Mystery Bodies: Human Remains Unclaimed, Unexplained & Unidentified

[JamesWhitehead]

Two men have been charged with the torso murder.

They needed a Polish interpreter in court. The identity of the murdered man still seems to be a mystery. I'd guess he was from the same community, with no local kin?

 

[JamesWhitehead]

I was wrong. The dead man was named Stuart Everett, local, 67 years old. RIP

 

[JamesWhitehead]

The torso murder case seemed to have disappeared from the news.

I drove past Boggart Hole Clough, Blackley, this afternoon and noticed that a lot of it was festooned with blue tape.

I did not immediately link it to the case but this is the latest update.

The Manchester Evening News tells us that the whole park is closed to the public. There are videos of the search but we are still at the morbid curiosity stage.

The Clough was once a Victorian pleasure-ground with landscaped walks, elaborate floral features and tea-rooms; in recent years, it has been rewilded, for economic reasons more than green concerns. The Himalayan Balsam and Knotweed have the run of the place. In some seasons, its uncanny reputation is understandable.

 

[catseye]

I seem to remember that Boggart Hole Clough featured in a fairly recent FT article about boggarts and hobs and has seen plenty of spooky happenings.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

Indeed! It gets quite a few mentions on the Board.

Here is a poltergeist-type event, though filed under British Bigfoot!

There was also an account of a white lady, sighted by a student nurse at the Booth Hall Hospital site. She saw it on Charlestown Road. There is a rather nebulous tradition of white ladies around the area. The hospital, which fought closure for many years, is now a housing estate. I have a big file somewhere about the Clough. The most commonly-recounted yarn of the portable Boggart, "we're flitting!" is all-too portable and seems to have originated with Roby's volume.