“A monstrously evil man” and his phantom pack of hounds

The time.........the mid 1600s

The place........the desolation of Dartmoor, in Devon.

Dartmoor, Devon

When you walk across the wildness of Dartmoor the tangible connection with pre-history, the bleak grimness of sharp winds howling through ancient stones with unsuspected patches of swirling mist can combine to give a dreadful feeling of unimaginable evil.

It is said that evil breeds evil, so it can come as no surprise that a monster actually lived during those times of witchcraft and religious fear. His name was Richard Cabell to whom no crime was too far. His passion for hunting with hounds, he cared not what he caught, rumours that he had sold his soul to the Devil and his cruelty to all those who were in his power were legendary. He was even reputed to have savagely murdered his wife.

Richard Cabell's tomb

But when he passed away in 1677 the legend was born. He was buried in Buckfastleigh churchyard in a tomb where heavy slabs of rock were placed upon his grave to contain his spirit; it was thought that his death was temporary and that his pact with the Devil would allow him to return to revel in even more brutal excesses. And on the night of his burial a phantom pack of hounds raced in from the depths of the moors to howl and bay over his grave. Ever since then he can be seen leading his hounds over the wilderness, the pack howling and shrieking across the desolate landscape...or it might just be the moaning of the wind through the rocks and the intense fear of the moors playing tricks with the imagination. But many swear to have seen him and his ghostly entourage.

Now...fast forward to the early 1900s. The stories of Cabell and  the terrors of Dartmoor had reached the ears of a certain Arthur Conan Doyle who vowed to visit the place and taste the terrors for himself. He spent many days travelling in a coach across the windswept desolation and was particularly attracted to the story of Cabell murdering his wife, having suspected her of infidelity. He beat her savagely before stabbing her to death, whereupon her constant companion, a large and faithful dog leapt upon Cabell and tore his throat out. But the dog was killed in the melee. Since then the ghost of this hound can be seen howling in grief across the moors, destined to search out and haunt all subsequent generations of the Cabell family.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

And so Conan Doyle’s most famous story, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” was born. As an entertaining aside, the coachman who drove Conan Doyle patiently for those days was called Baskerville. He readily gave permission for his name to be used.

For those brave souls who thrive on the paranormal, a visit to Dartmoor in the depths of winter to feel these stories for themselves is a “must do”.

In Association with the Western Gazette 

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