3rd July
The Cauld Lad of Hylton
The Cauld Lad of Hylton. Source: wearsideonline.com
On this day in 1609, a young groom named Roger Skelton fell asleep in the stable to Hylton Castle, near Sunderland. He was supposed to be readying a horse for his impatient and pathological master, Richard Hilton, owner of said castle. When Roger failed to appear, the infuriated Hilton descended on the stable and struck the unfortunate lad over the head with a pitchfork. Roger later died of his injuries. Although Hilton was brought to trial, he got off on what would today be termed a technicality when he claimed that a large tool had fallen on the stable boy’s head, an unlikely tale that was nonetheless confirmed by another servant who claimed to be a witness. Roger did not rest easy however, and he returned in the form of a goblin like creature known as a brownie, who overnight disrupted the rooms of the castle that had been left tidy, but was compelled to clear up any area of the house that had been left a mess. Because of his pinched appearance, the household servants who spotted the poltergeist named him the Cauld Lad of Hylton because he always appeared to be freezing.
All the Cauld Lad wanted was bread and milk for his labours and the servants soon worked out that if they left that meagre repast out, they could also leave unwashed pots, disordered furniture and unmade beds, knowing the ghostly Jack would put everything right while they slept. In time, the servants began to feel guilty because the Cauld Lad sang a song of woe about his plight, so they broke the spell the time-honoured way: they left a cloak and a hood one night next to the bread and milk for Jack to find. That evening the servants watched from a hiding place as Jack delightedly discovered the garments and after happily singing Here’s a cloak and here’s a hood - The Cauld Lad of Hylton will no more do good, Jack warmed up, and danced around the kitchen and out of the open back door. The Cauld Lad was never seen again in Hylton Castle, or indeed anywhere else.
