Harry Oglesby
Hull, East Yorkshire Mid 19th Century(?)
“As he ran down the River Hull the blood turned the waters red, until he could bleed no more.” - Mike Covell 2025.
I may have found, although incredibly difficult to find a lot of information about it, Hull’s equivalent to Jenny Greenteeth. But, somehow, it’s way bloodier, gorier and scarier than a water-dwelling frog-skinned witch.
It is said that a wandering figure can be spotted down the banks of the River Hull. He lurks at the water’s edge, stalking children that may stray too close to the edge of the river. What does he do when he finds said child? No one knows, as no child has ever dared to try after hearing the story of Harry Oglesby.
Harry Oglesby, also called Harry Ogle for short, was allegedly imprisoned in a castle in Hull for undisclosed crimes. One day, he decided he didn’t want to face the long arm of the law, and so took it upon himself to escape. As he pushed his body through a too-small window to attempt his escape, he caught his throat on a shard of broken glass, thus causing quite an impressive gash.
Successful in his escape, but with his life quickly gushing out of the wound in his throat, he ran down the side of the River Hull, clutching his throat and bleeding out profusely into the water. It is said that he caused the River to turn red with his blood. Both kinda cool and very disgusting. Harry ran until he had no blood left in his body, and promptly passed away by the side of the waters.
Some locals claim to still see Harry Oglesby stumbling down the murky river bank, whilst others say his spirit was laid to rest as the last remnants of the castle were pulled down in the mid-19th century. The supposed castle in which Harry was imprisoned was situated on a piece of land where the southern side of Humber Street stands today, some sceptics doubt Harry’s ability to stumble, throat slashed, all the way from Humber Street to the River Hull without passing out beforehand.
Historical doubts aside, could Harry have been conjured by the concerned parents of Hull to scare their children into not walking too close to the River Hull, similar to the invention of Jenny Greenteeth? It seems likely, but will we ever truly know… I certainly won’t be testing the theory.
