In 1860, Mackenzie Walcott recorded the tradition that, near Ulpha, ‘a lady was destroyed by a wolf at the well of Lady’s Dub.’ Others say that this was the lady of Ulpha Old Hall who, frightened by wolves, fled down the valley and disappeared.
According to Black’s Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes (5th edn, 1851), ‘Ulpha’ was then locally pronounced ‘Oopha’. This suggests that the story is of learned origin, inspired by the written form of the name, assumed to derive from Old Norse úlfr, ‘wolf’. Notwithstanding this, in the twenty-first century the lady’s ghost is reported as being frequently seen.
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
Follow