The Cauld Lad of Hylton is a ghost of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed stable boy Robert Skelton, said to haunt the ruins of Hylton Castle (in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, Northern England).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 to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s concerning the ghost's origins.

Legend

One story states that the stable boy was caught courting 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 decapitated the boy, stabbed him with a nearby pitchfork, or hit him on the back of the head with a riding crop, 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. Several months later, the body was recovered. The baron was tried for Skelton's

, but had an alibi. 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 fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. The kitchen 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 pots were emptied on the floor. After a while, a cook 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 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, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

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 German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) 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 descriptions of polter ...

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

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

, barghestHenry 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 is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

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