The Haunted Hare
There is a legend about the land upon which the Haunted Hare was built, which is apparently how the pub got its name. The legend goes that Herne the Hunter and his hounds were once giving chase to a hare of enormous size that had been terrorising the local peasantry by eating all their crops.
Herne had been chasing the hare for three days and three nights when, finally, on the third night, under a full moon, his arrow pierced the hare’s hide, and all in attendance saw the hare fall. Only when Herne went to collect his trophy did he discover that the hare’s body was gone.
Herne threw his spear into the ground at the spot where the hare had fallen and declared that, for as long as his spear remained in the earth, the hare would not return. The large oak tree at the back of the Haunted Hare’s beer garden is said to be Herne’s old spear, and anyone who cuts it down will be forever cursed.
The locals still declare that, on nights when the moon is full, crops are prone to going missing in the neighbourhood. And, as local tradition would have it, when the moon is full, it is wise to leave a cabbage on the doorstep of your home as a gift to the spirit of the hare, so that it will become full and not eat the rest of your crops.
by Alex Cantouris