Weird England

About this book

Sure, the English are proud of their heritage. People come from all over to see our magnificent monuments to the past. But what of that other, darker side of our history that we all know exists—but only as whispered rumours and forgotten secrets? What of the mysterious phenomena that evade all rational explanation? And what of those curious eccentrics who pop up time and again in local legend and who... well, make us what we are today? After years spent searching the badlands and backwoods of America for tales of the bizarre and downright unexplainable, bestselling author Matt Lake has returned to the land of his birth to dig up the weird stuff about us. And he has recorded this kaleidoscopic catalogue of strangeness in *Weird England*. Travelling the length and breadth of the country armed only with a notebook and pencil, and his trusty laptop, Matt has fearlessly investigated such fundamental mysteries as the true location of the Isle of the Dead, the real identity of the devil-shaped, fire-breathing creature known to the Victorians as Spring-Heeled Jack, and just why a Croydon businessman erected a 15-foot fibreglass swordfish on his roof. Intoning 'How weird is that?' at the four corners of this sceptred isle, Matt could only be persuaded to move on if the answer came back, 'Not weird enough'. So we know for certain that the phenomena that made it into these pages are the weirdest, most fascinating snippets of numinous knowledge that are accessible to man, or should we say, to Matt. So join us on this very English road trip to the place where reality and illusion meet, by way of such curiosities as the Floating Island of Derwentwater, the Devil's Gravestone at Alderley Edge, the spontaneously combusting sisters of Sowerby Bridge, and the self-proclaimed kingdom of Wise King Richard of Hay. And discover just how weird England really is.