Haunted Roche Rock
Thursday May 8, 2008 8:20 AM
In the heart of Cornwall, England lies the Bodmin Moor, a sweep of flat, boggy land treacherous to cross even under the best of conditions. The moor has claimed many lives, and the ghosts of the unhappy dead drift about it at night. One of the most haunted places is Roche Rock, a huge jutting stone pinnacle flanked by two smaller outcroppings near Roche, south of the town of Bodmin.
Roche Rock is haunted by demonic spirits, mine spirits, a phantom monk and the ghost of a leper hermit. Its most famous ghostly resident is Jan Tregeagle, a thieving Cornishman who, according to legend, tried to outsmart the Devil and failed.
The rock is spooky enough in appearance but it is also unusual in composition, a factor that may contribute to its haunted nature. It was formed millions of years ago out of gray quartz and black tourmaline, distinctly different from other granite rocks in the area. Perhaps Roche Rock became a giant magnet for paranormal phenomena and supernatural lore.
St. Conan, the first bishop of Cornwall, was said to have lived atop the rock as a hermit. In 1409, a brick chapel was built there and was dedicated to the archangel St. Michael. The leper took up residence there as a hermit, and was attended by his daughter, St. Gundred, until he died. The chapel has been in ruins for nearly three centuries.
The area around Roche Rock was the hunting grounds of King Arthur. Another hermit said to have lived there was Ogrin, who gave refuge to the legendary lovers Tristan and Iseult when they were trying to escape King Mark of Cornwall, Tristan's uncle who was betrothed to Iseult.
Tregeagle was a real person, a magistrate in the 17th century who was renowned for his cruelty and thievery. After he died, a legal dispute arose over land he had seized illegally by forging papers. His ghost appeared in court, summoned from hell. When the case was over and settled against Tregeagle, he was reluctant to return to hell. The judge sentenced him to emptying nearby Dozmary Pool with a limpet shell, a task he could never complete. But to keep him in his place, demons and hell hounds guarded him.
One night during a terrible storm, Tregeagle escaped his infernal guards and went tearing across Bodmin Moor with the demons and baying hell hounds on his tail. Tregeagle tried to hide in the Roche Rock chapel, but got his head stuck in the narrow east stained glass window. His head was inside the chapel and his body stuck outside. A priest heard his cries and rescued him.
Tregeagle was then set to weaving a rope from beach sand. He completed it by pouring freezing water on the rope, but was given other impossible tasks, which he still labors to complete. His restless ghost haunts Roche Rock, especially when winds howl around the moor.
Roche Rock has been fitted with ladders so that the brave can scale to chapel ruins and the very top of the rock. Not a task for a windy day or a dark night — unless you want to join the ghosts and spirits who call Roche Rock home.
