Illustrated Tales of Suffolk

The historical county of Suffolk has a host of strange and mysterious tales ranging from ancient legends and stories of the supernatural to more modern documented cases. These strange and spooky stories include the Green Children of Woolpit, where a boy and girl with green-tinged skin, neither of whom could speak English, were discovered in a wolf pit in central Suffolk in the 12th century, and the Wild Man of Orford who was a ‘merman’ captured off the Suffolk coast in the 12th century. He was a great swimmer but could not speak. After being held and tortured in the castle he was freed and returned to the sea. The famous Black Dog of Bungay was a giant supernatural hound said to have killed parishioners in Bungay church during a thunderstorm in the 16th century, before killing again at Blythburgh church.Many tales have been told of the 9th century King Edmund of East Anglia, who gave his name to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Another royal connection is the casket said to contain Anne Boleyn’s heart that was found during the 19th century at Erwarton Church. Other old tales include the Kessingland Sea Serpent – Suffolk’s answer to ‘Nessie’; the Beccles Rat-catcher Pipers, a story which has similarities with the Pied Piper of Hamelin myth; the lost city of Dunwich, sometimes called ‘Britain’s Atlantis’; Suffolk witchcraft; and tales of hauntings and other supernatural activity. More recent stories include the 1980 Rendlesham Forest UFO incident dubbed ‘Britain’s Roswell’.These strange and spooky stories are accompanied by the author’s photographs of places featured in the text, both present-day and historical, in this hugely entertaining book.