Exploring new folklore from the Tholt-y-Will Plantation
Back in October Culture Vannin uploaded a story to its website detailing how a man, camping out in Tholt-y-Will Plantation, was troubled throughout the night by loud, almost otherworldly music.
He'd been dropped off by his partner at the crossroads on the Druidale Road, before heading into the woods to find a quiet spot for the night.
There were certainly no parties happening in the plantation that night, back in September 2020, and as far as the gentleman was concerned, he was completely alone.
Yet late in the evening he began hearing the sound of drums, a steady rhythm, pounding over and over.
Later, in the early hours, the beating of the drums was accompanied by a melody which sounded almost random and improvisatory.
This continued all throughout the night until around 5am when brass instruments joined in the music, seemingly playing just outside his tent right by his head.
Questioning his own sanity, he laid there terrified until suddenly...the music stopped altogether.
Later on, researching what might have happened to him, the only thing the man could find that that related to what he'd experienced was 'fairy music'.
In folklore, fairy music is often heard late and night and is said to have an enchanting power over the listener.
Sharing the man's tale online, Culture Vannin says: "He had read of the collection of fairy tunes but was nervous that his experience was not folk/traditional music.
"For him, its being the fairies made sense, in that it happened there, but seemingly by chance. Also their absolute power.
"Obviously, this experience threw him off and changed him in some ways.
"After a while off wild camping he did return to it but not in the same way.
"He is practical about the experience, seeing it as a very particular thing, but there is obvious trauma from it. He has told only one person outside his immediate family.
"He will tell no one else, partly to protect himself professionally, but also as he would not like to be seen as a person who engages in the unexplained."
That, at least, is the abridged version of the story - told in full here.
Now, many people hearing or reading about this tale would be quick to pass it off as something completely fictional - an "undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard" toying with the mind.
Recently, Manx Radio took a trip out to the crossroads on the Druidale Road and, with Culture Vannin's Online and Educational Resources Officer James Franklin, walked in the footsteps of the gentleman who'd had this experience.
For James whether people believe the tale or not isn't necessarily important, but its retelling and recording are important in creating and adding to a sense of what a space like the Tholt-y-Will Plantation is, and its place in the history and vernacular of the Isle of Man.
Asked why he felt it was important to recount the story James told Manx Radio: "The Isle of Man is a beautiful place, but it's more than just a 'pretty' place; it's a place which resonates with meaning and significance, which is expressed through stories.
"And these stories have been told by people who have lived her for hundreds and thousands of years."
On whether people on the Isle of Man believe stories like this, James says: "I think sometimes people mistake it for a question of 'is this true or is this not?' that, in a sense, is not what's important.
"The important bit is that these are stories told by people like you and me, people who've lived in the Isle of Man for generations.
"These are spaces which, for people in the past, would of resonated with stories of a Buggane, a ghost, the little fellas, whatever it is.
"These are living spaces because of those stories."
James has been telling Lewis Foster more:
Watch the video of James Franklin retelling the story at the Tholt-y-Will Plantation below:
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