As with last month’s post, we’re visiting Wiltshire, England and its plethora of paranormal places. This one is so cool, it takes us back in time…
Imagine this. It’s 1916. Nightfall approaches. You’re driving along a lonely stretch of road—looking for an inn—and it’s pouring. Rain is coming down, hampering visibility but you notice a large stone monolith alongside the road and realize you’ve come upon Avebury.
Despite the rain, you leave your car to better inspect the stones. To your surprise, you notice a number of cottages enshrouded within and more than that, a medieval fair in progress. To the light of flares and torches, adults and children alike frolic joyfully amidst various booths selling wares and enjoying entertainment of days gone by.
What strikes you as strange, as the rain keeps coming down, is there’s not a slicker nor umbrella in sight, nor do the villagers seem affected by the rain. Dripping wet and tired from your drive, when the rain again increases in intensity, you decide the warmth of a bed and inn beckons and resume your journey to find one, leaving the perplexing villagers to their fun.
Flash forward nine years. It’s 1925 and you have occasion to visit Avebury again, this time going on a tour with a guide. When you learn the annual fairs ceased in 1850 and protest that impossibility, not only does your tourguide set you straight, but when you cling to your story and describe how you got there, he tells you that road had been destroyed prior to 1800!
There was no doubt in Edith Olivier’s mind she’d seen a fair. One that now decisively appeared to be a phantom fair.
Even after learning of this fascinating report from multiple sources both in print and online, I couldn’t help but question just how reliable was Ms. Olivier. Not that I wanted to call doubt upon her story, but though I fully believe in the paranormal, I also have a heavy dose of skepticism and decided to research her a bit. What fascinated me was how the little bit I was able to discover about this interesting woman intrigued me every bit as much as the medieval fair…
A writer by trade, and though Ms. Olivier appears to have written only nonfiction, judging from the titles of several of her books, can’t you just see her as an erotic romance author?
The Quest Of Joy
The Love Child
Night Thoughts Of A Country Landlady
The one other tidbit that captured my interest to no end is this photo I found of her from 1940. Not being from England, I cannot attest to how unusual her name is, but the spelling seems unique to me and from what I could gather, I believe she became the Mayor of a town in Wiltshire. This cropped photo (click on it to see the full version) highlights her at a party she was hosting for British soldiers during World War I and attributes to her the title of Mayoress!
I hope you’ve found this Paranormal Place as intriguing as I have.
Until next month! :-) Larissa
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Larissa Lyons considers brownies an official food group and prays nightly for her own phantom to appear—one who’ll clean house.
While she waits, you can read about her penchant for Roaring Rogues and sexy cowboys at her website, and her attempts at healthy baking at her blog, Larissa’s Lair.
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