The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor
Dartmoor is a strange terrority, and includes a moor and National Park and as the mist rises with the water, so do the ghost stories. One of the strangest tales are those of the Hairy Hands. These ghostly appendages seem hell-bent on causing trouble for those who dare to drive on that stretch of road just by Postbridge, Devon.
Although early stories swirl around from the beginning of the 20th century, reports considerably picked up in the early 1920s. On a particular stretch of the B3212 there was something to fear more than drunk drivers or sharp turns. The Hairy Hands were said to be disembodied hands (sometimes including a wrist and forearm) that would suddenly appear in front of a car’s windshield or, even more worrisome, on a bike or car’s wheels or handlebars. It is believed their intent was to cause accidents, either by brute spirit force or by the sheer shock of witnessing the hands.
One of the most infamous stories is that of a Dartmoor Prison doctor. One night coming home from work on an early summer night in June, 1921, the Dartmoor Prison doctor suddenly lost control of his motorcycle. His children, who were attached to a sidecar, reported to police that as their father struggled to regain control of the bike he told them to jump. A passenger in another vehicle who witnessed the crash claimed to a large, hairy, disembodied hand tugging on the handlebars.
This strange report would be the first of many accident reports filed on this road that involved the Hairy Hands. This stretch of road would prove to be quite dangerous in the coming decades and the site of many accidents.
But...whose hands are haunting Dartmoor? Rumors abound as to the origins of the hands. Some believe it was a man who was killed on the road. Others believe it was a deranged prisoner who, even in death, is intent on causing others’ pain. Some even believe that there is a strange entity that haunts the land and feeds off the fear and pain caused by accidents and has for an unknown reason taken up a pair of hands to represent him.
Of course, many believe that the road itself is to blame for the accidents. The local council simply claimed the camber was over-pronounced and that it was this defect in the road that was responsible for the high amount of accidents. Others believe it is the fact that Dartmoor is National Park with many visitors...meaning many people unsure of how to navigate the strange country road and more likely to get into accidents.
Whatever the tale may be...you won’t see me driving here.
Thanks to Tracey S for this #Blogstonishing suggestion!
The above image does not feature a picture of the road, just Dartmoor. Is is of Rough landscape on Dartmoor. Looking towards Burrator reservoir & Plymouth by lostajy. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
