Some ghost stories collected in Cavan in 1942 show amazing similarities with ghost stories collected in Yorkshire 600 years earlier. Do you want to hear about them. Join me here tonight. Please retweet #AncientGhosts 
A 15th century manuscript written in Latin, now located in the British National Library was first transcribed by M.R James in 1922. Written by an anonymous monk at Byland Abbey in North Yorkshire - it contains 12 ghost stories #AncientGhosts
Because it was was not translated until 1922, it makes it rather remarkable that vestiges of these 600 year old ghost stories were picked up in the oral tradition of County Cavan in 1944 by the National Folklore Commission #AncientGhosts
Even more intriguing is the fact that some of the themes were also picked up by Danish Folklorist Tang Christensen in Jutland in the 1880s. Just shows the power of the spoken word, doesn’t it? The picture is Byland Abbey #AncientGhosts
The Yorkshire ghost stories are not frightening- they were used more as moral tales. One tells the story of a man returning home one night. He meets a ghost in the form of a raven, which transforms itself into a cock of hay. #AncientGhosts
Ghosts can take many forms, but a ghost as a cock of hay is quite unusual. However, the National Folklore Commission has 4 stories of ghosts as cocks of hay and of the thousands of ghost stories all 4 are recorded from Cavan #AncientGhosts
A fellow coming home from Baileborough in Cavan one night saw what he thought was a cock of hay walking on the road - it was dark - he couldn’t be sure. Another fellow was followed across the fields by a cock of hay #AncientGhosts
When Lord Headford evicted tenants from his land, their replacements had no luck. One was killed by a bull, another by a feed of poteen while a 3rd was burned to death in a limekiln. A ghost was blamed - you guessed it - it was a ghost in the form of a cock of hay #AncientGhosts
A ghost as a cock of hay is strange enough, now what about a ghost as a barrel? That’s just what we find in Cavan. A lad was followed down the Main Street in Baileborough by a ghost in the form of a barrel #AncientGhosts
Haunting are sometimes experienced by noises not apparitions. A lad coming home late in Cavan heard what he thought was a barrel with a stone in it rolling down the road. He said it was a ghost #AncientGhosts
Back in 15th century Yorkshire. A lad coming home met a ghost who talked to him. It’s voice seemed to come from inside its body - Latin ‘quasi vacuous dolium’ -‘like an empty barrel’. Is this the sound of a ghost, like the one in Cavan #AncientGhosts
A ghost in Cavan threw a lad over a hedge. A ghost in Yorkshire did the same except the Yorkshire ghost had the manners to catch him before he hit the ground #AncientGhosts
