Case files of a paranormal investigator

Padfoot… larger and more powerful than any wolf is a demon hound associated with death – A sighting of Padfoot can never be a good thing…

Big Black Dogs or Black Shuck’s are seen all over the UK but Padfoot is different, he is seen along the route that Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Army took while invading and then retreating from England.

A Brief And Simplified History Of Why Bonnie Prince Charlie Invaded England.

• The Act of Supremacy (1534), declared King Henry VIII to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

• Under King Edward VI (1547–1553), the church in England underwent what is known as the English Reformation, in the course of which it acquired a number of characteristics that would subsequently become recognised as constituting its distinctive “Anglican” identity.

• Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553. She is best known for her vigorous attempt to reverse the English Reformation, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian persecutions.

• After Mary’s death in 1558, her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed by her younger half-sister and successor, Queen Elizabeth I.

• The following Monarchs up until 1685 were head of the Anglican Church.

• James, the Brother of King Charles II converted to Catholicism under the influence of his first wife. King Charles however demanded his (James) daughter Mary was brought up in the Anglican faith.

• In 1677 Mary married William III Prince of Orange (The Principality of Orange was, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France)

• King Charles II died in 1685 and James his brother, became King James VII. The fact that James was a Catholic was not seen as an issue because he was 55 (a good age at the time) and His daughter Mary who was Heir to the throne was Anglican.

• On 10th June 1688, the birth of James’s son and heir James Francis Edward, raised the prospect of initiating a Roman Catholic dynasty.

• Leading members of the English political class invited William of Orange and Mary to assume the English throne; after William landed in England on 5 November 1688, King James’s army deserted, and he went into exile in France.

• James Francis Edward (the son of James VII) didn’t give upon his right to the throne and tried unsuccessfully to regain it in 1715. A final attempt at rebellion, led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, (Bonnie Prince Charlie) was made in the Jacobite rising of 1745..

• Charles launched the rebellion on 19 August 1745. The Scots agreed to invade England after Charles assured them of substantial support from English Jacobites and the French. On that basis, the Jacobite army entered England in early November, reaching Derby on 4 December, where they decided to turn back due to the fact that the reinforcements never materialised.

Well that wasn’t as brief as I expected, but History is cool and a bit of context was needed…

It’s the battle sites of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s invasion of and retreat from England where Padfoot is seen guarding the graves of the fallen.

While Padfoot is seen as the harbinger of death, it’s not necessarily the person who sees it who is going to die. For example if Padfoot is seen near a village it could be the village itself or someone from the village that is destined to meet a nasty fate!

The Leek to Ashbourne road in Staffordshire, follows the route that Bonnie Prince Charlie took on his march to Derby, this may explain the reason why the Padfoot has been seen in these areas.

One such place that the Padfoot has been seen is in the vicinity of Oxhaye farm on the side of the Leek to Ashbourne road. Oxhaye farm was formerly a pub called the Red Lion, and it is thought that two Jacobite soldiers fought with each other and as a result were killed, their bodies were buried at the rear of the farm and it has been said that the Padfoot guards their graves.

Another place where three Jacobite soldiers were killed is further on along the Leek to Buxton road at Swinscoe, Padfoot is said to guard these graves as well.

On the A5053 near Ipstones, about a mile further on down the road you can see Hermitage farm, this house is over three hundred years old and is said to be haunted. It has been said that ghostly screams have been heard coming from the garden near the house. Padfoot has been seen around this area, mainly at the end of the lane leading to the farmhouse, one person tried to kick out at the phantom dog, but his foot passed right through it.

The cù-sìth

As Padfoot is seen guarding the graves of the Scots, it may be related to The cù-sìth

The cù-sìth is a mythological hound found in Scottish folklore and is thought to make its home in the clefts of rocks and to roam the moors of the Highlands. It is usually described as having a shaggy, dark green coat and being as large as a small cow. They were usually kept tied up in the brugh (fairy mound) as watchdogs, but sometimes they accompanied the women during their expeditions or were allowed to roam about alone. They moved silently, had large paws the size of adult human hands. the creature was capable of hunting silently, but would occasionally let out three terrifying barks, and only three, that could be heard for miles by those listening for it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the barking of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death.