Yorkshire Folklore - Jack-in-Irons
Jack-in-Irons
In the ceremonial county of South Yorkshire, in England’s northwest, can be found the market town of Barnsley. It is located in the valley of the River Dearne, near the eastern foothills of the Pennines, with the uplands of the Peak District to the west. It was once a centre for coal mining, with a great many collieries in the area, though these have now closed.
Most of the mining settlements have since been redeveloped; however, the culture and communal memory of the mining industry remains strong. Barnsley and its surrounding coalmines were connected by a series of lanes and tracks that cut their way through the local moorland. It has long been said that these paths are walked by a dark entity known as Jack-in-Irons.
Jack-in-Irons, stands somewhere between 7ft and 13ft tall, he is a very eerie figure, believed to be the ghost of a giant or ogre who once dwelt in the more isolated areas of the region. Witnesses describe him as a huge spectre bound in chains, who wanders the paths in search of victims. He is said to carry a spiked club upon which are impaled the heads of those he has slain - though sometimes these heads are described as hanging from his belt.
Much of the Jack-in-Irons lore has been lost to history. It is possible he is a folk memory of some old pre-Christian god, an ancient guardian spirit, or even the shade of a giant from the days when such beings were said to walk the island. It is unclear why Jack finds himself wrapped in chains - some suggest it is a form of punishment for the terrible deeds committed during his life; others say they are trophies taken from his fallen victims.
His gruesome collection of heads could, in some way, be connected to the Celtic head cults of the Iron Age. These cults involved the ritualistic veneration of the human head, which the ancient Celts believed held the soul, power, or spirit of a person - even after death.
Having walked the remote moorland roads, it is easy to see why the people of the area would fear them at night. As dusk settles into evening, and the inferior glow of the moon replaces the clearer radiance of the sun, the atmosphere becomes more unsettling. Travellers speak of hearing the rattle of chains and seeing odd figures moving in the fog. If the individual is lucky, Jack will wander on into the night, ignoring them. But if they are unlucky and draw his attention, he might challenge them, demanding tribute. The truly unfortunate will never be seen alive again - their heads added to Jack’s collection.
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