Cannock Chase is the place to go if you want to have a paranormal experience on your mountain bike this Halloween.

Here’s a list of the many mysterious and scary things you may encounter if you’re (un)lucky…

>>> The six scariest Halloween mountain bike films

The Black Eyed Girl

Since the 1980s a small girl, no older than 12, dressed in a white gown with pallid skin and black holes for eyes has been roaming around Cannock Chase terrifying the locals.

“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.”

Is it a ghost? Is it a demon child? Is it trying to lure people to their deaths? Has someone watched The Ring too many times? It’s impossible to tell.

>>> Cannock Chase GPS route download

The Pig-Man

Since the 1940s, the pig-man – half-man, half-swine – has allegedly been spotted trotting through the Staffordshire beauty spot, a haven for paranormal activity, his haunting squeals echoing across the heather at dusk. The Pig-Man is about 7ft tall, wears trousers and a blazer (but no shirt) makes a really high-pitched squealing noise. Maybe that noise isn’t someone’s disc brakes after all..?

Daytime Nazi werewolves

Your common or garden werewolf hangs out out night. Not so with the werewolves of Cannock Chase. The numerous sightings of “upright wolves” with “bright, fiendish yellow eyes” occur during the early hours of daylight. And the sightings are most common around a cemetery that contains German soldiers from WWII. Speaking of which…

German ghost soldiers

NYT2011062115563792C

The German solider graveyard is frequently the location for sightings of the ‘Phantom Brigade’ – a casually strolling around bunch of soilders dressed in 1940s German uniforms.

>>> Nail that trail: Cannock Chase

The Slender Man

A lanky, stick-thin spectre has been seen floating or flying around Cannock Chase in recent years. Sometimes dressed Victorian clothing. Sometimes with a mouthful of razor-like teeth. Sometimes with flaming red eyes. Slender Men are actually very common in folklore worldwide. They go by loads of names but their elongated appearance remains a constant theme.

UFOs

In December 2013 a Rugeley resident claims to have to have seen three orb-like objects in the skies around the Pye Green Tower on Cannock Chase. The three orbs then merged into one bigger object and whizzed off. The same person also claims that earlier the same year a 30ft long triangular craft hovered over her house, buzzing loudly before dissolving into thin air. Other people have reported seeing four bright blue lights zipping around Cannock Chase too.

The Cannock Panther

A ‘big cat expert’ claims that pumas have been living on Cannock Chase since the 1940s but perhaps a more logical explanation for big cat sightings in the area is the 1976 Dangerous Animals Act. This act basically banned the ownership as pets of fierce and predatory animals. So some terrible types turfed out their now-illegal pets into nearby wild places, like Cannock Chase.