School Author Visits Wherever your school is in the UK, you're never far from a bit of boggy history—whether it's the misty moors of the north, the marshes of the east, or the puddles in the playing field. The UK’s landscape was once a vast patchwork of wetlands and boglands, and where there’s damp earth, you can be sure that mischievous boggarts aren’t far behind, lurking in the shadows...
Sophie’s school author visits transport students into the enchanting world of local legend and folklore, bringing boggarts to life through immersive storytelling, hands-on sensory experiences, and inspiring creative writing workshops. Whether delving into ancient legends or conjuring up a magical creature from a cauldron (literally!), Sophie’s author sessions ignite imaginations and inspire children to discover the magic hidden in the everyday.
Boggarts: A Beginner’s Guide
In folklore, boggarts are supernatural beings that can be household spirits or wild, untamed creatures of the moors and woods. Household boggarts are known for their troublesome behaviour—hiding belongings, spoiling food, and making eerie noises at night. Meanwhile, outdoor boggarts haunt isolated places, leading travellers astray, causing livestock to panic, and sometimes appearing as dark, shadowy figures at sharp bends on country roads. Despite their reputation for mischief, boggarts are believed to be fiercely territorial. Once a boggart takes residence in a home, it is nearly impossible to get rid of—several stories tell of a family moving house, only to hear the boggart whisper, "We're coming too!'
Tales to Make Your Toes Curl: Boggarts in Folklore
The North: Boggarts and Baby Stealing
One of the most chilling boggart legends involves their notorious habit of stealing human babies and replacing them with their own changelings. These changelings were said to be bad-tempered, sickly, and impossible to care for. Parents who suspected their beloved baby had been swapped for a changeling often had to turn to bizarre remedies to reveal the truth.
One well-known story about identifying a boggart changeling tells of an old test involving tea. In the tale, a family began to suspect that their baby had been replaced by a boggart changeling when their baby started behaving strangely—crying constantly, refusing food, and being unusually intelligent for a tiny baby. Seeking advice from a local wise woman, they were told to perform a test. They were to brew tea in an eggshell and watch how the baby reacted. (The reason behind this peculiar test lay in folklore: supernatural beings, including fairies and boggarts, were believed to have ancient knowledge but could be tricked into revealing themselves when confronted with something utterly ridiculous).
The mother, following the wise woman's advice, filled an empty eggshell with tea and stirred it carefully. Upon witnessing this, the changeling, unable to contain its surprise, shouted:
"I've seen an acorn before the oak,
But never tea brewed in an eggshell!"
At that moment, the family realised their suspicions were true—the creature before them was not their child but a boggart. In some versions of the story, the boggart vanished in a puff of smoke. In others, the family had to drive it away through various means, such as leaving out offerings of bread and milk or reciting protective charms.
Burnley: The Boggart and the Hen In the heart of Towneley Park, Burnley, stands Boggart Bridge, steeped in local legend. According to folklore, a fearsome boggart once haunted this bridge, demanding gifts from those wishing to cross. Terrified, the townspeople struck a deal: they promised the soul of the next living being to cross the bridge in exchange for peace. The clever villagers sent an old hen across, and upon claiming its soul in a puff of sulphur, the boggart vanished, never to be seen again. To ensure the boggart never returned, the locals planted evergreen shrubs nearby, as part of the agreement was that the boggart would stay away as long as the trees remained green. Manchester: The Boggart and the milk-churn Boggart Hole Clough in Blackley, Manchester, is rich in folklore, particularly stories of boggarts—mischievous and sometimes malevolent spirits from Lancashire legend. One well-known tale tells of a local farmer, George Cheetham, whose family was plagued by a boggart, eventually driving them to abandon their home. As they left, they heard the boggart’s voice coming from a milk churn on their cart, making it clear that escape was impossible.
Another story follows three men—Plant, Chirrup, and Bangle—who ventured into the clough at night in search of St. John's fern seed (otherwise known as St John's Wort), which was said to grant magical powers. Their intrusion disturbed sinister forces, resulting in eerie apparitions that sent them fleeing in terror.
The clough is also believed to be home to a boggart in an old, decaying farmhouse deep in the woods. This mischievous spirit is known for curdling milk, making objects vanish, and causing dogs to refuse to walk suddenly. (Dogs, in particular, are especially sensitive to boggarts, often barking or behaving strangely in their presence.) Some tales of the Boggart of Blackley claim it was a master of disguise, capable of shifting into various forms—a large black dog, a shadowy figure, or even an inanimate object, like a sack of grain that moved by itself.
Yorkshire: The Boggart and the Knot-Hole
A Boggart once moved into the home of a quiet farmer, George Gilbertson. No one knew why or how, but once it arrived, it acted like it owned the place and caused plenty of trouble. No one ever saw it—Boggarts are rarely visible to people—but the farm animals and the family dog often did. The Boggart seemed to dislike the children most. It snatched their food, tipped over their bowls of bread and milk, shook their bed curtains, and even sat on them in their beds!
In the kitchen, a wood panel on the staircase had a hole where a knot had fallen out. One day, the youngest child pushed a shoehorn into the hole, and it was thrown straight back at him, hitting him on the head. Though frightened at first, the children soon found it fun to play ‘laikin’ wi’ Boggart’ by pushing the shoe-horn into the hole and having it flung back. This only made the Boggart more troublesome. At night, heavy footsteps clattered down the stairs like someone wearing wooden clogs, and the sound of dishes smashing filled the kitchen. However, in the morning, everything was still in place...
Eventually, the family had enough. They decided to leave and allow the Boggart to have the house. As they loaded their furniture into the cart, a neighbour stopped them. “So, you’re leaving the old house at last?” he said.
“Aye,” George replied. “That darned Boggart torments us day and night. It’s after the poor bairns, and it’s wearing my wife down, so we’re forced to flit.”
Just then, a voice came from inside a milk churn, “Aye, aye, Georgey, we’re flitting, you see.”
In shock, George cried, “If I’d known you were coming with us, I wouldn’t have bothered!”. Turning to his wife, he added, “We might as well go back to the old house rather than be tormented somewhere else.”
And so they did. They seemed to get along better with the Boggart after that, though it never gave up its shoe-horn trick. An old tailor who visited the farmhouse years later, said the shoehorn was still being thrown at his head.
Lincolnshire: The Boggart and the Farmer
A Lincolnshire tale tells of a farmer who purchased land inhabited by a boggart. They agreed to share the produce, with the boggart choosing the portion grown below ground. The farmer planted barley, keeping the grain and leaving the boggart with stubble. The following spring, the boggart chose the above-ground portion, but the farmer planted potatoes, again outwitting the boggart. Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: The Shapeshifting Boggart
Aside from the Boggart of Blackley, numerous other tales of shapeshifting boggarts have been told across the UK The Hothersall Hall Boggart (Lancashire, England)
A well-known Lancashire story speaks of a boggart that haunted Hothersall Hall near Ribchester. This boggart could shape-shift into various forms, including a large, terrifying beast and a headless man.
The Boggart of Mumby (Lincolnshire, England)
In Lincolnshire, the boggart of Mumby was said to change into various terrifying creatures to scare people off the marshlands. Some versions of the story say it appeared as a large, hairy beast, while others described it as an old, ragged man who would vanish into thin air when approached.
The Hedley Kow (Northumberland, England)
Like boggarts, the Hedley Kow was a shapeshifting trickster spirit known for assuming different forms to deceive villagers—such as appearing as a horse, a large bundle of hay, or even a lost treasure chest.
The Skrikie Boggart (Scottish Borders)
In the Scottish Borders, tales tell of a boggart that took the shape of a mournful, wailing ghost that would follow travellers along desolate roads. Sometimes it would appear as a small, harmless creature, only to grow into a towering figure to terrify its victim.
The Yorkshire Boggarts (Yorkshire, England)
Yorkshire folklore is rich with stories of boggarts that would change into animals such as horses, dogs, or even everyday objects to cause mischief. Some tales mention farmers encountering their own cows or dogs behaving strangely, only to realise it was the boggart in disguise. A Boggart by Any Other Name
In the south, boggarts are often referred to as "bogies" or "bogles." These entities share similar characteristics with their northern counterparts, known for causing mischief and sometimes taking on frightening appearances. For instance, in Devonshire folklore, the "Bucca" is a household spirit akin to the boggart, known for helpful and harmful deeds depending on how it is treated. Scottish folklore features creatures similar to boggarts, such as the "Bogle." Bogles are generally malevolent spirits known to haunt particular locations, leading travellers astray or causing general mischief.
Wales may not have boggarts by name, but it’s not short of mischievous creatures that fit the bill. One such creature is the Coblynau, little goblin-like beings said to haunt Welsh mines. They're either friendly or prone to trickery, much like boggarts who can't decide whether to be helpful or cause chaos. The Tylwyth Teg are a fairy-like race known for causing mischief, swapping children, or playing tricks on humans. While not exactly boggarts, they share a similar spirit of mischief in Welsh folklore. Then there’s the Pwca, a shape-shifting trickster who leads people astray, much like a Welsh boggart. Appearing as animals or eerie figures, the Pwca loves creating confusion, just like its mischievous cousins. Finally, Bwbach (or Bwbachod) are household spirits, similar to boggarts, who protect the home but are known for playing pranks, moving objects around, or making unsettling noises. So, while the Welsh might not call them boggarts, they have plenty of goblins, shape-shifters, and household spirits causing their fair share of trouble! The ‘Hob’ was a supernatural being believed to inhabit the more remote corners of the countryside. The ‘hob’ wasn't confined to Lancashire either: it roamed the North of England and the Midlands, with other names such as hobthrusts, hobmen, hobgoblins and even hobbits—long before Tolkien made the word famous.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Proof That Persists
Nogworth Cross is a historic site near Shay Lane and Todmorden Road in Lancashire. All that remains today is the base of the cross, relocated in 1909. But according to local legend, something far more sinister lies beneath it… Long ago, a troublesome shapeshifting boggart haunted the area, causing chaos with its pranks. The locals became fed up with the mischief, so they resorted to old charms and rituals to trap the creature beneath Nogworth Cross, keeping it sealed away. But when the cross was moved, some wondered whether the boggart had been disturbed—perhaps escaping once more to cause trouble in the shadows.
Tales of spirits trapped beneath stones or crosses are as common in Lancashire as rain in July... take Hob Cross, in Latham, near Ormskirk, which dates back to medieval times - named after the ‘Hob’, a boggart, in all but name. Whether known as hobs, hobbits or boggarts, these creatures were often linked to specific place names dotted all over the UK; Hob Hole near Runswick Bay in North Yorkshire, Hob Hill in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Even Derbyshire’s Hob Hurst’s House, a Bronze Age barrow on Beeley Moor, is named after the hobgoblin believed to haunt the area. It doesn't stop there...Thursden Valley, on the outskirts of Burnley, takes its name from the Old English word ‘Thurs,’ which means goblin or demon, literally the Valley of the Goblins'. The term 'Thurs' pops up all over the place; there's Thursby in Cumbria, Thurscross near Otley, Thursford, a village in Norfolk, and Thursley in Surrey- The UK is practically crawling with boggarts, and there's no escape!
If your school is looking to inspire creativity and spark a love for reading and writing, Sophie's immersive and interactive author sessions are designed to captivate and educate in equal measure.
For more details on our school visits, creative writing workshops, and storytelling sessions, visit www.stonehillpress.co.uk/teachers
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