A paranormal investigator is appealing for witnesses after a resurgence of sightings of an eerie entity known as the “black-eyed child”.
Lee Brickley is scouring the Staffordshire beauty spot of Cannock Chase after receiving claims the girl, “who has coal-black pits for eye sockets” is making appearances again some 30 years after she was first spotted.
“On Saturday 13th September, my wife and I were walking though Cannock Chase near to Stile Cop with our dog. Once we had entered the woodland, and the road was no longer visible, we started to hear the giggling noise of a little girl.
“To our amazement, a child, no taller than one meter in height appeared as if out of nowhere further up the path in front of us. We stopped dead in our tracks after noticing her eyes had no colour. Her head was tilted to the side in much the same way it would appear if she had been hung.
“She stared at us for around five minutes before running away into a densely grouped area of trees. My wife wanted to follow her, but I was having none of it.”
An earlier description of the girl mirrors that of those chronicled in the early 1980s, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Open Image Modal
Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley is looking into sightings of the 'black-eyed child'
“... Around 2 months ago my daughter and I were walking through Birches Valley (an area well known for it's spectral sightings) when we heard the screams of a young child. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, but they definitely seemed in distress and sounded very close to us, so we instantly started running towards the noise.
“We couldn't find the child anywhere and so stopped to catch our breath, that's when I turned round and saw a girl stood behind me, no more than 10 years old, with her hands over her eyes, like she was waiting for a birthday cake.
“I asked if she was okay and if she had been the one screaming, she then put her arms down by her side and opened her eyes, which is when I saw they were completely black, no iris, no white, nothing.
“I jumped back and grabbed my daughter, when I looked again, the child was gone. It was strange really, I knew something was going to happen, even before it did, I just had a weird feeling...”
Brickley told the HuffPost UK: “In my opinion, the black-eyed child seems to be some kind of demon.
“While it might seem like a standard spectral encounter, almost all the reports involve the child leading people towards potentially dangerous situations.
Open Image Modal
Online fiction forum Creepypasta Wiki is also the home of internet fiend Slender Man
“I have received nine different reports in the last two years from seemingly credible witnesses. During interviews most of their stories have been very similar.
“I’m also appealing for more reports, so if anyone has more information, I ask they get in touch as soon as possible.”
Indeed in a post last year, Brickley spoke of his aunt’s encounter with a black-eyed child back in 1982.
Open Image Modal
Brickley has also investigated reports of the 'Pig-Man' of Cannock Chase (file picture)
Then 18, she was on Cannock Chase one evening when she heard a little girl shouting for help. He wrote:
“She stumbled upon a dirt track and caught sight of the six to eight-year-old girl, running in the opposite direction, shouting ‘help mommy help’.
“… by now it was getting dark and the little girl had reached an area of very densely planted thick and bushy trees. She turned around to face my auntie, looked her dead in the eyes, and then ran off into the dark, compact woodland. At this point, probably very wisely, the decision was made to give up. “
Speculating that the sightings could be related to the Raymond Morris child killings in the 1960s, Brickley adds: “In my mind it seems likely that even if my auntie had continued to chase the little girl, she would never have caught her, because it wasn’t a child at all, but an evil force, planning to do away with my own family member.”
The site, which also spawned the legend of Slender Man, adds they are: “Often children, with eyes that are solid black with no differentiation between sclera, pupil, or iris, and are occasionally reported to have blue or bluish tinted skin like that of a corpse.
“Those who report encounters with them often feel that the children were somehow supernatural and extremely dangerous though they could not explain why.”
Witnesses recall a human body in tattered clothes, a distorted face, an unmistakable snout and the shrill squealing of the Pig-Man heard from miles around.
Vintage Pictures Of 'Ghosts'
(01 of17)
Open Image Modal
A photograph of a group gathered at a seance, taken by William Hope (1863-1933). The information accompanying the spirit album states that the table is levitating - in reality the image of a ghostly arm has been superimposed over the table-stand through double exposure. Hope's spirit album photographs use multiple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions. Hope founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle and his work was popular after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although his deception was publicly exposed by a private investigator in 1922, he continued to practice. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(02 of17)
Open Image Modal
A portrait photograph possibly taken by William Hope (1863-1933). A young woman's face appears as if floating above the sitters, draped in a cloak. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the couple to supply photographs of deceased relatives under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world. Hope's spirit album photographs use multiple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions. Hope founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle and his work was popular after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although his deception was publicly exposed in 1922, he continued to practice. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(03 of17)
Open Image Modal
A photograph by William Hope (1863-1933). A woman's face appears above the couple - identified at the time as the sister of a man prominent in the Spiritualist Church. Her cloak adds to the ethereal effect. The signature in the upper left hand corner is by one of the sitters, to authenticate the plate. The couple are the parents of the person who compiled the spirit album. Hope's spirit album photographs use multiple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions. Hope founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle and his work was popular after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although his deception was publicly exposed by a private investigator in 1922, he continued to practice. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(04 of17)
Open Image Modal
A photograph of a man, taken by William Hope (1863-1933). A woman's face appears in a 'misty' cloud to the right of the man - identified as that of his deceased first wife. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the man to supply her photograph under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world. The signature in the upper left hand corner is the sitter's, authenticating the plate. Hope used multiple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions. He founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle and his work was popular after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(05 of17)
Open Image Modal
A photograph of Will Thomas, taken by William Hope (1863-1933). A man's face appears in a haze of drapery on the right of the photograph. Thomas, a medium from Wales, did not recognise the superimposed image. Thomas has signed the bottom of the photograph, 'Sincerely Yours Will Thomas' - perhaps this indicates a friendship with Hope. Hope's spirit album photographs use double and even triple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions around the sitter. Hope founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle and his work was popular after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although his deception was publicly exposed in 1922, he continued to practice. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(06 of17)
Open Image Modal
A photograph of Mrs Bentley, once the President of the British Spiritualists Lyceum Union, taken by Wylie. A superimposed image - that of Mrs Bentley's deceased sister's face - appears at the lower right of the photograph. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
(07 of17)
Open Image Modal
A strange visage appears on a piece of cloth next to the head of medium Marthe Beraud (aka Eva C) during a seance, circa 1910. Picture taken from 'Les Phenomenes dits de Materialisation' by Juliette Bisson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
(08 of17)
Open Image Modal
A couple are terrified by a spectral apparition, circa 1880. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
(09 of17)
Open Image Modal
1865: A ghostly figure appears to a couple eating their dinner in a country cottage. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 225 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(10 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: The ghost of a woman appears to a girl at prayer by her bedside. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 183 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(11 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: A man clinging to a tree in the face of an apparition in a forest. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 72 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(12 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: An apparition appearing to two country folk in their kitchen. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 10 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(13 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: An apparition causes havoc by menacing two people in their kitchen. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 13 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(14 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: A frightened man praying on his knees to an apparition. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 17 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(15 of17)
Open Image Modal
circa 1865: A ghost floating slowly towards a dishevelled man hiding in a corner. London Stereoscopic Company Comic Series - 169 (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)
(16 of17)
Open Image Modal
CIRCA 1865: A ghost attacks a man with a sword. Early double-exposure by G. Maerkl. Vienna. Carte-de-visite Photographie. Arond 1865 (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)
(17 of17)
Open Image Modal
If viewed from certain angles, glass on its own can act as a mirror. In the past this was used to create 'ghosts' on stage. The ghost was actually an actor under the stage. An angled plane of glass reflected light from the ghost towards the audience, who would see the ghost but not the glass. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)