The Black Lady of Bradley Wood

Bradley, Lincolnshire 1455–1487

“[She] appears in the form of a young woman, all dressed in a long black cloak, with a tear-stained face.”

During my time researching for Northern Folklore Archive, I have noted an interesting observation particularly when looking at ghost stories of lady spectres. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on the colour that the spirit takes when describing female ghosts, the more common descriptors being ‘The White Lady’ and the occasional ‘The Grey Lady’. So when I found a story describing a ‘Black Lady’ haunting Bradley Woods, my interest was peaked. What made her different to the usual ‘White Lady’ or ‘Grey Lady’ apparitions noted in folklore?

We’re travelling over to Lincolnshire for this tale, to the village of Bradley. There seems to be a few theories as to when this folklore tale occurred, the more common theories stating it was either during the Barons' War, two civil wars that occurred during the reign of King John in 1215 (giving substitute-teacher-who-can’t-handle-the-class vibes), during the time of the Crusades or during the War of the Roses (1455-1487) - the latter being the most employed theory. As a Yorkshire woman, I do shudder every time I hear of that one.

Deep within Bradley Woods, there lived a woodcutter, his wife and their baby in a small, off-the-path cottage. Regardless of which war this occurred during, the woodcutter was enlisted and left his wife to defend… someone… Every day he was gone, the unnamed wife wandered the woods, fretting over his condition and whether he would return to her. On one of her worry-walks (we all have them), supposedly on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, the woman and her child were ambushed by a pack of horseback enemy soldiers. They were… not so nice. To spare the ugly details, the woman was left covered in bruises and without her baby in her arms.

After the horrific events, the woman dressed in black for every day she was still alive, waiting for her husband and mourning the kidnapping of her baby. She never gave up searching for her child, and awaiting the return of her husband, but neither happened for her. After her demise, locals to Bradley Wood claimed that they could still see a woman dressed entirely in black, with a tear-stained face, wandering through the trees.

Witness accounts describe the woman as non-threatening and sorrowful (either way, I’m pretty sure I’d still high-tail outta there if I saw her). Interestingly enough, and strikingly similar to Jenny Greenteeth, as time went on this story morphed into a cautionary tale for children. Parents would scare their child away from entering Bradley Woods by claiming the ‘Black Lady’ would get them if they did. It’s a whole ‘Krampus’ thing, using spooky stories as a parenting technique, which I can respect.

The story of the Black Lady of Bradley Woods made somewhat of a comeback in recent years, 2013 is (by comparison) a lot more recent than 1455 anyway. Our favourite modern lore-creating website Creepypasta had a new entry for the Black Lady, stating that if you enter Bradley Woods on Christmas Eve and bravely, or stupidly, shout Black lady, Black lady, I've stolen your baby! three times, she would appear in front of you. Seems like a rather cruel taunt, reminiscent of the Bloody Mary phenomenon, but it is interesting that the only way the youth will engage with folklore history is through Jackass-style dares and meddling with potentially harmful entities.

Have you heard any stories about the Black Lady of Bradley Woods?

Sources

https://hypnogoria.blogspot.com/search/label/Bradley%20Woods

https://lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com/2024/02/20/the-black-lady-of-bradley-woods/

https://grokipedia.com/page/Black_Lady_of_Bradley_Woods