The Ghostly Bridal Procession

Jersey's Scariest ghost story, is an old one. A familiar tale in essentials, the way it' events are commemorated is the stuff of nightmares for many.

Years ago, a couple were walking down Waterworks Valley in St Lawrence when they heard the peal of bells.

They began to walk faster - then they realised that the bells they could hear were in fact wedding bells.

A bridal procession slowly appeared round the corner - a coach drawn by six white horses, with footmen and a coachman, with white ribbons on his whip. As the coach passed, the couple looked inside at the bride, dressed in her magnificent white wedding dress.

But the bride had no face - under her wedding veil there was just a skull. Scared out of their wits, the couple ran the rest of the way home.

At first, they worried that people would laugh at them, but when they told others about their encounter, they were told about an old legend.

A long time ago, the same bride went to St. Lawrence Church to be married, but her bridegroom never arrived. She was so sad that she killed herself, and now, once a year, her ghost drives down the valley, trying to find her disloyal fiance. 

Whether you believe it ghosts or not, I believe it's safe to say, Jersey has it's fair share.

St Brelade's Church: The Church That Moved

Many years ago, Islanders who lived in what is now Les Quennevais, wanted a church. They decided to build it near their homes. The only problem was that many said fairies had a special place there, but surely they wouldn't begrudge them a church.

Day 1: Workmen, who had been digging the church's foundations, neatly piled the stones and tools, ready for use the next day.

Day 2: The workmen arrive to find the stones and tools gone. Eventually, there were found a mile away on the beach. not the best place for a church. The workmen took the stones and tools back to the site.

Day 3: The stones and tools had again been moved to the beach. It was more than highly unlikely anyone would have had the time or strength to move everything so far without detection. So the workmen gave up and built the church at the beach, St Brelade's Bay.

Some believe it was the work of fairies, not wanting a church so close to their special place, others believe that perhaps God wanted the church to be in one of the island's most beautiful spots. Either way, that is where the church has stood, unmoving, ever since. The mystery of what happened may never be discovered but it seems the fairies, or whoever moved the church, are happy.

Pasternosters Crying children

The ghostly cries near Gréve de Lecq

Queen Elizabeth I gave the Channel Island, Sark, to Helier de Carteret, At Ouen's Seigneur. In return he would pay 50 shillings a year and keep 40 men there to defend Sark against the French

Helier set sail with several Jersey families, careful to avoid the dangerous Pierre de Lecq rocks on the way . However one of the ships hit them, and sank. All on board were drowned, including several children.

After that tragedy, passing fishermen used to say a prayer in their memory - 'Our Father' ('Pater Noster') in their memory- which is why these rocks are now known as the Paternosters.

Some say that when a storm is brewing, the cries of the drowned children can still be heard.

The Terrible Cry of the Tombelénes

Long before the Nazis occupied Jersey, much of it was ruled by French gangs, hated by the islanders.

One night, there was a party at a farmer's house in Trinity, to celebrate the engagement of Raulin (the farmer's son) and Jeanne.

Towards the end of the evening, a French gang arrived. There was an argument between Raulin and the leader of the gang, and as the Frenchmen left, they warned Raulin that he would be punished in the morning.

Later that night, Raulin walked Jeanne home, and she was so worried that she begged him to stay. But he wouldn't, so she sent her dog with him to keep him safe.

As Raulin walked home, he heard voices coming towards him, but he didn't have time to hide. It was the same French gang that had come to his father's house earlier. They seized Raulin, and although Jeanne's dog tried to defend Raulin, it was stabbed, and the gang rode off with Raulin.

Back at her house, Jeanne had been tossing and turning, unable to get to sleep. Suddenly she heard what sounded like scratching and whimpering at her front door - when she opened it, her dog rushed in. Seeing the blood on her dog, Jeanne knew something had happened to Raulin and ran out into the night.

She followed her dog to where the gang had ambushed Raulin, but there was no trace of them. But her dog picked up their trail, and set off towards the cliffs.

Eventually they reached a cave. Inside she could see the gang having a banquet, whilst Raulin stood with a noose around his neck. The leader of the gang stood up and gave a toast, then gave the signal for Raulin to be hanged.

But Jeanne ran into the cave, and stood between the gang and Raulin. She begged the gang to kill her too, but they laughed, and the leader said he would keep Jeanne as his wife.

As the gang moved towards the couple, Jeanne seized a dagger, and cut Raulin free. But the leader plunged his dagger into Raulin's heart, killing him. As Raulin fell to the floor, Jeanne's dog leapt at the leader and sank his teeth into his neck, killing him. Jeanne's dog was so wounded that he died too.

The gang ran towards Jeanne in a fury, and she fled the cave and ran along the beach. She climbed up L'Islet rock, and as the waves swept over her, she was dragged out to sea and drowned.

A week later, Jeanne's body was washed ashore, and as some fishermen carried her body along the beach, they saw ravens circling around a cave. Curious, they went in and found the bodies of Raulin and the gang's leader.

They took the body of Raulin and buried him and Jeanne together - but they left the gang leader's body for the ravens. Today it is said that Jeanne's screams can still be heard - the Cry of the Tombelenes.

The Witches of Rocqueberg

On the south coast of Jersey, 3km from St Helier in the parish of St Clement, is a rocky promontory, from which rises a granite outcrop known as Rocqueberg. Also referred to as witches rock.

This eeirie place was a meeting place for witches and devil worshippers. No-one in thier right mind would go there on a Friday night, especially if there was a full-moon. On one part of the rock, the cloven hoofprint of the Devil is said to be clearly visible.

There are two legends about the Witches of Rocqueberg.

A fisherman named Hubert, was engaged to a girl named Madelaine. Hubert would take long walks in the evening. One evening after walking towards Rocqueberg point, he fell asleep beside the rock. When he awoke, the rock had gone, replaced by a wood with beautiful girls dancing around the trees. They called out for him to join them which he did. As dawn approached they asked him to come the next night too and he promised he would.

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When he went home he told Madelaine everything that had happened, including his plan to go back that night. Madelaine warned him not to go, believing it was dangerous. Hubert ignored her advice and went anyway. Concerned and suspicious of danger, Madelaine asked the parish priest what to do. He told her to take a crucifix and follow Hubert.

When Madelaine arrived at the rock, she saw Hubert dancing, but no beautiful girls, just ugly old witches. Madelaine raised the crucifix above her head and ran towards the witches, who screamed and disappeared. Hubert fell to the ground unconscious. The legend doesn't say what happened next, whether or not Hubert was grateful to Madelaine or whether or not he suffered any ill effects from his time with the witches.

  It is rumoured that Hubert's ghost haunts the rock, either in the hope of dancing with the witches again or because the witches trapped him there to wait for them forever.

The second legend involves another fisherman.

This part of the Jersey coastline is very treacherous because there are many rocks hidden under the water. Legend has it that the witches of Rocqueberg would only allow fishermen to pass this headland safely if they were thrown every thirteenth fish from the fishermen's catch. If they failed to do this the hags would cast a spell to raise a great storm, and the boat would be smashed to pieces on the rocks.

One brave fisherman refused to do this - instead he took a five-rayed starfish from his catch, cut off one of the arms and threw it at the witches, shouting: 'The cross is my passport'. It landed amongst the witches in the shape of the cross and they disappeared, screaming, never to be seen again.

The Vanquishing of the Bull of St Clement

5km down the road from St Helier, is St Clement

At low tide, a roaring bull roamed around the rocks on St Clement's beach. Hearing the bull's roar, no-one would venture down to the beach at low tide for any reason, even fishing.

"It drives us mad!"
"My husband's too frightened to fish."
"A bull as big as a house,with eyes of fire."

No-one seemed to really have seen the bull, the description was probably imagination, speculation, maybe people who convinced themselves they'd seen it. Either way, it was a terrifying story. However, it wasn't fevered imagination and local legend that had started it. The people may not have seen it, but they heard it. That is how they knew where it was. The bull would roam the rocks and roar.

One fisherman however, refused to believe the story of the bull. At low tide, he searched the rocks, the bull roared. The man followed the sound. Instead of a giant, ferocious bull, he found a rock pool. The rocks had eroded to form a pipe. The pool water at low tide was sucked down the pipe, making a gurgling sound which the rocks surrounding it echoed, making a load roaring noise. The rock pipe was filled.

That was the end of the Bull of St Clement. vanquished by a fisherman.

The Black Dog of Bouley Bay

About 10km from St Helier, almost opposite on the north coast of the island, in Trinity, is Bouley Bay. 

On nights when the black dog roamed the hills of Bouley Bay people would lock themselves in their houses, bar the shutters and bolt their doors. Those who had glimpsed the black dog gave varying reports of what it looked like. Some said it was the size of a bull, smooth furred with ears flat like a hound and huge eyes as yellow as gold. Others swore that the black dog was similar to a great black wolf, the size of a bear, with eyes that glowed as red as the flames of hell.

Many insisted that a sighting of the legendary black dog heralded a coming storm or the death of a loved one, while some said that he led lost travellers to safety. Others warned that the black dog chased unwary folk to their deaths from the cliffs, or that he savaged people viciously. Some people swore that the black dog would protect the vulnerable from harm.

When the eerie howls echoed down into the bay, anyone who heard them would make for the nearest house or for The Black Dog tavern just to be on the safe side.

There are many stories about Lé Tchain Dé Bouley. While there are differing accounts, the most common is of a terrifing, giant black dog with eyes the size of saucers, roaming the bay dragging a chain behind it. As such, just the eeirie clanging of a chain was enough to send people into thier homes, terrified that the dog was approaching. A giant dog no-one could outrun. 

Those who encountered the dog were usually stopped in thier tracks by fear as they heard the chain, only to be cornered by the dog who would circle them at great speed, terrifying them. While no bodily harm was done to the alleged victims of the dog, they were found in the morning cowering against a hedge or at the side of the road, suffering from shock.

Some believe the dog is real, others believe it is pure myth. One story is that is is a legend. Perhaps there is a black dog that haunts Bouley Bay. Perhaps some did encounter the ghost of a dog, or some apparition. Maybe it warns of a storm and nothing else. It is possible, there were stories of the black dog and someone thought of a good way to turn that to thier advantage.

Most people now believe that the story was made up by smugglers, if nothing but a howl or the rattle of a chain is enough to clear the streets and keep people indoors, what better way to make sure no-one would see you moor at the bay, bringing illegal brandy and tobacco into land? Some even believe, on some occasions, the smugglers would don a costume and pretend to be the dog. Crude a disguise as it may have been, it is unlikely anyone who had heard the stories, seeing a giant creature in the distance, would take the chance of getting a closer look.

So was the black dog pure myth created by the smugglers, or a legend simply encouraged by them? Either way, Le Chein de Bouley, Le Tchain bu Boulay, Tchain du Bouôlé Lé Tchain dé Bouley, The Black Dog of Bouley Bay, is a legend that is here to stay.