Walking the dog

So soon... This time a legend, or rather two legends, that seem so similar from different parts of southern England. First, many years ago, I read out about a local legend regarding Odiham in Hampshire. It was in a magazine called Prediction (if only I had kept all those back issues..), and concerned a phantom man who strode along certain routes. He was said to be tall and to appear at times of crisis, or to only appear to those in trouble or whose time was almost up. The article to my recollection linked the figure to the Norse/Germanic god Woden or Wotan (Odin). Interestingly, although maybe not significantly, Odiham's earliest recorded name seems to be Odiam and Wudiham.

Meanwhile, down in Devon, Hawkesdown Hillfort, which overlooks Axmouth and its estuary (in later times it would have looked over the Roman Fosse Way), is said to be haunted by a huge dark warrior and his fire-breathing dog. The area is home to many hillforts and deep valleys and can still be a pretty wild place when out walking - even in the daytime. The hillfort is on private land.

These two cases are interesting because whereas the cases of phantom animals are reportedly quite high, the case for this particular Woden-like manifestation seems to be fairly rare. Most 'ghosts' seem to be either place, or event, fixated, not wandering and linked to ancient gods. The other aspect that makes these two cases interesting is that Woden survived the onset of Christianity to survive in one of the most impressive (and fearsome) aspects of folklore, as the leader of the Wild Hunt - the rememberance of which is still prevalent across the south and west of England. I refer you to Wikipedia for more information on the Wild Hunt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt


For more information:

• Steven Shipp, 'East Devon hillforts', Wisht Maen 4: 17-18 (1995)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woden