THIS IS JERSEY

Pictures of ghosts and witches are easily conjured up in Jersey. The ancient lanes overhung with vegetation look almost like dark tunnels leading into the unknown. Unexplained ruins dotted around the coast add to the air of mystery and Island people with a long and proud history have many stories to tell which have been passed down from generation to generation.

Take the Black Dog of Bouley Bay, for example. A giant dog with eyes as big as saucers and long sharp teeth was said to roam the beach terrifying anyone foolish enough to be in the area. One theory is that the beast was dreamt up by smugglers in order to keep people away from the bay so that they could get on with their illegal activities. Nowadays there is a Black Dog pub which is very welcoming.

Another fearsome beast was the Bull of St Clement. Its roar was heard all along the coast at low tide and was said to emanate from the sea. Those with no imagination claimed that it was merely the sound of the sea being pushed through a fissure in the rocks.

There is also said to be a sunken manor house just off the coast of St Ouen and it is true that at very low tide you can find tree stumps in the sand. These are actually the remains of an old forest which grew there when the water level was very much lower than it is today but some still think it is part of the forest which used to surround a manor house that was deluged by a huge storm.

On the east coast, the rocky outcrop at Rocqueberg also attracted the superstitious. Witches used to gather in the area and the devil's footprint is supposed to be clearly printed on the rock.

Whatever the legends, it is a fact that witchcraft was considered prevelant in the Island up until the 18th century and there were many witches' trials. Those found to be guilty of witchcraft would be tied to a post in the Royal Square where the open air market used to be and then strangled from behind and burnt.

They could hardly have been said to have received a fair trial either. The customary way to determine whether the accused was a witch or not was to get them to retrieve a heavy weight from a cauldron of boiling water. If the hand showed signs of burns, they were guilty.
Some superstitions remain to this day and you still hear of some pretty unusual beliefs held by the older, more traditional farming families in the countryside. Some farmers, for example, only plant their potatoes at certain stages of the moon.