Round and round he tramped

Round and round he tramped

Thu, 21 May 2020

A story from Manx Tales (c.1899):

There is a large field by Ronaldsway in which there is a big pool of water. A young man was returning home to Ballasalla, but instead of going round by the road, he thought that he would take a short cut across the country. His way led him through this field, which had the reputation of being haunted. Although the moon was full, the youth, once he got into the field, could not get out again. Round and round lie tramped, but he could not find the exit. Then he tried to clamber over the wall, but his efforts were mysteriously repulsed until, about two hours later, he managed to escape over the wall at about the same spot as he had entered, and he did not get home till about twelve at night when he was quite fagged out, having had to go the long way round by the road after all. The mischievous spirits in this case are believed to be “fairies.”

This story connects to an image in the project, Whispering in the trees: Images of Manx folklore by Mark Kinrade.