But I am getting ahead of myself...
During the dark days in the west country while the Civil War raged (see my article The Sedgemoor Ghosts for a taste of this) there were unspeakable atrocities committed by both sides. One of the participants in these battles was a certain Theophilus Brome who fought hard against the Royalist cause. Being initially on the winning side he led a comfortable life until his death in 1670. He did however have to keep a low profile after the restoration of Charles II. By then it had become the custom to disinter the bodies of those who had opposed the monarchy, separate their skulls from their skeletons and display the skulls on pikes in a variety of public places. Even the body of Oliver Cromwell was so treated, after being tried for treason, hanged in chains at Tyburn, and his head then displayed outside Westminster!
Theophilus had a mortal dread of this fate, so he persuaded his sister to sever his head after his death and guard it in their farmhouse for perpetuity. The remains of his body were buried at St. James’ Church in Chilton Cantelo. His wishes were duly carried out and his skull still rests, to this day, in the oldest part of the farmhouse. It is a fearsome object with the cavities of the eyes and nose dominating the mouth where the bottom row of teeth and the chin have mysteriously gone missing.
During the centuries after the skull was placed to rest, several attempts have been made to move it, bury it or hide it. However this only galvanised what is a benign spirit into a rampant, noisy and disturbing influence. Unearthly noises, screams and mysterious footsteps have all been witnessed throughout the farmhouse.
In addition, those with long memories might remember the comedian Dave Allen. He experienced such activities when visiting the house about 30 years ago... he left vowing never to return, but was reticent about the specific reasons for his hurried departure.
So the spirit of Theophilus is quite simply anchored to earth. Maybe the time will come, sometime in the distant future, when his skull and skeleton can be reunited so he can depart in peace. But until then he is best left undisturbed.
You can also read this article, and many others, at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next short story, article or book review.
If you enjoyed this article you may also like P J Cadavori's sexy supernatural horror novel Catacombs of the Damned.
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