The Old Woman At Change  In 1862 it was said there was a old woman living at Change who was able to rouse the enchanted spirits. Dressed in a red cloak said to be the mark of a witch, with a slight limp and cast in her eye. She went into coates and out- houses, pulling the front of the cloak over her face. Mumbling in order to raise the spirits from the vast deep so that she may set them on some unfriendly neighbour.     The Hanging Man A man walking past  what is now Bacup Chippy glanced through the passageway that leads from Rochdale Road to the Co-op car park and saw a man  hanging by a noose. When he looked again the apparition had disappeared. The Doom Crow Quarry workers at Rakehead  believed that to see a single rook or crow in flight was very bad luck or an omen of disaster. If you are alone when you see it, it is best to turn back or disaster will befall you. If on the other hand you are with a companion and direct his attention to the bird and make the sign of the cross and spit on the nearest stone you will ward of the evil for both you and your companion. The Mummers A tradition that existed in Bacup almost 140 years ago, on New Years eve the " Mummers" would walk into someone's house without knocking, dressed up in old clothes symbolising the old worn out year and with blackened faces. They carried with them an ash bucket, fire shovel, brushes etc, and " mum" without a word went up to the fire and raked and mended the fire without a word, cleared out the ashes put them in a bucket A Tale Of Two Moorland Farms Above Weir A thieving cat was taking the cream in the middle of the night from one of the farms. This was not their own cat, and the puzzled farmer and his son stayed up one night to watch for any intruder. In the middle of the night, the dairy door was pushed open, and a cat came into the dairy and jumped on the stone shelf. The farmer and his son threw pots and pans and everything  they could get their hands on at the cat, and it jumped out through the window and vanished as quickly as it appeared. On a neighbouring farm, the farmer happened to wake up in the middle of the night and found that his wife not for the first time was missing. So he kept awake to watch for her return,. Eventually she crept back into the bedroom with her arms scratched, her face bleeding and black eyes, as if she had been badly bruised by stones. Was she a Witch? Tong farm house bore the date stone of 1851 and was built in the style of many Georgian houses with heavy stone mullioned windows, the roof and gables decorated with oblong stone balls. At the time of the Boggart the house was occupied by a man known as " Owd Robin O' Greaves" and his thrifty and bustling wife Mally. More .... Old Meadows Boggart A Boggart is a Lancashire term for poltergeist, and three little boys must had the fright of their life when they decided to eavesdrop on some carters having a morning break at Old Meadows Coal pit. The youngsters had been playing at Old Meadows pushing the empty trucks back down to the tramway. There was a grimy sort of office which the carters used to sit in and wait for the next load of wagons to come down the incline. The youngsters crept inside to listen to the carters chatter, when one of the old colliers spotted the lads he looked across to one of his carter pals and winked. " Ah yer, they'n bin  raising the Boggart at th' hoil at Yenchley End pit""Ah daresay", said one of the carters. "There's some reight bad uns I' that hoil. Heaw dun they do it, Abe? The old fella then described how the initiated assembled in a lonely part of the pit, then dug a hole, about knee deep and they they all sat around the edge with their feet in the hole. Each person held a lighted candle in one hand, and an earthenware pot or jug in the other. An incantation was then chanted, and at a given part all thrust out their hands, smashing their pots together and letting the pieces fall into the centre of the hole. An invocation  then followed, at the end of which all blew out their candles, and in the darkness the demon rose up through the broken pots. Throughout the telling of the tale the youngsters edged closer and closer to the door and on hearing the of the demon rising through the broken pots all broke out at a fast pace as if the demon himself where after them.   and the swept up and polished the grate. When all was tidied up they walked round the room and touched the articles of furniture and then presented, their collecting box. All this was done without a word, hence their name, for the rule was that if they spoke a word, the family of the house could set on them and pummel them with fists and drive them out the house. Consequently as soon as the "mummers " appeared the children and adults of the house would try every trick in the book to get the " mummers" to speak. As soon as a payment had been placed in the collecting box however the " mummers" were allowed to speak and wish the household a Happy New Year, and then go on their way to the next house.   The Legend of Stubylee Hall originates from about the year 850. On the site of Stubylee Hall once stood a beautiful Monastery, richly decorated and containing many precious vestments and jewels. Among the jewels was a beautiful chalice of exceptional value. The monks were noted far and wide for their hospitality and kindness especially to the women and children of the neighbourhood. None of who were ever turned away. More ......