once his strength returned, he went to York to the priest, who had formerly excommunicated the ghost, to seek absolution for him. The priest refused to absolve him and summoned another priest to confer on the matter. But this man summoned yet another priest, a third one to consult concerning this absolution. The tailor said to the first priest, “Lord, you know the proofs that I have offered for you to hear.” He responded, “Yes, son.” Finally, after much discussion between them, the tailor satisfied them and paid five shillings and received a letter of absolution written on a small sheaf of paper, having sworn that he would not defame the dead man, but he would bury the letter in his tomb in secret near to his head.
Once it had been settled, the tailor went to a brother named Richard of Pickering, a respected confessor, to inquire if this absolution would be sufficient and legal. He said that it was. Then the tailor went to all of the orders of the monks of York and had nearly all of the masses celebrated over two or three days. Then, returning home, he buried the letter of absolution in the tomb, just as he had been ordered to do. Truly, once all of these things had been completed in accordance with religious custom, he came home and a presumptuous neighbor, hearing that he was supposed to report to the ghost the things that had happened in York on some night or other, implored him, saying, “God forbid that you go to the spirit unless you warn me in advance concerning the day and the hour of your departure.” Thus, bound to do so lest he should displease God, the tailor warned him in advance of his departure, rousing him from sleep, and said, “I am going now. If you want to come with me, let us go, and I will give you some of my books, which I am carrying with me because of my fears of the night.” The other man responded, “Do you want me to come with you?” The tailor answered, “Decide for yourself. I do not want to tell you what to do.” Then, at last, the other man said, “Go, then, in the name of the Lord and may God help you in all that you do.”
Once these words had been spoken, the tailor came to the designated place and made a great circle [on the ground] with a cross [inside of it] and carried with him the four Gospels and other holy writings, and he stood in the middle of the circle, placing four reliquaries in the shape of a cross on the border of the circle. Salvific words had been written on these reliquaries, namely, Jesus of Nazareth, etc. Then, the tailor awaited the arrival of the ghost. At length the ghost came in the form of a she goat and went around the circle three times saying “Ah! Ah! Ah!” Once it was conjured, it fell over on the ground and rose up in the form of a man of great stature, both fearful and gaunt, in the likeness of a dead king. And when the tailor asked if his efforts had been fruitful, the ghost responded to him, “Let God be praised, yes! And I stood behind you at the ninth hour when you buried my absolution in the tomb and you were afraid. No wonder, for three devils were present there, who were punishing me with all manner of torments after you conjured me the first time until my absolution, suspecting that they would have me in their clutches to punish for only a short time longer. Therefore, know that next Monday with thirty other spirits I will enter into joy everlasting. Now go to the river and find a flat stone. Lift it up and under that stone you will find a piece of sandstone. Wash your entire body with water and rub it with the sandstone and you will be cured in a few days’ time.”
When asked concerning the names of the two other phantoms, the ghost responded, “I cannot tell you their names.” Asked once more concerning their social standing, he declared, “One of them was a violent layman and he was not from this country. He killed a pregnant woman and he will not find salvation before the Day of Judgment, and you will see him in the form of a calf without a mouth and eyes and ears and, when it is conjured, you will not be able to speak to it. And the other was a devout man [who appears] in the form of a hunter with the horn of a bull and he will have salvation and he can be conjured through a certain little boy who has not yet reached puberty, if the Lord so disposes.” Afterward the tailor asked the ghost concerning his own condition. It responded to him, “You are wrongfully in possession of a cloak and a gown that once belonged to a friend, who was your companion in war across the sea. For this reason, you should make amends to him or else you will suffer terribly.” The tailor replied, “I do not know where he is.” The ghost said to him, “He lives in such and such village near the castle of Alnwick.” When asked further, “What is my gravest sin?” the ghost responded, “Your gravest sin is due to me.” The living man asked, “How and in what way is this the case?” “Because the people are sinning because of you, speaking falsely and offending the other dead and saying, ‘Either this man is the dead man who was conjured or that one or that other one.’” And he asked the same spirit, “What, therefore, should be done? I will have to reveal your name.” The ghost answered, “No, but if you remain in such and such a place you will be rich and in such and such a place you will be poor, and you will have some enemies.” Finally, the ghost said, “I cannot stay much longer and speak to you.” When they departed from each other, a deaf and mute and blind calf followed the tailor all the way to the village of Ampleforth. He conjured it by every means he knew, but it could not speak to him at all. But the other ghost, who had been helped by him, advised him to put his most powerful amulets at his head while he slept and [said], “You should not say more or less than what I ordered you, and you should keep your eyes down and not look at a man-made fire on this night at least.” When he returned home, the tailor became very sick for several days.
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Concerning the ghost of Robert, son of Robert from Bolteby in Kilburn, who was seized in a cemetery.
Remember that the aforesaid Robert—the younger one—died and was buried in the cemetery, but he was in the habit of leaving his tomb at night and disturbing and frightening the villagers and the hounds of the village followed him and barked loudly. At length, the young men of the village were talking among themselves, proposing to capture him if in some way they could, and they set out together to the cemetery. But when the ghost appeared, everyone fled except for two of them, one of whom—Robert Foxton by name—seized the ghost as he was leaving the cemetery and pinned him to the church stile, while the other shouted bravely, “You hold him tight until I come to you!”4 His companion responded to him, “Go quickly and fetch the parish priest, so that the ghost may be conjured, because—God willing—whatever I am holding I will clutch it firmly until the priest arrives.” Indeed, this parish priest hastened quickly and conjured the ghost in the name of the Holy Trinity and in the power of Jesus Christ until the ghost answered the questions he was asked. Once he had been conjured, the ghost spoke from deep inside its body and not with its tongue, but as though in an empty cask, and confessed his many crimes. When the ghost had made these things known, the priest absolved him but burdened the men who captured him so that they would not in any way reveal his confession, and as for the ghost, he rested in peace, according to God’s will.
It is said, however, that before his absolution, the ghost would stand in the doorways and windows of a house and under walls and ramparts as though listening. Perhaps he was waiting to see if someone would come and conjure him in his need for help. Others say that he aided and abetted the murder of a certain man and committed other evil deeds concerning which no one is allowed to speak to the present day.
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In turn, old folks have passed down the story that a certain man, Jacob Tankerley by name, formerly rector of Cold Kirby, was buried in front of the chapter house at Byland and he was in the habit of wandering at night as far as Cold Kirby and one night he blew on the eye of his mistress there and it is said that the abbot and the community had his body dug up from its grave with its coffin and they urged Roger Wayneman to haul it all the way to Lake Gormire and when he cast the coffin into the water, the oxen were nearly drowned in their fear. God forbid that, in committing it to writing in this way, I am in any danger, because just as I have heard this story from my elders, thus have I written it down. May the All-Powerful have mercy on him, if in fact he was numbered among those who merit salvation.
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Likewise, what I write is astounding to relate. It is said that a certain woman seized a ghost and carried it into a particular house over her back in the presence of some people, one of whom reported that he saw the hands of the woman sinking deeply in the ghost’s flesh, as though the ghost’s flesh was decayed and not solid, but imaginary.
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Concerning a certain canon from Newburg seized after his death whom [blank] apprehended.
It happened that this man was talking together with the steward and walking in a field. And suddenly the steward fled, having suffered a terrible fright, and the other man was wrestling with some ghost, which tore shamelessly at his clothes. But finally he was victorious and conjured him. The conjured ghost confessed that he was a canon from Newburg and had been excommunicated because of the matter of some silver spoons that he had hidden in a certain place. For this reason, he begged the living man to go to that place and retrieve the spoons in order to bring them to his prior and to seek absolution for his soul. He did just that and found the silver spoons in the place the ghost mentioned. Once he was absolved, the ghost then rested in peace. Nevertheless, the man fell ill and grew weak over the course of many days and he affirmed that the ghost appeared to him in the habit worn by canons.
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Concerning a certain ghost conjured elsewhere who said that he was being punished severely, for he was the hired man of a master and he had stolen some sheaves of wheat that belonged to that man, which he gave to his own oxen so that they would appear fat. And another thing that weighed upon him even more, that he did not plow his own land deeply, but only with shallow furrows, in the hope that his oxen would stay fat. And he said that there were fifteen spirits being punished severely in one place for the crimes they had committed. For this reason, he pleaded that he might petition his master for an indulgence and forgiveness, so that he could obtain an appropriate remedy.
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Likewise concerning another ghost following William of Bradeforth and crying out “How! How! How!” three times over three nights. It happened that on the fourth night around the middle of the night William went back to a new place from the village of Ampleforth. And while he was returning on the road he heard a fearful voice shouting a long way off and echoing as though on a mountain. And shortly thereafter the voice cried out again, but closer. And a third time it cried out on the road a short way ahead of him. And finally he saw a pale horse and his dog barked a little, but then became very frightened and hid itself between William’s legs. Once this had happened, William restrained the same ghost in the name of the Lord and in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ so that he would depart and not block his way. When he heard this, the ghost withdrew in the likeness of a sheet with its four corners unfurled and rolled away. From this we gather that the ghost had a great desire to be conjured and to be helped effectively.
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Likewise concerning the ghost of a man from Ayton in Cleveland. It is said that he followed a man for eighty miles in the hope that he would conjure him and give him aid. Once the ghost was conjured, he confessed that he had been excommunicated for a matter involving six pennies, but after he received absolution and reparation, he rested in peace. In all of these things God showed himself to be a bestower of just rewards since nothing evil goes unpunished and conversely nothing good goes unrewarded.
It is said that the same ghost, before he was conjured, threw the living man over a hedge and caught him on his way down on the other side. Once he was conjured, he said, “If you had done so in the first place, I would not have hurt you [and as a result] you were frightened in places like this and I caused it.”
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How a repentant thief vanished after his confession from the sight of a demon.
It happened once in Exeter that a digger, a hard worker with a big appetite, resided in a small room in a large house, which had many small rooms divided by walls and [above which was] a separate dwelling. When he was hungry the digger often used to climb up a certain ladder into the house and cut away meat hung there and he cooked it and then ate it, even during Lent. For this reason, the lord of the house, seeing his meat tampered with in this manner, asked his servants what had happened. After they all denied their guilt and purged themselves by oaths, the lord threatened that he would go to a sorcerer, a certain necromancer, and inquire through him about this strange happening. When he heard this, the digger feared greatly and went to the monks and confessed his crime in secret and was absolved by the sacrament. Indeed, the lord of the house, as he had threatened, went to the necromancer, and this man anointed the fingernail of a little boy and through his incantations asked him what he saw. The boy responded, “I see a groom with his hair shorn.” The necromancer said to him, “You should conjure him to appear to you in the most beautiful form that he can.” And the boy did so. And the boy affirmed, “Behold, I see a very beautiful horse.” And after that he saw a man in the likeness of the digger climbing a ladder and cutting the meat while the horse followed as well. And the priest asked, “What are the man and the horse doing now?”5 And the child responded, “Behold, he cooks and eats the meat.” And the priest inquired further, “And what is he doing now?” And the boy said, “They are going together to the church of the monks. But the horse waits outside the gates and the man enters and on bent knees he speaks with a certain monk, who puts his hand upon his head.” Once again, the priest asked the boy, “What are they doing now?” The boy responded, “They have both vanished from my sight at the same time and I can see them no longer and I do not know for certain where they are.”
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Concerning a wondrous work of God, who calls forth things that do not exist so as to make them exist, and who can do so whenever and with whatever he wishes, and concerning a certain marvel.
It is commended to memory that a certain man from Cleveland by the name of Richard Roundtree, leaving behind his pregnant wife, went on pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James with many others.6 One evening they all spent the night in a forest near the royal road. Here it was that some of them kept watch through the evening because of their fear of the night, and the rest slept more securely. It happened that in that part of the night during which Richard was on guard as a watchman, he heard the loud sound of people traveling along the royal road. And some were sitting and riding on horses, sheep, and oxen, and some upon other animals and all manner of cattle, which had been their own mortuaries when they died.7 At last, he discerned something that looked like a small child rolling upon the ground in a sock. And he conjured it, “Who could it be and why does it roll in this manner?” It responded, “It is not right that you have conjured me. For you are my father and I am your son, miscarried without baptism and buried without a name.” When he heard this, the pilgrim took off his shirt and dressed his little boy, giving it a name in the name of the holy Trinity and he carried that old sock with him as evidence of this event. Indeed, once the infant had been named in this way, it leapt about excitedly and then walked standing upright on its own feet, when before it could only roll on the ground. Truly, once he had returned home from his pilgrimage, Richard held a feast with his neighbors and asked his wife for his socks. She found one sock, but could not find the other. Then her husband showed her the sock, in which the child had been wrapped, and she marveled at this. When the midwives confessed the truth concerning the death and burial of the child in the sock, the husband divorced his wife because he was the godfather of his own son, who had been miscarried. But I believe that this divorce was very displeasing to God.
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Concerning the sister of old Adam of Lond, seized after her death according to a story that old folks tell.
It should be remembered that this woman was buried in the cemetery at Ampleforth and within a short time after her death she was caught by the elder William Trower and, once she was conjured, she confessed that she traveled her own way in the night because of certain property deeds that she handed over unlawfully to her brother Adam. This happened long ago when a disagreement arose between her husband and herself. To the detriment of her husband and her own sons, she gave the property deeds to her brother. Thus it happened that after her death, her brother evicted her husband with violence from her property, namely from one homestead and field with all lands pertaining to it in Ampleforth and in Heslerton a piece of pasture with everything pertaining to it. For this reason, she begged William that he would advise this same brother that she wished to give the property deeds back to her husband and sons, and to restore her property to them. In no other way could she rest in peace before the day of Judgment. Indeed, William gave this advice to Adam according to her request, but he refused to return the property deeds, saying, “I do not believe these things you have said.” William said to him, “My story is completely true. With God’s help, you will soon hear your sister speaking to you concerning this matter.” And on the next night, William seized her again and brought her to Adam’s chamber, and she spoke with him. According to witnesses, her stubborn brother responded to her, “Even if you should wander about forever, I do not want to return the property deeds.” Groaning, she replied to him, “May God judge between you and me in this case. You should know, therefore, that I will hardly rest until the time of your death, but after your death you will wander in my place.” Furthermore, she said that his right hand would hang down and turn completely black. And when he was asked why this was the case, she responded that he often used that hand when fighting or making a false oath. Finally, she was conjured to another place because of the fear of the night and the terror of the inhabitants of the village. Yet, I beg pardon if perhaps I have offended by writing something contrary to the truth. It is said, however, that the younger Adam of Lond did in fact return some of his inheritance after the death of his father, Adam senior.