The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor: Birth of an Urban Legend

<p>In 1921, a series of accidents on a small, rural road, carving through the heart of the boggy marshes and fields of Dartmoor, in South East England, led to a brief explosion in excitement concerning the ghostly image of a pair of disembodied hands, forcing drivers off the road and into potentially fatal accidents. Following a little dash of press magic, the story took hold and grew for over a hundred years, until today where it has become accepted as a staple in British Urban Legend. But how did it happen? How did a relatively innocuous story take such a hold of the public imagination for so long, preserving, evolving and growing with each passing generation? This is the story of the Hairy Hands of Dartmoor, a story that blurs the lines between fact and fiction and spawned into existence a fully fledged cryptid legend from nowhere.</p> <p> </p> ------ <p>For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to <a href='http://darkhistories.com'>darkhistories.com </a></p> <p>Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: <a href='http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories'>http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories</a> or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: <a href='https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories'>https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories</a></p> <p>Connect with us on Facebook: <a href='http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast'>http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast</a></p> <p>Or find us on Twitter: <a href='http://twitter.com/darkhistories'>http://twitter.com/darkhistories</a></p> <p>& Instagram: <a href='https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/'>https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/</a></p> <p>Or you can contact us directly via email at <a href='mailto:contact@darkhistories.com'>contact@darkhistories.com</a></p> <p>or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072</p> <p>or join our Discord community: <a href='https://discord.gg/6f7e2pt'>https://discord.gg/6f7e2pt</a></p> <p>Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017</p> <p>Other Outro music was Pa