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The smoke-belching chimneys of Oldham's post-Industrial Revolution landscape are a fitting description of William Blake's 'dark satanic mills'. A vivid phrase from his famous poem, later incorporated into the hymn, Jerusalem. Yet for some, the landscape's ancient and more untouched aspects hold an even darker significance. Saddleworth Moor and its surrounds have long been linked with mysticism and ritual. The 'Pots and Pans' monument overlooking Uppermill and Greenfield is a cenotaph erected in 1923 to commemorate the 259 Saddleworth villagers who fell during the Great War. However, 'Pots and Pans' refers to the rock at the hill's summit overlooking Uppermill, named after the large indentations or basins formed by countless years of relentless Saddleworth weather sculpting the stone. With its pan-like indentations, this rock is also locally known as the 'Druid's Stone', rumoured to have been used to collect the blood from human sacrifices. These dark tales may be just that - tales. The stark and desolate landscape could easily stir the imagination to conjure up the fairies and Boggarts said to roam this patch of moorland. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Yet, there are also true stories that have added another layer of darkness to this already sombre landscape. In 1949, a BEA Douglas DC3 aircraft crashed into the hill at Wimberry Stones, resulting in the death of 24 passengers and crew; eight survived. But perhaps the most disturbing connection people draw with Saddleworth is its notoriety as the burial ground for at least four child victims of Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley during the 1960s. Whatever the explanation, Britain's remote and windswept moorlands have long captivated those drawn to mysticism and the supernatural. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the 1960s and 1970s witnessed a resurgence of fascination with witchcraft and the occult in Britain. In September 1962, the Manchester Evening News reported on a midnight black magic ceremony conducted by Alex Sanders. Sanders was an occultist living in Manchester who became a much-revered high priest in the modern pagan religion of Wicca. The actual ceremony took place on a windswept hillside at Alderley Edge during the "Festival of the Full Moon". Describing the midnight ritual, journalist David Duffy, who had initially been blindfolded, wrote: "In the centre of the magic circle lay a man purporting to be a 'dead man'. He was swathed in a white sheet, his face covered by a golden mask. "On his chest lay a sword, a wand, and a thigh bone said to be that of a Knight Templar. Nearby, the head of a steel spear pierced the ground. "This was the amazing scene I saw when finally the high priest - 36-year old Alex Sanders - gave the order for my blindfold to be removed. Clouds cast eerie shadows as Sanders said: 'The 'dead man' on the ground is now a witch. When he rises he will be a man born again, with the powers to perform magic.'" Duffy added: "I challenged Sanders, who I can reveal has been practising witchcraft rituals on the Edge for 12 months, to reveal the initiate's identity. He refused, 'to protect him from any ridicule from his family and friends,' he said." It should be said at this point that many modern pagans and Wiccans strongly condemn and fiercely disassociate their beliefs from those who indulge in the darker practices of 'black magic' and 'devil worship'. As a result of the 2011 UK Census, nearly 75,000 people in Britain identified as Pagan or a member of a specific modern Pagan group, the M.E.N. reported in 2023 . Through the '70s and '80s in Britain, the renewed interest in spiritualism and the occult flourished. But with it came suspicion and a deep fear that long-established Christian teachings and morals were being corrupted, especially among the youth. In fact, Geoffrey Dickens, Saddleworth's longstanding Conservative MP from 1983 until his death in 1995, spearheaded the fight against what he saw as the dangers of dabbling in black magic. In Hansard records of parliamentary debate on 'occult societies' on April 27, 1988, Mr Dickens spoke to alert the house to the dangers that "the rapid growth in the United Kingdom of black witchcraft and Satanism" was having on society, particularly the youth. "The fear of the devil is being put into children's minds, and that is evil. This black magic influence is so strong and dangerous that the power and command over adults and children is total," Dickens said, before adding: "Disgusting ceremonies are held, in which children are sexually abused by Satanists." He went on to quote alleged instances of tomb desecrations, where bodies were removed and "heads cut off and fingers sliced away." Some might accuse the MP of scaremongering as a result of feeling his own Christian ideals and beliefs were under threat. But there's no doubt that at around this time, fear of occult practices had reached fever pitch, famously resulting in the 'satanic panic' that descended on an estate in Rochdale in 1990. Six families were wrongly accused by social service workers of being involved in the satanic ritual abuse of children. As a result, some 20 youngsters were taken into care, placed into foster homes and barred from all contact with their families. For some, it would be 10 years before they saw their parents again. There was, however, a great media interest in black magic and the occult in the '80s and '90s. News reports revealed several instances pointing to evidence of 'devil worship' around Saddleworth Moor. On August 31, 1985, the Manchester Evening News reported on the desecration of an abandoned chapel on the Oldham-Ashton border. The Church of England was investigating after finding signs of black magic inside the tumbledown St Augustine's, Hartshead, which had lain derelict for two years since it was put up for sale. Residents said there had been rumours that the tiny building had been used for "black magic rites". The newspaper reported: "A giant pentacle has been expertly drawn on the floor where pews used to stand. Walls have been daubed in red paint with Latin inscriptions and satanic names. "An upturned figure of Christ - believed to be traditional in devil worship - has been painted on a wall behind the altar area. And the charred and torn remains of prayer books and a bible have been discovered among the rubble." There was also evidence that Christians had tried to deter the occult practices taking place at the chapel. A figure of Christ had been drawn in chalk on a board with 'God loves you all' written beneath. The names of saints and bible extracts had been chalked on the floor. The report said church officials feared the expert design of the black magic inscriptions indicated "a serious and deliberate sacrilege." The Rector of Ashton , the Rev Albert Radcliffe , of St Michael's Church, is quoted as saying: "We are aware there is a practising coven in the area and this may be their work. Followers of the cult always look for centres of spiritual power." Adding: "Black magic and dabbling with the occult is widespread and surfaces from time to time. I would warn people who are involved of the dangers. All clergymen know of people whose mental health has been seriously affected by going too far into the occult." Another reported incident appeared in the Oldham Advertiser on June 13, 1991. The story centred around rumours of "satanic rituals and devil worship" being discounted by local police in Uppermill. Signs of black magic had allegedly been found in the semi-ruined Wickens House in Running Hill Gate, Diggle. A sheep's head daubed in red paint and suspended from the ceiling had been discovered, and markings showing an upside-down Christian cross and other occult symbols were also found on a nearby wall. But claims of black witchcraft were dismissed by Sergeant Roy Pollitt of Uppermill police, who was quoted as saying: "Until one of my constables is turned into a frog, I don't think we'll be investigating witchcraft. This is the work of some kids messing about. They probably saw The Exorcist on television the night before and chalked some markings on the wall. The journalist wrote that the police sergeant thought the paint found on the skull was "accidentally splashed on by some farmer in the past. The sergeant added: "We have never had any signs of witchcraft around here and we won't be inquiring into this matter further." Another account of a black magic ritual site being discovered on Saddleworth Moor is published on the mysteriousbritain.co.uk website . It recounts the alleged accidental discovery in 1980 of a room inside a disused railway tunnel containing occult symbols and "demonic" drawings, candles, a large double circle outlined on the floor, and in one corner, "the headless carcass of a cockerel, still stained with blood." Even now, there are still reports of beheadings of livestock on Saddleworth Moor. In 2020, the Oldham Chronicle graphically reported on discovering a prize ram that looked to have been "beheaded". The report contained no suggestion that the missing head might be used in relation to witchcraft, only a theory that the horns may have been taken to fashion into a gruesome souvenir.
