Fortean Times

The weirdest ghosts of all?

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According to Jennifer Westwood in her 1985 book Albion, a Guide to Legendary Britain, Walshes Road, Jarvis Brook, in Crowborough, East Sussex, is haunted by a ghostly bag of soot. This horrific phantom supposedly attacks anyone who sees it; just what it would do if it caught you, other than dirty your suit, is another matter.

This got me thinking about some very odd cases of what we might call surreal ghosts, and wondering just what was the strangest phantom ever readers have encountered a poltergeist mongoose and undead chickens, but there are ghosts even more obscure and absurd. These entities are so very odd that they fly in the face of the idea that ghosts are simply spirits of the dead.

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