2020-02-01_Fortean_Times

STRANGEDAYS

In an echo of Dr Eric Dingwall’s

work as apolice consultant

on criminal cases with occult

angles [seeFT300:50-54], the

PolicePaganFederation (PPA)

have been ca lledint oassist

HampshireConstabulary, who

areinvestigatingaseries of

grislycrimeswith elements of

black magic in and around the

village of Bramshaw. During

November 2019, twosheep were

found to have beenstabbed to

death,withpentagramsand

the number‘666’ spray-painted

on them, twoheifer sstabbed

in the neck, and theexterior

and interiorof St Peter’s, the

village’sparishchurch, was

desecrated. Invertedcrossesand

phallicsymbolshad beenspray-

painteding old onchurch doors

and windows. Nearbyroadsigns

and noticeboardsweresimilarly

defaced.Threecowswerealso

found stabbed in nearby Linfor d.

The200-strong PPAwas

originallyformedin 2009 as

asupportgroup forPagans

within thepoliceforce, but

its members’expertisehas

subsequentlybeendrawn

uponduring probesinto

horsemaimingandattackson

churches. SergeantAndyPardy,

the PPA’shead,pointed outthat

whils tthe pentagramis“avery

emoti ve symbol” that “always

createsafurore”,itsappearance

is unlikelytobeconnected to

practisingPagansata ll,but

maysimply be du etochildren

messingabout, oramentally

ill indivi dual. Useofinverted

crosses and thenumber ‘666’

doesnot suggestPaganism,

butrathersome form of black

magic, or indeedteena gers re-

enactingaHammerhorror film

or MidsomerMurder sepisode.

Villagers denythat local

childrencould beresponsible,

pointingout thateveryone

knowseveryo ne else ’s business

in this small close-knit

community.“It’sabsolutelynot

loca lkids”, saysMike Mills ,who

runs the village’s only shop.The

RevDavid Bacon, 57, vicarof

St Peter’ sfor thepast 15years,

said :“There’ sbeen witchcraft

round herefor hundreds of

years–the NewForest iswell

knownforwitchcr aft andblack

magic happening, and thishas

obviouslygone upalevel.”

During this time,he sa id,there

have been fivesmallincidents:

“Little rings of stonesleft onthe

church’s doorstep, forexample.

Ithink they’rejustlettingus

know theyare there.But they

nevercome outof theshadows”.

Light anddarknesswere the

themes of his sermonfor the first

SundayofAdvent.

In identifyinglocal Pagan

groups, the PPAisn ot only

examining possible suspects

butofferin gsupportincase of a

backlash.Simon Wood, aformer

policeofficer andamember of

the NewForest Pagans ofYtene

group,said:“Thereare lots of

clans inthe NewForest. 20th-

century Wicca’s founder Gerald

Gardnerwasassociatedwith

the area,andint he 1950s (see

FT267:39), the prominentwitch

Sybil Leeklived in the village

of Burley, afew miles from

Bramshaw; but discrimination

againstPagans is still

widespread and we ofte nfind

ourselves on thereceivingend

of abusefromlocal peoplewhen

we hold our openceremonies,

forlooking different, dressing

different.Thereisa worryamong

us thatthis could be the work of

someonetrying topain tusi na

badlightwhen reallyweare just

as appalled as anyone else”.

In late December, another

sheepwasfound dead,“slit from

neck to crot ch withentrails

removed” an dsprayed with

“Satanic symbols”,inthe village

of Boldreinthe NewForest.

Meanwhile,residents of

Todmorden inWestYorkshire

were puzzledrecentlybywhat

appeared to beaVodou veve (a

symbolrepresentingaparticular

loa,saintors piritint heVodou

pantheon (seeFT140:32-38).

chalkedon the pavement. Itwas

foundbyawindowcleaner early

in the morning ofThursd ay 19

December 2019, and according

to theTwitte raccountCentre

forFolklore, Myth and Magic,

thatposted the photograph,

“loca lbusiness very unsettled

as worried whateverismeant is

aimed at them”.Thedisplayis

somewhat unclear; thechalked

veve and the crossedkeys

areindicative of Papa Legba,

guar dian of crossroads and

opener ofways, whoisc alled

uponbefor eany others maybe

petitioned,whilst the rum and

cigarettes aregenericVodou

spiritofferings.The goat’sskull

and blackcandle, however, are

atypical ofLegb a, whoseday

is Monday,not Wednesdayor

Thursd ay.Strange doings are

afoot.BBCNews, 22 Nov;metro.

co.uk, 24 Nov; D.Mail, 25+

Nov, 5Dec;Times,30 Nov; @

CentreMyth, 19 Dec2019.

OCCULTCRIME WAVE

Aseries of ‘Satanic’ sheepkillings grips the NewForest–but the Pagan Policeareinvestigating

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ABOVELEFT:Oneofthe sheepfoundstabbedandmarkedwithapentagram.ABOVERIGHT:ThemysteriousTodmordenveve.

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ADIGESTOFTHEWORLDWIDEWEIRD

4 FT