Sussex folklore explored: Fairies, buried treasure and ghosts in the Worthing area

Stories like these have been highlighted on a new map of South Downs, Hampshire and Sussex folklore, released as part of South Downs for All project.

Based on research by Sussex folklorist Jacqueline Simpson, a lifelong resident of Worthing, with additional information by local historian Chris Hare, the map points out all sorts of places and dates that are significant.

Most of the information in the leaflet was first published by the Chichester Centre for Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction at the University of Chichester. Visit southdownsforall.org.uk/folklore-map to download the map and www.sussexfolktalecentre.org for more information.

New map of South Downs, Hampshire and Sussex folklore released as part of South Downs for All project

Cissbury Ring is said to have a tunnel leading to Offington Hall, with treasure at one end guarded by snakes.

The map tells us: "In the 1920s, most of the servants were too frightened to go down to Offington Hall’s cellars, even though the tunnel had long been blocked up.

"The fairies can be seen dancing on Cissbury on Midsummer’s Eve. In the past young lads and lasses would dance here at Easter. A local clergyman complained of these antics, which he found blasphemous and lewd."

The last home of the fairies in England is said to be Harrow Hill, near Patching, according to the map. Archaeologists discovered dozens of ox skulls buried here close to the Neolithic flint mines and a golden calf was believed to be buried at nearby Blackpatch Hill.

At Chanctonbury Ring, it is treasure that is said to be buried beneath the ground.

The map says: "At Chanctonbury Ring you can raise Julius Caesar and his armies by counting the trees, or see a druid or a Saxon killed at the Battle of Hastings.

"If you run seven times around the Ring on a moonless night / under the full moon / on Midsummer’s Day / at midnight, anticlockwise / naked / backwards, the devil will come out andoffer you a bowl of soup / milk / porridge or chase you nine miles to the Devil’s Dyke."

As you can see, folklore tends to shift and vary with time!

Sussex folklore explored: Worthing tree where skeletons are said to dance on Midsummer's Eve

Running around on Highdown Hill could have a different effect. There is the Miller's Tomb, built by John Olliver while he was alive and where he was later said to have been buried upside down 'so as to be the right way up when the world ends and everything is topsy-turvy'.

The map says: "He meditated by it every day and also kept a coffin under his bed. It is thought he was a smuggler: he ‘meditated’ on the hill as a look-out, used his mill to sendsignals, and kept contraband in the coffin.

"If you run round it seven times, his ghost will jump out and chase you. The verses on the tomb are a code telling where smuggler’s treasure is buried."

In Clapham Woods in the 1970s, a few dogs went missing or were injured.

The map says: "A local gamekeeper used to kill any dogs he caught in the woods, but some claimed they were kidnapped by UFOs or sacrificed to Hecate by black magicians. Even today some people still report feelings of unease when walking alone in the woods."