Herefordshire has many tales of strange sightings and occurrences, many have been attributed to troubled souls of those that have passed. Souls that need a wrong to be put right. The strangest of these tales has to be the one of a farm labourer called Tom Reece who resided in Hoarwithy.
Tom had had a long hard day and it was late as he ventured his way home from work. The moon which would normally light his way seemed suppressed this night and the darkness around him a little ominous but he didn’t know why. Tom had walked this route so many times he could do it with his eyes shut, but tonight was different. He was feeling a little unnerved, he was sure someone was following him. As he continued on his way he was convinced he could hear the sound of someone or something breathing behind him. So armed with as much courage as he could muster he stopped in his tracks and turned to look behind him. As his eyes focused in on what stood before him he was rooted to the spot. There stood a huge black hound. A scary looking beast which just stared right back at him. Fearing he may be attacked at any moment Tom thought the best thing to do would be to move aside and let the hound pass. To his amazement the hound did not pass but stood still looking straight at him. Breaking the deadlock Tom decided to continue walking hoping above hope that the hound would not attack him.
As before the hound continued to follow behind Tom, his breathing louder now and coupled with the sound of his large paws padding on the lane. Tom felt both scared and irritated, why was this hound dogging his every step? So he stopped once more but this time shouted at it to be off but the hound just sat looking at him. Tom threw some small sticks at the hound but this had no effect. This made Tom angry so he picked up a large stone and juts as he was about to aim it at the hound something remarkable happened. The hound stood up on two legs.
Startled Tom looked on and watched with terror as the hound transformed in front of him into the shape of a man. As if that wasn’t enough to contend as he drew closer he could see that the man was his late father. As fear gripped every part of his body Tom sped off as fast as he could down the lane. What had he just witnessed? Eventually he made it home, exhausted, shaken and in shock. He didn’t speak a word of it to his family but they could see that he was troubled about something.
One night however things were about to take another turn. Tom woke up suddenly from his slumber with a determination that he had never felt before. He dressed quickly and left his house making his way into the nearby woods. There waiting for him was the hound that he had encountered a few days before. Tom followed it as it led him deeper into the forest until it reached a clearing. As before the hound transformed into Tom’s father and the spectre turned to face him. The ghost pointed to a piece of ground and indicated that Tom should dig. Racked with fear and uncertainty Tom began digging the earth with his bare hands his nails filling with soil and before long he uncovered a damp and dirty satchel. With the satchel in hand Tom then followed the spectre to the banks of the River Wye. The spectre then directed Tom to throw the bag into the water which he duly did. And as he did so the ghost of his Father disappeared before him leaving him alone by the riverside.
Overcome by the events of the evening Tom passed out. As the dawn broke he awoke and made his way home. His mind racing from the events of the previous night and wondering what had been inside the satchel that had troubled his Father so much that he had returned to him. This was something that Tom would never know, his Father’s secret would always be just that.
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