The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
The Hairy Hands of Postbridge
Beware the hairy hands if on Dartmoor because they steer you off the road.
From the collection of:
Overview
David Mudd explains The Witchcraft and Folklore of Dartmoor which is a book by Ruth St Leger-Gordon. The myth of the hairy hands appears to drive unsuspecting travellers off the road. People attest to a stretch of road on the B3212 between Two Bridges and Postbridge that is notorious for accidents. According to locals, drivers have been victims of a pair of hairy hands which appear and take over the steering and that’s where things take a turn for the worse.
Contemporary sightings are based on real life accounts reported by travellers in the 1920s and 50s; an Army Captain recounted that muscular hairy hands clamped over his own forcing his motorbike onto the verge; Dr Helby from Princetown was killed when motorcycle and sidecar carrying the prison governor’s children drove off the road; and a woman staying in a caravan in the ruins of Powder Mills reported hairy hands creeping up the window. The stories became national news. The hands are described as disembodied, possibly from a werewolf. Werewolves are common representations in Christian folklore in Europe and date back to medieval times. Noooow, you have been warned about lycanthropy!