You seemed to enjoy our last foray into the world of animal ghosts, so here’s three more spooky stories to send a tingle up your spine!
The Phantom Chicken of Highgate
Yes, you read that right. Pond Square in Highgate is said to be haunted by a phantom chicken.
The story goes that Sir Francis Bacon and his friend, Dr. Witherbone were discussing food preservation one day in early April 1626. Bacon suggested the idea of refrigeration and freezing – something laughed off by his doctor friend.
To test this not-so-bizarre hypothesis, Bacon purchased a chicken, plucked it, stuffed it with snow and bundled it up in a sack full of more snow. Unfortunately for Sir Francis Bacon, he subsequently caught a chill that lead to pneumonia which killed him a few days later.
Given this is how the story ends, you’d be forgiven for thinking the ghost in this tale was human, however, since the chicken’s demise, a ghostly fowl has been seen around the town’s pond, which would eventually be filled and known as Pound Square.
The chicken, half plucked, was reported to run in circles around the pond, and on one occasion, a ghostly coach and horses preceded a sighting of this foul fowl.
Given the fact that chickens can survive with broken necks – or, in some cases, completely headless – it’s possible this or another of the town’s chickens escaped certain death and terrorised the town for the rest of its natural life. However, that would not explain how tales of this pesky poultry persisted into the modern age. In fact, during the Second World War, the half plucked chicken was seen by air wardens who were always unable to catch it. The spirit was sighted as recently as the 1970s when a couple, tucked up in a doorway for a secret snuggle, reported the chicken springing upon them mid embrace.
Since then, sighting have become fewer and further between, but if you’re around Highgate one a cold night, listen carefully for disembodied clucking. You never know who – or what – is watching from the shadows.
The Ghostly Rabbit Guardian of Thetford Warren Lodge
In the 1400s, members of the Our Lady’s Priory of Thetford were granted permission to hunt small game, and the lodge was built both to deter poachers and provide shelter to the warreners – who farmed and harvested rabbits. By 1540, it had been granted to the Duke of Norfolk, but was still used by local warreners.
It’s no surprise then that the ghostly visage of a little white rabbit has been spotted in and around the grounds. Some believe this is the ghost of a pet rabbit, however, this little bunny is far from sweet.
Some say this rabbit has flaming red eyes and guards the lodge against trespassers. While albinism is fairly common amongst pet rabbits, this one may have a spookier purpose – it’s said that whoever lays eyes on it will die within the year.
The Demon Cat of The White House
Another animal omen of doom and gloom is said to haunt the basement of the White House in the guise of a cat.
Although at first, it appears to be a normal kitty, when approached it grows to monstrous sizes – over 10 foot according to some reports.
Sightings of this beast are thought to correspond to national tragedies or significant events, with witness reporting seeing it the night before JFK and Lincoln’s assassinations, as well as I the final days of the Second World War.
As with any good legend there is actually a bases of fact to support it, as during the mid 1800s, cats were released in to the tunnels of the Capitol Buildings to control the growing rodent population.
Some say that a drunken guard saw one of these cats and in his stupor, mistook it for a huge feline demon. On realising sightings of a “demon cat” would mean being sent home to “recover from the shock”, sightings began to crop up amongst guards.
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