Black Eyed Child of Cannock Chase: Watch ghostbuster hunt out soul-sucking demon

Chilling: The ghost may be linked to a Celtic tribe known for their blood sacrifices. New sightings of the Black Eyed Girl of Cannock Chase

The return of a chilling ghost known as The Black Eyed Child has sparked a frenzy of interest in paranormal activity in Staffordshire.

The child was last spotted 30 years ago, but reports of its return in recent days has led to worldwide interest.

Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley is leading the hunt for the ghoulish apparition which has been haunting beauty spot Cannock Chase.

Birmingham Mail reporter Mike Lockley joins him on the search.

With the sinking sun’s tired rays painting scarlet streaks on the dappled skyline, I scanned acres of violet heather.

Dusk brings a breath-taking beauty to Cannock Chase, but night – so bitumun black the canopy of stars glint like gemstones – bring demons, say paranormal investigators.

According to reports – some police reports, this untamed Staffordshire wilderness is a flyzone for UFOs, Big Cat territory, the stomping ground for a Bigfoot-type creature and home to the X Files latest internet sensation, the Black Eyed Child: a soul-sucking demon with piercing charcoal eye-sockets.

On a more earthly note, Cannock Chase is also recognised as one of the hotspot’s for that peculiarly British perversion “dogging”: a meeting place for thrill-seekers looking for no-strings-attached sexual encounters.

That may explain some of the groans. Some, but not all.

The Birmingham Mail chronicled witness statements, collated by paranormal investigator Lee Brickley, from those unfortunate ramblers who have stumbled across the giggling Black Eyed Child. The story had coated the worldwide net like ectoplasm.

On Tuesday night, Lee and I were trawling the vast expanse of Cannock Chase for a glimpse of the unkempt, anaemic infant.

It’s become a nightly vigil for X Files author Lee, who is struggling to cope with the sudden spike in Close Encounter of the Third and, when it comes to the panther-like Beast of Cannock Chase, Furred Kind.

Scary: The black eyed child is one of a number of paranormal sightings in Cannock Chase

Things are going bump in the night on a regular basis. The undead have suddenly started to stir in earnest on Cannock Chase, always a paranormal hotspot,

After an absence of 30 years, the Black Eyed Child is again haranguing those foolish enough to stroll the dirt tracks of Birches Valley. “The Slender Man”, a stick-thin, milk white ghoul, is making regular appearance. The Pig Man – half human, half hog – has been seen rummaging through litter bins and each night brings fresh reports of strange dancing lights in the night sky.

There’s a reason for the surge in spirit sightings, insists Lee.

The 28-year-old said: “There are two theories. The Black Eyed Child is linked to the Cornovii, a Celtic tribe known for their blood sacrifices.

“The other is that we are dealing with some kind of mass hallucination. Something, some substances, has made people see this apparition.

“There were all kinds of weird, covert military stuff going on here during the years, there still is. Could something left behind have caused all these sightings?”

If it’s a chemical leak, Lee’s own aunt is among the victims. She came across the spectre in 1982, alerted by the waif’s cries for help. Luckily, she stumbled while running to give assistance, but has never forgotten that chilling moment the child turned and fixed her with those Bible black eye-sockets.

Too much:A 17th century inn near the home of the black eyed child has gone up for sale

“If it’s demonic, it’s dangerous,” warned Lee as we picked our way through dense bracken. “Almost all witnesses refer to the child giggling or calling for help. This suggests she is trying to lure victims.

“Have you seen,” I asked a dog-walker in this no-nonsense corner of the Black Country, “the Black Eyed Child?”

“Are you from social services?” he whispered.

For all his paranormal skills, Lee freely admits he didn’t see the global Black Eyed Child storm coming.

“Eamonn Holmes was talking about it this morning,” he said proudly. “I had to take a day of work to do all the interviews.

“And look at this,” he added, thrusting the lurid front page of a tabloid paper under my nose. “I’ve never known anything like it. It’s madness.”

Madness or mass hallucination, Lee?

Source: Mirror, birminghammail