Ghost Chicken of Langtoft
FOLKLORE FEATURED
I’ve done a little research and discovered the legend of a ghost hen and her nine chicks that haunt Hen Pit Hole.
Hen Pit Hole can be found halfway between Langtoft and Kilham. It was said that when Toon Well in Langtoft overfills, a waterspout shoots from Hen Pit Hole with such force that a rider on horseback can pass under the arch, made by the jet of water, without getting wet.
Langtoft’s 126 feet deep, Toon Well, did have a pump on it but is now covered by a metal plate. In 1892 the well was filled with debris washed into it by a flood that is said to have reached seven and a half feet above street level. A stone slab, remembering this event, can be found set in the wall of a house on Back Street, opposite the Ship Inn.
Back to the ghost hen and her chicks: The story goes that a gypsy put a hen down Toon Well and it reappeared at Hen Pit Hole. Since that time the hen and her nine chicks are said to haunt the area.
The Rev. William Smith, in his 1923 book, “Ancient springs and streams of the East Riding of Yorkshire”, suggests that these birds are something to do with a Celtic goddess and her nymphs. Another suggestion is that the name Hen Pit Hole comes from the goddess Hen Wen and yet another idea is a connection with the Norse goddess Ran and her nine daughters.
If anyone has further information about this spectre, please get in touch.
While researching Hen Pit Hole and the mythology of the East Riding, I came across many stories of ghosts, werewolves, dragons, ley lines, fairies, and revenants (zombies) much of which are within in an area named the Wold Newton Triangle.
It seems the area is rich with folklore and legend.