| BLIND PETER |
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| Who is Blind Peter, many of you will ask� He was once a Cistercian Monk at Netley Abbey. Many monasteries were afraid that Henry VIII would steal away their treasure and gold, so placed one monk in charge of protecting what treasures and riches they had. At Netley Abbey, this job befell Peter. Many stories are told of Blind Peter � some say that he fell asleep whilst guarding the treasure and the monastery� he didn�t ring the warning bell to warn the monks that trouble was near, and they were all murdered in their beds � save for Peter, who took the treasure deep underground into the hidden caverns beneath the monastery, where he died still guarding the treasure. He appears every Hallows Eve, and you may ask him to show you where he hid the treasure if he appears to you� the price you pay is with your life � as Peter will frighten you to death before he will let you take the treasure away from him. His blindness may have been caused by staying underground and never seeing sunlight again. Another tale is that some monks survived, and Peter�s punishment for falling asleep was to have his eyes burned out of their sockets. Another twist in the story of Blind Peter is that only a Cistercian Monk may lay claim to the hidden treasure, and Peter awaits a Brother to come and relieve him of his guard duties� Still, whatever the true tale, it is still believed that the Monks� treasure still lay beneath the Abbey, waiting to be found. A gentleman called Mr Slown is reported to have attempted to find this buried treasure. Arriving at the Abbey with his shovel, he began dig a hole. But moments later he ran screaming from the place. He collapsed within minutes from a heart attack, uttering his dying words 'For God's sake, block it up'. Many say that whatever Slown found at the end of the tunnel frightened him to death. The idea of the curse of Netley Abbey may date back to a medieval service of excommunication carried out by the Abbot. Apparently found in a book called 'The Festival' last printed in 1532 is a script of the holy service given in the abbey church. It would appear that four times a year, the Bishop would lead a curse on anyone who offended the monks of Netley Abbey. The Bishop, dressed in white, would stand in the pulpit, lifting his cross; he would read out a list of names of malefactors, and then he would read the curse. 'By the authority of God, Father Almighty, and the blessed Virgin Mary, and all saints, we excommunicate, anathematise, and deliver over to the devil, all the aforesaid malefactors, that excommunicated and anathematised and delivered to the devil they may he. Accursed they be infields, in highways, in foot paths...' The curse goes on to condemn all the aforesaid to burn in hell, unless they immediately repent. It was obviously not a good idea to get on the wrong side of the monks of Netley. Part of Netley Abbey is the Abbot's Lodging House which inspires most feelings of unease to visitors of the ruins, some of whom complain of a foul and disgusting smell and others insist they have been touched on the shoulder by some long dead hand. I myself cannot go into the Abbots Lodging house. From the outside, it is impossible to see what lay inside � every opening just seems to be a yawning black cavern. When you actually step inside, it suddenly seems lighter � as though the impression of darkness from outside is a trick to keep people away� but as you walk forwards, it feels as though every inch of your body is being touched by ice-cold spider webs. Looking down towards the water that you find there, some people have claimed to see the waters running red like blood � others say they feel as though they are being pushed and need to step backwards. Some people come away from this particular part of the Abbey claiming that something inside made them feel compelled to go nearer and nearer the water � as though they had no choice and could not stop themselves. Every crevice and apse, every mark made on the stone walls seems darker and deeper � too many black corners hiding who knows what! |
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| * ALL NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED |
| Here is my personal story of Halloween and actually meeting Blind Peter � and surviving! My children had had a Halloween Party � and made an awful mess of the house too, but all were in a good mood, and had settled down �en masse� in my living room with their sleeping bags to watch �Beetlejuice�. A friend had offered to baby-sit for a couple of hours so that I was able to do one thing I had always wanted to� go to Netley Abbey at Samhain (Halloween). So I left the children in good hands as my husband and I, along with Linda* made our way to Netley Abbey. We arrived at about 11.30pm � quite late for any chance of bumping into Blind Peter, according to local legend. We all stood at the gates of the Abbey, seeing if any other people were still on the Abbey grounds � but it was deadly silent. The gate was locked � even though many people go to Netley Abbey on this night each year� so we climbed over it. No-one answered the door of the keep-house when we knocked � we assumed that nobody was home (the keep-house was once home to two dear old ladies who looked after the grounds of the Abbey, though now it was home to a couple and a very large dog�) All three of us crept towards the Abbey � it was lit up by the brightest moon I had seen in a long time, and stars seemed to be clustered in the sky around the Abbey. We had neared the Abbey itself when we all heard shouting � a man was calling to us� a man with a huge dog that was bounding towards us! This man lived at the keep-house with his wife, and seemed wholly displeased with us being at the Abbey so late. The huge black dog growled at Linda, who was ready to start shouting straight back at this rather rude and unfriendly man. I decided to try and calm the situation � and began to explain that we were only there to see the Abbey at Samhain, and meant no harm. I stepped forward, unknowingly placing myself right next to the dog� that turned out to be quite friendly, and licked my hand! The mans partner came out of the house and began by apologising to us all � she was such a nice woman � and very knowledgeable about the Abbey. We got talking about witchcraft and old legends and found common ground; she seemed to believe me that we only wanted to stay awhile and cause no harm, and so persuaded her unfriendly partner to let us stay � and even offered to let us keep the dog with us for company � but we declined that offer. All three of us wandered around the Abbey � Craig* (my husband) went towards the Abbots Lodging House, and Linda followed. I kept them both interested with tales of my youth spent at the Abbey, but I couldn�t bring myself to get too close to the Lodging House � it terrified me. Linda seemed top feel the same as she neared it, so we left Craig there and started wandering back towards the car park and gates. Craig can be such a prankster, and as we waited for him, he tried to pretend that the Abbots Lodging House had swallowed him up- not answering our calls, except for a gurgling sound. But it was all in good fun. Linda and I started talking, and I told her about the history of the Abbey, and of the tale of Blind Peter. A cloud passed over the moon � the only cloud (or so it seemed) we had seen that night, and the whole Abbey seemed to cloak itself in the darkness for a moment. Then the cloud passed, and I looked upwards� right at that moment, a shooting star streaked across the clear sky. �Did you see that?� I said to Linda �Oh, yes� did you make a wish?� she replied with a giggle. We both looked up again� and our attention was caught by a movement at one of the Abbey windows. We looked at each other. �Now please tell me you saw THAT� Linda asked. It seemed almost impossible� but there was definitely a figure at a window, poking his head through as though to play �peek-a-boo�. The more we stared, the more obvious it was that there really was a figure there, playing with us. Linda wanted to know who it was � thinking perhaps that Craig had climbed up to the window and was playing a trick. But Craig was at that moment walking towards us from the Abbots Lodging House� it definitely wasn�t him � and besides, the window was about forty feet high � with no floor beneath it! To prove my point, I stayed watching the playful figure at the window while Linda met with Craig so he could take her round the building to show her that there was no floor under that window at all. Linda called out to me when she reached the other side of the wall �Is he still there?� I could still see the figure � though he looked more shadowy than before� and I told Linda what I could see from where I stood. She and Craig saw nothing at all from where they were stood. The missing floor was the last straw for Linda. She wanted out of that place there and then. She and Craig came running from the other side of the wall, and tried to pull me away. I laughed� it suddenly seemed so funny to me � and so obvious that for one night at least, Blind Peter wanted some fun instead of just frightening people. I waved at him before letting Craig and Linda lead me away from the Abbey � and I swear he waved back at us. |
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