An excerpt from the Diary of Professor Matthias Jeremiah Braithwaite; a Victorian investigator of the paranormal, on his travels around York, a city most haunted.
"Dear Diary,
I did interview Miss Melrose, a willowy young lady pale with the largest of blue eyes which darted here and there.
She recounted to me her disturbing experience: It was an autumn day, the sun still warm enough to bring a gladness to a young lady’s heart as she sat and ate her luncheon, within the peaceful setting of Holy Trinity’s churchyard on Goodramgate. The autumn leaves formed the thinnest blanket on the ground.
This idyllic autumn afternoon was turned to a scene of terror in broad daylight before her, for there in the darkest corner of the graveyard, a ferocious disturbance could be heard.
Miss Melrose spied a figure on hands and knees frantically digging the earth with its hands. The figure stopped and rose. It was at this point the lady realised the figure was dressed in old fashion attire, with no head but a bloodied stump where the head should have been. Rooted to the spot the young lady screamed in terror unable to comprehend the headless horror before her. The emotions of the moment overwhelmed her whereupon she fainted and there her recollections end.
My investigations lead me to the conclusion that this was Thomas Percy 7th Earl of Northumberland, who was beheaded on the street known as Pavement in the late 16th century. His decapitated body was laid to rest in St Crux, an ancient church mentioned in the Domesday Book. However his head did not receive the same fate but was impaled on a pike and put on public display atop the old gateway of Micklegate Bar. His crime was to conspire against Queen Elizabeth, his aim, to release Mary, Queen of Scots and allow the catholic faith to again be practiced freely.
It is said his head was removed from the gateway by a family member, who for whatever reason laid the head to rest in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church. One can only assume that his headless body, which reportedly not only appears in the grounds of Holy Trinity, but also roams along Micklegate, is in search of his missing head.
Once I spied his spectral form under the cover of moonlight, leaving the gateway of Holy Trinity. Under the purple glow of my clockwork lantern the muddied figure appeared in shrouded form, with the top part of the fabric crudely stitched in place, at a slight angle, I would imagine to hold the head in place beneath the sheet. I could feel only pity for this figure who seems to constantly losing and finding his head, destined to roam the city, forever searching."
M.J. Braithwaite
Dear Diary,
"What Devilry is this? My sketches and impressions of these unworldly beings have been enchanted by some form of witchcraft. It seems a ghoulish hand has been at work mimicking my own and changing the very nature of my picture. Viewed using a strange light purchased on my adventures in the Far East, an unnatural glow emanates from the very soul of the spirit I have drawn. It is my belief that this light will let me see into this world of spirits beyond our own - it will require much further study and experimentation."
The enchanted edition of the print is larger than other formats - presented in a black mount with outer dimensions 18x14." When viewed under black light, the ghostly image glows. This special effect has been hand painted and signed by the artist.
Two version of the enchanted edition are available; The Headless Horror and Celestial Lights.
Black lights are readily available from many suppliers.
The diary entry, printed on parchment effect paper, is in the reverse.
Also available in smaller sizes in monochrome and colour edition.
© The Artist
