The UK village with an eerie past that is now a dark tourism hotspot

A UK village has become popular with tourists, not just because of its beauty, but also because of its spooky past.

Woodplumpton, a village in the Preston area in Lancashire, has now become a hotspot for dark tourism thanks to its past.

Many travel there to learn more about a famous witch called Meg Shelton, also known as ‘Fylde Hag’.

She was accused of numerous transgressions before her death in 1705, including using witchcraft to ruin crops, shapeshit, and curdle milk.

When she died, a boulder was placed on Meg’s grave to stop her rising from the dead.

This boulder and burial sight has attracted a number of visitors to the village’s St Anne’s Church cemetery over the years.

Stories also tell of how stocks were used to punish those accused of witchcraft. They can still be found near the village church with the wooden pieces still in tact.

Meanwhile, near the local primary school is the ‘House with Tin Roof’ that used to have a pond outside.

Those accused of witchcraft were punished with a ducking stool, which was used to dip women into water.

Lanc Live visited the village and spoke to residents about its past.

Victoria Parkinson, owner of the village pub said: “The history side of it and the village itself does carry its name, which works in our favour.

“We even had a lady in yesterday who came after hearing about the story of the witch and everything. She came and asked if she could take pictures of the pub and village after being at the church.

“It’s a good community. We have a lot of locals come in that are from the area and there are obviously a lot of new houses that are going up and they come up quite regularly. It is a locals’ pub but we do get quite a lot of visitors that are passing through.

“Trying to buy a house here is just like… as soon as they come on to the market, they’re just gone. If you look at the price of houses, literally a mile down the road compared to here, it’s frightening the difference. It is such a wanted area.”