The Hagg Wood Worms
Hagg Wood, Silverdale
“They are described as being huge, hairy and large enough to swallow birds.”
Hagg Wood sits near to Silverdale, Lancashire and is a 19-hectare patch of protected ancient woodland that has been continuously wooded since at least 1600. So, it comes as no surprise to me that there would be legends of huge, hairy worms supposedly residing in these woods, chomping on entire birds and scaring the locals.
These worms became known locally as Hagg Worms… potentially because they resided in Hagg Wood (it would make sense), but the etymology of the name may give insight into how the legend became. ‘Hagg’ originally derives from Old Norse and refers to a patch of scrubby woodland, marshy ground, or a place where wood is cut. However, the name ‘Hagg Worm’ was historically used by locals to North Yorkshire and Cumbria as a colloquial term for the European adder (Vipera berus), the UK's only native venomous snake.
The combination of Old Norse origins with rare sightings of the European Adder in Hagg Wood could have pushed people to imagine huge hairy worm beasts feasting on birds…
Swedish lindworm drawn by Swedish illustrator John Bauer, 1911
One particular tale of the Hagg Worms tells of a young boy who swore he saw a serpent fly up into a tree in Hagg Wood. He raced home, horrified, to tell his story forcing locals to return that evening to burn said tree to the ground. This supposedly killed the ‘flying serpent’ that the boy saw, and sightings of large hairy worms in these woods faded away.
Which is a shame, imagine all the fun we could have had if the Hagg Worms were integrated into our wildlife?!
