N I G H T B R I N G E R . S E
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A PHANTOM WITH A DEADLY DRINK
One of the earliest ghosts reported in the British Isles is said to haunt and ancient burial mound at the Manor of Rillaton, located on a moor in Cornwall. The ghost, apparently a Druid priest dressed in a long flowing robe, would approach passersby and mutely offer them a drink of a magic brew.
According to one account, a local nobleman encountered the phantom late one night while riding across the moor after a day of hunting. As he passed the mound, the figure of a frail old man with a vacant stare and pallid complexion walked toward him, clutching a golden cup. Silently he extended the vessel as if to offer a drink. The nobleman hesitated at first, feeling an inexplicable chill envelop him, but he gave it to his thirst and drained the cup.
Or so he thought. When the nobleman lowered the cup, some liquid remained. Again he drank deeply. And again the liquid reappeared. Enraged by what he saw as the mysterious figure's trickery, the nobleman flung the liquid into the stranger's face and dropped the cup at his feet. Still the robed figure remained silent, a strange, sardonic smile crossing his face. At that, the nobleman spurred his horse and rode for home, deeply concerned over what his meeting with the ghostly stranger might portend. A few days later, both the nobleman and his horse were discovered dead at the bottom of a nearby ravine.
Years later, in 1837, when archaeologists began excavating the burial mound at the Manor of Rillaton, they made an intriguing discovery: A skeleton was unearthed, and beside it lay a golden cup.
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