First published in November 1838 in edition 210 of Wilson’s Tales.
Written by John Howell, the Tale elaborates on the infamous Major Weir’s folk history.
Andrew Leaver carried out the research and wrote the companion piece. Our re-teller, Denise Bradshaw, says “re-telling Major Weir was, for me, particularly enjoyable. As a former enforcer for the “Excise Man”, I was amused at the device used here to deflect and enable the smuggling to continue. Whilst I have never dealt with a case where Ghosts were involved I have dealt with cases involving “coffin concealment’s” but that, as they say, is a story” for another day.
We present the original, the re-told version, and the all important research – Just how much of the original was based on fact?
The companion research by Andrew Leaver is here.