The Ghost of John Keal
hung in irons....
Many years ago criminals were publicly displayed in an iron cage, usually at a cross roads or at the road side as a deterrent to those tempted by a life of crime..
The earliest known case of this in Lincolnshire involved a woodcutter from the outskirts of Lincoln.. John Keal.
Keal lived in a farm cottage in the Wolds village of Mucton, near Louth. A widower with five children, he remarried a girl from Swaby and had three more children.
One evening, in a drunken rage, Keal did something dispicable and was imprisoned at Lincoln castle for six months.. he was then brought before Lord Baron Page on 7th March 1731.
....the judge pronounced sentence that he should be gibbeted alive, with the intent to strike terror into the hardened soul of the prisoner, yet the laws of England allowed no such death therefore, on on Saturday 18th March 1731he was taken from Lincoln in in a cart and with very little ceremony, hanged upon a post until he was dead, when being cut down, he was to be hung back up again in irons, between earth and heaven, food for every devouring bird of pray..terrible to behold..
There are several locations claimed to be the spot where Keal was placed.. one was near the junction of Legbourne and Kenwick Road. The gibbet cage can now be seen displayed at Louth Museum.For many years the ghost of John Keal has haunted the area..
."....a strory tells that one Saturday night, three of Keals friends gathered in the White Horse pub, in Louth: whilst eating some hot supper, one said, "What about taking some supper to old Keal?" They drew lots and the loser staggered off clutching a bowl of hot soup. When he reached the cage he held up the bowl and said "Ere ya be Keal, ave brought a bit of ot supper", he placed the bowl on the grass and lay down for fourty winks..When he woke he saw the bowl was untouched, so he shouted "Why aint ya etten it?" To his horror a voice replied "Its too ot!" His nerve failed him and he threw the bowl into the air and ran for town. What he did not know was that his pals had sneaked along after him to see to see the fun and came in at the right time.
You will require a pen