Le Cheval Guillaume

 

    Bonne Nuit is a natural bay that sailors could rely on for shelter overnight, hence the name 'good night'. Still used as a fishing site, mostly for crabs and lobsters, it is mostly visited for its impressive cliffs and reputation for being a perfect place to practice diving at high tide. Not necessarily a tourist hotspot, it is the site of a rock formation with an interesting history.

  Le Cheval Guillaumewas the focus of St John's Day celebrations, as people would row round the rock for luck. It has not always been there though. In the past, a young woman called Anne-Marie used to skim rocks at the bay. One day whilst there, she was noticed by a sea-sprite. After watching her for a while, the sea-sprite decided it wanted Anne-Marie as its wife. Anne-Marie already had a suitor, William. The sea-sprite decided to get rid of William so he could have Anne-Marie for himself. William woke one morning to find a white stallion in his stable. Surprised but pleased by the gift, he decided to ride it to show Anne-Marie. That right, William dreamt that the stallion was dangerous. As a precaution, he took mistletoe with him when he went riding. Mistletoe was known for protection against witches and demons. As William rose towards the beach to show Anne-Marie, the stallion suddenly charged towards the sea. It was the sea-sprite in disguise, trying to drown William. William struck the best on the head with the mistletoe and it was petrified and turned into rock. 

  The rock has never disappeared and the sea-sprite has never reappeared. With many stories of supernatural beings carrying women off, probably a good thing William was around for Anne-Marie.

The Legend of La Houge Bie

 

   Seigneur de Hambye (often called Sir Hambie in modern tellings) is a legendary figure who saved St Lawrence from a dragon. Often portrayed in a similar way to St George, a brave knight slaying a dragon, the full story is a little different. A widely unknown Jersey folktale it was included in a limited edition stamp collection and even had a novel written about it in 1869. Taking many liberties with the original legend, The Knight and the Dragon is not a faithful retelling, more inspired by the legend than following it. 

  A terrible dragon settled in St Lawrence and terrorized the whole island, killing people and burning houses. Any men brave enough to attempt to kill the dragon were never seen again. News of the dragon spread far in wide, mostly due to islanders fleeing their homes. The news reached the ears of a young knight in Normandy. Seigneur De Hambye left Normandy with his squire and managed to defeat the dragon. However, the squire, wanting the glory for himself betrayed his master and killed him. The squire returned along to Hambye, with the dragon's head. He told the Seigneur's wife that the dragon had killed her husband, but the squire had managed to kill the beast in vengeance. He also said that the Seigneur's dying wish was for the squire to marry his wife. The squire did not manage to enjoy the results of his lies. After marrying the Signeur's widow, the squire cried out in his sleep, admitting his crimes. The Seigneur's wife had the squire brought to trial, where he confessed and was executed for his crime. La Houge De Hambye is one of two things, either the resting place of the dragon, buried by the Seigneur, or a mound raised in his memory by his wife. 

  In essentials, the main plot of the legend is pretty run-of-the-mill. It is very similar to the Norse legend of Sigurd the Slayer. Sigurd slays the dragon Fafnir and a drop of the dragon's blood gives him the ability to understand animals. Two birds then warn Sigurd that his disloyal companion, Regin, plans to murder him. Sigurd kills Regin, avoiding the fate the Seigneur suffered.

  Like many legends, some historians believe it has a basis in fact. If we take the dragon as a metaphor, for some Christians in the past a dragon was a symbol of paganism. Seen as the enemies of Christians for their beliefs, Knights who slew a Pagan chief were said to have 'slain a dragon'. Seigneur De Hambye may have been a real man who assassinated a Pagan chief. A real dragon or metaphorical one, these Knights should perhaps leave their squires at home.

  

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.