This week we went back to the 1980s to find the answer to your Ask Examiner question: Were the Standedge Tunnels once at the centre of occult activity?

On May 31 and June 3 1980, two headlines in the Huddersfield Examiner sparked fears that black magic rituals had taken place in a disused railway tunnel at Standedge, Marsden.

The first article – headlined: Black Magic in the Valley? – described how workmen had found “two sheep’s heads and strange painted symbols” one and a half miles from the mouth of the tunnel.

Police searched the tunnels but found nothing more.

Days later, the paper reported how a Huddersfield man had been terrified by a masked man in the tunnel.

The man, 24, had walked to Diggle and was returning to Marsden via the tunnel when he and friends were confronted by a strange sight.

WATCH: Inside the Standedge canal tunnel

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He said: “We knew we were trespassing, but we decided to take the chance and we walked about a third of the way through. Then a man wearing an old man’s mask ran shrieking towards us and scratched me on the mouth as he ran past and disappeared.

“We were terrified and turned straight around. We never saw the man again and presumed he had gone down one of the side tunnels. We were going to tell the police but thought better of it as we had been trespassing.”

According to former policeman Bill Armer there was a widespread belief that people were dabbling in Satanic activities in Marsden.

He recalled: “In the mid 1980s I was policing out of Slaithwaite. In a quiet moment one Sunday a colleague and I borrowed the key from the Marsden signalman, and drove into the closed tunnels to explore.

Canal and River Trust #sharethespace project at Standedge Visitor Centre, Marsden.

“There is a point, near midway, where the two closed tunnels are linked by a large open space, which also gives access to the live tunnel.

“This is a rather imposing space known then to some locals as The Cathedral.

“With the help of a torch, I could see a number of symbols painted in white on the walls of The Cathedral including, in a high position, a pentagram.

“Certainly someone had gone to quite some trouble to leave these occult symbols, although that in itself does not prove that the space was actually used for rituals.

“Because we were out of radio contact we could not remain long enough to make a closer examination. At least, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Examiner reports of Satanic ceremonies in Standedge rail tunnels
Examiner reports of Satanic ceremonies in Standedge rail tunnels

“More generally, in Marsden 30 years ago there was a fairly widespread belief in the existence of people who practised Satanic or occult ritual in or near the village.

“Certain allegations were made from time to time but, to my knowledge no actual evidence emerged.

“One case that I personally dealt with concerned the body of a sheep discovered “on t’top” alongside the A62, with its abdomen apparently cut open, allegedly as part of a sacrificial rite.

“I made enquiries about this, and I received the information that, sometimes, dead sheep were attacked by scavengers and the corpse mutilated and that sheep are prone to a condition which leads to the abdominal cavity becoming filled with gas.

“Apparently the shepherd will sometimes resort to cutting the abdomen in a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure. Plus, of course, it is not unknown for sheep to be struck by a passing vehicle causing lacerations. Again, no proof of occultism but perhaps a lingering suspicion.”

Ask Examiner: Can readers shed any further light on these strange events? Or do you have a mystery for us to solve? Email: andrew.robinson@trinitymirror.com

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