"Death, the dreadful hunter, is on the track of
mankind throughout the world and he will not
give up on any spoor until he has laid hands
on that he has been chasing so long."
- King Alfred, 'The Metres of Boethius', Ninth Century
Local Bromsgrove mythology states that :-
"The phantom huntsman is Harry-ca-Nab who kept his dogs at Halesowen ('Hell's Own' in popular etymology). He would hunt boar mounted on a winged horse or wild bull across the Lickey Hills on stormy nights.
To see his hunt presaged ill luck or death."
Harry, his name, perhaps Woden since corrupted and de-heathenised to become of the old Brythonic King Herla (Herla Konig) the Welsh Cwn Annwn or, most likely, the Germanic Elder King (or Erlkönig). the similarity of names and potential for corruption in local dialect suggests, perhaps a common root - Wodens Wild Hunt which is a common belief amongst our North Western European ancestors - the indigenous peoples who have lived here for thousands of years.
