Shady Lane, a stretch of road running between Great Longstone and Ashford-in-the-Water, is said to be haunted at twilight by a procession of twelve headless men carrying an empty coffin. Clarence Daniel, in Ghosts of Derbyshire (1973), answers the question of why an empty coffin with the surmise that the procession is a death omen. He writes, ‘My guess is that the coffin is intended for the unfortunate person who meets the strange funeral cortege! No wonder the people living in the district avoid travelling down Shady Lane at dusk or dawn.’
SEE ALSO:
SOURCE:
Haunted England : The Penguin Book of Ghosts – Written by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson –
Copyright © Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson 2005, 2008