The Cauld Lad of Hylton is a ghost of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

boy Robert Skelton, said to haunt the

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

s of Hylton Castle (in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

).K. M. Briggs, ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature'', p 33 University of Chicago Press, London, 1967 The events are said to have taken place in the 16th or 17th century and there are several

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s concerning the ghost's origins.

Legend

One story states that the stable boy was caught

courting Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private ...

Baron Hylton's daughter, and was killed. Another version says that the baron ordered that his horse be prepared for an important journey, but Skelton had overslept. There are several versions of what happened next. The enraged baron was said to have either

decapitate Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

d the boy, stabbed him with a nearby pitchfork, or hit him on the back of the head with a

riding crop Riding is a homonym of two distinct English words: From the word ride * In equestrianism, riding a horse * Riding animal, animal bred or trained for riding * Riding hall, building designed for indoor horse riding From Old English ''*þriðing'' ...

, striking a spot that had been injured (and weakened) the day before, causing a fatal blow. The baron was then reported to have disposed of the body in a deep pond, or an unused

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

. Several months later, the body was recovered. The baron was tried for Skelton's

, but had an

alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

. An old farm worker stated that the baron had ordered the boy to remove a tool from the top shelf in the barn, and the boy had fallen, seriously wounding himself in the process. The baron had tended to the wounds, but the boy had died. It is on record that Robert Hylton, 13th Baron Hylton was

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

ed in 1609. Soon afterwards, strange events began to occur in the

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. The

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...

would be tidied at night if left in a mess, or messed up if left tidy. An unseen person would take hot ashes from the fires, and lie on them, leaving an imprint of a body.

Chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

s were emptied on the floor. After a while, a

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

stayed up until

midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

to see who was causing the mischief. He saw the ghost of a

naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

boy, and heard him crying "I'm cauld" ("I'm cold"). The cook and his wife left a warm

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ...

for the ghost, and the next night they heard, ''"Here's a cloak and here's a hood, the Cauld Lad of Hylton will do no more good."'' The ghost disappeared and the strange occurrences ceased, though even now people claim to have heard the ghostly cries of the Cauld Lad. Page 212 illustration in English Fairy Tales

Page 212 illustration in English Fairy Tales

The behaviour of the ghost suggests a

poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional desc ...

. Other versions of the tale describe the Cauld Lad as an

elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

barghest In Northern English folklore, the Barghest or Barguest is a mythical monstrous black dog with large teeth and claws, This in turn cites: *Wirt Sikes, ''British Goblins'' (1880) *''Notes and Queries'', first series, ii. 51. *Joseph Ritson, ''Fai ...

Henry Tegner, Ghosts of The North Country, 1991 Butler Publishing or brownie who is under a spell from which he can only be released by being given a gift. His mischief is intended to draw attention to himself in the hope that he will be saved. He sings the following song, which indicates how long he expects to be enchanted: :''Wae's me, wae's me,'' (" Woe is me, woe is me,") :''The

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera '' Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and b ...

's not yet fallen from the tree,'' :''That's to grow the wood,'' :''That's to make the

cradle Cradle may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Cradling (paintin ...

,'' :''That's to rock the bairn'' ("That will rock the baby"), :''That's to grow to the man'' :''That's to lay me!'' ("That will

exorcise Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be d ...

me!") This song is included in the tales where he is laid by the gift of clothing; as a prediction, the song is inaccurate.

References

External links

{{wikisource
Wearside Online: Hylton Castle
English ghosts Elves History of County Durham History of Tyne and Wear Northumbrian folklore Northumbrian folkloric beings County Durham folklore