On a night like this...

Tonight a storm is blowing. The wind is roaring through the tree tops and we have lost electric to a few lights in an ancient farm building that was built in the 1800's. Its a large long stone building with round windows and arch ways. It often loses electric in stormy December, and it always then takes on an brooding atmosphere when its all pitch black as it would have been once years ago.
   This building dominates the whole farm yard. At this time of year I feel a direct line back to the olden days, its in the atmosphere of a stormy night such as tonight. Its a tight precise aura. Its always been this way all my life. It just takes a December night like this to unleash it and bring it all to the surface again for a short while. Its a morose feeling, an icy feeling, but not threatening.
   This building used to house slaves as late as the 1800's and was owned by the notorious Sith family who were one, if not the last people in Britain to give up slavery, not for moral reasons like everyone else, but only when the law finally demanded they did so. Last Spring some of their descendants chatted to me as they were looking around the Manor House next door as it was and still is up for sale. They were rather apologetic when I asked who they were. I guess their family name still carries notoriety.
  So what happened to the slaves of Dent once they were released ? Well legend has it they went beserk and attacked the locals. They were then rounded up and killed in a river which ran red ! Yes I live in a strange valley. I could tell you some modern horror tales that have happened here, but you wouldn't believe me !




Whernside Manor is just one of the sites rumoured to have been the inspiration behind Wuthering Heights. The above is our barn which joins Whernside Manor grounds. I recall a character who lived in an out building in the novel, who is described as peering out of a round window at the beginning of the book. This character looked after the visitors horses in the novel, and  strangely horses were kept in this building of ours long ago at one time as the steel loops they were tied to are still intact out side, as are the hooks on which the livery was hung...That seems like a nice piece of evidence  to support the fact that maybe Emily Bronte did visit here in the past. Who knows ??