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Tales from Cornwall© Virginia Marin
Cornwall. "The region of dream and mystery", wrote Thomas Hardy in 1870. Cornwall. That English county of breathtaking beauty. A coastline without equal. Wherever one stands in Cornwall he is never more than twenty miles from the sea. Cornwall. Cornwall. Where lost dreams and second chances are found in the lovely and eloquent story of Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell Seekers. Cornwall. A place of fact, fiction and lore.
Ghost Stories At the Jamaica Inn, made famous by Daphne Du Maurier's novel, the ghost of a murdered sailor is frequently seen by pub-goers, while The Dolphin Inn at Penzance, entertains a jestor-like sea captain decked out in laced ruffles and a tricorn hat attempting to reclaim casks of his favorite brandy. Yet farther along at The Punch Bowl Inn, The Willington, and The Napoleon Inns customers and inn-keepers alike are dealing with their own resident ghosts. There are five predominant ghost stories of Cornwall: The Ghost of Charlotte Dymond; The Nun of Duporth Manor; The Legend of Blockways Cove; The Talland Ghost Hunter; and The Phantom Coach Charlotte Dymond is Cornwalls most celebrated ghost as she walks the town clad only in a nightgown, a red shawl and a silk bonnet. Her story has been immortalised by the Cornish poet Charles Causley in his Ballad of Charlotte Dymond. In two of the stories, the ghosts invade the Cloth. In The Phantom Coach, the phenomenon of phantom coaches drawn by ghostly horses is not uncommon in Cornwall. Cornwall casts a mystical cloud over its visitors, and no matter where their treks take them they, sooner rather than later, become hearers of the more famous of the Cornish legends. Legends Giant stories are important in the folklore of Cornwall, and they once roamed the area of Penwith causing havoc and death. Two of the better known giants were Cormoran, of Jack The Giant Killer and Bolster. Bolster was an enormously towering figure with a step length of six miles. He was an ill-tempered and violent creature who met his end at the hands of a pious woman--St. Agnes. Read about his unusual demise. Several weeks ago, I was indeed pleased to see the television adaptation of Jack The Giant Killer. The character actors, the coloring, the costumes and the story line were absolutely delightful. According to Cornish legend, Jack was a farmer's son who lived near Land's End in the days of King Arthur. True to the fairy tale genre, he slays the giant, marries the beautiful princess, and they all live happily ever after. But there is much more to Jack which you can enjoy at his story site.And, if you are very, very quiet--you may just hear voices emanating from the giant's grave at the Morvah Church Yard.
The copyright of the article Tales from Cornwall in Folklore is owned by Larry Low. Permission to republish Tales from Cornwall in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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